1. What are the major components of an ecosystem?
1.1. The Major Component of an Ecosystem
1.1.1. Several importent components
1.1.1.1. Ecology
1.1.1.1.1. Organisms interact between themselves and with their non-living surroundings.
1.1.1.2. Biotic (Living)
1.1.1.2.1. For exmaple: plants, animals, micorbes and all ohter organisms.
1.1.1.3. Abiotic (Non-living)
1.1.1.3.1. Include water, air, nutrients, rocks, heat and solar energy.
1.1.2. Producers & Consumers
1.1.2.1. Organisms belong to feeding/tropic levels
1.1.2.1.1. Depending on their source of nutrients
1.1.2.2. Producers (autotrops)
1.1.2.2.1. Use photosysnthesis to make nutrients
1.1.2.3. Consumers (heterotrophs)
1.1.2.3.1. Feed on other organisms or their remains
1.1.2.4. Natural Capital
1.1.2.4.1. Energy, chemicals, and organisms are the main primary components of an ecosystem. These components are linked via nutrient cycling and the flow of energy—first from the sun, then through organisms, and eventually into the environment as low-quality heat.
1.2. Levels of the Organization
1.2.1. Biosphere
1.2.1.1. Parts of the earth's air, water and oil where life is found
1.2.2. Ecosystem
1.2.2.1. A community of several species interacting with one another as well as with their nonliving surroundings of matter and energy.
1.2.3. Communtity
1.2.3.1. Populations of various species living in a common area and potentially interacting with one another
1.2.4. Population
1.2.4.1. A group of individuals of the same species who living in a particular place.
1.2.5. Organism
1.2.5.1. An invidual living being
2. What happens to energy in an ecosystem?
2.1. Energy flows through
2.1.1. Food chain
2.1.1.1. A sequence of organisms, each of which serves as a source of nutrients or energy for the next.
2.1.1.2. EX: Fruits - monkeys - monkey-eating eagle
2.1.2. Food Web
2.1.2.1. Organisms in most ecosystems form a complex network of interconnected food chains
2.1.2.2. EX: Producers: Cacti, bushes, acacias, flowers, brush Primary Consumers: Insects, lizards, rodents Secondary Consumers: Tarantulas, scorpions, lizards, snakes Tertiary Consumers: Hawks, foxes
2.2. An ecological pyramid
2.2.1. a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem
2.3. Some Ecosystems Produce Plant Matter Fast
2.3.1. Gross primary productivity (GPP)
2.3.1.1. the rate at which an ecosystem’s producers (usually plants) convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in compounds found in their tissues
2.3.2. Net primary productivity (NPP)
2.3.2.1. the rate of storage of organic matter except which is utilized for the respiration by plants
2.3.2.1.1. NPP = GPP - plant respiration
2.3.3. Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
2.3.3.1. differ in their NPP - ocean low NPP => produces more of the earth’s biomass per year than any other ecosystem or life zone - Tropical rain forests have a very high net primary productivity because they have a large number and variety of producer trees and other plants.
2.3.3.2. the plant matter represented by NPP is available as nutrients for consumers, and they use only a portion of it
3. What happens to matter in an ecosystem?
3.1. Nutrients Cycle
3.1.1. The movement of substance and energy between living things and the environment's non-living components happens through a system called the nutrient cycle
3.1.1.1. Cause : once plants and animals ingest nutrients from the soil, they die and decompose, releasing those nutrients back into the ecosystem.
3.1.2. Biogeochemical cycles
3.1.2.1. elements and compounds that make up nutrients move continually through air, water, soil, rock and living organisms within ecosystems and in the biosphere in cycles (life-earth-chemical cycles, also known as nutrient cycles. One of the three principles of sustainability
3.2. Water cycle
3.2.1. A process that gathers, refines, and disperses the fixed water supply on Earth
3.2.1.1. major processes of the hydrologic cycle
3.2.1.1.1. evaporation
3.2.1.1.2. precipitation
3.2.1.1.3. transpiration
3.2.2. The precipitation
3.2.2.1. Falls out of terrestrial ecosystems becomes surface runoff
3.2.2.2. Groundwater is stored in aquifers percent of the earth's water supply available to humans and other species in the form of liquid freshwater is 0.024%
3.2.3. Main ways change the water cycle are
3.2.3.1. Taking a significant amount of freshwater out of rivers, lakes, and aquifers quicker than nature can replenish it.
3.2.3.2. When we eliminate vegetation from a piece of land to make room for road construction, mining, agriculture, etc., runoff increases, infiltration—which would typically replenish groundwater supplies—decreases, topsoil erosion speeds up, and the risk of flooding rises.
3.2.3.3. When we drain and fill wetlands for farmland and urban expansion, flooding will increase. Wetlands, when left alone, help to stop floods by soaking up excess water from heavy rain or quickly melting snow.
3.3. Carbon cycle
3.3.1. The biosphere, atmosphere, and some regions of the hydrosphere all contain various forms of carbon dioxide.
3.3.2. The percentage of carbon dioxide filling the volume of our atmosphere is 0.039% aquatic and terrestrial producers remove CO2 in the atmospher
3.3.3. The carbon cycles purpose is keep the atmosphere at a perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold
3.3.4. The organism that performs aerobic respiration
3.3.4.1. Producers
3.3.4.2. Consumers
3.3.4.3. Decomposers consume oxygen
3.4. Nitrogen cycle
3.4.1. Converted, or fixed, into molecules that plants and animals can utilise as nutrition through two natural processes.
3.4.2. Two natural processes carried out in the nitrogen cycle are
3.4.2.1. Discharge, or glow, that takes place in the atmosphere
3.4.2.2. Takes place in aquatic systems, in soil and plant roots where specialized bacteria make this conversion
3.4.3. Nitrogen fixation
3.4.3.1. specialized bacteria in soil as well as blue-algae in aquatic combine N2 with H to make ammonia NH3, then these bacteria use some of their product and release the rest of the ammonia that converts to ammonium ions NH4+ that plants use as nutrients
3.4.4. Nitrification
3.4.4.1. ammonia not taken up by the plants undergo this process in which specialized bacteria convert most of the NH3 and NH4+ in soil to nitrate ions NO3- which are taken in by the roots of the plants NO3- is used to produce various amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids and vitamins
3.4.5. Ammonification
3.4.5.1. vast armies of specialized decomposer bacteria convert detritus (leaves, skin, or hair) into nitrogen-containing inorganic compounds such as ammonia (NH3) or water-soluble salts containing ammonium ions (NH4+)
3.4.6. Denitrification
3.4.6.1. specialized bacteria in waterlogged soil and in the bottom sediments of lakes, oceans, and swamps convert NH3 and NH4+ back int nitrate ions and then into nitrogen gas N2 and nitrous oxide gas N2, then these gases are released to the atmosphere to begin the nitrogen cycle again
3.5. Sulfur cycle
3.5.1. The transport of sulfur through the geosphere and biosphere is described by the sulfur cycle. Through weathering, sulfur is released from rocks, where it is then ingested by bacteria and plants. When plants and animals ingest it, it moves up the food chain and is released when they decompose.
3.5.1.1. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
3.5.1.1.1. released from active volcanoes and from organic matter broken down by anaerobic decomposers in flooded swamps, bogs, and tidal flats
3.5.1.2. Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
3.5.1.2.1. a colorless and suffocating gas also comes from volcanoes.
3.5.1.3. burning sulfur-containing coal and oil to produce electric power
3.5.1.4. refining sulfur-containing oil (petroleum) to make gasoline, heating oil, and other useful products.
3.5.1.5. extract metals such as copper, lead and zinc from sulfur-containing compounds in rocks
4. How do scientists study ecosystems?
4.1. Scientists learn about ecosystems
4.1.1. Using field and laboratory research
4.1.2. Designing controlled experiments
4.1.3. Developing mathematical and statistical models
4.2. Scientists Study Nature Directly
4.2.1. Field research
4.2.2. Use radio transmitters and remote sensing
4.2.3. Use geographic information system (GIS) software
4.2.4. Pros: small, controlled lab experiments save money and are faster to carry out
4.2.5. Cons: these experiments may not reflect reality well enough
4.3. Ecosystems and Three Big Ideas
4.3.1. Life is sustained by the flow of energy and nutrients through ecosystems which are continually recycled
4.3.2. Ecosystems are characterized by producers, consumers, and decomposers – All aid in the cycling process
4.3.3. Human activities impact ecosystem cycling, sometimes negatively, sometimes positively (e.g., Yellowstone)
5. How does the earth’s life-support system work?
5.1. Major components
5.1.1. Atmosphere
5.1.1.1. Troposphere
5.1.1.1.1. Consists of: 78% nitrogen + 21% oxygen + 1% (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane)
5.1.1.1.2. Inner layer
5.1.1.1.3. 17 kilometers above sea level at the tropicsand about 7 kilometers abovethe earth’s north and south poles extension.
5.1.1.2. Stratosphere
5.1.1.2.1. 17 to 50 kilometers above the earth’s surface reach
5.1.1.2.2. Its lower portion holds enough ozone (O3) gas to filter out about 95% of the sun’s harmfulultraviolet (UV) radiation.
5.1.2. Hydrosphere
5.1.2.1. Component: allof the water on ornear the earth’ssurface (water vapor,ice, liquid water,permafrost)
5.1.2.2. Oceans
5.1.3. Geosphere
5.1.3.1. composed of a hot core, a thick, mostly rocky mantle and a thin outer crust
5.1.4. Biosphere
5.1.4.1. consists ofthe parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere
5.2. Life-sustainable factors
5.2.1. The one-way flow of high-quality energy
5.2.1.1. Solar energy principle of sustainability
5.2.1.2. Solar energy principle of sustainability
5.2.1.2.1. As solar energy interacts with carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor, and several other gases in the troposphere, it warms the troposphere— a process known as the greenhouse effect
5.2.1.2.2. Without this natural process, the earth would be too cold to supportmost of the forms of life we find here today
5.2.2. The cycling of nutrients
5.2.2.1. Chemical cycling principle of sustainability
5.2.3. Gravity