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Organisation of An Ecosystem
Organisation of An Ecosystem
Organisation of An Ecosystem
Levels of organisation
We can use food chains to show which organisms feed on other organisms — and
therefore the flow of energy.
Energy always starts from the Sun and is converted into glucose by photosynthesis in
green plants. Glucose is respired, releasing energy to help the organism to grow (increase
in biomass).
• Organisms which produce biomass by capturing the energy from sunlight are called
producers — they are always at the beginning of the food chain.
• An organism which feeds on a producer are called primary consumers and will also be
herbivores, since producers tend to be mostly green plants.
• The next organism in the food chain is the secondary consumer which will be eaten by
the tertiary consumer.
• The arrows always point from the organism being eaten to the organism which feeds on
it.
Predator-prey relationships
A predator is an animal which hunts and kills other animals and prey are the animals which
are hunted and eaten.
In a stable community, the numbers of predators and prey rise and fall in cycles.
• Whenever the population size of prey increases, this causes the population size of
the predator species to increase because more food is available.
• The increase in the predator population causes a decrease in the prey population
because there are more predators to feed on the prey.
• This causes a drop in the prey population size, which reduces the food availability for
the predators, which in turn leads to a reduction in the predator population.
Estimating population size
Measuring the population size (abundance) of a species by trying to count all the
individuals in the habitat would be difficult and time-consuming. To save time, ecologists
take a sample of the habitat and use that to estimate the size of the population in the whole
habitat.
To see how the distribution of different species changes along a habitat, we use something
called a transect, which is essentially a line placed from one part of the habitat to another.
There are three different ways of using transects:
1. Line transect - a tape measure is placed along the line and any species which
touch the tape measure will be recorded.
2. Belt transect - quadrats are placed along the transect one after another, so that
each quadrat is touching
3. Interrupted transect - quadrats are placed at regular intervals along the transect
How materials are cycled
All materials within the living world are recycled to be used as the building blocks for other
living organisms. For example, the nitrogen that is a component of the proteins in plants
is transferred to animals when animals eat the plants. The animal will use the nitrogen to
make their own proteins. When the animal dies, the nitrogen will be returned to the soil and
can be absorbed by other plants. Just like nitrogen, other atoms are constantly moving
through different organisms within the ecosystem.
• Plants can only absorb nitrogen in the form of nitrate, so they depend on nitrogen-
fixing bacteria to convert nitrogen in the air into nitrates in the soil. These bacteria
either live freely in the soil or inside root nodules, forming a symbiotic relationship
with the plant.
• The Haber process is used to convert nitrogen into ammonia which is used in
fertilisers.
• Nitrifying bacteria convert the ammonia into nitrates. Plants absorb the nitrates and
incorporate the nitrogen into amino acids which are used to build proteins.
• The breakdown of proteins in our bodies produces urea which is removed from our
body in our urine.
• Nitrogen is also returned to the soil by the decomposition of dead matter by
microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.
• In some conditions, denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates in the soil into nitrogen in
the air. This usually happens in soil which is lacking oxygen, such as waterlogged
soil. Therefore, improving drainage can make soil more fertile by retaining more
nitrates.
Decomposition
Decomposers play important roles in food chains by breaking down dead matter. When
organisms die, decomposers such as bacteria and fungi secrete digestive enzymes onto
the dead material. The enzymes break down the molecules in the organism, converting it
into simpler substances which can be absorbed by plants, allowing nutrients to be recycled
within an ecosystem.
For example, decomposers will feed on fallen leaves, excreted faeces, and even whole
organisms, such as a dead woodlouse, causing them to decay. The protein, carbohydrate
and lipid molecules which make up the organism will be broken down into simple
molecules which are small enough to be absorbed by plant roots. In this way, the
molecules which used to be part of the woodlouse may be used by the tree to grow more
leaves, then the molecules are incorporated into the next organism when those leaves are
eaten by a hungry insect.
The rate of decay is the speed at which dead matter is broken down by decomposers. It is
affected by the following conditions: