Ecology

Higher Level
 Ecological Pyramid of Numbers
• Ecological pyramids are used to compare
different communities (populations) of the
ecosystem according to their trophic level

In general:
• The number of organisms decreases as you go
up the pyramid. This is due to the large energy
loss (about 90%) between each trophic level
• Body size of organisms increases as you go up
the pyramid of numbers
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Energy transfer through an ecosystem

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Energy Loss in a Food Chain

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Normal Pyramid of Numbers

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 Limitations of pyramid of numbers
1. They don’t take into account the number of
organisms, i.e. they are not drawn to scale
2. The size of organisms is not considered in a
pyramid of numbers, e.g. one rose bush can
support thousands of greenfly.

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A distorted Pyramid of Numbers
A similar problem arises with parasites –
numerous parasites on one host – resulting
in a distorted pyramid

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 An inverted Pyramid of Numbers

When organism size

is not considered
very unusual
pyramid shapes are
likely to occur.

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Another example

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Factors controlling population size
1. Competition
2. Predation
3. Parasitism
4. Symbiosis

These factors help maintain population numbers

and bring about a ‘balance of nature’

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 1. Competition
Competition is when organisms struggle for
resources that are in short supply, e.g.
food, space, light

Intra-specific competition:
Competition between members of the
same species
Inter-specific competition:
Competition between members of different
species
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 Competition for resources
Plants
compete for light, water, minerals and space

Animals
compete for food, water, shelter, territory and
mates

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 Two types of competition
1. Contest Competition
Contest competition is a physical contest
between two organisms – one wins
Survival of the fittest
Examples
Two dogs fighting over a bone
Two stags fighting over mating rights

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 Two types of competition
2. Scramble Competition
Scramble competition is competition where
each organism gets some of the resource,
Examples
An ivy plant and a hawthorn tree competing for
light.
Plants growing in a hedge

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 Competition & Population Size
• Restricts population size
• Only successful competitors will survive and
reproduce
• Is a driving force behind evolution i.e.
adaptive techniques (sharp teeth of
carnivores or climbing abilities in ivy) develop
in response to the need to survive
competition

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 Adaptions for competition
Organisms adapt to their environment by:
• Changing their feeding habits, e.g.
nocturnal feeding
• Camouflage
• Producing protective coats
• Moving away from over-populated areas
• Trees grow taller than other plants

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 2. Predation
Predation is the act of catching, killing and
eating another organism for food.

Predator: the animal that hunts, captures and

kills other animals for food.
Prey: the animal that is killed and eaten
Predators have evolved adaptive techniques
to survive, e.g. wolf has keen hearing and
eyesight, strong muscles, sharp teeth,
camouflage and hunts in packs.
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 Positive Effects of Predation

1. Predation stabilises the community

2. Predators control the number of herbivores
and so prevent overgrazing
3. Predators eliminate the less well adapted
(weaker) prey

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Adaptations of Predators
• Foxes have sharp teeth
• Spiders have fangs
• Hawks have excellent eyesight
• Foxes hunt at night time
• Camouflage
• Ladybirds have strong mouth parts

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 Adaptations of Prey
• Plants may have thorns, spines or stings, e.g.
nettles, thistles
• Frogs and greenfly are camouflaged
• Ladybirds contain formic acid and have a nasty
taste when eaten
• Mice have excellent hearing
• Snails have shells

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 3. Parasitism
Parasitism is when one organism feeds off a
living host, either on or off the body, normally
causing harm.
Exoparasites live outside the host, e.g. fleas on a
dog
Endoparasites live inside the host, e.g. tapeworm,
liverfluke in cattle/sheep

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 4. Symbiosis
Symbiosis is a relationship between two
organisms of different species where both
benefit
Examples:
• Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots of legumes:
The bacteria make nitrogen compounds needed
by the plant and the plant makes carbohydrates
and other food material needed by the bacteria
• Bacteria living in the colon produce vitamin B12
and vitamin K. The body absorbs these vitamins.
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 Population dynamics of Predator-Prey
relationships
1. The availability and abundance of food
• As Prey Predators

• As there are more predators the prey will and

predator numbers will

• Eventually numbers of prey will starting the cycle

once more.

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 Population dynamics of Predator-Prey
relationships
2. Concealment
When there is less prey they can hide better,
this allows population of prey to survive and
increase.

3. Movement of Prey & Predators

If there is not enough food the prey will move
to a new location. The predator will then move
to an area with more prey.
Migration of predators causes prey to in
new areas and in the area where the
predators left
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Human Population Curve

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 Human population curve
Note: 1 billion = 1,000 million

Year (AD) Population

400 100 million
1650 500 million
1930s >2 billion
1970s 4 billion
2000 >6 billion

Population is now increasing by about 85 million per year

= 230,000 per day = 160 per minute = 2.7 per second
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 Human population curve
66% of world population live in Asia. Birth rates
are declining in developed countries.

The increase in the human population is not due

to an increase in birth rates, but is caused by
reduced death rates.

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 Factors affecting Human Population
Numbers
1. War: War reduces population numbers
2. Famine: Famine reduces population numbers. A
lack of food leads to malnutrition and death e.g.
1 million people died in the Irish Famine
3. Contraception: Contraception reduces
population numbers
4. Disease: Disease reduces population numbers.
Vaccines, sanitation, improved surgical methods
and antibiotics have prevented deaths that
would have been caused by disease. 28