Explain the advantage of high biodiversity in maintaining the stability of

an ecosystem S8LT-IVh-21

Describe the transfer of energy through

the trophic levels S8LT-IVi-22
Biodiversity and Change
Biodiversity is…
 Biodiversity is a measure of how many different
species live in an ecosystem.
High vs. Low Biodiversity
 Ecosystems with high biodiversity have many
different species of organisms.
 Ecosystems with low biodiversity do not have
many different species of organisms.
High Biodiversity
Low Biodiversity
Low or High Biodiversity?
Low or High Biodiversity?
Low or High Biodiversity?
Low or High Biodiversity?
Low or High Biodiversity?
Ecosystem Stability
 The higher the biodiversity, the more
stable the ecosystem (stable= stays the
same)
 An ecosystem with high biodiversity does not
change easily; it is stable
 An ecosystem with low biodiversity is unstable
 One small change could cause many species to
die
Low Biodiversity

Rabbits eat grass. Foxes eat rabbits

Foxes

Rabbit

Grass
Low Biodiversity
 A disturbance hits…
A drought happens and kills all the grass.

Foxes

Rabbit

Grass
 Low Biodiversity
 What happens to the foxes?

How many species do we have left?

Foxes
0!
BIG change? Rabbit

Grass
Higher Biodiversity

Let’s add a few more species to our original

ecosystem

Lettuce Foxes

Rabbit
Chickens
Grass
Higher Biodiversity
 A disturbance hits…
A drought happens and kills all the grass.

Lettuce Foxes

Rabbit
Chickens
Grass
 Higher Biodiversity
 The food
What web started
happens to thewith high biodiversity
foxes?
 High biodiversity = stable ecosystem
Population size decreases… a little
 One change didn’t have a major impact!
Lettuce Foxes

BIG change? Rabbit

Chickens
Grass
Example: Low vs. High
Ecosystem 1
Ecosystem 2

CFU 1: Which ecosystem has

higher biodiversity?
 Ecosystem 1
Ecosystem 2

CFU 2: Which ecosystem would be

more affected by a disease that
killed all the rats?
 Ecosystem 1
Ecosystem 2

CFU 3: Which ecosystem is more

stable? Why?
 Ecosystem 1
Ecosystem 2
 
CFU 4: What might happen to the snakes in Ecosystem 2
if there are not any of that species of snakes anywhere
else in the world and most of the rats in the ecosystem
die from disease?
Biodiversity and Extinction
 Environmental change in an ecosystem with low
biodiversity can even cause extinction of a species
 Can occur if there are no organisms of that species in
other ecosystems throughout the world
 Species with specialized diets (low surrounding
biodiversity) and specific habitats are more likely
to become extinct than species with diverse diets
and a wide range of habitats
Invasive Species
 Invasive species are non-native species of organisms in an
ecosystem that reproduce quickly and have few natural
predators
 Native= originally from that ecosystem
 Non-native= originally from somewhere else
 Invasive species decrease biodiversity in an ecosystem by
taking over food and space from native species
 Decrease the number of native species
 Invasive species are very harmful to ecosystems that
already have low biodiversity
Invasive Species
 Examples:
 Zebra mussels
 Kudzu plant
 Brown tree snake
 Wild hogs
CFU 5
  
 Brown tree snakes are a species of snakes that were
imported to the island of Guam from South
America. Brown tree snakes eat many different
types of birds and lizards. They reproduce rapidly
and have few natural predators. What will most
likely happen to the number of native bird and
lizard species on Guam over time?
CFU 6


 Does an invasive species
normally increase or decrease
biodiversity in an ecosystem?
ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM
 How does energy flow in an ecosystem?

 What is an energy pyramid?

 What is a trophic level?

 ENERGY ENTERS ECOSYTEM
 All energy in ecosystem
comes from the sun

 First law of
Thermodynamics:
Energy cannot be
created or destroyed
(but it can be
transformed into stored
energy & heat)
ENERGY LEAVES ECOSYSTEM
 Second law of
thermodynamics:
Energy is lost as energy
is transformed

 In ecosystem, when
energy is transformed,
some energy is lost as
HEAT
 ENERGY PATHS
3 ways to 1. Food Chain: Single path
illustrate
energy flow

2. Food Web: many paths 3. Food Pyramid

FOOD CHAINS
 A food chain shows the path of
energy from one organism to the
next
 energy flows from producers to
consumers
 arrows point to who is eating (plant
is eaten by herbivore)
 Usually decomposers are left out
FOOD WEBS
 A food web shows all feeding relationships in
an ecosystem (made of many food chains)
FOOD WEBS
 Typically, food webs go like this: remember:
decomposers
CONSUMER receive energy
from all other
(CARNIVORE) organisms in
an ecosystem

CONSUMER CONSUMER
DECOMPOSER
(OMNIVORE) (HERBIVORE)

PRODUCER
FOOD CHAINS AND WEBS
 Practice! Draw a food
CONSUMER
chain that includes the (CARNIVORE)
following organisms:
 grasshopper
 mouse CONSUMER
(CARNIVORE)
 grass

 owl
CONSUMER
 Now label the organisms (HERBIVORE)
as producers, consumers
(which type?), or
decomposers PRODUCER
FOOD CHAINS/WEBS & ENERGY PYRAMIDS
 Food chains/webs can be
written as a pyramid:

 Producers form the base of the

pyramid
 Consumers form the
upper layers
ENERGY PYRAMIDS
The energy pyramid shows
energy flow in an ecosystem: Top
Consumer
 A level of the energy
pyramid is called a
TROPHIC LEVEL Energy stored by
Secondary Consumers

 Each trophic level

Energy stored by
represents the energy Primary Consumers
for those organisms
ENERGY STORED
BY PRODUCERS
TROPHIC LEVELS
 Energy is lost with each trophic
 ~90% is released to the environment as heat
 ~10% of the energy is used

Only about
10% of the
energy from
one level is
passed on to
the next level
QUICK REVIEW
 Practice!
If 100% of the energy is available at the first trophic level,
what percentages of the energy are available at the second
and third trophic levels?

1%

10%

100%
QUICK REVIEW!
All organisms in an ecosystem needenergy
_______ from food to
live. An energy pyramid
________ shows how much food energy is
passed from oneorganism
________ to another through food chains.
Producers have the largest spot at the base of the pyramid.
__________
Altogether, only about _____ of the10%food energy at each
level gets passed up to the next level.