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INTRODUCTION

 Ecosystem ecology = extension of organismal, population, & community

ecology.

 Ecosystem includes ALL biotic components (living things) + abiotic

components (non-living things) in a particular geographic area.

 Ecosystem biologists study how nutrients and energy are stored & moved
among biotic & abiotic components – focus on NB of limited resources.

 Researchers also examine how organisms have adapted to their

ecosystem.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
 Ecosystem = a community
of living organisms and
their abiotic environment.

 Can be small
 E.g. tide pools found near
the rocky shores of many
oceans

 or large,
 E.g. the tropical rainforest
of the Amazon in Brazil.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
 3 broad categories of
ecosystems (based on their
general environment):
 freshwater
 Marine
 terrestrial.

 Within these 3 categories

are individual ecosystem
types
 based on the environmental
habitat + organisms present.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems

 Life in an ecosystem often involves competition for limited

resources which occurs both within a single species and between
different species.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems

 Organisms compete for

 food
 water
 sunlight
 space
 mineral nutrients

 These resources provide

 the energy for metabolic processes
 the matter to make up organisms’ physical structures.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems

 Other critical factors influencing community dynamics =

components of its physical environment:
 a habitat’s climate (seasons, sunlight, and rainfall)
 elevation
 geology

 These = NB environmental variables

 determine which organisms can exist within a particular area.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems

 Freshwater ecosystems = least common -

only 1.8 % of Earth's surface.

 Includes
 lakes
 rivers
 streams
 springs

 Quite diverse

 Support a variety of animals, plants, fungi,

protists and prokaryotes.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems

 Marine ecosystems = the most

common – 75 % of Earth's surface

 Consist of 3 basic types:

 shallow ocean
 deep ocean water
 and deep ocean bottom

 Shallow ocean ecosystems include

extremely biodiverse coral reef
ecosystems

 YET the deep ocean water is known

for housing large numbers of
plankton and krill (small crustaceans).
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems

 Shallow and deep oceans = NB to

aerobic respirators worldwide
 phytoplankton perform 40 % of all
photosynthesis on Earth.

 Although not as diverse as the

other two, deep ocean bottom
ecosystems contain a wide variety
of marine organisms.

 Such ecosystems exist even at

depths where light is unable to
penetrate through the water.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Ecology of Ecosystems
 Terrestrial ecosystems - grouped into
large categories called biomes.

 Biome = large-scale community of

organisms primarily defined by the
dominant plant types that exist in
geographic regions of the planet with
similar climatic conditions.

 E.g. of biomes
 tropical rainforests
 savannas
 deserts
 grasslands
 temperate forests
 and tundras
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 Food chain = linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and

energy pass as one organism eats another;

 Single path through a food chain.

 Each organism in a food chain occupies a specific trophic level (energy

level), its position in the food chain or food web.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 Levels in the food chain = producers, primary consumers, higher-level consumers, and finally
decomposers.

 These levels are used to describe ecosystem structure and dynamics.

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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 Energy = major factor that limits the number of steps in a food chain.

 Energy is lost at each trophic level and between trophic levels as heat and in the transfer to
decomposers.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 Thus, after a limited number of trophic energy transfers, the amount of energy
remaining in the food chain may not be great enough to support viable
populations at yet a higher trophic level.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 PROBLEM WITH FOOD CHAINS: Even when all organisms are grouped into
appropriate trophic levels, some organisms can feed on more than one
trophic level…

 ALSO: some organisms can also be fed on from multiple trophic levels…

 ALSO: species feed on and are eaten by more than one species.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 A holistic model—which includes all the interactions between different species and their complex
interconnected relationships with each other and with the environment—is a more accurate and
descriptive model for ecosystems.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 Food web = accounts for the multiple trophic interactions between each
species and the many species it may feed on, or that feed on it.
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Energy flow through Ecosystems
Food Chains and Food webs

 In a food web, the several trophic connections between each species and the
other species that interact with it may cross multiple trophic levels.

 The matter and energy movements of virtually all ecosystems are more
accurately described by food webs.