Chapter 4 Ecosystems

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Chapter 4 Ecosystems Energy

• Ecology the study of Ones House, i.e., our
  environment.
• Regardless of the scale, environments
  (eco-systems) consist of biotic (living) and
  abiotic (non-living) components.
• Ecology examines (on different scales)
• 1) The interactions between different organisms
  in a particular environment and 2) The
  interactions between organisms and abiotic
  components in that particular environment.

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• All organisms are divided into species (given
  Genus species names) based on physical
  biological characteristics. Members of a given
  species are able to interbreed in the wild
  produce viable, fertile offspring. Differences
  in physical characteristics within a species are
  called genetic diversity. Examples Great Danes
  Chihuahuas.
• Some species classifications are not clearly
  defined Coyote Canis latrans Grey wolf
  Canis lupus Domestic dog Canis lupus
  familiaris interbreeding common.

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• Within a particular area, all of the members of
  a given species are described as a population.
• A community consists of all the different
  populations living interacting in a particular
  ecosystem at the same time. Species diversity
  (biodiversity) - number of different species in a
  community.
• Ecosystem includes interactions between the
  biotic community and abiotic compo-nents.
• Landscape ecology studies connections between
  adjacent/overlapping ecosystems.

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• Earth is divided into a series of spheres
• Biosphere all of the living organisms.
• Atmosphere Gaseous envelope surrounding the
  Earth.
• Lithosphere Soil and rock of the Earths crust
  uppermost mantle.
• Hydrosphere Earths water, liquid frozen,
  salty fresh.
• There is some overlap, Biosphere includes
  microbes on atmospheric dust within underground
  caverns and oil reservoirs.

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• Ecosystems can vary in size, depending on how
  we define them. An ecosystem can be a Vernal
  pool, a patch of woods, a forest, a desert,
  however we define boundaries. Multiple Micro- or
  Sub-ecosystems may exist within a defined
  ecosystem.
• Between ecosystems, there are generally
  transition zones, with overlapping of certain
  plants and animals. The plants and animals with
  a broad range of tolerance (adaptability to a
  range of abiotic conditions) are the ones most
  likely to overlap.

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• Chunky Gal Mountain, NC A Temperate, Old
  growth, High-altitude, white oak forest
  ecosystem, with a tiny, mountaintop wetland.
• Ecosystems can be classified in different ways.
  Commonly, we use an abiotic component as the
  first modifier, referring to climate or altitude
  and then a biotic component, e.g., major
  vegetation type or tree type, as the second
  modifier.
• For a terrestrial ecosystem, abiotic components
  include climate, altitude, latitude, soil type
  (pH),
• For the biotic components, we use the terms
• Habitat address and Niche profession.

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Chr. Fern Wood fern
Christmas fern
Rattlesnake fern
Royal fern
Bracken fern
Broad beech fern
Species diversity, diff. populations w/in a
community ferns, Chunky Gal Mt., Clay Co., NC
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• For biologic or chemical activity to occur,
  energy must be available. Energy capacity to
  do work and transfer heat.
• Work movement of matter.
• Potential energy stored available for use
  (Figure 4.4).
• Kinetic energy mass speed, i.e., moving mass.
  Examples Flowing water, blowing wind, heat
  transfer, gravity, etc..
• The study of energy energy transfor-mations is
  thermodynamics.

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• First Law of Thermodynamics energy is neither
  created, nor destroyed, but can be transformed
  from one form to another.
• Second Law of Thermodynamics when energy is
  converted from one form to another, some is
  always lost as heat.
• Less usable energy is more diffuse, less
  concentrated. Entropy is a measure of randomness
  of energy.
• Closed systems do not exchange energy with
  surroundings. Open systems do exchange energy
  with surroundings.

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• Mechanical inefficiencies result in the
  trans-formation of stored energy into diffuse
  heat energy, example automobile engines convert
  about 20 to 30 of the chemical energy stored in
  gasoline to mechanical energy, the rest is lost
  as diffuse heat.
• Organisms require the constant input of energy
  through photosynthesis for plants consumption
  of food for non-plants.
• Plants produce organic molecules (glucose) from
  Carbon Dioxide and Water (both inorganic
  compounds) to store energy for growth and
  nutrition (p. 69).

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• Cellular respiration breaks down the glucose to
  release the stored energy.
• In the vast majority of the worlds ecosys-tems,
  plants use solar energy for photo-synthetic
  storage of chemical energy for later use. The
  energy stored by the plants (Producers) is then
  either used by the plants, or by the Consumers
  that eat the plants. For this reason, plants
  form the base of almost all ecosystems.
• Exceptions include deep-sea hydrothermal
  (volcanic) vents where chemosynthetic bacteria
  are the Producers that support those oddball
  ecosystems (pp. 69-70).

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• The interactions between Producers
  (auto-trophs) and Consumers (heterotrophs)
  produce a one-way flow of energy through
  ecosystems. Primary Consumers, e.g., Herbivores,
  eat the Producers (plants). Secondary and
  Tertiary Consumers (Carnivores) then eat the
  Primary Con-sumers. Omnivores eat both Producers
  and Consumers. Detritivores are multi-celled
  consumers of waste material and other organic
  debris, while microbial Decomposers perform the
  same functions. Everything is food for something
  else.

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• This is why everything is connected.
  Mosquitoes are food for birds, etc.,
• In an ecosystem, energy flows through the food
  chain or rather the more complex food web, with
  each link (or level) called a Trophic Level.
  With each level of con-sumption, most of the
  stored energy is used for respiration and only
  about 10 is stored. The progressive, upward
  loss of energy forms the food pyramid or
  ecological pyramid which is related to the
  biomass pyramid (p. 75) that normally supports
  fewer organisms at each succeeding Trophic Level.

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• Ecosystem Productivity is a measure of the
  rate of energy capture by photo-synthesis, which
  relates to plant growth. Productivity is related
  to the availability of nutrients (needed
  resources, e.g., water, sunlight, carbon dioxide,
  favorable temperatures, and needed trace
  elements).
• Tropical and Temperate areas of high humidity
  (Table 4.1, p. 77) are generally the most
  productive ecosystems.