ECOLOGY: THE BIOSPHERE

Mrs. Yanac

ORIGIN OF THE WORD…”ECOLOGY” Greek origin

Oikos = household/homeLogos = study of“Study of household/home”

Real meaningStudy of organisms & their environment or

surroundings

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATIONS “Ida, please come eat baked beans”

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WHAT IS THE BIOSPHERE? All the life on the

planet PLUSthe land

(lithosphere)the water

(hydrosphere)the air

(atmosphere)

BIOTIC VS ABIOTIC FACTORS Biotic (Living)

PlantsAnimals FungiMicroorganisms

Abiotic FactorsLightWaterWindSoil Heat Atmosphere

ENERGY FLOW Sunlight is the main energy source for

all life on EarthProducers (AUTOTROPHS)

Green plants & Photosynthetic organismsConsumers (HETEROTROPHS)

Herbivores & CarnivoresDecomposers (HETEROTROPHS)

Fungi & Bacteria

PHOTOSYNTHESIS Autotrophs

(plants & some microorganisms) use light to make food

These producers are found at the beginning of the food chain

FOOD CHAINS Shows a one-

way flow of energy

FOOD WEBS Links or connects ALL the food chains in

an ecosystem together.

ANOTHER FOOD WEB

TROPHIC LEVELS Producers

Get energy from the sun or chemicals

Primary Consumers Consumes producers

Secondary Consumers Consumes primary

consumers Tertiary Consumers

Consumes Secondary/Primary Consumers

RULE OF 10 Only 10% of

the energy is passed on to the next trophic level

The remaining 90% of energy is lost as heat

BIOMASS PYRAMID

PYRAMID OF NUMBERS

RECYCLING IN THE BIOSPHERE All major components of life are neither

created nor destroyed, they are just recycled.Water – all living things need water to

surviveCarbon – key component of living tissueNitrogen – used to make amino acids, which

are the building blocks of proteinsPhosphorous – essential to living organisms

because it forms part of DNA & RNA

THE WATER CYCLE

THE CARBON CYCLE

THE NITROGEN CYCLE

THE PHOSPHOROUS CYCLE

LIMITING NUTRIENT A chemical needed for growth that is

either missing or only available in a small amount

Algae needs both phosphorous and nitrogen to grow if one of these is limited the algae can not

continue to grow If one of these is abundant the algae will

grow until resources are used up Algal blooms deplete oxygen levels in water &

toxic to aquatic life

ALGAL BLOOMS

RECAP1. What are the levels of organization in

the biosphere?2. What are the trophic levels found in a

food chain?3. What are ABIOTIC factors in the

environment? BIOTIC factors? 4. Where does all energy flow begin?5. How much energy is transferred to the

next trophic level?6. What is a limiting nutrient?

THE END