Ecosystem Components, Energy Flow and Matter Cycling

1. Ecosystem Components, Energy Flow and Matter Cycling Chapter 4 Miller’s Living in the Environment !3th Edition

2. Chapter 4Ecology, Ecosystems, and Food Webs • 4-1 Ecology and Life • 4-2 Earth’s Life-Support Systems • 4-3 Ecosystem Concept • 4-4 Food Webs and Energy Flow in Ecosystems • 4-5 How do Ecologists learn about Ecosystems? • 4-6 Ecosystem Services and Sustainability

3. 4-1 Ecology and Life • Ecology- study of relationships between organisms and their environment • Ecology examines how organisms interact with their nonliving (abiotic) environment such as sunlight, temperature, moisture, and vital nutrients • Biotic interaction among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and the ecosphere

4. Distinction between Species • Wild species- one that exists as a population of individuals in a natural habitat, ideally similar to the one in which its ancestors evolved • Domesticated species- animals such as cows, sheep, food crops, animals in zoos

5. Vocabulary • Population • Group of interacting individuals of the same species that occupy a specific area at the same time • Genetic Diversity • Populations that are dynamic groups that change in size, age distribution, density, and genetic composition as a result of changes in environmental conditions

6. Habitat • Place where a population or individual organism naturally lives • Community • Complex interacting network of plants, animals, and microorganisms • Ecosystem • Community of different species interacting with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy • Ecosphere or Biosphere • All earth's ecosystems

7. What is Life? • All life shares a set of basic characteristics • Made of cells that have highly organized internal structure and functions • Characteristic types of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules in each cell

8. Living Organisms • Capture and transform matter and energy from their environment to supply their needs for survival, growth, and reproduction • Maintain favorable internal conditions, despite changes in their external environment through homeostasis, if not overstressed

9. Living Organisms • Perpetuate themselves through reproduction • Adapt to changes in environmental conditions through the process of evolution

10. www.sws.uiuc.edu/nitro/biggraph.asp

11. The Earth contains several layers or concentric spheres • Lithosphere • Crust and upper mantle • Crust • Outermost, thin silicate zone, eight elements make up 98.5% of the weight of the earth’s crust 4-2 Geosphere

12. Core • Innermost zone, mostly iron, solid inner part, surrounded by a liquid core of molten material • Inner Core is hotter than surface of the Sun • Mantle • Surrounded by a thick, solid zone, largest zone, rich with iron, silicon, oxygen, and magnesium, very hot 4-2 Geosphere

13. 4-2 Atmosphere • Thin envelope of air around the planet • Troposphere • extends about 17 kilometers above sea level, contains nitrogen (78%), oxygen(21%), and is where weather occurs • Stratosphere • 17-48 kilometers above sea level, lower portions contains enough ozone (O3) to filter out most of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation

14. 4-2 Hydrosphere Consists of the earth’s liquid water, ice, and water vapor in the atmosphere

15. What Sustains Life on Earth? • Life on the earth depends on three interconnected factors • One-way flow of high-quality energy from the sun • Cycling of matter or nutrients (all atoms, ions, or molecules needed for survival by living organisms), through all parts of the ecosphere • Gravity, which allows the planet to hold onto its atmosphere and causes the downward movement of chemicals in the matter cycles

16. Sun • Fireball of hydrogen (72%) and helium (28%) • Nuclear fusion • Sun has existed for 6 billion years • Sun will stay for another 6.5 billion years • Visible light that reaches troposphere is the ultraviolet ray which is not absorbed in ozone

17. Solar Energy • 72% of solar energy warms the lands • 0.023% of solar energy is captured by green plants and bacteria • Powers the cycling of matter and weather system • Distributes heat and fresh water

18. www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ climch/clichgr1.htm

19. Type of Nutrients • Nutrient • Any atom, ion, or molecule an organism needs to live grow or reproduce • Ex: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen… etc • Macronutrient • nutrient that organisms need in large amount • Ex: phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, iron … etc • Micronutrient • nutrient that organism need in small amount • Ex: zinc, sodium, copper… etc

20. Biomes– Large regions characterized by distinct climate, and specific life-forms Climate– Long-term weather; main factor determining what type of life will be in a certain area.

21. Ecosphere Separation • The Ecosphere and it’s ecosystem can be separated into two parts • Abiotic- nonliving, components • Ex: air, water, solar energy • Physical and chemical factors that influence living organisms • Biotic- living, components • Ex: plants and animals

22. Range of Tolerance • Variations in it’s physical and chemical environment • Differences in genetic makeup, health, and age. • Ex: trout has to live in colder water than bass

23. Limiting Factor • More important than others in regulating population growth • Ex: water light, and soil • Lacking water in the desert can limit the growth of plants

24. Limiting Factor Principle • too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit growth of population, even if all the other factors are at optimum (favorable) range of tolerance. • Ex: If a farmer plants corn in phosphorus-poor soil, even if water, nitrogen are in a optimum levels, corn will stop growing, after it uses up available phosphorus.

25. Dissolved Oxygen Content • Amount of oxygen gas dissolved in a given volume of water at a particular temperature and pressure. • Limiting factor of aquatic ecosystem

26. Salinity • amount of salt dissolved in given volume of water

27. Living Organisms in Ecosystem Producers or autotrophs- makes their own food from compound obtained from environment. • Ex: plant gets energy or food from sun

28. Living Organisms in Ecosystem Photosynthesis- ability of producer to convert sunlight, abiotic nutrients to sugars and other complex organic compounds • Chlorophyll- traps solar energy and converts into chemical energy

30. Producer transmit 1-5% of absorbed energy into chemical energy, which is stored in complex carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acid in plant tissue

31. Chemosynthesis- • Bacteria can convert simple compounds from their environment into more complex nutrient compound without sunlight • Ex: becomes consumed by tubeworms, clams, crabs • Bacteria can survive in great amount of heat

32. Consumers or Heterotrophs • Obtain energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms or their remains

33. Consumers • Herbivores (plant-eaters) or primary consumers • Feed directly on producers • Deer, goats, rabbits http://www.holidays.net/easter/bunny1.htm

34. Consumers • Carnivores (meat eater) or secondary consumers • Feed only on primary consumer • Lion, Tiger

35. Consumers • Tertiary (higher-level) consumer • Feed only on other carnivores • Wolf

36. Consumers • Omnivores- consumers that eat both plants and animals • Ex: pigs, humans, bears

37. Consumers • Scavengers- feed on dead organisms • Vultures, flies, crows, shark

38. Consumers • Detritivores- live off detritus • Detritus parts of dead organisms and wastes of living organisms. • Detritus feeders- extract nutrients from partly decomposed organic matter plant debris, and animal dung.

39. Consumers • Decomposers - Fungi and bacteria break down and recycle organic materials from organisms’ wastes and from dead organisms • Food sources for worms and insects • Biodegradable - can be broken down by decomposers

40. Respiration • Aerobic Respiration • Uses oxygen to convert organic nutrients back into carbon dioxide and water • Glucose + oxygen  Carbon dioxide + water + energy • Anaerobic Respiration or Fermentation • Breakdown of glucose in absence of oxygen

41. Food Chain • Food Chain-Series of organisms in which each eats or decomposes the preceding one • Decomposers complete the cycle of matter by breaking down organic waste, dead animal. Plant litter and garbage. • Whether dead or alive organisms are potential (standard) sources of food for other organisms.

42. Second Law of Energy • Organisms need high quality chemical energy to move, grow and reproduce, and this energy is converted into low-quality heat that flows into environment • Trophic levels or feeding levels- Producer is a first trophic level, primary consumer is second trophic level, secondary consumer is third. • Decomposers process detritus from all trophic levels.

43. Food Web • Complex network of interconnected food chains • Food web and chains • One-way flow of energy • Cycling of nutrients through ecosystem

44. Food Webs • Grazing Food Webs • Energy and nutrients move from plants to herbivores • Then through an array of carnivores • Eventually to decomposers (100,000 Units of Energy)

45. Food Webs • Grazing Food Webs • Energy and nutrients move from plants to herbivores • Then through an array of carnivores • Eventually to decomposers (1,000 Units of Energy)

46. Food Webs • Grazing Food Webs • Energy and nutrients move from plants to herbivores • Then through an array of carnivores • Eventually to decomposers (100 Units of Energy)

47. Food Webs • Grazing Food Webs • Energy and nutrients move from plants to herbivores • Then through an array of carnivores • Eventually to decomposers (10 Units of Energy)

48. Food Webs • Grazing Food Webs • Energy and nutrients move from plants to herbivores • Then through an array of carnivores • Eventually to decomposers (1 Units of Energy)

49. Food Webs • Detrital Food Webs • Organic waste material or detritus is the major food source • Energy flows mainly from producers (plants) to decomposers and detritivores.

50. Pyramid of Energy Flow • More steps or trophic levels in food chain or web, greater loss of usable energy as energy flows through trophic levels • More trophic levels the Chains or Webs have more energy is consumed after each one. That’s why food chains and webs rarely have more than 4 steps