1 Ecosystem and energy flow SI unit is Joule Daily energy requirements - 167KJ/Kg body mass

Sun as the source of energy Sun the main source of energy out of which 40% reflected by clouds, 15%absorbed and converted to heat energy,the remaining 45% is only used up for photosynthesis. Only 5% is converted in photosynthesis into gross primary productivity GPP - Gross primary
production (GPP) is the total energy (or nutrients) assimilated by an ecological unit (such as an organism, a population, or an entire community).

Net primary productivity NPP The rate at which an ecosystem accumulates energy or biomass, excluding the energy it uses for the process of respiration. This typically corresponds to the rate of photosynthesis, minus respiration by the photosynthesizers. NPP = GPP - respiration [by plants] Energy transfers Food chains + trophic levels Food chain - A succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food
energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and in turn is preyed upon by a higher member Trophic level- each stage of food chain Heat energy lost in respiration

Solar energy --- producers ----- herbivores ---- carnivores ------ carnivores

Waste -------- Detritus feeders and decomposers (energy lost in respiration) Producers Primary consumers herbivores Secondary and tertiary consumers carnivores Predators hunt/capture and kill their prey ( leaves- slug- frog snake- stoat) Carrion feeders feed on corpses Parasites do not kill the organisms but feed off it as long as they live Carnivores become larger and less in number at each trophic level/ vice versa for Parasites Decomposers and detrivores dentrital food chains o When organisms die they are the source of energy and raw materials for the other organisms

2 o o o o o Not wasted by ecosystems Used up by decomposers and detrivores (fungi and bacteria that live on DOM) They secrete digestive enzymes onto dead and waste material and absorb products of digestion Detrivores feed on small fragments of decomposed or dead material earthworm/mites Dentrital food chain start from detrivores Leaf litter---earthworm---blackbird---hawk Dead animal ---- blowfly/maggots----frog----snake Animals decompose faster than plants Decomposition more rapid in warm and moist environments

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Food web complex interactions of different food chains Ecological pyramids help to compare 1. Different ecosystems 2. Seasonal variation within a particular ecosystem 3. Changes in an ecosystem There are 3 types of pyramids.. 1. Pyramid of numbers They show the relationship between producers, herbivores and carnivores at successive trophic levels in terms of their number. . It shows the number of organism at different levels Here there will be a gradual decrease in the number of individuals from the lower to the higher trophic levels In grassland - The grasses occupy the lowest trophic level and they are abundantly present in the grassland ecosystem. The deers occupy the second level; their number is less than compared to the grasses.The wolves, which feed upon the deers, are far less in number when compared to the number of deers. The lions, which occupy the next trophic level, feed upon wolves, and the number of individuals in the last trophic level is greatly reduced. - The pyramid is errect. In the parasitic food chain, the pyramid of numbers is founds to be inverted. Here, a single plant or tree might support varieties of herbivore. These herbivores like birds in turn, support varieties of parasites like lice, bugs that outnumber the herbivores. Subsequently each parasite might support a number of hyperparasites like bacteria and fungi, which will outnumber the parasites. Thus from the producer level onwards, towards the consumers, in the parasitic food chain there is a gradual increase in the number of organisms, instead of the usual decrease. Producers vary greatly in size but a single grass plant or alga is given the same status as a single tree
2. Pyramid of biomass There will be gradual decrease in the biomass from the autotrophs to the higher trophic levels. This may be illustrated by studying the trophic levels in a pond. The biomass in autotrophs like

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algae, green flagellates, green plants etc. is the maximum. The biomass is considerably less in the next trophic level occupied by secondary consumers like small fishes. The least amount of biomass is present in the last trophic level. 1. This pyramid shows the total biomass at each trophic level in a food chain. 2. Pyramid can be erect or inverted 3. It indicates a decrease in the biomass at each trophic level from the base to apex of pyramid. 3. Pyramid of energy The energy pyramids give the best picture of the overall nature of the ecosystem. Here there will be gradual decrease in the availability of energy from the autotrophs higher trophic levels. In other words, there is decrease in energy flow from autotrophs on\ at successive trophic levels. In the course of energy flow from one organism to the other, is considerable loss of energy in the form of heat. More energy is available in the autotrophs t in the primary consumers. The least amount of available energy will be in the tertiary consumer. Therefore, shorter the food chain, greater is the amount of energy available at the top. 1. The energy pyramid always upright and errect. 2. It shows the rate of energy flows at different trophic levels. 3. It shows that energy is maximum at producer level and minimum at the carnivores' level. 4. At every successive trophic level there is a loss of energy in the form of heat, respiration etc. Input of solar energy can be added and extra rectangle at the base of pyramid

Problem with ecological pyramidsDifficult in identifying to which trophic level the organism belong Not all plant materials are considered in pyramids tubers/fruits/ seeds DOM is often omitted from pyramid diagram about 80% of energy fixed by producers not eaten by consumers, but by detrivores or used by decomposers

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Food consumed = growth + respiration + egestion + excretion Dig 1

Nitrogen cycle Dig 2 Step 1: Nitrogen-fixation

Atmospheric: Nitrogen (N2) is oxidized at high temperatures (by lightning, in internal combustion engines) to make nitrite (NO2). This can combine with water to form nitric acid (H2NO3), which is deposited on earth through rainfall. Biological: Done by bacteria which can convert N2 into ammonia (NH3) if an energy source is present. Some get this energy by directly absorbing sunlight (blue-green algae) or by living in the roots of plants (legumes, alder trees), who provide them with food (Rhizobium, Azospirillium).

Step 2: Conversion to Ammonia. As amino acids and nucleic acids require N in the form of Ammonia, if nitrate (NO3) present, it must be converted to NH3. This is done through Nitrate reductase enzymes.

Step 3: Biological Use. Ammonia is incorporated into proteins, nucleic acids

Step 4: When organism dies, ammonia is relased back into the biosphere through the process of Ammonification, in which water is added to proteins to make carbon dioxide and ammonia. This process happens during digestion, and is also done by bacterial and fungal decomposers.

Step 5: If ammonia released into oxygen rich (anerobic) soil, other bacteria can convert it into nitrite or nitrate through the process of Nitrification: nitosomonas/nitrobacter NH4+ + 2O2 = NO3- + H2O + 2H. This is a problem, as it gives the molecule which contains Nitrogen a negative charge, which repels it from soil particles, causing it to be easily leached into streams and groundwater. Step 6: If soils remain anerobic, another group of microorganisms pseudomonas will convert it back into inert, atmospheric N2 through the process of Denitrification. In this process, bacteria use nitrate as an Oxygen source for respiration: C6H12O6 + 4NO3- = 6CO2 + 6H2O + 2N2 carbon cycle easy to understand refer