INTERACTIONS IN ECOSYSTEMS “The Circle of Life”

Recall… The Lion King

PHOTOSYNTHESIS A process that occurs in the cells of plants, algae and some bacteria Converts light energy from the Sun into stored chemical energy Uses carbon dioxide, water and light to make oxygen and sugar

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Photosynthesis transforms the Sun’s energy into a form that living things can use to survive Photosynthesis produces the oxygen that most living things need to survive

CELLULAR RESPIRATION A process that occurs in the cells of most organisms Converts the energy stored in chemical compounds into usable energy Uses oxygen and sugar to produce water and carbon dioxide

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? Cellular respiration releases the energy that living things use to survive Cellular respiration produces the carbon dioxide that green plant need to carry out photosynthesis

COMPLEMENTARY PROCESSES PHOTOSYNTHESIS Producers use carbon dioxide to make sugars Plants give off oxygen gas into their surroundings CELLULAR RESPIRATION Organisms give off carbon dioxide gas into their surroundings Organisms give off water into their surroundings

COMPLEMENTARY PROCESSES

OTHER INTERACTIONS Matter is recycled through ecosystems Matter is transformed many times and used over and over again Three other types of cycles are: The Water Cycle The Carbon Cycle The Nitrogen Cycle

THE WATER CYCLE The series of processes that moves water through the environment Liquid water evaporates and changes to water vapor Water vapor condenses and forms water droplets Water droplets form clouds and fall to Earth as rain Water enter enters lakes, oceans and the soil to continue the process

THE WATER CYCLE

THE CARBON CYCLE The series of processes that moves carbon compounds throughout the environment Most of our carbon is cycled through photosynthesis and cellular respiration A lot of carbon is stored in coal, limestone, oil and natural gases

THE CARBON CYCLE

Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gases) releases carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere Clearing forests also causes the release of carbon trapped in trees All this extra carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide causes trapped energy which causes global warming

NITROGEN CYCLE Nitrogen is a major part of all cells and a key building block for proteins Our air is 78% Nitrogen Nitrogen fixing bacteria are responsible for turning nitrogen in the air into usable forms of Nitrogen

THE NITROGEN CYCLE

Nitrogen in a key component of fertilizers Rain will carry nitrogen from farms, gardens etc. into aquatic ecosystems Excess nitrogen can cause an overgrowth of algae which can damage aquatic ecosystems Called Algal Bloom