ENVI 003

Ecology and Environment

 Ecology

• Ecology – The study of living organisms

and their environments or habitats.
 Ecological Hierarchies
• Biosphere
• Biome
• Ecosystem
• Community
• Population
• Organism
• Tissue
• Cell
• Molecules
 Definitions

• Biosphere - The entire portion of the

globe that can support life, including the
atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial surface
and belowground
• Biome – The largest easily recognized
subsection of the biosphere, based upon
climate
 Definitions

• Ecosystem – A region where plants,

animals and microbes can interact with
each other and their environment.
• Community – A region where plants,
animals and microbes can interact with
each other.
• Population – An interbreeding group of
organisms
 Different Ecosystems

• Ocean
• Rainforest
• Temperate forest
• Grassland
• Tundra
• Taiga
• Chaparral
Grassland Trophic level
Trophic Levels within an Ecosystem

• Abiotic environment

• Producers

• Consumers

• Decomposers
AUTOTROPH

An autotroph (or producer) is an organism

that makes its own food from light energy
or chemical energy without eating.

Most green plants, many protists (one-celled

organisms like slime molds) and most
bacteria are autotrophs. Autotrophs are
the base of the food chain
• CONSUMER
A consumer is a living thing that eats other
living things to survive. It cannot make its own
food (unlike most plants, which are producers).
• Primary consumers eat producers, secondary
consumers eat primary consumers, and so on.
• There are always many more primary
consumers than secondary consumers, etc. (this
is because energy is lost between each trophic
level.
 HETEROTROPH

A heterotroph (or consumer) is a living

thing that eats other living things to
survive.
It cannot make its own food (unlike plants,
which are autotrophs).
Animals are heterotrophs
 DETRIVORE

A detrivore is an organism that feeds on

detritus, dead and decomposing
organisms. What they leave behind is
used by decomposers.
Vultures and crabs are detrivores.
 HERBIVORE

Herbivores are animals that eat plants

Herbivores are also called primary
consumers.
Most animals are herbivores.
 OMNIVORE

Omnivores are animals that eat

both animals and plants.
Some omnivores include people,
many monkeys and marmosets,
lion tamarins, chimpanzees,
and most bears
CARNIVORE

Carnivores are animals that

eat meat.

Carnivorous animals often

have sharp teeth and
powerful jaws.
 DECOMPOSER

• A decomposer is an organism that breaks

down organic matter. Some bacteria and
fungi are decomposers.

• What they leave behind is used by

primary producers.
 FOOD CHAIN

• A food chain is the sequence of who eats

whom in a biological community (an
ecosystem) to obtain nutrition.
 FOOD CHAIN
• A food chain starts with plants or other
autotrophs (organisms that make their own
food from light and/or chemical energy) that
are eaten by herbivores (plant-eaters).
• The herbivores are eaten by carnivores (meat-
eaters).
• These are eaten by other carnivores.
• When any organism dies, it is eaten by
detrivores and then broken down by tiny
microbes (detrivores) and the exchange of
energy continues.
 TROPHIC LEVEL

The trophic level of an organism is the position

it holds in a food chain.
• Trophic level 1 is plants and other autotrophs
(also called primary producers) - organisms at
this level are also called primary producers.
• Trophic level 2 is herbivores (organisms that
eat autotrophs) - organisms at this level are
also called primary consumers.
 TROPHIC LEVEL
• Trophic level 3 is predators that eat herbivores
- organisms at this level are also called
secondary consumers.
• Trophic level 4 is predators that eat secondary
consumers - organisms at this level are also
called tertiary consumers.
• Trophic level 5 is predators that eat tertiary
consumers - organisms at this level are also
called quaternary consumers.
• Decomposers (such as bacteria) start the cycle
again.
 Water Budget

• Is the sum of the water inputs and

outputs for a particular system.
• Over an extended period of time, the
precipitation should equal the sum of the
runoff, evapotranspiration and
infiltration.
∑Inputs = ∑Outputs
 Water Budget
However, in shorter periods storage and
accumulation can occur. In this case the water
budget can be written as
P = ET + R + I + S
where Water Budget
P = precipitation (cm. or in.)
ET = evapotranspiration (cm. or in.)
R = runoff (cm. or in.)
I = infiltration (cm. or in.)
S = storage (cm. or in.)
Energy flow