Intro to Biodiversity

Biology

Introduction to Ecology

Unit 6, Part 1 Basic Organization

Ecology includes the study of living organisms
and their nonliving environment.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is considered to be an abiotic factor in the environment?

• Water
• Trees
• Plants
• Coral

Multiple Choice

A certain plant needs moisture, carbon dioxide, oxygen, light, and minerals to survive. This scenario shows that this particular living organism depends on .

• Biotic Factors 
• Abiotic Factors 

Match

Match the following

• Biotic

• Abiotic

• Ecosystem

living things

Nonliving things

 the relationship between living and nonliving parts of the environment

• living things

• Nonliving things

•  the relationship between living and nonliving parts of the environment

Turn and
Talk:
Identify 3
biotic
factors and
3 abiotic
factors in
this picture.

Open Ended

Based on the Previous slide, Name the three Biotic Species and Three abiotic species

What is ECOLOGY?

Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with
each other and with their environments.

We study ecology at different levels.

Levels of Ecology: ORGANISM

ORGANISM
ORGANISM
ORGANISM

Levels of Ecology: POPULATION

Species- a group of
organisms of the same type
of individuals capable of
reproducing and whose
offspring can reproduce

Levels of Ecology: COMMUNITY

Communitiesconsist of
more than one
population interacting
in the same habitat.

Levels of Ecology: ECOSYSTEM

Biotic + Abiotic Factors

Levels of Ecology: BIOSPHERE

The BIOSPHERE
includes every
part of the
planet where
life can exist
and all of the
organisms that
live on Earth.

Biogeography of

Kangaroos

Biogeography is the study of the patterns
of geographic distribution of organisms and
the factors that determine those patterns.

Native species came to be in an area

without the influence of humans.

Transplants - Non-native species can create

ecological disasters. Ex. 1 Zebra Mussels

Transplants - Non-native species can create

ecological disasters. Ex. 2 Kudzu

Kudzu - the vine that
is eating the South!

Transplants - Non-native species can create

ecological disasters. Ex. 3 Fire Ants

Fire ant were first
reported in Arkansas in
1958.

Fire ants bite the skin and hold
on until the ant's stinger injects
the venom.

Transplants - Non-native species can create
ecological disasters. Ex. 4 Snakehead Fish

Don’t confuse the
native bowfin with
the invasive
snakehead.

Add examples of invasive species to
your notes as you watch this video.

Multiple Choice

What is an invasive species?

• An organism that is new to an environment that has positive effects on the environment.

• An organism that is native to an environment that has negative effects on the environment.

• An organism that is new to an environment that has negative effects on the environment.

• An organism that is native to an environment that has positive effects on the environment.

Multiple Choice

Invasive species can have a major impact on the ecosystem.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

Why do the populations of invasive species grow so quickly? 

• Invasive Species are native to an area. 
• Invasive species are prey to many animals.
• Invasive species have no predators.
• Invasive species keep the ecosystems in equilibrium.

Multiple Choice

Invasive species alter the ecosystem by a___________in number quickly,this leads to _____ food for the native  species. 

• increasing  less
• decline  decreasing

Biology (ABI or BI)

Introduction to Ecology

Unit 12.1, Part 2 Water and Climate

Review Water Properties.

Hadley Cell Model - Shows the movement

of water vapor around the globe.

Hadley Cells are responsible for the general pattern of
rainforests, grasslands, and deserts across the globe. Moist,
warm air rising at the equator causes considerable rainfall.
The same air, drier and cooler when it falls, contributes to arid
(dry) conditions near 30° north and south.

Geographic features create local effects.

Oceans act as “heat banks,”absorbing a huge

amounts of solar radiation.

Ocean currentsact as conveyer belts of warm
and cold water, sending heat toward the polar

regions and helping tropical areas cool off.

Geographic features create local

effects, for example the Rain Shadow

Effect.

Ponds and lakes undergo seasonal changes in
temperature - thermoclines and “turn over”.

Turn over is
vital to
recycling
nutrients.

Think-Write-Share: Watch this video, then choose
one of the questions on the next slide to answer.

Biology (ABI or BI)

Introduction to Ecology
Unit 12.1, Part 3 Biomes

Think-Pair-Share
The graph shows a
comparison between
amount of phosphorus,
amount of chlorophyll a
(needed for
photosynthesis) and the
depth in various types of
lakes over time during
the summer. Looking at
just the red and green
lines which show the
measurement averages,
which claim can be
inferred (assumed to be
true) from the data?

1.

Make a claim about the relationship between the
average amount of phosphorus, a limiting
nutrient (red line) and the average amount of
chlorophyll a, needed for photosynthesis (green
line).

2.

Describe the evidence you used from the diagram
that supports your claim.

Communities can live in

• Classified by climate

(temperature,
precipitation) and soil
type.

• Shaped by availability

of resources in region
(location)

or

• Classified by salt

concentration: ocean,
brackish, freshwater

• Shaped by water

depth (sunlight),
salinity, temperature,
nutrients, currents

Aquatic Biomes

Coastal and

Ocean
Terms

Coral Reefs of the World (purple areas)

“Rainforests of the Oceans”

There are different types of aquatic biomes. The
type of biome depends on:
● salinity
● amount of light
● depth
● dissolved oxygen

● temperature
● pH levels
● flow rate

Freshwater Terms

● amount of

light

● depth
● dissolved

oxygen

● temperature
● pH levels
● flow rate

Oligiotrophic Lakes - nutrient poor, deep

and cold; few nutrients at cold bottom, clear

Eutrophic Lakes - nutrient rich;

shallow and warm; appear

murky because of the presence

of phytoplankton, algae,

dissolved solids

Eutrophication - all lakes and ponds move

toward being dry land.

Streams and Rivers

Stream Headwaters - Waters are cold, clear,
fast, narrow, nutrient poor, high dissolved
Oxygen.

Midstream - Waters are warm, slow, wide,
nutrient rich and murky due to erosion,
lower dissolved O2.

Estuary - This is
where fresh water
meets salt water -
nutrient rich;
biodiversity rich.

Because salt water has a greater density than fresh water, it
moves upstream in the form of a wedge.

Wetlands - Swamp - These are lands

possessing water and above water plants

with TREES.

Wetlands - Marsh - These are lands

possessing water and above water plants,

no trees; reeds and grasses

Biome Portal from Arizona State University

Fundamental Concepts

● The many dynamic and delicate feedbacks between the
biosphere and other Earth systems cause a continual
co-evolution of Earth’s surface and the life that exists on it.
(BI-ESS2-7‡)
● The foundation for Earth’s global climate systems is the
electromagnetic radiation from the sun, as well as its
reflection, absorption, storage, and redistribution among
the atmosphere, ocean, and land systems, and this
energy’s re-radiation into space. (BI-ESS2-2, BI-ESS2-4)
Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species
(speciation) and decreased by the loss of species
(extinction). (BI-LS2-7*‡)

Fundamental Concepts

● Ecosystems have carrying capacities, which are limits to
the numbers of organisms and populations they can
support. These limits result from such factors as the
availability of living and nonliving resources and from such
challenges such as predation, competition, and disease.
Organisms would have the capacity to produce populations
of great size were it not for the fact that environments and
resources are limited. This limitation affects the abundance
(number of individuals) of species in any given ecosystem.
(BI-LS2-1, BI-LS2-2)

Fundamental Concepts

● A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem can
keep its numbers and types of organisms relatively
constant over long periods of time under stable conditions.
If a modest biological or physical disturbance to an
ecosystem occurs, it may return to its more or less original
status (i.e., the ecosystem is resilient), as opposed to
becoming a very different ecosystem. Extreme fluctuations
in conditions or the size of any population, however, can
challenge the functioning of ecosystems in terms of
resources and habitat availability. (BI-LS2-2, BI-LS2-6)

Fundamental Concepts

● Moreover, anthropogenic changes (induced by human
activity) in the environment—including habitat destruction,
pollution, introduction of invasive species,
overexploitation, and climate change—can disrupt an
ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species.
(BI-LS2-7*)