Science, Matter, Energy and

Ecosystems
Levels of organization in
nature. The shaded portion
is the five levels that ecology
is based upon.
What is Matter?

• Atoms, ions and molecules

• Anything that has mass and takes up space.
• Two forms:
• Element – distinctive building blocks of matter that make up every
material substance
• Compound – two or more different elements held together by
chemical bonds
What is Matter?
• Organic compounds
• Compounds containing carbon atoms combined with each other
and with atoms of one or more other elements such as hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, and fluorine.
• Inorganic compounds
• All compounds not classified as organic compounds.
The Law of Conservation of Matter
• Matter is not destroyed
• It only changes form
• There is no “away” – atoms are not destroyed, just
rearranged.

• What are some examples of matter changing form?

First Law of Thermodynamics
• Energy is neither created nor destroyed
• Energy only changes form
• You can’t get something for nothing
• Or “There is no such thing as a free lunch!”
• ENERGY IN = ENERGY OUT
Energy
• Kinetic • Potential
• Wind • Water behind a dam
• Electicity • Gasoline in your car
• Flowing water • Unlit match
 Second Law of Thermodynamics
• In every transformation, some energy is
converted to heat
• You cannot break even in terms of energy quality

Waste energy is
low quality and
cannot be reused
Second Law of Thermodynamics
• What are some other examples of the Second Law of
Thermodynamics?
Water is heated due to energy loss from the flowing water and turbines
20-25% of the chemical energy in gasoline is converted to mechanical energy.
The rest is lost into the environment as low quality heat energy.
5% of electricity is changed into useful light. 95% is lost as low-quality heat.
• Photosynthesis is
the process of
converting solar
energy into
chemical energy
stored in food
• CO2 + H20 --->
C6H12O6 + O2
• Respiration is the process of releasing
chemical energy stored in food to be used by
living things.
• C6H12O6 + O2 ---> CO2 + H20
 Ecological Concepts

• Ecology: Study of how organisms interact with each

other and with their non-living surroundings.
• Eco - is from the Greek word “Oikos” for house
The Nature of Ecology
Levels of study in Ecology:
• Organisms – single animal
• Populations – same species
• Communities – pop’ns living
together
• Ecosystems – community +
physical environment
• Biosphere – all the earth’s
ecosystems
The Earth’s Life-Support Systems
• Atmosphere
• Thin membrane of air
• Troposphere
• 11 miles
• Stratosphere
• 12-30 miles
• Lower portion (ozone)
• filters out harmful sun rays
• Allows life to exist on earth
• Lithosphere
• Earth’s crust
• Hydrosphere
• water
• Biosphere
• Living and dead
organisms
 Natural Capital: Sustaining Life of Earth
• One-way flow
of energy from Sun
• Cycling of
crucial elements
• Gravity
 Solar Capital: Flow of Energy to and from the
Earth

Greenhouse gasses
water vapor
CO2
Methane
Ozone

Increases kinetic energy,

Helps warm troposphere.
Allows life to exist
(as we know it) on earth.

As greenhouse gasses
increase, temperature of
troposphere increases.
Ecosystem Components
• Abiotic factors
• Biotic factors
• Range of tolerance for each species
• what factors are important for…
Ecosystem Components
• Limiting factors determines distributions
Law of Tolerance
• The existence, abundance and distribution of a species is
determined by levels of one or more physical or chemical
factors.
Common limiting factors
• Limiting factors – more important in regulating
population growth than other factors.
• Terrestrial ecosystems (on land)
• precipitation
• temperature
• soil nutrients
• Aquatic ecosystems
• temperature
• sunlight
• nutrients
• dissolved oxygen
• salinity
 Biological Components of Ecosystems
• Producers (autotrophs)
• Consumers (heterotrophs)
• Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores
• Decomposers and detritivores
• detritus = dead organic material
Biodiversity
• Genetic diversity – variety of genetic material
within a species or a population
• Species diversity – the number of species present
in different habitats
• Ecological diversity – the variety of terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on earth
• Functional diversity – biological and chemical
processes needed for the survival of species,
communities and ecosystems
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
• Food chains – sequence of organisms which is a source
of food for the next.
• Food webs – most species participate in several food
chains (they don’t just eat one thing!).
• Trophic levels
• each step in the flow of energy through an ecosystem (feeding
level)
Food Chains and Energy Flow in Ecosystems
 Ecological Pyramids
• Pyramid of energy
flow
• Ecological efficiency
• Pyramid of biomass
• Pyramid of numbers
Food webs

• reality tends
to be more
complex than
a linear food
chain
Primary Productivity of Ecosystems
• Gross primary productivity (GPP)
• The rate at which an ecosystem's producers capture
and store a given amount of chemical energy as
biomass in a given length of time.
• Net primary productivity (NPP)
• Rate at which all the plants in an ecosystem produce
net useful chemical energy; equal to the difference
between the rate at which the plants in an ecosystem
produce useful chemical energy (gross primary
productivity) and the rate at which they use some of that
energy through cellular respiration.

• (NPP = GPP – Respiration)

Net Primary Productivity comparison
Soils
• Importance
• Provides most of the nutrients for plant life
• Cleans water
• Decompose and recycle biodegradable wastes
• Maturity and Horizons
• Surface litter layer
• Top soil layer (humus)
• Sub soil
• Parent material
• Variations with Climate and Biomes
• Variations in Texture and Porosity
Soil Profiles in Different Biomes
Matter Cycling in Ecosystems
Biogeochemical cycles – global cycles recycle nutrients
through the air, land and water
Cycles are driven directly or indirectly by solar energy and
gravity
• Hydrologic cycle (H2O)
• Carbon cycle
• Nitrogen cycle
• Phosphorus cycle
Hydrologic (Water) Cycle
Human Influence on the Water Cycle
• Water withdraw from lakes and streams
• Clear vegetation
• Construct impervious surfaces
• Fill wetlands
• Modify water quality by adding nutrients
 The Carbon Cycle (Marine)
Based on Carbon Dioxide

Terrestrial producers remove

CO2 from the air; aquatic
producers remove it from the
water.

Through photosynthesis,
Converts to carbohydrates.

O2 consuming producers
respire,breaking carbo-
hydrates back to CO2.

CO2 not released until burned.

The Carbon Cycle (Terrestrial)
Human Influence on the Carbon Cycle
• Clear trees and other plants, often times permanently
• Burning fossil fuels and wood
• Increased CO2 in the troposphere enhance natural
greenhouse effect
• Results in global warming
 The Nitrogen Cycle
Atmosphere’s most abundant
element.

Bacteria help recycle nitrogen.

Nitrogen cannot be used by plants
and animals without bacteria’s help.

Waterlogged
soil
Ammonia not taken up by plants

Toxic to plants

Usable by plants
Human Influence on the Nitrogen Cycle
• Add large amounts of nitric oxide by burning fuel
• Gas converted to nitrogen dioxide gas and nitric
acid (acid rain)
• Add nitrous oxide through anaerobic bacteria
breaking down livestock wastes (global warming).
• Release nitrogen stored in soils and plants by
destroying forests, grasslands and wetlands.
• Add excess nitrates for agriculture
• Remove nitrogen from topsoils through
harvesting various crops
 The Phosphorus Cycle
Slow

Bacteria not a major player

Washes from the land into

streams, then the sea.

Can be deposited as sediment

and remain for millions of
years.

Often a limiting factor for

plant growth on land.

Also limits growth in lakes

And streams because
phosphate salts are only
slightly soluble in water.
Fig. 4-33 p. 82
Human Influence on the Phosphorus
Cycle
• We mine large quantities of phosphate rock to make
inorganic fertilizers.
• We reduce the available phosphate in tropical soils by
clearing tropical forests.
• We disrupt aquatic systems with phosphates from runoff
of animal wastes and fertilizers, and sewage systems.