Biomes

Front 1

Plants role in ecological systems

Back 1

Photoautotrophs

Responsible for
“fixing” organic carbon

Front 2

Animals roles in ecological systems

Back 2

Heterotrophs
Feed on other organisms
and their remains

Front 3

Bacteria/Archaebacteria role in ecological system

Back 3

Important in cycling
elements through the
ecosystem

Front 4

Fungi role in ecological system

Back 4

Heterotrophs
Important “recycling” function

Front 5

Habitat

Back 5

the place, or physical setting in
which an organism lives

Front 6

Niche

Back 6

the role of the
organism in the ecological
system

Front 7

Why are not two species the same?

Back 7

each has distinctive attributes of
form and function that determine the conditions that it can tolerate, how it feeds,
and how it avoids its enemies.

Front 8

Fundamental niche

Back 8

listing of an organism’s idealized requirements

Front 9

Fundamental vs. realized niche

Back 9

organisms only seem to occupy what’s been
termed a realized niche-- a shrunken version of their
fundamental niche.
The reason that the realized niche is shrunken usually has
to do with the presence of other species, whose niche
requirements might be overlapping.

Front 10

different ways to quantify “How many species are there?”

Back 10

Species richness: the total number of species in a given area

Diversity Indices – measures where the contribution of each
species is weighted against its relative abundance

Evenness: uniformity in abundance of species

Relative abundance – the proportion of the total number of
individuals in a community that belong to a particular species

Two widely used indices:
Simpson’s Index ? D (Dominance indices )
Shannon-Weiner Index ? H (Information indices)

Front 11

How many indices are used in ecology?

Back 11

There are over 60 indices used in ecology!!! (we know 2: Simpson's index, shannon-weiner index)

Front 12

Simpson's index

Back 12

Simpson’s index considered a dominance index because it weights
towards the abundance of the most common species.

It measures the probability two individuals randomly selected from a
sample will belong to the same category
D = 1/pi^2 (D ranges from 0-1)

Smaller D is the greater the diversity

Front 13

Shannon Index

Back 13

The index measures the uncertainty of a category in a particular set

It is a measure of evenness

Assumptions:
All species represented
Sample randomized (equal probability of being selected in the sample)
H=-?(pi * loge pi )

(pi * loge pi )

H can range from 0 to 1
Low diversity areas will have an H value closer to 0
Higher diversity (and more “even”) areas will have a
value closer to 1

Front 14

ecological systems and processes have characteristic scales in
space and time

What is Scale?

Back 14

Scale: the dimension in space or time over which
variation is perceived

Front 15

The variety and complexity of ecological systems are
understandable in terms of a small number of basic ecological
principles: (what are the 2 principles)

Back 15

1. Ecological systems are physical entities and function within physical
and chemical constraints governing energy transformation.
2. Ecological systems exchange materials and energy with their
surroundings. When inputs and outputs are balanced, the system is
said to be in a dynamic steady state.

Front 16

Ecological systems are subject to evolutionary change

Back 16

As a result of natural selection, organisms exhibit
adaptations of structure and function that suit them to
the conditions of their environment

Front 17

Why study Ecology?

Back 17

Humans are a part of the earth’s ecosystem, and our
activities are taking an increasing toll on the earth’s
diversity of life.
The diversity of life-forms underlies the healthy
functioning of the earth’s ecosystems.
Therefore, it is necessary to understand the effects
humans are having on ecosystems through population
growth, pollution, habitat destruction and the
introduction of invasive species.