competition:

habitat:
organisms attempt to use the same ecological resource in the same place at the same time. september 9, 2019 September 12, 2019
the specific place in an environment where an animal lives
intraspecific competition: Local or global biogeochemical cycling of nutrients Phosphorus Cycle
among members of the same species
it is more difficult to have an intraspecific competition because they have similar skills, so it’s like habitat vs niche:
fighting against yourself the difference is that the habitat is the place where the animal can live, but the niche is the way that detritivores = decomposers
the animal interacts with the others in the same environment to avoid competition. the habitat is just
interspecific competition: (-/-) the list of places where it can live this line is the interchange of gases (breathing and releasing of CO2)
between members of different species

geologic processes are things such as

in these competitions, maybe someone will be the winner, but it will almost always be a loose-loose
erosion or ground movements (physical)
situation
that move the inorganic matter and make it
an abiotic reservoir

niche: producers: inorganic to organic

decomposers: organic to inorganic
the sum of the use of the biotic and abiotic resources in the environment of a community
it is the existing resources to avoid competition

for example, some birds need certain materials to build their nest, but to avoid competition, they make
an agreement to use different parts of the tree

In the geological uplift, the water with phosphate goes underneath the ground, moving up to the
mountains, and then it goes down from the mountains again. This takes takes a lot of time thoug

Questions:

1. What process causes phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystem to move into aquatic ecosystem?
r/ runoff
Water cycle
2. What process incorporates phosphorus into the soil into plants?
r/ assimilation

3. What are the ways in which phosphorus returns to the abiotic and biotic reservoirs?
r/ for biotic reservoirs, animals absorb phosphorus from the plants and when they die, decompos
break down the animal matter into the soil which will include phosphorus. for abiotic reservoirs
runoff comes from the mountains and into the water, and there, it does the geological uplift to ta
phosphorus from the water into the mountains

niches can be partitioned in dietary matters, in the height of each animal to eat from a tree that
corresponds to each one’s height (an impala is not going to eat from the same height as a giraffe), and
by the season (in the time of most rains, certain animals will eat from the grass and after some time,
when there aren’t many rains, the animals that didn’t eat before, will be eating it now)
exercise of biogeochemical cycles: 4. Why is the cycle of phosphorus considered local as opposed to carbon’s, nitrogen’s and water
r/ because there is no atmosphere involved in this cycle, so there is no way that the phosphorus c
move globally because there are no gases. In the other cycles, there is atmosphere involved
1. Why does life on earth depend on the recycling of chemicals?
Because matter cannot be created or disappeared so we depend on the transformation and recycling of
nutrients Nitrogen Cycle
2. What is the role of producers in biogeochemical cycles?
Producers are the ones who change inorganic matter into organic matter

3. What are the ways in which nutrients return to the reservoir?

By gas interchange and decomposition
Carbon cycle
4. Why are some nutrients considered global and others local?
Global nutrients are the ones who go into the atmosphere because those are the ones who can be
transported throughout the entire world. The local nutrients are the ones who only move in a region
because they cannot go into the atmosphere, so they can be transported within certain limits

5. Compare and contrast water and carbon cycle transpiration: O2 released by plants
Differences: In water cycle, we don’t have detritus. There are carbon fuels produced by humans in evaporation: water into gas
carbon cycle but not in water cycle. CO2 is not on liquid state and in the water cycle, there are in all rainfall: water or snow from the clouds
states. drainage: water from the soil into the streams or any bodies of water

Similarities: both are global. They involve solids and gases. They involve producers and consumers

IGCSE questions:


IGCSE questions: 1. On mountains, rainwater drains over the surface and sinks into the soil.
Explain why the soil on mountainsides may be poor for agriculture:


Look at the words above and place them in the correct sentence
1. Places where nutrients accumulate outside biotic factors are called reservoirs
2. Components of an ecosystem, biogeochemical are cycles that include both biotic and abiotic
components
3. There isn’t a continuous influx of nutrients in ecosystems
4. Producers incorporate chemicals from the abiotic reservoir into organic compounds
5. The reservoir of carbon is the atmosphere and it is part of a global cycle
6. Soil is the main reservoir of phosphorus, a very important nutrient
R/The water falling over the mountainside would flood the crops and the soil. Also, the nutrients
would go along with the water so there would never be any nutrients in the soil, not allowing the soil
to be good for agriculture.
2. State two ways in which water may leave the body of a mammal?
We humans can’t absorb N2 because our bodies don’t have what it takes to intake it. The way to
a. sweating
it would be by eating a plant or animal that have already absorbed N2.
b. bleeding
3. Describe how the water of a plant may end up in the cells of an animal?
Since animals are consumers, they would eat the plant. After that, they would digest and absorb the
nutrients from the plant and turn it into water molecules.

The process of turning the leftovers of dead animals or plants into inorganic matter is called detritus

We need to produce CO2, like the ones that the factories produce, however, it is becoming too much
in the atmosphere so the part of plant respiration and ocean uptake cannot take that much.

Equation for photosynthesis:

CO2 + ATP (solar light) = C6H12O6 (glucose) + oxygen

1

with phosphate goes underneath the ground, moving up to the
rom the mountains again. This takes takes a lot of time though
us in terrestrial ecosystem to move into aquatic ecosystem?
horus into the soil into plants?
sphorus returns to the abiotic and biotic reservoirs?
orb phosphorus from the plants and when they die, decomposers
the soil which will include phosphorus. for abiotic reservoirs,
nd into the water, and there, it does the geological uplift to take the
mountains
considered local as opposed to carbon’s, nitrogen’s and water’s?
nvolved in this cycle, so there is no way that the phosphorus could
gases. In the other cycles, there is atmosphere involved
se our bodies don’t have what it takes to intake it. The way to take
mal that have already absorbed N2.
September 23, 2019
Food webs and food chains
Food chains: they are a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten.
The network of these food chains (which is how it is represented in a complete ecosystem) are called
food webs. energy received from the producers starts to reduce as it advances in the food chain. in the
example below, the frog gets a lot more than the hawk since it is closer to the producer. If a food chain
doesn’t have a producer, it is not a food chain but it can still be a food web.
Food webs: they are made up of many food chains together, which feature the interaction between
producers, consumers, predators, etc… They show energy and matter moving through an ecosystem
that involve primary producers and various consumers
types of organisms and their levels in the food chains:
- carnivores: kill and eat other animals (1)
- scavengers: consume the carcasses of other animals that have been killed by predators or have
died of other causes (2)
- decomposers: bacteria and fungi chemically break down organic matter. the decay caused by
decomposers produces detritus (small pieces of dead and decaying plant and animal remains) (3)
- detritivores: they consume small particles of organic matter (detritus). commonly digest
decomposers that live on and in detritus particles (3)
Trophic levels and ecological pyramids
Ecological pyramids show the amount of energy per each level. The farther away from the producer, the less energy there is
pyramid of energy
Pyramid of energy: only a small part of the energy that passes through a trophic level is ultimately stored in the bodies of the
organisms at the next level. Energy is spent on life processes like respiration, movement, growth, reproduction, etc… Most of the
remaining energy is released into the environment as heat
biomass pyramid number pyramid: this one
means that per each oak
tree there are all of those
insects and woodpeckers
Pyramids of biomass and numbers: a pyramid of biomass shows the relative amount of living matter available at each trophic level in
an ecosystem. a pyramid of numbers shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem
2
key concepts

organic matter: carbon is the main atom

inorganic matter: carbon is not the main atom