Organisms & their

environment
1. Food Chains, Webs &Energy flow
2. Nutrient cycles
3. Population graphs
Food Chains, Webs &Energy flow
Definitions
a network of interconnected food chains
an animal that gets its energy by eating plants
an organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually using energy
from sunlight, through photosynthesis.

an organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic material.
an organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms.
an animal that gets its energy by eating other animals.
the position of an organism in a food chain, food web, pyramid of
numbers or pyramid of biomass.

shows the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning
with a producer.
Transfer of energy in a food chain
• Energy is lost from the food chain - only 10% energy is transferred from one
trophic level to the next.
• Some of the available energy goes into growth and the production of
offspring. This energy becomes available to the next stage.
• Energy released by respiration is used for movement and other metabolic
processes, and is eventually lost as heat to the surroundings
• Not all parts of the organisms (in one trophic level) are eaten. All nutrients in
the organisms may not be eaten, digested and absorbed
• Some energy is lost as urine and feces
• Some energy is transferred to decomposers and detritivores
• All of the energy used in these ways returns to the environment, and is not
available to the next stage.
Pyramids of energy, biomass and
numbers
For the food chain outlined in red, draw
• A pyramid of numbers
• A pyramid of biomass
Shape of Pyramids
Biomass decreases at higher
trophic levels because:
• 90% energy lost between trophic
levels
• Reasons for energy loss
• So less energy available for
building biomass in consumers
Number of consumers decreases
at higher trophic levels because:
• 90% energy lost between trophic
levels
• Reasons for energy loss
• not enough energy at higher
trophic levels to support a large
number of organisms
 Nutrient cycles
• Carbon cycle
• Water cycle
• Nitrogen cycle
Carbon cycle
Water cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen cycle
 Population
• Sigmoid graph of population
• Predator –prey populations
• Human population graphs
• Population: a group of organisms of one species, living in the same
area at the same time.

• Community: All of the populations of different species in an

ecosystem

• Ecosystem: a unit containing a community of organisms and their

environment, interacting together
Size of a population depends upon:
• Births
• Deaths
• Migration
• Birth rate › Death rate or vice versa
Lag phase:
• Not too many organisms which can
reproduce to increase the population
quickly.
• Time needed to adjust to the new
environment / habitat.
Exponential phase:
• Rapid reproduction
• Birth rate › Death rate
• Population growth not being limited by
competition.
Stationery phase:
• Competition for resources
increases.
• Limiting factors.
• Birth rate = Death rate.
Death phase:
• Resources severely limited.
• Death rate › Birth rate
Predator – prey relationships
Human population
• J-shaped graph
• Population pyramids
Increase in Human population : Birth rate › Death rate

[People living longer because of]

Reduction in disease, due to improvements in:
• Water supply: greater accessibility to clean potable / drinkable water .
• Hygiene: better sanitation, sewage treatment facilities, removal of garbage, information
about importance of hygienic handling of food.
• Personal hygiene [including information about healthy lifestyles - avoidance of smoking,
alcohol and other drugs - and regular exercise]
• Medical facilities: including access to doctors / hospitals / treatments and vaccination /
immunisation programs.
Increase in food supply due to:
• Increase in land under cultivation
• More efficient food production due to use of fertilisers / pesticides / mechanisation /
genetics in crops
• Improved food storage and distribution
Birth rate can be controlled by use of contraceptive measures

Unchecked increase in human population will lead to:

• outbreak of epidemics
• famine due to drought and other natural disasters
• migration
• war
Population pyramids
• A population pyramid, also called an age pyramid or age picture is a
graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups
in a population (typically that of a country or region of the world).
• This distribution forms the shape of a pyramid when the population is
growing.
• It is also used in ecology to determine the overall age distribution of a
population; an indication of the reproductive capabilities and
likelihood of the continuation of a species.