The Biosphere

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Chapter 3 The Biosphere
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3-1
I. Ecology
A. scientific study of interactions among
organisms and between organisms and their
environment, or surroundings
B. Ecological Levels of Organization
1. Organism
One individual
One group of species in same place and time
2. Population
3. Community
Two or more species (populations) that interact
Communities interacting with abiotic factors
4. Ecosystem
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5. Biome
Group of like ecosystems
pertains to area where living organisms occur
(land, water, air)
6. Biosphere
a. extends from about 8 km (3.6 miles) up to as
far as 11 km (5 miles) down
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Individual
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C. Ecological Methods
1. Observation-using any one or all of the five
senses
2. Experimenting- in a lab or in the field
3. Modeling
Using math formulas based on observation and
experimentation example Hardy-Weinberg Principle
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I. Energy Flow
A. Producers
(autotrophs) produce their own food
1. Photoautotrophs use sunlight to make their
own food
2. Chemoautotrophs use inorganic chemicals to
make their own food
(heterotrophs-MANY types) rely on other organisms
for their food
B. Consumers
1. Herbivores, Carnivores, Omnivores,
Detritivores (feed on plant and animal remains),
Decomposers (break down dead organic matter)
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II. Feeding Relationships
One way flow of energy from producers to consumers
A. Food Chain
Page 69
Small Fish
Zooplankton
Squid
Shark
Algae
1. Eventually end up with decomposers
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B. Food Web
Shows more complex interactions
1. All possible feeding relationships
2. More realistic
C. Trophic Level
Each step in a food chain/web
1. Producers are 1st, consumers 2nd, 3rd etc.
Page 71
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III. 3 Types of Ecological Pyramids
A. Energy Pyramid (Page 72)
1. Shows the relative amount of energy available
at each trophic level
0.1 Third-level consumers
2. Only 10 is transferred to the next level
because organisms fail to capture and eat all of
the food available or used for metabolism
1 Second-level consumers
10 First-level consumers
100 Producers
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B. Biomass Pyramid (page 72)
1. The total amount of living tissue within a
given trophic level
2. expressed in terms of grams
50 grams of human tissue
500 grams of chicken
3. represents the amount of potential food
available for each trophic level
5000 grams of grain
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C. Pyramid of Numbers (Page 73)
1. shows the relative number of individual
organisms at each trophic level
2. Decreases at each higher trophic level
3. Not true for forests because one tree can
serve many other organisms not a typical pyramid
of s
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I. The 4 Major Cycles of Matter
A. Biogeochemical Cycles
1. Matter is passed from one organism to another
and from one part of the biosphere to another
B. Water Cycle
1. Rain, run-off, seepage, root uptake,
evaporation/transpiration, condensation (clouds),
back to rain
2. Transpiration special form of evaporation
water evaporates from plants leaves to atmosphere
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The Water Cycle
Page 75
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C. Carbon Cycle
1. Carbon moves in biosphere by photosynthesis,
respiration, decomposition, volcanoes,
coal/fossil fuels, mining
2. Carbon is a key ingredient of living tissue-we
are carbon-based life forms
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Carbon Cycle
CO2 in Atmosphere
Photosynthesis
Volcanic activity
feeding
Respiration
Erosion
Human activity
Respiration
Decomposition
CO2 in Ocean
Uplift
Deposition
Photosynthesis
feeding
Fossil fuel
Deposition
Carbonate Rocks
Page 77
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D. Nitrogen Cycle
1. All organisms require nitrogen to make proteins
2. Only bacteria can use Nitrogen gas as is ?
must be converted to another form for other
organisms to use
3. Nitrogen Fixation bacteria change N into
useable form (ammonia)
4. Such bacteria live in the soil and on the
roots of plants called legumes (ex. soybean)
5. Other soil bacteria convert nitrates into N
gas in a process called denitrification releases
nitrogen into the atmosphere
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Nitrogen Cycle
N2 in Atmosphere
Synthetic fertilizer manufacturer
Atmospheric nitrogen fixation
Denitrification
Uptake by producers
Reuse by consumers
Uptake by producers
Reuse by consumers
Decomposition, excretion
Decomposition, excretion
Bacterial nitrogen fixation
NO3 and NO2
NH3
Page 78
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E. Phosphorus Cycle
1. Not common in atmosphere
2. Two Cycles
a. Short-term ? plants get phosphorus from soil,
animals eat plants and die, phosphorus is back in
soil
b. Long-term ? rock exposed, phosphorus washed
into sea by erosion, gets back into rock
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Phosphorus Cycle
Page 79
Short-term cycle

• Organic phosphate moves through the food web and
  to the rest of the ecosystem.

Organisms
Land
Ocean
Long-term cycle
Sediments
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F. Nutrient Limitation
1. primary productivity of an ecosystem is the
rate at which organic matter is created by
producers
a. Controlled by the amount of available nutrients
2. When a a single nutrient is scarce or cycles
very slowly, this substance is called a limiting
nutrient because it limits growth, development
and reproduction of all organisms within the
ecosystem.
a. When an aquatic ecosystem receives a large
input of a limiting nutrient such as phosphorus
runoff from heavily fertilized fieldsthe result
is often an immediate increase in the amount of
algae and other producers Algal Bloom ?
disrupts the equilibrium of an ecosystem-
decomposition causes all aquatic life to die.
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• The combined portions of the planet in which life
  exists, including land, water, and the
  atmosphere, form the
• A. biosphere.
• B. community.
• C. species.
• D. ecosystem.

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• A group of organisms that can breed and produce
  fertile offspring is known as a(an)
• A. ecosystem.
• B. species.
• C. biome.
• D. community.

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• Compared to a community, an ecosystem includes
• A. the nonliving, physical environment as well as
  the community.
• B. only the physical environment of an area
  without the organisms.
• C. the entire biome but not the biosphere.
• D. only one of the populations within the
  community.

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• An ecological method that uses mathematical
  formulas based on data collected is
• A. observing.
• B. experimenting.
• C. modeling.
• D. hypothesizing.

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• An ecologist marks out an area in a specific
  ecosystem and proceeds to identify the number of
  insect species in the area. This is an example of
  ecological
• A. experimentation.
• B. observation.
• C. modeling.
• D. inference.

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• The main source of energy for life on Earth is
• A. organic chemical compounds.
• B. inorganic chemical compounds.
• C. sunlight.
• D. producers.

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• Organisms that feed on plant and animal remains
  and other dead matter are
• A. detritivores.
• B. carnivores.
• C. herbivores.
• D. autotrophs.

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• How does a food web differ from a food chain?
• A. A food web contains a single series of energy
  transfers.
• B. A food web links many food chains toget
• C. A food web has only one trophic level.
• D. A food web shows how energy passes from
  producer to consumer.

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• In a biomass pyramid, the base of the pyramid
  represents the mass of
• A. heterotrophs.
• B. primary consumers.
• C. producers.
• D. top level carnivores.

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• The amount of energy represented in each trophic
  level of consumers in an energy pyramid is about
• A. 10 of the level below it.
• B. 90 of the level below it.
• C. 10 more than the level below it.
• D. 90 more than the level below it.

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3-1

• The combined portions of the planet in which life
  exists, including land, water, and the
  atmosphere, form the
• A. biosphere.
• B. community.
• C. species.
• D. ecosystem.

31
3-1

• A group of organisms that can breed and produce
  fertile offspring is known as a(an)
• A. ecosystem.
• B. species.
• C. biome.
• D. community.

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3-1

• Compared to a community, an ecosystem includes
• A. the nonliving, physical environment as well as
  the community.
• B. only the physical environment of an area
  without the organisms.
• C. the entire biome but not the biosphere.
• D. only one of the populations within the
  community.

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3-1

• An ecological method that uses mathematical
  formulas based on data collected is
• A. observing.
• B. experimenting.
• C. modeling.
• D. hypothesizing.

34
3-1

• An ecologist marks out an area in a specific
  ecosystem and proceeds to identify the number of
  insect species in the area. This is an example of
  ecological
• A. experimentation.
• B. observation.
• C. modeling.
• D. inference.

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32

• The main source of energy for life on Earth is
• A. organic chemical compounds.
• B. inorganic chemical compounds.
• C. sunlight.
• D. producers.

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32

• Organisms that feed on plant and animal remains
  and other dead matter are
• A. detritivores.
• B. carnivores.
• C. herbivores.
• D. autotrophs.

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32

• How does a food web differ from a food chain?
• A. A food web contains a single series of energy
  transfers.
• B. A food web links many food chains toget
• C. A food web has only one trophic level.
• D. A food web shows how energy passes from
  producer to consumer.

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32

• In a biomass pyramid, the base of the pyramid
  represents the mass of
• A. heterotrophs.
• B. primary consumers.
• C. producers.
• D. top level carnivores.

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32

• The amount of energy represented in each trophic
  level of consumers in an energy pyramid is about
• A. 10 of the level below it.
• B. 90 of the level below it.
• C. 10 more than the level below it.
• D. 90 more than the level below it.