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CHAPTER 5 Ecosystems: Energy, Patterns, and Disturbance © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Introduction to ecosystems • In 1988, lightning started fires in Yellowstone National Park • 165,000 acres were burned • National Park Service policies have changed over time • In the early years, all fires were extinguished • Before 1988, only fires that threatened human habitations were extinguished • This fire started a great controversy over this policy • Snow in September finally put the fires out © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Yellowstone recovered from the 1988 fire • The fires burned 36% of the park • Burned and unburned areas were interspersed • Within 2 weeks, grasses and other vegetation sprouted • Within a year, vegetation covered the burned areas • Bison and elk fed on the new vegetation • Within 25 years, plant and animal diversity will have completely recovered in the burned areas • Fire is vital to many ecosystems • It may even impact evolution © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Recovery from fire © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Characteristics of ecosystems • Yellowstone National Park (founded in 1872) is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem • Because of its unique features, it is a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve • Ecosystems contain communities of interacting species and their abiotic factors • They function on different scales • It’s hard to delineate fixed boundaries © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Scientists study ecosystems • Biomes: ecosystems having similar vegetation and climactic conditions • Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem belongs to the northern temperate forest biome • Scientists study ecosystem properties • Trophic levels • Productivity • Consumption © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Trophic levels • During photosynthesis, plants use the Sun’s energy • Producing chemicals from carbon dioxide and water • Plants are eaten by predators (a grasshopper, mouse, etc.) • These animals are eaten by other predators • Food chain: describes where energy and nutrients go as they move from one organism to another • Energy moves “up” the food chain • Not all energy and nutrients are passed to other levels • Food web: interconnection of food chains to form complex webs of feeding relationships © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Food webs © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Trophic categories • Autotrophs: produce organic material from inorganic constituents through the use of an external energy source • Also referred to as producers • Green plants, some single-celled organisms and bacteria • Heterotrophs: must consume organic material to obtain energy • Consumers: eat living prey • Decomposers: scavengers, detritus feeders, chemical decomposers eat dead organic material © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Producers are essential to every ecosystem • They capture energy from the Sun or chemical reactions • Converting CO2 to organic matter • Most producers are green plants • Chlorophyll: a green pigment that captures light energy • Range in size from microscopic bacteria to gigantic trees • Every major ecosystem has producers • Chemosynthesis: some bacteria use energy in inorganic chemicals to form organic matter from CO2 and water • Primary production: production of organic matter through photosynthesis and growth of producers © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Consumers • Organisms feed on organic matter for energy • Animals, fungi (mushrooms, mold, etc.), most bacteria • Range in size from plankton to blue whales • Divided into subgroups according to their food source • Primary consumers (herbivores): feed on producers • Secondary consumers: feed on primary consumers • Third (tertiary), fourth (quaternary), or higher levels • Carnivores: secondary or higher-order meat eaters • Omnivores: feed on both plants and animals • Animals can occupy various levels, depending on the food © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A grassland food chain © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Decomposers • Detritus: dead plant material (leaves, etc.), fecal wastes, dead bodies • Most energy in an ecosystem goes through this food web • Detritus is organic and high in potential energy for • Decomposers • Scavengers (vultures): break down large pieces of matter • Detritus feeders (earthworms): eat partly decomposed matter • Chemical decomposers (fungi and bacteria): break down matter on the molecular scale © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Detritus food web © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Decomposers act like any other consumer • Some decomposers (e.g., termites) digest woody material • They have a mutualistic, symbiotic relationship with decomposer microorganisms in their guts • Most decomposers use oxygen for cell respiration • Some decomposers (bacteria and yeasts) partially break down glucose in the absence of oxygen (fermentation) • Results in ethyl alcohol, methane gas, acetic acid • Anaerobic (oxygen-free) respiration: in sediments of lakes, marshes, swamps, and animal guts • Cattle and their fermenting bacteria release methane © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A termite gut © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Limits on trophic levels • Terrestrial ecosystems usually have three or four trophic levels • Marine systems sometimes have five • Biomass: the total combined (net dry) weight of organisms • Each higher trophic level has about 90% less biomass • One acre of grassland has 907 kg (2,000 lbs) • It has 90.7 kg (200 lbs) of herbivores • It has 9.7 kg (20 lbs) of primary carnivores • Biomass pyramid: the different levels of producer and consumer mass © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A biomass pyramid © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The flow of energy in ecosystems • In most ecosystems, sunlight is the initial source of energy • Primary production (production of organic molecules) is only 2% of the incoming solar energy • Although small, it’s enough to fuel all life • Standing-crop biomass: the actual biomass of primary producers in an ecosystem at any given time • Not always a good measure of productivity • Biomass and primary production vary greatly • Forests have large biomass • Grasslands have high primary production © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The fate of food • Between 60 and 90% of food consumed is oxidized for energy • 10−40% is converted to body tissues for growth, repair, and maintenance • Undigested food passes through the digestive system and is excreted • Cellulose: material in plant cell walls • Excreted from herbivores • Forms fiber, bulk, or roughage: a necessary part of the diet • Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, phosphorus: excreted in urine © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Energy flow and efficiency • There is a huge inefficiency at each trophic level • Only a small fraction of energy is passed on when energy flows from one trophic level to the next • Much of the biomass is not consumed by herbivores • Some food is used as energy to fuel the hetrotroph’s cells and tissues • Some food is not digested and is excreted as waste • Secondary production: incorporating matter and energy from a lower trophic level into a consumer’s body © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Inefficiency at trophic levels • Individuals at higher levels represent a greater amount of the Sun’s energy for the same amount of body tissue • More energy is needed to produce a top-order consumer than a producer • It takes more time, water, and resources to produce a top-order consumer • Some materials are hard to excrete (e.g., chemicals in fat) • They biomagnify as you go up the food chain • They bioaccumulate (build up in tissues) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Aquatic systems • These systems go through the same process as terrestrial ecosystems, with two major differences • Less energy is required in aquatic systems • More cold-blooded animals, which require less energy • Less energy is needed to support body weight in water • With less energy needed at each level • More energy is available to the next level • Food chains can be longer • Aquatic systems may have a reversed biomass pyramid • Larger, older fish eat algae that turn over rapidly © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A reverse pyramid in aquatic systems © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. From ecosystems to biomes • Broad ecosystem patterns translate into a predictable set of organisms that live under particular conditions • Different regions have distinct biotic communities • Creating variety in ecosystems, landscapes, and biomes • A biome: a large geographical biotic community • Controlled by climate • Is named after the dominant vegetation • Has fuzzy boundaries • Aquatic areas are not called biomes • But they function similarly © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The role of climate • Climate: a description of the average temperature and precipitation (weather) of a region • Climates vary widely • Equatorial areas: warm, high rainfall, no seasons • Above and below the equator: temperatures become seasonal (warm/hot summers, cool/cold winters) • Toward the poles: longer and colder winters • Colder temperatures are also found at higher elevations © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Effects of latitude and altitude © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Effects of precipitation on biomes • Precipitation varies widely in different regions • From almost 0 to over 250 cm (100 in.)/yr • It can be evenly distributed throughout the year or concentrated in certain months (wet and dry seasons) • A given climate supports species that can tolerate the temperature and precipitation levels of the area • Highest densities occur where conditions are optimal • A species is excluded where any condition is beyond its limit of tolerance © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Biome examples • Individual ranges of tolerance to temperature and precipitation determine where a species can live • Species’ distributions describe a biome’s placement • Six major types of biomes exist • Rainfall effects are primary in determining biomes • Temperate deciduous forest: rainfall of 72–200 cm (30–80 in.)/yr • Grassland (prairie) biome: rainfall is less or seasonal • Desert biome: rainfall is less than 25 cm (10 in.)/yr © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The effects of temperature on biomes • Temperature effects are superimposed on rainfall effects • It determines the kind of forests in an area with 75 cm (30 in.) or more of rainfall per year • Tropical rain forests have broad-leaved evergreens that cannot tolerate freezing • Deciduous trees tolerate freezing by dropping their leaves and becoming dormant • Coniferous forests tolerate the harsh winters and short summers of northern regions © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Biomes with little precipitation • Permafrost: permanently frozen subsoil • Prohibits tree growth because their roots cannot penetrate the soil • Tundra biome: has grasses, clover, and other small plants that grow above the permafrost • Desert: any region with less than 25 cm (10 in.) of rain/yr • Hot deserts have different species than cold deserts © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. World distribution of the major terrestrial biomes © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Climate and major biomes © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Aquatic systems • Aquatic systems have major categories • But are not called biomes • Aquatic and wetland ecosystems are determined by depth, salinity, and permanence of water • Lakes, marshes, streams, rivers, estuaries, bays • Ocean systems • Aquatic systems can be viewed as ecosystems • Or part of landscapes • Or as major biome-like features (seas, oceans) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Microclimates and other abiotic factors • Microclimate: the conditions in a specific, localized area • Temperature and moisture may be different from the overall climate of the region • Conditions result in variations of ecosystems in a biome • For example, the Greater Yellowstone region is in the northern temperate forest biome • But it also has grassland and permafrost • Soil and topography affect the availability of moisture • Oaks and hickory trees grow in rocky, sandy soils • Beech and maple trees grow on richer soils © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Microclimates © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Biome productivity • Biomes have different levels of primary productivity • Highly productive biomes support organisms from other biomes (e.g., seabirds migrating through marshes) • They also remove and trap CO2 from the atmosphere • Productive biomes aren’t better than other biomes • Biomes can have other roles, e.g., habitat for rare species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Different ecosystems have different productivity • Tropical rain forests are highly productive • Warm temperatures and rainfall are ideal for photosynthesis • Open oceans cover a large part of Earth • But they have low productivity • Primary production is limited by scarcity of nutrients • They are veritable deserts © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Productivity of different ecosystems © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Ecosystem responses to disturbance • Natural ecosystems operate in dynamic, changing ways • The landscape comprises a shifting mosaic of patches • Disturbance: a significant change that kills or displaces many community members • Ecological succession: transition from one biotic community to another • Pioneer species: colonize a newly opened area first • Species can create conditions favorable to other species and less favorable to them © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Succession does not go on indefinitely • Facilitation: driving succession forward by improving conditions for subsequent species • Climax ecosystem: the assemblage of species continues on in space and time • Even these communities experience change if new species are introduced or old ones are removed • Patches of disturbance open space for new growth • Fire-adapted ecosystems: some biomes (e.g., prairies) undergo succession to other stages without periodic fires © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Primary succession • Primary succession: the process of initial invasion and progression from one biotic community to another • In an area lacking plants and soil (e.g., a retreating glacier) • Mosses exploit bare rock • • • • Their spores lodge in cracks Moss grows and forms mats that trap soil particles Seeds of larger plants lodge in the moss mats Eventually, enough soil is trapped to support shrubs and trees © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Primary succession on bare rock © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Secondary succession • Secondary succession: an area cleared by some disturbance (fire, floods, humans) is reinvaded by plants and animals from surrounding areas • Starts with pre-existing soil • Crabgrass invades an abandoned agricultural field • It is shaded out by taller grasses and weeds • Pine trees grow in the direct sunlight and shade out grasses and weeds and their own seedlings • Hardwoods (oaks, hickories, maple, etc.) can grow in shade and are the climax forest ecosystem © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Secondary succession of an abandoned field © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Aquatic succession • Natural succession also takes place in lakes and ponds • Soil particles erode from the land and enter the water • Aquatic vegetation provides detritus that also fills the pond or lake • Terrestrial species advance and aquatic species move further into the lake • The climax ecosystem can be a bog or forest • Disturbances (e.g., drought, flood) can send succession back to an earlier stage © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Aquatic succession of a lake © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Disturbance and resilience • For succession to occur, plants and animals must already be present in the area • All stages of succession are present in any landscape • Disturbances constantly create gaps or patches • Biodiversity is enhanced by disturbance • Natural succession can be blocked or modified if species have been eliminated • Forests in Iceland were eliminated • Regeneration was prevented due to a lack of seeds and the presence of grazing sheep © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Iceland © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Fire and succession • Fire is a major form of disturbance • Decades ago, forest managers thought all fire was bad • But pine forests were replaced with economically worthless broad-leaved trees • Accumulated deadwood allowed insects to attack trees • Different species have different tolerances to fire • Grasses and pines tolerate fire • Broad-leaved trees are damaged by fire • Fire releases nutrients • Some plants need fire to germinate © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Fire climax ecosystems • Fire climax ecosystems: ecosystems that depend on fire to maintain their existence (e.g., grasslands, pine forests) • Fire can be a tool in ecosystem management • With regular fire, deadwood doesn’t accumulate • Crown fires are also natural • They clear sick or dead trees and release nutrients • The meadows they create support higher biodiversity • Logging encourages large fires • Removes larger, resistant trees and leaves dead branches © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Ground fire © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Resilience • Resilience: the ability of an ecosystem to return to normal functioning after a disturbance • Helps maintain ecosystem sustainability • Resilience mechanism: the processes of replenishment of nutrients, dispersion by plants and animals, regrowth of plants • Resilience has its limits • A badly degraded ecosystem can’t carry out its original functions • A new, less productive ecosystem is created © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Resilience in ecosystems © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why it matters if ecosystems are changed • Ecosystems provide valuable services to humans and other species • Flood control, maintaining soil, absorbing CO2 • Human actions tend to lower ecosystem services • They produce ecosystems with low productivity or low food chain length • Ecosystems are less complex and have lower biodiversity © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Human values and sustainability • Natural ecosystems are models of sustainability • We depend on them for goods and services (ecosystem capital) • We are threatening their sustainability • Humans use energy that flows through ecosystems • Converting forests and grasslands into agricultural ecosystems • We appropriate 40% of global net primary productivity • For agriculture, grazing, forestry, houses, roads, etc. • Humans are the dominant biological force on Earth © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Global primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Involvement in nutrient cycling • Nutrients are replenished through breakdown of organic compounds • Maintaining the sustainability of ecosystems • Humans are changing nutrient cycles • Climate change is one of the most serious consequences • Burning fossil fuels has increased CO2 in the atmosphere • Methane is released from melting permafrost and cattle • Many ecosystems may not be able to function sustainably © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Value of ecosystem capital • Developing countries use natural ecosystems directly • For survival and economic gains • For fuelwood, construction materials, food • Access may be uncertain • Developed countries give little thought or value to natural ecosystems • People are unconcerned about—and insulated from—human impacts © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The value of the world’s ecosystems • “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital” (1977) reported that • Natural goods and services are not easily seen in markets • They may not be counted or valued at all • We can’t consider human welfare without these services • Incremental value of services: changes in the quantity or quality of services that influence human welfare • Can be calculated and given an economic value • The global value of ecosystem services = $41 trillion/yr © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Using ecosystem value in decision making • Vital ecosystem services should be included in calculating costs and benefits of a proposed change in land use • Ecosystem capital stock: ecosystems and populations must be given adequate weight in public-policy decisions involving changes to that stock • But the services are often ignored or undervalued • Ignoring services results in changes to natural systems • But the social costs far outweigh the benefits • For example, mangrove forests are converted to shrimp farms even though the forest’s value exceeds the farm’s value by 70% © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A new look • Examining the benefit-cost consequences of converting ecosystems to human uses shows that • In every case, the net balance of value was a loss • The services lost outweighed the services gained • $250 billion/yr is lost through habitat conversion alone • Why are ecosystems still being changed? • Benefits of conversion are exaggerated by subsidies • The market does not measure ecosystem benefits well • Benefits of conversion are local; costs are larger-scale • Conservation is achievable when all costs are included © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Can ecosystems be restored? • Humans have the capacity to restore ecosystems • Restoration ecologists: try to restore ecosystems • The three assumptions of ecosystem restoration • Abiotic factors must be unchanged or able to return to their original state • Viable populations of species must still exist • Foreign species must be eliminated or not interfere with survival of reintroduced native species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The process of restoration ecology • Consists of developing a model of the desired ecosystem • • • • Designing and implementing a plan for restoration Stating clear standards to evaluate progress Monitoring the plan Developing strategies for long-term protection and maintenance of the system • We should restore ecosystems • For aesthetic reasons, human use, other species • Nature has value separate from humans © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The future • Human population growth and rising consumption will challenge ecosystem sustainability • There is unprecedented pressure on Earth to provide goods and services • For example, agricultural demands require more land • We can choose other alternatives • We must understand how essential ecosystems are • We need wisdom and political will to promote ecosystem sustainability • We must manage ecosystems © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Managing ecosystems • No ecosystem can escape human impact • Good ecosystem management is based on understanding: • How ecosystems function • How they respond to disturbances • What goods and services they provide • U.S. agencies have adopted ecosystem management as their management paradigm • Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Principles of ecosystem management • It looks at ecosystems at both small and large scales • It preserves the range of possible landscapes • Managers learn from experiments and use new knowledge • Managers are not just government agencies • Valuable goods and services are recognized • All stakeholders are included • It incorporates the objective of ecological sustainability • According to the U.S. Forest Service, sustainability should be the guiding star for stewardship of national forests and grasslands © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Conclusions from Living Beyond Our Means • The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s report Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-Being concluded that ecosystems may no longer be able to sustain future generations • We depend on nature and ecosystem services • Humans have profoundly changed ecosystems • These changes have improved lives but weakened nature’s ability to provide other services © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. More conclusions from Living Beyond Our Means • Outstanding problems include overfishing, loss of services, climate change, nutrient pollution • Humans have caused a massive wave of species extinction • Loss of services is a barrier to solving poverty, hunger, disease • Pressures on ecosystems will increase unless attitudes and actions change • Conservation succeeds when local people are involved • Technology and knowledge can reduce human impacts • Protection of natural assets requires coordinated efforts • We are living off the future—an unsustainable situation © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. CHAPTER 5 Ecosystems: Energy, Patterns, and Disturbance Active Lecture Questions © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-1 The process of initial invasion and progression from one biotic community to the next is called a. primary succession. b. secondary succession. c. a climax ecosystem. d. fire. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-1 Answer The process of initial invasion and progression from one biotic community to the next is called a. primary succession. b. secondary succession. c. a climax ecosystem. d. fire. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-2 True or False: Forest fires are destructive to ecosystems and should be avoided if at all possible. a. True b. False © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-2 Answer True or False: Forest fires are destructive to ecosystems and should be avoided if at all possible. a. True b. False © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-3 Resilience mechanisms might include a. replenishment of nutrients. b. rapid regrowth of plant cover. c. succession in a forest. d. all of the above. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-3 Answer Resilience mechanisms might include a. replenishment of nutrients. b. rapid regrowth of plant cover. c. succession in a forest. d. all of the above. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-4 When an ecosystem reaches a dynamic balance between all of the species and the physical environment, the ecosystem is considered a. at climax. b. in primary succession. c. in secondary succession. d. in aquatic succession. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-4 Answer When an ecosystem reaches a dynamic balance between all of the species and the physical environment, the ecosystem is considered a. at climax. b. in primary succession. c. in secondary succession. d. in aquatic succession. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-5 A small human action that catalyzes a major change in the state of an ecosystem is called the a. turning point. b. dew point. c. tipping point. d. point of no return. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Review Question-5 Answer A small human action that catalyzes a major change in the state of an ecosystem is called the a. turning point. b. dew point. c. tipping point. d. point of no return. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Interpreting Graphs and Data-1 According to Fig. 5-11, the temperature and precipitation of the moist tundra biome can be described as a. cold and wet. b. cold and dry. c. hot and wet. d. hot and dry. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Interpreting Graphs and Data-1 Answer According to Fig. 5-11, the temperature and precipitation of the moist tundra biome can be described as a. cold and wet. b. cold and dry. c. hot and wet. d. hot and dry. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Interpreting Graphs and Data-2 According to Fig. 5-20, areas shaded in black have a. no net primary production. b. low net primary production. c. medium net primary production. d. high net primary production. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Interpreting Graphs and Data-2 Answer According to Fig. 5-20, areas shaded in black have a. no net primary production. b. low net primary production. c. medium net primary production. d. high net primary production. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Thinking Environmentally-1 All of the following are categories of consumers except a. herbivores. b. photosynthesizers. c. omnivores. d. parasites. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Thinking Environmentally-1 Answer All of the following are categories of consumers except a. herbivores. b. photosynthesizers. c. omnivores. d. parasites. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Thinking Environmentally-2 Which of the following might be considered primary stakeholders in an ecosystem? a. government decision makers b. scientists studying the ecosystem c. people living within the ecosystem d. conservation organizations © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Thinking Environmentally-2 Answer Which of the following might be considered primary stakeholders in an ecosystem? a. government decision makers b. scientists studying the ecosystem c. people living within the ecosystem d. conservation organizations © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.