Chapter 37: Communities and Ecosystems
Ecologists use a diversity index (H) to represent the diversity and species richness of organisms in an
environment. The higher the absolute value of H, the greater the biodiversity. Species richness is the
number of different types of organisms in an environment. Species richness and the diversity index
together provide a way to analyze the health of an ecosystem. The H formula used here is the Shannon-
Weiner Index, which measures both species richness and evenness. The value of H' increases as richness
and evenness increase. The formula is: H 1 = - (Pi) (log Pi), where Pi = the number of individuals of species i
÷ the total number of individuals in the community.
Interspecific Interactions
Predation and interspecific competition are two types of interactions among species that can shape a
community. Symbiosis is a term that encompasses several kinds of interactions, including parasitism,
commensalism, and mutualism. Click on each organism in the food web to review these interspecific
relationships.
Primary Succession
Ecologists sometimes deduce the process of succession by studying several locations that are at
different successional stages.
Energy Flow and Chemical Cycling
Imagine that you have just eaten lunch. How do you think that your body uses most of this food?
Like all animals, the food that you eat provides chemical energy for your body. This energy is in the form
of organic molecules, particularly carbohydrates. Originally these organic molecules were produced by
plants in the chemical reaction of photosynthesis. This process requires energy. Where do plants get the
energy to make these organic molecules?
An ecosystem consists of all the living things and their environment. Click on the organisms in the
diagram below, to show how they get energy from the environment, and how they give off energy back
into the environment.
All organic molecules, such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, contain the element carbon. Like all
animals, you get carbon atoms from organic molecules in the food that you eat, and ultimately this
carbon comes from plants. Plants take in carbon dioxide gas from the air, and in photosynthesis they use
the carbon atoms to build carbohydrates. So the carbon in the food that you eat was originally floating
around in the air.
To use the energy in food, cells carry out cellular respiration, which converts organic molecules back into
carbon dioxide gas. This same carbon dioxide is then used again by plants to make more organic
molecules. Unlike energy, which cannot be recycled, individual carbon atoms are continually being
reused. Decomposers (bacteria and fungi) convert organic molecules back into carbon dioxide in the air.
Complete the diagram to show how the carbon atoms are recycled in the ecosystem.
Primary production is a term used to describe the rate at which plants and other photosynthetic
organisms produce organic compounds in an ecosystem. To understand effects on primary
production, you need to recognize factors that influence availability of oxygen. Oxygen is
essential for cellular respiration in most organisms. In an aquatic environment, oxygen
availability is influenced by a variety of chemical and physical factors.
Some of the factors that affect the amount of oxygen dissolved in water are:
Temperature: As water becomes warmer, its ability to hold oxygen decreases.
Photosynthetic activity: In bright light, aquatic plants are able to produce more oxygen.
Decomposition activity: As organic material decays, microbial processes consume
oxygen.
Mixing and turbulence: Wave action, waterfalls, and rapids all aerate water and increase
the oxygen concentration.
Salinity: As water becomes more salty, its ability to hold oxygen decreases.
Primary production is a term used to describe the rate at which plants and other photosynthetic
organisms produce organic compounds in an ecosystem. There are two aspects of primary
production:
Gross primary production = the entire photosynthetic production of organic compounds
in an ecosystem.
Net primary production = the organic materials that remain after photosynthetic
organisms in the ecosystem have used some of these compounds for their cellular energy
needs (cellular respiration).
Since oxygen is one of the most easily measured products of both photosynthesis and respiration,
a good way to gauge primary production in an aquatic ecosystem is to measure dissolved
oxygen. We cannot measure gross primary production directly because respiration, which uses
up oxygen and organic compounds, is always occurring simultaneously with photosynthesis.
However, we can measure it indirectly.
We can measure net primary production directly by measuring oxygen production in the
light, when photosynthesis is occurring.
We can also measure respiration without photosynthesis by measuring O2 consumption in
the dark, when photosynthesis does not occur.
Since net primary production equals gross primary production minus respiration, we can
calculate gross primary production.
Energy Pyramids
This is a savanna in East Africa, which is an ecosystem that has grasses and tall, flat-topped trees called
acacias. Here, we will study how energy flows through the ecosystem. Energy enters as sunlight, which is
used by plants in photosynthesis. Plants are called producers because they produce the organic
molecules that all living things need. Acacia trees are obviously producers, as are shrubs and grasses.
Animals that feed on plants (herbivores) are primary consumers. An example of a primary consumer in
Africa is the duiker. The name "duiker" means "diver," because when duikers are startled they run in a
zigzag and then dive into the nearest undergrowth. Duikers are medium-sized antelope, weighing about
50 pounds (20 kg). What do you think these herbivores feed on?
Carnivores, or secondary consumers, eat meat. A carnivore that preys on duikers is the cheetah.
Cheetahs are cats, but unlike lions and leopards they cannot retract their claws. They also cannot climb
trees, so are always found on the ground. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals. Like most cats,
cheetahs creep up close to their prey, and then dash the last few yards. Although they can reach speeds
of 70 miles per hour they can only keep this up for about 20 seconds, so the prey often escapes. Click on
the cheetah to see it run.
Obviously, energy is transferred from one species to another in the form of food. Primary consumers get
their energy from eating producers, and secondary consumers get their energy from eating primary
consumers
The organisms in each trophic level typically pass on between 5% and 10% of their energy to the next
level.
Animals such as cheetahs generally have no predators feeding on them. They are at the top of the food
chain. Why do you think this is?
Only about 5% of the energy in a secondary consumer is available for a tertiary consumer, so many food
chains stop at the secondary consumer level.
The trophic level of humans is important, because the pyramid of energy shows that an ecosystem
provides a lot more energy to primary consumers (herbivores) than it does to secondary consumers. In
other words, a large field of corn can supply food directly for many people, or it can be fed to cows to
produce relatively little meat. In many parts of the world people eat relatively little meat, because the
ecosystem cannot support large numbers of secondary or tertiary consumers
Humans obviously control a large amount of the available land on earth, using it for farming, forestry,
and cities. There are estimates that humans use between 20% to 40% of the total amount of plant
production worldwide, with the remainder used by all the other organisms on the planet. Some of the
crops grown on farmland are eaten directly; others are fed to livestock to produce meat. Overall, over a
third of the grain produced worldwide is fed to animals. In the last 50 years, meat production worldwide
has grown dramatically, from 44 million tons in 1950 to 211 million tons in 1997.
At the moment, the worldwide population is just over 6 billion people, and this will probably grow to at
least 11 billion by the year 2080. Some people worry that there will be mass starvation if the human
population grows this much. From what you have learned about the pyramid of energy, what is one way
to make sure that the planet can support more people?
If people eat less meat, and more vegetables, this would increase the population that the planet could
support. There is much more energy in any ecosystem for primary consumers than secondary
consumers. At the moment almost 70% of grain produced in the United States is fed to livestock. The
problem of increasing meat consumption is not confined to this country. Meat production in China, for
example, has risen from 8 million tons in 1975 to 45 million tons in 1996.
It should be noted, however, that since 1798 when Thomas Malthus published "Essay on the Principle of
Population," people have raised the specter of widespread famine, but so far improvements in
agriculture (especially in terms of crop yields) have kept up with the increasing human population.
The Carbon Cycle
The cycling of carbon between organisms and the abiotic environment is essential to life. Every organic
compound contains carbon.
Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria obtain carbon from carbon dioxide in the air, and use the carbon to
build organic compounds that are consumed by other organisms. Cellular respiration and decomposition
return carbon dioxide to the air. Using the pull-down menus, label the processes by which carbon cycles
through the biosphere.
The Nitrogen Cycle
All proteins and nucleic acids contain nitrogen. The cycling of nitrogen is critical to life.
Bacteria play a crucial role in recycling nitrogen between the atmosphere, the soil, and living things.
Water Pollution from Nitrates
Rivers are an important part of any ecosystem, providing water for people, plants and animals.
Unfortunately, human activity often results in water pollution, which can affect all of these living things.
In this activity, we will concentrate on one of the main pollutants: nitrate.
Animals need nitrogen because it is found in proteins and DNA. Although the air around us
contains a lot of nitrogen gas, we cannot use this gas directly. Instead, we get proteins and DNA
from the food that we eat, and these chemicals are actually produced by plants. Plants take in
nitrate from the soil, which is produced by bacteria from the nitrogen gas in the air.
Decomposers complete the cycle by changing proteins in dead organisms back to nitrate. So in a
natural ecosystem nitrogen atoms are continually being recycled as nitrate or protein.
Humans affect the nitrogen cycle in many ways. Burning fossil fuels (mainly coal and oil) in power
stations and cars can add nitrogen to the air. Factories can produce water pollution in the form of
nitrate. Farm animals produce manure, which contains nitrates. Farmers and homeowners use fertilizers
containing nitrate. Why do farmers have to use fertilizers, but natural ecosystems do not need fertilizer?
The nitrate in fertilizer is used to replace the chemicals that are removed in the crops.
Nationwide, what do you think are the top two sources of nitrate pollution in rivers?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found in its recent National Water Quality Inventory that
animal wastes and fertilizers were the main sources of pollution. Most fertilizers contain nitrate, and
both farmers and homeowners often use too much fertilizer, or fertilize just before it rains. In both
cases, rainwater washes the nitrates into nearby rivers. Nitrate in water causes many problems.
Rivers with a lot of nitrate have algal blooms where algae grow so rapidly that when they die bacteria
thrive and use up all the oxygen in the water. This low level of oxygen in the water is called hypoxia, and
it kills fish and other organisms. Many states, such as North Carolina, keep records of "fish kills". These
may involve tens of thousands of fish that are killed in a particular river, and are often caused by low
oxygen levels. In addition, a particular dinoflagellate, called Pfiesteria, sometimes increases in numbers
in polluted water. Unlike most dinoflagellates, which are photosynthetic, Pfiesteria actually kills fish and
feeds on their skin.
This map shows the site of "fish kills" in North Carolina between January and September 2000.
During the summer months, a dead zone or hypoxia zone covering up to 7,000 square miles
forms in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. This is probably caused by nitrates
washed down the Mississippi river.
Livestock that are given drinking water with nitrates dissolved in it suffer from a variety of ailments. The
symptoms of nitrate poisoning in animals include a bluish or brownish discoloring of the areas around
the mouth and eyes. Animals may have a sluggish, staggering gait, rapid heartbeat, frequent urination,
and labored breathing followed by collapse. In severe cases, convulsion and coma may occur, followed
by death one to three hours after the first signs appear. Even moderate levels of nitrate in drinking
water can cause livestock to grow more slowly than normal, and pregnant animals with nitrate
poisoning have more stillbirths.
Nitrate in human drinking water reduces the amount of oxygen being carried to the brain, and
causes "blue baby syndrome" in infants less than 6 months old. The blood sample of an affected
baby is a chocolate brown color instead of red. Nitrate poisoning can be treated, and in most
cases the baby makes a full recovery. It is crucial, however, to deal with the problem
immediately, because without treatment a baby can die.
Recent studies have shown a link between nitrate in drinking water and goiter. Goiter causes
swelling in the neck, as shown in this photo.
There is also increased risk of developing insulin-dependent diabetes associated with moderate
levels of nitrate in water supplies.
The recommended EPA limit for nitrates in drinking water is a maximum of 10 parts per million:
in other words, 10 nitrate molecules mixed in a million water molecules. In 1995, 9% of drinking
water wells tested had higher levels of nitrate than this.
Nitrates are a common problem throughout the country. In 1996, the EPA found that in almost a
third of the regions studied nationwide, less than 20% of the rivers met the standards for all
designated uses. For example, almost 40% of lakes and rivers assessed by states are unsafe for
fishing and swimming.
What can be done about this? The problem is being addressed at many levels.
Each state has its own programs to combat water pollution. One recent example in California is
Proposition 12. In March 2000, voters approved Proposition 12 which provides a $2.1 billion
bond issue with a significant proportion of the money being dedicated to protecting water
quality, both by buying land around rivers and by reducing water pollution. In the last 10 years,
states have improved their water monitoring programs and have significantly cut pollution,
especially from factories and power plants. This is why most nitrate pollution now comes from
farms and lawns.
Water quality has become an important political issue particularly in coastal states, partly
because the number of pollution-related beach closings nationwide increased 50%
between 1997 and 1999. Many states now have programs to both educate farmers and
consumers about the problems of water pollution, and also to suggest simple ways to
reduce the amount of nitrate that gets into water supplies.
Every year the federal government spends over $2 billion implementing the Clean Water Act.
Some of this money is spent protecting pristine areas, and some is spent reducing pollution at its
source. Animal manure is a major source of nitrate pollution. How much animal manure do you
think is produced nationwide compared to human fecal waste?
Nationwide, animals produce 130 times as much fecal waste as humans. In other words,
farms produce 5 tons of animal manure a year for every man, woman, and child in the
country. Some of this animal manure is stored in romantically named "manure lagoons."
Federal grants to farmers encourage them to cut down on the amount of nitrate that gets
into rivers. For example, since 1983 the amount of nitrate washed into the Mississippi
River has declined. Even simple ideas such as fencing off streams so that animal wastes
cannot easily get into them can have a dramatic effect in reducing pollution.
Although 40% of rivers are still unsafe to swim in, this is an improvement on the 70% of rivers
that were unsafe when the Clean Water Act was first implemented 25 years ago. Many individual
rivers and bays are now much cleaner than in the past: examples include Long Island Sound,
Tampa Bay, Galveston Bay, and San Francisco Bay.