Relationships in the Environment

What types of environment are present?

Fresh Water EcosystemsMarine EcosystemsTerrestrial Ecosystems

Fresh Water Ecosystems

Includes: lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and wetlands. Freshwater contains little to no dissolved salt. The plant and animal life depends on the depth of the water, how fast the water moves, the amount of nutrients, sunlight, and oxygen available.

Marine Ecosystems 

Includes: estuaries, coral reefs, oceans, and polar ecosystems. Marine ecosystems contain dissolved salt. In oceans, lack of water is not a problem. Therefore, the types of organisms present are dependent upon temperature, sunlight available, and nutrients.

Terrestrial Ecosystems

Definition: All living and non-living elements of a land-based environment and the relationship between them. Includes: deserts, forests, rainforests, plains, and jungles.

Name some animals!

Name some animals that would live in a: freshwater ecosystemmarine ecosystem terrestrial ecosystem

Relationships in the Environment

Predator vs. Prey Relationship

A predator is an animal that hunts another animal for food.

Many have adaptations such as claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, or poison that help catch and subdue the organisms on which they feed.

Predators that must chase their prey are generally fast and agile where as those that lie in ambush are often well camouflaged.

Predator vs. Prey Relationship

A prey is the animal that is hunted.

Prey organisms may develop defenses for escaping their predators. Many are very fast, or may flee into a shelter. Some prey live in large groups where there are lots of eyes, ears, and noses to detect predators and then there is an alarm call to alert the prey.

Camouflage – makes prey difficult to see where they sit while motionless.

Chemicals – skunks, monarch butterflies and poisonous frogs

Plant defenses can be thorns and distasteful chemicals or poisons.

Parasite and Host Relationship

A parasite is an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host

Example: Leech or ticks on an animal. Tapeworms and heart worms IN an animal.

Who survives in ecosystems ??

If an organism has a trait that makes it better adapted to an environment, then it usually survives longer and reproduces more.

Genetic variation is produced by natural selection.

Natural selection leads to adaptation.

Interpreting a Predator vs. Prey Graph

As the population of lions increases, what happens to the population of gazelles? WHY?

Interpreting a Predator vs. Prey Graph

As the population of gazelles increases, what happens to the population of lions? WHY?

EcosystemsAn ecosystem consists of all the organisms living in an area and the nonliving features of their environment.

Producer

Organisms that use an outside energy source like the Sun to make energy-rich molecules. Examples are plants and phytoplankton. (phyto=plant)

Consumers

Organisms that cannot make their own energy-rich molecules, therefore must eat other organisms to get energy. Examples are rabbits, frogs, pigs, lions, and humans.

Decomposer

Help recycle once-living matter by breaking it down into simple, energy-rich substances. Examples are fungi, bacteria and earthworms.

Primary Consumer

An animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore. Herbivores are the vegetarians of the world. They include rabbits, deer, and other plant eaters. An example is a rabbit that eats grass.

Secondary Consumer

A carnivore feeds only upon herbivores. Carnivores are animals that eat other animals. They include lions, alligators and vultures. An example is a snake that eats a rabbit.

Tertiary Consumer

A carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers. An example is an owl that eats a snake.

Omnivore

An organism that feeds on both plants and animals.

Examples: bears, pigs, rats, humans

What do the Arrows Represent?

The arrows represent the Energy flow from one level of an ecosystem to another level. The arrow represents the energy transfer from one organism to another.

Ex. Grass----> Rabbits----> Snakes You can also think of it as: Grass (is eaten by) Rabbits (are eaten by) Snake

FOOD CHAINS FOLLOW A SINGLE PATH AS ANIMALS EAT EACH OTHER.

EXAMPLE: The SUN provides food for GRASS The GRASS is eaten by a GRASSHOPPER

The GRASSHOPPER is eaten by a FROG

The FROG is eaten by a SNAKE The SNAKE is eaten by a HAWK.

FOOD WEBS SHOW HOW PLANTS & ANIMALS ARE INTERCONNECTED BY DIFFERENT PATHS.

Like a spiders web, if one part is removed, it can affect the whole web. FOOD WEBS show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to help them all survive. FOOD CHAINS follow just one path of energy as animals find food.

10% Rule10% of the energy

available at each trophic level is available for use by the next level on the pyramid. The other 90% of the energy keeps the organism alive.

Energy Pyramid