INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY

____________ - the study of the relationships of living things to their environment.

_____________ - the area of the earth's surface where life exists.

_________________ - a physically distinct, self-supporting unit of interacting organisms and their surrounding environment.

examples: a forest, a lake, a garden

Ecosystems consist of both _________ and __________ factors:

• Biotic factors = ___________ things
• Abiotic factors = __________ things

(such as light, water, soil, wind, temperature, and nutrients)

_______________ = a group of organisms that coexist, the biotic factors in an ecosystem.

The community is made up of all the populations of the area.

_____________ = a group of individuals of one species that exist in a common area and share resources.

_____________ = the surroundings in which a particular species can be found

_____________ = an organism's way of life

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES:

__________________:

• ________________ - the change of liquid water to water vapor in the atmosphere
• ________________ - the release of water into the atmosphere by plants
• ________________ - the change of water vapor into liquid water

_____________ Cycle:

• Photosynthesis - plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen
• Respiration - animals breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide
• Combustion -
• Decomposition -

_____________ Cycle:

________ _______ - the conversion of pure nitrogen into nitrates by bacteria in roots of legumes.

• Ammonification - the conversion of nitrogen compounds to ammonia
• Nitrification - the conversion of ammonia to nitrates.
• Denitrification - the conversion of nitrogen compounds into nitrogen gas.

TRANSFER OF ENERGY

Trophic Levels: (troph = feed)

_______________ (autotrophs) = organisms that can manufacture their own food

_______________ (heterotrophs) = organisms that must eat other organisms for food.

• _____________ consumers = eat producers
• _____________ consumers = eat primary consumers
• _____________ consumers = eat secondary consumers
• _____________ = eat only plants
• _____________ = eat only meat
• _____________ = eat both meat and plants
• _____________ = eat only dead organisms
• _____________ = decay organisms that break down dead tissue

_______________ = the sequence of one organism feeding upon another a a lower trophic level

_______________ = inter-related food chains

___________________:

Organism lose much of the energy they consume or absorb. Therefore, they must consume or absorb more than they need in order to survive. The loss of energy as you go up the trophic levels is referred to as a pyramid. Ecological pyramids may be used to show either biomass or numbers.

BIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

___________ - the struggle for limited resources

Intraspecific competition - competing within the same species

Interspecific competition - competing with different species

_________ = animals that kill others for food

_________ = the animals that are killed by the predators

_________ = a close relationship between two organisms of different species that benefits at least one of them.

• ____________ = benefits both organisms (example: termites and protozoans, also cleaner shrimp and fish)
• ____________ = benefits one organism while the other is neither helped nor harmed (example: cattle egrets and cattle)
• ____________ = benefits one organism while harming the other

(example: ticks and animals) The parasite damages the host.

BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS:

Circadian Rhythms - occur every 24 hours.

• ___________ - active during the day
• ____________ - active at night

Annual Rhythms - occur one a year (flowering, hibernation, estivation)

SUCCESSION

_______________ - the gradual, sequential replacement of populations in an area.

_______________ - the first species to grow in a new habitat.

Seral community - each intermediate community that will be replaced by the next.

________________ - a community that will remain stable as long as the area is undisturbed.

________________ SUCCESSION -

Succession that occurs in areas that have not previously contained life, such as bare rock.

Physical factors break down rock into soil. Grasses, mosses, or lichens grow. Necromass (dead organic matter) collects. Larger plants grow. Seral communities develop.

________________ SUCCESSION -

Succession that occurs in habitats that have been disturbed by forest fire, logging, farming, or mining.

Old field succession - occurs in abandoned farm fields.

Grasses, mustards, dandelions ---> shrubs --> small trees --> climax forest.

SUCCESSION IN LAKES -

Changes that transform lakes into dry land.

Oligotrophic - contains few nutrients.

______________ - increase in nutrients in an environment.

Sediment and necromass collects, changing the lake to a marsh, then a swamp, then dry land, and eventually to a dense forest.

____________: an extensive area of similar climate and vegetation. Major influences in the formation of biomes are: ___________, _______________, and ________.

TERRESTRIAL BIOMES:

1. ____________:

Stark, rolling plains, with a cold, dry climate. Winters are long and cold, summers short and cool.

Found near the poles and in high mountains.

Precipitation = 4 to 16 inches per year (mostly snow). Only the top meter of soil may thaw in summer. Permafrost is the frozen ground, below 1 meter, that never thaws.

Common plants = lichens, mosses, small plants

Common animals = Caribou, reindeer, musk ox, polar bears, actic foxes, arctic hares, ptarmigans, lemmings

2. _______________________

This forest is dominated by evergreen trees, found in the northern parts of North America and Eurasia.

Winters are long, snowy, and cold. Summers are short and warm. Precipitation amounts = 8-24 inches.

Common plants = conifers (spruce, fir, pines, etc.)

Common animals = Moose, bear, lynx, elk, mule deer, wolves, rodents, hares, birds, etc.

3. _________________

This forest is dominated by deciduous trees, (trees that shed their leaves), receives between 24-40 inches of rainfall, with long, cold winters. ound in much of Europe, and from Maine to Florida

Common plants = Maple, beech, elm, oak, hickory

Plants live in one of 4 strata or layers.

• 1. Forest floor
• 2. Understory
• 3. Canopy layer
• 4. Emergent layer

Common animals = deer, mice, squirrels, fox, bear, snakes, and lizards

4. __________ - a biome dominated by grasses

Precipitation = 4-24 in. /year.

Found in the central U.S., Africa, Russia, and South America.

Other names include: _______, ______, _____, ______

________ = a special type of grassland located in tropical or subtropical areas. These areas may have scattered trees and remain warm all year long. The Serengeti Plain is the largest.

5. _____________________ - exist in tropical areas where rainfall is around 200 inches per year. Plant life is abundant with many species of flowering trees, vines, ferns, and epiphytes.

Common animals = insects and invertebrates, birds, monkeys, and snakes

Jungle = areas of thick, almost impassable vegetation within a rain forest

6. _______ = areas of less than 8 in. of rainfall/year.

Common plants = cactus, mesquite, fast-growing flowers

Common animals = insects, reptiles, birds, small mammals

AQUATIC BIOMES

7. ______ biome = contains 99.9% of earth's surface water

Types of life in the marine biome:

_________= tiny animals & plants that float near surface

Nekton = organisms that swim freely

Benthos = organisms that live on the bottom

Zones of the Marine biome:

a. ______________ zone = the part of the seashore located between high and low tide

b. Neritic zone = open water close to shore

c. Open sea zone = open water far from shore

1. Photosynthetic region - down to 660 ft.

2. Bathyal region - from 660 - 6,600 ft.

3. Abyssal region - below 6,600 ft.

8. _______________ Biomes

Pond = small depression in land filled with water

Lake = a larger body of water that may be deep

Oligotrophic - contains little nutrients and little life

Eutrophic - contains abundant nutrients and life

9. ___________ = a body of water where fresh and salt water mix

Common plants = algae, marsh grasses, mangrove trees

Common animals = clams, oysters, crabs, fish, etc.

POPULATIONS

POPULATION GROWTH:

___________________ = the rate at which a population will grow if all individuals survive and reproduce at maximum capacity. (ex: If one housefly mates 7 times each year and produces 100 eggs each time, how many flies will be produced in one year?)

Biotic potential is rarely reached because of __________________, ____________, ______________, and/or __________________.

___________________ : show the number of individuals in a population over time.

J-SHAPED CURVE:

___________________ - slow growth

___________________ - population doubles in shorter intervals.

___________________ S-SHAPED CURVE:

Lag phase

Exponential phase

___________________ - the maximum number of individuals that the ecosystem is capable of supporting.

___________________ = populations that go up and down at regular intervals. Examples: ___________, _____________

LIMITING FACTORS:

___________________ - the number of individuals in a population in a given area at a given time.

___________________ - affect the population in different ways depending on population density.

(Food, space, light, disease, predators)

___________________ - affect populations regardless of population density.

(weather, temperature, humidity, sunlight, fire, flood)

CHANGES IN POPULATIONS

___________________ = rate at which births occur

___________________ = rate at which deaths occur

___________________ = the rate at which the population is growing or declining

Population _________ = sudden declines

Population _________ = sudden increases

HUMAN POPULATIONS - Human population is now over 5 billion, and increasing by ___________________ per year.

At the current rate the population will double in ___________________.

1840 = 1 billion

1930 = 2 billion

1975 = 4 billion

2013 = ___________________

2051 = ___________________