Ecosystems

Ecosystems

An ecosystem is all of the organisms in an area, along with their nonliving environment
Example: aquarium Living + Non-living (Biotic + Abiotic)

Trophic Levels

Organisms in a community are related to each other through feeding relationships Each step up in the transfer of energy is known as a trophic level All energy ultimately comes from the SUN

Trophic Levels

Decomposers/ Detritivores

Eat detritus (organic waste/remains of dead organisms) Can fit in to a food chain or web at any location

Trophic Levels

Producers

Convert solar (or chemical) energy into organic compounds Eat producers Eat primary consumers Eat secondary consumers

Primary consumers

Secondary consumers

Tertiary consumers

Pyramid of Numbers/Biomass/Energy

Numbers, energy, & biomass decreases as one moves up the food chain. Biomass- dry mass of organic matter

Trophic Levels

Ten-Percent Law Usable energy is lost through each transfer of energy

Why? (Remember the law of conservation of energy says energy cannot be created or destroyed; it only changes form.)

Only about 10% of the energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level. 90% is lost as heat with each transfer.

Trophic Levels

Food Chain

A straight-line sequence of who eats

whom

Simple food chains are rare in nature

Tall-Grass Prairie Food Web

Primary Productivity

Primary Productivity:
The amount of light energy converted to sugars by autotrophs in an ecosystem Gross vs. Net Primary Productivity

GPP: the amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis per unit time NPP: GPP minus the energy used by the primary producers for cellular respiration

GPP-R=NPP

Limiting Nutrients

What limits primary production?

Aquatic Ecosystems
Light (depth penetration) Nitrogen Phosphorus

Terrestrial Ecosystems
Temperature Moisture Minerals (N & P are the main limiting factors for plants.)

Biogeochemical Cycle

The flow of a nutrient from the environment to living organisms and back to the environment

Main reservoir for the nutrient is in the environment

Atmosphere precipitation onto land 111,000

wind-driven water vapor 40,000 evaporation precipitation from ocean into ocean 425,000 385,000
evaporation from land plants (evapotranspiration) 71,000

surface and groundwater flow 40,000

Ocean

Land

Hydrologic Cycle

diffusion between atmosphere and ocean

bicarbonate and carbonate in ocean water photosynthesis aerobic respiration

combustion of fossil fuels

marine food webs death, incorporation sedimentation into sediments marine sediments

uplifting sedimentation

Carbon Cycle - Marine

Carbon Cycle - Land

Carbon in Atmosphere

Atmospheric carbon is mainly carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is added to atmosphere

Aerobic respiration, volcanic action, burning fossil fuels

Removed by photosynthesis

Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse gases impede the escape of heat

from Earths surface

Global Warming

Long-term increase in the temperature of

Earths lower atmosphere

Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is used in amino acids and nucleic

acids

Main reservoir is nitrogen gas in the atmosphere

gaseous nitrogen (N2) in atmosphere nitrogen fixation by industry food webs on land fertilizers uptake by excretion, death, uptake by autotrophs decomposition autotrophs nitrogenous wastes, remains NO3in soil

nitrogen fixation
NH3-,NH4+ in soil

dentrification

ammonification 2. Nitrification NO2in soil

leaching

1. Nitrification

leaching

Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen Fixation

Plants cannot use nitrogen gas

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia (NH3)

Ammonia and ammonium can be taken up by plants

Ammonification & Nitrification

Bacteria and fungi carry out ammonification

conversion of nitrogenous wastes to ammonia

Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium to nitrites

and nitrates

Nitrogen Loss

Nitrogen is often a limiting factor in ecosystems

Nitrogen is lost from soils via leaching and runoff Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates and nitrites to nitrogen gas

Phosphorus Cycle

Phosphorus is part of phospholipids and all

nucleotides

It is the most prevalent limiting factor in ecosystems

Main reservoir is Earths crust; no gaseous phase

Phosphorus Cycle

Human Impact on Ecosystems

Increased Eutrophication of Lakes

Increase in nutrient levels (phosphates, nitrates, etc.)

Can lead to algal blooms
Hypoxia What is it? Why?

Can lead to the eventual loss of fish and other aquatic organisms Accelerated by sewage/factory wastes, leaching of fertilizers into freshwater

Human Impact on Ecosystems

Combustion of Fossil Fuels

Leads to acid precipitation Changes the pH of aquatic ecosystems and affects the soil chemistry of terrestrial ecosystems

Human Impact on Ecosystems

Biological Magnification

Toxins become more concentrated as they move up the food chain

Toxins that are lipophilic cannot be excreted in urine (water!), so they are stored in fatty tissue (adipose tissue) unless the organism has enzymes to break it down Important examples?

The biomass at any given trophic level is produced from a much larger biomass ingested from the level below

Human Impact on Ecosystems

Increasing Carbon Dioxide Concentration in the Atmosphere

Burning fossil fuels (wood, coal, oil) releases CO2 Carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere retain solar heat, causing the greenhouse effect

Human Impact on Ecosystems

Use of chlorofluorocarbons has destroyed ozone (O3) by converting it to oxygen gas. Ozone protects against UV radiation

Increasing skin cancers, cataracts What are your odds of getting skin cancer in your lifetime?

Rain Shadow

Air rises on the windward side, loses moisture before

passing over the mountain

Leeward side is in the rain shadow; deserts

Biomes

Regions of land characterized by conditions and community structure

habitat

Distinctive biomes prevail at certain latitudes and elevations

Tropical Forests
May be dry, deciduous, or rainforests T. Rainforest

Abundant rainfall
4 layers to forest (upper & lower canopy, shrub understory, & herbaceous layer) Poor soil due to leaching Highest species diversity

Grasslands

Savannas
Tropical & subtropical with scattered trees 3 seasons: cool & dry; hot & dry; warm wet. Frequent fires Grazing mammals (African grasslands)

Chaparral
Along coastlines in mid latitudes Mild, rainy winters & hot, dry summers Evergreen shrubs Periodic fires Browsers, rodents reptiles

Temperate Grassland (Prairie)

Similar to savannah without trees Cold winters Maintained by fire Seasonal drought Rich soils Grazing animals; herbivores

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Our biome 3 layered forest Dominant species are deciduous trees Midlatitudes

Deserts

Less than 10 centimeters annual rainfall, high

level of evaporation

Tend to occur at 30 degrees north and south and in rain shadows

One-third of land surface is arid or semiarid

Arctic Tundra

Occurs at high latitudes Permafrost lies beneath surface

Nutrient cycling is very slow

Coldest biome Low species diversity

Arctic tundra in Russia in summer

Taiga (coniferous forest)

Found in northern latitudes Harsh winters; short summers Thin, acidic soil Coniferous trees No permafrost

Alpine Tundra
Occurs at high elevations No underlying permafrost Plants are low cushions or mats as in Arctic tundra

Lakes

Bodies of standing freshwater Eutrophic: shallow, nutrient-rich, has high primary

productivity

Oligotrophic: deep, nutrient-poor, has low primary

productivity

Thermal Layering

In temperate-zone lakes, water can form distinct layers during summer

Seasonal Overturn

In spring and fall, temperatures in the lake

become more uniform

Oxygen-rich surface waters mix with deeper oxygen-poor layers

Nutrients that accumulated at bottom are brought to the surface

Ocean Provinces

Phytoplankton

Floating or weakly swimming photoautotroph's; form the base for most oceanic food webs

Ultra plankton are photosynthetic bacteria

Hydrothermal Vents
Openings in ocean floor that spew mineral-rich, superheated water Primary producers are chemoautotrophic bacteria; use sulfides as energy source

Tube worms at hydrothermal vent

Estuary

Partially enclosed area where saltwater and

freshwater mix

Dominated by salt-tolerant plants Examples are Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, salt marshes of New England

Estuarine Food Webs

Primary producers are phytoplankton and salt-

tolerant plants

Much primary production enters detrital food webs

Detritus feeds bacteria, nematodes, snails, crabs, fish

Intertidal Zones

Littoral zone is submerged only during highest

tides of the year

Midlittoral zone is regularly submerged and exposed

Lower littoral is exposed only during lowest tides of the year

Rocky Intertidal

Grazing food webs prevail

Vertical zonation is readily apparent

Diversity is greatest in lower littoral zone

Upwelling

Upward movement of water along a coast; replaces surface waters that move away from shore