ECOSYSTEM

STRUCTURES
AND
PROCESSES
 Ecosystems
Terrestrial Aquatic
• Tropical Rainforest • Freshwater
• Coniferous Forest • Marine
• Deciduous Forest • Estuarine
• Grassland
• Desert
 Ecosystems
Natural Artificial
• Forests • Aquarium
• Rivers • Terrarium
• Oceans • Orchidarium
• Ponds
Structures of the Ecosystem
Biological
Physical

Form and The living

structure species
 Physical Structure
a. Vertical Stratification
- Canopy
- Understory
- Tree layer
- Shrub layer
- Herb/ground layer
- Forest floor
 Physical Structure
b. Horizontal Stratification
- outer boundary to center

c. Edges and Ecotones

 Edge – place where two or more vegetation
types meets
 Ecotones – place where two or more

vegetation types integrates

 Biological Structure
a. Species Dominance
b. Species Diversity
 Species Richness
 Species Evenness
a. Species Abundance
Energy Flow in
an Ecosystem
 The Energy Concept

 Involved in every single event in the

universe
 Everywhere

 Never appears from nor disappears into

nothing
SUN

EARTH

HEAT
ENERGY
ENERGY INPUT ECOSYSTEM ENERGY OUTPUT

SOLAR ENERGY FOOD

HEAT
PRODUCTION
AND
CONSUMPTION

ENERGY used in ENERGY lost in

photosynthesis respiration
 Laws of Thermodynamics

 Ist law
 2nd law
 Energy Flow
 Energy in an ecosystem originally
comes from the sun
 Energy flows through Ecosystems

from producers to consumers

– Producers (make food)
– Consumers (use food by eating
producers or other consumers)
What sustains life on earth?
 The one-way flow of high-
quality energy
 The cycling of matter or
nutrients
 Gravity
– Allows the planet to hold onto its atmosphere
– Causes the downward movement of nutrients
 How do ecosystems work?
1. The living portion of an ecosystem is
best described in terms of feeding levels
known as trophic levels.
Ecosystem Structure: the living
components of an ecosystem
The roles of organisms in an
ecosystem:
 Producer (autotrophs): make food;
plants, algae
 Consumer (heterotrophs): eat other

organisms
 Decomposer: eat dead organic matter;

bacteria and fungi

 Role of organisms
Classes of Consumers
Herbivore – primary consumer – eats
plants
Carnivores – secondary – meat eaters; eat
herbivores
Tertiary – feed on carnivores
Omnivores – eat plants/animals
 Role of Organisms
Scavengers – feed on dead organisms (vultures,
flies, crows, lobsters)
Detritus feeders – organisms that extract
nutrients from fragments of dead organisms
into more simple organic waste (termites,
earthworms, crabs)
Decomposers – organisms that digest parts of
the dead organisms into simplest chemicals
(bacteria, fungi)
2. In addition to the exchange of energy,
ecosystems are characterized by several
other cycles. Elements such as carbon and
nitrogen travel throughout the biotic and
abiotic components of an ecosystem in
processes known as nutrient cycles or
biogeochemical cycles.
3. Every ecosystem is also characterized by a
disturbance cycle, a regular cycle of events
such as fires, storms, floods, and landslides
that keeps the ecosystem in a constant state
of change and adaptation. Some species
even depend on the disturbance cycle for
survival or reproduction. For example, longleaf
pine forests depend on frequent low-intensity fires for
reproduction. The cones of the trees, which contain the
reproductive structures, are sealed shut with a resin that
melts away to release the seeds only under high heat.
Principles of Ecosystem Functioning
 Ecosystems run on solar energy.
 Nutrients are recycled in an
ecosystem.
 Ecosystems cannot support large
numbers of top consumers
– the amount of energy is limited
– energy is lost as heat AND is used to keep consumers
alive so the amount of energy available decreases as they
move up the food chain
 How does the sun sustain
life on earth?
 Supplies light energy needed for
photosynthesis
 Warms the earth

 Drives the weather systems that

distribute heat and fresh water

 Ecosystem Function
#1. Energy flow in an ecosystem is
represented by a food web.
The amount of energy available to the
organisms at each trophic level
decreases as one moves up the food
chain since …

 energy is lost as heat and

 organisms use energy to sustain

themselves
 Remember the laws of energy?
Because the amount of energy decreases at
each successive trophic level, the number
of organisms also decreases

Only approximately 10% of the energy is

transferred to the next trophic level.

So, are there more producers or consumers

on Earth?
Energy and biomass pyramids
The amount of energy available in
an ecosystem depends on the type
of vegetation the area can
support.

This is measured as an area’s net

primary productivity (NPP).
The higher the NPP, the greater
the diversity of animals in that
ecosystem.
The net primary productivity of biomes
Ecosystem Function (con’t)
#2. Nutrients are recycled
within an ecosystem.
 Water * Nitrogen
 Carbon * Phosphorus
 Oxygen* Sulfur
 Water Cycle
 condensation of water vapor in the air
leads to precipitation
 evaporation returns water vapor to the

atmosphere
 infiltration of rainwater replenishes

groundwater supplies
 surface runoff of rainwater replenishes

surface water supplies

 Carbon Cycle
 CO is taken up by plants during
2
photosynthesis
 CO is released by organisms during
2
respiration and decomposition; fires,
volcanoes
 CO is also released by autos and
2
industries
 carbon, present in all organic molecules,
moves through the food chain as one
organism eats another
 Carbon Cycle
Sinks:
- Lithosphere – limestone (largest
reservoir)
- hydrosphere – ocean (2nd largest)
- Atmosphere – in form of CO2
- biosphere – wood, plants, dead
animals
 Oxygen Cycle
 Essential for animals during respiration,
released by plants
 Cycles much like the carbon cycle

 What is threatening this cycle? Forest

deforestation, ocean pollution, etc

 Nitrogen Cycle
78% of the volume of trophosphere
 Most complex cycle
 N2 gas can’t be used ‘as is’ – it must be ‘fixed’ so that
organisms can use it
 Steps to the cycle: b/c of complexity, no certain order
– N Fixation – occurs in plant, by bacteria
– Ammonification
– Nitrification
– Assimilation
– Denitrification
 N2 gas is modified by “nitrogen-fixing” bacteria in legumes
into ammonia (NH3) – NITROGEN FIXATION – aids in
production of sugars/starches
 Bacteria turn wastes and detritus into ammonia –
AMMONIFICATION – released into atm
 NH3 is converted into nitrite (NO2-) which is then used to
produce nitrate (NO3-) - NITRIFICATION
 Nitrogen cycle (con’t)
 Plant roots take up the ammonia and
nitrate ions and converts it into amino
acids, proteins, DNA/RNA =
Assimilation
 other bacteria convert nitrite (NO -) into
2
N2 gas - DENITRIFICATION
 nitrogen, present in proteins, moves
through the food chain as one organism
eats another
 Phosphorus Cycle
 phosphorus is released as rocks erode and
plants assimilate this
 Very slow process

 phosphorus passes from one organism to

another in the food chain

 decomposers release phosphorus during

decomposition
 Mined for production of fertilizer. Mined in

Tampa, FL
 Sulfur Cycle
 sulfur is released as rocks erode and plants
assimilate this
 Mostly found under ground like phosphorus

 H S is released by decomposers and during

2
volcanic eruptions; some H2S in soil is
converted into sulfur by aerobic bacteria and
plants assimilate this
 99% of all sulfur in the atm is due to man

 SO gas is released by industries; SO then

2 2
reacts with water to form H2SO4 which falls
to the earth as acid rain
Producers
• Sunlight is the main
source of energy
for most life on
earth.
• Producers contain
chlorophyll & can
use energy directly
from the sun
 Autotrophs
 An Autotroph is any organism
that can produce its own food
supply!
 Autotrophs are also called

Producers
 Plants, algae, some protists, &

some bacteria are examples

 Niche of a Producer
 Captures energy and transforms
it into organic, stored energy for
the use of living organisms.
 May be photoautotrophs using

light energy (e.g. plants)

 May be chemoautotrophs using

chemical energy (e.g.

cyanobacteria)
 Photoautotroph
Producer That Captures Energy
from the sun by:
– Photosynthesis
Adds Oxygen to the
atmosphere
Removes Carbon Dioxide from
the Atmosphere

Algae 49
 Habitat of
Photoautotrophs
 On Land
– Plants
 In The Sea

– Algae
 Chemoautotrophs
 Capture energy from
the bonds of inorganic
molecules such as
Hydrogen Sulfide
 Process is called
Chemosynthesis
 Often occurs in deep
sea vents or gut of
animals Called a Black smoker
(thermal vent)
Tube Worms living in Black
Smoker
 Consumers

Heterotrophs eat other

organisms to obtain
energy. (e.g. animals)
 Herbivores

– Eat Only Plants

 Carnivores

– Eat Only Other Animals

 Consumers
Heterotrophs eat other organisms
to obtain energy.
 Omnivores (Humans)
– Eat Plants & Animals
 Detritivores (Scavengers)

– Feed On Dead Plant & Animal

Remains (buzzards)
 Decomposers

– Fungi & Bacteria

Feeding Relationships

Energy flows
through an
ecosystem in
one direction
from producers
to various
levels of
consumers
 Feeding Relationships
 Food Chain
– Simple Energy path through an
ecosystem

 Food Web
– More realistic path through an
ecosystem made of many food
chains
 Food Chain
3rd Order
2nd Order consumer
1st order
Consumer Consumer 4th Order
Consumer

Producer (trapped
sunlight & stored food)
Name the Producer, Consumers
& Decomposers in this food
chain:
copyright cmassengale 59
Food Web
 Trophic Levels
Each Level In A Food Chain or Food
Web is a Trophic Level.
 Producers

– Always The First Trophic Level

– How Energy Enters The System
 Herbivores

– Second Trophic Level

 Trophic Levels

 Carnivores/Omnivores

–Make Up The Remaining

Trophic Levels

Each level depends on the

one below it for energy.
 Ecological Pyramids
Graphic Representations Of The
Relative Amounts of Energy or
Matter At Each Trophic Level
May be:
Energy Pyramid
Biomass Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers
Energy Pyramid
 Biomass Pyramid
Biomass Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers
 Terms
 Basic or Primary Productivity – rate at
which radiant energy is stored by
photosynthetic and chemosynthetic
activity of producers in the form of
organic substances which can be used
as food material.
 GPP – Gross Primary Productivity; total
rate of photosynthesis including the
organic used up in respiration
 NPP – Net Primary Productivity; rate of

storage of organic matter in plant

tissues in excess of those used up in
respiration
 NCP- Net Community Productivity; rate

of storage of organic matter not used by

heterotrophs
 SP-Secondary Productivity; rates of

energy storage at consumer levels

 Methods to Measure
Productivity
1. Harvest Method
2. Oxygen Measurement
3. CO2 Methods
4. The pH Methods
5. Disappearance of Raw Materials
6. Productivity Determinations with
Radioactive Materials
7. The Chlorophyll Method
 Humans and the Energy
Flow
 Humans are able to modify the flow of
energy in an ecosystem.
 Energy flow is altered so that YIELDS

are as high as possible.

 YIELD – the yield at which an

ecosystem produces useful products.

 Yield of certain desired
products can be enhanced by:
1. Ensuring good growth conditions
- Adding fertilizer and water
- Using good seeds

2. Preventing loss of yield by

consumption and competition
- prevention of weed invasion
 Human Implications to
Energy Flow
1. Humans divert through themselves an
amount of solar energy flow out of all
proportion to their number.
2. The effect of humans on Net primary
productivity is generally to reduce the
productivity of the wild system and to
increase that of cultivated system.
3. Humans exploit the biosphere by
increasing their crop yield and
shortening their food chains.
4. Increased crop yields are achieved by
plant breeding, genetic
engineering/biotechnology and energy
subsidation of the cropping system
5. The energy efficiency of food
production from arable and livestock
farming as well as fishing generally
decreases energy subsidation
increases.
6. Even in the shortest and most efficient
food chains, loss of energy may be
high.
7. There are four main crops taken out of
the biosphere: arable food, fodder and
industrial crop plants; domestic
animals, fish and wood.
8. Energy intensification in cropping has
been accompanied by a substitution of
fossil fuels for human and animal
power.
9. Crop and livestock production is
generally characterized by
comparatively short-route; short-run
energy flow; wide variations in energy
intensity.
10. Increasing demand for animal protein
is met only by very intensive energy
systems.
11. The lowest energy efficiencies are
generally associated with intensive
commercial fishing.
12. Forestry in comparison to farming and
fishing is a short route, very long-run
system with a relatively low level of
energy subsidation.
13. In forest ecosystem, there is a varying
relationship between crop maturity
and economic return,