Biology 1

Carmela Espaola
Room 107, IB Main Building M 10-12AM TTh 10-12AM & 3-5PM

Ecosystems
Structure and Processes

Though the organism may claim our primary interestWe cannot separate them from their special environment, with which they form one physical system. It is the [eco]systems so formed which, from the point of view of the ecologist, are the basic units of nature on the face of the earth.

Arthur Tansley, 1935

The Ecosystem

But first
What is ecology? What is the environment? Whats the difference?

Ecology
oikos + logos study of the home study of relationships between organisms and the environment

Environment
includes all the external conditions and factors, biotic and abiotic, that affect the life of an organism. consists of resources and conditions

Resources
Anything an organism uses or consumes in the environment
Perpetual
Inexhaustible in a human time scale e.g. sun

Nonrenewable
Available in a fixed amount; may be reused/recycled e.g. minerals

Renewable
May be depleted but may ultimately be replaced by natural processes e.g. biofuels

Resources
Sustained yield
Use of resources without depletion

When use of resources goes beyond sustained yield, you have ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

Conditions
Environmental factors to which organisms respond
e.g. temperature, salinity, humidity

Influences availability of resources An organisms survival depends on its tolerance to conditions

Ecosystem Structure: Ecological Levels of Organization

emergent properties

integrative levels

Emergent Properties

Copyright 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

In lifes hierarchy of organization, new properties emerge at each level

The upper tier is a global perspective of life
Biosphereall the environments on Earth that support life Ecosystemall the organisms living in a particular area; pathways
followed by energy and matter as these move among living and non living elements

Communitythe array of organisms living in a particular ecosystem Populationall the individuals of a species within a specific area;
presence/absence of species, abundance or rarity, trends and fluctuations in numbers

In lifes hierarchy of organization, new properties emerge at each level

The middle tier is characterized by the organism, an individual living thing, which is composed of
Organ systemshave specific functions; are composed of
organs

Organsprovide specific functions for the organism

Tissuesmade of groups of similar cells

In lifes hierarchy of organization, new properties emerge at each level

Life emerges at the level of the cell, the lower tier, which is composed of
Moleculesclusters of atoms Organellesmembrane-bound structures with specific
functions

Cellsliving entities distinguished from their environment by a

membrane

Ecosystem Function
1. Energy Flow In Ecosystems 2. Feeding Relationships in Food Chains/Webs 3. Biogeochemical Cycles 4. Biodiversity

5. Change: Growth and Development

6. Cybernetics

Solar energy runs the engines of the earth. It heats its atmosphere and its lands, generates its winds, drives the water cycle, warms its oceans, grows its plants, feeds its animals, and even (over the long haul) produces its fossil fuels. This energy can be converted into heat and cold, driving force and electricity.

Energy Flow

Pathway of Energy

Light producers (photosynthesis) consumers decomposers Energy diminishes as it passes through the ecosystem Energy is lost as heat Energy input must be continuous

Trophic Level
a position in a food web and is determined by the number of transfers of energy from primary producers to that level

Energy loss limits the number of trophic levels in ecosystems

Biogeochemical Cycles
Gaseous type - the reservoir is the atmosphere (examples: N2, CO2, O2) Sedimentary type - the reservoir is the earths crust (example: phosphorous) Linkage type - the reservoir includes major pathways in air, water and crust
(example: sulfur)

Hydrologic Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Phosphorus Cycle

Sulfur Cycle

Change: Growth and Development

Organism Population Ecosystem

Population
A group of interbreeding individuals occupying a particular place at a
particular time

Is subject to change
In quantity by growth In quality by evolution

Population change. Population growth results from the net effect of all factors adding to the number of individuals in that population and those decreasing the number of individuals in that population. These factors in turn are the result of species characteristics and environmental conditions. Births Population change = + Immigration Deaths + Emigration

Populations either increase, decline, or remain stable.

Carrying Capacity
Maximum number of individuals of one or more species that can be supported by a particular ecosystem on a long-term basis

Biotic Potential and Environmental Resistance. Seldom does the growth rate of a population equal its biotic potential its growth rate under ideal, nonlimiting conditions. Environmental factors such as food supply, habitat, and disease limit growth.

Biotic Potential
the maximum reproductive capacity of a population under optimal conditions

Environmental Resistance
any factor in the environment that prevents a population from expressing its biotic potential

Community: Succession
change in plant, animal, and microbial communities in an area following disturbance or creation of new substrate

Terms
Pioneer community Primary succession Secondary succession Climax community

Ecological succession is orderly, directional and predictable.

Steps
1. colonization 2. site modification
environment limitations are biotically controlled

3. species replacement
community structure changes with time

culminates in a quasi-steady state

maximum biomass is maintained by a unit of energy flow


Everything changes.
Heraclitus

Panta Rei

Cybernetics
natural ecosystems are self-regulating

Resilience
describes speed with which a community returns to its former state after it has been perturbed and displaced from that state.

Resistance
describes the ability community to avoid displacement in the first place.

Key Concepts and Principles

1. The components of the ecosystem (biotic and abiotic) are continually
interacting and exchanging materials and energy.

Key Concepts and Principles

2. The biotic components of an ecosystem include the producers, consumers
and decomposers; the abiotic components refer to the climate, soil and topographic factors.

Key Concepts and Principles

3. Ecosystem functions cover the major life sustaining processes that include
food webs, energy flow, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, change and cybernetics.

Key Concepts and Principles

4. In a food chain, there exists a feeding relationship in which energy-rich
molecules stored by producers are taken in by a series of consumers.

5. There is a one-way flow of energy in an ecosystem. Entering the living

world mostly as light through the trophic chain, energy leaves mostly as heat.

Key Concepts and Principles

6. Materials flow in an ecosystem in a cyclic pattern. Materials utilized by the
biotic components of the ecosystem return to the physical world mainly through the processes of respiration and decomposition.

7. Biodiversity is important, because every living species has a role to play.

Key Concepts and Principles

8. Everything changes. Organisms, populations and communities change as
expressed in growth and development.

Key Concepts and Principles

9. A balanced ecosystem is achieved when the natural processes involved are
maintained in a dynamic steady state.

Concept of Interdependence
Complex interactions exist between the living and non-living components of the ecosystem.

Concept of Interdependence
The structure and function of ecological systems are interrelated with socioeconomic systems.

Applied Ecology
Concerned with applications of ecological principles to major environmental
and resource management problems

Forest, range, wildlife and fishery management Conservation biology, restoration ecology, landscape ecology

Sources

Bio 12 slides Bio 160 slides Dr. Daniel Lagunzad Dr. Catherine Lagunzad Dr. Ma. Dolores Tongco http://gerrymarten.com/humanecology/chapter01.html#p1 Pearson Education, Inc.

Anthropogenic Impact and Sustainable Natural Resources

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