Ecology

Energy, Cycles, & Human Impact

The sun is the main energy source
for life on earth!
There are 2 ways:

1. Autotrophs: Organism that captures energy

from sunlight or inorganic substances to produce its
own food; also called producers.
There are 2 ways:

2. Heterotrophs: Organism that cannot make

its own food and gets its nutrients and energy
requirements by feeding on other organisms; also
called consumers.
Herbivores: Eat Plants
Carnivores: Eat Meat
Omnivores: Eat plants & meat
Detritivore: Eat organic matter/poop – detritus
Scavenger: Eats animals that are already dead.
Decomposers: Breaks down all the rest
(bones, feathers, dead trees…)
Food Chain: A simple model that shows how
energy flows through an ecosystem.
Food Web: A model representing the MANY
interconnected food chains and pathways in which
energy flows through a group of organisms.
 Each step in a food
chain/web is called a
trophic level.
Ecological Pyramid: Another model used to
show how energy flows through ecosystems.

Can show:
* Amount of Energy
* Amount of Biomass
* Number of organisms
 What is this
one showing?
* Amount of Energy

* Amount of Biomass
* Number of organisms

Biomass: The total

mass of living matter at
each trophic level.
 What is this
one showing?
* Amount of Energy

* Amount of Biomass

* Number of organisms
* The reason that each trophic level can support only
1/10 of the amount of living tissue as the level below it is
because each trophic level harvests only about one
tenth of the energy from the level below.

The rest of the energy (90%) is LOST as HEAT

• Running ● Hunting for food
• Breathing ● Sleeping
• Reproducing ● Maintaining body heat

* Only 10% of energy moves up to the next trophic level

90% Lost

1J

10 J

100 J

1,000 J

10,000 J

100,000 J
Nutrient: Is a chemical substance that an organism
obtains from the environment to sustain life.

Biogeochemical Cycle: Cycles that involves

organisms (bio), geological processes (geo), and
chemical processes (chemical).
4 Main Types:
* Water Cycle
* Carbon Cycle
* Nitrogen Cycle
* Phosphorus Cycle
Water is constantly
evaporating into
the atmosphere
from bodies of
water, soil, &
organisms.

Transpiration:
When water
evaporates from the
surface of plants.
* All living things have carbon in them.
* Carbon is in proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids.
* Carbon dioxide is used by plants to make energy (carbohydrates)
* Carbon is released into the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels.
* Carbon can be trapped in the ground as coal, oil, and gas deposits
 Most of the atmosphere has Nitrogen in it (78%)
 Organisms CAN’T use Nitrogen GAS!!...so it needs to be
“fixed”
 “Fixing” nitrogen, is turning it from a gas into NITRATES
(usable)
Nitrogen Fixation: Process in which nitrogen gas is
captured and converted into a form plants can use (nitrates)
There are 2 main ways to “Fix” nitrogen
1. Lightning changes nitrogen gas into nitrates
There are 2 main ways to “Fix” nitrogen
2. Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria changes gas into nitrates

Found on roots of
legumes only!
* Peanuts
* Peas
* Clover
* Beans
* and many more…
• Phosphorus is essential for growth & development

• When organisms poop or die, they return phosphorus

back to the cycle.
• YES!
Eutrophication: Occurs when fertilizers,
animal waste, sewage, or other substances rich
in Nitrogen & Phosphorous flows into waterways,
causing algae growth.
What is ecological succession?
Ecological Succession - The series of changes that
occur in a community over time.
What is ecological succession?
 What are the 2 types of
ecological succession?
1st Primary Succession – Occurs when there was
no soil for regular plants to grow.
Examples: Volcano eruptions & glaciers retreating
 What are the 2 types of
ecological succession?
Volcanoes can
create new
islands...

No soil is
Available for
plants to grow
 What are the 2 types of
ecological succession?

When glaciers
retreat, they
leave exposed
rock…

No soil for plants

to grow in.
How is soil created so plants can
grow in the area?
Pioneer Species: A species that will colonize
previously uncolonized land.

Are organisms that colonize barren rock or lava during ecological succession.

These are the FIRST species to arrive!

They physically break up the rocks, extract minerals, and

provide organic matter that will decompose and
become the soil for later successional species.
How is soil created so plants can
grow in the area?
Example: Lichens
Lichens: A symbiotic relationship between a fungus
and an algae.
How is soil created so plants can
grow in the area?
Lichens help break rocks to form soil so that other
plants can grow there later.
 What is a climax
community?
Climax Community: Stable, mature ecological
community with little change in the composition of
species. This is when the community reaches
equilibrium, and change very little over time.
 What are the 2 types of ecological
succession?
2nd Secondary Succession: Orderly
change that occurs in a place soil remains
after a community of organisms has been
removed.
 What are the 2 types of ecological
succession?
• When a disturbance changes a
community without removing the soil,
secondary succession will follow.
 What are some examples of secondary
succession?
Examples of Secondary Succession
– Forest Fire
– Farm land
– Flood
– Hurricane
– Logging

Occurs after a climax community has been

destroyed…

soil is already there.