IB Ecology

Ecology

Study of the interations between organisms and their enviroment

Levels of Ecology

Biosphere, Ecosystem, Community, Population, Species, Organism, Organ system, Organ, Tissue, Cell, Organelle, Molecules, Atoms, Physics, Math

Biotic

living parts of an ecosystem

abiotic

physical/nonliving parts of an ecosystem

Factors of ecology

Climate

patterns and averages in temp over MANY years

more predicatable

Weather

short, hard to determine changes

Greenhouse gas effect

C02 and other gases in the atmosphere trap heat, keeping the earth warm

What causes ocean currents?

latitude (rotation) and heat transport in the biosphere

How does latitude cause ocean currents

It determines how sunlight is distributed

3 latitude zones

Sunlight Zone, Twilight Zone, Midnight Zone

How does heat transport in the biosphere cause ocean currents

It influences the distribution of heat and climates, affecting zones

Winds and currents are also caused by..

El Nino, ENSO

Effect on bodies of water?

Moderate temp

What shapes regional climate?

Heat transfers (wind/air) and geography (mountains, large bodies of water/land)

How is regional climate graphed

With the city name, mm prep, month, temp

What are climate diagrams like

standardized and prective

Biome

large region of the Earth that has a specific climate and certain types of plants and animals (deserts for example)

More liquid precip on a climate diagram graph is..

more plants

More plant diversity on a climate diagram graph is…

more animal diversity

Energy source for most ecosystems (producers)

Sun

What is another energy source for ecosystems

chemoautotrophic bacteria

Chemical energy in carbon compounds flow through what

food chains by feeding

Trophic level

position a species has in a food chain

Producer

Produces its own food w sun, eaten by primary consumer

Primary consumer

First, eats producer, eaten by secondary consumer

Secondary consumer

Second, eats primary consumer and is eaten by tertiary consumer

Tertiary consumer

Third, eats secondary consumer and is eaten by quaternary consumer

Quaternary consumer

last, eats tertiary consumer

How much percent of energy is kept

10

How is chemical energy released

by cellular respiration

What do organisms use chemical energy for

metabolic activities

biomass increase

What is chemical energy lost as

heat and waste

Energy loss between trophic levels

limits food chain length & biomass at higher tropic levels (tertiary quaternary)

Biomass pyramid

shows the relative amounts of living organic matter (biomass) at each trophic level in an ecosystem

Energy pyramid

shows the amount of energy available at each trophic level in a food chain

How to calculate energy transferred

10% rule

Decomposers

organisms that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients

Autotrophs

organisms (prod) that can make its own food using energy from sunlight (photosynthesis).

Heterotroph

an organism (consumer) that cannot make its own food and instead obtains nutrients and energy by consuming other organisms

Food chain

shows how energy and nutrients are transferred from one organism to another in an ecosystem. It illustrates the flow of energy.

Food web

multiple interconnected chains, showing the interactions between different species/ trophic levels within an ecosystem

Primary Productivity

conversion to chemical energy by producers

NPP

Net Primary Productivity

Population density formula

total pop/total land area

How does matter flow through ecosystems

by interaction w organisms using matter for energy/growth and is recycled

Processes that recycle matter

Biological, Geological, Phys & Chem, Human

What matter recycling processes can scientists measure

Bio, geo, and phys & chem

What matter recycling process causes change

Human

Biological process is by..

photosynthesis, eating, cell resp, etc

Geological process is by….

volcanoes, rock formation and breakdown

Phys & Chem process is caused by..

clouds and precip, lighting, erosion, etc

Human process is caused by..

fossil fuels, land clearing, cutting & burning wood, fertilizers

4 things that affect population growth rates

Birth rate, death rate, immigration, emigration

Immigration

movement of individuals into a population from another area

Emigration

movement of individuals out of a population to another area

Bioaccumulation

increasing concentration in one organism

Biomagnification

increasign conc as it goes up

Carrying capicity

maximum population size of a species that an ecosystem can sustainably support over the long term

When is carrying capicity reached

when the population size of a species matches the maximum number of individuals that the ecosystem can support

birth = death

3 characteristics of pop

geographical distribution, density, dispersion

density

number per area

dispersion

clumped/uniform

how do you calculate population growth rate

growth rate (pop size/time) = a -b + c - d

what is A in growth rate formula

natality

what is B in growth rate formula

mortality

what is C in growth rate formula

immigration

what is D in growth rate formula

emigration

what controls population growth?

density dependent/independent

Density dependent

consists of competition, predation, parasitism, disease

Density independent

consisits of pollution, humans, weather, fire

What is another way to study population growth

Life tables

Life tables

Summary of the survival pattern of a population

Follows fate of cohort

Used to make a survivalship curve

Growth rate formula

Change in pop size/time

Logistic growth curve

J curve

J curve attributes

Cannot be sustained

Pop size levels off

Enviro resistance/death rate increases

What graph is this

Logistic growth

K selection/density dependent selection

low repro, high surviving

strong competitiors

R selection/density independent selection

low surviving

selects for traits that maximize repro

Ecological footprint

Summarizes the aggregate (sum) land+water area needed to sustain the people of a nation

What does the ecological footprint measure

how close we are to the carrying capicity of earth

Ecosystem services examples

provisioning (food,water), regulating (pollination, water purification), supporting (soil formation), cultural (national parks, sites)

What substances create Greenhouse effect

Methane, Nitrious Oxide, Carbon Dixoide

Biodiversity

the range of all living things and their interactions in an environment.

What is climate change doing to the ocean and ice

Oceans are rising, ice melting and more warm water

Recent increases in C02 are caused by..

increase in combustion of fossil fuels

Energy being trapped in the atmosphere corresponds to the wavelengths of..

energy

When did C02 start to rise

In the Industrial Revolution

Impact of the GH gases depends on..

Ability to absorb long wave radiation

conc in the ATM

Global temps and gases are influenced by..

conc of GH gases

What graph is this

Carbon cycle

Keystone species

a species that has a very large impact on its environment.

What graph shape is exponential

J curve

What graph shape is logistical

S curve

Abiotic factors that influence climate

Temp, sunlight, moisture

Biotic factors that influence climate

animals, vegetation

Differences in ecological footprint per country

Developed = higher

Developing = Lower