Day 3 Ecology
Structure of living things
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
Ecology
Ecology is the relationship of organisms to their environment and other organisms
Habitat- A habitat is all the biotic and abiotic characteristics in an area where an animal lives
-Animals live within a tolerance range
-A range of abiotic factors that keep the animal alive
-A range of optimum is the range by which the animal is most successful
-If an animal is falling out of its range of optimum or even worse, falling out of its tolerance range it will try to seek out a better habitat
-Reorienting yourself do to a response to stimuli is known as taxis
-Aerotaxis- Response to oxygen
-Chemotaxis- Response to chemicals
-Energy taxis - Moves because it needs to burn energy
-Phototaxis- movement in response to light
-Thermotaxis- towards a temperature gradient
-Gravitaxis- (Known as geotaxis) Movement due to gravity.
-Plankton move up to get to the surface of the water
-Rheotaxis- In response to a current in fluid
-Magnetotaxis- in response to magnetic fields
-Galvanotaxis/electrotaxis- Directional movement in response to electric fields
-Phonotaxis- Response to sound
-Thigmotaxis- Response to physical contact or proximity
Assignment: Response to Stimuli Comic
Energy
-Energy is the ability to do work
-You need calories to do work!
-When we talk about the energy in vs. the energy lost we call this an energy budget
Temperature
-Animals have a tolerance range for temperature
-If an animal creates their own temperature through metabolism then they are called endothermic (Warm Blooded)
-If an animal relies on its outside environment for temperature then it is ectothermic (Cold Blooded)
If you are endothermic you have a higher metabolism. You have to constantly burn calories to keep a constant body temperature
If you are ectothermic you have a much slower metabolism. It is not necessary to eat as many calories
-This is why reptiles can go months without eating but a mammal needs to eat every day
Watch this video on Endothermic and Ectothermic. Create a box in your sketchbook or section, title it "Endothermic Vs. Ectothermic" and take notes, write down definitions, examples, and questions you might have. Include a picture that represents the topic.
-If conditions are below an animals tolerance range for temperature or food they can slow down their metabolism
-Torpor- is a time of decreased metabolic rate. Could happen on a daily basis at a certain time. Example bats and humming birds
-Hibernation- Is a long period of decreased thermoregulation. True hibernators are small like bats or rodents. It can last weeks or months. Their thermoregulation can be set at 20C
-Winter Sleep- Sleeping for long periods of time to avoid burning calories. Bears do not hibernate. A bear needs a very large fat reserve because metabolism is not slowed very much during winter sleep. A bear wakes up from a winter sleep very quickly.
-Aestivation- Is a period of inactivity to avoid drying out during dry periods
Niche
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
Watch this video on what is a niche
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
Watch this video on symbiosis. Create a box in your sketchbook or section, title it "Symbiosis" and take notes, write down definitions, examples, and questions you might have. Include a picture that represents the topic.
Interactions with each other
(define these words in your sketchbook)
-Predators
-Prey
-Carnivores
-Herbivores
-Detritivores
-Detritus waste is left over biotic parts
-Decomposers
-Producers
Symbiosis
-Symbiont-smaller one
-Host-Larger one
Commensal- One benefits and the other is not affected
Parasitism- One benefits and the other is hurt
This is an optional, but very fascinating video. It is well worth watching.
Mutualism- Both benefit from each other
This is an optional video. It is interesting and you will enjoy it.
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
Biomagnification 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
