Download Ecosystems and Communities

Ecosystem Properties
Ecological Hierarchies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Tissue
Cell
Molecules
Definitions
• Biosphere - The entire portion of the globe
that can support life, including the
atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial surface and
belowground
• Biome – The largest easily recognized
subsection of the biosphere, based upon
climate
Definitions
• Ecosystem – A region where plants, animals
and microbes can interact with each other
and their environment.
• Community – A region where plants,
animals and microbes can interact with each
other.
• Population – An interbreeding group of
organisms
Ecosystem Emergent Properties
• All “systems” are made up of components.
Once those components are assembled into
the system, they take on new properties,
those of the “system”.
• E.g., bridge over South Canadian River
• E.g., living system
Ecosystem Emergent Properties
• What are the emergent properties of a living
system, e.g., you?
• You are composed of carbon, nitrogen,
hydrogen, oxygen, etc., but you are so much
more than bags of elements flopping around
• As a living entity you:
• Respire
• Irritable
• Capable of reproduction
Ecosystem Emergent Properties
• So, as a “system” ecosystems also have
emergent properties
• Nutrient cycling
• Energy flow
Energy in Ecosystems
• Energy Movement
follows 1st and 2nd
laws of
thermodynamics
– Energy can’t be created
or destroyed
– Any transfers of energy
are not 100% efficient
Energy flow
Energy Flow
Solar Energy
1%
Producers
10%
Herbivores
10%
Carnivores
10%
Top Carnivore
Calories
1,000,000
10,000
1,000
Consumers
100
10
Energy Flow
Solar Energy
1%
Producers
10%
Herbivores
10%
Carnivores
10%
Top Carnivore
Food Chain
Consumers
Energy Flow
Solar Energy
1%
Producers
10%
Herbivores
10%
Carnivores
10%
Top Carnivore
Trophic Level
Consumers
Any Questions?
Nutrient Cycling
• There are two major types of nutrient cycles
– Gaseous – Most of the nutrient is stored in the
atmosphere
– Sedimentary – Most of the nutrient is stored in
the sediments or soils
So what nutrients do we need?
• Macro-nutrients are needed in large
quantities
• Na,Cl, C, H, O, P, K, I, N, S, Ca, Fe, Mg
• Micro-nutrients are also essential, but are
needed in only small amounts
• Mo, B, Cl, Mn, Cu, Zn
Gaseous Nutrient Cycle
The carbon cycle
CO2
Respiration
(photosynthesis)
plant
herbivore
carnivore
Decomposers
top carnivore
Sedimentary Nutrient Cycle
Example: The Phosphorus Cycle
e
r
plant
o
s P in soil
i
(weathering)
o
n P in rock (apatite)
herbivores
decomposers
carnivores
So what nutrients do we need?
• Macro-nutrients are needed in large
quantities
• Na,Cl, C, H, O, P, K, I, N, S, Ca, Fe, Mg
• Micro-nutrients are also essential, but are
needed in only small amounts
• Mo, B, Cl, Mn, Cu, Zn
• The elements in blue have gaseous cycles
Quick Quiz on Ecosystems
• What’s the definition of an ecosystem?
• An area where plants, animals and microbes
interact with each other and the
environment
• So why do you need an ecosystem for
– Energy Flow?
– Nutrient Cycling?
• Does energy ever cycle?
NO-O-O!
Take out a clean piece of paper
• A practice quiz
• List two types of symbiotic relationships
Quiz, continued
•
Competition between organisms of
different species is known as:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Intraspecific interactions
Intraspecific competition
Interspecific interactions
Interspecific competition
Quiz, continued
•
If you went up a tall mountain, how many
meters increase in elevation would you
have to go up to see the same change in
vegetation structure that you would see if
you went north 30 degrees latitude?
a.
b.
c.
d.
1800 m
4000 m
400 m
100 m
Quiz, continued
• Which biome has the greatest number of
species?
• Which biome produces most of the wood
pulp used for paper in the U.S.?
Quiz, continued
•
In which grassland ecosystem would you
expect to find the greatest number of
species and why?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Undisturbed tall grass prairie
Wheat field
Corn field
Heavily grazed tall grass prairie