Chapter #3

“Ecosystems and Energy”

(Pg. 46 – 55)
 Readings this week and
previous weeks:

Chapter #1 – “Hooknose”
Chapter #2 – “The Five Houses of Salmon”
Chapter #3 – “New Values for the Land and
Water”
Chapter #4 – “The Industrial Economy
Enters the Northwest”
In-class Discussion Readers:

Chapter #1 - Me
Chapter #2 – David Dudley
Chapter #3 – Elizabeth Goodrich
Chapter #4 – James McLeod
Chapter #5 – Labecca Hampton and Jessica Vidal
Chapter #6 – Patrick Grennan and Scott Arnold
Chapter #7 – William Arnold
Chapter #8 – Crisy Overgard
Chapter #9 – Juan Rodriguez
 Ecology

o Ecology
• “eco” house & “logy” study of
• The study of interactions among and between organisms
in their abiotic environment
• Broadest field in biology
o Biotic- living environment
• Includes all organisms
o Abiotic- non living or physical environment
• Includes living space, sunlight, soil, precipitation, etc.
 Ecology
o Biology is very
organized.
o Ecologists are
interested in
the levels of
life above that
of organism.
 Ecological Definitions
o Species
• A group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed.
o Population
• A group of organisms of the same species that occupy that live in
the same area at the same time.
o Community
• Al the populations of different species that live and interact in the
same area at the same time.
o Ecosystem
• A community and its physical (abiotic) environment.
o Landscape
• Several interacting ecosystems.
 Ecology
o The biosphere contains earth’s communities, ecosystems
and landscapes, and includes:

• Atmosphere- gaseous
envelope surrounding
earth
• Hydrosphere- earth’s
supply of water
• Lithosphere- soil and
rock of the earth’s crust
 Energy
o The ability or capacity to
do work
• Chemical, radiant, thermal,
mechanical, nuclear,
electrical
o Energy exists as either:
• Stored energy (potential
energy)
• Kinetic energy (energy of
motion)
 Thermodynamics

o Study of energy and its transformations

o System- the object being studied

• Closed System- Does not

exchange energy with
surroundings (rare in nature)
• Open System- exchanges
energy with surroundings
 Laws of Thermodynamics
o First Law of Thermodynamics
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can change
from one form to another
• Ex: organisms cannot create energy they need to survive- they
must capture it from another source
• Focus is on quantity
o Second Law of Thermodynamics
• When energy is converted form one form to another,
some of it is degraded to heat
• Heat is highly entropic (disorganized)
• Focus is on quality
 Photosynthesis
o Biological process by which energy from the sun
(radiant energy) is transformed into chemical
energy of sugar molecules

6 CO2 + 12 H2O + radiant energy

C6H12O6 + 6 H2O + 6 O2
o Energy captured by plants via photosynthesis is
transferred to the organisms that eat the plants
 Cellular Respiration

o The process where the chemical energy captured in

photosynthesis is released within cells of plants and
animals
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O

6 CO2 + 12 H2O + energy

o This energy is then used for biological work
• Creating new cells, reproduction, movement, etc.
 Energy Flow
o Passage of energy in a
one-way direction
through an ecosystem
• Producers
• Primary consumers
• Secondary consumers
• Decomposers
Food Chains- The Linear Path of Energy Flow
o Energy from food passes from one organisms to
another
• Each “link” is called a trophic level
Food webs represent interlocking food chains that
connect all organisms in an ecosystem
In-class Discussion Readers:

Chapter #1 - Me
Chapter #2 – David Dudley
Chapter #3 – Elizabeth Goodrich
Chapter #4 – James McLeod
Chapter #5 – Labecca Hampton and Jessica Vidal
Chapter #6 – Patrick Grennan and Scott Arnold
Chapter #7 – William Arnold
Chapter #8 – Crissy Overgard
Chapter #9 – Juan Rodriguez
Readings last Week and this
Week:

Chapter #5 – “Free Wealth”

Facilitators: Labecca Hampton

and Jessica Vidal
Quizzes will be returned on Wednesday
 Ecological Pyramids
o Graphically represent the relative energy value of
each trophic level
• Important feature is that large amount of energy are lost
between trophic levels to heat
o Three main types:
• Pyramid of Numbers
• Pyramid of Biomass
• Pyramid of Energy
 Pyramid of Numbers
o Illustrates the number of organisms at each trophic
level
• Usually, organisms at the base of the pyramid are more
numerous
• Fewer organisms occupy
each successive level
o Do not indicate the biomass
of the organisms at each
level or the amount of
energy transferred between
levels
 Pyramid of Biomass
o Illustrates the total biomass at each successive trophic
level
• Biomass: measure of the total amt of living material

• Biomass indicates the

amount of fixed energy at a
given time
o Illustrates a progressive
reduction in biomass
through trophic levels
 Pyramid of Energy
o Illustrates how much energy is present at each trophic
level and how much is transferred to the next level
• Most energy dissipates between trophic levels

o Explains why there are so

few trophic levels
• Energy levels get too low
to support life
 Ecosystem Productivity
o Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
• Total amount of energy that plants capture and
assimilate in a given period of time
o Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
• Plant growth per unit area per time
• Represents the rate at which organic material is actually
incorporated into the plant tissue for growth
o GPP – cellular respiration = NPP
• Only NPP is available as food to organisms
Variation in NPP by
Ecosystem
 Human Impact on NPP
o Humans consume more of earth’s resources that
any other animal
• Humans represent 0.5% of land-based biomass
• Humans use 32% of land-based NPP!
o This may contribute to loss of species (extinction)
o Humans’ high consumption represents a threat to
planet’s ability to support both human and non-
human inhabitants (structural and functional integrity)