The Biosphere Chapter 3 Mrs. Yanac Biology 1A

What is "Ecology”? Greek origin Oikos = household/home Logos = study of “Study of household/home” Real meaning Study of organisms & their environment or surroundings

What is the Biosphere? All the life on the planet INCLUDING the land (lithosphere) the water (hydrosphere) the air (atmosphere)

Biotic Factors “Bio” means living Biotic Factors (Living) Plants Animals Fungi Microorganisms

Abiotic Factors “A” means not Abiotic Factors Light Water Wind Soil Heat Atmosphere

Levels of Organizations Hierarchy of organisms in the environment

“Ida, Please Come Eat Baked Beans”

Ecological Methods Observing Experimenting Modeling

Energy Flow Sunlight is the main energy source for all life on Earth It starts with the PRODUCERS (autotrophs) and flows to the CONSUMERS (heterotrophs)

Food Chains Shows a one-way flow of energy

Food Webs Shows ALL of the food chains in an ecosystem

Trophic Levels – (a.k.a. Feeding Levels) Producers Get energy from the sun or chemicals Autotrophic (can make their own food) Primary Consumers Consumes producers Heterotrophic (needs to eat for energy) Secondary Consumers Consumes primary consumers Heterotrophic Tertiary Consumers Consumes Secondary/Primary Consumers

Biomass pyramid This shows how much mass (in this case plant or meat matter) is available at each level

Pyramid of numbers Showa the relative number of individuals at each level The more BIOMASS, the greater the NUMBERS

Energy Pyramid Shows the transfer of energy from one level to the next

Rule of 10’s Only 10% of the available energy at each level is transferred to the next level. The rest is lost as heat as metabolism is carried out

Recap: What are the levels of organization beginning with species? (remember “Ida, please come eat baked beans.”) In a food chain, what are the producers? The consumers? The decomposers? Herbivores eat ______, Carnivores eat ______, Omnivores eat _______ & _______. Primary means what number? Secondary? Tertiary? Quaternary? How much energy is available at the next trophic level? What happened to the rest of it?

Stop here to reinforce these topics

Recycling in the Biosphere All major components of life are neither created nor destroyed, they are just RECYCLED. Water Cycle All living things need water to survive Carbon Cycle Key component of living tissue Nitrogen Cycle All organisms require N to make amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins Phosphorous Cycle Essential to living organisms because it forms part of DNA & RNA

The Water Cycle

The Water (Hydrologic) Cycle KEY POINTS Steps Precipitation Evaporation Transpiration Condensation Runoff Seepage Water changes states (Solid, Liquid, Gas)

The Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle KEY POINTS Carbon Dioxide (CO2) accumulates in the atmosphere Plants use CO2 in photosynthesis Out of balance Humans cut down trees Humans burn a lot of fossil fuel (exhaust contains CO2) Increasing Global Warming

The Nitrogen Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle KEY POINTS Nitrogen (N2) found in the atmosphere Plants & animals cannot use nitrogen in this form It’s “broken” & needs to be “fixed” Bacteria in the soil “fix” it into Ammonium (NH4), Nitrate (NO3) & Nitrite (NO2), which plants can use and then animals can eat – NITROGEN FIXATION Bacteria in the soil can also convert these compounds back to N2 & put it back into the atmosphere - DENITRIFICATION

The Phosphorous Cycle

The Phosphorous Cycle KEY POINTS No Phosphorous in the air! Cycles between plants, animals & the land and water Weathering & erosion play a big part in this

Nutrient limitation Producers need nutrients to “produce” their food If the is 1 specific nutrient that is scarce, its called the “limiting nutrient” It limits what can grow & make energy Oppositely, too much of that nutrient can cause an overgrowth of certain producers such as algae (ALGAL BLOOMS) Run off from farms often produce algal blooms in rivers and streams Toxic to fish & other living things

Algal Blooms

End of Chapter 3 Be prepared for a vocab quiz