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Chapter 54 Ecosystems. Ecosystem. All the organisms and abiotic factors in a community. Ecosystem Studies. 1. Energy Flow – the movement of energy through trophic levels. 2. Chemical Cycling – the movement of matter from one part of the ecosystem to another. Trophic Levels.
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Ecosystem • All the organisms and abiotic factors in a community.
Ecosystem Studies 1. Energy Flow – the movement of energy through trophic levels. 2. Chemical Cycling – the movement of matter from one part of the ecosystem to another.
Trophic Levels • Division of an ecosystem based on the source of nutrition (energy).
Trophic Levels 1. Primary Producers 2. Primary Consumers 3. Secondary Consumers 4. Detritivores
Primary Producers • Usually plants, capture energy and store it in chemical bonds. • Are the source of the energy available to an ecosystem.
Primary Consumers • Organisms that feed on the producers. • Ex: Herbivores
Secondary Consumers • Organisms that feed on the Primary Consumers. • Ex: Carnivores
Comment • There may be several layers of Secondary Consumers in an ecosystem.
Get their energy from the organic waste produced by all levels. Ex: bacteria and fungi Detritivores
Network showing all the feeding relationships in an ecosystem. Food Webs
Primary Productivity • The rate at which light energy is captured by autotrophs or primary producers.
Primary Productivity • NPP = GPP - Rs • NPP = Net Primary Productivity • GPP = Gross Primary Productivity • Rs = Respiration
Available Energy • Daily - 1022 joules of solar radiation. • 1% - captured by Ps. • About 170 billion tons of organic matter is created each year.
Primary Producers • 50 - 90% of GPP is lost to Rs by the primary producers. • NPP = 10 - 50% • Animals - use only NPP, which limits the food webs.
Limiting Factors • Material or nutrient that is not present in sufficient quantity for the primary producers. • Ex: N, P, K, Mg Light, CO2
Energy Transfers • Not 100% efficient. • Why? • Second law of thermodynamics. • Waste. • Materials that can’t be digested etc.
Energy Transfer • Averages 10% with each Trophic Level change.
Question ? • Why do most ecosystems have only 3 - 4 trophic levels? • There isn’t enough energy passed up through the food web to support more levels.
Implications • There has to be fewer high level consumers in a food web. • The higher level consumers usually need a large geographical area.
Question • Which would support more humans per area? • Eating meat? • Eating plants?
Pyramids • Graphical representation of relationships in ecosystems. • Ex: 1. Productivity 2. Biomass 3. Numbers
Chemical Cycling • Matter is recycled through ecosystems. • Ex: Biogeochemical Cycles
Matter Reservoirs 1. Organic Materials 2. Inorganic Materials • Available Unavailable
Representative Cycles • Water • Carbon • Nitrogen • Know one or more of these cycles for an essay question.
Energy vs Matter • Energy - flows through ecosystems and is mostly lost as heat. • Matter - cycles in ecosystems.
Question ? • What is Man's influence on Ecosystems ? • Humans have had many negative impacts.
Biological Magnification • The concentration of toxins in successive levels of a food web. • Ex: DDT Heavy metals (Hg, Cd Pb)
Causes • Not broken down by digestion/decomposition. • Lipophilic. • Concentrates and effects the upper levels of the food web.
Greenhouse Effects • The trapping of heat by the Earth's atmosphere. (CO2, H2O etc.).
Carbon Dioxide Levels • Prior 1850 - 274 ppm 1958 - 316 ppm 1992 - 351 ppm • Point: the levels of CO2 are rising. The cause is probably due to humans.
Causes • Industrialization. • Burning of fossil fuels. • Loss of forests.