Ecosystems and the Biosphere

Why???  What do animals and plants need to survive?  Why are frogs showing up with mutations?  How does pollution affect plants?  Does Oil drilling affect humans? Other animals?  Is the Earth getting warmer? How will it affect the way we live?

Terms to know  Ecology: study of interactions between organisms and their environment  Biosphere: part of earth where life exists  Biome: geographical region containing several ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities  Ecosystem: mixture of non-living and living factors in an environment. Community: all populations living in a given area

 Population: collection of individuals of the same species in a given area whose members can breed with one another  Organism (species): any individual living creature, either unicellular or multicellular

What makes up an ecosystem?  Biotic Factors (Living things) (Living things) Examples: include all living organisms.

What makes up an ecosystem? (cont.)  Abiotic Factors (non-living) (non-living) Examples include: type of soil, land, temperature, acidity, availability of nutrients, climate.

2 Essentials in an ecosystem: Energy and Nutrients… 1. Sunlight is source of ENERGY 2. ½ energy stored in plants as starch 3. Energy CANNOT be recycled=FLOWS 4. NUTRIENTS are recycled naturally by DECOMPOSERS

I make my own food!!  Plants: We do photosynthesis and absorb energy from the sun. That’s why we’re usually green.  They call us Producers or Autotrophs (self- feeding).  We can store the most amount of energy.  That’s also why so many animals love to eat us.

I can’t make my own food!  Animals: We cannot get energy on our own and so we’re usually looking for something that can.  We’re considered Consumers or Heterotrophs (different food) because We eat the producers or we might eat something that eats producers because we need energy too!

Consumers 1. Herbivores (primary consumers): We eat only plants matter Ex: deer, mice 2. Carnivores (secondary): We eat meat. Ex: Eagle, Tiger 3. Omnivores (secondary): We eat both plants and animals.Ex: turtles, bears, humans

I eat dead things. 1. Fungi and scavengers: We wait till something turns up dead (CARRION) and then get our energy. (vultures, hyenas) 2. Decomposers: breakdown tissues into organic matter to be recycled! (mushrooms, bacteria, worms, microbes)

Review  Producers are….  Plants: Are also called….  Autotrophs because...  They make their own food  Consumers are…..  Animals… Are also called  Heterotrophs because..  They cannot make their own food  Decomposers…  break down dead material….they include….  Fungus and scavengers

Energy and Nutrients energy flows in one direction: from sun to producers to consumers

Food Chain  A single chain or series of steps showing who eats who.  Example: grass --  deer-  lion  Shows only a ONE WAY flow of energy

Food Web:

How to read a food web  The arrow points in the direction the energy and nutrients flow. Ex:  grass energy deer energy tiger  They show complex feeding relationships that result from interconnecting food chains.  Food webs are different depending on where you are on the globe.  Food webs are good indicators to the health of the Ecosystem.  If one animal goes extinct.. What happens???

Inputs and Outputs of Energy

What does that have to do with energy?  The producers, consumers, and decomposers all work together to give each other energy.  It forms a systems of levels:  Trophic levels (eating levels): Shows Energy flow   An animal at the top of the food chain would have to eat a lot more to get enough energy required for life.   Energy is lost as things are consumed.  10% of energy from one level is available to the next

Trophic Levels

Nutrients and Biogeochemical cycles  As you can see Energy flows continuously through each member of the ecosystem. Its recycled!!  What about Nutrients?  Next time:Nutrient Cycles