Chapter 4

Ecosytem Ecology
Nur Atirah Hasmi/FSG/2020
 *
4. Ecosystem ecology

A. Producers, consumers and decomposers

- Heterotrophic nutrition - omnivores, herbivores and carnivores

B. Energy flow in ecosystem

- Concepts of energy transfer

C. Ecological pyramids
- Pyramids of number
- Pyramids of biomass
- Pyramids of energy

D. Biogeochemical cycle
Water cycle
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Phosphorus cycle
 * Lesson Outcomes
• Describe terminologies in ecosystem ecology
• Explain the components and processes involved in
heterotrophic nutrition
• Discuss the concepts and mechanisms of energy
flow and energy transfer in ecosystem
• Distinguish between all ecological pyramids
• Illustrate the main biogeochemical cycles in
ecosystem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWPj2IkeklI
*A. Producers, consumers and decomposers
Heterotrophic nutrition - omnivores, herbivores and carnivores

Ecosystem ecology is the combined study of biological

communities and the abiotic components of ecosystems. It
focuses on how matter and energy flow through both organisms
and the abiotic components of the environment.
Trophic structure among producers, consumers and
decomposers:

Consumers Decomposers
Producers
• Organisms that • Organisms that • Organisms that
support the survival depend on consume non-living
of other species producer in order matters
• Autotrophic to survive • Closing the loop of
organisms • Heterotrophic nutrient cycle by
• Is eaten by organisms returning the basic
consumers • Ex: herbivores & nutrient to ecosystem
• Ex: algae & plants carnivores • Ex: bacteria & fungi
 Producer – an organism considered as a source of energy
for those above it in a food chain
 The sun is the ultimate source of energy
 During photosynthesis, green plants and certain
bacteria (Primary producer) trap sunlight energy and
use it to assemble carbon dioxide and water into
carbohydrates.
 Producers are autotrophic and usually photosynthetic
organisms
 Consumers - heterotrophic organisms
that feed on those below in food chains
 Obtain energy either directly or indirectly
from producers

 Primary consumers – plant

eaters/herbivores

 Secondary consumers – consume primary

consumers/carnivores that feed upon
herbivores

 Tertiary (third-level) or quaternary

(fourth-level) consumers – consume
secondary or tertiary consumers
respectively.

 The consumer at the end of food chain is

known as the top carnivore.
 Decomposers and Detritivors
(Heterotrophic organisms)

Decomposer :
an organism that obtain energy from
chemical breakdown of dead
organism/animal or plant wastes.

Many decomposer are bacteria and fungi

-secrete enzymes on dead matter to
absorb the breakdown product
(saprotroph : organism that feeds on
decaying organic matter)
 Detritivores :
 an animal that feeds on
detritus (particles of organic
material derived from dead
and decomposing organisms,
resulting from the activities of
decomposer).

 e.g of detritivores -
Earthworms, blowflies,
maggots and woodlice.

 Able to recycle nutrients from

nonliving or decaying organic
material .
Retrieved from www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu
Trophic Levels in Food Webs

 Food webs can be divided into trophic levels

 Trophic comes from trophos (Gk) for nourishment
 Primary producers comprise the first trophic level
 Primary consumers – herbivores – make up the second
trophic level
 Secondary consumers (carnivores and omnivores) are the
third trophic level
 Tertiary consumers (higher order carnivores and
omnivores
 Most of the energy is released as heat into the
environment
Trophic relationship among producers,
consumers and decomposers
 Chapter 4
Ecosytem Ecology
Nur Atirah Hasmi/FSG/2020
*B. Energy flow in ecosystem
Concepts of energy transfer
 * Food Chains
the transfer of energy from
primary producers through a
sequence of organisms in
which each eats the one
below it in the chain and is
eaten by the one above.
The position an organism
occupies in a food chain
known as its trophic level.

 Example
– green plants - primary producer
- herbivores – primary consumers
- carnivores – secondary consumers
 * Food web
A system of food chains that
are linked with one another.
Most food chains are
interconnected
formed food webs
In food web, an organism may
feed at more than one
trophic level.

Example
- barnacle feed on phytoplankton, in
which case barnacle is a primary
consumer.
- however, barnacle may also feed on
zooplankton, which are themselves
(zooplankton) are primary consumer,
and the barnacle is the secondary
consumer
 Food webs :
more realistic
allow individual
species to consume at
more than one trophic
level
Matter moves in
numerous cycle
 * Three Main Concepts of
Energy Flow

 Energy flows through ecosystems in a linear manner

 Matter moves in numerous cycles through organisms

to the abiotic environment and back into the
organisms

 The abiotic environment causes conditions that

impact the success of various species and their
structural and functional adaptations
 * The Linear Flow of Energy
Through Ecosystems

 Energy cannot be reused by organisms, so energy

flow is linear, is defined by who eats whom
 Solar energy is trapped by photosynthesis as chemical
energy
 Chemical energy is then available to do work
 Herbivores collect some of that energy
 Carnivores and omnivores in turn collect some of the
energy captured by the herbivores

 Food energy moves in complex webs because

individuals rarely eat just one organism, or are
eaten by just one organism
 * The Linear Flow of Energy
Through Ecosystems
• Energy enters ecosystem through sunlight
• Sunlight firstly capture by plants or algae (producers) during
photosynthesis
• Photosynthesis process convert the light energy into chemical
energy (starch or glucose)
• Plants/algae are eaten by other herbivorous organisms –
chemical energy from plants/algae is transferred to them.
• Herbivorous organisms are eaten by carnivorous animals –
chemical energy from herbivores is converted into chemical
energy in carnivores.
• When all the organisms died, decomposers start to decompose
them – energy is released to ecosystem as heat energy
• Note also: all herbivores and carnivores release energy in terms
of heat when they doing metabolic and respiration processes.
 Concepts of energy transfer
• As energy flow between trophic levels it usually less
than 20% efficiency (its only 10% efficient)
• Light energy is not fully absorb by plants/algae during
photosynthesis
• Once plants/algae are eaten by herbivores, not all
energy taken from plants/algae are converted into
useful energy
(Note that the useful energy is energy used for survival
such as growth and reproduction)
• The same thing goes to carnivores when they eat on
herbivores
 SUN
The amount of light
energy converted
into chemical 1,000,000 J
(not all this
energy by the energy is taken
autotroph in an by plants during
ecosystem is called photosynthesis)

the primary
production

The amount of
chemical energy Consume by
detritivores
Lost as heat to
environment
harvest by
consumers from
producers and
converted into their
own biomass is Conclusion:
called the secondary • Most of chemical energy from plants is not fully
production consumed by herbivores.
• Only chemical energy stores as the biomass of
herbivores is available as food for next consumers
 SUN

PRODUCTION 1,000,000 J
EFFICIENCY (not all this
energy is taken
by plants during
photosynthesis)

When a caterpillar 1/6 X 1000000J = 200J

feeds on a leaf, only
about one-sixth of
the leaf’s energy is
used for secondary Consume by Lost as heat to
production detritivores 17% X 200J = 33J environment

An organism’s
production efficiency
is the fraction of
energy stored in food Conclusion:
• Most of chemical energy from plants is not fully
that is not used for
consumed by herbivores.
respiration • Only chemical energy stores as the biomass of
herbivores is available as food for next consumers
 * Trophic efficiency for energy transfer

• Trophic Efficiency is
the percentage of
10%
production transferred
from one trophic
level to the next level 10%
• Energy transfer
become less and less
efficient from 10%
producers to
subsequent consumers
• Production efficiency 1%
= fraction of energy
stored in food that is
not used for
%
respiration
 * Trophic efficiency for energy transfer

• It is usually about
10%, with a range of 0.1%
5% to 20%
10%
• Approximately 0.1% 1%
of chemical energy
fixed by 10%
photosynthesis 10%
reaches a tertiary 10%
consumer
• A pyramid of net 100%
production 1%
represents the loss of
energy with each
transfer in a food %
chain
 Chapter 4
Ecosytem Ecology
Nur Atirah Hasmi/FSG/2020
 C. Ecological pyramids
Pyramids of energy
Pyramids of biomass
Pyramids of number

An ecological pyramid illustrates the trophic levels

- Is a graphical representations of the trophic structure of
ecosystems

Typical pyramids of numbers show

diminishing numbers in successive levels

Inverted pyramids of numbers are Parasites

seen among hosts and parasites,
decomposers and others Host
 organized with the
productivity of :
 plants on the bottom,
 herbivores above the plants,
 carnivores above the
herbivores.

 If the ecosystem sustains top

carnivores, they are
represented at the apex of
the ecological pyramid of
productivity.
 * Pyramid of energy
An energy pyramid indicates the energy content of each
biomass level.

Indicate the2 energy content, expressed as kcal/m2/yr

(calories/m /year).
 Pyramid of energy follow second law of thermodynamics:
 the universal principle states that whenever energy is
transformed from one state to another, the entropy of the
universe must increase.
 Entropy refers to the randomness of distributions of
matter and energy

 In other understanding – whenever energy transformed from

one state to another, the energy at the next state is
decrease.

Method use to measure energy content:

• Burn a sample of tissue in a calorimeter
• The heat released during combustion is measured to
determine the energy content of organic material
* Pyramid of energy

Whenever the fixed energy of biomass is passed along a food chain,

substantial energy losses occur during each transfer.
 Lost of energy in each trophic:

* Only a certain amount of food is captured and eaten by organisms

on the next trophic level.

* Some of food that is eaten cannot be digested (undigested waste).

* Only portion of digested food becomes part of the organism's body
while the rest is used as source of energy.
* build up temporary ATP in mitochondria that is then used to synthesize
proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, fuel contraction of muscles, nerve
conduction, and other functions

* Only about 10% of the energy available at a particular trophic level

is incorporated into tissues at the next level since conversions
efficiencies are always much less than 100%.
* At each trophic level, the energy that not used is back to the
environment as heat.
 WHY ENERGY IS DECREASING AS THE TROPHIC
LEVEL INCREASE?

In the context of transfers of fixed biological energy along

the trophic chains of ecosystems:

-increases in entropy are represented by losses of energy as

heat.
-because energy is converted from a highly ordered state in
biomass, to a much less-ordered state in biomass condition as
heat.

The end result is that:

- transfers of energy between organisms along food chains
are inefficient, and
-this causes the structure of productivity in ecological food
webs to always be pyramid shaped.
 * Pyramid of biomass
 A graphic representation of the amount of organic material
measured in grams of dry mass per square meter (g m-2), found in
particular habitat at ascending trophic levels of food chain.
 Instead of energy, the approximate masses of the animals and
plants involved are "stacked up" in pyramidal fashion
 with the primary producers (plants) at the bottom, and the last
(generally largest) carnivore in the "food chain" at the top.

A biomass pyramid -
how an estimate of
the total mass of
living material at
each level
– May be dry mass,
living mass or total
volume
 Typically there is a ~ 90% reduction per trophic
level with regard to total biomass
 An inverted biomass pyramid may be seen in
very productive aquatic ecosystems where the
algae turn over is very high
*

In this example, the biomass of the shark are less than

the below level. The primary producers have the
largest biomass.
Biomass– organic materials measured in grams of dry
mass per square meter (g m-2)
* Pyramid of numbers
 the graphic representation of
number of individuals per unit
area of various trophic levels
stepwise with producers forming
the base and top carnivores the tip

 The shape of the pyramid of

numbers vary from ecosystem to
ecosystem

Example:
 In aquatic ecosystems and
herbaceous communities,
autotrophs are present in large
numbers per unit area.
 They support a lesser number of
herbivores, which in turn support
fewer carnivores.
 5

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Pyramid of Numbers in a Aquatic Ecosystem

So, the producers are smallest sized but maximum in number while, top
carnivores are larger in size but lesser in number, so these cannot be used
as prey by another. Hence the pyramid of numbers is upright.
* Poisons and Pollutants Dramatically Accumulate With
Each Trophic Level

DDT (now banned in the US) and many other stable,

persistent toxins and pollutants build through the food
chain

Persistence derives from their novel structures;

organisms have not evolved schemes for their metabolic
breakdown

So, biological magnification occurs at each trophic level

and tertiary consumers (e.g. sea gulls) typically have
greatly increased tissue concentrations (expressed as
parts per million) of the substance. This is true for all
high level consumers
 * Productivity of ecosystem
Is about ecosystem metabolism and energy flow

Primary producers use light energy to synthesize chemical

energy (energy-rich organic molecules) which can be broken
down to generate ATP

The extent of photosynthetic production sets the spending

limit for the energy budget of the entire ecosystem.

The amount of light energy converted to chemical energy

(organic compound) by an ecosystem’s autotrophs during a
given time period is called primary production.
 * Ecosystems Vary in Productivity
• The gross primary productivity (GPP) of an ecosystem
expresses the rate at which energy is captured during
photosynthesis
- the amount of energy that is converted to chemical
energy by photosynthesis per unit time.

• Energy that remains in plant tissues after cellular

respiration is called net primary productivity(NPP).
*NPP is the amount of biomass (the energy stored in
plant tissues) found excess of the broken down by
plant’s respiration for daily activities
* The rate at which organic matter incorporated in plant tissues to
produce growth

* Net Gross Plant

Primary = Primary _ Respiration
Production Production

*NPP and GPP expressed as :

- energy per unit area per unit time (kcal/m2/year)
- Biomass per unit area per unit time (g/m2/year)
*Plant respiration expressed as per unit area per time
(m2/yr).
• Only NPP is available to consumers
 Chapter 4
Ecosytem Ecology
Nur Atirah Hasmi/FSG/2020
D. Biogeochemical cycle
1) Carbon cycle
2) Nitrogen cycle
3) Phosphorus cycle
4) Water cycle
 * Matter Cycles Through Ecosystems

Biogeochemical cycles are cycles of matter between the

abiotic (nonbiologically derived) and the biotic (biologically
derived) components of the environment

• The carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water cycles

are central to life on Earth
• Carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles have atmospheric
components, and cycle on a global scale
• Phosphorus has no atmospheric component, and cycles
on a local scale
*A model of
nutrient cycling
includes main
reservoirs of
elements and
processes that
transfer elements
between
reservoirs
*All elements
cycle between
organic and
inorganic
reservoirs
*In studying cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorus, ecologists focus on four factors

• Each chemical’s biological importance

• Forms in which each chemical is available or
used by organisms
• Major reservoirs for each chemical
• Key processes driving movement of each
chemical through its cycle
 * The Carbon Cycle
Carbon dioxide is the pivotal molecule of the carbon cycle
Carbon is present as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at ~0.03%, as
carbon dioxide, carbonate and bicarbonate in aquatic habitats, and in
rocks such as limestone
Carbon is fixed into organic molecules such as glucose by
photosynthesis
Organic molecules are used in cellular respiration, and/or may be passed
to consumers
Organic carbon may be stored in tree wood, or stored even longer in
fossil fuels
Fossil fuel or wood combustion releases carbon to the atmosphere
The organic carbon of marine organisms may end up in limestone
Erosion returns limestone carbon to the water
 * Human Impact On the Carbon Cycle
 Human activities have disturbed the global carbon budget
 Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, humans
have contributed an increasing amount of carbon dioxide
to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels
 The enhanced carbon dioxide may be leading to
catastrophic changes in climate, with global warming
resulting in melting of the ice caps, resulting in global
change in sea level, changes in precipitation, loss of arable
land (and coastal cities), and mass extinction with
resultant loss of biodiversity
*
*All life requires nitrogen compounds: component of
proteins, nucleic acids, amino acids & chlorophyll.
*N2 in atmosphere = major reservoir (78%).
*N2 cannot be use by most organisms-stable.
• The main reservoir of nitrogen is the atmosphere
(N2), though this nitrogen must be converted to NH4+
or NO3– for uptake by plants, via nitrogen fixation by
bacteria
• Organic nitrogen is decomposed to NH4+ by
ammonification, and NH4+ is decomposed to NO3– by
nitrification
• Denitrification converts NO3– back to N2
*Plants used nitrogen in form of:
nitrate ions (NO3−)
ammonia (NH3)
urea (NH2)2CO
*Animals obtained nitrogen from plants
*Bacteria are essential to the nitrogen cycle
*Nitrogen gas in the atmosphere is very abundant, but is such a
stable molecule that bacteria are needed to break it apart
and this process consumes much energy

*5 process of nitrogen cycle:

(1) Nitrogen fixation
(2) Nitrification
(3) Assimilation
(4) Ammonification
(5) Denitrification
 *

1
4
2
 1. Nitrogen fixation
*Changing inert nitrogen gas (N2) in atmosphere to
ammonia(NH3) or ammonium

*Nitrogen fixation-nitrogen is fixed to form that organism can use

 Most nitrogen fixation is accomplished by nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
 The enzyme nitrogenase performs nitrogen fixation
 Functions only in the absence of oxygen
 Present in the heterocysts of cyanobacteria such as
Anabaena, some soil bacteria, & Rhizobium, which lives
in root nodules of legumes such as beans and peas
and some woody plants
a. Atmospheric Fixation
*Thunder/lightning discharges can also fixed N2 to nitrate
*Free nitrogen atom combine with oxygen to form nitrogen
oxides (NO).
*NO dissolve in rain, forming nitrates (NO3-).

b. Industrial Fixation
*High pressure and 600°C + catalyst (enzyme)
*2N2 + 3H2 ⇆ 2NH3 (ammonia)
*H2 obtained from natural gas/petroleum
*Ammonia can be used directly as fertilizer, but most of it is
processed further to form urea and ammonium nitrate
(NH4NO3).
c. Biological Fixation
*Only for certain types of bacteria.
*Mutualism between Rhizobium sp(nitrogen-fixing bacteria) and
legume (beans,peas), where its live in nodules on the root of
legume
* produce nitrogenase to break up N2 and combine nitrogen atoms with
hydrogen

* In aquatic environment, Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria fixed N2 by their

oxygen-excluding cell called heterocysts
* Cyanobacteria also can have mutualism interaction with another
organisms(algae)

Rhizobium sp. and legume

*2. Nitrification
* Nitrification - Nitrifying bacteria convert the nitrogen
compounds to produce metabolic energy
* The conversion of ammonia or ammonium to nitrate.

* Soil bacteria are responsible for 2 steps process of nitrification:

 Nitrosomonas and Nitrococcus are soil bacteria which convert
ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO2-).
 Nitrobacter, another soil bacterium, converts nitrite to nitrate
(NO3-).
* These bacteria are called nitrifying bacteria.

Nitrobacter
Nitrosomonas (Nitrification)
*3. Assimilation
Assimilation is the uptake of nitrate or ammonia by
plant roots
*- Animals assimilate nitrogen by consuming plants or
other animals

* Root absorb ammonia, ammonium or nitrate that was

formed by nitrogen fixation and incorporate the nitrogen
into protein, DNA and chlorophyll of plants
* Animal will consume plant tissues, they assimilate
nitrogen by taking in plant nitrogen compound and
converting them to animal nitrogen compound
4. Ammonification
*Ammonification is the conversion of organic nitrogen
compounds into ammonia

* The conversion of organic nitrogen compounds into ammonia

and ammonium ion.
* Ammonification begin when organisms produce nitrogen-
containing waste such as urea and uric acid
* Then,organisms dead and decomposed, release nitrogen into
the abiotic environment as ammonia
* Bacteria that responsible in ammonification process is known
as ammonifying bacteria.
*5. Denitrification
 Nitrogen-containing wastes are decomposed by
ammonifying bacteria are recyclers of organic nitrogen
 Denitrification is the conversion of nitrate to gaseous
nitrogen, which represents a net loss of available
nitrogen in the system
 Denitrifying bacteria are anaerobes

* The reduction of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen (N2)

* Denitrifying bacteria reverse the action of nitrogen-fixing and
nitrifying bacteria returning nitrogen to at as nitrogen gas
* Ex:Micrococcus denitrificans & Pseudomonas sp.
* Denitrifying bacteria live deep in soil and in aquatic
sediments = anaerobic/ no oxygen condition.
2NO3- + 10e- + 12H+ → N2 + 6H2O
 * Human Impact on the N Cycle
 Human interaction with the nitrogen cycle can cause water
pollution
 Usage of nitrogenous fertilizers enriches bodies of water when
agricultural areas are eroded
 Combustion of fossil fuels causes nitrogen to be rapidly
converted from organic materials to the atmosphere
 High temperatures produce nitrogen oxides, which create
severe pollution problems
 Involved in photochemical pollution: smog
 Form nitric and nitrous acid, they acidify water in the ground
and streams, lakes
 Acidification has impact on soil chemistry so that essential
nutrients like Ca and K wash out of the soil
 N2O (nitrous oxide) also depletes the atmospheric ozone layer
• Phosphorus is a major constituent of nucleic acids, phospholipids,
and ATP
• Phosphate (PO43–) is the most important inorganic form of
phosphorus
• The largest reservoirs are sedimentary rocks of marine origin, the
oceans, and organisms
• Phosphate binds with soil particles, and movement is often localized

The phosphorus cycle lacks a gaseous component

Phosphorus (P) is a critical component of cellular metabolism and
structure
Phosphorus cycles from the land to water, into sediments and back to
the land
 * The Phosphorus Cycle
* Phosphorus which does not exist in gaseous state
* That is why the cycle is started from the land to sediment in the
ocean and back to the land
* As water runs over rocks containing Phosphorus, it gradually erodes the
surface and carries off inorganic phosphate(PO4‾³)
* The erosion of phosphorus release PO4‾³ into soil, where it is taken by
roots of plant : PO4‾³ used to build up DNA, RNA, ATP, proteins and
enzymes
* Animals will obtain PO4‾³ from food they eat (plant) and also from
drinking H2O : phosphorous as a component of bones, teeth, shells;
DNA, RNA, ATP, proteins and enzymes
* PO4‾³ released by decomposers becomes part of the pool of inorganic
phosphate in soil that can be used back by plants
* Dissolved PO4‾³ enter aquatic ecosystem through the absorption by
algae and aquatic plant.
* These are turn eaten by fishes and mollusks.
* as they die the phosphorus is recycled back to the water. Decomposers
that break down waste and dead organisms release PO4‾³ into H2O.
* PO4‾³ in H2O will used again by aquatic producers
* Some PO4‾³ is carried from the land by streams and rivers to
ocean, where it will deposited on the sea floor and remain for
millions of years
* Marine birds(Guano) take phosphorous containing fish and return to
land, where they defecate.
* Their excretions contain high levels of phosphorous and in this way
marine birds return phosphorous from the ocean to the land.
* PO4‾³ will be once again eroded into soil by weathering/ human
mining activity.
 * Human Impact on P Cycling

Phosphorus normally moves only in small quantities into

the terrestrial ecosystems from aquatic/marine
ecosystems; it is typically rare and limits growth.

Humans affect the natural cycling of phosphorus

Fertilizers, runoff containing animal wastes, and
sewage introduce phosphorus into aquatic
ecosystems
This requires rejuvenation of soil phosphorus, which
comes from deposits in limited locations within the
US
Phosphorus loss from ecosystems is normally slow
However, it is vastly accelerated by clear-cutting and
resultant erosion
*WATER CYCLE
*The oceans contain 97% of the biosphere’s water; 2% is in glaciers
and polar ice caps, and 1% is in lakes, rivers, and groundwater
*Water molecules enter the atmosphere by evaporation from the
ocean, ponds, streams, and lakes.
*In addition, water absorbed from soil by a plant, is transported to
leaves, then loss by transpiration (the loss of water vapor from the
land plants)
*In the atmosphere, the water molecule condense and forms clouds.
Then, its fall as precipitation such as rain, sleet, snow or hail to the
earth surface
* Water in form of - liquid = river/stream/lakes
- solid = iceberg/ snow
- gas = water vapor
*Water is passed on through organisms in the food chain
*Water move underground into river/ stream – finally to sea
* Hydrological Cycle
 * Decomposition and
Nutrient Cycling Rates
 Decomposers play an essential role in
recycling carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus
 The rates for nutrient cycles varies rapidly
mostly result of differences in rates of
decomposition
 Abiotic factors such as temperature,
moisture and nutrient availability control the
decomposition process and will limit the
primary production in aquatic and terrestrial
ecosystem