Eco sy ste ms

Chapter 48
Ecosystem 

An association of organisms and their 
physical environment, interconnected 
by  ongoing flow of energy and a 
cycling of materials
Mo des of N utr it ion

 Autotrophs
 Capture sunlight or chemical energy
 Producers
 Heterotrophs
 Extract energy from other organisms or
organic wastes
 Consumers, decomposers, detritivores
Tr ophic L eve ls

 All the organisms at a trophic level are

the same number of steps away from the
energy input into the system
 Producers are closest to the energy input
and are the first trophic level
Qu estio n 1

 1. Define: ecosystem.
An sw er 1

 1. Define: ecosystem.

 An association of organisms and their 
physical environment, interconnected 
by  ongoing flow of energy and a 
cycling of materials.
Qu estio n 2

 2. Compare and contrast: herbivore and

carnivore,
An sw er 2

 2. Compare and contrast: herbivore and

carnivore.

 Herbivores eat plants and carnivores

eat animals.
Qu estio n 3

 3. Compare and contrast: omnivore and

detritivore.
An sw er 3
 3. Compare and contrast: omnivore and
detritivore.

 Omnivores eat both animals and

plants.

 Detritivores eat the dead animal and

plant material (in the soil or water).
Energy Losses  

 Energy transfers are never 100 

percent efficient

 Some energy is lost at each step

 Limits the number of trophic levels in 

an ecosystem  
Biological Magnification

  A nondegradable or slowly degradable 
substance becomes more and more 
concentrated in the tissues of 
organisms at higher trophic levels of a 
food web
DDT in Food We bs

 Synthetic pesticide
banned in the United
States since the 1970s
 Birds that were top
carnivores accumulated
DDT in their tissues
Primary Productivity

 Gross primary productivity is 

ecosystem’s total rate of 
photosynthesis

 Net primary productivity is rate at 

which producers store energy in 
Pr imary Pr oductivity
Va rie s
 Seasonal variation

 Variation by habitat

 The harsher the environment, the

slower plant growth, the lower the
primary productivity
All He at in the End

 At each trophic level, the bulk of the

energy received from the previous level
is used in metabolism
 This energy is released as heat energy
and lost to the ecosystem
 Eventually, all energy is released as heat
Qu estio n 4

4. Define: biomagnification.
An sw er 4 ( STO PPED
He re)
4. Define: biomagnification.

A nondegradable or slowly degradable 
substance becomes more and more 
concentrated in the tissues of organisms 
at higher trophic levels of a food web
Qu estio n 5

5. Which organisms are most at risk from

biomagnification?
An sw er 5

5. Which organisms are most at risk from

biomagnification?

Predators at the high trophic levels

Qu estio n 6

6. Compare and contrast: food chain and

food web.
An sw er 6

6. Compare and contrast: food chain and

food web.

A straight line sequence of who eats

whom – food chain.

An interconnected set of food chains –

food web.
Qu estio n 7

7. Compare an contrast: autotroph and

heterotroph.
An sw er 7

7. Compare an contrast: autotroph and

heterotroph.

Autotrophs make their own food (photo

or chemsynthesis)

Heterotrophs can’t make their own food.

They must graze or catch their food.
Qu estio n 8

8. What is the ultimate fate of the solar

energy that enters a food web?
An sw er 8

8. What is the ultimate fate of the solar

energy that enters a food web?

It is lost as heat.
Qu estio n 9

9. Define: bioaccumulation.
   
An sw er 9

9. Define:Bioaccumulation. The retention

of nonpolar molecules from our food or
water. These molecules do not degrade
very fast. Example: DDT. Others mercury
and lead
Qu estio n 10

10. Which organisms are most at risk from

biomagnification?
An sw er 10

10. Which organisms are most at risk from

biomagnification?

Top predators (carnivores)

Qu estio n 11

11. Can a predator and its parasite be on

the same trophic level? Explain.
An sw er 11

11. Can a predator and its parasite be on

the same trophic level? Explain.

No. A parasite “dines” on its host.

Therefore it is one more step from the
sun (one higher trophic level).
Biogeochemical Cycle

 The flow of a nutrient from the 

environment to living organisms and 
back to the environment

 Main reservoir for the nutrient is in the 

environment
Th ree Ca tegories

 Hydrologic cycle
 Water

 Atmospheric cycles
 Nitrogen and carbon

 Sedimentary cycles
 Phosphorus and sulfur
Hu bbard Br ook
Ex periment
 A watershed was experimentally stripped
of vegetation
 All surface water draining from
watershed was measured
 Removal of vegetation caused a six-fold
increase in the calcium content of the
runoff water
Phosphorus Cycle

 Phosphorus is part of phospholipids 
and all nucleotides
 It is the most prevalent limiting factor in 
ecosystems 
 Main reservoir is Earth’s crust; no 
gaseous phase
Hu man Ef fects

 In tropical countries, clearing lands for

agriculture may deplete phosphorus-
poor soils
 In developed countries, phosphorus
runoff is causing eutrophication of
waterways
Qu estio n 12

9. Define: biogeochemical cycle.

An sw er 12

9. Define: biogeochemical cycle.

 The flow of a nutrient from the 

environment to living organisms and 
back to the environment.
Qu estio n 13

10. What are two cellular biochemicals that

must include phosphate in their
molecular structures?
An sw er 13

13. What are two cellular biochemicals that

must include phosphate in their
molecular structures?

Phospholipids and nucleotides

Carbon Cycle

 Carbon moves through the 
atmosphere and food webs on its way 
to and from the ocean, sediments, and 
rocks
 Sediments and rocks are the main 
reservoir
Ca rbon in At mo sphere

 Atmospheric carbon is mainly carbon

dioxide
 Carbon dioxide is added to atmosphere
 Aerobic respiration, volcanic action,
burning fossil fuels
 Removed by photosynthesis
Ca rbon Dio xide
Increase
 Carbon dioxide levels fluctuate
seasonally
 The average level is steadily increasing

 Burning of fossil fuels and deforestation

are contributing to the increase
Ot her Gr eenhouse
Ga ses
 CFCs - synthetic gases used in plastics
and in refrigeration
 Methane - produced by termites and
bacteria and cow burps
 Nitrous oxide - released by bacteria,
fertilizers, and animal wastes
St ore L iquid CO 2 on
Oc ean Bo ttom?
 “At shallow depths liquid carbon dioxide
will rise to the surface. But based on
laboratory experiments with carbon
dioxide hydrates, researchers imagined
that liquid carbon dioxide put deep in the
ocean would form a stable layer on the
seafloor with a skin of solid hydrate as a
boundary, like a pond covered by ice in
winter.” from the Monterey Bay
http://www.cnn.com/NATURE/9905/10/oceans.enn/
Aquarium Research Institute
Nitrogen Cycle

 Nitrogen is used in amino acids and 
nucleic acids
 Main reservoir is nitrogen gas in the 
atmosphere
Nit rogen F ix ation

 Plants cannot use nitrogen gas

 Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert
nitrogen gas into ammonia (NH3)
 Ammonia and ammonium can be
taken up by plants
Am mo nific ation &
Nit rific ation
 Bacteria and fungi carry out
ammonification, conversion of
nitrogenous wastes to ammonia
 Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium to
nitrites and nitrates
Nit rogen L oss

 Nitrogen is often a limiting factor in ecosystems

 Nitrogen is lost from soils via leaching and
runoff
 Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates and
nitrites to nitrogen gas (often occurs in water
logged soil)
Hu man Ef fects

 Humans increase rate of nitrogen loss by

clearing forests and grasslands
 Humans increase nitrogen in water and
air by using fertilizers and by burning
fossil fuels
 Too much or too little nitrogen can
compromise plant health
Sew age spi ll hi ts
Pea chtree Creek,
Chat tahoochee
 Over a million gallons of raw sewage poured into
a creek Monday just upstream of the Chattahoochee
River and near the spot where Atlanta draws its
drinking water.
 Before a collapsed 36-inch sewer pipe was repaired,
sewage flowed into Peachtree Creek at the rate of
10,000 gallons a minute for two hours, said Janet
Ward, a spokeswoman for Atlanta's Watershed
Management Department. The incident occurred
near the Chattahoochee Water Treatment
Plant off Bolton Road, where the city gets
drinking water.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/29/05
Dead Waters
Massive oxygen-starved zones are
developing along the world's coasts

 “Summer tourists cruising the waters

off Louisiana or Texas in the Gulf of
Mexico take in gorgeous vistas as
they pull in red snappers and blue
marlins. Few realize that the lower half
of the water column below them may
lack fish, despite the piscine bounty
near the surface.”
Ni trates and Phosphates
Cont rib utio ns f rom
Ferti lizers
 “Typically, they appear where a river
spews rich plumes of nutrients into water
that's stratified because of either
temperature or salinity differences
between the bottom and the top of the
water column. If the water doesn't mix,
oxygen isn't replenished in the lower
half.”
Ba cte ria Use Up Mo st
of th e O 2
 “the Mississippi River deposits water that is
heavily enriched with plant nutrients, principally
nitrate. This pollutant fertilizes the abundant
growth of tiny, floating algae. As blooms of the
algae go through their natural life cycles and
die, they fall to the bottom and create a feast
for bacteria. Growing in unnatural abundance,
the bacteria use up most of the oxygen from
the bottom water.”
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040605/bob9.asp
Qu estio n 14

14. How can this massive eutrophication

be halted and the system repaired?