Biology Notes – Ecology

 Biosphere
o Where you find living things.
o Contains:
 Atmosphere (air)
 Hydrosphere (water)
 Lithosphere (ground)
 Ecology
o The study of the interactions among organisms and their environment .
o Living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) factors are observed.
 Biotic
 Living things
 Factors:
 Population
 A group of organisms in a given area in the same species
 The speed at which a population grows is affected by their
environmental recourses.
 Carrying capacity - (an imaginary number) the maximum
population that can be supported by recourses in the environment.
 Ex: On a chart the population goes up and then goes down
and so on. (looks like a squiggly line)
 Effected by little food, disease, and competition
 Community
 Several populations in one area
 Ecosystem
 Several different communities together.
 Food webs/chains
 At the bottom, there are autotrophs.
 Get their energy from the sun (plants, some bacteria, etc.)
 Then, there are heterotrophs which eat the autotrophs. (producers)
 Some only eat plants (herbivores)
 Some only eat meat (Carnivores)
 Some eat both (Omnivores)
 Some eat only dead remains (decomposers)
 There will always be more autotrophs in any environment than any other
organisms. They do not rely on other living things.
 Decomposers are important because they clear away dead things to make
space and they put nitrogen into the soil.
 Nitrogen is important because there is nitrogen in amino groups (protein) and
it is also in DNA in the nitrogen bases (ATCG)
 The nitrogen in the soil is consumed by plants
 
 Abiotic
 Where they live and where they survive. Their environment
 Factors:
 Light
 The intensity being strong or weak
 The duration of sunlight in, for example,
 Distance north/ south of the equator (where sun strikes)
 Temperature
 Hot or cold poses different difficulties.
 Affected by Latitude and Altitude
 Very high/ very low altitude = cold
 Colder at the poles
 Warmer at the equator
 It can snow on the equator in the Andes Mountains.
  Water
 Amount of water and precipitation
 The kind of water forms
 Rain, snow, dew, fog
 The chemicals, salt, etc. in the water
 Soil
 Decomposed organisms, rock, minerals
 The amount of soil and contents, pH, minerals, etc. in the soil.
 Symbiotic relationships
 Means that organisms are living together
 Mutualism - both organisms benefit (+/+)
 Ex: E-coli and humans. E-coli need us to survive and they help us break down
our food. They also make Vitamin K
 Parasitism - one benefits (parasite), the is harmed (host) (+/-)
 Ex: Like germs when you have a cold. Also like ticks and tapeworms. The host
usually does not die .
 Commensalism - one benefits, other is unaffected. (+/o)
 Ex: When pilot fish benefit from shark gills.
 Competition Relationships
 Because there are limited resources, organisms must compete for them.
 Most competition is for mates.
 Habitat - where the organisms lives
 Niche - an organisms role in an ecosystem
 *you compete more with organisms in your own niche.
o Recycling of Materials
o We use the same air as dinosaurs
o The same elements: nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, water cycles.
o Nitrogen Cycle
o The most common way this happens is that plants and animals decompose and the decomposers
eat them and put special nutrients back into the soil. This includes nitrogen. Then the plants absorb the
nitrogen and herbivores eat the plants and then they die and the decomposers eat them… etc.
o As humans, we throw artificial sources of nitrogen in the soil. Fertilizer. Some of the extra
fertilizer can change the pH therefore killing special bacteria and slowing down the decomposition
therefore hurting the whole food chain.
o CO2 and oxygen cycles
o CO2 and oxygen usually get recycled together.
o In photosynthesis, they get CO2 and release oxygen. We get oxygen and release CO2.
o The waste product of one reactions is a reactant in another.
 We are impacting CO2 in the air. This is bad because CO2 is trapping heat in the
atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels.
 This is called the greenhouse effect which is a definite thing that is happening.
 Also, the glaciers are melting because of this, as well, causing a decrease in cold habitats
and making the oceans colder and deeper which causes more floods and changing the global
temperature since most of the earth is ocean.
o                 Some people say it may cause very violent storms or a second ice age. They also believe that the
greenhouse effect is causing global warming, however, the greenhouse effect has nothing to do with the ozone
layer.
 REMEMBER: The greenhouse effect, global warming, and the ozone layer are all completely
different.
o Water cycle
o The way water gets recycled is by physical changes to water.
 Clouds are made of water vapor
 When the cloud gets cold and heavy, it rains
 The rain goes into the hydrosphere (lakes, rivers, etc.)
 Then the water evaporates back into the atmosphere.
 We are putting sulfur into the air causing acid rain. That's bad!
o Succession
o Regenerating an ecosystem is called succession.
 o Ex: How you can wipe out an area with a forest fire, but then the area rebuilds itself.
o The first time it happens is called primary succession
 Nothing has lived there yet.
 Ex: Volcanic rock creates an Island. Lichen (a symbiotic relationship between bacteria
and algae which is very important) clings to the volcanic rock from the ocean. They create soil.
Takes thousands of years. Next, plants grow and then animals. This creates a climax community.
 Making soil is the LONGEST part.
o Secondary succession is rebuilding.
 After there has been a catastrophe in that climax community, the environment rebuilds
itself after a few years. It takes less time because there was already soil there.
o Succession in water
o Lakes dry up
o Soil is made
o Plants grow
o Euthrophication is when humans speed up succession by killing the fish and plants with
chemicals. Its is BAD!
o Biome
o A large geographical region that has a particular type of climax community, either plants or
animals
o You can figure out a biome by the flora (plant life) and fauna (animal life).
o Aquatic Biomes
o Marine biomes have salt concentration of approximately 3% and cover approximately 75% of
earth’s surface.
o Species need more water in their cells.
o Freshwater biomes are usually characterized by salt concentration of less than 1%.
o Species need more salt in their cells.
o Depths of aquatic biomes.
o The photic zone is the zone through which light penetrates and photosynthesis can occur.
o The aphotic zone is where very little light is. No producers
o The benthic zone is the very bottom where the dead stuff goes and where the decomposers are.
o Estuaries
o Where freshwater and salt water meets.
o It is a tricky area because depending on the current, the salinity can be different and the species
have to adapt for both.
o Terrestrial
o Tropical Rainforests
o Lots of strong light
o By the equator
o Lots of rain fall every day
o Animals have to be adapted to the humidity, rain, mildew and mold, etc.
o There is a lot of nutrient and rich soil
o Deforestation
 One of the problems here is that we cut down so many trees
 This destroys the animal homes and makes less oxygen and more CO 2. It can
also add to the greenhouse effect and kill off species of trees.
o Savanna
o Close to the equator
o A tropical grass land
o Lots of vegetation but not many tall trees
o They usually border a desert
o Many animals grazing
o Fire
 Fire is an issue because there is so much dry grass.
o Temperature
 Usually hot in the day and cooler in the night.
 Since it is so hot in the afternoon, many of the animals there are nocturnal
 Many plants there must be able to store water. Also, they have small leaves and are
short.
 o Deserts
o We have a desert. The Mojavi.
o Grasslands
o Our grasslands consist of Kansas, South Dakota, parts of Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc.
o In these states, there are many farms and lots of wheat
 "Bread Basket"
o Animals there are usually large herbivores.
o There are also occasional fires.
o Temperate Deciduous Forests
o This means that there is a moderate temperature and trees loose their leaves in the fall.
o This is our Biome (NY)
o Coniferous/Alpine Forests (Taiga)
o Largest terrestrial biome
o Long cold winters
o Short wet summers
o Conifers inhabiting them are adapted for that climate
o Many of the animals there hibernate in the winter
o Deforestation is an issue here too.
o Tundra
o Low growing plants
o Not many animals
o Windy and cold
 Causes a short growing season
o Animals here are usually carnivores.
o Permafrost
 Prevents root growth
 Not a lot of snow
o Types
 Arctic
 Found in areas of Alaska and the Arctic circle
 Alpine
 Found on mountain tops
 Biodiversity
o All the different living things on earth.
o We get many things from it.
o One group in the 1990's tried to see what would happen if you limited biodiversity.
o Each niche has a different purpose
o These people made a bubble and went in it. They made sure that no oxygen could going or out.
o They planned to stay a couple of years with no food or water brought.
o They failed and had to leave after 15 months.
o This shows that you need biodiversity.
o Threats to biodiversity
o Habitat destruction
o Introduced species
 Zebra Mussels hitched onto a ship and came to America. It has no predators here and so
it is overpopulating.
o Over-exploitation
 We over hunt and overuse them
o Food Chain disruption
o Extinction
o Small population leads to decreased variability
o Decreased variability leads to a population that is less able to survive and reproduce.
 Eventually you will end up with an extinction vortex (getting worse and worse)
o Population gets smaller and the cycle continues
o Pollution
o Water
 Chemicals are being dumped into the water and species can not live in that.
 Euthrophication
  Biological magnification
 Plankton eats DDT and fish eats plankton and bird eats fish. This is why they say
that eating deep sea fish can cause brain damage from mercury that accumulates.
 Sewage
 Carries disease so they put chemicals on it then dump it into the ocean
 Thermal pollution
 We are also making the water super hot.
 Let's say that you own a factory and your machinery is getting very hot
so you pour cold water on them to cool them down. Then you dump the boiling water
in a nearby lake. This kills many fish and holds less oxygen which also kills fish.
 Oil spills
 Exxon Valdez
 A man ran a boat into Alaska and cause a HUGE oil spill causing lots of
animals to die.
o Radioactive pollution
 It is bad because it can cause DNA mutations.
o Noise Pollution
 Loud sound waves can cause too many vibrations in the ear drum.
 Bats' major sense is hearing so if they become deaf from noise pollution, they can not
survive.
o Air pollution
 .Sulfur and nitrogen come from factories and are released into the air.
 This can cause acid rain
 Acid rain can cause rust on bridges and buildings that causes them to
break.
 Also, it affects crops and produce
 It affects animals, especially water ones.
 Hydrogen Sulfide smells like rotten eggs and is dangerous.
 Carbon Monoxide
 Produced by burning gas, coal, and oil.
 CFC's
 Chemicals that are released to make things come out of cans (like
Lysol)
 They get up to the atmosphere and eat away at the ozone layer.
 The hole in the ozone is dangerous for crops, life forms, and causes
skin cancer.
o Land Pollution
 If you throw garbage on the floor, it can contaminate water and the wild life gets into it.
 There are tons of pollution laws and the fines are extremely heavy for factory owners.
(millions of dollars)
 The government has to clean garbage before dumping it.
 *** REDUCE---> REUSE---> RECYCLE***
 This can effect the soil and therefore cause plants to die off.
 Farmers rotate their crops to keep nutrients in the soil and not to keep land baron. They
are encouraged to put cover crops (like grass) on it.
o Conservation
o Animal conservation
 There are tons of gaming laws.
 You can not go and hunt at any time
 You can not hunt some animals
 You have to have a license
 There are many pieces of land where hunting is not allowed.
 People are encouraged to limit uses of chemicals on land.
o Forest conservation
 For every tree lumberjacks cut down, they have to plant two trees. (reforestation)
 They limit tree cutting.
 Some areas are preserved.
o Alternative pest control methods
 You shouldn't kill bugs because many are carnivores (such as praying mantises and
spiders)
 They can use natural predators.
 They can use bacteria and viruses to control larval growth of mosquitoes.
 Pheromones
 A sex attracting chemical.
 It is what they put in ant traps
 There are larger species where this form of killing would be cruel and so
farmers radiate the males so they can not reproduce.
 The species will decrease