TOPIC 2.

2 –COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS Name:

Significant ideas:
● The interactions of species with their environment result in energy and nutrient flow
● Photosynthesis and respiration play a significant role in the flow of energy in communities
● The feeding relationships in an ecosystem can be modeled using food chain, food webs and
ecological pyramids

Covered
Revised I’m
Objective Statement the
in class confident
notes
A community is a group of populations living
and interacting with each other in a common
habitat
An ecosystem is a community and the physical
environment it interacts with
Respiration and photosynthesis can be
described as processes with inputs, outputs
and transformations of energy and matter
Respiration is the conversion or organics
matter into carbon dioxide and water in all
living organisms, releasing energy. Aerobic
respiration can be simply described as:
glucose + oxygen dioxide + water
During respiration, large amounts of energy
are dissipated as heat, increasing the entropy
in the ecosystem whilst enabling the
organisms to maintain relatively low
entropy/high organization
Knowledge Primary producers in the majority of
and ecosystems convert light energy into chemical
Understanding energy in the process of photosynthesis
The photosynthesis reaction is:
carbon dioxide + water + oxygen
Photosynthesis produces the raw material for
producing biomass
The trophic level is the position that an
organism occupies in a food chain, or a group
of organisms in a community that occupy the
same positions in a food chain
Producers (autotrophs) are typically plants or
algae and produce their own food using
photosynthesis and form the first trophic level
in a food chain. Exceptions include
chemosynthetic organisms which produce
food without sunlight
Feeding relationships involve producers,
consumers and decomposers. These can be
modeled using food chains, food webs and
ecological pyramids
 Ecological pyramids include pyramids of
number, biomass and productivity and are
quantitative models are usually measured for
a given time and area.
In accordance with the second law of
thermodynamics, there is a tendency for
numbers and quantities of biomass and energy
to decrease along food chains, therefore the
pyramids become narrower towards the apex.
Bioaccumulation is the build-up of
persistent/non-biodegradable pollutants
within an organism or trophic level because
they cannot be broken down
Biomagnification is the increase in
concentration of persistent or
non-biodegradable pollutants along a food
chain
Toxins such as DDT and mercury accumulate
along food chains due to the decrease of
biomass and energy
Pyramids of numbers can sometimes display
different patterns, for example, when
individuals at lower trophic levels are relatively
large (inverted pyramids)
A pyramid of biomass represents the standing
stock/storage of each trophic level measured
in units such as grams of biomass per square
metre (g m-2 ) or Joules per square metre (J m-2
) (units of biomass or energy)
Pyramids of biomass can show greater
quantities at higher trophic levels because
they represent the biomass present at a given
time, but there may be marked seasonal
variations.
Pyramids of productivity refer to the flow of
energy through a trophic level, indicating the
rate at which that stock/storage is being
generated
Pyramids of productivity for entire ecosystems
over a year always show a decrease along the
food chain
Construct models of feeding relationships, e.g.
food chains, food webs and ecological
pyramids from given data
Explain the transfer and transformation of
Applications
energy as it flows through the ecosystem
and Skills
Analyse the efficiency of energy transfers
through a system
Construct systems diagrams representing
photosynthesis and respiration
 Explain the relevance if the laws of
thermodynamics to the flow of energy through
ecosystems
Explain the impact of
persistent/non-biodegradable pollutant in an
ecosystem
Putting Vocabulary Into Context:
The definitions below have been given context by using Tigers in South East Asia as an
example.
Species A group of organisms that
interbreed and produce
fertile offspring.
Population A group of organisms of
the same species living in
the same area at the
same time and which are
capable of interbreeding.
Habitat The environment in which
a species normally lives.
Niche A species share of a
habitat and the resources
in it. Not only where it
lives but how it lives.
Community A group of populations
living and interacting with
each other in a common
habitat.
Ecosystem A community of
interdependent
organisms and the
physical environment
they inhabit.
The tiger is considered a single species with 6
subspecies and 3 extinct. Any of these subspecies
such as the Indochinese tiger, Panthera tigris
corbetti, could produce fertile offspring with another
such as the Panthera tigris sumatrae.
Whereas, lions and tigers can breed in captivity but
will produce infertile offspring. Lions and tigers are a
distinct species.
The number of Indochinese tigers living in SE Asia
has been estimated at 1,000 individuals.
The minimum viable population is thought to be 6
breeding females in a population of 20 adults.
The habitat of the Indochinese tiger is a variety of
forest types. It lives mostly on the forest floor
needing about 50 - 100 km squared of land.
The tigers niche is that of top predator. It requires
plenty of fresh water and prefers forests along the
sides of rivers.
Its role in the ecosystem is as predator and thus
regulating the herbivore population.
In the community of a SE Asian Rainforest ,
populations of tigers interact with other species
through predation and competition. Such as
preying on the mouse deer and therefore
competing with the clouded leopard.
Rainforest ecosystems have large biomass with
over 50m in height. There is high productivity
due to good growing conditions (with few
limiting factors) year round. Biodiversity is very
high in these systems.
 1. Chose one species and do the same as above
2. squirrels in Poland
Species A group of organisms that
interbreed and produce
fertile offspring.
Population A group of organisms of
the same species living in
the same area at the
same time and which are
capable of interbreeding.
Habitat The environment in which
a species normally lives.
Niche A species share of a
habitat and the resources
in it. Not only where it
lives but how it lives.
Community A group of populations
living and interacting with
each other in a common
habitat.
Ecosystem A community of
interdependent
organisms and the
physical environment
they inhabit.
Squirrels are considered a single species with 3
subspecies living in Poland. Those subspecies are:
red squirrel, speckled ground squirrel,eastern grey
squirrel and european ground squirrel.
The number of red squirrels in Poland has been
estimated at less then 100 thousands but now red
squirrels are in danger because they are ousted
from Europe by another representative of its family
Eastern gray squirrel.
Since squirrels prefer to live in trees, they often live
in forests. They sleep in their nest, which is called a
drey. It is composed of twigs and sticks and then
lined with moss, grass, and leaves.
Squirrels are omnivores, they eat acorns, hazel
nuts, berries, fungi, buds and shoots. However,
when the food is very scarce they can eat small
insects, caterpillars, small animals and even young
snakes.
In the community in polish forests squirrels compete
with each other between subspecies. The
competition is often between red squirrels and grey
squirrels. The predators for squirrels are foxes,
coyotes, and domestic dogs and cats.
Forest ecosystem consists of soil, trees, insects,
animals, and birds that interact together. Therefore,
biodiversity is very high. Abiotic factors are air, water
and soil. Abiotic factors are trees and other plants
and animals
Biome and Biosphere are two more definitions that round out this topic.

Feeding relationships involve producers, consumers and decomposers. These can be modeled
using food chains, food webs and ecological pyramids

On the next page give examples of each type of feeding strategy. Distinguish between the
feeding strategies at each level of the diagram.
Simple photosynthesis video explanation:
Interesting chemosynthesis video:
Thoughtful video on decomposers:

Respiration and photosynthesis can be described as processes with inputs, outputs and
transformations of energy and matter
Construct systems diagrams representing photosynthesis and respiration

Photosynthesis produces the raw material for producing biomass

The photosynthesis reaction is: carbon dioxide + water + oxygen

Annotate the diagram below (or delete it and paste your own work) to show the inputs,
processes, transformations and outputs associated with photosynthesis

Respiration is the conversion or organics matter into carbon dioxide and water in all living
organisms, releasing energy. Aerobic respiration can be simply described as:
glucose + oxygen dioxide + water
During respiration, large amounts of energy are dissipated as heat, increasing the entropy in the
ecosystem whilst enabling the organisms to maintain relatively low entropy/high organization

Annotate the diagram below to show the inputs, processes, transformations and outputs
associated with respiration
Feeding relationships involve producers, consumers and decomposers. These can be modeled
using food chains, food webs and ecological pyramids
The trophic level is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain, or a group of organisms
in a community that occupy the same positions in a food chain
Define the positions (trophic level) within a food chain

Food chains represent the flow of energy and nutrients in a series of feeding relationships.
Be able to provide named locations once you learn more...
Give one example of a marine food chain (min. 4 organisms)

Give one example of a terrestrial food chain (min. 4 organisms)

Complete the Food Web assignment

The following information will be explored in class with our POP’s investigation.
Bioaccumulation is the build-up of persistent/non-biodegradable pollutants within an
organism or trophic level because they cannot be broken down

Biomagnification is the increase in concentration of persistent or non-biodegradable

pollutants along a food chain

Toxins such as DDT and mercury accumulate along food chains due to the decrease of
biomass and energy

The following information will be developed throughout the owl pellet lab. You should go
through the ppt and my notes to be sure you understand these important points about
ecological pyramids.
Explain the transfer and transformation of energy as it flows through the ecosystem
Analyse the efficiency of energy transfers through a system

Explain how energy flows through a community, including why energy transfers are never 100%
efficient referring to the Laws of Thermodynamics in your answer.
Ecological pyramids include pyramids of number, biomass and productivity and are quantitative
models are usually measured for a given time and area.
Pyramids of numbers can sometimes display different patterns, for example, when individuals at
lower trophic levels are relatively large (inverted pyramids)

Define pyramid of numbers

Evaluate the usefulness of using a pyramid of numbers to represent the populations with an
ecosystem

Advantages Disadvantages

A pyramid of biomass represents the standing stock/storage of each trophic level measured in
units such as grams of biomass per square metre (g m-2 ) or Joules per square metre (J m-2 ) (units
of biomass or energy)
Pyramids of biomass can show greater quantities at higher trophic levels because they represent
the biomass present at a given time, but there may be marked seasonal variations.

Define biomass and outline how it can be collected and measured

State the units of biomass below

Evaluate the usefulness of using a pyramid of biomass to represent the populations with an
ecosystem

Advantages Disadvantages

Pyramids of productivity refer to the flow of energy through a trophic level, indicating the rate at
which that stock/storage is being generated
Pyramids of productivity for entire ecosystems over a year always show a decrease along the food
chain

State the units for a pyramid of productivity

Draw and annotate an example of a pyramid of productivity below including (does not need to
be to scale)
● Values and units for each trophic level
● Labels for the different levels of consumer
Evaluate the usefulness of using a pyramid of productivity to represent the populations with an
ecosystem

Advantages Disadvantages