1. Ecosystems

2. Studying organisms in their environment
biosphere
ecosystem
community
population
organism

3. Essential questions What limits the production in ecosystems?
How do nutrients move in the ecosystem?
How does energy move through the ecosystem?

4. Ecosystem All the organisms in a community plus abiotic factors
ecosystems are transformers of energy & processors of matter
Ecosystems are self-sustaining
what is needed?
capture energy
transfer energy
cycle nutrients

5. Ecosystem inputs nutrients cycle inputs energy nutrients
biosphere
energy flows through
constant input of energy
nutrients cycle
Matter cannot
be created or destroyed
Don’t forget the laws of Physics!
nutrients can only cycle
inputs
energy
nutrients

6. Energy flows through ecosystems
sun
secondary consumers
(carnivores)
loss of energy
loss of energy
primary consumers
(herbivores)
producers (plants)

7. Food chains Trophic levels sun feeding relationships
Tertiary consumer
Trophic levels
feeding relationships
start with energy from the sun
captured by plants
1st level of all food chains
food chains usually go up only 4 or 5 levels
inefficiency of energy transfer
all levels connect to decomposers
top carnivore
Level 3
Secondary consumer
carnivore
Level 2
Primary consumer
heterotrophs
herbivore
Level 1
Producer
autotrophs
Fungi
Decomposers
Bacteria

8. Inefficiency of energy transfer
sun
Inefficiency of energy transfer
Loss of energy between levels of food chain
To where is the energy lost? The cost of living!
17%
growth
energy lost to daily living
only this energy moves on to the next level in the food chain
33%
cellular
respiration
50%
waste (feces)

9. Ecological pyramid sun Loss of energy between levels of food chain
can feed fewer animals in each level 1
100
100,000
1,000,000,000

10. Humans in food chains
Dynamics of energy through ecosystems have important implications for human populations
how much energy does it take to feed a human?
if we are meat eaters?
if we are vegetarian?

11. Food webs Food chains are linked together into food webs
Who eats whom?
a species may weave into web at more than one level
bears
humans
eating meat?
eating plants?

12. Energy in an Ecosystem
Summarize how energy is cycled through an ecosystem

13. Ecosystem inputs nutrients cycle inputs energy nutrients
biosphere
energy flows through
nutrients cycle
inputs
energy
nutrients

14. Generalized Nutrient cycling
consumers
consumers
consumers
producers
decomposers
decomposers
nutrients ENTER FOOD CHAIN = made available to producers
nutrients made available to producers
return to abiotic reservoir
Decomposition connects all trophic levels
abiotic reservoir
abiotic reservoir
geologic processes
geologic processes

15. Carbon cycle abiotic reservoir: CO2 in atmosphere enter food chain:
photosynthesis = carbon fixation in Calvin cycle
recycle:
return to abiotic:
respiration
combustion
Carbon cycle
CO2 in
atmosphere
Diffusion
Respiration
Photosynthesis
Plants and algae
Plants
Animals
Industry and home
Combustion of fuels
Carbonates in sediment
Bicarbonates
Deposition of
dead material
Deposition
of dead
material
Fossil fuels
(oil, gas, coal)
Dissolved CO2

16. Nitrogen cycle Atmospheric nitrogen Carnivores Herbivores Birds Plants
abiotic reservoir:
N in atmosphere
enter food chain:
nitrogen fixation by soil & aquatic bacteria
recycle:
decomposing & nitrifying bacteria
return to abiotic:
denitrifying bacteria
Atmospheric
nitrogen
Carnivores
Herbivores
Birds
Plankton with
nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
Plants
Death, excretion, feces
Fish
Nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
(plant roots)
Decomposing bacteria
amino acids
excretion
Ammonifying bacteria
Nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
(soil)
loss to deep sediments
Nitrifying bacteria
Denitrifying
bacteria
soil nitrates

17. Phosphorus cycle abiotic reservoir: rocks, minerals, soil
enter food chain:
erosion releases soluble phosphate
uptake by plants
recycle:
decomposing bacteria & fungi
return to abiotic:
loss to ocean sediment
Phosphorus cycle
Land
animals
Plants
Animal tissue
and feces
Urine
Soluble soil
phosphate
Decomposers
(bacteria and
fungi)
Loss in
drainage
Rocks and
minerals
Phosphates
in solution
Decomposers
(bacteria & fungi)
Animal tissue
and feces
Aquatic
animals
Plants and
algae
Precipitates
Loss to deep sediment

18. Water cycle Solar energy Transpiration Evaporation Precipitation
abiotic reservoir:
surface & atmospheric water
enter food chain:
precipitation & plant uptake
recycle:
transpiration
return to abiotic:
evaporation & runoff
Water cycle
Solar energy
Transpiration
Water vapor
Evaporation
Precipitation
Oceans
Runoff
Lakes
Percolation in soil
Aquifer
Groundwater

19. Remember transpiration?

20. Breaking the water cycle
Deforestation breaks the water cycle
groundwater is not transpired to the atmosphere, so precipitation is not created
forest  desert
desertification

21. Effects of deforestation
40% increase in runoff
loss of water
60x loss in nitrogen
10x loss in calcium
loss into surface water 80
nitrate levels in runoff 40
loss out of ecosystem!
of nitrate (mg/l )
Concentration 4
Deforestation 2
Why is nitrogen so important?
1965
1966
1967
1968
Year

22. Learning Check
Differentiate between the nitrogen, water, carbon and phosphorus cycles
Sources of each?
Outputs of each?

23. Disoolved Oxygen and Productivity
How do you determine how well an ecosystem is functioning?
Measure the productivity of the organisms
Lab Bench

24. Productivity Primary productivity Gross productivity Net productivity
rate at which plants and other photosynthetic organisms produce organic compounds in an ecosystem.
Gross productivity
the entire photosynthetic production of organic compounds in an ecosystem.
Net productivity
the organic materials that remain after photosynthetic organisms in the ecosystem have used some of these compounds for their cellular energy needs (cellular respiration).

25. Lab 12: Dissolved Oxygen measured in 3 ways: primary productivity
amount of CO2 used
rate of sugar (biomass) formation
rate of O2 production

26. Productivity
Since oxygen is one of the most easily measured products of both photosynthesis and respiration, a good way to gauge primary productivity in an aquatic ecosystem is to measure dissolved oxygen.

27. Lab 12: Dissolved Oxygen Description
measure primary productivity by measuring O2 production
factors that affect amount of dissolved O2
temperature
as water temperature, its ability to hold O2 decreases
photosynthetic activity
in bright light, aquatic plants produce more O2
decomposition activity
as organic matter decays, microbial respiration consumes O2
mixing & turbulence
wave action, waterfalls & rapids aerate H2O & O2
salinity
as water becomes more salty, its ability to hold O2 decreases

28. Lab 12: Dissolved Oxygen