ENVS 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Ecological Pyramid, Indicator Species, Ecosystem Services
3 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Community Ecology
October 2, 2014
All the pieces of the ecological community puzzle are connected.
Ecosystem – all the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in
which, and with which, they interact
Habitat – physical environment in which, and with which, individuals of a particular
species can be found
Community Ecology – the study of all the populations living and interacting in an
area; includes understanding how various species contribute to ecosystem services
like pollination, water purification and nutrient cycling
Indicator species – the species that are particularly vulnerable to ecosystem
perturbations; these can give us an advances warning of a problem when monitored
Matter and energy move through a community via the food web.
Energy is captured by photosynthetic organisms and then passed from organism to
organism via the food chain- a simple, linear path starting with a plant that
identifies what each organism eats. A linkage of all the food chains together creates
a food web, which shows the many connections within the community.
Consumer – organism that eats other organisms to gain energy and nutrients
Producer – photosynthetic organism that captures solar energy directly and uses it
to produce its own food (sugar)
Trophic Levels – feeding levels in a food chain
Detritivore – consumer that eats dead organic material (worms, crabs)
Decomposer – organisms that break organic matter all the way down to constituent
atoms or molecules in a form that plants can take back up (bacteria, fungi)
As one moves up the food chain, energy and biomass decrease, creating a trophic
pyramid. About % of an organism’s energy is passed on during its lifetime.
Gross Primary Productivity – a measure of the total amount of energy captured
via photosynthesis and transferred to organic molecules in an ecosystem
Net Primary Productivity (NPP) – a measure of the amount of energy captured via
photosynthesis and stored in photosynthetic organisms (amount converted into
new growth)
The Acadian forest is shaped by biotic and abiotic forces.
Ecosystem complexity is a measure of the number of species at each trophic level, as
well as the total number of trophic levels and available niches.
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Document Summary
All the pieces of the ecological community puzzle are connected. Ecosystem all the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in. Habitat physical environment in which, and with which, individuals of a particular. Community ecology the study of all the populations living and interacting in an. Matter and energy move through a community via the food web. Energy is captured by photosynthetic organisms and then passed from organism to organism via the food chain- a simple, linear path starting with a plant that identifies what each organism eats. A linkage of all the food chains together creates a food web, which shows the many connections within the community. Consumer organism that eats other organisms to gain energy and nutrients. Producer photosynthetic organism that captures solar energy directly and uses it. Trophic levels feeding levels in a food chain. Detritivore consumer that eats dead organic material (worms, crabs)
