ENVISCI QUIZ#1 COVERAGE

rapid alterations and disappearance of their

1. Laws of Ecology habitat. For the first time in history, food
2. Limiting Factors chains are getting shorter, rather than
3. Law of Tolerance longer.
4. Energy Flow in Ecosystem  Competition – occurs between members
5. Ecological Niche Concept of the same species and between species
6. Species Interactions competing for the same resources (food,
7. Ecological Succession shelter, mates, nests, dens, water, etc.) at
the same time. Competition should not be
LAWS OF ECOLOGY viewed as all bad. Occasionally, intensified
competition benefits species in the long
In 1971, Barry Commoner formulated run.
the “Four Laws of Ecology” which he  Predator – Prey Relationship – A special
outlined in the first chapter of his book “The form of competition that occurs between
Closing Circle”: two different species.
1. Everything Is Connected To Everything o Predator – an animal that captures
Else – describes how ecosystems are and kills its prey.
complex and interconnected. o Predators often eliminate the
 Food Chain – mechanisms that link weakest or diseased members of the
different animals to one another. The prey species, thereby leaving
essence of life begins with light from the stronger members behind to
sun to plant to animal. This link between reproduce and pass their genes to
organisms are called food chain. the next generation.
 All food chains have a common beginning: o As predator population increases,
the sun’s solar energy. Producers receive they consume more prey and reduce
this energy and convert it into food for prey population. With less food
primary consumers (herbivores) and available, predator populations
secondary consumers. decline and prey population
 Animals are links in hundred of chains. increases, creating a subsequent
These interlocking chains comprise a food increase in predators.
web.
 Historically, food relationships were simple,
but through eons of time, organisms have
changed and numbers increased, creating
complex food relationships. Similarly,
environmental changes have occurred over
several hundred years and organisms have
had time to adjust. However, today, these
organisms are finding it difficult to adjust to

2. Everything Has To Go Somewhere -
restates a basic law of thermodynamics: In
nature, there is no final waste, matter and
energy are preserved, and the waste
produced in one ecological process is
recycled in another.
LIFE-SUPPORT CYCLES
In an ecosystem, there exists only a limited
supply of minerals, nutrients, air, water and
soil. These substances must flow and recycle
through the system to support its living
members. Any disturbance in these cycles
could jeopardize the living members that
benefit.
Most important cycles: carbon
dioxide/oxygen cycle, water cycle and nutrient
cycles (i.e. phosphorus, calcium, potassium,
nitrogen)
 Water Cycle – keeps us from running out
of water.
o Water changes state and moves
from clouds in the sky, to the land
and oceans and back to the sky.
o Evaporation (from bodies of water;
Plants – transpiration; Animals;
respiration) – Condensation (water
molecules in the air and forms
clouds) – Precipitation (returns to
earth and forms fog, rain, snow, sleet
or hail) – after Precipitation, it either
evaporates, is absorbed by plants, is
stored in the ground or runs off. The
run off flows down creeks and
streams to large bodies of water.
 Nutrient Cycle – Each plant and animal
has specific nutritional requirements for
proper growth. They acquire the
appropriate amounts through minerals and
elements that are continuously cycling
through soils, water, air and living tissues.
o Most important nutrients:
phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and
calcium.
o Decomposers – key link in the
cycling of nutrients. Decomposers
take dead plant and animal material
and convert it back to simple organic
matter.
o The organic matter helps make the
soil more fertile because it contains
many necessary minerals and
nutrients for vigorous plant growth.
o Without decomposers, the necessary
minerals and nutrients needed for life
would be forever locked up in dead
plants.
 The Earth can be thought of as a finite
world containing all the minerals, water, soil
and air that we will ever have.
 There is a continuous cycle and flow of
energy, nutrients, water and gases to all
members of an ecosystem. Each individual
plays a specific role in assuring the
continuation of these cycles.
 Energy moves in one direction in the
ecosystem, dissipating heat as it moves up
a food pyramid.
3. Everything Is Always Changing - Any
major man-made change in a natural
system is likely to be detrimental to the
environment.
 Succession – refers to plant and animal
communities undergoing change, with one
placing another.
 Natural Selection – a process of weeding
out takes place when one species out-
 competes another species because it is A. Optimal Zone - The central portion of a
better suited in the environment. curve that contains the favor maximal
reproductive success and survivability.
B. Zones of Stress - Regions that flank into
the optimal zones, where organisms can
thrive but with reduced reproductive
success.
 Adaptation – when changes occur.
C. Zones of Intolerance - The outside region
Adaptation can be physical/structural where organisms cannot thrive.
(camouflage colouring), behavioral
(migration) or metabolic (hibernation,
estivation)
 Over a period of time, a bare piece of LAW OF TOLERANCE
ground will move through a succession of  Proposed by V.E Shelford (1911)
changes, from a pioneer to a climax  Refers to any lower or upper bounds to the
community. environment that a population of species
4. There Is No Such Thing As Free Lunch – can tolerate. These bounds affect species’
exploitation of nature always carries an
functions to grow, develop and reproduce.
ecological cost
 All we eat, wear and use during our lives
invoke environmental costs
 These costs can include: contaminated
water supplies, loss of wildlife habitat, soil
erosion, air pollution, loss of animal and
plant species, depletion of the ozone layer,
acid rain and waste disposal
 A balance must be sustained and improved
between human consumption and natural
resources for the benefit of humans and all
life
LIMITING FACTORS
 A condition or component of an
environment that can limit the number or
distribution of a population of species.
 It describes optimal survival conditions
based on its effect on a population of
species when in excess [surplus] or
deficiencies [shortages]
 Limiting factors can either be biotic (living
things) or abiotic (non-living things)
Three distinct areas:
  It consists of all physical and biological
conditions which determine the organism’s
survival and reproductive prospects
Ecological Niche comprises of various
components:
1. Habitat – which an organism lives
2. Activity Patterns of the organism (e.g.
periods of time during which it is active)

ECOLOGICAL NICHE 3. Resources it obtains from the

environment (e.g. food sources, territorial
In Ecology, a niche is the role or job of a
boundaries, etc.)
species in a habitat. The word niche comes
4. The interactions that occur with other
from the French word nicher, which means “to
species in the community (e.g. predator-
nest”.
prey relationships, competition, etc)
 The functional position and role of an
If two distinct species share an identical niche,
organism within its environment there will be interspecific competition for
 Describes how a species interacts with, and available space and resources:
lives in, its habitat.  This competition between the two species
 It has specific characteristics, such as will result in the fitness of one being
availability of nutrients, temperature, lowered by the presence of the other
terrain, sunlight and predators – which  Inevitably, the less well-adapted species
dictate how, and how well, a species will struggle to survive and reproduce – it
survives and reproduces. will eventually be eliminated from the niche
Interspecific competition within a shared niche
 Competitive Exclusion Principle – two
will typically prompt one of two responses:
species cannot occupy the same ecological
 Competitive exclusion – One species
niche in a habitat if they are competing for uses the resources more efficiently, driving
the same resources. the other species to local extinction
o When species compete in a niche,  Resource partitioning – Both species alter
natural selection will first move to their use of the habitat to divide resources
lessen the dependence of the between them (i.e. niche separation)
species on the shared resources. If
one species is successful, it reduces
the competition. If neither evolves
to reduce competition, then the
species that can more efficiently
exploit the resource will win out, and
the other species will eventually
become extinct

Fundamental Niche
 The entire set of conditions under which an
organism can survive or reproduce (where
it could live)
 It is the theoretical habitat and may not be
fully occupied due to the presence of
competing species
 In a rocky shore environment,
the Chthalamus barnacle can potentially
occupy the entire rocky shore (if in
isolation)
Realised Niche
 A realised niche is the set of conditions
used by an organism after including
interactions with other species (where
it does live)
 It is the actual habitat that is completely
occupied by an organism in the presence of
competing species
 In a rocky shore environment,
the Chthalamus barnacle only occupies
regions where the Semibalanus barnacle is
absent
Interspecific Competition – competition
between members of different species that use
overlapping, limited resources.
SPECIES INTERACTION
 No species exist in total isolation
 All organisms interact with both abiotic
environment and other organisms
 Interactions between species in a
community can be classified according to
their effect on the organisms involved.
Herbivory- the act of eating only plant matter
(e.g. primary consumers are considered
herbivores).
Predation- A biological interaction whereby
one organism (predator) hunt and feeds on
another organism (prey)
Note:
a. If the prey population drops, predator
numbers will dwindle as intra-specific
competition increases.
b. If the prey population rises, predator
numbers will increase as a result of the over-
abundance of a food source.
Symbiosis – describes the close persistent
(long term) interaction between two species.
 Symbiotic relationships can be obligate
(required for survival) or facultative
(advantageous without being strictly
necessary)
Symbiotic relationships can be beneficial either
one or both organisms in the partnership:
a. Mutualism – Both species benefit from the
interaction.
Example: Anemone protects clown fish,
clownfish provides fecal matter for food)
b. Commensalism – One species benefits, the
other is unaffected.
Example: Bernacles transported to plankton-
rich waters by whales)
c. Parasitism – One species benefit to the
detriment of othe species
Example: Tick or fleas feed on the blood of
their canine host

 Secondary Succession- Occurs when

succession starts on existing soil following
the upheaval or pre-existing ecosystem.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
 Describes the process by which a
sequence of increasingly complex
communities develop over time.
 Climax community is reached when
succession has ended and the community
has all of its characteristics.
ENERGY FLOW
Disturbances – Causes fluctuations to the
 Energy release from carbon compounds by
structure and rate of change within
respiration is used in living organisms and
ecosystems.
converted to heat.
 It may give rise to secondary
 The chemical energy of food is the main
succession – where one ecosystem is
source of energy required by all living
replaced by another
organisms. This energy is transmitted to
different trophic levels along the food chain.
Two Kinds of Succession: This energy flow is based on two different
 Primary Succession – occurs when laws of thermodynamics:
communities develop on entirely new land o First law of thermodynamics, that
without any established soil.
states that energy can neither be
created nor destroyed, it can only
change from one form to another.
o Second law of thermodynamics,
that states that as energy is
transferred more and more of it is
wasted.
Energy Source

 The majority of ecosystems rely on sunlight

for energy
 Photosynthesis converts light energy into
chemical energy in carbon compounds

Energy Efficiency

 Energy losses between trophic levels

restrict the length of food chains and
biomass of higher trophic levels

Energy Pyramid

 Energy flow can be represented

quantitatively