3.

The Ecosystem
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Introduction
Human Influences on Ecosystems
Energy and Mass Flow
Nutrient Cycles
Population Dynamics

1. Introduction
Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between plants and animals that live in a
particular physical environment.
Ecosystem are communities of organisms that interact with one another and with their
physical environment.
Habitats are the place where a population of organism lives.

1.1 Ecosystem Organization

Organisms
Species
o Groups of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, and
genetic make up
Populations
o Genetic diversity
Communities
Ecosystems
Biosphere
1.2 Fundamental Characteristics
Components:
o Living (biotic)
Producers, consumers, decomposers
Plants, animals, bacteria/fungi
Biotic interactions with biotic components include predation, competition,
symbiosis, parasitism, commensalism etc.
o Nonliving (abiotic)
Water, air, temperature, soil, light levels, precipitation, salinity
Sets tolerance limits for populations and communities
Some are limiting factors that structure the abundance of populations
Process:
o Energy flow
o Cycling of matter (chemicals)
Change:
o Dynamic (not static)
o Succession, etc.

2. Human Influences on Ecosystems

2.1 Ecosystem Services

Support Vehicle
Provisionary Services
Regulating Services

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Cultural Services

2.2 Influences on Biodiversity

Deforestation
Desertification
Global Warming
Invasive Species
Overharvesting

3. Energy and Mass Flow

3.1 Trophic Levels
Trophic levels rank in the feeding hierarchy
Producers (autotroph) the first trophic level, organisms that capture solar energy for
photosynthesis to produce sugars
o Source of all food
o Photosynthesis
Consumers (heterotrophy)
o Primary consumers = second trophic level
Organisms that consume producers
Herbivores consume plants
Deer, grasshoppers
o Secondary consumers = third trophic level
Organisms that prey on primary consumers
Carnivores consume meat
Wolves, rodents
o Tertiary Consumers = fourth trophic level
Predators at the highest trophic level
Consume secondary consumers
Are also carnivores
Hawks, owls
Decomposers - Matter recyclers, enrich soils and/or recycle nutrients found in dead
organisms
o Detritivores = scavenge waste products or dead bodies
Millipedes
o Decomposers = break down leaf litter and other non-living material
Fungi, bacteria
Enhance topsoil and recycle nutrients
3.2 Food Chain vs Food Web
Food chain
- the relationship of how energy is transferred up the trophic levels
Food web
- a visual map of feeding relationships and energy flow
- Includes many different organisms at all the various levels
- Greatly simplified; leaves out the majority of species
Ecological Efficiency
- The % of usable energy transferred as biomass from one trophic level to the next
(ranges from 5-20% in most ecosystems, use 10% as a rule of thumb)
Example:
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A deer eats 25 kg of herbaceous material per day. The herbaceous matter is approximately 20%
dry matter (DM) and has an energy content of 10 MJ(kg DM) -1 . Of the total energy ingested per
day, 25% is excreted as undigested material. Of the 75% that is digested, 80% is lost to metabolic
waste products and heat. The remaining 20% is converted to body tissue. How many megajoules
are converted to body tissue on a daily basis? Calculate the percentage of energy consumed that
is converted to body tissue.

4. Nutrient Cycles
The basic elements of which all organisms are composed are carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
sulphur, oxygen and, and hydrogen. The first four elements are much more limited in mass and
easier to trace than are oxygen and hydrogen. Because the elements are conserved then can be
recycled indefinitely (or cycled through the environment). Because the pathways used to
describe the movement of these elements in the environment are cyclic, they are referred to as
carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur cycles.
4.1 Carbon Cycle
Although carbon is only the 14th by weight in abundance on earth, it is by far, one of the
most important elements on earth as it is the building block of all organic substances and thus, of
life, itself. Carbon is found in all living organisms, in the atmosphere (predominantly as carbon
dioxide and bicarbonate), in soil humus, in fossil fuels, and in rock and soils (predominantly as
carbonate materials in limestone or dolomite or in shales). The ocean serves as the greatest
reservoir of carbon, as shown in Table 3.1. Approximately 85% of the worlds carbon is found in
the oceans.
Table 3.1 Estimated major stress of carbon on the Earth
Sink

Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons

Atmosphere

766

Soil Organic Matter

1500-1600

Ocean

38,000-40,000

Marine sediments and

sedimentary

66,000,000 to 100,000,000

rocks
Terrestrial plants

540-610

Fossil Fuel Deposits

4000

Photosynthesis is the major driving force of the carbon cycle (see Figure 3.1). Plants tale
up carbon dioxide and convert it to organic matter. Even the organic carbon compounds in fossil
fuels had their beginnings in photosynthesis. The bound, or stored, CO2 in fossil fuels is
released by combustion processes. The cycling of carbon also involves the release of carbon
dioxide by animal perspiration fires, diffusion from the oceans, weathering of rocks, and
precipitation of carbonate minerals.
The ocean is a major sink of carbon, much of which is found in the formed of dissolved
carbon dioxide gas, and carbonate and bicarbonate ions. Primary productivity is responsible for
the assimilation of inorganic carbon into organic forms.
Humans have affected significantly the carbon cycle through the combustion of fossil
fuel, the large-scale production of livestock, and the burning of forests.

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Reservoirs: atmosphere (CO2), fossil fuels, organic matters

Assimilation: photosynthesis, animal consumption
Release: respiration; decomposition; combustion

Figure 3.1 The Carbon Cycle

4.2 Nitrogen Cycle
A major component of the atmosphere, nitrogen is essential for all living things. However,
most organisms are unable to use the gaseous forms of nitrogen present in the atmosphere. In
order for nitrogen to be usable by most organisms, it must be fixed, in other words, combined
with oxygen, hydrogen or carbon to form other molecules. Nitrogen fixation can happen during
rainstorms, which yields nitrate and ammonium ions. Nitrogen also can be fixed biologically by
free-living and symbiotic bacteria. Leguminous plants, for example, host nitrogen-fixing bacteria
in root nodules allowing them to capture nitrogen and incorporate it into proteins and other
molecules.
Unlike other organisms, nitrogen fixing bacteria are able to convert atmospheric nitrogen to
ammonia, which then can serve as raw material for the incorporation of nitrogen into other
molecules. The other four important steps in the nitrogen cycle (see Figure 3.2) are: (1)
assimilation (reduction of nitrate ions inside plants and ammonia, which are used to manufacture
proteins and other molecules; this conversion requires energy); (2) ammonification (release of
excess nitrogen in the form of ammonia and ammonium ions by soil-dwelling bacteria and some
fungi during the decomposition of complex organic compounds such as proteins, and nucleic
acids); (3) nitrification (the oxidation of ammonium ions or ammonia by free-living, soil
dwelling bacteria to nitrates; and (4) denitrification (the conversion of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen
[N2 ] by free-living bacteria in soil; this conversion yields energy and occurs in conditions with
low levels of oxygen).
Human influences on the nitrogen cycle have resulted from the manufacture and use of
industrial fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, and large-scale production of nitrogen-fixing crops.
Consequently, the release of biologically usable nitrogen from soil and organic matter has
increased. Nitrous oxide releases from industrial sources and the combustion of fossil fuels have
also increased. The effects of nitrogen releases are significant and range from acid and lake
acidification to the corrosion of metals and deterioration of building materials.
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Reservoirs: atmosphere; soil

Assimilation: plant absorption; animal consumption
Release: denitrification; detrivorous bacteria

Figure 3.2 Nitrogen Cycle

4.3 Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plants and animals. Phosphorus is a limiting
nutrient for aquatic organisms. Phosphorus forms parts of important life-sustaining molecules
that are very common in the biosphere. Phosphorus does not enter the atmosphere, remaining
mostly on land and in rock and soil minerals.
Phosphates move quickly through plants and animals; however, the processes that move
them through the soil or ocean are very slow, making the phosphorus cycle (see Figure 3.3)
overall one of the slowest biogeochemical cycles.
Initially, phosphate weathers from rocks and minerals, the most common mineral being
apatite. Overall small losses occur in terrestrial environments by leaching and erosion, through
the action of rain. In soil, phosphate is absorbed on iron oxides, aluminium hydroxides, clay
surfaces, and organic matter particles, and becomes incorporated (immobilized or fixed). Plants
and fungi can also be active in making phosphorus soluble.
Unlike other cycles, phosphorus cannot be found in the air as a gas; it only occurs under
highly reducing conditions as the gas phosphine PH3.
Human activities have led to release of phosphorus from the disposal of municipal
sewage and from the concentrated livestock operations. The application of phosphorus fertilizers
has also resulted in perturbations in the phosphorus cycle. Phosphorus can have a significant
effect on lake and stream ecosystems.
Reservoir: rocks
Assimilation: plants from soil; animals eating plants
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Release: decomposition; excretion

Figure 3.3 Phosphorus Cycle

4.4 Sulfur Cycle
Until the Industrial Revolution the effect of sulphur on environmental systems was quite
small. However, with the Industrial Revolution, the use of sulphur-containing compounds as
fertilizers and the release of sulphur dioxide during the combustion of fossil fuels and in
metal processing has increased significantly. Mining operations have also resulted in the
release of large quantities of sulphur in acid mine drainage. Like the nitrate ion, sulphate is
negatively charged and is not absorbed onto clay particles. Dissolved sulphates thus can be
leached from the soil profile by excess rainfall or irrigation. In the environment, sulphur is
2
found predominantly as sulphides (S ), sulphates ( SO 4 , and in organic forms.
2-

As with the nitrogen cycle, microorganisms play an important role in the cycling of
sulphur. Bacteria are involved in the oxidation of pyrite-containing materials, releasing large
quantities of sulfate. In anaerobic environments, sulphate-reducing bacteria reduce sulfate to
release hydrogen sulphide. In marine waters, the biological production of dimethylsufide
may occur.

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Figure 3.4 Sulfur Cycle

5. Population Dynamics
Population dynamics is the study of the changes in the numbers and composition of
individuals in a population within a study unit and the factor that affect these numbers. The study
area can be biological, geographical, political or an engineered area.
As environmental scientists and engineers, evaluating population dynamics is critical to
(1) understanding how environmental perturbations affect population, (2) predicting human
populations so as to determine water resource needs, (3) predicting bacterial population in
engineered systems, and (4) using populations as indicators of environmental quality.
Factors that cause populations to change may be related to or independent of the number
of organisms in the study area. These factors can be classified as either density-dependent or
density-independent. Density refers the number of organisms per unit area or volume. Plants or
higher animals are usually measured in numbers of animals per hectare or per square kilometre.
Bacteria, viruses and other aquatic organisms are usually measured in numbers per unit volume.
Density-dependent factors are, as implied, a function of density. As the density increases beyond
a certain threshold, the population numbers may begin to decline. Density-independent factors
are those factors that act on a population independent are those factors that act on a population
independent on the size of the population. Typical density-independent causes of mortality are
weather, accidents, and environmental catastrophes.
5.1 Bacterial Growth Population
The dynamics of bacterial population are relevant to environmental scientists and
engineers because of their importance in wastewater treatment and water quality. The major
groups of requirements necessary for bacterial growth are as follows:

A terminal electron acceptor

Macronutrients

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o Carbon to build cells

o Nitrogen to build cells
o Phosphorus for ATP (energy carrier) and DNA
Micronutrients
o Trace metals
o Vitamins are required by some bacteria
Appropriate environment
o Moisture
o Temperature
o pH

The population of bacteria (P) after the nth generation is given by the following
expression:

P = PO(2)n
where PO is the initial population at the end of the accelerated growth phase and n is the
number of generations.
Example: If the initial density of bacteria is 104 cells per liter at the end of the accelerated
growth phase, what is the number of bacteria after 25 generations?
5.2 Animal Population Dynamics
The constituents that influence the rate of change in the numbers of particular species
found in the wild include such density-dependent factors as the availability of food, locations to
live and build nests for their young, concentration of toxic waste products, disease, predators,
parasites and so on. Environmental aspects such as weather, temperature, flooding, snowfall, all
of which are density-dependent will also affect population dynamics. As such, population
dynamics involve five basic components to which all changes in population can be related: birth,
death, gender ratio, age structure and dispersal.
Clearly population dynamics are affected by the rate at which animals reproduce. A
number of components affect a populations birth rate: (1) the amount and quantity of food, (2)
age at first reproduction, (3) the birth interval, and (4) the average number of young born per
pregnancy. A doubling rate in the birth (live) rate will more than double the population growth
rate.
Death, or mortality, rate is defined as the number of animals that die per unit time
divided by the number of animals alive at the beginning of that time period.
Gender ratio is the proportion of males to females within population. The mating system
(monogamous vs. polygamous) will greatly affect population)
Age structure will affect population dynamics. This is because of age-specific mortality
and pregnancy rates.
Dispersal is defined as the movement of animal from the location of its birth to a new
area where it lives and reproduces. Dispersal usually does not occur until the animal is an adult,
and males are usually the gender to disperse.
Resources necessary for population growth are unlimited:
N (t+1)
==e x
N (t )
Where N(t+1) = population after (t+1) number in years
N
= population after t years
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r
= the specific growth rate (net new organism per unit time)
Resources are limited:
K N0
N ( t )=
N 0 +(KN 0 ) ert
K is the carrying capacity, the numbers of individuals an area can support. As the
numbers approach K, the mechanisms (increased mortality, decreased reproduction, increased
dispersal) that result in a decrease in the rate of population growth take over.
Example: Assume that the population of the greater roadrunner in the Guadelope Desert was 200
per hectare at the beginning of 1999. If the carrying capacity, K, is 600 and r = 0.25/year, what is
the number of roadrunners one, five and ten years later? What happen when the number of
roadrunner equals K?
5.3 Human Population Dynamics
Predicting the dynamics of human population is important to environmental engineers
because it is the basis for the determination of design capacity for municipal and wastewater
treatment systems and for water reservoirs. Population predictions are also important in the
development of resources and pollutant management plans. Human population dynamics also
depend on birth, death, gender ratio, age structure, and dispersal. In human populations, dispersal
is referred to as an immigration and emigration
Assuming an exponential growth rate, the population can be predicted using the equation:
P (t )=P 0 e rt
Where P(t) = the population at time, t
PO = population at time, 0
r
= rate of growth
t
= time
The growth rate can be determined as a function of birth rate (b), death rate (d),
immigration rate (i), and emigration rate (m):

r=bd+im
where the rates are all expressed as some value per unit time.
Example: A population of humanoids on the island of Huroth on the Planet Szacak has a net birth
rate (b) of 1.0 individuals / (individual x year) and a net death rate (d) of 0.9 individuals /
(individual x year). Assume that the net immigration rate is equal to the net emigration rate. How
many years are required for the population to double? In in year zero, the population on the
island is 85, what is the population 50 years later?

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