18.

1: Ecosystems
Lesson Objectives

Discuss the importance of chemical and physical factors to living organisms.

Describe the role of different species in an ecosystem.

Describe the function of an ecosystem, and how different species fill different roles in different ecosystems.

Describe energy transfer from the lowest to the highest trophic level in a chain, including energy loss at every
trophic level.
Discuss how materials are cycled between trophic levels and how they can enter or leave a food web at any time.

Vocabulary

abiotic

decomposer

niche

producer

biotic

ecosystem

nutrients

scavenger

carnivore

food chain

omnivore

species

commensalism

food web

parasitism

symbiosis

community

habitat

population

trophic level

competition

herbivore

predator

consumer

mutualism

prey

Introduction
An ecosystem is made up of the living creatures and the nonliving things that those creatures need within an
area. Energy moves through an ecosystem in one direction. Nutrients cycle through different parts of the
ecosystem and can enter or leave the ecosystem at many points.

Biological Communities
A population consists of all individuals of a single species that occur together at a given place and time. A
species is a single type of organism that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. All of the populations
living together in the same area make up a community. An ecosystem is all of the living things in a community
and the physical and chemical factors that they interact with.

In an Ecosystem
The living organisms within an ecosystem are its biotic factors (Figure below). Living things include bacteria,
algae, fungi, plants , and animals, including invertebrates, animals without backbones, and vertebrates,
animals with backbones.

(a) The horsetail Equisetum is a primitive plant. (b) Insects are among the many different types of invertebrates. (c) A giraffe is an example of a
vertebrate.

Physical and chemical features are abiotic factors. Abiotic factors include resources living organisms need
such as light, oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, good soil, and nitrogen, phosphorous, and other nutrients. Abiotic
factors also include environmental features that are not materials or living things, such as living space and the
right temperature range.

Niches
Organisms must make a living, just like a lawyer or a ballet dancer. This means that each individual organism
must acquire enough food energy to live and reproduce. A species' way of making a living is called its niche.
An example of a niche is making a living as a top carnivore, an animal that eats other animals, but is not eaten
by any other animals (Figure below). Every species fills a niche, and niches are almost always filled in an
ecosystem.

The top carnivore niche is filled by lions on the savanna, wolves in

the tundra, and tuna in the oceans.

Habitat
An organisms habitat is where it lives
(Figure below). The important characteristics of
a habitat include climate, the availability of food,
water, and other resources, as well as other
factors, such as weather.

Birds living in a saguaro cactus. A

may be rocks and the nearby sea.

habitat may be a hole in a cactus or the underside of a fern in a rainforest. It

Roles in Ecosystems
There are many different
the biomes discussion in the
conditions determine which
biome encompasses all of

types of ecosystems, some of which were described in

Climate chapter (Figure below). As with biomes, climate
ecosystems are found in which location. A particular
the ecosystems that have similar climate and organisms.

Coral reefs are complex and beautiful ecosystems.

Different organisms live in each different type of

ecosystems. Lizards thrive in deserts, but no reptiles
can survive at all in polar ecosystems. Large animals
generally do better in cold climates than in hot
climates.
Despite this, every ecosystem has the same general
roles that living creatures fill. Its just the organisms
that fill those niches that are different. For example,
every ecosystem must have some organisms that
produce food in the form of chemical energy. These
organisms are primarily algae in the oceans, plants on land, and bacteria at hydrothermal vents.

Producers and Consumers

The organisms that produce food are extremely important in every ecosystem. Organisms that produce their
own food are called producers. There are two ways of producing food energy:

Photosynthesis: plants on land, phytoplankton in the surface ocean, and some other organisms, described in the
Earth's Atmosphere chapter and elsewhere.
Chemosynthesis: bacteria at hydrothermal vents as discussed in the Earth's Oceans chapter.

Organisms that use the food energy that was

created by producers are namedconsumers. There
are many types of consumers.

Herbivores eat producers directly (Figure below).

These animals break down the plant structures to
get the materials and energy they need.

Carnivores eat animals; they can eat herbivores or

other carnivores.

Omnivores eat plants and animals as well as fungi,

bacteria, and organisms from the other kingdoms.

Deer are herbivores.

Feeding Relationships
There are many types of feeding relationships (Figure below) between organisms:predators that feed
on prey, scavengers, and decomposers.

(a) A predator is an animal that kills and eats another animal, known as its prey. (b) Scavengers are animals, such as vultures and hyenas, that eat
organisms that are already dead. (c) Decomposers break apart dead organisms or the waste material of living organisms, returning the nutrients to the
ecosystem. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers.

Flow of Energy in Ecosystems

Remember from the Earth's Atmosphere chapter that plants create chemical energy from abiotic factors that
include solar energy. Chemosynthesizing bacteria create usable chemical energy from unusable chemical
energy. The food energy created by producers is passed to consumers, scavengers, and decomposers.

Trophic Levels
Energy flows through an ecosystem in only one direction. Energy is passed from organisms at one trophic
level or energy level, to organisms in the next trophic level. Which organisms do you think are at the first
trophic level (Figure below)?

Producers are always the first trophic level, herbivores the second, the
carnivores that eat herbivores the third, and so on.

Most of the energy about 90% at a trophic level is

used at that trophic level. Organisms need it for
locomotion, heating themselves, and reproduction. So
animals at the second trophic level have only about 10%
as much energy available to them as do organisms at the
first trophic level. Animals at the third level have only 10%
as much available to them as those at the second level.

Food Chains
The set of organisms that pass energy from one trophic
level to the next is described as the food
chain (Figure below). In this simple depiction, all organisms eat at only one trophic level (Figure below).

A simple food chain in a lake. The producers, algae, are not shown. For the predatory bird at the top, how much of the original energy is left?

What are the consequences of the loss of energy at each trophic

level? Each trophic level can support fewer organisms. How many
osprey are there relative to the number of shrimp?

What does this mean for the range of the osprey

(or lion, or other top predator)? A top predator must
have a very large range in which to hunt so that it
can get enough energy to live.
Why do most food chains have only four or five
trophic levels? There is not enough energy to
support organisms in a sixth trophic level. Food
chains of ocean animals are longer than those of
land-based animals because ocean conditions are
more stable.
Why do organisms at higher trophic levels tend to
be larger than those at lower levels? The reason for

this is simple: a large fish must be able to eat a small fish, but the small fish does not have to be able to eat the
large fish (Figure below).

In this image the predators (wolves) are smaller than the prey (bison), which
goes against the rule placed above. How does this relationship work? Many
wolves are acting together to take down the bison.

Food Webs
What is a more accurate way to depict the passage of
energy in an ecosystem? A food web (Figure below)
recognizes that many organisms eat at multiple trophic
levels.

A food web includes the relationships between producers, consumers, and

decomposers.

Even food webs are interconnected. All organisms depend on two global food webs. The base of one is
phytoplankton and the other is land plants. How are these two webs interconnected? Birds or bears that live on
land may eat fish, which connects the two food webs.
Where do humans fit into these food webs? Humans are an important part of both of these food webs; we are
at the top of a food web since nothing eats us. That means that we are top predators.

Flow of Matter in
Ecosystems
Nutrients are ions that are crucial
to the growth of living organisms.
Nutrients - such as nitrogen and
phosphorous - are important for
plant cell growth. Animals use silica
and calcium to build shells and
skeletons. Cells need nitrates and
phosphates to create proteins and
other biochemicals. From nutrients,
organisms make tissues and
complex molecules such as
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and
nucleic acids.
The flow of matter in an ecosystem
is not like energy flow. Matter
enters an ecosystem at any level
and leaves at any level. Matter
cycles freely between trophic levels
and between the ecosystem and
the physical environment
(Figure below).
What are the sources of nutrients in an ecosystem? Rocks and minerals break down to release nutrients.
Some enter the soil and are taken up by plants. Nutrients can be brought in from other regions, carried by wind
or water. When one organism eats another organism, it receives all of its nutrients. Nutrients can also cycle out
of an ecosystem. Decaying leaves may be transported out of an ecosystem by a stream. Wind or water carries
nutrients out of an ecosystem.

Nutrients cycle through ocean food webs.

Decomposers play a key role in making nutrients

available to organisms. Decomposers break down
dead organisms into nutrients and carbon dioxide,
which they respire into the air. If dead tissue
would remain as it is, eventually nutrients would
run out. Without decomposers, life on earth would
have died out long ago.

Relationships Between Species

Species have different types of relationships with
each other. Competition occurs between species that try to use the same resources. When there is too much
competition, one species may move or adapt so that it uses slightly different resources. It may live at the tops

of trees and eat leaves that are somewhat higher on bushes, for example. If the competition does not end, one
species will die out. Each niche can only be inhabited by one species. Some relationships between species are
beneficial to at least one of the two interacting species. These relationships are known as symbiosis and there
are three types:

In mutualism, the relationship benefits both species. Most plant-pollinator relationships are mutually beneficial.
What does each get from the relationship?
In commensalism, one organism benefits and the other is not harmed.
In parasitism, the parasite species benefits and the host is harmed. Parasites do not usually kill their hosts
because a dead host is no longer useful to the parasite. Humans host parasites, such as the flatworms that cause
schistosomiasis.

Choose which type of relationship is described by each of the images and caption in the Figure below.

(a) The pollinator gets food; the plants pollen gets caught in the birds feathers so it is spread to far away flowers. (b) The barnacles receive protection
and get to move to new locations; the whale is not harmed. (c) These tiny mites are parasitic and consume the insect called a harvestman.

Lesson Summary

Each species fills a niche within an ecosystem. Each ecosystem has the same niches, although the same species
dont always fill them.

Each ecosystem has producers, consumers, and decomposers. Decomposers break down dead tissue to make
nutrients available for living organisms.

Energy is lost at each trophic level, so top predators are scarce.

Feeding relationships are much more complicated than a food chain, since some organisms eat from multiple
trophic levels.
Food webs are needed to show all the predator/prey interactions in an ecosystem.

Review Questions
1. What is the difference between a population, a community, and an ecosystem?

2. What is the difference between a niche and a habitat?

3. Why are the roles in different ecosystems the same but the species that fill them often different?
4. Why are there no producers in the deep sea ecosystem? Without producers, where does the energy come
from? What is the ultimate source of the energy?
5. Is a predator an herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore? How about a prey?
6. Biologists have been known to say that bacteria are the most important living things on the planet. Why
would this be true?
7. Why are you so much more likely to see a rabbit than a lion when youre out on a hike?
8. How much energy is available to organisms on the 5th trophic level compared with those on the 1st? How
does this determine how long a food chain can be?
9. Why is a food web a better representation of the feeding relationships of organisms than a food chain?
10. Why is energy only transferred in one way in an ecosystem, but nutrients cycle around?
11. Why does a predator kill its prey but a parasite rarely kills its host?

Ecosystems

Name:___________________

True or False
Write true if the statement is true or false if the statement is false.
_____ 1. All ecosystems that have a similar climate and similar organisms belong to the same biome.
_____ 2. All ecosystems have the same general roles that living things fill.
_____ 3. Scavengers are animals that kill and eat other animals.
_____ 4. Energy flows through an ecosystem in just one direction.
_____ 5. Food chains generally have a maximum of four or five trophic levels.
_____ 6. Nutrients are food molecules such as carbohydrates and proteins.
_____ 7. Each niche in an ecosystem can be inhabited by only one species.
_____ 8. Species that are parasites usually kill their host species.
_____ 9. Without decomposers, life on Earth would have died out long ago.
_____ 10. Matter flows through an ecosystem in exactly the same way as energy.

Critical Reading
Read this passage based on the text and answer the questions that follow.
Roles and Feeding Relationships in Ecosystems
There are many different types of ecosystems. Climate factors determine which type of ecosystem is found in
any given location. Different organisms live in different types of ecosystems, but every ecosystem has the same
general roles and feeding relationships.
Two basic roles that are found in all ecosystems are the roles of producer and consumer. Every ecosystem has
producers, which are organisms that produce food in the form of chemical energy. The major producers are
algae in the oceans, plants on land, and bacteria at hydrothermal vents. Plants and algae use the energy in
sunlight to produce food by photosynthesis. Bacteria at hydrothermal vents use the energy in chemicals to
produce food by chemosynthesis.
All other organisms in an ecosystem are consumers. Consumers are organisms that obtain food energy by
consuming other organisms. There are many different types of consumers. Herbivores are organisms that eat
plants or other producers. These organisms break down plants or other producers to get the matter and energy
they need. Deer are herbivores. Carnivores are organisms that eat other animals. They may eat herbivores or
other carnivores. Lions are carnivores. Omnivores may eat plants and animals as well as fungi, bacteria, and
organisms from other kingdoms. Raccoons are omnivores.
The various ways in which organisms obtain food from other living things are called feeding relationships.
There are a variety of different feeding relationships. For example, predators such as lions kill and eat prey
organisms, such as antelope and zebra. Scavengers eat organisms that are already dead. For example, a hyena
might eat the remains of an animal that was killed but not completely consumed by a lion. Decomposers break
down dead organisms or the waste products of living organisms. In the process, they return nutrients to the
ecosystem. Bacteria and fungi are examples of decomposers.
Questions
1.

Describe the role of producer, and identify major types of producers.

2.

What are consumers? List and define three different types of consumers.

3.

4.

Compare and contrast predation and scavenging, and give examples of organisms in each type of
feeding relationship.

How do decomposers obtain food energy? List two examples of decomposers

Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the correct choice.

1.

Organisms that are producers include

A. Plants.
2.

B. Bacteria.

B. Carnivores.

C. Herbivores.

D. Two of these

B. Population.

C. Community.

D. Ecosystem.

B. Nutrients.

C. Sunlight.

D. Two of these

Organisms that break down dead organisms and return the nutrients to the ecosystem are classified as
A. Prey.

7.

B. Producers.

Abiotic factors in a forest ecosystem include

A. Trees.

6.

D. Predators.

Organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring belong to the same
A. Species.

5.

C. Herbivores.

The first trophic level in an ecosystem is made up only of

A. Primary consumers.

4.

D. All of these

Consumers that eat only producers are called

A. Omnivores.

3.

C. Phytoplankton.

B. Predators.

C. Scavengers.

D. Decomposers.

What percentage of energy at one tropic level is available to the next higher trophic level?
A. 10 percent

B. 25 percent

C. 50 percent

D. 90 percent

Matching: Match each definition with the correct term.

Definitions

_____ 7. relationship between species in which one

species benefits and the other species is harmed

_____ 1. relationship between species that try to use

the same resources

Terms

_____ 2. way a species makes a living

a. commensalism

_____ 3. relationship between species in which one

species benefits and the other species is not harmed

b. competition
c. habitat

_____ 4. place where an organism lives

d. mutualism
_____ 5. relationship between species in which both
species benefit
_____ 6. any relationship between species in which
at least one species benefits

e. niche
f. parasitism

g. symbiosis

Fill in the Blank: Fill in the blank with the appropriate term.
1.
A(n) __________ consists of all the living things in an area together with the nonliving things that they
need.
2.

All the individuals of a single species that live together at a given place and time make up a(n)
__________.

3.

All the populations living together in the same area make up a(n) __________.

4.

__________ factors are all the living organisms in an ecosystem.

5.

__________ factors are all the nonliving components of an ecosystem.

6.

Any organism that makes its own food is called a(n) __________.

7.

Any organism that obtains its food from other organisms is called a(n) __________.

Critical Writing
Thoroughly answer the question below. Use appropriate academic vocabulary and clear and complete
sentences.
A food chain is a very simple model. What does a food chain represent, and why is it much simpler than reality?