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Ecosystems Studying organisms in their environment organism population community ecosystem biosphere Essential Questions What limits the production in ecosystems? How do nutrients move in the ecosystem? How does energy move through the ecosystem? Ecosystem All the organisms in a community plus abiotic factors ecosystems are transformers of energy & processors of matter Ecosystems are self-sustaining Sunlight is needed only capture energy transfer energy cycle nutrients Ecosystem inputs energy flows constant input of energy through nutrients cycle Matter cannot Don’t forget the laws of or be created Physics! destroyed biosphere nutrients can only cycle Inputs: energy nutrients Generalized Nutrient cycling consumers producers consumers decomposers decomposers nutrients ENTERnutrients FOOD CHAIN made available = made available to producers to producers Decomposition connects all trophic levels abiotic abiotic reservoir reservoir geologic geologic processes processes return to abiotic reservoir Carbon cycle CO2 in atmosphere Diffusion Respiration Dissolved CO2 abiotic reservoir: CO2 in atmosphere enter food Combustion of chain: fuels photosynthesis = Industry andfixation home in carbon Photosynthesis Calvin cycle Recycle: decomposition Plants return to abiotic: Animals respiration Combustion of fossil fuels Bicarbonates Photosynthesis Animals Plants and algae Carbonates in sediment Deposition of dead material Deposition of dead material Fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) Nitrogen cycle Carnivores abiotic reservoir: N in atmosphere enter food chain: nitrogen fixation by soil & aquatic bacteria recycle: decomposing & Herbivores nitrifying bacteria return to abiotic: denitrifying bacteria Birds Plankton with nitrogen-fixing bacteria Atmospheric nitrogen Plants Death, excretion, feces Fish excretion Decomposing bacteria amino acids Ammonifying bacteria loss to deep sediments Nitrifying bacteria soil nitrates Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (plant roots) Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (soil) Denitrifying bacteria abiotic reservoir: surface & atmospheric water enter food chain: precipitation & plant uptake Solar energy recycle: transpiration to abiotic: Evaporationreturn evaporation & runoff Water cycle Transpiration Water vapor Precipitation Oceans Runoff Lakes Percolation in soil Groundwater Aquifer Ecosystem inputs energy flows through nutrients cycle biosphere inputs energy nutrients Energy flows through ecosystems sun secondary consumers (carnivores) primary consumers (herbivores) producers (plants) loss of energy loss of energy Food chains Level 4 Tertiary consumer sun top carnivore Trophic levels Level 3 feeding relationships Secondary consumer start with energy from carnivore the sun Level 2 captured by plants Primary consumer 1st level of all food chains heterotrophs herbivore food chains usually go Level 1 up only 4 or 5 levels Producer Due to inefficiency of energy transfer autotrophs all levels connect to decomposers Decomposers Bacteria Fungi Inefficiency of energy transfer sun Loss of energy between levels of food chain To where is the energy lost? The cost of living! 17% growth only this energy moves on to the next level in the food chain energy lost to daily living 33% cellular respiration 50% waste (feces) Ecological pyramid Loss of energy between levels of food chain can feed fewer animals in each level Few organisms at the top due to energy loss sun Humans in food chains Dynamics of energy through ecosystems have important implications for human populations how much energy does it take to feed a human? if we are meat eaters? Vegetarians? What is your ecological footprint?! Food webs Food chains are linked together into food webs Who eats whom? a species may weave into web at more than one level bears humans eating meat? eating plants?