Chapter 3: The Biosphere

1. Chapter 3: The Biosphere

2. Inquiry Activity • In groups of 2-3, you have five minutes to make a list of all of the types of organisms, including plants, humans, animals, insects etc that you have seen in a specific location. • Rainforest • Tundra!

3. Inquiry Activity • Make a diagram that shows how the organisms that you listed interact with each other. • Who eats who/what? • Where do these organisms live?

4. Think About It 1. Which organisms on your list provide energy or nutrients to the others? 2. What would you expect to happen if all the plants in your diagram died? EXPLAIN your answer. 3. Why is it difficult to make accurate predictions about changes in communities of organisms?

5. 3.1: What is ecology? • Ecology is the scientific study of interactionsamong organisms and between organisms and their environment • Etymology (word Root): eco comes from the Greek oikoswhich means house.

6. The Biosphere The biosphere contains the combined portions of the Earth in which all life exists, including land, water and air or atmosphere. It extends 8 km above the Earth’s surface and as far as 11 km below the surface of the ocean.

7. Within the Biosphere are levels of organization

8. Definitions Species: • A group of individuals who can reproduce and produce fertile offspring. Populations • Members of the same species who live together in the same time and place.

9. Community vs. Population • A community is assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area • A population is a group individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

10. 5.1.1 Habitat: Definition Habitat is the environment in which a species normally lives or the location of a living organism.

11. 5.1.1 Ecosystem An ecosystem is a collection of all organisms that live in a particular place, which includes the non-living, or physical, environment

12. Ecosystems A collection of all organisms that live in a particular place, which includes the nonliving, or physical, environment

13. What is a Biome? Temperate Forest Tundra • A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities

14. Whittaker’s Biome Distribution

15. What do Ecologists study? • Species-  Distribution and Ecophysiology • Populations- Population Growth, Demography, Variation • Communities- Interactions among populations • Ecosystems-  Productivity, Nutrient Cycles, Global Change • Biomes-  Distribution, Landscape Ecology • Conservation

16. KEY CONCEPT: Regardless of the tools they use, scientists conduct modern ecology research using three basic approaches: • Observing • Experimenting • Modelling

17. 3-2 Energy Flow • 1. True or False: Sunlight is the main energy source for all life on Earth: • 2. Producers are autotrophs, which means they can make their own food from sunlight or chemicals in the environment. TRUE!

18. The process that converts sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into energy is called.

19. Chemotrophs 4. Some autotrophs can produce food energy without light, instead they use chemicals like hydrogen sulfide. These autotrophs use a process called chemiosynthesis. Let’s meet some… Deep Sea Challenger Compare chemosynthesis with photosynthesis Giant Amoeba

20. Heterotrophs 5. Organisms that rely on other organisms for food are called heterotrophs or consumers. Complete the chart below for the different types of consumers and what they eat.

21. Consumers herbivores Cows, caterpillars, deer Carnivores MEAT! (animals) Humans, bears, crows Plants and animals Detritivores Animal remains, dead matter Decomposers Bacteria, fungi

22. Feeding Relationships • KEY CONCEPT: Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction from the sun or other inorganic compounds to autotrophs (producers) and then to various heterotrophs (consumers).

23. Food Chains vs. Food Webs

24. Food Chain

25. Food Chains vs. Food Webs

27. Look at the food web in fig. 8-3 on page 71. • Think about a forest ecosystem. Create a food web with at least 2 organisms at each level producer through decomposer.

28. Challenge: 2 minutes • What did you eat for breakfast? • What were the ingredients? • Where did the energy for the ingredients come from?.....

29. So what does this have to do with energy?

30. 1. True or False: Sunlight is the main energy source for life on Earth: 2. Producers are autotrophs: an organism that synthesizes its organic molecules from simple inorganic substances. TRUE! which means they can make their own food from sunlight or chemicals in the environment.

31. The process that converts sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into energy is called.

32. You must be able to define • Autotroph • Heterotroph • Producer • Consumer • Decomposer • Detrivore

33. From S. Taylor, i-biology 2012

34. Trophic levels of organisms: Autotrophs/ Producers/ Trophic Level 1 Food energy is most commonly produced from light energy through photosynthesis Some autotrophs can produce food energy without light, instead using chemicals like hydrogen sulfide. These autotrophs use a process called chemiosynthesis.

35. Trophic levels: Heterotrophs/ Consumers (and decomposers) Organisms that rely on other organisms for food are called heterotrophs or consumers.

36. What do decomposers do? Decomposers (bacteria and fungi) recycle nutrients (organic matter and other essential elements) in an ecosystem

37. Let’s meet some decomposers • detritus 1 • detritus 2

38. Ecological Pyramids • An ecological pyramid is a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter (biomass) contained within each trophic level in a food chain or web. • Ecologists recognize three different types of ecological pyramids: • Energy Pyramids • Biomass Pyramids • Pyramid of Numbers

39. Energy Pyramid (kJm-2)

41. Calculating energy efficiency Only 4 kJ of the original energy available to the bullock is available to the next stage, which might be humans. The efficiency of this energy transfer is: efficiency = 4⁄100 × 100 = 4% 33 kJ

42. Biology Update! • The “rule of 10” was based on aquatic ecosystems. • It still generally applies… but… • Recent studies have shown that energy efficiency can range from 0.05% to 20%.

43. Where does the energy go between trophic levels? • Energy is used for metabolic processes • Not all of the energy consumed is ‘digestibel’ • Some of the energy available is rejected and not consumed (horns, feet, skin etc)

44. How can we optimiseefficency of energy transfer?

45. Biomass Pyramid • The total amount of living tissue with a given trophic level is called biomass. • Biomass is usually expressed in terms of gram of organic matter per unit area. • A biomass pyramid represents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in the ecosystem.

46. Biomass Pyramid

47. Improve Efficiency • Food production is more efficient if the food chain is short, because a higher percentage of energy is available to us. • Most food chains have 3 – 5 trophic levels

48. Pyramid of Numbers • Based on the number of organisms at each trophic level. In most forests there are less producers than there are consumers.