Ecology

derive energy form dead stuff, waste products

eat tissue from dead organisms

decomposers that digest non-living matter

lives on or in non-living organic matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it and absorbing the products of digestion

• steps in transfer of energy
• an organism can exist on different trophic levels at once

ALWAYS WILL BE Producers

Consumers, carnivores, omnivores

Carnivores, omnivores, consumers

photosynthetic plants, algae, bacteria

herbivores

Carnivores

Stronger carnivores

• simple food chains
• direction of arrow indicates direction of energy flow

complex food chains that are highly interconnected between organisms and trophic levels

• 1st level of biological levels of organisation
• smallest living part

• 2nd lvl of bio. lvls
• groups of cells with similar function

• 3rd lvl of bio. lvls
• groups of tissues with similar function

• 4th lvl of bio. lvls
• gtoups of organs with similar functions

• 5th lvl of bio. lvls
• groups of organ systems that make up organism

• 6th lvl of bio. lvls
• group of organisms of same species, living in same area, at the same time

• 7th lvl of bio. lvls
• groups of different species living in same area

• 8th lvl of bio. lvls
• a community and its physical and chemical environment

• 9th lvl of bio. lvls
• large area and its organisms

• 10th lvl of bio. lvls
• narrow zone around Earth with life

number of species in an ecosystem

species that is most sensitive to change in an ecosystem

• a change in any organism level in an ecosystem
• includes indicator species, at risk species, endangered species, extirpated, threatened, special concern

species that is close to extinction in all parts of a country or in a large location

species that no longer exists in one part of a country but can be found in others

likely to become endangered if threatening factors are not reversed

species at risk due to low or declining numbers at the fringe of its range or in a restricted area

factors that are non-living, ex. sun, weather, etc.

• producers
• organisms that get energy from sunlight or nonorganic energy sources
• convert inorganic compounds to organic forms
• basic trophic level in an ecosystem, supports all other organisms

• require only carbon dioxide, water, and an energy source to make nutrients
• this energy source is hydrothermal vents near the edges of Earth's crustal plates
• usually found in caves or deep oceans

if one or a few organisms die, then the trophic levels become messed up, and the ecosystem eventually dies off

energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another

with each successive energy transfer, less energy is available to do work. energy lost due to heat

• hunting/fishing gets rid of food sources 
• messes up the ecosystem
• pesticides
• herbicides
• insecticides
• anything that humans do to damage the population
• damaging the environment - pollution

growing one crop

cheap, grows fast, resistant to weather, profitable

• if the one species dies -  livelihood lost, food source is lost
• if the one species' population decreases - people can die to hunger due to direct lack of food, lack of money that would be made from profit of the one species

chemicals being recycled on Earth

make water really special

• bad
• formed from NOx and SO2 combining
• kills plants etc
• alkaline soils counteract acid rain

• basic
• ph of 8-14

• atmosphere, crust, oceans
• oceans store the most CO2

CaCO3  (calcium carbonate)

CaCO3

photosynthesis - then food chain - then cellular respiration

living beings

decompose peat

• warm
• plant matter
• HIGHLY acidic

plants

animals

reflectiveness of sunlight of a material

0-1

0 = not reflective, 1 = completely reflective

0.0.8 = 8% reflective

historical atmospheric concentration evidence

1st step of nitrogen cycle

2nd step of nitrogen cycle

3rd step of nitrogen cycle

4th step of nitrogen cycle

NO3

Nitrate

• N2 converted to NO3
• 90% of nitrogen fixation is performed by nitrogen-fixing bacteria within soil

10% of nitrogen fixation caused by lightning

• NH4 ions converted into NO3
• NH4 (ammonium) converted by nitrifying bacteria, within soil, into NO2 (nitrite) and THEN into NO3 (nitrate)
• ^for plants that require N in form of NO3
• some plants CAN use NH4 BUT it is still toxic
• nitrification is literally "take useless form of N and turn into nitrate"
• therefore nitrification does not have to be NH4, can be any useless form of nitrogen EXCEPT for atmospheric version (N2) which is nitrogen fixation

• done by decomposers
• convert nitrogen remains into ammonia (NO3)
• can be "ammonium -> ammonia -> NO3"
• ammonium does NOT DIRECTLY convert into NO3
• animal wastes also contain N compounds that are then converted into NH3

• not all NO3/NO2/NH3 in soil is absorbed by plants
• some is used by denitrifying bacteria

• convert NO3/NO2/NH3 into N2
• do NOT require oxygen, in fact, oxygen is lethal to them

to kill denitrifying bacteria

• phosphorus is contained in rocks in form of PO4
• soil, plants, decomposers, soil etc - FAST TRACK
• phosphorus washed into ocean into shellfish into sand into rocks, rained on, phosphorus released - SLOW TRACK

• phosphorus cycle happens EXACT SAME WAY in carbon cycle
• HOWEVER, the carbon cycle also includes the atmosphere while phosphorus cycle is SOLELY ON EARTH

• runoffs of N, P
• algae blooms
• decomposers burn through oxygen as they decompose the algae
• less oxygen for everything else
• everything else dies

oxygen starvation/deficiency

transition area between ecosystems

role/habitat for a specific species

• sunlight
• temperature
• precipitation

• aka taiga
• bunch of pine trees
• pine trees have a lot of resin
• acidic soil

• surface layer of aquatic biome
• contains producers

• less light than littoral
• algae

• deepest layer of ocean
• snails
• decomposers

warmest layer

medium layer

coldest layer

• soil
• available water
• temperature
• sunlight

dead leaves etc

• fertile
• good for growing stuff

less nutrients than topsoil

layer beneath soil

• Chemical environment
• Temperature/light
• water pressure

O2 dissolved into water

o2 dissolved into water

a lot of biodiversity

you are the weakest link... goodbye

how much can you take