CPT 31- Beneficial Arthropods and Microorganisms SHIENNA A.

LEONA

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 Habitat- refers to the kind of place where an organism normally lives

 Niche- “occupation” of an organism. It defines the role of an organism in an ecosystem.

 Heron-“fish-eating wader”

 Cicada- “plant-juice-sipping summer buzzer”

 An organism’s niche may change during different life stages

 E.g. tadpole

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 The _____is the source of energy for all life on Earth.

 _______are the only organisms that can directly capture the sun’s energy and change it into a
form that other organisms can use.

 Photosynthesis- plants use sunlight to change carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen.

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 oxygen is given off into the air, where it is available to other organisms including humans.

 Simple sugar molecules make energy available to plants and, by forming the basic units of
complex carbohydrates, contribute to plant structure.

 Organisms then eat the plants, or eat organisms that eat plants,

 indirectly gain the benefit of the sun’s energy to run their bodies.

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 The flow of sunlight energy is therefore passed from___________ (green plants) to 2. _________
(animals that eat plants, such a leafhoppers) to 3. _____________(animals that eat other animals,
such as birds); this sequence is known as a 4. ___________.

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 energy is passed along the food chain

 much is used up a teach level as it works to run each organism

 Less energy available at the next stage of food chain.

 Consequence many green plants on the Earth, fewer animals that eat plants, and even fewer
animals that eat animals; this is known as the ________.

l. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 sunlight energy is used up as it is passed along the food chain and there is an abundant supply of this
energy.

 Contrary, materials from which all living things are made are limited in supply and must be used over
and over.

 The primary building blocks of all living things include only six materials: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur.

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism  When the organism dies and decomposes these
materials are returned to the system and are used again. ‘The carbon that was once part of a dinosaur’s
tail may now be in the tomato that you eat for dinner!’

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 If these compounds are removed from the cycle in some way, they may become limited in supply.
E.g. trees which wood is undecomposed (nutrients trapping). Affects the entire health of ecosystem.
E.g. soil, MO that depends on soil, and so on..

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 Water cycle.

 Rain that falls on a hillside percolates down into the ground water, or may flow above ground into a
lake or the ocean.

 Water in the lake or ocean then evaporates, and drops join together into clouds, to eventually fall
again as rain

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 What causes water to be unavailable?

 Use of water: How we consume water.

 Underground aquifer-water storage (water present in the bedrock below ground)

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 Cycling of materials.

 Introduction of toxin.  Concentration of toxins increases along food chain since predator eats many
prey with toxins ( biomagnification)

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 Through the flow of energy and the cycling of materials, all living things are interrelated.

 Mouse not only gets energy from the seed that it eats, but also gets materials that will help to build
more mouse tissue.

 The mouse breathes out carbon dioxide which is taken in by plants, which in turn give off oxygen
used by the mouse.
 The mouse also depends on plants for finding shelter, and it provides food for a snake or owl.

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 Others are more subtle, such as water flowing underground.

 But these connections make our actions even more important.

 Pesticides applied to our fields may add toxic materials to the river, affecting not only the water itself
but also all the organisms that depend on the water. Water pollution brought by pesticide application I.
The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 human-induced changes have much different effects on the ecosystem

 By understanding the ecological systems in which we live, and how we interact with them, we can
begin to lessen our impact on Earth.

I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism Trophic level

• Determine the route that energy takes in flowing through the ecosystem.
• Pattern of feeding relationship
• Pattern for chemical cycling II. Review of Ecological Concept

Bases of Biological Control

 1. Biological control is..

 a manifestation of the natural associations of different kinds of living organisms: parasite and
pathogens with their hosts  predators with their prey

II. Review of Ecological ConceptsBases of Biological Control

 1. Biological control is..

 dynamic: subject to disturbances by various factors
 subject to changes in the environment
 subject to the adaptations, properties and limitations of the organisms involved II. Review of
Ecological Concepts

Bases of Biological Control

 2. Population of Ecology Populations are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding
individuals at a given locality. Characteristics of a Populations
 1. Size– changes in the number of individuals due to:
a. environmental factors (biotic and abiotic)
b. migrations of individuals into or out of the local population

Characteristics of a Populations
 2. Age structure/ population structure
 - in some species, all the members at any time may
be approximately the same age or in the same stage
of development
Characteristics of a Populations
 2. Age structure/ population structure
 in some insect species however, individuals of all
ages occur together, and generations are not
synchronized but strongly overlap. This is commonly
found in short-lived insects with many generations per
year (e.g. aphids, hoppers, mites, etc.)
Characteristics of a Populations
 2. Age structure/ population structure
 in some insect species however, individuals of all
ages occur together, and generations are not
synchronized but strongly overlap. This is commonly
found in short-lived insects with many generations per
year (e.g. aphids, hoppers, mites, etc.)
Characteristics of a Populations
 3. Populations are dynamic with regards to
geographic distribution.
 They tend to spread until some limiting environmental
condition is encountered
 Geographical barriers like:
 coast,
 mountain ranges,
 desert boundary, or
 absence of a required resources like food or habitat.
Characteristics of a Populations
4. Population do not exist in isolation.
They occur in habitats in association
with other species, forming
communities.
Importance of Age Structure in
Biocontrol
 In respect to host populations in which only one
or two stages of development are utilizable by
a particular natural enemy, a close
synchronization between natural enemy and
host life cycles must occur if successful control
of the host is to be achieved.
Importance of Population Studies in
Biocontrol
 1. Aids in classifying the role played by natural enemies
as well as the other forces.
 2. In communities, trophic or nutritional association
between interacting species can be distinguished:
 Primary producers –green plants
 Primary consumers – herbivores
 Secondary consumers –carnivores, decomposers, scavengers
III. Definition of Pests and Their
Characteristics
 A pest is:
Any organism which competes
with mankind for a limited
resources or is threatening to
man’s health or comfort and
possessions.
III. Definition of Pests and Their
Characteristics
 A pest is:
 Ecologically, there are no
pests, only consumers.
However, when an organism
begins to take what mankind
wants, that organism
becomes a pest.
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence of
an Organism in an Ecosystem
 1. Food Supply
basic need of any organism in an ecosystem
 Starvation
 Decline in Supply
 Dependence up food chain
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption
1.Accidental loss of food
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption
2. Insect behavior
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption
3.Cannibalism
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption
4. Effects of insect
feeding on hosts
Potential food exists but is unavailable
for consumption
5. Nutrient
deficiencies
Mites
Potential food exists but is unavailable
for consumption
6. Lack of food at
critical time
Hover fly
How do Insects overcome food
problem?
 Dispersal
 Polyphagy- eat multiple species of
predators or plants.
 Storage of food- social insects-ants, bees
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence
of an Organism in an Ecosystem
 2. Predator Number
 The numerical response is ecology is the change in
predator density as a function of change in prey density.
 numerical response was coined by M.E. Solomon in 1949.
 associated with the functional response
 change in predator’s rate of prey consumption with change in
prey density
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence
of an Organism in an Ecosystem
2. Predator Number
 The numerical response has two
mechanisms: the demographic response
and the aggregational response.

IV. Factors that Determine the Existence

of an Organism in an Ecosystem
 2. Predator Number
 numerical response is not necessarily proportional
to the change in prey density
 usually resulting in a time lag between prey and
predator populations.
Demographic Response
 Changes in the rates of predator
reproduction or survival due to a changes
in prey density.
Aggregational Response
 is a change in predator population due to
immigration into an area with increased prey
population (Readshaw, 1973).
 In an experiment conducted by Turnbull in 1964, he
observed the consistent migration of spiders from
boxes without prey to boxes with prey.
 He proves that hunger impacts prey movement.
Ecological Relevance
 The study of spiders as a biological mechanism
for pest control has driven much of the research
on aggregational response.
 Antisocial predator populations that display
territoriality, such as spiders defending their web
area, may not display the expected
aggregational response to increased prey
density