ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE - ECOLOGY SCIENCEE

Enviscie

1. ECOLOGY PROF: DAVID LOUIE S. ACOSTA, LPT ENVISCIE INSTRUCTOR

2. What is Ecology Ecology is the science by which we study how organism ( animals, plants, microbes) interact I and with the natural word. Interactions of living things with each other and their physical environment

3. What is Ecology The word "ecology" comes from the Greek words oikos and logos, which mean "house" and "word" or "language" respectively. The term was coined in 1866 by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel.  Oikos : Means "house", "household", "dwelling place", or "family" Logos : Means "word", "language", or "language of reason"

4. What is Ecology The term "ecology" literally means "the study of organisms at home". It refers to the study of how organisms relate to their environment, both organic and inorganic. 

5. What is Ecology Ernst Haeckel is considered the founder of ecology. He used the term in his book Generelle Morphologie der Organismen . 

6. Environment The environment is the sum of all living and non-living things that surround us, including the air, water, and land. It also includes the conditions that influence the survival of living things Living component: All need sun, air, water, and earth To grow: eat, drink, breathe, move and have a babies Non-living component : Physical Quantities

7. Habitat and Niche PART 2

8. Habitat In ecology, a habitat is the natural environment where an organism lives and obtains the resources it needs to survive. Habitats are made up of living and nonliving things, and can be terrestrial or aquatic.  A habitat is  an environment where an organism lives throughout the year or for shorter periods of time to find a mate . The habitat contains all an animal needs to survive such as food and shelter.

9. What’s in a habitat?

10. What’s in a habitat? Food : Organisms need food to survive.  Water : Organisms need water to survive, and the amount of water they need varies.  Shelter : Organisms need shelter to survive.  Space : Organisms need space to survive.  Physical features : The physical features of a habitat include topography, soil characteristics, climate, and water quality.  Species : The species of plants and animals that live in a habitat. 

11. Example of Habitat Polar habitats : These habitats are found at the Earth's poles, in the Arctic and Antarctica. They are cold and windy, and some animals that live there include polar bears, arctic foxes, and arctic wolves.  Tropical habitats : These habitats are found in the tropics, which surround the equator. They are hotter and wetter than other regions of the Earth.  Subtropical deserts : These habitats are densely forested with palms and oranges. 

12. Example of Habitat A microhabitat is a small area within a habitat that has unique conditions. These unique conditions may support unique species that aren't found in the larger region. 

13. Niche A niche is the role of species in their environment. No two species hold the exact same niche. In ecology, a niche is the role and position of a species in its ecosystem. It describes the physical and environmental conditions a species needs to survive, as well as how it interacts with other species

14. Niche

15. What does a niche include Physical conditions The temperature, terrain, salinity, pH, and other conditions a species needs to survive  Resources The food, water, and shelter a species needs to survive 

16. What does a niche include Interactions How a species interacts with other species, such as predation, competition, and parasitism  Role in the ecosystem How a species contributes to the ecosystem, such as by acting as a food source for predators or a consumer of prey 

17. MODEL 1 MODEL 2

18. FOOD WEB AND FOOD CHAIN PART 3

19. FOOD WEB? A food web is a diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem. It's a visual representation of who eats whom in a given environment. 

20. How does food web work? Producers : Plants like trees and grass that form the base of the food web. Producers are living organisms that make their own food using energy from the sun or chemicals in the environment. They are the foundation of food chains in ecosystems and provide energy for other organisms. 

21. How does food web work? Primary consumers : Herbivores like deer, cows, and buffalo that eat the producers 

22. How does food web work? Secondary consumers : Carnivores like foxes and crocodiles that eat the primary consumers 

23. How does food web work? Tertiary consumers : Carnivores like lions and tigers that eat other carnivores 

24. How does food web work? Tertiary consumers : Carnivores like lions and tigers that eat other carnivores 

25. How does food web work? Decomposers: Bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms and release nutrients back into the soil. Decomposers are essential for recycling nutrients within an ecosystem.  They break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil, which can then be used by plants. 

26. ENERGY PYRAMID

27. Nutritional Relationship PART 4

28. Nutritional Relationships Autotrophs: Organisms that can produce their own food using sunlight or chemicals, essentially "self-feeders" - like plants, which use photosynthesis to create their own food; considered producers in the food chain.  Heterotrophs: Organisms that cannot make their own food and must consume other organisms to obtain energy; all animals are considered heterotrophs. 

29. Nutritional Relationships Key takeaway: Autotrophs create their own food, while heterotrophs must consume other organisms to survive, with further classifications like herbivores (plant-eaters), carnivores (meat-eaters), and omnivores (both plants and animals) depending on their diet. 

30. Nutritional Relationships Herbivores: Heterotrophs that primarily eat plants as their food source, like rabbits, cows, and giraffes.  Carnivores:- Heterotrophs that primarily eat meat from other animals, like lions, tigers, and sharks.  Omnivores:- Heterotrophs that eat both plants and animals, like humans, bears, and raccoons.  Saprophytes: - Organisms that feed on decaying organic matter, like fungi and certain bacteria, playing a vital role in decomposition.  (AKA decomposers)

31. Adaptation Any physical or behavioral feature that helps an organism survive. Beak and teeth shapes Camouflage vs. bright coloring Habitat adaptations

32. Adaptation

33. Adaptation Survival of the fittest "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one that is best able to adapt to its environment". 

34. Classification of Living Things The seven levels of classification for living organisms are:  Kingdom : The broadest category of classification Phylum : Groups organisms with common features Class : A general rank in the taxonomic hierarchy Order : A level of classification for living organisms Family : A group of related genera Genus : A taxonomic rank between family and species. (Genus and species are combined to form the latin name.) Species : The most specific level of classification

35. Classification of Living Things Kingdom Animalia : The most evolved kingdom, which includes vertebrates and invertebrates  Phylum Arthropoda : The largest group in the animal kingdom, which includes most insects 

36. Classification of Living Things

37. Classification of Living Things

38. Tolerance Range and Optimal Range PART 5

39. Tolerance range The range of conditions in which a species can survive. This range is determined by the species' ability to tolerate variations in environmental factors, such as temperature, sunlight, humidity, soil chemistry, pH, salinity, and oxygen levels.

40. Optimal range The range of conditions within the tolerance range where a species is healthiest and can survive and reproduce most successfully.

41. Stressful Conditions Conditions that are close to the lower or upper limits of an organism's tolerance range. In stressful conditions, an organism may survive, but it may produce fewer or no offspring.

42. Extreme Conditions Conditions that are beyond an organism's tolerance range. In extreme conditions, an organism will not survive.

43. Limiting Factor A limiting factor in ecology is a condition that restricts the size of a population and prevents it from growing. Limiting factors can be biotic or abiotic, and they can impact both plant and animal populations. 

44. Example of Limiting Factor Food: When there isn't enough food for a population, food becomes a limiting factor Space: When there isn't enough space for a population, space becomes a limiting factor Temperature: Temperature can limit a population's growth Light intensity: Light intensity can limit a population's growth

45. Example of Limiting Factor Competition: When a population becomes too large, competition for resources like food, water, and shelter can limit growth Predation: When a population becomes too large, predation from predators can limit growth Disease: Disease can limit growth Natural disasters: Fires and other natural disasters can limit growth Weather: Odd weather can limit growth Human activities: Human activities like clear-cutting forests can limit growth

46. Limiting factors and carrying capacity Limiting factors determine the carrying capacity of a habitat, which is the maximum population size that the habitat can support. When a population grows larger than its carrying capacity, limiting factors cause the population to decrease. 

47. ENERGY FLOW To calculate energy flow in ecology, you primarily need to determine the amount of energy transferred between trophic levels in a food chain by calculating the "ecological efficiency" - which is essentially dividing the energy available at one trophic level by the energy available at the previous level, typically expressed as a percentage, often following the "10% rule" where only around 10% of energy moves to the next level; this involves measuring the biomass (energy stored in living organisms) at each trophic level and comparing them.

48. ENERGY FLOW Formula: Ecological Efficiency = (Energy at current trophic level / Energy at previous trophic level) x 100% 

49. Important factors to consider: Primary Productivity:  The rate at which producers (plants) capture solar energy through photosynthesis, measured as the amount of biomass produced per unit area per time.  Gross Primary Productivity (GPP):  The total amount of energy captured by plants through photosynthesis.  Net Primary Productivity (NPP):  The amount of energy remaining after plants use some for respiration, which is the energy actually available to consumers.  Trophic Levels:  The position of an organism in a food chain, with producers at the bottom and top predators at the top. 

50. Important factors to consider: To calculate Net Primary Productivity (NPP), you subtract the amount of energy a plant loses through respiration (R) from its Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), using the formula: NPP = GPP - R.  GPP (Gross Primary Productivity): Represents the total amount of organic matter produced by plants through photosynthesis per unit area per unit time.  R (Respiration): Represents the amount of organic matter used by the plant for its own metabolic processes, essentially the energy lost through respiration. 

51. Important factors to consider:

52. Key points about NPP: NPP represents the actual amount of plant biomass available to other organisms in an ecosystem after the plant has used some of its energy for its own needs.  It is typically measured in units of energy per unit area per unit time (e.g., kcal/m²/year).  To calculate NPP, you need to measure both GPP and R, usually through techniques like gas exchange analysis using a portable photosynthesis system.