Living Component of an Ecosystem

Detritus Feeders: Detritivores that feed on

Trophic Levels: Ecologists categorize
wastes or dead bodies (detritus) (e.g., mites,
organisms into feeding levels (trophic levels)
earthworms).
based on their food source. Energy and
nutrients transfer between these levels. Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycling

Producers: Ecosystem Dependence: The living world

relies on energy flow and material circulation
Autotrophic organisms (e.g., green plants)
within the ecosystem.
that synthesize food from inorganic
compounds. Energy Source: The sun provides energy in
the form of light rays.
Examples: Microscopic plants
(phytoplankton), algae, rooted or floating Energy Distribution:
plants.
* 57% of solar energy is scattered in the
Consumers: atmosphere.

Heterotrophic organisms (macro * 36% is used in heating water and land

consumers or phagotrophs) that consume and evaporating water.
producers directly or indirectly.
* 8% is captured by plants, with 80-85%
Nutrient Cycling in the Forest: of this being absorbed and 50% used in
photosynthesis.
Illustrates the flow of nutrients between
producers, consumers, scavengers, Energy Storage: Plants store energy as
decomposers, and detritus feeders. potential energy in foodstuffs and represent
the first trophic level.
Types of Consumers
Energy Transfer: Energy flows from
Herbivores: Primary consumers that feed
producers to consumers, with a significant
on plants (e.g., deer, rabbits).
proportion (80-90%) being lost as heat
Primary Carnivores/Omnivores:
during respiration.
Secondary consumers that feed on
Energy Reduction: Energy is reduced by a
herbivores (e.g., wolves, foxes).
factor of 100 from primary producers to plant
Higher-Level Carnivores: Tertiary
consumers and by 10 for each subsequent
consumers that feed on other carnivores
step.
(e.g., tigers, hawks). Called biophages.
Food Chains: Ecosystems form food chains
Decomposers: Micro-organisms (bacteria
with a maximum of four steps: producers,
and molds) that break down dead organisms
primary consumers, secondary consumers,
into simpler compounds, which are then used
and tertiary consumers.
by producers.
 Energy in an Ecosystem

 Energy Flow: Energy flows and

matter is recycled in an ecosystem.
Energy for most ecosystems comes
from the Sun, with some from  Trophic Levels: Trophic levels are
geothermal sources. assigned in both food chains and food
webs, showing connections between
 Biomass Storage: Ecosystems store producers, consumers, and
energy as biomass. Energy transfers decomposers.
from one trophic level to the next
when organisms are eaten, but this  Inefficient Transfers: Energy
transfer is inefficient. transfers between trophic levels are
inefficient, limiting food chain length.
Energy Flow in the Ecosystem
 Biomass Storage: Some energy is
 One-Way Street: Energy, unlike stored as biomass in organisms'
matter, cannot be recycled. It flows bodies, available to the next trophic
one-way, generally from light to heat. level.
 Energy Capture: Sunlight is captured  10% Rule: Only about 10% of the
by photosynthesizers (plants and energy stored as biomass in one
algae) and converted into chemical trophic level ends up stored as
form. biomass in the next level.
 Energy Transformation: Energy 
changes forms as organisms
metabolize, produce waste, eat each Reasons for Inefficient Energy Transfer
other, and decompose. Some energy is
 Heat Dissipation: Energy is
converted to heat.
dissipated as heat during cellular
 Constant Energy respiration.
Supply: Ecosystems need a constant
 Indigestible Material: Some organic
energy supply, usually from the sun,
molecules cannot be digested and are
as energy is lost as heat during
excreted as waste.
transfer.
 Uneaten Organisms: Not all
 Food Chain Example: A plant stores
organisms in a trophic level are eaten
solar energy in a leaf, which is eaten
by the next level.
by a caterpillar, then a robin eats the
caterpillar, and a hawk eats the robin.  Decomposers: Feces and dead
Decomposers return nutrients to the organisms are metabolized by
soil. decomposers, converting energy to
heat.
 Food Chain: A sequence of organisms
where each serves as a source of 
food/energy for the next.
Ecosystem Productivity
Energy Transfer and Loss
 Producers as Source: Producers are
 Energy Loss: Every use and transfer the source of nutrients/chemical
of energy involves a loss as heat. energy.
Ecosystems need a continuous energy
 NPP Limitation: Net Primary
inflow.
Productivity (NPP) limits the number of
 Food Web: Natural ecosystems have consumers.
complex networks of interconnected
 Human Impact: Humans use, waste,
food chains (food webs).
or destroy a significant portion (20-
32%) of Earth's total potential NPP.
  NPP Variation: On land, NPP respiration (animals) and transpiration
decreases from the equator to the (plants).
poles. In the ocean, NPP is highest in
estuaries. Water Pathways

 Precipitation Paths: Precipitation

becomes surface runoff, flowing into
streams and lakes, eventually
returning to the oceans.

 Seepage and Evaporation: Some

surface water seeps into the soil or
evaporates back into the atmosphere.
Water Cycles through the Biosphere

 Water Storage: Water is stored in

lakes, rivers, oceans, glaciers, and ice
sheets. Oceans cover about 70% of
Earth's surface.
 Glacial Storage: Some precipitation
 Thermal Properties: Water's high is stored as ice in glaciers.
thermal properties allow it to store
 Groundwater: Some precipitation
vast amounts of heat energy.
sinks into underground aquifers.
 Ice as Freshwater: Ice is the world's
 Plant Use: Plant roots absorb water,
largest supply of freshwater, covering
which evaporates from leaves or is
3% of Earth's surface. It regulates
used in photosynthesis to create
climate change.
carbohydrates.
 Water Movement: Water is
 Consumer Intake: Consumers get
constantly moving through the
water from food or by drinking.
environment in the water cycle or
hydrologic cycle.  Nutrient Transport: Water dissolves
nutrient compounds and transports
 Composition: Water is made of
them within and between ecosystems.
oxygen and hydrogen.
 Hydrologic Cycle: The hydrologic
 Physical Forms: Water changes
cycle is a cycle of natural renewal of
between gas (water vapor), liquid, and
water quality.
solid forms.
Water Availability and Human Impact
 Precipitation: Water falling to Earth's
surface is precipitation (rain, snow,  Freshwater Availability: Only about
sleet, mist, hail). 0.024% of Earth's water is available as
liquid freshwater in accessible sources.
 Evaporation: Water returns to the
atmosphere as vapor through  Human Alterations:
evaporation.
o Withdrawal of large quantities of
 Living Organisms: Living things freshwater.
release water vapor through
 o Clearing vegetation and  Burning Fossil Fuels: Burning fossil fuels and
covering land with buildings and wood releases large amounts of CO2.

concrete, reducing Diagram Elements (Figure 2.30: The Carbon Cycle)

transpiration.

o Increasing flooding.

Carbon Cycles through the

Biosphere
 Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere: Central pool of
carbon.
 Definition: The carbon cycle is the process by
 Weathering of Terrestrial Rocks: Releases
which carbon moves through Earth's
carbon.
ecosystems.
 Respiration: Releases carbon dioxide.
 Carbon Source: Carbon enters ecosystems as
carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere.  Human Emissions: Adds carbon dioxide.
Key Processes  Terrestrial Photosynthesis: Absorbs carbon
dioxide.
 Photosynthesis: Plants use carbon dioxide to
produce sugars.  Soil Carbon: Carbon stored in soil.
 Sugars are essential for food and living matter.  Leaching/Runoff: Transfers carbon.
 Respiration: Organisms break down carbon  Ocean Sediments: Carbon deposited in oceans.
compounds to release energy, producing carbon
 Marine Photosynthesis: Absorbs carbon dioxide
dioxide.
in oceans.
 Decomposition: When living things die, carbon
 Fossil Carbon: Carbon stored in fossil fuels.
is released.
 Microbial Respiration and
 Dissolution: Carbon dioxide dissolves in water
Decomposition: Releases carbon dioxide.
ecosystems (lakes, rivers, oceans).
 Uplifting: Geological process exposing carbon.
 Fossil Fuel Formation: Over millions of years,
dead plant matter and bacteria are compressed  Air-Sea Gas Exchange: Exchange of carbon
into fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). dioxide between air and sea.
Human Intervention

 Increased Carbon Dioxide: Since 1800, and

especially since 1950, humans have increased
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

 Deforestation: Clearing trees reduces CO2

absorption.
 o Sulfur dioxide converts to sulfur
trioxide (SO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4).

o DMS reacts with ammonia to produce

sulfate salts.

 Acid Deposition:

o Droplets and particles fall to earth as

components of acid deposition, harming
trees and aquatic life.

 Human Impact:

o Human activities release sulfur

dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere.

o Sources include burning sulfur-

containing coal and oil, refining
petroleum, and converting sulfur-
containing metallic mineral ores.

Sulfur Cycles through the Biosphere

 Overview: Sulfur circulates through the o Atmospheric (SO2) converts to sulfuric

biosphere via the sulfur cycle. acid (H2SO4) and sulfate (SO42−) salts,
contributing to acid deposition.
 Sulfur Sources and Forms:
Figure 2.31: Sulfur Cycle
o Stored underground in rocks and
minerals as sulfate (SO4)−2 salts.

o Enters the atmosphere from natural

sources like volcanoes as hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) (colorless, poisonous gas).

o Sulfur dioxide (SO2) (colorless,

suffocating gas) also comes from
volcanoes.

o Particles of sulfate (SO42−) salts enter

the atmosphere from sea spray, dust
 Illustrates the circulation of sulfur through the
storms, and forest fires.
atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, marine
o Plant roots absorb sulfate ions. ecosystems, and human emissions.

o Marine algae produce dimethyl sulfide

(DMS) (CH3SCH3).

 DMS and Climate:

o DMS droplets act as nuclei for water

condensation in clouds.

o Changes in DMS emissions can affect

cloud cover and climate.

 Atmospheric Conversions:

o DMS converts to sulfur dioxide.

 o Denitrification: Bacteria in waterlogged
soils convert NH3 and NH4 back into
nitrogen gas (N2) and nitrous oxide gas
(N2O), which are released back into the
atmosphere.

o Sedimentation: Nitrates are washed

away and locked up in rocks.

 Human Intervention in the Nitrogen Cycle:

o Adding Nitric Oxide (NO): Burning fuel

in cars and engines releases NO, which
converts to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and
nitric acid (HNO3), causing acid rain.

Nitrogen Cycle

 Introduction: o Adding Nitrous Oxide (N2O): Anaerobic

o Nitrogen is essential for life and cycles bacteria in livestock waste and fertilizers
through the Earth. release N2O, a greenhouse gas that
depletes the ozone layer.
o The air is mostly nitrogen gas, but
animals can't directly use it. o Other Impacts:

o Animals get nitrogen from plants, which o Destruction of forests and

absorb nitrogen compounds. grasslands releases nitrogen.

 How Nitrogen Enters the Soil: o Agricultural runoff adds excess

nitrates to water bodies.
o Lightning: Breaks apart nitrogen,
converting it into a usable form that o Harvesting crops and irrigating
falls to the ground with rain. soils remove nitrogen.

o Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria: A primary  Key Compounds:

source of nitrogen; these bacteria live in o Ammonia (NH3)
the soil and oceans, and some attach to
plant roots (e.g., alfalfa, soybeans). o Ammonium ions (NH4)

 The Nitrogen Cycle Steps: o Nitrate ions (NO3)

o Fixation: Conversion of atmospheric o Nitrogen gas (N2)

nitrogen into biologically available
o Nitrous oxide (N2O)
forms.
o Nitric oxide (NO)
o Ammonification: Decomposers break
down dead organisms, releasing o Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
nitrogen into the soil.
o Nitric acid (HNO3)
o Nitrification: Soil bacteria convert
ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4)
into nitrate ions (NO3), which plants can
absorb.
 o Biological Importance: Phosphorus is a
component of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA)
and energy transfer molecules (ADP,
ATP). It is also a major component of
vertebrate bones and teeth.

 Human Impacts:

o Human activities, such as mining,

sewage, and fertilizer use, affect the
phosphorus cycle (as shown by red
arrows in Figure 2.33).

o Removing large amounts of phosphate

from the earth to make fertilizer.

o Reducing phosphorus in tropical soils by

clearing forests.

o Soil eroded from fertilized crop fields

carries phosphates into streams, lakes,
and the ocean, stimulating the growth
of producers (algae).

Phosphorus Cycle in the Biosphere

 Overview:

o Phosphorus circulates through water, o Phosphorus-rich runoff can lead to

the earth’s crust, and living organisms. excessive algal growth, upsetting
chemical cycling and other processes in
o Unlike the cycles of water, carbon, and lakes.
nitrogen, the phosphorus cycle does not
include the atmosphere.  Additional Details:

o The major reservoir for phosphorus is o Phosphate can be lost from the cycle for
phosphate salts (PO₄³⁻) in terrestrial long periods when it washes from the
rock formations and ocean bottom land into streams and rivers and is
sediments. carried to the ocean, where it can be
deposited as marine sediment.
o The phosphorus cycle is slower
compared to the water, carbon, and o Geological processes may uplift and
nitrogen cycles. expose these seafloor deposits, allowing
phosphate to be eroded again and re-
 Key Processes and Components: enter the cycle.
o Reservoirs: Phosphate salts in rocks and
ocean sediments.

o Natural Pathway: Erosion of

phosphorus-containing rocks releases
phosphate ions.

o Absorption: Dissolved phosphate is

absorbed by plant roots and other
producers.

o Transfer: Phosphorus is transferred

through food webs from producers to
consumers, including detritus feeders
and decomposers.