community ecology
DESCRIPTION
Community Ecology. Ecological Niche. Ecological Niche – The role a certain species plays in an ecosystem How does it: Interact with other organisms Interact with abiotic factors What sort of things may these include?. Example: American Alligator. Alligator: Resources. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Community Ecology
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Ecological Niche
• Ecological Niche – The role a certain species plays in an ecosystem
• How does it:o Interact with other organismso Interact with abiotic factorso What sort of things may these include?
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Example: American Alligator
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Alligator: Resources
• Resources that it uses:o Opportunistic Feeders: Fish, Turtles, Smaller
Gators, Small Mammals, Birdso So what?o Gators eating these animals keeps populations
of dozens of other species in check
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Alligator: Interactions
• Alligators are not aggressive unless threatened
• Opportunistic feeders and will attack if hungry, and within striking range
• Known to attack pets, livestock, and humans
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Alligator: Cycling of Matter
• Contribute to food chain as top predator
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• Human hunting has jeopardized alligator populations
• Gators hunted for meat, skin, and for sport
• Killing alligators effects the ecosystem
• How?
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Competitive Exclusion Principle• AKA – Gause’s Principle• When 2 species compete for the same
resources, one is more likely to be more successful
• The result will be in the second species being eliminated
• Basically: 2 animals cannot occupy the same niche
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Resource Partitioning
• Some animals appear to compete for the same resources, however when examined closely, they occupy slightly different niches
• Examples: o Anole Lizards in the rain foresto Warblers in the same tree
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Character Displacement
• AKA – Niche Shift • Due to resource partitioning, organisms
may adapt differently to their ‘micro-niches’
• This would result in less competition, and eventually evolutiondivergent
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Realized vs. Fundamental Niche
• Fundamental Niche – The niche an organism occupies when no competition is present
• Realized Niche – The niche an organism occupies when competition is present (NO niche overlap)
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Energy Flow • All living things need energy in order to
survive• Energy flows throughout the biosphere to
all living things• Energy needs to be put into a living
system, otherwise it cannot function• (DNW) What energy is constantly put into
the biosphere?
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Producers
• Autotrophs – Organisms that produce their own foodo Because they make their own food, they are
also called producers
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Producers
• Producers are the base of all ecosystems on earth
• Producers directly and indirectly produce all the food that goes into an ecosystem
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Producers
• The most well known autotrophs used solar energy and use Photosynthesis
• When sunlight is not present, autotrophs use chemicals to produce food in a process called chemosynthesis
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Consumers
• Heterotrophs – Organisms that must consume other organisms to obtain energyo These are also known as consumerso (DNW) There are many different categories of
heterotrophs
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Herbivores
• Herbivores – Organisms that obtain energy by eating only plants
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Carnivores
• Carnivores – Organisms that obtain energy by consuming animals
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Omnivores
• Omnivores – Organisms that obtain energy by consuming both plants and animals
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Scavengers/Detritivores
• Scavengers/Detritivores – Organisms that feed on the tissue of dead organisms
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Decomposers
• Decomposers – Organisms that break down organic matter into simple nutrients or fertilizers
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Trophic levels
• Energy moves from one organism to another when it is eaten
• Each step in this transfer of energy Is known as a trophic level
• Main trophic levelso Producerso Consumerso Decomposers
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Energy Flow
• It is impossible to obtain all the energy in an organismo When a rabbit eats grass, it does not obtain all
of the energy in the grasso When a hawk eats the rabbit, it does not obtain
all the energy in the rabbit• About 10% of energy is transferred from
one trophic level to the next• This is known as the 10% law
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Food Chain
• Energy flow from 1 trophic level to the next is called a food chain
• A food chain is simplified• Only one organism at each level are
shown
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Food Chains
• Typical food chain order:o Producers (Autotrophs)o Primary consumers (Eat autotrophs)o Secondary consumers (Eat primary consumers)o Tertiary consumers (Eat secondary consumers)o Decomposers (Break down anything dead)
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Food Chain - Example
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Food Web
• Animals typically eat more than just one organism
• Food webs show a greater variety in the diets of organisms
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Arrows
• The arrows point in the direction that the energy is transferred
• Basically, the arrows point from the prey, to the predator
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Ecological Pyramid
• Shows the relationship between consumers and producers at different trophic levels in an ecosystem
• Shows the relative amounts of energy at each trophic level
• Shows what levels have the most energy and highest # of organisms
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Ecological Pyramid
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Symbiosis
• Symbiosis – a close and permanent association between different organisms
• There are three main categories of symbiosis:o Commensalismo Mutualismo Parasitism
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Commensalism• Commensalism – When
one organism benefits, and the other is unaffected
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Mutualism
• Mutualism – When both organisms benefit
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Parasitism
• Parasitism – When one organism benefits, and the other is harmed
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Coevolution
• Animals interacting with one another over long periods of time have led to coevolution
• Examples:o Secondary Compoundso Camouflageo Aposematic (Warning) Colorationo Mimicry
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Secondary Compounds• Secondary Compounds – Toxic
chemicals produced in plants that are harmful/distasteful to herbivores
• Examples:o Nicotine o Poison Oak/Ivyo Mustard oil=Toxic to insectso Hotness of Peppers
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Camouflage
• Camouflage – Any color, pattern, or shape that enables an organism to blend in with its surroundings
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Aposomatic Coloration
• A conspicuous pattern of coloration that warns other animals that they should not be eateno Poisonouso Stingingo Bad Tasting
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Mimicry
• Mimicry – When two or more species resemble one another
• 2 types:o Mullerian Mimicry – Animals with similar
defenses have similar colorationo Batesian Mimicry – When animals with no
defenses resemble organisms that do have a defense mechanism
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Mullerian Batesian