Ecology

Ecology

Species, communities and ecosystems
1. Species
  1. Species are groups of organism that can potentially interbreed to produce fertile offspring
  2. Members of a species may be reproductively isolated in separatelocations
  3. Species can have either an autotrophic or heterotrophic method nutrition
    1. Autotrophic: Some organisms make their own carbon compounds from carbon dixide and other simple substance, Which means self feeding
    2. Heterotrophs: Some organsims obtain their carbon compounds from other organisms, which means feeding on others
      1. A consumer are heterotrophs that feed on living organisms by ingestion Eg. Mosquito feeding of human blood
      2. Detritivores are heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrience from detritus by internal digestion
      3. A Saprotoph are heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrience from dead organic matter by external digestion
    3. Autotrophs and heterotrophs obtain inorganic nutrients from abiotic environments
2. Encosystems
  1. Ecosytems have the potential to be substainable over long periods of time
  2. The supply of inorganic nutrients is maintained by nutrients cycling
3. Communities
  1. A community is formed by populations of different species living together and interacting with each other
    1. A communtiy forms an ecosystem by its interaction with the abiotic environment
    2. A population are a group of the same species living ;in the same area at the same time
Energy Flow
1. Most ecosystems rely on a supply of energy from sunlight
2. Light energy is converted to chemcial energy in carbon compounds by photosynthesis
  1. Chemical enegy in carbon compounds flows through food chains by means of feeding
    1. Energy is released from carbon compounds by respiration is used in living organisms and converted to heat
      1. Living organisms cannot convert heat to other forms of energy
        Heat is lost from ecosystems
3. Energy losses between trophic levels restrict the length of food chains and the biomass of higher trophic levels
Carbon cycle
1. In aquatic ecosystems carbon is present as dissolved carbon dioxide and hydogen carbonate ions
2. Carbon dioxide diffuses from the atmosphere or water into autotophs
  1. Autrotrophs convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and other carbon compounts
  2. Carbon dioxide is produced by respiration and diffuses out of organisms into water or the atmosphere
  3. Methane is produced from organic matter in anaerobic conditions by Methanogen archaeans and some diffuses into the atmosphere or accumulates in thee ground
    1. Methane is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere
3. Peat forms when organic matter is not fully decomposed because of acidic and/or anaerobic conditions in waterlogged soils
  1. Partially decomposed organic matter from past ecological erres was converted into coal or into oil and gas that accumulated in porous rock
4. Carbon dioxide is produced by the combustion of biomass and fossilized organic matter
  1. Coal, Oil and gas are fossilized organic matter
5. Animals such as reef-building coral have hard parts that are decomposed of calcium carbonate and can become fossilized in limestone
Climate change
1. Carbon dioxide and water vapour are the most sigificant green house gases
  1. Other gases include methane and nitrogen oxide, they have less impact
2. The impact of a gas depends on it's ability to absorb long wave radiation as well as on its concentration in the atmosphere
  1. The warmed earth emits longer wave radiation
  2. Longer wave radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases that retain the heat in the atmosphere
3. Global temperatures and climate patterns are influenced by concentration of greenhouse gases
  1. Correlation between global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations of earth
  2. There is a correlation between rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide since the 18th century
    1. Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide is due to buring of fossil fuels

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	Created by Gabby Sluce about 9 years ago