Introduction to Ecology Ecology (Greek root words oikos, “________________”, and logos, “the study of”) is the study

of the interactions between ______________________ and the __________________________.

______________________- Nonliving factors.

, light, water, nutrients,

Environment: oxygen, salinity, soil, rocks, pH, etc.

______________________- Living factors.

bacteria, protists, ________________, plants, &

animals.

Hierarchy of ecological interactions:

1. Organism- ________ organism (one squirrel).

2. Population- ____________ organisms of the same species living in _______ area (many

squirrels in the woodlot behind THS).

3. Community- many populations of _______________ species living in one area (many squirrels,

many ____________________, and many ______________________ in the woodlot behind THS).

4. Ecosystem- ____________________ + ____________________ factors (many squirrels, many

mushrooms, and many oak trees in the woodlot behind THS while it rains).

*Biome- A _____________ of ecosystem that occupies a _____________ geographic area.

Desert, _________________________, ___________________________, etc.

5. Landscape- Several different _____________________ linked by exchanges of energy,

materials, and organisms (many squirrels, many mushrooms, and many oak trees in the woodlot

behind THS while it rains + the pond next to the woodlot filled with many insect larvae and many

aquatic plants as the wind blows + the open grass field adjacent to the woodlot filled with many

insects and many weeds as the sun peaks through the clouds).

6. Biosphere- The ______________ of all the ecosystems and landscapes globally (all life on

Earth and where it lives).

The most significant influence on the distribution of organisms is _____________________.

Climate is the ___________________ (~ ________ years) weather conditions for a given area.

While ____________________ is the state of atmospheric conditions in a particular place at a

particular time. The physical factors that affect climate are:

Q: What are the levels of organization preceding organism?

_________________ molecules ___________________ cells _________________

organs organism

A. _________________________

B. _________________________

C. Sunlight

D. Wind

E. Rocks (e.g. Michigan has lots of CaCO3 / __________________ that buffers lake pH).

Soil pH (e.g. evergreen trees pine needles _____ soil pH / becomes more ___________).

Proximity to large bodies of water (e.g. lake effect ______________- when cold winds

move across warmer water and picks up water vapors that freeze and deposit snow

downwind / ________________).

Volcanoes (e.g. gas and dust particles shade incoming ______________ radiation).

Mountains (e.g. cooler temperatures and increased UV radiation at _____ altitudes so no

trees grow above the timberline and often snow crowns at highest elevations).

Seasons (e.g. the tilt of the Earth’s axis at 23.5˚ and the annual passage of the Earth

around the sun causes the 4 seasons in Michigan. In December, the Northern hemisphere

tilts __________ from the sun and in June _____________ the sun. At the March and

September __________________ neither pole tilts towards the sun and all regions of

Earth experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness).

Q: Which factors from this list are the two most

important influences on climate?

Q: Which factors from this list are the least significant in

determining climate?

Q: What are the main causes of temperature and precipitation differences in different locations?

A. ___________________________- e.g. sunlight strikes the equator / the tropics directly leading to

more heat and light. Michigan is at an _________________ angle to the sun, thus less light energy.

B. Global _______ circulation- e.g. sunlight striking the equator causes water to _________________

and warm, wet air masses to create lots of precipitation in tropical areas. Then ____ air masses move

towards 30˚ N and S of the equator to create ___________ / desert climates.

Q: Mountains also get in the way of air

masses. Moist air rises on which side of

the mountain and causes precipitation?

Q: Dry desert conditions occur on which

side of the mountain? What is this

called?

Terrestrial (on _____________) biome distributions often show latitudinal patterns in where they

are found.

is used to plot the two most important factors influencing

climate (annual averages for _________________________ and __________________________).

Biomes often experience _________________________ such as a fires, storms, or human activity.

In fact, some biomes experience natural wildfires regularly. These include:

________________________, ____________________, chaparral, and many coniferous forests.

Q: Which biome is most

represented along the equator?

Q: Which biome is most

represented near to the poles?

Q: This map shows biomes as

having sharp boundaries. Do

biomes have sharp boundaries or do

they overlap? What is this called?

Q: Both the northern coniferous and temperate

broadleaf forests have a similar range of

precipitation. How then do they differ?

Q: Which biome has the least precipitation?

Q: Which biome has the greatest range of

precipitation?

Q: Which biome/s are found in Michigan?

Vertical ______________________/ stratification also exists in many terrestrial biomes.

Aquatic ___________________ (salt water) biomes cover _______% of the Earth’s surface, with

the largest being the _____ oceans.

Q: In what layer is leaf litter found?

Q: Not pictured, there is another layer above the canopy in the rainforest that includes

trees like the kapok tree. What is this layer called?

Q: Epiphytes are plants that grow on the canopy or the understory of a tree to obtain

nutrients and water, but do not harm the tree. What is the name of this relationship?

Q: What are the names of the epiphytes shown to the right?

#1) ______________________- a flowering plant that grows on trees in the SE

United States.

#2) _______________________- a flowering plant found mostly in the tropics.

Q: In 2000, a new ocean was

designated around Antarctica. What is

its name?

________________________ (Greek for “_______________ drifters”) consists of mostly

microscopic, photosynthetic algae and bacteria which supply half of the world’s _________ supply.

Aquatic biomes consist of different zones. ___________________ zones receive light, while

_________________ zones do not.

The benthic zone is made up of _____________ and sediments and occupied by organisms called

______________________. Often benthos feed on dead organic matter (dead organisms, feces,

leaves, etc.) called _______________ which “rains” down from the productive surface waters of the

photic zone. Anything that feeds on detritus is referred to as a __________________/ decomposer.

Seastar- Eats mostly mollusks. Pill Bug- Eats mostly leaf litter. Crab- Eats mostly dead animals, also

(clams, mussles, oysters) opportunistic (eats whatever it can, e.g.

hatchling turtles and algae)

Q: If “phyto” means plant, what does

“zoo” (pronounced zoh) mean?

Q: While most plankton are

microscopic, what macro-level

“drifters” are also considered plankton

since they cannot swim against the

current?

Q: Place the letters below on the correct

aquatic zones in a lake.

A. Benthic Zone- bottom of a body of

water.

B. Littoral Zone- shallow water close

to the shore.

C. Limnetic Zone- photic, open

waters rich in phytoplankton.

D. Pelagic Zone- photic and aphotic

zones together.

Q: Marine water zones have some

different names. What is the name of

the deepest marine zone (2,000-6,000 m

below the surface)?

Photic

Aphotic

Q: Label each

organism as a

bentho or detritivore.

Sunlight penetrates and warms ______________ waters, while deeper water is typically cooler.

However, there is a ____________________ layer of abrupt temperature change especially in lakes

during the summer called a _____________________.

Then in _________________ and ___________________ lakes undergo a mixing of the waters

called _______________________. Oxygenated water from the ___________________ gets

mixed with nutrient-rich water from the __________________ of the lake. The cause of spring

turnover is ice is _________ dense and floats in the winter. Come spring, the ice melts / becomes

___________ dense and falls to the bottom of the lakes. This mixes the waters. Likewise, the

cause of autumn turnover is due to summer waters cooling and becoming ________ dense which

mixes the waters. Turnover is essential for survival and growth of all organisms within the lake

ecosystem.

Q: Which lake temperature holds the most dissolved oxygen and why?

Q: What two times of the year do lake turnovers (when nutrients on the bottom mix with dissolved oxygen

at the surface, resulting in ↑ 1◦ productivity) occur? Explain.

__________ and ____________. With “autumn turnover” going from summer to fall, the surface waters

cool and become more ______________. They then sink to the ________________ of the lake and this

results in a mixing of the waters.

Q: A similar “turnover” occurs in oceans due to multiple factors (e.g. cool currents, seasonal changes,

cyclones, etc.) and leads to large scale fishery production (e.g. sardines and anchovies). What is this called?

Q: Weakened trade winds in the Pacific build up warmer surface waters and ↓ ocean upwellings. This

phenomena usually occurs every 3-7 years. What is this called? What effects does it produce?

__________________. ____ fishery production, ____ tropical thunderstorms, ____ floods in the

Southeastern US, ____ droughts in Australia.

Q: Put a check by the conditions below that will increase dissolve oxygen levels in a lake?

Hint: Ask yourself which conditions a fresh water fish would most prefer.

_____ still water, _____ moving water

_____ frozen water, _____ cool water, _____ warm/ hot water

_____ low salinity, _____ high salinity

_____ few photosynthetic organisms , _____ moderate amount of photosynthetic organisms, _____ many

photosynthetic organisms

_____ low amount of light, ______ moderate amount of light, _____ high amount of light

_____ high elevations / lower pressure; _____ lower elevations/ higher pressure (Note: Henry's Law

states: The solubility of a gas in a liquid is directly proportional to the pressure of that gas above the

surface of the solution.)

_____ shallow water, _____ deep water (Note: Shallow water is more prone to experience aeration by

surface winds bringing in oxygen from the air and photosynthesis occurs near surface waters; which

overrides deeper water being cooler and at lower elevations / under greater pressure. Also, decomposition

occurs on the bottom of lakes which consumes O2.)

An ______________ is a transtion area between a fresh water river and marine seawater. Estuary

organisms need to be able to __________________________ to maintain a stable ion internal

balance or equilibrium called _____________________________.

Q: A student not enrolled in Brewer’s AP Biology states “A lot of photosynthetic algae in a lake

is a good thing since more photosynthetic organisms = more dissolved oxygen in the lake = lots

of happy fish”. Why is this not the case?

“Algal _______________” cause lakes to become ______________________ (nutrient rich, but

oxygen poor). Lots of phytoplankton does means lots of photosynthesis, but also lots of

_______________ respiration (a process that consumes oxygen) most notably at night.

Often the algae ________ off quickly and fall to the _______________ zone to become

_____________________. Large numbers of ______________ (oxygen requiring) detritivores

like crabs and decomposers like _________________ will then feed on the detritus. In doing so,

they will ___________ dissolved oxygen in the lake.

The few remaining algae cannot replenish the dissolved O2 quickly enough so eutrophication

creates an ________________ (inadequate oxygen supply) lake where fish and nonmotile

(organisms that cannot relocate) are more prone to suffocate and die if they cannot leave the area.

Q: What are some sources that can cause a lake to become eutrophic?

_______________ and _________________ from agricultural practices (e.g. ______________

runoff from farms and lawns, _______________ runoff from animal feedlots, and ___________

runoff from septic tanks.

_____________________ trees which are common in estuaries and marine shorelines have

portions of their trunks submerged under water during ____________ tides. Flooded wetland soils

have a _______ oxygen content. Mangroves must osmoregulate both salinity, cellular water

content, and respiratory gases.

Q: Salmon are great examples of

osmoregulators. They adjust the

amount of water they drink and their

gills can switch between taking up

salts to excreting salts. Where are

salmon born?

Q: Where do salmon spend most of

their lives (1-4 years to mature)?

Q: Why do salmon swim upstream

and return to freshwater streams?

Q: Osmosis states that water flows

from a ↑ to ↓ concentration (of

water) across a selectively

permeable membrane. Which way

will water flow when salmon live in

salt water?

Q: Which way will water flow

when salmon live in fresh water?

Q: The majority of plants take in oxygen for cellular respiration (the process that creates energy for

the cell) through both their roots and through tiny pores on the underside of their leaves. What are

these pores called?

Q: However, mangroves take in oxygen for cellular respiration almost exclusively from their roots

(not their leaves). Why is this the case?

There is little ___________ water available in salty intertidal zones near shorelines, so mangroves

limit the opening of stomata which would allow oxygen in for cellular respiration, but also increase

the risk of ________________________ (drying out).

8 Major Biomes Chart

Biome Location Examples Climate Plants Animals

Tundra

(artic or alpine)

-It means “treeless

plain”.

-Artic: North and

South poles

-Alpine: High

elevations like

Alaska, Mexico,

____________, and

Colorado mts.

-Very cold

-High winds

-Short

_______________

season

-Permafrost:

permanently frozen

ground

-No trees or tall

plants

-Few specialized

plants like

perennials, lichens,

and

_______________

-Few

-Summer: some large

animals like mt. goat,

bear and ____________

-Year-round: ptarmagin

bird, _______________

(ground squirrel), pika

(small mammal)

Taiga

(also called

coniferous forest

and boreal forest)

-It means “marshy

pine forest”.

-Northern

Minnesota, Canada,

and

______________

-Michigan

-Long, harsh

_______________

and hot

_______________

-Periodic fires

-Dominant tree

species:

______________,

______________,

and ___________

(conifers /

evergreens)

-Large animals: moose,

deer, bear

-Smaller animals:

bobcat, squirrel,

chipmunk

-Birds: bald eagle and

woodpecker

Temperate

Deciduous Forest

(also called

temperate

broadleaf forest)

-Michigan (mid-

latitude areas of the

US)

-4 distinct seasons -Deciduous trees

(trees that _______

their leaves in the

winter)

-Vertical layering

of plant species

-Deer, wolves, small

mammals

Tropical

Rainforest

-Panama, Costa

Rica, North

Australia

-2 meters of rain /

year

-Nutrient-

_________ soil

-Layered

vegetation

-Largest tree called

the

______________

-Bat, _____________,

many beetles, tamandua

anteater, ___________

monkey, snake, frog,

lizard, agouti rodent,

leaf-cutter ant

Temperate

Grassland

(also called the

prairie)

-Southern

Minnesota

-Nebraska, Kansas,

Oaklahoma, N. and

S. Dakota

-Annual _______

-Drought

-Nutrient-rich soil

-_____________

dominate

-Few to no trees

-Most crops are

grown here (corn,

soybeans, wheat)

-Deer and ___________

(grazing herbivores)

Tropical Savanna

(also called

tropical

grassland)

-East Africa

(Kenya)

-Australia

-South America

-Seasonal fires

-Rainy season

-Drought / scarce

water

-Few trees

-Grasses, forbes

(flowers that pop

up amongst the

grasses)

-Africa: __________,

lion, elephant, primates,

gazelle, giraffe, hyena

-Australia: kangaroo,

wallaby, emu bird

-South America: rhea

bird

Chapparal -Southern

California

-South Africa

-Spain

-Rainy winters and

dry summers

-Seasonal fires

-Shrubs, small

trees, grasses and

herbs

-Browsers (eat twigs

and buds of trees): deer

and goat

Desert -Southwestern

United States

-North Africa

-Low precipitation

-High day temps.

and low night

temps.

-Succulents:

_______________

and euphorbs

-Snake, lizard, scorpion,

seed-eating rodents