Ecosystems and Energy

1. Chapter 3 Ecosystems and Energy

2. Chapter 3 Primary Themes Distinguish ecological levels Define and explain energy Laws of thermodynamics Reactions for photosynthesis & respiration Explain pyramids & webs in terms of energy, biomass, and relationships Describe life in terms of GDP and NPP

3. What is Ecology? • Ecology –

4. Level of organization – Ecology in a System: Ecosystem

5. Spheres of Organization • Landscape Ecology – • encompasses larger area and several ecosystems • Biosphere – • the whole earth

6. Energy Drives Life What types of energy are there?

7. The Energy of Life • Potential vs. Kinetic Energy

8. Types of Energy Chemical – Radiant – Thermal – Mechanical - the energy of motion Nuclear - atomic nuclei Electrical - flow of charged particles

9. The Energy of Life • Thermodynamics – the study of energy and its transformations.

10. The Energy of Life • 1st Law of Thermodynamics – • energy can change forms, but is not created or destroyed • 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – • “Entropy Rules!” amount of usable energy decreases as energy changes forms

11. The Energy of Life C6H12O6 + 6 H2O + 6 O2 • Photosynthesis 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + radiant energy

12. The Energy of Life 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + energy • Cellular Respiration C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6 H2O

13. The Energy of Life See You Tube - black smokers • Case-in-Point: Life Without the Sun • Hydrothermal Vents or Black Smokers • Chemosynthesis • Tube Worms

14. Chemosynthesis An extremophile is any microbe that thrives in extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, salinity, or concentrations of hostile chemicals. Extremophiles commonly belong to the kingdom Archaebacteria. Hydrogen sulfide chemosynthesis ______________________________________

15. The Flow of Energy Through Ecosystems • Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

16. The Path of Energy Flow • Food Chains –

17. Food Webs –

18. The Path of Energy Flow Pyramid of Biomass Pyramid of Numbers • Ecological Pyramids

19. The Path of Energy Flow • Ecological Pyramids Pyramid of Energy

20. The Path of Energy Flow • Example: Thermodynamics in Action Temperate forest: Primary producers = 1,500 g / m2 Desert: Primary producers = 100 g / m2 Food webs very complex, more tertiary consumers, some quaternary. Food webs very simple, very few tertiary consumers

21. Primary Production 13.5 kg coyote must range ~12 ha to subsist (30 acres). such as . . . Tertiary consumers must range over large areas to obtain enough energy to subsist. • Desert Biomass Pyramid Tertiary consumers = 0.1 g / m2 Secondary consumers = 1.0 g / m2 Primary consumers = 10 g / m2 Primary producers = 100 g / m2

22. Primary Production 13.5 kg coyote only needs ~1 ha to subsist (2.5 acres). • Temperate Forest Biomass Pyramid NOTE: just relative examples, not accurate Tertiary consumers = 1.5 g / m2 Secondary consumers = 15 g / m2 Primary consumers = 150 g / m2 Primary producers = 1,500 g / m2 Also, possibility of quaternary consumers, like bears.

23. The Path of Energy Flow Gross Primary Productivity Plant cellular respiration Net Primary Productivity = • Ecosystem Productivity

24. The Path of Energy Flow • Ecosystem Productivity