Cycles of Matter Ecology

Energy Pyramid The above energy pyramid shows many trees & shrubs providing food and energy to giraffes. Note that as we go up, there are fewer giraffes than trees & shrubs and even fewer lions than giraffes. In other words, a large mass of living things at the base is required to support a few at the top. www.vtaide.com

Energy Pyramid Only part of the energy that is stored in the 1st trophic level is passed to the 2nd level Only part of the energy that is stored in the 2nd trophic level is passed to the 3rd level 3rd trophic level 2nd trophic level www.vtaide.com 1st trophic level

Energy Pyramid Only part of the energy stored in one trophic level is passed to the next level because organisms use much of the energy that they consume for respiration, movement, and reproduction and some energy is released into the environment as heat. www.vtaide.com

Energy Pyramid Most food chains have no more than four or five links. There cannot be too many links in a single food chain because the animals at the end of the chain would not get enough food (and hence energy) to stay alive. Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food in order to meet their food and energy requirements. These interconnected food chains form a food web. http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm

Energy Pyramid A change in the size of one population in a food chain will affect other populations. This interdependence of the populations within a food chain helps to maintain the balance of plant and animal populations within a community. For example, when there are too many giraffes; there will be insufficient trees and shrubs for all of them to eat. Many giraffes will starve and die. Fewer giraffes means more time for the trees and shrubs to grow to maturity and multiply. Fewer giraffes also means less food is available for the lions to eat and some lions will starve to death. When there are fewer lions, the giraffe population will increase. http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm

Productivity The rate at which light energy is converted to chemical energy by the producers of an ecosystem 10% of the available energy on one level is passed to the next level

Energy flow

Biomass The mass (weight) of biotic factors in an area A biotic factor is anything that is living In most biomass pyramids the producers have the greatest mass by far.

Pyramid Models Chapter 13 Section 6 Ecological Pyramids Section 3-2 Energy Pyramid Shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level. Organisms use about 10 percent of this energy for life processes. The rest is lost as heat. Pyramid of Numbers Shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level. Biomass Pyramid Represents the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level. Typically, the greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid. Go to Section:

Recycling Matter Matter is not used up in an ecosystem. Matter is transformed. Imagine that you are a carbon atom in a molecule of CO2 floating in the air. The leaf of a blueberry bush absorbs you during photosynthesis. You become part of a carbohydrate molecule and are used to make a blueberry. The blueberry is eaten by a moose, and within a few hours, you are passed out of the animals body. You are soon swallowed by a dung beetle, and then eaten by a hungry shrew, which in turn is eaten by an owl. Finally, you are released into the atmosphere once again as CO2 when the owl exhales. Then, the cycle starts over again.

Cycles of Matter All ecosystems need energy to survive. But all organisms need more than just energy, they also need water, minerals, and other compounds. Most organisms are chiefly made up of just four elements: Hydrogen Oxygen Carbon Nitrogen

Recycling Matter The same molecules are passed around Energy and matter move through the biosphere very differently Energy flows in one direction, from the producers to consumers Matter is recycled within and between ecosystems The same molecules are passed around again and again within an ecosystem

The Water Cycle All living things require water to survive. Water is H20. Water moves between the ocean, atmosphere, and land via 4 different processes Evaporation and transpiration Condensation Precipitation

The Water Cycle Evaporation – the process that changes water from a liquid in the ocean and other bodies of water to a gas in the atmosphere Transpiration – loss of water from the leaves of plants into the atmosphere Condensation – the process that forms clouds Precipitation – rain, snow, sleet or hail

The Water Cycle

Nutrient Cycles Nutrients – all the chemical substances that an organism requires to live Like water, nutrients are passed between organisms and the environment The Carbon Cycle The Nitrogen Cycle The Phosphorous Cycle

The Carbon Cycle Carbon is the key ingredient in all living things. Carbon is also found in the ocean, air, and rocks. Carbon is present in the atmosphere as CO2 gas. Carbon is cycled through the atmosphere by many different processes.

The Carbon Cycle CO2 is released into the atmosphere by volcanoes, respiration, burning of fossil fuels, and decomposition. Plants use CO2 to make carbohydrates Carbohydrates are passed along food webs to animals and other consumers Carbon is present in the ocean as calcium carbonate in the bones and shells of marine organisms

The Carbon Cycle www.windows.ucar.edu/.../ images/carboncycle.jpg

The Nitrogen Cycle All organisms require nitrogen to make proteins Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere Nitrogen is found in: Waste products of many organisms and in dead and decaying organic matter The ocean Fertilizer

The Nitrogen Cycle Only certain types of bacteria can use nitrogen gas. These bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia in a process called nitrogen fixation. Other bacteria convert ammonia into a form that producers can use to make proteins. Consumers then eat the producers and reuse the nitrogen to make their own proteins.

The Nitrogen Cycle When organisms die, decomposers return nitrogen to the soil as ammonia. Nitrogen gas is returned to the atmosphere in a process called denitrification.

The Nitrogen Cycle N2 Plants produce carbohydrates Ammonia Nitrogen Fixation

The Nitrogen Cycle N2 Ammonia Decomposition Denitrification

The Phosphorous Cycle Part of DNA and RNA Not common in the biosphere Does not enter the atmosphere Remains mostly on land in rock, soil minerals and ocean sediment

Phosphorous Cycle Rocks and sediments gradually wear down and phosphate is released Some makes its way to the ocean to be used by marine organisms Some stays on land and cycles between organisms and the soil

The Phosphorous Cycle