1. How Ecosystems work Unit 1-3a
I Give Up. What’s black & white and read all over?

2. The Sun - The source of all energy on Earth*
Producers (Autotroph) – Make their own food; Ex: Plant use photosynthesis changes solar energy into chemical energy
Chemotrophs- deep ocean bacteria get energy from hydrogen sulfide that’s released from volcanic vents
Without producers there wouldn’t be any food for the…
Consumers (Heterotrophs) – Obtain energy from other organisms; Ex: Animals, Fungi and many bacteria

3. There are four different types of consumers…
Energy Source
Examples
Herbivore
producers
cow, deer
Carnivore
other consumers
snake, vulture
Omnivore
producers & consumers
people, bears
Decomposer
decaying matter
fungi & bacteria

4. Storing & Using Energy
Photosynthesis- plants use Water, Carbon Dioxide and Sunlight to create Sugar (energy stored as glucose) & Oxygen (waste)
H2O + CO2 + Energy  C6H12O6 + O2
While plants use photosynthesis to create stored energy, plants & animals have another process to use the energy…
Cellular Respiration – Plants and animals use Sugar and Oxygen to get energy, releasing water & carbon dioxide
C6H12O6 + O2  H2O + CO2 + Energy

5. How Energy Flows
Trophic Level – Each step in which energy and matter are transferred within an ecosystem; Ex: Energy pyramid
Only 10% of the energy at each trophic level is passed on to the next and 90% is lost as heat.
Carnivores are found at the top. And just ~50 Calories from the grass are passed on to the lion.
Next are the herbivores. But only ~500 Calories are passed on to the giraffes.
At the base of every pyramid are producers.
Make ~5,000 Calories of energy/m2 each year.

6. Food Chain – A specific diagram that shows how energy flows from one organism to another.
Food Webs- shows multiple interconnected food chains.

7. Unit 1-3b
Species Interactions

8. What’s A Niche?
Niche – A species role in the environment including… (Let’s use squirrels for example…)
Its habitat
(Squirrels are common in forests and build nests in trees)
Everything it needs to survive
(It eats nuts, bird eggs and other small organisms)
Every interaction it has with other species
(It disperses nuts, limits other populations, its waste fertilizes the soil, & it is food for many predators)

9. Overlapping Niches
Direct Competition– When species, or individuals, attempt to use the same limited resource.
Indirect Competition– Occurs even when the species may never come into direct contact
Ex: Owls are nocturnal and snakes hunt during the
day. Both hunt the same prey.

10. Invasive Species – A foreign plant/animal that negatively affects an ecosystem;
Species grow with few predators
Compete with native species for resources
Overpopulation
Example: Asian Long-Horned Beetle Arrived in wood from China, They burrow holes into many types of American trees ultimately killing them

11. How Species Interact There are four types of species interactions
1. Predation- When a predator uses its prey as a source of food; Ex: Wolves and rabbits
2. Parasitism– A parasite lives on or in a host and harms it for its own benefit
Example: Leech sucking blood from a human

12. How Species Interact
3. Mutualism– A relationship between two species in which both benefit; Ex: Acacia trees provide food and shelter and ants protect it from other insects.
4. Commensalism – One organism benefits but the other isn’t helped or harmed; Ex: Atlantic puffins use burrows for nesting that were made by rabbits. 

13. Unit 1-3c
Cycling Materials

14. Biogeochemical Cycles
Carbon Cycle- process by which carbon is cycled between the atmosphere, land, water, and organisms

15. Nitrogen Cycle- process in which nitrogen is cycled between the atmosphere, bacteria and other organisms.

16. Phosphorus Cycle- is the movement of phosphorus from the environment to organisms then back to the environment.
Phosphorus is needed to form bones and teeth.
when rocks erode, small amounts of phosphorus dissolve as phosphate in soil and water.
Phosphorus is then taken in by plants through their roots.
Animals eat plants or other animals to obtain the phosphorus.
It is returned to the soil through decomposition and waste.

18. Human affects on these cycles
Carbon Cycle
Burning fossil fuels has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycle
Burning coal and oil releases nitric oxide into the air which causes acid rain.
Use of fertilizers releases excess nitrogen and phosphorus into aquatic systems causes algal bloom which can prevent aquatic animals from getting enough oxygen.

19. Unit 1-3d
Changing Ecosystems

20. Ecological Succession
Ecological Succession is the gradual process of change and replacement of some or all of the species in a community
2 types:
Primary Succession: occurs on a surface where no ecosystem existed before
Secondary Succession : occurs on a surface where an ecosystem existed before.
Disturbed or disrupted by humans or animals or natural disasters.
Pioneer Species: first organisms to colonize a newly available area. Usually lichen.
When a community is stable it is called a climax community

21. Primary Ecological Succession

22. Secondary Ecological Succession

23. Why change happens?
The species living in a particular place gradually change over time as does the physical and chemical environment within that area.
Change in the plant species present in an area is one of the driving forces behind changes in animal species
Succession occurs on many different time scales, ranging from a few days to hundreds of years.