1. Ecosystem Organization

3. Marine environment is divided by distance from land, depth and the type of organisms living there.

4. Food chains, the linkage
between food webs, are
fairly easy to determine
when animals are specialists.
In this three step chain, whales are
the top predator existing ultimately
on krill (which exist on
phytoplankton).
Each step in the chain is known as
a trophic level.
How many trophic levels are present
here?

5. Multiple food chains
at multiple trophic levels
result in a food web.
As you can observe, many
interactions are possible.
Energy can be transferred
from one level to the other
in amazing ways.

6. Here is another
way of looking
at it.
Killer whales
are the top predators.
Each part of the trophic
level could be viewed as
a “factory” for converting
one thing to another!
How many “factories”
does it take to convert
diatoms into
killer whale??

7. Trophic Pyramids: Heat conversion
In a trophic pyramid plants and animals all are assigned a caloric
value. As we travel “up” the trophic pyramid, heat is lost. By the
time we reach the uppermost level many calories have been used,
and much heat produced to make a pound of blue or right whale.

8. How much is being produced?
By measuring the rates
of p-synth. Ecologists
are often able to
determine how much
carbon is fixed by plants
(gross primary
productivity)
This is yet another method
to measure system
productivity and its
efficiency.
Units: gC/m2/day

10. Earth’s Primary Production
Ocean Production: Red = high, blue = low
Land Production: Green = high, yellow = low

11. Carbon Cycle

12. Nitrogen Cycle

13. Phosphorus Cycle