Ecology Cie As Biology Notes

Ecology
Levels of ecological organisation

Energy flow through ecosystems
Recycling of nitrogen
Learning objective:
Define the terms habitat, niche, population, community and
ecosystem and state examples of each;
Habitat the place where an organism, a population or a community lives
Niche the role of an organism in an ecosystem
Population all of the organisms of the same species present in the same place and at
the same time that can interbreed with one other
Community all of the living organisms, of all species, that are found in a particular
habitat at a particular time
Ecosystem all of the living organisms of all species (the biotic component) and all of the
non-living components (the abiotic component) that are found together in a defined area
and that interact with one another.
Explain the terms producer, consumer and trophic level in the context
of food chains and food webs;
Producer an autotrophic organism; an organism that obtains its food from inorganic
sources by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
Consumer a heterotrophic organisms; an organism that obtains it food in organic form,

either directly or indirectly from that which has been synthesised by producers.
Trophic level the level in a good chain at which an organism feeds.

Each organism needs a supply of energy containing organic molecules in order to be able
to make ATP. Organisms that can use energy from other sources, such as sunlight, to make
these organic molecules are called producers. In most ecosystems, the producers are plants,
which make carbohydrates by photosynthesis. They absorb energy from sunlight and
incorporate it into carbohydrates, where it is stored as chemical potential energy.
Animals and fungi depend on taking in organic molecules that were originally synthesised by
plants. They are consumers.
The position at which an organism feeds in a food chain is called a trophic level. Producers
are at the first trophic level, primary consumers (herbivores) at the second trophic level,
secondary consumers (carnivores that feed on herbivores) at the third trophic level, and so
on.
Explain how energy losses occur along food chains and discuss the
efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels;
Large quantities of energy are lost in the transfer between one trophic level and the next.
For example, only about 10% of the energy in the grass in an area of savannah is passed on
to herbivores. This is because:
Not all the grass is eaten. Some is trampled or covered by animal droppings, or may
grow too low to the ground for animals to be able to graze it. Pollen from grass
flowers may be blown away by the wind before it is eaten. Leaves may die and fall
to the ground before they are eaten.
Not all the grass is available to be eaten. The roots, for example are underground
where few animals will find and eat them.
Of the grass that is eaten, much is indigestible inside the alimentary canals of the
herbivores. Cellulose and lignin are difficult to digest and may simply pass out in the
faeces rather than being absorbed into the herbivores bodies.
The grass plants require energy themselves, which they obtain by respiration. This
breaks down organic molecules to carbon dioxide and water, and the energy is
eventually lost as heat, so is no longer available to herbivores.
Describe how nitrogen is cycled within an ecosystem, including the

roles of microorganisms;
The nitrogen cycle
Living organisms need nitrogen because nitrogen atoms are an essential part of proteins,
nucleic acids and ATP.
The air contains about 78% nitrogen gas. However, this is in the form of nitrogen molecules,
in which two nitrogen atoms are held together by a very strong triple covalent bond. This is
very unreactive. Nitrogen molecules freely diffuse in and out of the bodies of living
organisms, but take no part in the metabolic reactions inside their cells.
Nitrogen fixation
For nitrogen to become involved in metabolic reactions, it must first be converted to a
different form by combining with oxygen or hydrogen. This process is called nitrogen
fixation. It can be done by:
Lightning, which provides very high temperatures that can cause nitrogen and
oxygen molecules in the air to combine to form nitrogen oxides; these can then be
washed to the ground in rain.
An industrial process in which nitrogen is combined with hydrogen to produce
ammonia, NH3; this is then used to manufacture fertilisers such as ammonium
nitrate.
Nitrogen fixing bacteria, which use the enzyme nitrogenase to combine nitrogen
and hydrogen to produce ammonium ions. Some of these bacteria live free in the
soil, lakes or oceans. Others, for example Rhizobium, live symbiotically in root
nodules in several different species of plants, particularly legumes such as peas and
beans.
Formation of amino acids

Plants are able to take nitrate ions, NO3-, or ammonium ions, NH4+, from the soil into their
root hairs. This may be done by diffusion or active transport. These ions can be combined
with carbohydrates to produce amino acids.
Consumers obtain their nitrogen containing organic compounds that were originally
synthesised by plants.
Decay and ammonification

Animals excrete nitrogen- containing compounds such as ammonia and urea. When they
die, protein molecules in their bodies are broken by enzymes produced by bacteria, fungi
and other decomposer organisms. These process add ammonia and ammonium ions to the
soil.
Nitrification
Nitrifying bacteria oxidise ammonia to nitrate ions. This is done in two stages:
Nitrosomonas oxidises ammonium ions to nitrite ions, NO2-;

Nitrobacter oxidises nitrite ions to nitrate ions, NO 3-.
The nitrate ions can then be taken up by plant roots.
Denitrification
Several different types of bacteria get their energy by converting nitrate ions to nitrogen
gas. This process is called denitrification, and it returns nitrogen gas to the atmosphere.

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Ecology

Levels of ecological organisation

Consumer a heterotrophic organisms; an organism that obtains it food in organic form,

Trophic level the level in a good chain at which an organism feeds.

Describe how nitrogen is cycled within an ecosystem, including the

Formation of amino acids

Decay and ammonification

Nitrosomonas oxidises ammonium ions to nitrite ions, NO2-;

The nitrate ions can then be taken up by plant roots.

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