Chapter 2:

Principles in
Ecology
 2-1: What is ecology WARM UP
 An ecosystem is a collection of
all the organisms that live in a
particular place, together with
their nonliving, or physical,
environment. Within an
ecosystem, there are several
levels of organization. Your
school and its grounds are
similar to an ecosystem.
1. What living things are found
in and around your school?
2. What nonliving things are
found in your school?
3. Into what large groups are the
students in your school
divided?
4. Into what smaller groups are
these large groups divided?
5. Are these groups ever divided
into even smaller groups? If
so, what are these groups?
 EQ #1:What is Ecology?
A. Interactions and
Interdependence
 Ecology = The
B. Levels of Organization
scientific study of
C. Ecological Methods interactions among
1. Observing organisms and
2. Experimenting between organisms
3. Modeling and their environment,
or surroundings.
EQ #2: How are the different levels of
organization of life related?
• Species (individual) = can breed and produce fertile offspring

• Population = groups of individuals that belong to the same species

and live in the same area.

• Community = different populations that live together in a defined

area.

• Ecosystem = a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular

place, together with their nonliving, or physical, environment.

• Biome = A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and

dominant communities.

• Biosphere = Contains the combined portions of the planet in which

all of life exists, including land, water, and air or atmosphere.
EQ#3: What types of ecological Methods do
ecologists use to study the living world?

 Observing
 All of these methods
 Experimenting rely on the application
of scientific methods
to guide ecological
 Modeling inquiry.
 Check for Understanding
1. List the six different levels of organization that
ecologists study, in order from smallest to
largest.

2. Describe the three basic methods of ecological

research.

3. Identify two ways in which you interact with

each of the three parts of the biosphere every
day: land, water, and air.
 2-2 : Energy Flow WARM UP
 Energy flows in one direction
through an ecosystem, from
the sun or inorganic
compounds to producers
(organisms that can make
their own food) through
various levels to consumers
(organisms that rely on other
organisms for food). Your body
gets the energy and materials
it needs for growth and repair
from the foods you eat.
 Make a list of five foods that you
like to eat. Indicate whether the
food comes from a plant
(producer) or an animal
(consumer).
 Like many birds, chickens eat
grains, which are seeds. Where do
seeds come from?
 Meat comes from beef cattle. What
do cattle eat?
 Construct a diagram showing how
one of your favorite foods obtains
its energy. Include as many levels
as you can.
 EQ #4: How does energy flow
through the biosphere?

 Sunlight is the main energy

source for life on Earth.

 Some types of organisms rely on

the energy stored in inorganic
chemical compounds
 Energy Flow Through the Biosphere

 Autotrophs = Use energy from the

environment to make their own food.
(Producers)
 Ex: plants, some algae and some bacteria.

 Photosynthesis = Adds oxygen to the environment

and remove carbon dioxide. Glucose is also produced.

 Chemosynthesis = when organisms use

chemical energy to produce carbohydrates.
 Consumers
 Organisms that rely on other organisms
for their energy and food supply

 Heterotrophs (consumers)
 Consumers:
 Herbivores = eat only plants

 Carnivores = eat animals

 Omnivores = eat both plants and animals

 Detritivores = eat plant and animal remains

and other dead matter (detritus)

 Decomposers = breaks down organic matter

 EQ #5: What happens to the energy in an
ecosystem when one organisms eats another?

 Energy flows through an

ecosystem in one direction
Sun or inorganic compounds 
producers  consumers
 Food chains = show one-
way flow of energy

 Food webs = links food

chains

 Trophic levels = steps in

food chains or food webs.

Energy Pyramids
step = trophic level.
 Show energy movement
through the environment.
 Only 10% available to next

level

Energy
decreases as
you go up the
pyramid
 Draw this pyramid

(Omnivore)

Heterotroph
(Carnivore)

(Herbivore)

(Autotroph)
 Pyramid of Numbers
Shows the relative
number of individual
organisms at each
trophic level.

Energy Pyramid
Shows the relative
amount of
energy available at each
trophic
level. Organisms use
about 10
percent of this Biomass Pyramid
energy for Represents the amount of
life processes. living organic matter at each
The rest is lost trophic level. Typically, the
as heat. greatest biomass is at the
base of the pyramid.
 Figure 54.13 A pyramid of numbers

Why does the number of organisms decrease as you go up

the pyramid?
Figure 54.14 Food energy available to the human population at different trophic
levels

Why must humans consume more food?

 Check for Understanding:
 What are the two main forms of energy that
power living systems?

 Briefly describe the flow of energy among

organisms in an ecosystem

 What proportion of energy is transferred from

one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem?
FOOD WEB PRESENTATION 25 Pts

 5 pts. The food web  5 pts. At least one

must contain at least five predator-prep relationship
food chains consisting of must be shown.
a producer, a primary
consumer, and a  5 pts. Five abiotic factors
secondary consumer. (non-living) also must be
included and labeled.
 5 pts. Each consumer
must be labeled as an  5 pts. You will need to
herbivore, carnivore, explain your poster to the
omnivore, or class in oral presentations.
decomposer.
 2-3 Cycles of Matter:
 EQ: How does matter cycle among the living and
nonliving parts of an ecosystem?

 EQ: What would happen to a living system that

was nutrient deficient?

 How does the availability of nutrients affect the

productivity of ecosystems?
 It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
 How many times have you
had to change your plans
because of rain? It
probably didn’t help if
someone tried to cheer you
up by saying, “But we
really need the rain.”
 However, rain is important.
If it didn’t rain, how would
living things on land get
water?
 When rain falls on the ground, it either
soaks into the soil or runs across the
surface of the soil. When rainwater
runs across the land, what body of
water might collect the rain?
 From here, where might the water
flow?
 After the rain, the sun comes out and
the land dries. Where does the water
that had been on the land go?
 Construct a diagram that would
illustrate all the places a molecule of
water might go. Begin with a raindrop
and end with a cloud.
 Recycling in the Biosphere:
 Unlike the one-way flow of energy, matter
is recycled within and between
ecosystems.

 Biological systems do not use up matter,

but transform it.
 Nutrient Cycles:
 Organic Nutrients- CHNOP
 Every living organism needs
nutrients to build tissues and
carry out essential life
 Water Cycle
functions.  Carbon Cycle
 Like water, nutrients are
passed between organisms
and the environment through
 Nitrogen Cycle
biochemical cycles.

 Video clip-http://
 Phosphorus Cycle
www.unitedstreaming.com
 The Water Cycle

All living things require Condensation

Precipitation
water to survive. Where
does it all come from?
Evaporation Transpiration
Runoff

Seepage

Root
Uptake

It moves between the ocean,

atmosphere, and land.

This figure shows how water molecules can change forms and be
used through evaporation (change from liquid to gas) and transpiration
Go(by
to evaporating from the leaves of plants).
Section:
 The Carbon Cycle:
 Mixed biogeochemical
processes, such as the
burial of carbon-rich
 Biological processes, such remains of organisms and
as photosynthesis, their conversion into coal
respiration, and and petroleum (fossil
decomposition of plants fuels) by the pressure of
and animal the overlying earth

 Geochemical processes,  Human activity, including

such as the release of mining, the burning of
carbon dioxide (CO2) gas fossil fuels, and the
to the atmosphere by cutting and burning of
volcanoes forests.
The Carbon Cycle

CO2 in
Atmosphere

CO2 in Ocean
 Nitrogen Cycle

Is driven primarily by the

activities of unicellular
organisms in the soil and
oceans.

1. Nitrogen is in the atmosphere all the time.

2. Bacteria change the nitrogen gas into nitrates (ammonium), which is a
kind of natural fertilizer taken in by the roots of plants and trees and
used to build plant protein. This process of change is called nitrogen
fixation.
3. Animals then eat the plants with protein in them
4. Animal and plant waste then releases protein into the soil through
decomposition.
5. Finally, more kinds of bacteria break down plant protein to a form that
releases nitrogen back into the atmosphere. This process is called
denitrification
The Nitrogen Cycle
N2 in Atmosphere

NO3-
and NO2-
NH3
 Phosphorus Cycle
 Phosphorus is essential to living organisms
because it forms part of important life-sustaining
molecules such as DNA and RNA.

 Phosphorus does not enter the atmosphere like

oxygen, carbon and nitrogen

 phosphorus remains mostly on land in rock and

soil minerals, and in ocean sediments
 Phosphorus Cycle

 When plants absorb

phosphate from the soil
or from water, the plants
bind the phosphate into
organic compounds.

 Organic phosphate moves

through the food web,
from producers to
consumers, and to the
rest of the ecosystem.
 Nutrient Limitation
 Primary productivity – rate at which
organic matter is created by producers

 Controlled by the amount of available

nutrients
 Limiting nutrient – when an ecosystem is
limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or
cycles very slowly.
 Checkpoint!!!!

1. How does the way tat matter flows through an

ecosystem differ from the way that energy flows?

2. Why do living organisms need nutrients?

3. Describe the path of nitrogen through its

biogeochemical cycle.

4. Explain how a nutrient can be a limiting factor in an

ecosystem.