Topic 4: Ecology

Species, communities and ecosystems:

∑ - Species are groups of organisms that can potentially interbreed to
produce fertile offspring.

Species: a group of organisms that share a common ancestry, can

interbreed and produce fertile offspring and is reproductively isolated from
other such groups.

∑ - Members of a species may be reproductively isolated in separate

populations.

 A population is a group of organisms of the same species who live in

the same area at the same time
 Two populations of the same species can live in two different areas
and are unlikely to interbreed; however, they are still part of the same
species if they could potentially interbreed

Lions of the Serengeti - Tanzania Tsavo Lions – Kenya/Uganda

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∑ - Species have either an autotrophic or heterotrophic method of
nutrition (a few species have both methods).

Autotroph:

 An organism that synthesizes its own organic molecules (makes their

own food) from simple inorganic substances.
 Usually, autotrophs convert light energy to chemical energy through
photosynthesis.
 Chemoautotrophs obtain their energy through the oxidation of
inorganic molecules in their environments.
Heterotroph:

 An organism that obtains organic molecules from other living

organisms or their dead remains.

Heterotrophs consume other organisms because they cannot make their

own food.

Mixotrophic - Some unicellular organisms use both methods of nutrition

such as Euglena gracilis which have chloroplasts to carry out
photosynthesis when there is enough sunlight; however, they can also feed
on detritus (dead or decaying material) or other smaller organisms.

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∑ - Consumers are heterotrophs that feed on living organisms by
ingestion.

 A consumer is an organism that ingests other organic material that is

living or has been recently killed.
 Consumers feed by ingesting their food, then digesting it and
absorbing these products of digestion

Primary consumers feed off autotrophs (example: Eastern Grey

Squirrel feeds of mostly nuts/acorns)

Secondary consumers feed on primary consumers (example: Red Fox

feeds on Eastern Grey Squirrels)

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Tertiary consumers would feed on secondary consumers (example:
Black Bear can feed on a Red Fox)

∑ - Detritivores are heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrients from

detritus by internal digestion.

 Detritivore: an organism that obtains food by ingesting non-living

organic matter i.e. Vultures and earthworms.

∑ - Saprotrophs are heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrients from

dead organisms by external digestion.

 Saprotroph: an organism that lives on or within nonliving organic

matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it and absorbing the
nutrients produced by digestion. Saprotrophs help with the decay ing
or break down of dead organic materials.

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Classifying species as autotrophs, consumers, detritivores or
saprotrophs from a knowledge of their mode of nutrition.

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  The majority of plants and algae are autotrophic, meaning they
produce their own food through photosynthesis; however, a small
percentage of plants and animals obtain these carbon compounds
from other organisms, either by growing on them and stealing the
nutrients from the plant they are growing on or by consuming dead
organic material. Since they obtain these carbon compounds from
other species and cause them harm, they are considered parasitic.
 Only approximately 1% of all plants and algae are considered
parasitic

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∑ - A community is formed by populations of different species living
together and interacting with each other.

 Community: a group of populations living and interacting with each

other in a particular area. Basically, it means all living things in a
habitat

 All the coral, fish and living organisms on this coral reef in Australia
make up a community

∑ - A community forms an ecosystem by its interactions with the

abiotic environment.

 Ecosystem: a community which consists of all the biotic factors such

as plants and animals in an area, functioning together with all of the
physical or abiotic factors of the environment.
 So the above example of the coral reef with all the abiotic factors
including water temperature, currents, available nutrients, etc. is an
ecosystem

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Applications and skills:

Testing for association between two species using the chi-squared test
with data obtained by quadrat sampling. To obtain data for the chi-
squared test, an ecosystem should be chosen in which one or more factors
affecting the distribution of the chosen species varies. Sampling should be
based on random numbers. In each quadrat, the presence or absence of the
chosen species should be recorded. The collection of raw data through
quadrat sampling will be done in the North Forest

Example of Quadrat Sampling

Plot-based (quadrat) methods are often used to study populations of

different species within a certain area.
Quadrats are generally square sample areas marked out using a framed
structure.

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Quadrats are placed in a marked out habitat according to random numbers
obtained using a random number table or a random number generator on a
calculator

 The baseline of this habitat can be marked out using a measuring

tape
 A first number is determined for the distance along the measuring
tape on one side (along the y-axis) and the second distance is
randomly determined along the x-axis
 The quadrat is placed at the point where the two numbers meet
 Within each quadrat, the individual species are identified and the
density, frequency, % coverage or abundance of each species is
counted or estimated.
 This will be repeated with enough replicate squares to calculate a
reliable estimate of the populations of these species in the area.

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  If the presence or absence of more than one species is recorded in
every quadrat during the sampling of a habitat, one can test for an
association between the species
 If two different species are found in the same habitat and within the
same quadrat, they are positively associated. This basically means
that one species is more likely to be found when the other species are
also present
 A negative association is when two species tend not to occur
together
 If there is no association between the two species, negative or
positive, the species are said to be independent. Basically, this means
that the location of species A has no effect on species B and vice
versa.
 One can test these associations using a chi-squared test (called Chi-
Square Test for Independence)

β - Skill: Recognizing and interpreting statistical significance.

Complete the following example below for two species of plants found in
the Northwest

So you will be testing to see if there is a statistically significant association

between these two species of trees. The first step is to create a hypothesis
HA and a null hypothesis HO. The null hypothesis is basically that there is
NO statistically significant association between Douglas Fir and the Dwarf
Mistletoe. Write out a HA and HO below.

HA =

HO =

The presence of two different species Dwarf Mistletoe and Douglas Fir
was recorded in 200 different quadrats, 1000 m x 1000m. The quadrats
were randomly chosen. Here are the results from the raw data collection

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 Douglas Fir present Douglas Fir absent Total
Dwarf Mistletoe present
90 45

Dwarf Mistletoe absent

30 35

Total

*Add the two columns and the two rows together. This should give you the
same total number in the bottom right-hand corner of the table*

Calculations

Expected results: This is assuming that both of the species are randomly
distributed with respect to each other.

The probability of Dwarf Mistletoe (DM) being present in each quadrat is

the total of row 1 where DM is present no matter if Douglas Fir (DF) is
present or not, divided by the total number of quadrats

135/200 = 0.675

The probability of DF being present is the same calculation but using

column one.

120/200 = 0.600

The probability of BOTH species being found together is

0.675 x 0.600 = 0.405

Therefore, the expected number of quadrats that both species should occur
in is 0.405 x 200 = 81
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 Now we can make a table with the expected results. 81 will be in the cell
where both species are present. The totals remain the same, so just subtract
81 from all the previous totals and fill in the chart.

Douglas Fir present Douglas Fir absent Total

Dwarf Mistletoe present 81 54 135
Dwarf Mistletoe absent 39 26 65
Total 120 80

Now one can calculate the remaining ratios, the same way you did the first
one when DM and DF were present, if you want to check to make sure the
expected results are correct.

Now the statistical test:

Douglas Fir present Douglas Fir absent Total

Dwarf Mistletoe present O 90 45 135
E 81 54
Dwarf Mistletoe absent O 30 35 65
E 39 26
Total 120 80 200

Then you calculate the chi-squared value using the following formula
(same as with genetics)

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= (90 – 81)2 /81 + ____________ + ________________ +
_____________

= 1.00 + 1.50 + 2.08 + 3.12 = 7.70

To find out if the result is statistically significant or not, the value must be
compared to a critical value from the chi-square table.

The degrees of freedom = (number of columns – 1) x (number of rows –

1) = (2-1) x (2-1) = 1

The critical value for degrees of freedom 1 is 3.841 with a p-value or

probability value of 0.05.

Since our calculated value is 7.70 then we can reject the null
hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. Basically, the
means that there is a statistically significant association between Douglas
Fir and Dwarf Mistletoe, and the distributions of the two species are not
independent of each other.

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∑ - Autotrophs obtain inorganic nutrients from the abiotic
environment.

 Autotrophs acquire their nutrients such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,

nitrogen, and phosphorus from inorganic sources in the abiotic
environment
 Heterotrophs do obtain nutrients such as sodium, potassium, and
calcium from inorganic sources, but obtain carbon and nitrogen
through organic sources in the food they eat

∑ - The supply of inorganic nutrients is maintained by nutrient

cycling.

Since there is a limited supply of nutrients on earth, chemical elements are

constantly recycled after they are used.
The carbon cycle will be discussed later in this unit.

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∑ - Ecosystems have the potential to be sustainable over long periods
of time.

 Ecosystems are largely self-contained and self-sustaining units that

can exist over long periods of time; however, human activity has had
a negative impact on the sustainability of certain ecosystems
 An example of how humans have drastically impacted an ecosystem
is the rain forest being lost in Borneo for the production of Palm Oil

 There are three main requirements for sustainability in an ecosystem:

nutrient availability, detoxification and recycling of waste products
and energy availability
 Nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen can be recycled indefinitely as
long as the proper conditions exist i.e. Nitrosomonas bacteria in the
soil convert ammonia into nitrites
 There also must a constant supply of energy, as it cannot be recycled
 Today conservation attempts to manage and sustain the environment
so that a balance is maintained, despite human activities. This may
include limiting consumption and effective population control in
certain areas of the world

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