Interdependence of

Living Things
The Biosphere
Ecosystems and Communities
Populations
Humans in the Biosphere
The Biosphere
 What is ecology?
 Ecology – study of interactions among and
between organisms and their environment
 Biosphere – contains the combined
portions of the earth in which all life exists
 8 km above Earth’s surface  11 km below
the ocean surface
 Levels of organization:
 Individual  population  community 
ecosystem  Biome  Biosphere
 Energy flow
 Producers
 Main form of energy on Earth = sunlight
 Capture energy from sunlight (photosynthesis) or
from chemical energy (chemosynthesis) = producers
 Autotrophs = capture energy from sunlight to make
food (photosynthesis)
 Consumers
 Rely on other organisms for energy and food (cellular
respiration) = “heterotrophs” or “consumers”
 Feeding Relationships
 Energy flows from producers to various heterotrophs
 Food chain
 Energy is transferred by eating and being eaten
 Food web
 Links all the food chains in an ecosystem together
 Trophic level
 Each step in a food chain or web
 Producers are the first trophic level
 Consumers make up the 2nd, 3rd, or higher levels
 Each consumer depends on the level below for energy
Energy Pyramid
 Only 10% of the
energy available
within one tropic level
is transferred to the
next
 The rest of the energy
is used during cellular
processes and
escapes as heat!!!
Biomass Pyramid
 Total amount of living
tissue within each
trophic level
 grams of organic
matter/ unit area
 Potential food for
each level
Pyramid of Numbers
 Number of
individuals at each
trophic level
 Toxins that do not follow the
flow of energy model
Bioaccumulation Biomagnification
• This happens when a • This happens when an
top predator consumes organism has a small
organisms that have a
amount of toxin in its
small amount of toxin
in their bodies, but system and when
over time, that toxin consumed, it passes all
builds up to harmful of that toxin to the
levels in the top next organism.
predator.
• The cycle continues
up the food chain.
 Recycling in the Biosphere
 Matter is recycled within and between
ecosystems
 Matter is not used up…it is transformed!!!
 Matter is recyled through biogeochemical
cycles:
 Water cycle
 Nutrient cycles (carbon, nitrogen,
phosphorus)
 The Water Cycle
 Liquid  gas (evaporation)
 Evaporation from plants = transpiration
 Water is recycled through the Biopshere
 1 water molecule
 4000 years to
complete one cycle
 Nutrient Cycles
 Living things need nutrients to grow and
carry out essential life functions.
 Nutrients are often in short supply in an
ecosystem
 Recycling nutrients is vital to ecosystem
health
 Prevents toxic concentrations of chemicals
Ecosystems and
Communities
 The Role of Climate
 Weather  day-to-day local condition of Earth’s
atmosphere
 Climate  average, year-after-year condition of
temperature and precipitation in a particular
region
 Factors include: trapping of heat by the atmosphere,
the latitude, the transport of heat by winds and ocean
currents, the amount of precipitation that results, the
shape and elevation of landmasses
 Energy of sunlight is the ultimate driver of climate
 Biomes
 Each biome is defined by a
unique set of:
1. abiotic factors (particularly
climate)
2. a characteristic ecological
community
 Climatograms
 Create a climatogram using data from
South Kingstown RI
 What biome do we belong to?
 Compare our climatogram to the Biome
you have been working with.
 Prompt: Compare the climatogram for South
Kingstown (temperate forest biome) to the Biome you
have been studying. How are they similar? How are
they different? Use specific evidence to support your
response.
 The Greenhouse Effect
 Carbon dioxide,
methane, water
vapor, and
other gases 
 Trap heat
energy
 Maintains Eart
h’s temperature
range
 Effect of Latitude on Climate
 The Earth is tilted on its axis!
 Solar radiation strikes different regions of the Earth’s
surface at an angle
 THUS, Earth has 3 main climate zones:
 Polar zone  very low angle (cold areas – 66.5° –
90° N and S)
 Temperate zone  angle changes over the year
(warm and cold areas – 23.5° – 66.5° N and S)
 Tropical zone  nearly direct angle (always warm - 0°
- 23.5° N and S)
Heat Transport in the Biosphere
 Unequal heating of Earth’s surface drives winds and
ocean currents
 Transport heat throughout the biosphere
 Wind currents
 Warm air rises, cool air sinks
 The prevailing (global) winds affects the climate in a given region
 Ocean currents
 Warm water rises, cool water sinks
 The global ocean currents affects the climate of nearby
landmasses
 Landmasses
 Mountain ranges can interfere with air mass movement
 Rain shadow effect  one side is wet and the other dry
 Biotic and Abiotic Factors that
Shapes Ecosystems
 Biotic Factors
 Biological influences on organisms within an
ecosystem
 Includes the entire living cast of characters with which
an organism might interact
 Abiotic Factors
 Physical or nonliving influences that shape
ecosystems
 Includes: temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind,
nutrient availability, soil type, sunlight
 TOGETHER (Biotic and Abiotic factors)
“Habitat” of an organism
 The Niche
 The full range of biotic and abiotic
conditions in which an organism lives and
uses those conditions.
 Example: It’s place in the food web, the range
of temperatures needed for survival, etc.
 No 2 species can share the same niche!!!
 Community Interactions
 Organisms interact constantly  shapes
ecosystems
 3 main types =
 Competition
 Predation
 Symbiosis
• Mutualism
• Commensalism
• Parasitism
 Competition
 Occurs when a resource is being used at
the same time in the same place.
 Resource = any necessity of life (water,
nutrients, light, food, or space)
 Often results in a winner and a loser.
 Competitive Exclusion Principle:
 No 2 species can occupy the same niche in
the same habitat at the same time.
 Predation
 Interaction where one organism captures
and feeds on another organism
 Predator = one that does the killing
 Prey = one that is being eaten
 Symbiosis
 Any relationship in which 2 species live closely together
(3 main types)
 Mutualism:
 Both species benefit from the relationship
 Example = flower pollination by insects
 Commensalism:
 One member of the relationship benefits and the other is neither
helped nor harmed
 Example = barnacles on whales
 Parasitism:
 One organism lives on (ectoparasite) or inside (endoparasite)
another organism and harms it.
 Example = fleas on a dog
 Ecological Succession
 Ecosystems constantly change in
response to natural and human
disturbances
 As an ecosystems changes  older
inhabitants gradually die out and new
organisms move in = “ecological
succession”
 Primary succession
 Secondary succession
 Primary Succession
 Succession that occurs on surface with NO soil
 Example = on newly formed volcanic rock or on
bare rock exposed when glaciers melt
 1st species to populate = pioneer species
 Lichens (a fungus and an alga simbiont can live on
bare rock)
 When they die lichens help form soil that allows new
organisms to move in
 Lichens  mosses  grasses  shrubs  trees
• What types of animals would you see at each stage?
Bare rock with lichens
 Secondary Succession
 When a disturbance of some kind changes an
existing community WITHOUT removing the soil
 Example: land is cleared for farming, a wildfire
burns a woodland
 Myth of the climax community (a mature, stable
community that does not undergo further
succession)
 No community is ever at this point
 Climate change and human disturbances are always
at work.
 Populations
Homework: Ch.5 vocab flashcards
 How Populations Grow
 Characteristics of Populations:
 Geographic distribution (range) –
• The area or range inhabited by a population
 Population density –
• The number of individuals per unit area
 Growth rate –
• Determined by # of births, # of deaths, #
immigrated, # emigrated
 Age structure –
• The range of ages in a population
 Population Growth
 Factors that affect population size:
 # of births  causes an increase in population
size
 # of deaths  causes a decrease in
population size
 Immigration (the movement of individuals into
an area)  causes an increase
 Emigration (the movement of individuals out
of an area)  causes a decrease
 Exponential Growth
 Exponential growth  occurs when the
individuals in a population reproduce at a
constant rate
 Occurs only under ideal conditions
 Abundant space and food
 Protected from predators and disease
 J-shaped curve
 Logistic Growth
 As resources become scarce, the growth of a
population slows or stops
 Birth rate may decrease, death rate may increase,
immigration may increase, emigration may decrease,
or any combination of these.
 Carrying capacity  the largest # of individuals
that a given environment can support
 S-shaped curve
 Population Trends
Fruit Fly Population Growth Rabbit Population Growth
Days # of fruit flies Generations # of rabbits
5 10 1 100
10 50 2 105
15 100 25 1000
20 200 37 1600
25 300 55 2400

30 310 72 3350

35 320 86 8000

40 320 100 13,150

1. Make a graph of each data table.

 Population Trends: Data Analysis
Answer the following in your notebooks!!!
 What type of growth pattern is exhibited by the
fruit fly population? Is it the same as the rabbit
population? Explain.
 Does either graph indicate there is a carrying
capacity? If so…when? What is the maximum #
of individuals that can be supported at one time?
 What might happen if a group of predators
moved into the rabbits’ habitat during the 10th
generation and began eating rabbits?
 Limits to growth
 Limiting Factors:
 In context of populations
 A factor that causes population growth to decrease
 Density-dependent OR Density-independent
 Examples that affect population size:
 Competition
 Predation
 Parasitism and disease
 Drought and other climate extremes
 Human disturbances
 Density-Dependent Factors
 Depends on population size
 Factor only becomes limiting when the
population density reaches a certain level
 Includes:
 Competition
 Predation
 Parasitism
 Disease
 Competition
 When populations get crowded, they
compete for food, water, space, sunlight,
and other essentials of life (resources
become scarce).
 Major force behind evolutionary change!
 Can occur:
 Between members of the same species
 Between different species
 Predation
 In nature, populations are often controlled
by predators
 Predator-prey relationship
 Interactions that affect population growth of
both predator and prey
 Example:
 Remember the Wolf and deer population
activity
 Parasitism and Disease
 Parasites range in size
 Similar to predators
 Take nourishment at the expense of the host
(causing disease and/or death)
 Example:
 WOW bug pets
 They lay their eggs on a larva
 The eggs hatch and consume the larva
 Density-Independent Factors
 Affects different populations the same way
regardless of population size
 Examples include:
 Unusual weather
 Natural disasters
 Seasonal cycles
 Human activity
 Human Population Growth

 The size of the human population has grown over

time.
 Human Population Videos
World Population Exponential Growth
growth from 1 A.D. lecture
Produced by Population Connection David Suzuki “Forces of nature”
in 2000. Population Connection is a – speaking about exponential
nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization growth
http:// [Link]
[Link]/watch?v=4Bbk v=Q9xoFCS33kg
QiQyaY
 Patterns of Human Population
Growth
 Demography
 Study of human populations

 The Demographic Transition

 When population growth in a country has slowed in

response to industrialization.
 Transition is complete when birthrate falls to meet

deathrate (population growth stops)

• More children survive to adulthood, more adults living
to old age
 3rd world countries have yet to undergo this process

 Age Structure
 Population profiles (# of people in different age groups)
Humans in the
Biosphere
Ch. 6 vocab flashcards
 Earth as an Island
 We share a limited resource base
 We all depend on the natural ecological
processes that sustain these resources
 Take the earth calculator test now…
 How many earth’s do you need if everyone
lived like you?
 Is it fair to use resources the way you do?
 What are some ways you could decrease
your impact?
 Human Activities that have
transformed the Biosphere
 Hunting and gathering
 Subsistence hunting
 Agriculture
 Domestication of animals (overgrazing, increased
water use)
 Traditional  Modern Agriculture (increased
irrigation, increased use of chemical fertilizers, new
types of farming equipment)
 Green Revolution  governments introduced new,
intensive farming techniques to increase yields.
• “miracle strains”: improved harvest
• Monoculture: a single crop/species was planted to increase
yield
 Industrial Growth and Urban
Development
 Certain kinds of industrial processes:
 Pollute air, water, and soil
 Dense human communities:
 Produce wastes that must be disposed of
 Suburban sprawl:
 Consumes farmland and natural habitats
 All place stress on plant and animal
populations and on the biosphere’s life
support systems!!!
 The Tragedy of the Commons
 “Any resource that is open to everyone (air
or ocean) will eventually be destroyed
because everyone can use it but no one is
responsible for preserving it.”
 Constructed Response Prompt:
 (On the provided handout - write approx. ½ -
1 page)
 In your opinion is the “tragedy of the
commons” true? Use evidence/quotes from
the reading to support your answer.
 Renewable vs. Nonrenewable
Reources
 Work with a partner.
 Using your book or the computer:
 Generate a list of 10 renewable
resources and 10 nonrenewable
resources.
 Sustainable Use
 With your partner choose one of the following
resources:
 Land
 Forest
 Ocean
 Air
 Water
 What are some ways to use these resources in a
sustainable way?
 You have 20 minutes to put together a 1 minute
presentation on the topic.
 Biodiversity
 “Sum total of the genetically based variety
of all organisms in the biosphere”
 One of the Earth’s greatest natural
resources
 Includes:
 Ecosystem diversity
 Species diversity
 Genetic diversity
 Threats to Biodiversity
 Human Activity can reduce biodiversity by:
 Altering habitats through development
 Hunting species to extinction
 Introducing toxic compounds into food webs
• Failing septic systems (our water quality lab!!!)
• DDT (biological magnification)– Rachel Carson’s
book Silent Spring
 Introducing foreign species into new
environments (invasive species)
 Charting a Course for the Future
 2 major global phenomena affect the
biosphere:
 Ozone depletion
• UV light is a mutagen!
 Global Warming
• Caused by a natural warming trend AND Human
activity!!!