G. Tyler Miller

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G. Tyler MillersLiving in the Environment
Ecosystems Components, Energy Flow, and Matter
Cycling Chapter 3
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What is ecology?

• The study of how organisms interact with one
  another and with their non-living environment.
• (oikos place to live logos study of)
• How nature is connected.

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Universe
Galaxies
Biosphere
Solar systems
Planets
Earth
Biosphere
Ecosystems
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Realm of ecology
Organisms
Communities
Organ systems
Organs
Tissues
Cells
Populations
Protoplasm
Molecules
Atoms
Organisms
Subatomic Particles
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The Nature of Ecology
Ecosystem Organization

• Organism
• Any form of life

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The Nature of Ecology
Ecosystem Organization

• Organism
• Any form of life
• Species
• Group of organisms that resemble one another
• Actually or potentially breed with one another
• Produce live, fertile offspring

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The Nature of Ecology
Ecosystem Organization

• Communities
• Populations of the different species occupying a
  particular place
• Biological community
• Populations
• Group of interacting individual of the same
  species that occupy a specific area a the same
  time.
• Organisms
• Any living organism

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The Nature of Ecology
Ecosystem Organization

• Biosphere
• All of the earths ecosystems
• Ecosystem
• A community of different species interacting with
  one another and their nonliving environment

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The Earths Life-Support Systems

• Atmosphere
• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
• Biosphere

Fig. 4-6 p. 68
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Sustaining Life of Earth

• One-way flow of energy
• Sun
• Living materials and living things
• Into the environment
• Cycling of matter
• Atoms, ions, molecules needed for survival
• Gravity

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The Source of Energy
Fig. 4-8 p. 69
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Ecosystem Concepts and Components

• Biomes
• By-ohms
• Land ecosystems
• Distinct climate and specific life-forms
• Role of climate
• Long term patterns of weather
• Determines what type of life will thrive
• Aquatic life zones
• freshwater
• ocean or marine life

Fig. 4-9 p. 70
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Ecosystem Boundaries Ecotones
Fig. 4-10 p. 71
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Figure 4-11 Page 72
Sun
Producers (rooted plants)
Producers (phytoplankton)
Primary consumers (zooplankton)
Secondary consumers (fish)
Dissolved chemicals
Tertiary consumers (turtles)
Sediment
Decomposers (bacteria and fungi)
Major components of freshwater ecosystem
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Figure 4-12 page 72
Major components of a terrestrial ecosystem
Sun
Oxygen (O2)
Producer
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Secondary consumer (fox)
Primary consumer (rabbit)
Producers
Falling leaves and twigs
Precipitation
Soil decomposers
Water
Soluble mineral nutrients
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Principles of Ecological Factors
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Aquatic Life Zones

• Abiotic factors-
• nonliving

Sunlight Temperature Precipitation Wind
Latitude (distance from equator) Altitude
(distance above sea level) Fire frequency Soil
Light penetration Water currents Dissolved
nutrient concentrations (especially N and P)
Suspended solids Salinity
Figure 4-13Page 73
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The Biotic Components of Ecosystems

• Producers (autotrophs)
• Transform energy by Photosynthesis
• Consumers (heterotrophs)
• Transform energy by Aerobic Respiration
• Decomposers

Fig. 4-16 p. 75
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Ecosystems Use Sunlight As Their Source of Energy
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Law of Conservation of Matter
Photosynthesis 6 CO2 6 H20
C6H12O6 6 O2
Respiration C6H12O6 6 O2
6 CO2 6 H20
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Trophic Feeding Levels

• First Trophic Level
• Second Trophic Level
• Third Trophic Level
• Fourth Trophic Level

• Producers (plants)
• Primary consumers (herbivores)
• Feed directly on producers
• Secondary consumer (carnivores)
• Feed on Primary Consumers
• Tertiary consumer
• Feed on other carnivores

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Trophic Levels

• Omnivore
• Eat plants and animals
• Detritivores and Scavengers
• Feed on detritus, dead organisms, and waste
• Decomposers
• Break down dead organic material
• Release the resulting simpler compounds into the
  soil
• Anaerobic respiration (absence of oxygen)
• Methane, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid, hydrogen
  sulfide

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Figure 4-15 page 75
Detritus feeders
Decomposers
Bark beetle engraving
Carpenter ant galleries
Termite and carpenter ant work
Long-horned beetle holes
Dry rot fungus
Wood reduced to powder
Mushroom
Powder broken down by decomposers into plant
nutrients in soil
Time progression
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BiodiversityWhat is it and why is it important?

• The different life-forms and life-sustaining
  processes.

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BiodiversityWhat is it and why is it important?

• Kinds of biodiversity include
• Genetic diversity
• Variety in the genetic makeup among individuals
  within a species
• Species diversity
• Variety among species found in different habitats
  of the planet
• Ecological diversity
• Variety of biological communities
• Functional diversity
• Biological and chemical processes or functions
  needed for survival

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Connections Food Webs and Energy Flow in
Ecosystems
Food chains sequence of organisms each of which
is a food source for the next.
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Connections Food Webs and Energy Flow in
Ecosystems
Food webs a network of interconnected food
chains
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ECOLOGY
Ecological Pyramid A food chain that shows the
relationship between the organisms in each
trophic level.
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Ecological Pyramids

• Pyramid of energy flow
• Ecological efficiency
• Range 5-20
• Typically 10
• Pyramid of biomass
• Pyramid of numbers

Fig. 4-20 p. 79
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Ecological Pyramids of Numbers
The figures represent number of individuals
counted at each trophic level.
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Ecological Pyramids of Biomass

• The total dry weight of organisms in a particular
  trophic level is referenced as biomass.

BIOMASS of organisms x the weight of an
average individual
biomass
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Ecological Pyramids of Biomass
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Ecological Pyramids of Energy

• Energy in ecosystems flows from producers to
  consumers.
• Energy is depicted in kilocalories.
• The average amount of energy that is available to
  the next trophic level is about 10.

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Ecological Pyramids of Energy
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Primary Productivity of Ecosystems

• Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
• Rate at which an ecosystems producers convert
  solar energy into chemical energy as biomass
• Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
• Difference between the rate at which producers
  store energy as biomass and the rate at which
  producers use chemical energy stored as biomass

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Primary Productivity of Ecosystems
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Connections Matter Cycling in Ecosystems

• Biogeochemical (nutrient) cycles
• Hydrologic cycle (H2O)
• Atmospheric cycles (C,N)
• Sedimentary cycles (S,P)
• Cycles Book Review

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Hydrologic (Water) Cycle
Fig. 4-27 p. 83
?
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Carbon Cycle
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Human Activities Affecting the Carbon Cycle

• Clearing tree
• Burning fossil fuels and wood

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Nitrogen Cycle
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Human Activities Affecting The Nitrogen Cycle

• Burning fossil fuels
• Acid rain
• Animal waste
• Removing N from topsoil
• Adding N to aquatic systems

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The Phosphorus Cycle
Fig. 4-30 p. 88
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Human Activities Affecting the Phosphorus Cycle

• Mining
• Forest removal
• Adding phosphorus to aquatic systems
• eutrophication

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The Sulfur Cycle
Fig. 4-31 p. 89
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Ecosystem Servicesand Sustainability

• Using renewable solar energy as an energy source
• Recycling the chemical nutrients organisms need
  for survival, growth, and reproduction.

Fig. 4-34 p. 92