54 Ecosystems

Copyright 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
publishing as Benjamin Cummings

PowerPoint Lectures for
Biology, Seventh Edition
Neil Campbell and J ane Reece
Lectures by Chris Romero
Chapter 54
Ecosystems
Copyright 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Overview: Ecosystems, Energy, and Matter
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms
living in a community
As well as all the abiotic factors with which
they interact
Ecosystems can range from a microcosm, such
as an aquarium
To a large area such as a lake or forest
Figure 54.1
Regardless of an ecosystems size
Its dynamics involve two main processes:
energy flow and chemical cycling
Energy flows through ecosystems
While matter cycles within them
Concept 54.1: Ecosystem ecology emphasizes
energy flow and chemical cycling
Ecosystem ecologists view ecosystems
As transformers of energy and processors of
matter
Ecosystems and Physical Laws
The laws of physics and chemistry apply to
ecosystems
Particularly in regard to the flow of energy
Energy is conserved
But degraded to heat during ecosystem
processes
Trophic Relationships
Energy and nutrients pass from primary
producers (autotrophs)
To primary consumers (herbivores) and then to
secondary consumers (carnivores)
Energy flows through an ecosystem
Entering as light and exiting as heat
Figure 54.2
Microorganisms
and other
detritivores
Detritus
Primary producers
Primary consumers
Secondary
consumers
Tertiary
consumers
Heat
Sun
Key
Chemical cycling
Energy flow
Nutrients cycle within an ecosystem
Decomposition
Decomposition
Connects all trophic levels
Detritivores, mainly bacteria and fungi, recycle
essential chemical elements
By decomposing organic material and returning
elements to inorganic reservoirs
Figure 54.3
Concept 54.2: Physical and chemical factors
limit primary production in ecosystems
Primary production in an ecosystem
Is the amount of light energy converted to
chemical energy by autotrophs during a given
time period
Ecosystem Energy Budgets
The extent of photosynthetic production
Sets the spending limit for the energy budget
of the entire ecosystem
The Global Energy Budget
The amount of solar radiation reaching the
surface of the Earth
Limits the photosynthetic output of ecosystems
Only a small fraction of solar energy
Actually strikes photosynthetic organisms
Gross and Net Primary Production
Total primary production in an ecosystem
Is known as that ecosystems gross primary
production (GPP)
Not all of this production
Is stored as organic material in the growing
plants
Net primary production (NPP)
Is equal to GPP minus the energy used by the
primary producers for respiration
Only NPP
Is available to consumers
Different ecosystems vary considerably in their net
primary production
And in their contribution to the total NPP on Earth
Lake and stream
Open ocean
Continental shelf
Estuary
Algal beds and reefs
Upwelling zones
Extreme desert, rock, sand, ice
Desert and semidesert scrub
Tropical rain forest
Savanna
Cultivated land
Boreal forest (taiga)
Temperate grassland
Tundra
Tropical seasonal forest
Temperate deciduous forest
Temperate evergreen forest
Swamp and marsh
Woodland and shrubland
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 0 5 10 15 20 25
Percentage of Earths net
primary production
Key
Marine
Freshwater (on continents)
Terrestrial
5.2
0.3
0.1
0.1
4.7
3.5
3.3
2.9
2.7
2.4
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.3
1.0
0.4
0.4
125
360
1,500
2,500
500
3.0
90
2,200
900
600
800
600
700
140
1,600
1,200
1,300
2,000
250
5.6
1.2
0.9
0.1
0.04
0.9
22
7.9
9.1
9.6
5.4
3.5
0.6
7.1
4.9
3.8
2.3
0.3
65.0 24.4
Figure 54.4ac
Percentage of Earths
surface area
(a) Average net primary
production (g/m
2
/yr)
(b) (c)
Overall, terrestrial ecosystems
Contribute about two-thirds of global NPP and
marine ecosystems about one-third
Figure 54.5
180 120W
60W 0 60E 120E 180
North Pole
60N
30N
Equator
30S
60S
South Pole
Primary Production in Marine and Freshwater
Ecosystems
In marine and freshwater ecosystems
Both light and nutrients are important in
controlling primary production
Light Limitation
The depth of light penetration
Affects primary production throughout the
photic zone of an ocean or lake
Nutrient Limitation
More than light, nutrients limit primary
production
Both in different geographic regions of the
ocean and in lakes
A limiting nutrient is the element that must be
added
In order for production to increase in a
particular area
Nitrogen and phosphorous
Are typically the nutrients that most often limit
marine production
Nutrient enrichment experiments
Confirmed that nitrogen was limiting phytoplankton
growth in an area of the ocean
EXPERIMENT
Pollution from duck farms concentrated near
Moriches Bay adds both nitrogen and phosphorus to the coastal water
off Long Island. Researchers cultured the phytoplankton Nannochloris
atomus with water collected from several bays.
Figure 54.6
Coast of Long Island, New York.
The numbers on the map indicate
the data collection stations.
Shinnecock
Bay
Moriches Bay
Atlantic Ocean
30
21
19
15
11
5
4
2
Figure 54.6
(a) Phytoplankton biomass and phosphorus concentration
(b) Phytoplankton response to nutrient enrichment
Great
South Bay
Moriches
Bay
Shinnecock
Bay
Starting
algal
density
2 4 5 11 30 15 19 21
30
24
18
12
6
0
Unenriched control
Ammonium enriched
Phosphate enriched
Station number
P
h
y
t
o
p
l
a
n
k
t
o
n

(
m
i
l
l
i
o
n
s

o
f

c
e
l
l
s

p
e
r

m
L
)

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2 4 5 11 30 15 19 21
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
I
n
o
r
g
a
n
i
c

p
h
o
s
p
h
o
r
u
s

(
g

a
t
o
m
s
/
L
)

P
h
y
t
o
p
l
a
n
k
t
o
n

(
m
i
l
l
i
o
n
s

o
f

c
e
l
l
s
/
m
L
)

Station number
CONCLUSION Since adding phosphorus, which was already in rich supply, had no effect on
Nannochloris growth, whereas adding nitrogen increased algal density dramatically, researchers
concluded that nitrogen was the nutrient limiting phytoplankton growth in this ecosystem.
Phytoplankton
Inorganic
phosphorus
RESULTS
Phytoplankton abundance parallels the abundance of phosphorus in the water (a). Nitrogen,
however, is immediately taken up by algae, and no free nitrogen is measured in the coastal waters. The
addition of ammonium (NH
4
) caused heavy phytoplankton growth in bay water, but the addition of

phosphate (PO
4
3
) did not induce algal growth (b).
Experiments in another ocean region
Showed that iron limited primary production
Table 54.1
The addition of large amounts of nutrients to
lakes
Has a wide range of ecological impacts
In some areas, sewage runoff
Has caused eutrophication of lakes, which can
lead to the eventual loss of most fish species from
the lakes
Figure 54.7
Primary Production in Terrestrial and Wetland
Ecosystems
In terrestrial and wetland ecosystems climatic
factors
Such as temperature and moisture, affect
primary production on a large geographic scale
The contrast between wet and dry climates
Can be represented by a measure called
actual evapotranspiration
Actual evapotranspiration
Is the amount of water annually transpired by plants
and evaporated from a landscape
Is related to net primary production
Figure 54.8
Actual evapotranspiration (mm H
2
O/yr)
Tropical forest
Temperate forest
Mountain coniferous forest
Temperate grassland
Arctic tundra
Desert
shrubland
N
e
t

p
r
i
m
a
r
y

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

(
g
/
m
2
/
y
r
)

1,000
2,000
3,000
0
500 1,000 1,500 0
On a more local scale
A soil nutrient is often the limiting factor in primary
production
Figure 54.9
EXPERIMENT
Over the summer of 1980, researchers added
phosphorus to some experimental plots in the salt marsh, nitrogen
to other plots, and both phosphorus and nitrogen to others. Some
plots were left unfertilized as controls.
RESULTS
Experimental plots receiving just
phosphorus (P) do not outproduce
the unfertilized control plots.
CONCLUSION
L
i
v
e
,

a
b
o
v
e
-
g
r
o
u
n
d

b
i
o
m
a
s
s

(
g

d
r
y

w
t
/
m
2
)

Adding nitrogen (N)
boosts net primary
production.
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
June July August 1980
N P
N only
Control
P only
These nutrient enrichment experiments
confirmed that nitrogen was the nutrient limiting plant growth in
this salt marsh.
Concept 54.3: Energy transfer between trophic
levels is usually less than 20% efficient
The secondary production of an ecosystem
Is the amount of chemical energy in
consumers food that is converted to their own
new biomass during a given period of time
Production Efficiency
When a caterpillar feeds on a plant leaf
Only about one-sixth of the energy in the leaf
is used for secondary production
Figure 54.10
Plant material
eaten by caterpillar
Cellular
respiration
Growth (new biomass)
Feces
100 J
33 J
200 J
67 J
The production efficiency of an organism
Is the fraction of energy stored in food that is
not used for respiration
Trophic Efficiency and Ecological Pyramids
Trophic efficiency
Is the percentage of production transferred
from one trophic level to the next
Usually ranges from 5% to 20%
Pyramids of Production
This loss of energy with each transfer in a food chain
Can be represented by a pyramid of net production
Figure 54.11
Tertiary
consumers
Secondary
consumers
Primary
consumers
Primary
producers
1,000,000 J of sunlight
10 J
100 J
1,000 J
10,000 J
Pyramids of Biomass
One important ecological consequence of low
trophic efficiencies
Can be represented in a biomass pyramid
Most biomass pyramids
Show a sharp decrease at successively higher
trophic levels
Figure 54.12a
(a) Most biomass pyramids show a sharp decrease in biomass at
successively higher trophic levels, as illustrated by data from
a bog at Silver Springs, Florida.
Trophic level
Dry weight
(g/m
2
)
Primary producers
Tertiary consumers
Secondary consumers
Primary consumers
1.5
11
37
809
Certain aquatic ecosystems
Have inverted biomass pyramids
Figire 54.12b
Trophic level
Primary producers (phytoplankton)
Primary consumers (zooplankton)
(b) In some aquatic ecosystems, such as the English Channel,
a small standing crop of primary producers (phytoplankton)
supports a larger standing crop of primary consumers (zooplankton).
Dry weight
(g/m
2
)
21
4
Pyramids of Numbers
A pyramid of numbers
Represents the number of individual
organisms in each trophic level
Figure 54.13
Trophic level Number of
individual organisms
Primary producers
Tertiary consumers
Secondary consumers
Primary consumers
3
354,904
708,624
5,842,424
The dynamics of energy flow through
ecosystems
Have important implications for the human
population
Eating meat
Is a relatively inefficient way of tapping
photosynthetic production
Worldwide agriculture could successfully feed
many more people
If humans all fed more efficiently, eating only
plant material
Figure 54.14
Trophic level
Secondary
consumers
Primary
consumers
Primary
producers
The Green World Hypothesis
According to the green world hypothesis
Terrestrial herbivores consume relatively little
plant biomass because they are held in check
by a variety of factors
Most terrestrial ecosystems
Have large standing crops despite the large
numbers of herbivores
Figure 54.15
The green world hypothesis proposes several
factors that keep herbivores in check
Plants have defenses against herbivores
Nutrients, not energy supply, usually limit
herbivores
Abiotic factors limit herbivores
Intraspecific competition can limit herbivore
numbers
Interspecific interactions check herbivore
densities
Concept 54.4: Biological and geochemical
processes move nutrients between organic and
inorganic parts of the ecosystem
Life on Earth
Depends on the recycling of essential chemical
elements
Nutrient circuits that cycle matter through an
ecosystem
Involve both biotic and abiotic components and
are often called biogeochemical cycles
A General Model of Chemical Cycling
Gaseous forms of carbon, oxygen, sulfur, and
nitrogen
Occur in the atmosphere and cycle globally
Less mobile elements, including phosphorous,
potassium, and calcium
Cycle on a more local level
A general model of nutrient cycling
Includes the main reservoirs of elements and
the processes that transfer elements between
reservoirs
Figure 54.16
Organic
materials
available
as nutrients
Living
organisms,
detritus
Organic
materials
unavailable
as nutrients
Coal, oil,
peat
Inorganic
materials
available
as nutrients
Inorganic
materials
unavailable
as nutrients
Atmosphere,
soil, water
Minerals
in rocks
Formation of
sedimentary rock
Weathering,
erosion
Respiration,
decomposition,
excretion
Burning
of fossil fuels
Fossilization
Reservoir a Reservoir b
Reservoir c Reservoir d
Assimilation,
photosynthesis
All elements
Cycle between organic and inorganic
reservoirs
Biogeochemical Cycles
The water cycle and the carbon cycle
Figure 54.17
Transport
over land
Solar energy
Net movement of
water vapor by wind
Precipitation
over ocean
Evaporation
from ocean
Evapotranspiration
from land
Precipitation
over land
Percolation
through
soil
Runoff and
groundwater
CO
2
in atmosphere
Photosynthesis
Cellular
respiration
Burning of
fossil fuels
and wood
Higher-level
consumers
Primary
consumers
Detritus Carbon compounds
in water
Decomposition
THE WATER CYCLE THE CARBON CYCLE
Water moves in a global cycle
Driven by solar energy
The carbon cycle
Reflects the reciprocal processes of
photosynthesis and cellular respiration
The nitrogen cycle and the phosphorous cycle
Figure 54.17
N
2
in atmosphere
Denitrifying
bacteria
Nitrifying
bacteria
Nitrifying
bacteria
Nitrification
Nitrogen-fixing
soil bacteria
Nitrogen-fixing
bacteria in root
nodules of legumes
Decomposers
Ammonification
Assimilation
NH
3
NH
4
+

NO
3

NO
2

Rain
Plants
Consumption
Decomposition
Geologic
uplift
Weathering
of rocks
Runoff
Sedimentation
Plant uptake
of PO
4
3

Soil
Leaching
THE NITROGEN CYCLE THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
Most of the nitrogen cycling in natural
ecosystems
Involves local cycles between organisms and
soil or water
The phosphorus cycle
Is relatively localized
Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling Rates
Decomposers (detritivores) play a key role
In the general pattern of chemical cycling
Figure 54.18
Consumers
Producers
Nutrients
available
to producers
Abiotic
reservoir
Geologic
processes
Decomposers
The rates at which nutrients cycle in different
ecosystems
Are extremely variable, mostly as a result of
differences in rates of decomposition
Vegetation and Nutrient Cycling: The Hubbard
Brook Experimental Forest
Nutrient cycling
Is strongly regulated by vegetation
Long-term ecological research projects
Monitor ecosystem dynamics over relatively
long periods of time
The Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
Has been used to study nutrient cycling in a
forest ecosystem since 1963
The research team constructed a dam on the
site
To monitor water and mineral loss
Figure 54.19a
(a) Concrete dams and weirs built across streams at
the bottom of watersheds enabled researchers to
monitor the outflow of water and nutrients from the
ecosystem.
In one experiment, the trees in one valley were
cut down
And the valley was sprayed with herbicides
Figure 54.19b
(b) One watershed was clear cut to study the effects of the loss
of vegetation on drainage and nutrient cycling.
Net losses of water and minerals were studied
And found to be greater than in an undisturbed area
These results showed how human activity
Can affect ecosystems
Figure 54.19c
(c) The concentration of nitrate in runoff from the deforested watershed was 60 times
greater than in a control (unlogged) watershed.
N
i
t
r
a
t
e

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

i
n

r
u
n
o
f
f

(
m
g
/
L
)

Deforested
Control
Completion of
tree cutting
1965 1966 1967 1968
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0
Concept 54.5: The human population is
disrupting chemical cycles throughout the
biosphere
As the human population has grown in size
Our activities have disrupted the trophic
structure, energy flow, and chemical cycling of
ecosystems in most parts of the world
Nutrient Enrichment
In addition to transporting nutrients from one
location to another
Humans have added entirely new materials,
some of them toxins, to ecosystems
Agriculture and Nitrogen Cycling
Agriculture constantly removes nutrients from
ecosystems
That would ordinarily be cycled back into the soil
Figure 54.20
Nitrogen is the main nutrient lost through
agriculture
Thus, agriculture has a great impact on the
nitrogen cycle
Industrially produced fertilizer is typically used
to replace lost nitrogen
But the effects on an ecosystem can be
harmful
Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems
The critical load for a nutrient
Is the amount of that nutrient that can be
absorbed by plants in an ecosystem without
damaging it
When excess nutrients are added to an
ecosystem, the critical load is exceeded
And the remaining nutrients can contaminate
groundwater and freshwater and marine
ecosystems
Sewage runoff contaminates freshwater
ecosystems
Causing cultural eutrophication, excessive
algal growth, which can cause significant harm
to these ecosystems
Acid Precipitation
Combustion of fossil fuels
Is the main cause of acid precipitation
North American and European ecosystems
downwind from industrial regions
Have been damaged by rain and snow containing
nitric and sulfuric acid
Figure 54.21
4.6
4.6
4.3
4.1
4.3
4.6
4.6
4.3
Europe
North America
By the year 2000
The entire contiguous United States was affected by
acid precipitation
Figure 54.22
Field pH
5.3
5.25.3
5.15.2
5.05.1
4.95.0
4.84.9
4.74.8
4.64.7
4.54.6
4.44.5
4.34.4
4.3
Environmental regulations and new industrial
technologies
Have allowed many developed countries to
reduce sulfur dioxide emissions in the past 30
years
Toxins in the Environment
Humans release an immense variety of toxic
chemicals
Including thousands of synthetics previously
unknown to nature
One of the reasons such toxins are so harmful
Is that they become more concentrated in
successive trophic levels of a food web
In biological magnification
Toxins concentrate at higher trophic levels
because at these levels biomass tends to be lower
Figure 54.23
C
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

o
f

P
C
B
s

Herring
gull eggs
124 ppm
Zooplankton
0.123 ppm
Phytoplankton
0.025 ppm
Lake trout
4.83 ppm
Smelt
1.04 ppm
In some cases, harmful substances
Persist for long periods of time in an
ecosystem and continue to cause harm
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
One pressing problem caused by human
activities
Is the rising level of atmospheric carbon
dioxide
Rising Atmospheric CO
2
Due to the increased burning of fossil fuels and
other human activities
The concentration of atmospheric CO
2
has been
steadily increasing
Figure 54.24
C
O
2

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)

390
380
370
360
350
340
330
320
310
300
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
1.05
0.90
0.75
0.60
0.45
0.30
0.15
0
0.15
0.30
0.45
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

v
a
r
i
a
t
i
o
n

(
C
)

Temperature
CO
2

Year
How Elevated CO
2
Affects Forest Ecology: The
FACTS-I Experiment
The FACTS-I experiment is testing how elevated CO
2

Influences tree growth, carbon concentration in soils,
and other factors over a ten-year period
Figure 54.25
The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
The greenhouse effect is caused by
atmospheric CO
2

But is necessary to keep the surface of the
Earth at a habitable temperature
Increased levels of atmospheric CO
2
are
magnifying the greenhouse effect
Which could cause global warming and
significant climatic change
Depletion of Atmospheric Ozone
Life on Earth is protected from the damaging
effects of UV radiation
By a protective layer or ozone molecules
present in the atmosphere
Satellite studies of the atmosphere
Suggest that the ozone layer has been gradually
thinning since 1975
Figure 54.26
O
z
o
n
e

l
a
y
e
r

t
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s

(
D
o
b
s
o
n

u
n
i
t
s
)

Year (Average for the month of October)
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
The destruction of atmospheric ozone
Probably results from chlorine-releasing
pollutants produced by human activity
Figure 54.27
1
2
3
Chlorine from CFCs interacts with ozone (O
3
),
forming chlorine monoxide (ClO) and
oxygen (O
2
).
Two ClO molecules
react, forming
chlorine peroxide (Cl
2
O
2
).
Sunlight causes
Cl
2
O
2
to break
down into O
2

and free
chlorine atoms.
The chlorine
atoms can begin
the cycle again.
Sunlight
Chlorine O
3

O
2

ClO
ClO
Cl
2
O
2

O
2

Chlorine atoms
Scientists first described an ozone hole
Over Antarctica in 1985; it has increased in
size as ozone depletion has increased
Figure 54.28a, b
(a) October 1979 (b) October 2000

54 Ecosystems

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54 Ecosystems

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Copyright 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

publishing as Benjamin Cummings

) caused heavy phytoplankton growth in bay water, but the addition of

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