36.

1 A community is all the organisms inhabiting a particular area

All the organisms in a particular area make up a community

A number of factors characterize every community

Biodiversity The prevalent form of vegetation

Response to disturbances Trophic structure (feeding relationships)

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Figure 36.1

 Biodiversity is the variety of different kinds of organisms that make up a community

Biodiversity has two components

Species richness, or the total number of different species in the community The relative abundance of different species

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STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF COMMUNITIES 36.2 Competition may occur when a shared resource is limited Interspecific competition occurs between two populations if they both require the same limited resource A population's niche is its role in the community
The sum total of its use of the biotic and abiotic resources of its habitat
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36.3 Predation leads to diverse adaptations in both predator and prey Predation is an interaction where one species eats another
The consumer is called the predator and the food species is known as the prey

Parasitism can be considered a form of predation

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 As predators adapt to prey, sometimes natural selection also shapes the prey's defenses This process of reciprocal adaptation is known as coevolution
Example: Heliconius and the passionflower vine
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Eggs

Sugar deposits

Figure 36.3A

 Prey gain protection against predators through a variety of defense mechanisms

Mechanical defenses, such as the quills of a porcupine

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 Chemical defenses are widespread and very effective

Animals with effective chemical defenses are often brightly colored to warn predators

Example: the poison-arrow frog

Figure 36.3B
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 Camouflage is a very common defense in the animal kingdom

Example: the gray tree frog

Figure 36.3C
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36.4 Predation can maintain diversity in a community

A keystone species exerts strong control on community structure because of its ecological role A keystone predator may maintain community diversity by reducing the numbers of the strongest competitors in a community
This sea star is a keystone predator
Figure 36.4A
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 Predation by killer whales on sea otters, allowing sea urchins to overgraze on kelp
Sea otters represent the keystone species

Figure 36.4B
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36.5 Symbiotic relationships help structure communities

A symbiotic relationship is an interaction between two or more species that live together in direct contact

There are three main types of symbiotic relationships within communities

Parasitism Commensalism

Mutualism
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 Parasitism is a kind of predator-prey relationship

The parasite benefits and the host is harmed in this symbiotic relationship
A parasite obtains food at the expense of its host Parasites are typically smaller than their hosts

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 In the 1940s, Australia was overrun by hundreds of millions of European rabbits

The rabbits destroyed huge expanses of Australia

They threatened the sheep and cattle industries

In 1950, a parasite that infects rabbits (myxoma virus) was deliberately introduced to control the rabbit population
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Figure 36.5A

 Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship where one partner benefits and the other is unaffected
Examples of commensalism
Algae that grow on the shells of sea turtles
Barnacles that attach to whales Birds that feed on insects flushed out of the grass by grazing cattle

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ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS 36.8 Energy flow and chemical cycling are the two fundamental processes in ecosystems
A community interacts with abiotic factors, forming an ecosystem

Energy flows from the sun, through plants, animals, and decomposers, and is lost as heat Chemicals are recycled between air, water, soil, and organisms

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 A terrarium ecosystem

Chemical cycling (C, N, etc.)

Light energy

Chemical energy

Heat energy

Figure 36.8
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36.9 Trophic structure is a key factor in ecosystem dynamics A food chain is the stepwise flow of energy and nutrients
from plants (producers) to herbivores (primary consumers) to carnivores (secondary and higher-level consumers)

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TROPHIC LEVEL
Quaternary consumers

Carnivore Tertiary consumers Carnivore

Carnivore

Carnivore

Secondary consumers Carnivore Carnivore

Primary consumers

Herbivore

Zooplankton

Producers Plant A TERRESTRIAL FOOD CHAIN

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Phytoplankton AN AQUATIC FOOD CHAIN

Figure 36.9A

 Decomposition is the breakdown of organic compounds into inorganic compounds

Decomposition is essential for the continuation of life on Earth

Detritivores decompose waste matter and recycle nutrients
Examples: animal scavengers, fungi, and prokaryotes
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Figure 36.9B

36.10 Food chains interconnect, forming food webs

A food web is a network of interconnecting food chains
It is a more realistic view of the trophic structure of an ecosystem than a food chain

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Tertiary and secondary consumers

Wastes and dead organisms

Secondary and primary consumers

Primary consumers

Producers (Plants, algae, phytoplankton) Detritivores

(Prokaryotes, fungi, certain animals)

Figure 36.10

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36.11 Energy supply limits the length of food chains Biomass is the amount of living organic material in an ecosystem Primary production is the rate at which producers convert sunlight to chemical energy
The primary production of the entire biosphere is about 170 billion tons of biomass per year

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 A pyramid of production reveals the flow of energy from producers to primary consumers and to higher trophic levels
Tertiary consumers 10 kcal

Secondary consumers

100 kcal

Primary consumers

1,000 kcal

Producers

10,000 kcal

1,000,000 kcal of sunlight

Figure 36.11
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 Only about 10% of the energy in food is stored at each trophic level and available to the next level
This stepwise energy loss limits most food chains to 3 - 5 levels
There is simply not enough energy at the very top of an ecological pyramid to support another trophic level

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36.12 Connection: A production pyramid explains why meat is a luxury for humans
The dynamics of energy flow apply to the human population as much as to other organisms
When we eat grain or fruit, we are primary consumers

When we eat beef or other meat from herbivores, we are secondary consumers
When we eat fish like trout or salmon (which eat insects and other small animals), we are tertiary or quaternary consumers
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 Because the production pyramid tapers so sharply, a field of corn or other plant crops can support many more vegetarians than meateaters
TROPHIC LEVEL

Secondary consumers

Human meat-eaters

Primary consumers

Human vegetarians

Cattle

Corn Producers

Corn

Figure 36.12
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36.13 Chemicals are recycled between organic matter and abiotic reservoirs Ecosystems require daily infusions of energy
The sun supplies the Earth with energy But there are no extraterrestrial sources of water or other chemical nutrients

Nutrients must be recycled between organisms and abiotic reservoirs

Abiotic reservoirs are parts of the ecosystem where a chemical accumulates
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 There are four main abiotic reservoirs

Water cycle
Carbon cycle Nitrogen cycle

Phosphorus cycle

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35.14 Water moves through the biosphere in a global cycle Heat from the sun drives the global water cycle
Precipitation Evaporation

Transpiration

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Solar heat

Water vapor over the sea

Net movement of water vapor by wind (36)

Water vapor over the land

Precipitation over the sea (283)

Evaporation from the sea (319)

Evaporation and transpiration (59)

Precipitation over the land (95)

Oceans

Flow of water from land to sea (36)

Surface water and groundwater

Figure 36.14
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36.15 The carbon cycle depends on photosynthesis and respiration Carbon is taken from the atmosphere by photosynthesis
It is used to make organic molecules It is returned to the atmosphere by cellular respiration

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CO2 in atmosphere Burning Cellular respiration Plants, algae, cyanobacteria Photosynthesis Higher-level consumers

Wood and fossil fuels

Primary consumers

Decomposition
Detritivores (soil microbes and others)

Detritus

Figure 36.15
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36.16 The nitrogen cycle relies heavily on bacteria Nitrogen is plentiful in the atmosphere as N2
But plants cannot use N2

Various bacteria in soil (and legume root nodules) convert N2 to nitrogen compounds that plants can use
Ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3)

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 Some bacteria break down organic matter and recycle nitrogen as ammonium or nitrate to plants

Other bacteria return N2 to the atmosphere

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Nitrogen (N2) in atmosphere

Assimilation by plants

Amino acids and proteins in plants and animals

Nitrogen fixation

Denitrifying bacteria

Detritus

Nitrates (NO3) Detritivores

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules of legumes

Nitrifying bacteria

Decomposition Nitrogen fixation Ammonium (NH4+)

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil

Figure 36.16
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36.17 The phosphorus cycle depends on the weathering of rock Phosphates (compounds containing PO43-) and other minerals are added to the soil by the gradual weathering of rock Consumers obtain phosphorus in organic form from plants Phosphates are returned to the soil through excretion by animals and the actions of decomposers

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Uplifting of rock Weathering of rock Phosphates in rock Runoff

Phosphates in organic compounds

Animals

Plants

Detritus Phosphates in solution Phosphates in soil (inorganic) Decomposition Rock Precipitated (solid) phosphates

Detritivores in soil

Figure 36.17
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ECOSYSTEM ALTERATION 36.18 Connection: Ecosystem alteration can upset chemical cycling Experimental studies have been performed to determine chemical cycling in ecosystems
A study to monitor nutrient dynamics has been ongoing in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest since 1963

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 Dams were built across streams at the bottom of each watershed to monitor water and nutrient losses

Figure 36.18A
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 In 1966, one of the valleys was completely logged

It was then sprayed with herbicides for 3 years to prevent plant regrowth
All the original plant material was left in place to decompose
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Figure 36.18B

 Researchers found that the total removal of vegetation can increase the runoff of water and loss of soil nutrients

Figure 36.18C
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36.19 Talking About Science: David Schindler talks about the effects of nutrients on freshwater ecosystems
Eutrophication is a process in which nutrient runoff from agricultural lands or livestock operations causes photosynthetic organisms in ponds and lakes to multiply rapidly
The result is algal bloom

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 Algal bloom can cause a pond or lake to lose much of its species diversity
Human-caused eutrophication wiped out fisheries in Lake Erie in the 1950s and 1960s

Figure 36.19B
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 Dr. David Schindler is an ecologist who worked at the Experimental Lakes Project in northern Ontario
He performed several classic experiments on eutrophication that led to the ban on phosphates in detergents

Figure 36.19A
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 According to Dr. Schindler, there are three serious threats to freshwater ecosystems
Acid precipitation Climate warming Changes in land use

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