Ecology: What is it?
Ecology is the study of ecosystems, or how species interact with each other and the environment. Within ecology, there are different levels of organization.
The biosphere are all of the biomes on Earth. Biomes are areas determined by their climate, or more specifically, their temperature and precipitation. Ecosystems are all the biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) things. Community is the interactions between species and the abiotic environment. Population is how much of the same species there is located within the community. And finally, the individual is one organism out of the population.
Biomes Explained
At the Equator, or 0 degrees latitude, there is the most direct sunlight, causing rapid evaporation and intense heat. When there is rapid evaporation, there is much precipitation, resulting in tropical rainforest biomes. Once the air is dry, it falls towards the 30 degrees north and south latitudes that also have high temperatures because of large amounts of sunlight. Because of the dry air, desert biomes form on these two latitudes. The dry air then spreads to the 60 degrees north and south latitudes, which is colder because they receive less sunlight, and rises while gaining moisture. This then results in precipitation and tundra biomes.
Types of Biomes
Terrestrial (Land) Biomes
One land biome is tundra. The tundra is mostly cold and dry and has no plants. Animals that can be found here are seals, arctic foxes, polar bears, and penguins. Tundra is the coldest land biome. Along with low temperatures are low precipitation and poor nutrients. There are two types of tundra: the arctic tundra and the alpine tundra. [1]
Another biome is the taiga biome. The taiga is cold and moist and has an abundance of pine trees. Animals that can be found here are elk, moose, owls, and reindeer. Winters are longer than summers, which are relatively short, and much colder than summers too, which are usually cool. The tundra is usually found in the northern hemisphere. [2]
The temperate biome is seasonal, which means that this particular biome is both hot and cold. The temperate biome is also known as the deciduous forest biome. [3] In temperate biomes, plant life includes oak trees and maple trees and animal life include deer, pigeons, rats, and squirrels.
The desert biome is hot and dry. Plant life includes cactus and tubleweeds and animal life includes roadrunners, scorpions, vultures, and horn lizards. Deserts have little precipitation and periods of rainfall between long periods without any. The only animals that are able to survive the extreme heat are ones who can make homes underground. [4]
The savanna biome, like the temperate biome, is seasonal, with it being moist and dry. The savanna is abundant in grass and animal life includes prairie dogs, wildebeests, elephants,and zebras. Since savannas do not get enough rainfall in order to support forests, they are instead spotted with shrubs and trees.[5]
The final type of land biome is the tropical rainforest. This biome is hot an moist and is the home to plant life such as the venus fly trap and orchids. Animals that live here are frogs, monkeys, toucans, and jaguars. There are extremely tall trees that form a canopy, preventing much sunlight from reaching below the leaves of trees. Along with this, there is high precipitation. [6]
Aquatic (Water) Biomes
The first aquatic biome is a freshwater biome. Freshwater biomes include rivers, ponds, lakes, and swamps. Freshwater have a small amount of salt in them, usually less than one percent. [7] Many of the animals living there would not be able to survive in salty bodies of water, such as the ocean.
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The second aquatic biome is an oceanic biome. Oceanic biomes include coral reefs, the deep sea, kelp forests, pelagic zones, and the intertidal zones. Some animal life include angler fish in the deep sea and turtles and whales in the pelagic zone. This biome is made up of saltwater, most of the salt coming from salt on rocks that is washed into the ocean.
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Two Components of an Ecosystem
Energy Flow
Energy flow discusses one overall question: how do organisms get energy? Organisms get their energy through autotrophic (producers) nutrition or heterotrophic (consumers) nutrition.
Food chains/webs show the transfer of energy through the ecosystem where the arrow shows the direction of energy. The main energy source for an ecosystem is the sun. Besides food chains and webs, there are food pyramids. In food pyramids, trophic levels are displayed instead of arrows. Trophic levels are energy levels of an ecosystem.
The pyramid displays the biomass, or the number of organisms, and energy exchange. Energy exchange shows that only ten percent of energy transfers to the next level. On the bottom of the pyramid are producers, or organisms who make their own food. Producers are the most abundant. Next are the primary consumers who are herbivores and eat the producers. After are the secondary consumers who eat the primary consumers. The final level are the tertiary consumers, who eat secondary consumers and are the least abundant. As one moves up the energy pyramid, the less amount of energy there is because each level uses ninety percent for metabolism.
Aside from these four kinds of producers/consumers, there are decomposers. Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organisms back into the soil as usable nutrients.
Food chains/webs show the transfer of energy through the ecosystem where the arrow shows the direction of energy. The main energy source for an ecosystem is the sun. Besides food chains and webs, there are food pyramids. In food pyramids, trophic levels are displayed instead of arrows. Trophic levels are energy levels of an ecosystem.
The pyramid displays the biomass, or the number of organisms, and energy exchange. Energy exchange shows that only ten percent of energy transfers to the next level. On the bottom of the pyramid are producers, or organisms who make their own food. Producers are the most abundant. Next are the primary consumers who are herbivores and eat the producers. After are the secondary consumers who eat the primary consumers. The final level are the tertiary consumers, who eat secondary consumers and are the least abundant. As one moves up the energy pyramid, the less amount of energy there is because each level uses ninety percent for metabolism.
Aside from these four kinds of producers/consumers, there are decomposers. Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organisms back into the soil as usable nutrients.
Types of Community Interactions
One type of community interaction is competition. This occurs when organisms of the same or different species attempt to use an ecological resource (necessity of life) in the same place at the same time. Competition results in a winner and a loser, which is the species that fails to survive. An example of this is when broad-leaved trees competing with shorter trees for sunlight. Within competition is a principle called the competitive exclusion principle, which states that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time, which avoids direct competition.
Another type of community interaction is predation. This is when one organism captures and feeds on another organism. The predator is the organism that does the killing and eating while the prey is the organism that is the food. Along with this, some predators have adaptations that help them catch prey. An example of predation is cheetahs hunting antelope.
The final community interaction is symbiosis. This is when two species live closely together. There are three main classes of symbiosis. The first one is mutualism, which is when both species benefit from the relationship. An example of mutualism is when flowers depend on certain insects to pollinate them for reproduction while the insects depend on flowers for food. Another class is commensalism. This occurs when one member benefits from the relationship and the other is neither helped or harmed. An example of this is barnacles attaching themselves to whales to gain food from the constant movement of water. The final class is parasitism. this is when one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it. The parasite obtains all or part of its nutritional needs from the host and only weaken their host. An example of this is when fleas, ticks, and lice live on the bodies of mammals to fee on their blood.
Ecology of Jellyfish
White Spotted Jellyfish usually prefer oceanic biomes and within ocean ecosystems. Because they often drift with the currents, they are found in mostly coastal areas off of Australia and in the western Pacific Ocean. Along with this, they live in warmer and more tropical waters. [8] They are usually found in warmer currents, such as the East Australia Current. The Eastern Australia Current is weaker than the other western currents and moves thirty million meters of water in one second. [9] They often find their nutrients in microscopic zooplankton.
White Spotted Jellyfish are tertiary consumers. This is because they feed on zooplankton who can be secondary consumers who eat other other species of zooplankton and phytoplankton. Some zooplankton are primary consumers, feeding off of algae and bacteria. the phytoplankton that some zooplankton eat are producers, obtaining energy through photosynthesis. [10]
The role of White Spotted Jellyfish in an ecosystem is very important. They are a huge part of the food web, feeding on zooplankton and being eaten primarily by sea turtles such as the leatherback turtle. Their niche mostly revolves around being both a predator and prey. Along with this, some species of fish will hide in the tentacles of jellyfish as protection from competition. [11] However, its role can be very disruptive, often consuming much zooplankton from an ecosystem and weakening it greatly. Swarms of jellyfish often compete with each other as well for food.
White Spotted Jellyfish are tertiary consumers. This is because they feed on zooplankton who can be secondary consumers who eat other other species of zooplankton and phytoplankton. Some zooplankton are primary consumers, feeding off of algae and bacteria. the phytoplankton that some zooplankton eat are producers, obtaining energy through photosynthesis. [10]
The role of White Spotted Jellyfish in an ecosystem is very important. They are a huge part of the food web, feeding on zooplankton and being eaten primarily by sea turtles such as the leatherback turtle. Their niche mostly revolves around being both a predator and prey. Along with this, some species of fish will hide in the tentacles of jellyfish as protection from competition. [11] However, its role can be very disruptive, often consuming much zooplankton from an ecosystem and weakening it greatly. Swarms of jellyfish often compete with each other as well for food.