AP Biology Ecosystems

Studying organisms in their environment

organism

population

community

ecosystem

biosphere
AP Biology
 Essential questions
 What limits the production in ecosystems?
 How do nutrients move in the ecosystem?
 How does energy move through the ecosystem?

AP Biology
 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

AP Biology
 Ecosystem inputs

constant
energy flows
input
of
through
energy
nutrients cycle

Matter cannot
Don’t forget
bethe
created
laws of or
Physics!
destroyed

nutrients inputs
can only  energy
cycle
biosphere  nutrients
AP Biology
 Generalized
Nutrient consumers
cycling
producers
consumers

decomposers
nutrients
nutrients
ENTER FOOD CHAIN
made available
= made available
to producers
to producers
return to
Decomposition abiotic
reservoir
connects all abiotic
trophic levels reservoir

geologic
AP Biology processes
 abiotic reservoir:
Carbon cycle  CO2 in atmosphere
enter food chain:
CO2 in Combustion of fuels =
 photosynthesis
atmosphere
carbon fixation in
Industry and home
Calvin cycle
Photosynthesis recycle:
Diffusion Respiration

return to abiotic:
 respiration
Plants
 combustion
Animals

Dissolved CO2

Bicarbonates
Photosynthesis Deposition
Animals of dead
material
Plants and algae

Fossil fuels
AP Biology Deposition of
Carbonates in sediment (oil, gas, coal)
dead material
Nitrogen cycle abiotic reservoir:
 N in atmosphere
enter food chain:
 nitrogen fixation by Atmospheric
Carnivores soil & aquatic bacteria nitrogen
recycle:
 decomposing & Herbivores
nitrifying bacteria
return to abiotic:
 denitrifying bacteria

Birds
Plankton with Plants
nitrogen-fixing
bacteria Death, excretion, feces
Fish Nitrogen-fixing
Decomposing bacteria bacteria
(plant roots)
amino acids
excretion
Ammonifying bacteria Nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
loss to deep sediments (soil)
Nitrifying bacteria
Denitrifying
AP Biology soil nitrates bacteria
 abiotic reservoir:
Phosphorus cycle  rocks, minerals, soil
enter food chain:
 erosion releases
soluble phosphate
 uptake by plants
recycle:
Land  decomposing bacteria
Plants Animal tissue
animals & fungi
Urine and feces
Soluble soil return to abiotic:
phosphate  loss toDecomposers
ocean
Loss in sediment(bacteria and
drainage fungi)
Rocks and
minerals
Decomposers Phosphates
(bacteria & fungi) in solution

Animal tissue
and feces Aquatic Plants and
animals algae
Precipitates

AP Biology
Loss to deep sediment
 abiotic reservoir:
Water cycle  surface & atmospheric
water
enter food chain:
 precipitation & plant
uptake
Solar energy
recycle:
Transpiration  transpiration
Water vapor return to abiotic:
Evaporation evaporation & runoff

Precipitation

Oceans

Runoff
Lakes
Percolation in soil Aquifer
AP Biology Groundwater
 Transpiration

Remember
transpiration?

AP Biology
 Breaking the water cycle QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

 Deforestation breaks the water cycle

 groundwater is not transpired to the
atmosphere, so precipitation is not
created

forest  desert
desertification

AP Biology
 Repairing the damage
 The Greenbelt Movement
 planting trees in Kenya
 restoring a sustainable ecosystem
 establishing democracy
 empowering women

AP Biology Nobel Peace prize 2004

Wangari Maathai
 Studying ecosystems
Hubbard Brook 38 acre deforestation
Experimental Forest

AP Biology 7800 acres

 Effects of deforestation

40% increase in runoff  60x loss in nitrogen

 loss of water  10x loss in calcium
loss into
80 nitrate levels in runoff surface water
of nitrate (mg/l )
Concentration

40
loss out of
4 ecosystem!
Deforestation
2
Why is
0
nitrogen
1965 so 1966 1967 1968
important?
AP Biology Year
 Ecosystem inputs

energy flows
through
nutrients cycle

inputs
 energy
AP Biology
biosphere  nutrients
 Energy flows through ecosystems
secondary
loss of
consumers energy
sun (carnivores)

primary consumers
(herbivores) loss of
energy

producers (plants)
AP Biology
 Level 4
Tertiary consumer sun
Food chains
 Trophic levels Level 3
top carnivore

 feeding relationships Secondary consumer

 start with energy from

carnivore
the sun Level 2
Primary consumer
 captured by plants
heterotrophs
 1st level of all food chains herbivore
 food chains usually go Level 1
Producer
up only 4 or 5 levels
 inefficiency of energy
autotrophs
transfer
 all levels connect to Decomposers
Fungi

decomposers Bacteria
AP Biology
 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
only this energy daily living
moves on to the 33%
next level in cellular
the food chain respiration 50%
AP Biology waste (feces)
 sun
Ecological pyramid
 Loss of energy between levels of food
chain
 can feed fewer animals in each level
1

100

100,000

1,000,000,000

AP Biology
 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?

What is your
ecological
footprint?!

AP Biology
 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?

AP Biology