B7.4 What can we learn from natural ecosystems?

In a perfect closed loop system no material enter or leave the system waste products from one
organism or process are used by another organism or process the output from one part of the
system becomes the input to another part.

In reality, it is impossible to have a perfect closed loop system in an ecosystem this is because
organisms migrate out of the area and some nutrients are transported away by the wind, rain or
rivers.

In stable ecosystems including rainforests, the output (loses) is balanced by gains.

An ecosystem is a type of closed loop system since most waste materials are not lost but are used as
food or reactants.

Within a natural ecosystem, most waste materials are not lost they can be used as food or
reactants for animals, plants and microorganisms:

Oxygen is waste product from photosynthesis it is used in respiration

Carbon dioxide is a waste product from respiration it is used in photosynthesis
Dead organic matter (e.g. fallen leaves, fruits, flowers, faeces, remains of bodies) is used
directly as food or processed into useful nutrients by microorganisms these
microorganisms use digestive enzymes to break down complex molecules into simpler
nutrients.

Different organisms have very different approaches to achieving successful reproduction

To reproduce successfully, organisms need to maximise the chances of the offspring reaching
adulthood and reproducing themselves.

Females usually produce a large number of eggs, while males produce large quantities of sperm
this ensures a high chance that at least one successful fertilisation will occur.

When organisms produce large numbers of reproductive cells (such as pollen, sperm and eggs) or
reproductive structures (such as flowers and fruit), these ensure that reproduction is likely to be
successful.

The unsuccessful cells and structures are recycled into the ecosystem they are usually used as
nutrients for animals or microorganisms.

In stable ecosystems the production of large quantities of these reproductive structures is not
wasteful, since the surplus (the number of animals in a given population that are above the
carrying capacity.
Vegetation is an essential part of many ecosystems:

Roots help to stabilise the soil preventing it from being eroded by heavy rain (especially in
rainforests). Vegetation also reduces soil erosion since foliage protects the soil from direct
rainfall
Trees provide shade from the sun and help to insulate the forest floor at night therefore
stabilising the temperature
Transpiration from trees helps to promote cloud formation

Humans benefit from and depend on ecosystems to provide a huge range of resources and
processes these are known as ecosystem services for example:

Providing clean water and air

Pollination of crops
Fertile soil
Mineral nutrients
Fish
Game wild animals that are hunted for their meat, such as grouse, wild salmon and deer

However, human activities often affect ecosystems in negative ways because human systems are not
closed loop systems because some waste leaves the system.

Human waste from households, agriculture and industry leaves the system as non-recycled waste,
as well as through pollution from burning fossil fuels this means the system is losing resources.

Sometimes the waste can build up to harmful, which then affect other organisms bioaccumulation
is when toxins build up in a food chain the animals at the top of the food chain are affected most
severely:

Small amounts of toxic substances - often

from human activity - are taken up by
plants

These plants are eaten by primary

consumers

The primary consumers are eaten by

secondary consumers and the secondary
consumers are eaten by higher consumers

At each stage (trophic level) of the food chain, harmless

substances are excreted but the toxin remain in the tissues of
the organisms - so the concentration of toxin becomes most
concentrated in the body tissues of the animals at the top of
the food chain
Human activities can unbalance an ecosystem, changing the inputs and outputs so much that the
ecosystem can no longer adapt this means that the system is no longer a closed loop.

Eutrophication is where an excess of nutrients is put into a system, causing the productivity of the
system to increase while causing the balance of organisms to change, often drastically and
irreversibly.

Fertilisers that contain nitrates are used

and distributed onto the ground

The rain makes the soil absorb the

fertiliser

Grounidwater takes the soil to a near lake

and releases the soil into the water

This then causes the aquatic plants

underwater and on the surface of the
water to grow rapidly

The algae grows on the surface of the

water blocking out the sunlight entering
the water

Now, the underwater plants cannot

photosynthesis because there is no
oxygen reaching the plants

This ultimately kills the plant and the

decomposing bacteria uses up all the
available oxygen making the wateranpxic

Finally the lack of ocygen availability will

kill the microorganisms in the water (e.g.
fish)
When humans take away too many resources as biomass, then this reduces the amount available to
be recycled within the ecosystems.

For example cutting down a rainforest for wood removes a large number of trees the tree
canopies would have protected the soil from rainfall and the roots would have bound the soil
together the tress would have also provided habitats for other organism.

Removing too many trees causes the closed ecosystem to become open the soil dries out and is
blown away and the organisms that relied on the trees for survival die

Another example is overfishing

In some parts of the world, natural vegetation has been removed and replaced with crops for food
or the production of fuels (called biofuels) or by grazing animals

As well as destroying the natural habitat and reducing biodiversity, soil erosion can cause rivers to
become clogged up with silt, plus the lack of shade and moisture in the soil can cause
desertification.

The use of natural resources by humans can only be sustainable if used at a rate at which they can
be replaced

Crude oil is formed from the remains of plants and

animals that died millions of years ago the biomass is
covered by silt and rock and subjected to immense
pressure and heat over millions of years this causes
the biomass to be converted into oil.

The use of crude oil does not fulfil the requirements of

a closed loop system because:

Crude oil takes millions of years to form from

the decay of dead organisms
Energy released from burning crude oil
originated from the Sun when these organisms
were alive (fossil sunlight energy).

Sunlight is a sustainable source of energy it will not

run out for another five billion years and it allows sustainable agriculture and the growth of natural
ecosystems.

Fish populations can be preserved if quotas (a limited amount of something, often specified by law
e.g. there are quotas on fishing that cannot be exceeded) are observed which means that each
country has an entitlement to catch only a certain number of each type of fish. Some animal
population can be restocked

Forests can be preserved if the trees are replanted sustainable cropping of forests involves
cutting down selected trees in an area can also be adopted to maintain the forest ecosystem.
Sometimes, there are tensions between conservation efforts and the needs of local communities.
For example, even though the process of mining for gold in the Brazilian rainforest damages the
natural ecosystem, the people employed as miners still need to earn money to support their
families.

B7.5 New technologies

The features of bacteria that make them ideal for industrial and genetic processes include:

Rapid reproduction
Presence of plasmids circular DNA molecules that can be transferred easily between
bacteria
Simple biochemistry easy to understand and alter
Ability to make complex molecules bacteria can produce molecules that can be used
medicinally
Lack of ethical concerns in their culture

Many useful products are made by fermentation which involves growing bacteria or fungus (e.g.
yeast) on a large scale. Some of these useful products include:

Antibiotics and other medicines

Single-cell protein such as mycoprotein which is used in meat substitute products
Enzymes for food processing, for example chymosin as a vegetarian substitute for rennet
Enzymes for commercial products, such as washing powders and to make biofuels

In genetic modification, a gene is transferred from one organism to another where it continues to
work

1. Isolation and replicating the required gene

2. Putting the gene into a suitable vector (virus or plasmid)
3. Using the vector to insert the gene into a new cell
4. Selected the modified individuals
Examples of the application of genetic modification include:

Bacteria synthesis of medicines e.g. insulin

Herbicide resistance in crop plants by creating crops with resistance to a herbicide, the
farmer can use that herbicide to kill weeds without destroying the crop

Genetic testing may be used to find out if an individual has a genetic disease a disease which they
have inherited and which is a result of a defect in their DNA

To investigate a persons DNA, white blood cells are used because they are easy to obtain from a
blood sample, and unlike red blood cells they have a nucleus containing the DNA.

1. Isolation of DNA from white blood cells

A small quantity of blood has chemicals added it the chemicals split open the red cells
The DNA is collected and then replicated (more copies of it are made) so that there is
enough to test. The DNA is then broken up into smaller sections using enzymes and put onto
a special gel. An electrical current is applied, and the pieces of DNA separate out along the
gel.
2. Gene probe (marker)
Gene probes are created that are mirror copied of the target allele or microsatellite region
the gene probes are attached to a fluorescent chemical that emits ultraviolet light. If the
target segment of DNA is present in the DNA sample, the gene probe will attach to it
3. Adding the gene probe to the sample DNA
The separated pieces of DNA on the gel are blotted to split the DNA into single strands. The
gene probe is added and if the gene the scientist is searching for is present, the gene probe
will bind to it because it has a complementary base sequence to the gene being investigated.
This process is called Southern blotting
4. Using UV light
The gel is then viewed under UV light. If the gene is present, the gel will glow at that point.
The gene has therefore been identified as being present in the persons DNA.

Nanotechnology means manipulating and using particles of materials that are very small about the
size of some molecules.

Nanotechnology can be used in food packaging. For example, silver nanoparticles are anti-microbial
and can be used to prevent harmful bacteria from growing inside food packaging. This extends the
shelf life of the food.

Nanotechnology can also be used to build biosensors into packaging. These help to identify when
food has started to deteriorate as a result of microorganisms releasing harmful substances as they
break down the food.
Stem cells are being used to reverse damage to the body

Leukaemia stem cells can help to treat leukaemia, a disease that kills white blood cells -
traditionally a leukaemia patient would need to have their own bone marrow removed and replaced
with that from a tissue-matched donor

However, using stem cells that have been harvested from the patients own body has a significant
advantage it means that the patient has new complement of blood cells that are genetically the
same as him/her

Biomedical engineering involves solving medical problems using new materials and man-made
parts.

The human heart has its own pacemaker, which sends an electrical signal to the heart muscle cells
that makes them contract at the right time. In some people, this natural pacemaker doesnt work
properly. Doctors can insert an artificial pacemaker into a patients chest which controls the
contraction of the heart.

Heart valves can sometimes become faulty. If this happens it can stop the heart from effectively
pumping blood to the lungs and body.

Doctors can now replace faulty heart valves with artificial valves. To do this the patient must first be
connected to a heart-lung machine to maintain circulation. The heart is then stopped by the
surgeon, cut open, and the damaged valve is replaced.