Knowledge and Understanding

A community is a group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common
habitat

Community refers to all the populations in

a specific area or region at a certain time.
Its structure involves many types of
interactions among species. Some of these
involve the acquisition and use of food,
space, or other environmental resources.
Others involve nutrient cycling through all
members of the community and mutual
regulation of population sizes. In all of
these cases, the structured interactions of
populations lead to situations in which
individuals are thrown into life or death
struggles.

In general, ecologists believe that a

community that has a high diversity is more complex and stable than a community that has a low
diversity. This theory is founded on the observation that the food webs of communities of high
diversity are more interconnected. Greater interconnectivity causes these systems to be more resilient
to disturbance. If a species is removed, those species that relied on it for food have the option to
switch to many other species that occupy a similar role in that ecosystem. In a low diversity
ecosystem, possible substitutes for food may be non-existent or limited in abundance.

An ecosystem is a community and the physical environment with which it interacts

Everything in the natural world is

connected. An ecosystem is a
community of living and non-living
things that work together.

Ecosystems have no particular size.

An ecosystem can be as large as a
desert or a lake or as small as a tree
or a puddle.

If you have a terrarium, that is an

artificial ecosystem. The water, water
temperature, plants, animals, air,
light and soil all work together. If
there isn't enough light or water or if the soil doesn't have the right nutrients, the plants will die. If the
plants die, animals that depend on them will die. If the animals that depend on the plants die, any
animals that depend on those animals will die. Ecosystems in nature work the same way. All the parts
work together to make a balanced system!

Some ecosystems can cross several countries and so their conservation and ecology has an
international dimension.
 image from naturalscience-5.blogspot.com

Respiration and photosynthesis as processes with inputs, outputs and transformations of

energy and matter.
[The details of chloroplasts, light-dependent and light-independent reactions, mitochondria, carrier
systems, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and specific intermediate biochemicals are not expected]

Photosynthesis should be understood as requiring

carbon dioxide, water, chlorophyll and certain
visible wavelengths of light to produce organic
matter and oxygen. The transformation of light
energy into the chemical energy of organic matter
should be appreciated.

Respiration should be recognized as requiring

organic matter and oxygen to produce carbon
dioxide and water. Without oxygen, carbon
dioxide and other waste products are formed.
Energy is released in a form available for use by
living organisms, but is ultimately lost as heat.

Photosynthesis:

inputs:

 sunlight as energy resource, carbon

dioxide and water

processes:

 chlorophyll traps sunlight; energy is used

to split water molecules; hydrogen from
water is combined with carbon dioxide to
produce glucose.

outputs:
  glucose used as an energy source for the plant and as a building block for other organic
molecules; oxygen is released to the atmosphere through stomata.

transformations:

 light energy is transformed to store chemical energy.

Respiration:

inputs:

 glucose and oxygen

processes:

 oxidation processes inside cells

outputs:

 release of energy for work and heat

transformations:

 stored chemical energy to kinetic energy and heat

Respiration is the conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water in all living
organisms, releasing energy.

[The details of chloroplasts, light-dependent and light-independent reactions, mitochondria, carrier

systems, adenosine tripohosphate (ATP) and specific intermediate biochemicals are not expected]

Respiration releases energy for cells from glucose. This can be aerobic respiration, which needs
oxygen, or anaerobic respiration, which does not.

Respiration is a series of reactions in which energy is released from glucose. Aerobic respiration is
the form of respiration which uses oxygen. It can be summarised by this equation:

glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water (+ energy)

Energy is shown in brackets because it is not a substance. Notice that:

 Glucose and oxygen are used up

 Carbon dioxide and water are produced as waste products
  Aerobic respiration happens all the time in the cells of animals and plants. Most of the
reactions involved happen inside mitochondria, tiny objects inside the cytoplasm of the cell.
The reactions are controlled by enzymes.

During respiration, large amounts of energy are dissipated as heat, increasing the entropy in
the ecosystem while enabling organisms to maintain relatively low entropy and so high
organization.

Respiration is a
chemical reaction
where food, water
and oxygen are
turned into energy
for us to use (also
allowing us to
breathe etc.)

In every reaction
there are two types
of energy; useful
and wasted. the
useful energy is the
stuff we want and
wasted is the stuff
that's just converted
accidentally while
making the useful
energy. it's wasted because energy can't be destroyed or created, just changed. one type of wasted
energy that's created in most reactions is thermal, or heat energy.

As respiration is a chemical reaction, there are useful energy transfers taking place, however as a by
product of these reactions heat energy is produced.

Primary producers in most ecosystems convert light energy into chemical energy in the
process of photosynthesis.
[The details of chloroplasts, light-dependent and light-independent reactions, mitochondria, carrier
systems, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and specific intermediate biochemicals are not expected]

Primary producers, also called

autotrophs, are organisms that can
produce their own food. Most
autotrophs lie at the bottom of the
food chain, serving as food
sources for animals farther up the
line. Primary producers are self-
sufficient when it comes to meals:
they produce their own food using
light, carbon dioxide, water and
sometimes other chemicals too.

Producers (autotrophs) are

typically plants or algae that
produce their own food using
photosynthesis and form the first
trophic level in a food chain. Exceptions include chemosynthetic organisms that produce food without
sunlight.
The photosynthesis reaction is can be represented by the following word equation. carbon
dioxide + water yields glucose + oxygen

Photosynthesis is the process

of converting light energy to
chemical energy and storing it
in the bonds of sugar. This
process occurs in plants and
some algae. Plants need only
light energy, CO2, and H2O to
make sugar. The process of
photosynthesis takes place in
the chloroplasts, specifically
using chlorophyll, the green
pigment involved in
photosynthesis.

The photosynthesis reaction is can be represented by the following word equation.

Photosynthesis produces the raw material for producing biomass

[Biomass, measured in unite of mass (for example, g m-2) should be distinguished from productivity,
measured in units of flow (for example, g m-2 hr-1 or J m-2 hr-1)]

Biomass is organic,
meaning it is made of
material that comes
from living organisms,
such as plants and
animals. The most
common biomass
materials used for
energy are plants,
wood, and waste.
These are called
biomass feed stocks.
Biomass energy can
also be a non-
renewable energy
source.

Biomass contains
energy first derived
from the sun: Plants absorb the sun’s energy through photosynthesis, and convert carbon dioxide and
water into nutrients (carbohydrates).
The trophic level is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain, or the position of a
group of organisms in a community that occupy the same position in food chains

In ecology, the trophic level is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain, or a group of
organisms in a
community that
occupy the same
position in food
chains - what it eats,
and what eats it.

Ecologists look at a
natural "economy of
energy" that ultimately
rests upon solar
energy. When they
look at an ecosystem
there is almost always
some foundation
species that directly
harvests energy from
the sun, for example,
grass (however in
deep sea hydrothermal vents chemosynthetic archaea form the base of the food chain)

Producers (autotrophs) are typically plants or algae that produce their own food using
photosynthesis and form the first trophic level in a food chain. Exceptions include
chemosynthetic organisms that produce food without sunlight.

All life depends ultimately on primary producers, the

organisms which capture the energy in sunlight by
photosynthesis. On land, they are easily recognized
as plants. Although marine primary production by
coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses is relatively
better-known, the vast majority of primary
production in the sea is by microscopic single-celled
plants called phytoplankton. Phytoplankton account
for 50% of the oxygen produced

An example is photosynthetic plants that make their

own food from sunlight (using a process
called photosynthesis) and chemosynthetic
bacteria that make their food energy from chemicals
in hydrothermal vents. These are
called autotrophs or primary producers.
Feeding relationships involve producers, consumers and decomposers. These can be
modelled using food chains, food webs and ecological pyramids
[The distinction between storage of energy illustrated by boxes i energy-flow diagrams (representing
the various trophic levels), and the flows of energy or productivity often sown as arrows (sometimes of
varying widths) needs to be emphasized.]

All living things need to feed to get energy

to grow, move and reproduce. But what do
these living things feed on? Smaller
insects feed on green plants, and bigger
animals feed on smaller ones and so on.
This feeding relationship in an ecosystem
is called a food chain. Food chains are
usually in a sequence, with an arrow used
to show the flow of energy. Below are
some living things that can fit into a food
chain

Producer: can make their own food, as

they use sunlight to make food and are
called the basis of every ecosystem
which helps the rest of the species
through input of energy and new biomass. This all happens through photosynthesis which is the
process when the producer uses the sun for energy.

Consumer: feed on other organisms, they do not contain photosynthesis pigments so they cannot
make their own food. They have to get energy, minerals and nutrients by eating other organisms. This
makes the heterotrophs. Herbivores feed on autotrophs, carnivores on other heterotrophs and
omnivores on both.

Decomposer: get their food from the breakdown of a dead organism matter. They break down tissue
and release nutrients for absorption by other producers. Decomposers also improve the nutrient
capacity in the soil by breaking down the organic material.

image from en.wikipedia.org

Ecological pyramids include pyramids of numbers, biomass and productivity and are
quantitative models that are usually measured for a given area and time

An ecological pyramid is an illustration of the reduction in energy as you move through each feeding
(trophic) level in an ecosystem. The base of the pyramid is large since the ecosystem's energy
factories (the producers) are converting solar energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis. A food
chain can also depict a reduction in energy at each feeding level if the arrows, drawn between the
different levels, continue to be reduced in size.

Pyramids are graphical models of the quantitative differences that exist between the trophic levels of a
single ecosystem. A pyramid of biomass represents the standing stock of each trophic level measured
in units such as grams of biomass per square metre (g m–2). Biomass may also be measured in
units of energy, such as J m –2.

In accordance with the second law of thermodynamics, there is a tendency for numbers and
quantities of biomass and energy to decrease along food chains; therefore, the pyramids
become narrower towards the apex
[This topic should be actively linked with sub-topic 1.3 as questions will arise requiring students to use
their knowledge of thermodynamics with energy flow in ecosystems]

Energy is lost as it is transferred between

trophic levels; the efficiency of this energy
transfer is measured by net production
efficiency and trophic level transfer
efficiency. Only 10% of the energy is
transferred to the next, so the trophic
efficiency=10%.

Endotherms have a low NPE and use more

energy for heat and respiration
than ectotherms, so most endotherms
have to eat more often than ectotherms to
get the energy they need for survival.

Energy transfers within food webs are determined by the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

The second law relates to the quality of energy. This law states that whenever energy is transformed,
some of the energy will lost to a less useful form. In ecosystems, the biggest losses occur as
respiration. The second law explains why energy transfers are never 100% efficient. In fact, ecological
efficiency, which is the amount of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next, ranges from 5-
30%. On average, ecological efficiency is only about 10%.

Because ecological efficiency is so low, each trophic level has a successively smaller energy pool
from which it can withdraw energy. This is why food webs have no more than four to five trophic
levels. Beyond that, there is not enough energy to sustain higher-order predators
 image from goose.ycp.edu

Bioaccumulation is the build-up of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants within an

organism or trophic level because they cannot be broken down

Include concentration of
non-biodegradable toxins in
food chains, limited length of
food chains, and
vulnerability of top
carnivores. Consider the
terms biomagnification,
bioaccumulation and
bioconcentration.

 Bioaccumulation refers to how pollutants enter a food chain. It is an increase in concentration

of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain

If a pollutant is short-lived, it will be broken down before it can become dangerous. If it is not mobile,
it will stay in one place and is unlikely to be taken up by organisms. If the pollutant is soluble in water
it will be excreted by the organism. Pollutants that dissolve in fats, however, may be retained for a
long time.

Toxins such as DDT and mercury accumulate along food chains due to the decrease of biomass and
energy
2.2.U15 Biomagnification is the increase in concentration of persistent or non-biodegradable
pollutants along a food chain

Biomagnification refers to the tendency of

pollutants to concentrate as they move from one
trophic level to the next. It is an increase in
concentration of a pollutant from one link in a
food chain to another.

We are concerned about these phenomena

because together they mean that even small
concentrations of chemicals in the environment
can find their way into organisms in high enough
dosages to cause problems. In order for
biomagnification to occur, the pollutant must be:

1. long-lived
2. mobile
3. soluble in fats
4. biologically active

Toxins such as DDT and mercury accumulate along food chains due to the decrease of
biomass and energy

In the environment, insects would encounter DDT and absorb some of it into their bodies. Often, they
would receive a sub-lethal dose, enough to impair them but perhaps not kill them. In any event, it
stands to reason that insects either dying or merely slowed down by pesticide intake would become
easy targets for birds. Upon ingestion, the DDT in the insect bodies is released and makes its way
into the tissues of the bird's body, particularly the fat deposits. Because an individual bird eats many
insects, and because the DDT does not leave the bird's body, and because DDT resists breaking
down (either in the environment or the body), it accumulates to higher levels in the bird's tissues. In
other words, the DDT that was spread out over, say 1,000 crickets will be concentrated in one bird.

Pyramids of numbers can sometimes display different patterns; for example, when individuals
at lower trophic levels are relatively large (inverted pyramids)]

Pyramid of numbers:
shows the number of organisms at each
trophic level in a food chain. Pyramids of
numbers can sometimes display different
patterns; for example, when individuals at
lower trophic levels are relatively large
(inverted pyramids).

Advantage

 easy method of giving an overview

 good for comparing changes in
population numbers over different
times
Disadvantage

 all organisms included regardless of their size

 numbers can be too great to represent accurately

A pyramid of biomass represents the standing stock or storage of each trophic level,
measured in units such as grams of biomass per square metre (g m-2) or Joules per square
metre (J m-2)(units of biomass or energy)

[Although there is variation in the literature, for this syllabus pyramids of biomass refers to a standing
crop (a fixed point in time) and pyramids of productivity refer to the rate of flow of biomass or energy]

Pyramid of biomass:
Contains the biomass at each trophic level. A pyramid of biomass represents the standing stock or
storage of each trophic level, measured in units such as grams of biomass per square metre (g m–2).
Pyramids of biomass can show greater quantities at higher trophic levels because they represent the
biomass present at a fixed point in time, although seasonal variations may be marked.

Advantage

 overcomes the problems of pyramids of numbers

Disadvantage

 only uses samples from populations, so it’s impossible to measure biomass exactly
 organisms must be killed to measure dry mass

Pyramids of biomass can show greater quantities at higher trophic levels because they
represent the biomass present at a fixed point in time, although seasonal variations may be
marked.

[Although there is variation in the literature, for this syllabus pyramids of biomass refers to a standing
crop (a fixed point in time) and pyramids of productivity refer to the rate of flow of biomass or energy]

Pyramid of biomass is a diagram representing the amount of biomass measured in grams of dry mass
per square metre (g m−2), found in a particular habitat at ascending trophic levels of a food chain.
Biomass decreases at each ascending level of the food chain. A pyramid of biomass is a more
accurate representation of the flow of energy through a food chain than a pyramid of numbers, but
seasonal variations in the rate of turnover of the organisms at a particular level may result in higher or
lower values for the amount of biomass sampled at a particular time than the average amount over
the whole year.
Pyramids of productivity refer to the flow of energy through a trophic level, indicating the rate
at which that stock/storage is being generated

Pyramid of productivity:
Pyramids of productivity refer to
the flow of energy through a
trophic level,
indicating the rate at which that
stock/storage is being generated.
It contains the flow of energy
through each trophic level; shows
the energy being generated and
available as food to the next
trophic level during a fixed period
of time, measured in units such
as flow of biomass or energy per
square metre (g m-2 yr-1) or
Joules per square metre (J m-2 yr-
1
) (units of biomass or energy).

Advantage

 shows the actual energy transferred and allows for rate of production

Disadvantages

 very difficult and complex to collect energy data as the rate of biomass production over time is
required

Pyramids of productivity for entire ecosystems over a year always show a decrease along the
food chain.

Energy flows through the food chain in a predictable way, entering at the base of the food chain,
by photosynthesis in primary producers, and then moving up the food chain to higher trophic levels.
Because the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next is inefficient, there is less energy
entering higher trophic levels. Thus, diagrams showing how much energy enters each trophic
level will have a distinct pyramid shape.

Application and Skill

Explain the transfer and transformation of energy as it flows through an ecosystem.
Almost all energy enters Earth's ecosystems as solar insolation. That energy is then transformed and
used by the diverse variety of organisms that make up food webs. Through
photosynthesis, producers transform sunlight into glucose, which they then use for
respiration. Chloroplasts in plant cells use sunlight to convert CO2 and water to glucose and oxygen
gas. The plants' mitochondria then use the sugars for energy to drive respiration,
their cellular processes required to stay alive.
Analyse the efficiency of energy transfers through a system.

Gross primary production is a measure of the energy that plants transform from the sun. The fraction
of that energy that is converted into glucose reflects the gross productivity of the plant. The energy
remaining after respiration is considered the net primary production. In general, gross production
refers to the energy contained within an organism before respiration and net production the energy
after respiration. The terms can be used to describe energy transfer in both autotrophs
and heterotrophs.

Energy will decrease with each increase in trophic level- second law of thermodynamics states that
during any transfer of energy, some is lost due to the tendency toward an increase in disorder
(entropy). Energy for higher trophic levels is also constrained by loss due to metabolic respiration, as
well as defensive strategies in some organisms that lowers the quality of food Energy transfer
between trophic levels is generally inefficient, such that net production at one trophic level is generally
only 10% of the net production at the preceding trophic level

Explain the relevance of the laws of thermodynamics to the flow of energy through
ecosystems

Two laws of physics are important in the study of energy flow through ecosystems. The first law of
thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one
form to another. Energy for the functioning of an ecosystem comes from the Sun. Solar energy is
absorbed by plants where in it is converted to stored chemical energy.

The second law of thermodynamics states that whenever energy is transformed, there is a loss
energy through the release of heat. This occurs when energy is transferred between trophic levels as
illustrated in a food web. When one animal feeds off another, there is a loss of heat (energy) in the
process. Additional loss of energy occurs during respiration and movement. Hence, more and more
energy is lost as one moves up through trophic levels.

Explain the impact of a persistent or non-biodegradable pollutant in an ecosystem.

This refers to how long a pesticide remains active in the environment. Some chemicals are broken
down by decomposers in the soil (they’re biodegradable) and so are not persistent, while others
cannot be broken down by microbes (they’re non-biodegradable) and so continue to act for many
years, and are classed as persistent pesticides. The early pesticides (such DTT) were persistent and
did a great deal of damage to the environment, and these have now largely been replaced with
biodegradable insecticides such as carbamates and pyrethroid

image from InTech

2.2.S1 Construct models of feeding relationships such as food chains, food webs and
ecological pyramids from given data

Systems diagrams can be used to show the flow of energy through ecosystems. Stores of energy are
usually shown as boxes which represent the various trophic levels Flows of energy are usually shown
as arrows (with the amount of energy in joules or biomass per unit are represented by the thickness of
the arrow).
Construct system diagrams representing photosynthesis and respiration.