Day 24 Ecology
The interactions of organisms and their environment is known as Ecology
-In ecology we study both Abiotic and Biotic aspects of an ecosystem
Levels of Organization of Biological Systems
Life is organized by levels
-Atom
-Molecule- Two or more atoms bonded together
-Cell- The smallest unit of life
-Tissue- A group of similar cells
-Organ- A group of similar cells working together
-Organ System- A group of organs working together
-Multicellular Organism- A complete living thing
-Species- Organisms that can reproduce and produce a fertile, viable, offspring
-Population- A group of the same species
-Community- All the species in an area
-Ecosystem- All the biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) things in an area
-Biosphere- The earth
Each organism has its own Niche
-A niche is what you eat, the land you take up, and how you live
-If another organism has the same niche then they are competition for each other
-Most organisms in the same ecosystem develop a slightly different niche to avoid competition
-Interspecific competition- When different species compete
-Intraspecific competition- When members of the same species are competing
Carrying capacity
-Each ecosystem has a carrying capacity for each of its organisms
-The carrying capacity is how large of a population that ecosystem can support
-K stands for carrying capacity
-A J-Curve represents exponential growth
-An S-Curve is when exponential growth evens out with its carrying capacity
-An S-Curve represents logistic growth
Predators and Pray affect each other's carrying capacity
Human Population Growth
Interactions with each other
Animal:
-Predators
-Prey
-Carnivores
-Herbivores
-Detritivores
-Detritus waste is left over biotic parts
Fungi, bacteria, and protists
-Decomposers
Plants, bacteria, and protists
-Producers
Symbiosis
-Symbiont-smaller one
-Host-Larger one
-Commensal- One benefits and the other is not affected
The barnacles attached to a humpback whale do no harm to the whale. For all we can tell the whale does not notice them. The barnacles on the other hand get a safe place to live and are constantly traveling the ocean to filter water
-Parasitism- One benefits and the other is hurt
Parasitic isopod eats and replaces the tongue of a fish. The isopod then lives in the fishes mouth and eats everything the fish eats.
-Mutualism- Both benefit from each other
Watch this video on the sea hare and the sea grass. Create a box in your sketchbook, title it "Mutualism between the sea hare and sea grass" and write down interesting things that you learn from the video and include an image in your sketchbook. Understand how sea hares, sea grass, otters, and humans are all related in this small ecosystem.
The Cleaner Wrasse cleans and eats all the parasites that are living on other fish. The clients benefit because their parasites are removed (this is helpful because fish do not have hands) and the Wrasse benefits because it has a meal brought to its doorstep.
What can we learn from the Wrasse?
In a 2010 study published in Science Daily, it was discovered that the male Wrasse fights for good customer service. The Wrasse cleans all the parasites off of a fish and the fish is thankful. The thankful fish will return time and time again for this service. Sometimes a Wrasse will get greedy and take a bite of the fish's mucus (the protective slim the fish has around its body and mouth). When a Wrasse does this it is getting extra protein and fat but the client gets angry and leaves. Most likely the client fish will not return.
A male Wrasse will own a territory and will be surrounded by females. The males are very protective of the fish that get cleaned. If one of the females gets greedy or bothers one of the client fish, the male Wrasse will chase away that female and she is no longer permitted to live there.
Class discussion:
How does symbiosis evolve in animals?
How might the Wrasse help us to understand human behavior?
The Angler Fish / Football Fish
Trophic Levels
-First level
-Primary Producer
-Second level
-Primary consumers
-Third level
-Secondary consumers
-Fourth level
Tertiary consumers
-It ends with what we call Top Predators
This structure is represented with a food web
Bio-magnification is a result of trophic levels
-Each trophic level up becomes magnified by 10
-So each level has more toxic chemicals than the last by 10 times
The higher up on the trophic level the organism is the higher the concentration of toxic chemicals
This works the opposite way when we talk about calories
-Each level we go up on the trophic level we lose 10 times the calories
Ocean Zones
