ECOSYSTEMS, ENERGY & PRODUCTION

Community:

Any naturally occurring group of organisms occupying a

common environment

Assemblages of plants, animals, and microbes that have

colonized particular locations

Ecosystem

All of the organisms in a natural community or biome

plus all of the associated environmental factors with
which they interact

The sum of the living & nonliving components of a

community & their close & complex associations

The term ecosystem is well-suited for aquatic

communities such as ponds, lakes, streams and even the
ocean

Ecological system - the complex of communities of

organisms and their environment functioning as an
ecological unit
Ecosphere (Biosphere)

All of planet earth’s ecosystems; thin layer surrounding

the earth that supports life

i. Lithosphere - rock and soil layer; land

ii. Atmosphere - the gaseous layer; air
iii. Hydrosphere - the water layer; oceans, lakes, rivers,
etc…

Laws of Energy

 Energy - ability to do work or cause change

 Energy flows through a system; can’t be recycled

 Types of energy - potential, kinetic, chemical, radiant,

nuclear, heat, electrical, etc…

 First Law: energy can be converted from one form to

another

Second Law: whenever energy is converted, some is

lost in the form of heat
Community succession

 dynamic process; one community is replaced by

another as time passes

 Ecological Succession - replacement of one

community of organisms by another in an orderly and
predictable manner

Primary Succession - establishing ones self where no

one has gone before, i.e. pioneer community (lichen =
fungus + algae)

Secondary Succession - ecosystem is moved back to an

earlier successional stage

Climax Community - relatively stable terminal community

that reaches a dynamic equilibrium
The evolution of natural lakes is normally from
oligotrophic to eutrophic

This results from the delivery of sediment and nutrients

to the lake, which slowly causes the lake to fill in and
become shallower.

This generally causes an increase in temperature and

biologic productivity.

An increase in sediment delivery to lakes can accelerate

the eutrophication process because of nutrients that bind
to fine sediments.

Continued filling with sediments leads to advanced

eutrophication, swampy or marshy conditions, and finally
total infilling of the prior lake environment

Retrogressive succession or rejuvenation of lakes:

techniques by which lakes are restored & their aging
process are postponed
ENERGY FLOW

Energy for growth, maintenance, and reproduction

is required by all organisms; some species also
require energy for locomotion.

Light energy is used by primary producers to

synthesise organic molecules (photosynthesis)
which are later broken down to produce ATP
(cellular respiration).

Energy is obtained by consumers in the form of

organic molecules that were produced at the
previous trophic level.

Thus, energy flows to higher trophic levels

through food webs.

Since only primary producers can directly utilise

solar energy, an ecosystem's entire energy budget
is determined by the photosynthetic activity of the
system
Food Chains & Food Webs

Food Chain:
A sequence or chain of organisms existing in a natural
community in which each link of the chain feeds on the
one below and is eaten by the one above.

There are seldom more than six links in a food chain,

with plants on the bottom and the largest carnivores at
the top.

A food chain can be thought of as a transfer of food

from trophic level to trophic level.

Food chains rarely are unbranched since several

different primary consumers may feed on the same plant
species and a primary consumer may eat several
species of plants.

The feeding relationships are usually woven into

elaborate food webs within an ecosystem.

Food Web:
A complex pattern of interconnected food chains in a
community. The organisms are typically connected by
arrows that show the direction of energy flow.
Since food chains rarely follow a precise linear
sequence, the food web is a better way to show energy
flow between different trophic levels.

The food web interconnects several different food

chains within the community.

Food webs essentially show "who eats whom" within a

community or ecosystem.
Each ecosystem has a trophic structure that represents
the different feeding relationships that determine the
route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical
cycling.

Ecologists divide the species in a community or

ecosystem into different trophic levels based on their
main source of nutrition

Trophic Level:

The greater number of alternative channels through

which energy can flow, the greater the stability of the
food web and the ecosystem

The five trophic levels are:

i. Primary producers

Autotrophs (usually photosynthetic) are the organisms

that support all other trophic levels either directly or
indirectly by synthesizing sugars and other organic
molecules using light energy.

An exception is communities of organisms living

around hot water, deep sea vents where producers are
chemosynthetic bacteria that oxidise H2S (driven by
geothermal energy).
Producers:
Autotrophic photosynthetic plants that occupy the first trophic
level of a food chain.

Autotrophic:
Mode of nutrition in which the organism is able to synthesize
its own energy-rich carbohydrate molecules.

ATP must be generated first in order to synthesize the

carbohydrates.

This includes green photosynthetic plants and

chemosynthetic (chemoautotrophic) bacteria.

Photosynthetic bacteria utilize light energy and include

purple sulphur bacteria and halobacteria

Chemoautotrophic bacteria obtain energy (ATP) from the

oxidation of elements in their environment.

Examples of chemosynthetic bacteria include sulphur

bacteria, iron bacteria and the remarkable bacteria
responsible for desert varnish.

Nitrifying bacteria oxidize ammonia from decay into nitrites,

water and ATP.
 Primary producers

Chemoautotrophs Photoautotrophs

Energy from inorganic

chemical bond – Use solar radiation as
oxidize compounds of energy source
S, N, Fe

Photosynthetic Photosynthetic
bacteria plants

Electron Electron
donor from donor from
H2S H2O

Chemotrophic biosynthesis = secondary production:

Degradation of energy from primary production

Anaerobic decomposition release H2S, NH4+, Fe2+, CH4
ii. Primary consumers

These are herbivores that consume primary producers.

Some examples are terrestrial insects, snails, grazing
mammals, seed-eating birds, aquatic zooplankton, and
some fish.

iii. Secondary consumers

These are the carnivores that eat herbivores. Just some

of the many examples of this group include terrestrial
spiders, frogs, insects-eating birds, lions, many fish, and
sea-stars.

iv. Tertiary consumers

These are the carnivores that eat other carnivores.

v. Detritivores

These are the consumers that derive energy from

organic wastes and dead organisms some examples
include the bacteria and fungi. Also included are
scavengers such as cockroaches and bald eagles. This
level often forms a major link between primary producers
and higher-level consumers, and is important
components of the recycling process.
Primary Productivity
Primary productivity is the rate at which light energy is
converted to chemical energy by Autotrophs of an ecosystem.

The total is known as gross primary productivity (GPP)

which may be determined by measuring the total oxygen
produced by photosynthesis.

Net primary productivity (NPP = GPP - Rs).

Where Rs is the energy used by producers for respiration.

NPP accounts for the organic mass of plants (growth) and

represents storage of chemical energy available to
consumers.

The NPP:GPP ratio is generally smaller for larger producers

with elaborate nonphotosynthetic structures (such as trees)
which support large metabolically active stem and root
systems.

Net Primary Productivity can be expressed as biomass

(expressed as dry weight since water contains no unable
energy) added to an ecosystem per unit area per unit time
(g/m2/yr) or as energy per unit time (J/m2/yr).
Primary productivity is the rate at which new biomass is
synthesised by vegetation, while standing crop
biomass is the total biomass of plants present at a
given time.

Primary productivity varies among ecosystems and their

sizes affect each ecosystem's contribution to the
Earth's total productivity

Factors important in limiting productivity depend on the

type of ecosystem and temporal changes such as
seasons.

Primary production sometimes removes nutrients from

the system faster than they can be replenished.

If a nutrient is removed in such quantities that sufficient

amounts are no longer available, it becomes the
limiting nutrient.

The limiting nutrient is one present in insufficient

quantities to support further primary production that
will slow down or cease.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are usually limiting nutrients

since they are needed in large quantities but are often
present in small or moderate amounts in natural
environments.

Carbon dioxide availability sometimes limits productivity.

An aquatic ecosystem's productivity is usually
determined by light intensity, water temperature, and
availability of inorganic nutrients.

Freshwater ecosystem productivity varies:

iv. from the surface to the depths in relation to light
intensity;
v. water temperature is important and seasonal
fluctuations in productivity occur in temperate zones;
vi. availability of inorganic nutrients is sometimes
limiting, but biannual turnovers bring nutrients to the
surface waters.

Oligotrophic lake:

(P = total photosynthesis; R = total respiration during a

24-hour period)

P/R ≈ 1.0 (dynamic equilibrium)

Eutrophic lake:

P/R > 1.0 (autotrophic communities)

(autotrophic organisms produce more organic material
than accounted for by respiration; photosynthesis of
organic molecules surpasses their destruction by
heterotrophic processes)
Heterotrophic community:
P/R < 1.0
• receive allochthonous organic molecules
• respiration surpasses photosynthesis, eg. shallow,
darkened, ice-covered lakes
• dystrophic lakes receiving humic substances from
external sources are usually heterotrophic
• polluted stream – immediately below the source of
pollution, heterotrophic processes predominate
• healthy streams are heterotrophic – biotic communities
relying on the deciduous leaves from adjacent trees as a
major source of energy
Ecological pyramid –
 a graph representing trophic level numbers within an
ecosystem.
The primary producer level is at the base of the pyramid with
the consumer levels above.
 represent the energy relationships among trophic levels

Numbers pyramid –
 compares the number of individuals in each trophic level.
 top-level consumer biomass is concentrated in a small
number of individuals
 Predators (top-level consumers) are highly susceptible to
extinction when their ecosystem is disturbed due to their small
population and wide spacing within the habitat.

Biomass pyramid –
 compares the total dry weight of the organisms in each
trophic level.
 shows the total mass-of living tissue at each level
 Biomass represents chemical energy stored in the organic
matter of a trophic level.
 Biomass of top-level carnivores is usually small compared
to the total biomass of producers and lower-level consumers.

Energy pyramid –
compares the total amount of energy available in each
trophic level.
 This energy is usually measured in kilocalories.
Numbers pyramid
Not all energy stored in biomass can be converted to
productivity at the next trophic level due to loss of organised
energy dissipated as heat.
PYRAMID OF ENERGY
Trophic level - each feeding level (producer, herbivore,
carnivore, etc…)

Only 5 to 20% of energy is transferred to the next trophic

level due to:
i. predator avoidance
ii. not all digestible
iii. not all accessible
iv. all organisms respire

Ecological efficiency
Ecological efficiency is the ratio of net productivity at one
trophic level compared to net productivity at the level below. It
can vary greatly depending on the organisms involved, but is
roughly 10%. This means that 90% of the energy available at
one trophic level never transfers to the next. Loss of energy
in a food chain can be represented diagrammatically (the 3
ecological pyramids)

At successively higher levels in the food cycle, the consumers

seem to be progressively more efficient in the utilization of
the food supply

Efficiency of primary production

 Energy Transfers and Ecological Pyramids
Secondary productivity

There is a limit to the rate at which consumers incorporate

organic material (the food they eat) into new biomass,
which can be equated to chemical energy.

Herbivores only consume a small fraction of available plant

material.

Typically, 2/3 of organic material absorbed by herbivores is

used for cellular respiration that degrades compounds into
organic waste products and heat.

The other 1/3 adds biomass to the trophic level.

Carnivores are more efficient at converting food into

biomass but more is used for cellular respiration, further
decreasing energy available to the next trophic level.
Only about 1/1000 of the chemical energy fixed by
photosynthesis flows through a food web to a tertiary
consumer, only 3 -5 trophic levels can be supported since
biomass at the apex is insufficient to support another level.

The productivity of each higher trophic level declines,

because only a small portion of the energy of each trophic
level is transferred to the next trophic level.
 the paradoxical relationship between phytoplankton and
zooplankton.

In general, the decrease of energy at each successive trophic

level means that less biomass can be supported at each
level.

Thus, the total mass of carnivores in a given community is

almost always less than the total mass of herbivores.

The size, growth rate, and longevity of the species at the

various trophic levels of a community are important in
determining whether or not the pyramid model will hold for the
biomass of that community.

Thus, in some aquatic communities where the producers are

small algae with high metabolic and reproductive rates, there
may be a greater biomass of consumers than of producers at
any given moment. But, the producers support the larger
zooplankton population. In other words, the total mass of all
the algae that live during the course of a year will be much
greater than the total number of consumers that live during
that year.
Trophic cascades (‘top-down’ changes)

i. Biological pyramid in winter:

Zooplankton survive mostly on stored food reserves &

metabolize slowly at the low T

ii. Effects of species introduction

iii. Faunal changes caused by pollution

iv. Harvest of fish & invertebrates