Ecology

Ecology is the study of the

interactions between living things
and their environment.

Their environment refers to all the

conditions in which the organism
lives, which affect the growth and
development of the organism.

Relationships
in the
biosphere

 To simplify the study of ecology, the world

is divided into similar groups of plants,
animals and environments.

These groupings are called ecosystems.

An ecosystem is a community of living
organisms interacting with one another and
their non-living environment within a particular
area

Habitat
Normally an ecosystem is too big to study
as they are large areas which contain
similar types of environments and living
things.
Instead, a small section of the ecosystem
is studied.
This is called a habitat.

A habitat is the area

where a plant or animal
lives.

 There are many different kinds of habitat

that can be studied.
Examples of which are: a grassland, a
rocky seashore, a wood, a pond or a
hedgerow.
We have to study a grassland habitat

Some terms we need to know

A population
All the members of the same species living in
an area

Community
All the different populations in an area

Niche
A niche is the functional role of an organism
in an ecosystem (no 2 species can occupy
same niche)

Summary
Biosphere = that part of the earth and
its atmosphere in which life can exist
composed of ecosystems
Ecosystems = composed of
communities of organisms and their
environment
Communities = populations of different
species of organisms
Habitats = is the place where an
organism lives and to which it is
adapted

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1.4.5 Environmental Factors

Factors Affecting Organisms

Abiotic factors non living, e.g. exposure,
altitude
Biotic factors
Climatic factors
Edaphic factors Relate to soil, e.g. pH,
type, moisture and mineral content

Abiotic factors in a woodland

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Important factors in aquatic

environments

Light
Currents
Wave Action
Salt content
Oxygen concentration

Climatic factors include:

Temperature
Rainfall
Humidity
Wind
Light intensity (including seasonal
variations)
Day length
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 One of the most important things that you

need to know about ecology is that all
living things depend on each other and on
their environment to survive.
If one part of a habitat is altered then this
will effect many other parts of this habitat.

Biotic factors include:

Plants for food and shelter

Predators
Prey
Parasites and pathogens
Decomposers
Competitors
Pollinators
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Producers
Plants that contain chlorophyll and carry
out photosynthesis make their own food.
Producers are plants that make their own
food.
Examples of producers found in a rock
pool are:

Grass

Trees

http://cccmkc.edu.hk/~kei-kph/Ecology/Rocky%20shore_image/her%20shadow_taking%20samples.jpg

Flowers

higmagazine.com/ the-power-of-plankton/

Consumers
Animals cant make their own food.
Consumers are animals that get their food
by eating plants or other animals.
Primary consumers, secondary consumers,
tertiary consumers

Consumers are divided into three groups.

Herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.

Herbivores
A herbivore is an animal that only eats
plants .

Carnivores
A carnivore is an animal
that only eats other
animals.

Omnivores
Finally, omnivores are animals that feed
on both plants and animals.

Decomposers
Decomposers are organisms that feed on
dead plants and animals.
Small animals, bacteria and fungi feed on
plant and animal remains.
Worms are examples of grassland
decomposers.
Decomposers allow useful chemicals to be
released back into the environment.

Food Chains
Food chains are a way of showing how
energy and nutrients pass from one living
thing to another within a habitat.
The arrows show the direction in which
this energy and the nutrients pass.

A food chain is a list of

organisms in which each
organism is eaten by the next
one in the food chain.

http://www.mrothery.co.uk/ecology/Mod5Notestrimmed.htm

Energy Loss in a Food Chain

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Food webs
A food web consists of two or more
interconnected food chains.
A food web provides a more complete and
realistic picture of how organisms in a
habitat feed.

http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/seashore-a-rocky-seashore-ecosystem/98

A hedgerow food web

A Pyramid of Numbers
Represents the number of organisms at
each trophic level

Normal Pyramid of Numbers

A reminder of what a pyramid of numbers
looks like

35

Limitations of use
The size of organisms is not considered in
a pyramid of numbers.
e.g. one rose bush can support thousands
of greenfly.

36

A distorted Pyramid of
Numbers
A similar problem arises with parasites
numerous parasites on one host
resulting in a distorted pyramid

37

An inverted Pyramid of
Numbers
When organism
size is not
considered very
unusual pyramid
shapes are likely
to occur.
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Another example

39

Nutrient Recycling
The way in which elements (e.g. C and N)
are exchanged between the living and
non-living parts of the ecosystem

HL Ecology

Adaptation
Living things tend to have structures or
habits that allow them to survive in their
habitat.
These are called adaptations
Adaptations shown by seaside rock pool
organisms are:

 Starfish have adapted to their violent

environment by being able to regenerate
missing parts! If a limb or more is torn off
they can grow it back.
Crabs have eyes that are on protruding
eyestalks so that they can see front, back
and sideways.
Periwinkles, along with many other
seashore creatures, have shells to protect
their body from being eaten by predators.

Competition
In any habitat, animals compete with each
other for food, water, partners and space.
Similarly, plants are competing for space,
sunlight, water and minerals from the soil.
Competition tends to occur between plants
and animals of the same type as they
have the same needs.
It can also occur between different
species. E.g. grass and daisies both
require light and robins and sparrows both
compete for food.

Competition takes place when

two or more organisms require
something that is in short
supply.

Interdependence
Although plants and animals compete with
each other for many different things within
the habitat, they depend on each other for
survival also.
Animals can depend on plants and plants
can depend on animals.
For example:

 Herbivorous animals depend on plants for

food.
Carnivorous (and omnivorous) animals
then depend on these plant-fed animals
for food.
Plants can depend on animals for
pollination (bees and butterflies) or seed
dispersal (birds, mice, squirrels).

 Plants can depend on each other for

shelter. Smaller plants can be protected
from harsh winds by larger plants which
shield them.
Some plants depend on others for support.
For example, ivy grows on trees.
Decomposers depend on dead animals
and plants.
Plants and animals depend on
decomposers to release important
chemicals back into the environment.