CPT 31- Beneficial

Arthropods and
Microorganisms
SHIENNA A. LEONAR
Summary (Course Outcome 1)

 I. The Biological World and Its Balancing Mechanism

 II.
Review of Ecological Concepts- Bases of Biological
Control
 III. Definition of Pests and Their Characteristics
 IV.Factors that Determine the Existence of an
Organism in an Ecosystem
 I. The Biological World
and Its Balancing Mechanism
Habitat
vs
Niche
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Habitat- refers to the kind of place where an organism normally

lives
 Niche- “occupation” of an organism. It defines the role of an
organism in an ecosystem.
 Heron-“fish-eating wader”
 Cicada- “plant-juice-sipping summer buzzer”
 An organism’s niche may change during different life stages
 E.g. tadpole
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 The _____is the source of energy for all life on Earth.

 _______are the only organisms that can directly capture the sun’s
energy and change it into a form that other organisms can use.
 Photosynthesis- plants use sunlight to change carbon dioxide and
water into sugar and oxygen.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 oxygen is given off into the air, where it is available to other

organisms including humans.
 Simple sugar molecules make energy available to plants and, by
forming the basic units of complex carbohydrates, contribute to
plant structure.
 Organisms then eat the plants, or eat organisms that eat plants,
 indirectly gain the benefit of the sun’s energy to run their bodies.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Theflow of sunlight energy is therefore passed

from___________ (green plants) to 2. _________
(animals that eat plants, such a leafhoppers) to 3.
_____________(animals that eat other animals, such as
birds); this sequence is known as a 4. ___________.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 energy is passed along the food chain

 much is used up a teach level as it works to run each organism
 Less energy available at the next stage of food chain.
 Consequence many green plants on the Earth, fewer animals that
eat plants, and even fewer animals that eat animals; this is known
as the ________.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 sunlight energy is used up as it is passed along the food chain and

there is an abundant supply of this energy.
 Contrary, materials from which all living things are made are limited
in supply and must be used over and over.
 The primary building blocks of all living things include only six
materials: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, and
sulfur.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 When the organism dies and decomposes these materials

are returned to the system and are used again.

‘The carbon that was once part of a dinosaur’s tail

may now be in the tomato that you eat for dinner!’
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Ifthese compounds are removed from the cycle in

some way, they may become limited in supply.
 E.g. trees which wood is undecomposed (nutrients
trapping).
 Affects the entire health of ecosystem.
E.g. soil, MO that depends on soil, and so on..
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Water cycle.
 Rain that falls on a hillside percolates down into the ground water,
or may flow above ground into a lake or the ocean.
 Water in the lake or ocean then evaporates, and drops join together
into clouds, to eventually fall again as rain
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 What causes water to be unavailable?

 Use of water: How we consume water.
 Underground aquifer-water storage (water present in the
bedrock below ground)
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Cycling of materials.
 Introduction of toxin.
 Concentration of toxins increases along food
chain since predator eats many prey with
toxins ( biomagnification)
Biomagnification
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Through the flow of energy and the cycling of materials,

all living things are interrelated.
 Mouse not only gets energy from the seed that it eats, but also
gets materials that will help to build more mouse tissue.
 The mouse breathes out carbon dioxide which is taken in by
plants, which in turn give off oxygen used by the mouse.
 The mouse also depends on plants for finding shelter, and it
provides food for a snake or owl.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 Others are more subtle, such as water flowing underground.

 But these connections make our actions even more important.
 Pesticides applied to our fields may add toxic materials to the river,
affecting not only the water itself but also all the organisms that
depend on the water.
Water pollution
brought by
pesticide
application
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

 human-induced changes have much different effects on

the ecosystem
 By understanding the ecological systems in which we
live, and how we interact with them, we can begin to
lessen our impact on Earth.
I. The Biological World and Its Balancing
Mechanism

Trophic level
• Determine the route that energy takes
in flowing through the ecosystem.
• Pattern of feeding relationship
• Pattern for chemical cycling
II. Review of Ecological Concepts- Bases of
Biological Control

 1. Biological control is..

a manifestation of the natural associations of different
kinds of living organisms: parasite and pathogens with
their hosts
 predators with their prey
II. Review of Ecological Concepts- Bases of
Biological Control

 1. Biological control is..

 dynamic: subject to disturbances by various
factors
 subject to changes in the environment
 subject to the adaptations, properties and limitations of
the organisms involved
II. Review of Ecological Concepts- Bases of
Biological Control

 2. Population of Ecology
 Populations are groups of actually or potentially
interbreeding individuals at a given locality.
Characteristics of a Populations

 1. Size– changes in the number of individuals due

to:
 a. environmental factors (biotic and abiotic)
 b. migrations of individuals into or out of the local
population
Characteristics of a Populations

 2. Age structure/ population structure

- in some species, all the members at any time may be
approximately the same age or in the same stage of
development
Characteristics of a Populations

 2. Age structure/ population structure

 in some insect species however, individuals of all ages occur
together, and generations are not synchronized but strongly
overlap. This is commonly found in short-lived insects with
many generations per year (e.g. aphids, hoppers, mites, etc.)
Characteristics of a Populations

 2. Age structure/ population structure

 in some insect species however, individuals of all ages occur
together, and generations are not synchronized but strongly
overlap. This is commonly found in short-lived insects with
many generations per year (e.g. aphids, hoppers, mites, etc.)
Characteristics of a Populations

 3.Populations are dynamic with regards to geographic

distribution.
 They tend to spread until some limiting environmental condition is
encountered
 Geographical barriers like:
 coast,

 mountain ranges,
 desert boundary, or
 absence of a required resources like food or habitat.
Characteristics of a Populations

4. Population do not exist in isolation.

They occur in habitats in association with other
species, forming communities.
Importance of Age Structure in Biocontrol

 In respect to host populations in which only one or two

stages of development are utilizable by a particular
natural enemy, a close synchronization between natural
enemy and host life cycles must occur if successful
control of the host is to be achieved.
Importance of Population Studies in
Biocontrol

 1. Aids in classifying the role played by natural enemies as well as

the other forces.
 2. In communities, trophic or nutritional association between
interacting species can be distinguished:
 Primary producers –green plants
 Primary consumers – herbivores
 Secondary consumers –carnivores, decomposers, scavengers
III. Definition of Pests and Their
Characteristics

 A pest is:
 Any organism which competes with
mankind for a limited resources or is
threatening to man’s health or comfort
and possessions.
III. Definition of Pests and Their
Characteristics

 A pest is:
 Ecologically,
there are no pests,
only consumers. However, when an
organism begins to take what
mankind wants, that organism
becomes a pest.
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence of an
Organism in an Ecosystem

 1. Food Supply
 basic need of any organism in an ecosystem
 Starvation
 Decline in Supply
 Dependence up food chain
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption

1. Accidental loss of food

Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption

2. Insect behavior
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption

3.Cannibalism
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption

4. Effects of insect
feeding on hosts
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption

5. Nutrient
deficiencies

Mites
Potential food exists but is unavailable for
consumption

6. Lack of food at
critical time

Hover fly
How do Insects overcome food problem?

 Dispersal
 Polyphagy- eat multiple species of predators or
plants.
 Storage of food- social insects-ants, bees
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence of an
Organism in an Ecosystem

 2. Predator Number
 The numerical response is ecology is the change in predator density as
a function of change in prey density.
 numerical response was coined by M.E. Solomon in 1949.
 associated with the functional response
 change in predator’s rate of prey consumption with change in prey density
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence of an
Organism in an Ecosystem

2. Predator Number

 Thenumerical response has two mechanisms: the
demographic response and the aggregational
response
IV. Factors that Determine the Existence of an
Organism in an Ecosystem

 2. Predator Number
 numerical response is not necessarily proportional to the
change in prey density
 usually resulting in a time lag between prey and predator
populations.
Demographic Response

 Changes in the rates of predator reproduction or

survival due to a changes in prey density.
Aggregational Response

 isa change in predator population due to immigration into an

area with increased prey population (Readshaw, 1973).
 In an experiment conducted by Turnbull in 1964, he observed
the consistent migration of spiders from boxes without prey to
boxes with prey.
 He proves that hunger impacts prey movement.
Ecological Relevance

 The study of spiders as a biological mechanism for pest

control has driven much of the research on aggregational
response.
 Antisocial predator populations that display territoriality,
such as spiders defending their web area, may not display
the expected aggregational response to increased prey
density.