PE014IU

Environmental Science

Lecture 2: Ecosystems:What Are

They and How Do They Work?
Content
• Section 3-1: What Keeps Us and Other Organisms Alive?

• Section 3-2: What Are the Major Components of an Ecosystem?

• Section 3-3: What Happens to Energy in an Ecosystem?

• Section 3-4: What Happens to Matter in an Ecosystem?

• Section 3-5: How Do Scientists Study Ecosystems?

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What Is an Ecosystem?
• An ecosystem is made up of animals, plants and bacteria as
well as the physical and chemical environment they live in.
• The living parts of an ecosystem are called biotic factors
while the environmental factors that they interact with are
called abiotic factors.
• An ecosystem can be small, such as the area under a pine
tree or a single hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, or it
can be large, such as the Rocky Mountains, the rainforest or
the Antarctic Ocean.
• The study that covers components of an ecosystem and
their interactions is ecology 3
How Do Ecosystems Benefit Human Wellbeing?

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 What Keeps Us and
Other Organisms Alive?
Section 3-1

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 Atmosphere

Biosphere
(living organisms)
Soil
Rock
Crust

Mantle

Geosphere
(crust, mantle, core)
Mantle
Components of the
Core Atmosphere (air) Earth’s System

Hydrosphere (water)
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Fig. 3-2, p. 42
 Atmosphere Components of the Earth’s System
Biosphere Includes parts of other physical components of the Earth’s system
(living organisms) Represents life on Earth
Soil
Rock
Crust

Mantle

Geosphere Includes both nonrenewable fossil fuels

Mantle (crust, mantle, core) and renewable soil chemicals (nutrients)

Includes the troposphere which is the air layer

Core Atmosphere (air) about 7–17km above sea level. It contains
greenhouse gases that absorb and release
energy which warms the inner layer of the
atmosphere.

Contains all water on or near the Earth’s surface,

Hydrosphere (water) In all forms (liquid, solid ice or permafrost and vapor)
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Fig. 3-2, p. 42
 • One-way flow of high-quality energy.
Three Factors
• Cycling of nutrients.
Sustain the Earth’s
• Gravity.
Life
Solar
radiation

Reflected by Radiated by
atmosphere atmosphere
UV radiation as heat

Lower Stratosphere
Most UV (ozone layer)
absorbed Visible light
by ozone Troposphere

Greenhouse
Absorbed effect
by the earth
 • One-way flow of high-quality energy.
Three Factors
• Cycling of nutrients.
Sustain the Earth’s
• Gravity.
Life
 • One-way flow of high-quality energy.
Three Factors
• Cycling of nutrients.
Sustain the Earth’s
• Gravity.
Life

Source: Smarth Bansal

https://youtu.be/EbKdk1mBt8w
What Are the Major
Components of an
Ecosystem?
Section 3-2
 Biosphere Parts of the earth's air,water, and soil where
life is found

Ecosystem A community of different species interacting

with one another and with their nonliving
environment of matter and energy

Community Populations of different species living in a

Levels of
particular place, and potentially interacting
with each other

Population A group of individuals of the same species

living in a particular place Organization of
Organism An individual living being Matter in Nature
The fundamental structural and functional
Cell unit of life

Molecule Chemical combination of two or more atoms

Water of the same or different elements

Atom Smallest unit of a chemical element that

Hydrogen Oxygen exhibits its chemical properties Stepped Art
Fig. 3-4, p. 43
Components of Ecosystems

Second Trophic Third Trophic Fourth Trophic

First Trophic Level
Level Level
Level
Primary consumers Secondary Tertiary consumers
(herbivores) consumers (top carnivores)
Producers (plants)
(carnivores)

Heat Heat Heat Heat

Solar
energy

Heat

Heat Heat

Decomposers and
detritus feeders Fig. 3-10, p. 47
Components of Ecosystems
• Consumers can be primary, secondary or tertiary consumers, depending
upon their trophic level.

• Decomposers (bacteria/fungi) break down organic detritus into simpler

inorganic compounds.

• Detritivores (detritus feeders) feed on waste or dead bodies.

• Producers, consumers and decomposers utilize chemical energy stored in

organic molecules. In most cells, this energy is released by aerobic
respiration.
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What Happens to Energy
in an Ecosystem?
Section 3-3
Food Chain

Producers Primary consumers Secondary consumers Tertiary consumers

1% 0.1%
10%
100%
Energy in a Food Chain

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Food Web
Some Ecosystems Are More Productive than Others
• The rate of an ecosystem’s producers converting
energy into biomass is the gross primary productivity
(GPP).

• Net primary productivity (NPP) is the rate that

producers use photosynthesis to store biomass minus
the rate at which they use energy for aerobic
respiration.
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Some Ecosystems Are More Productive than Others

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What Happens to Matter
in an Ecosystem?
Section 3-4
 Oxygen (O2)
Precipitaton

Exemplary Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Nutrient Cycle
Producer

Secondary
consumer
(fox)
Primary
consumer
(rabbit)

Producers

Water Decomposers

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Soluble mineral
nutrients Fig. 3-5, p. 44
 Matter vs Energy song

Matters vs Energy
Matter Energy
• Has mass • Has no mass
• Affected by gravity • Has the ability to perform work
• Can be recycled • Flows through the ecosystem in one direction
What Happens to Matter
in an Ecosystem?
Section 3-4
 Condensation Condensation
Ice and
snow

Transpiration
from plants
Precipitation
to land Evaporation of
surface water Evaporation
from ocean
Runoff

Lakes and
reservoirs Precipitation
to ocean
Runoff
Increased runoff on land
covered with crops,
Infiltration and buildings and pavement

The Water Cycle

percolation Increased runoff
into aquifer from cutting
Runoff forests and filling
wetlands

Groundwater Overpumping
Water pollution
Humans alter the water cycle in 3
in aquifers of aquifers
Runoff ways:
• Withdrawing freshwater at faster
Ocean rates than nature can replenish it.
• Clearing vegetation which increases
Natural process runoff and decreases replenishment
Natural reservoir of groundwater supplies.
Human impacts
• Draining wetlands which interferes 25
Natural pathway
with flood control.
Pathway affected by human activities Fig. 3-14, p. 51
 The Water Cycle
Humans alter the water cycle in 3
ways:
• Withdrawing freshwater at faster
rates than nature can replenish it.
• Clearing vegetation which increases
runoff and decreases replenishment
of groundwater supplies.
• Draining wetlands which interferes 26
with flood control.
(Liu 2018)
 Carbon dioxide
in atmosphere Respiration

Photosynthesis

Animals
(consumers) Burning
fossil fuels
Diffusion Forest fires

Plants
Deforestation (producers)

Transportation Respiration
Carbon
in plants
The Carbon
Cycle
(producers)
Carbon dioxide Carbon
in animals
dissolved in ocean (consumers)
Decomposition
Carbon
Marine food webs
Producers, consumers,
decomposers
in fossil fuels Humans are altering
atmospheric carbon
Carbon
in limestone Compaction
dioxide mostly by
• Our use of fossil fuels
or dolomite
sediments
Process
Reservoir • Our destruction of the
Pathway affected by humans carbon-absorbing 27
Natural pathway
Fig. 3-15, p. 53 vegetation.
 Process Denitrification by bacteria
Nitrogen in
Reservoir atmosphere Nitrification by bacteria
Pathway affected by humans
Natural pathway
Nitrogen
Electrical storms in animals
Nitrogen oxides (consumers)
from burning fuel Volcanic
and using activity
inorganic fertilizers

Nitrogen
in plants
The
Nitrogen
(producers)

Decomposition

Cycle
Nitrates from
fertilizer
runoff and Uptake by plants
decomposition

Human activities
Nitrate in soil have more than
doubled the annual
Nitrogen loss Nitrogen release of nitrogen
to deep ocean in ocean Bacteria
sediments
sediments from the land by
Ammonia in soil
• The greatly increased
use of inorganic
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fertilizers to grow
Fig. 3-16, p. 54 crops
Process
Reservoir
Pathway affected by humans
Natural pathway
Phosphates Phosphates
in sewage in fertilizer Plate
Phosphates in tectonics
mining waste Runoff Runoff
Sea
birds
Runoff
Phosphate in The
Phosphorus
rock (fossil
Erosion bones,
guano) Ocean food
webs
Animals
(consumers) Phosphate
dissolved
Phosphate in
shallow ocean
Cycle
in water sediments
Phosphate in
deep ocean Human activities
Plants sediments
(producers) can impact the
phosphorus cycle by
• Reduces phosphate
Bacteria levels in tropical soils by
clearing forests
• Phosphate-rich runoff
inducing produce huge 29
populations of algae
Fig. 3-17, p. 54
 Sulfur dioxide in
atmosphere

Sulfuric acid and

Burning Refining Sulfate
Smelting deposited
coal fossil fuels
Sulfur in
as acid rain
Dimethyl
Sulfide animals
a bacteria (consumers)
byproduct
The Sulfur
Mining and
Sulfur
in plants
(producers)
Cycle
extraction Uptake
Sulfur by plants
in ocean Decay
sediments
Decay

Process Sulfur
Reservoir in soil, rock
Pathway affected by and fossil fuels
humans 30
Natural pathway Fig. 3-18, p.56
Nutrient Cycles
• The Water Cycle
• Water is major solvent to many nutrient compounds
• ~0.025% of Earth’s water is available to humans and other species as freshwater
• The Carbon Cycle
• Carbon is the basic building block of life
• The cycle is based on atmospheric carbon dioxide
• The Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrogen is building block of proteins, some vitamins and nucleic acids
• Atmospheric nitrogen is extremely stable → requires large amount of energy to transform
• The Phosphorus Cycle
• Component of nucleic acids and energy transfer molecules (e.g. ADP/ATP)
• No atmospheric reservoir
• Much slower cycle than others
• The Sulfur Cycle
• Much is stored in rocks and minerals
• Human increases atmospheric H2S by burning fossil fuels and metallurgy
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How Do Scientists Study
Ecosystems?
Section 3-5
In-situ vs. Laboratory Research
• Field research (“muddy-boots biology”) involves making direct measurements
and observations of ecosystems in natural settings.

• Ecologists use tanks, greenhouses, and controlled indoor and outdoor

chambers to study ecosystems in laboratory research. This allows control of
light, temperature, CO2, humidity, and other variables.

• Remote sensing devices can gather data on the earth’s surface that can be
converted into usable forms by geographic information systems (GIS), such as
computerized maps of an area that are used to examine forest cover, water
resources, air pollution emissions, coastal changes, and changes in global sea
temperatures.
We Need To Learn More About The Health Of
The World’s Ecosystems
• Mathematical models and computer simulations can help scientists
understand large and very complex systems.

• Simulations are no better than the data and assumptions used to

develop models.

• We need more baseline data about components and physical and

chemical conditions in order to determine how well the ecosystem
is functioning and anticipate how best to prevent harmful
environmental changes.
Three Big Ideas
• Life is sustained by the flow of energy from the sun through the
biosphere, the cycling of nutrients within the biosphere, and
gravity.

• Some organisms produce the nutrients they need, some survive by

consuming other organisms, and others recycle nutrients back to
producers.

• Human activities are altering the flow of energy through food

chains and webs, and the cycling of nutrients within ecosystems
and the biosphere.
Summary

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Homework

bit.ly/ESHwk2Sem3
Read the Information in the Link Above
Play the Game
Answer the Questions on Blackboard

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