The document discusses key concepts in ecology, including producers, consumers, trophic levels, and ecological interactions. It defines ecology as the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment. Producers, like plants, capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis. Consumers rely on producers or other consumers for food and include herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers. Food chains and webs show the transfer of energy between trophic levels in an ecosystem. Ecological pyramids illustrate the decrease in biomass and energy at higher trophic levels due to only 10% of energy being transferred between levels. Ecological niches describe an organism's role and interactions within its habitat

1. ECOLOGY

2. Bell Ringer Activity
Ants can carry objects
many times their size.
1. Where do they get
the energy to do that?
Some birds migrate
thousands of miles.

3. Bell Ringer Activity
1. Where do they get
the energy to do that?
ANSWER:
Animals obtain their
energy by eating either
other animals or plants.

4. Bell Ringer Activity
2. How do plants capture
the sun’s energy?

5. Bell Ringer Activity
2. How do plants capture
the sun’s energy?
ANSWER:
Energy from the sun is
harnessed by plants
through the process of
photosynthesis.

6. Ecology
It is the scientific study of
interactions between
different organisms and
between organisms and
their environment or
surroundings

7. Biotic—living factors
that influence an
ecosystem
Abiotic—non-living
factors that influence
an ecosystem

8. Biotic and Abiotic
• Biotic and Abiotic factors determine the
survival and growth of an organism and
the productivity of the ecosystem in which
an organism lives.

9. Ecosystem
• Ecosystem – a collection
of all organisms that live
in a particular place
together with their
nonliving environment.

11. PRODUCERS
A. Sunlight is the main energy
source for life on earth
B. Also called autotrophs
C. Use light or chemical
energy to make food
1. Plants
2. plant-like protists (algae)
3. Bacteria

12. D. Photosynthesis uses light energy to convert
carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and
carbohydrates
E. Chemosynthesis is performed by
bacteria, use chemical energy to
produce carbohydrates

13. CONSUMERS
• Organisms that rely on
other organisms for their
energy and food supply
• Also called heterotrophs

14. Herbivores obtain energy
by eating only plants
Carnivores eat only
animals

15. Omnivores eat both plants and animals
Decomposers breaks down
dead organic matter

16. Feeding Interactions
• Energy flows through an ecosystem in
one direction—from the sun or inorganic
compounds to autotrophs (producers)
and then to heterotrophs (consumers)

17. FOOD CHAIN
• Series of steps in which organisms
transfer energy by eating and being eaten
• Arrows go in the direction of how energy is
transferred
• Start with producer and end with top
consumer or carnivore

18. grass cricket frog snake

19. FOOD WEB
• network of food
chains within
an ecosystem

20. Which of the organisms above is the producer?
Which of the organisms above is the top consumer?
Hawks
Cat Raccoons
Mice
Grass

21. Energy Flow
• Every organism needs energy to power
life’s processes
• The flow of energy through an ecosystem
is one of the most important factors that
determines the ability to sustain life

23. Trophic Levels
Each step in a food chain or food web
• Level 1—Producers (autotrophs)
• Level 2—Primary Consumers (herbivores)
• Level 3—Secondary Consumers
(carnivores or omnivores)
• Level 4—Tertiary Consumers
(carnivore—usually top carnivore)
• Level 5 – Quaternary Consumers
(top predators, or apex predators)

25. Hawks
Weasels Raccoons
Mice
Grass
Food Webs
Biodiversity is observed here.

26. ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
• Diagram that shows
the relative amount of
energy or organisms
contained within each
trophic level of a food
chain or web

27. 1. Organisms in a trophic level use the available
energy for life processes and release some energy as
heat
Remember: Every chemical process that happens in
your body releases heat as a byproduct (ex: burning
calories).
2. Rule of 10—only about 10% of the available energy
within a trophic level is transferred to the next
higher trophic level

28. BIOMASS PYRAMID
• represents the amount of living organic
matter at each trophic level

29. Energy Pyramid Biomass Pyramid
100%
10%
1%
0.1%

30. Represents amount
of energy available
at each level as well
as amount of living
tissue—both
decrease with each
increasing trophic
level
Energy and Biomass Pyramid (together)

31. Ecological Interactions between
organisms
1. Competition—when two
organisms of the same or
different species attempt
to use an ecological
resource in the same
place at the same time.
• Ex: food, water, shelter

32. Monkeys compete
with each other and
other animals for
food.
Rams compete with
each other for mates.

33. 2. Predation—one organism captures and feeds on
another organism
1. Predator—one that does the killing
2. Prey—one that is the food

34. 3. Symbiosis—any relationship in which two
species live closely together
a. Mutualism—both species benefit (WIN-WIN)
a. Ex: insects and flowers

35. b. Commensalism- one member of the association
benefits and the other is neither
helped nor harmed.
(WIN-0)
Example: barnacles on a
whale

36. Commensalism
The Remora fish attaches
to the shark and gets a free
ride.
Birds build nests in trees.

37. c. Parasitism—one organisms lives on or inside
another organism (host) and harms it.
The parasite obtains all or part of its nutritional
needs from the host. (WIN-LOSE)
Example:
fleas on a dog

38. Parasitism
Wasp eggs on back
of caterpillar.
Mosquito biting a human.
Sea lampreys feed on
fluids of other fish.

39. Mutualism, Commensalism or Parasitism??
MUTUALISM COMMENSALISM
PARASITISM

40. KEY CONCEPT
Every organism has a habitat and a niche.

41. • A habitat is all aspects of the area in which an
organism lives.
(biotic and abiotic factors)
• An ecological niche involves
both the place where an
organism lives and the roles
that an organism has in its
habitat.
A habitat differs from a niche.

42. The ecological niche of a sunflower growing in the
backyard includes absorbing light, water and nutrients
(for photosynthesis), providing shelter and food for
other organisms (e.g. bees, ants, etc.), and giving off
oxygen into the atmosphere.
Example:

43.  The ecological niche of an organism depends not
only on where it lives but also on what it does.
 By analogy, it may be said that the habitat is the
organism’s “address”, and the niche is its
“profession”, biologically speaking.
Worm’s Niche
“Address”—Soil, Ground,
etc.
“Profession”– Mix-up
soil

44. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING
1. What is an autotroph?
2. What is a heterotroph?
3. Arrows in a food chain point in what direction?
4. If the plants/primary producers had 10,000
kilocalories how much would the next trophic level
store?
5. What were to happen if you removed the apex
predator like snake in the food chain?
6. What has more biodiversity, a food web or a food
chain?

45. ANSWERS
1. An organism that makes their own food.
2. An organism that has to consume food.
3. The arrows point to the one doing the eating
because that is the direction of the energy flow.
4. 1,000 kilocalories
5. We might end up with an overpopulation of preys
like frogs in this scenario.
6. The food web