Edexcel (B) Biology A-level

Topic 10: Ecosystems

Notes

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An ecosystem is a life-suppor ng environment. It includes all of the organisms living in a
par cular area known as a community, as well as all of the non-living elements of that
par cular environment. Ecosystems vary in size:

• Biosphere (all life-suppor ng environments on the earth’s surface)

• Biome (major ecosystems e.g. tundra, desert)
• Habitat
• Microhabitat

Energy Transfer Through Ecosystems

An organism's trophic level describes its feeding rela onships with other organisms - its
posi on in a food chain/web. Trophic Levels:

• Producer
• Primary Consumer
• Secondary Consumer
• Ter ary Consumer
• Decomposer

Ecosystem structure can be represented via a pyramid of number, biomass, or energy.

There are advantages and disadvantages of measuring in any of these ways:

• Pyramids of number are the easiest to measure but can be distorted by large organisms.
• Pyramids of biomass are more accurate, but dry mass has to be used and they don’t
account for the rate of produc on of biomass.
• Pyramids of energy are the most accurate, but also the most difficult to measure and use
an outdated defini on of energy.

Sampling

Abundance and distribu on of organisms can be measured with the use of:

● Line transect- where a line is placed down across the habitat and species in
contact with the line are recorded.
● Quadrat – a square frame of a given size, randomly placed in the area being
sampled. The species inside the quadrat are iden fied. The species can be
counted or an es mate of percentage cover can be produced.
● Belt transect – a combina on of a line transect and quadrat.

Net primary produc vity (NPP) – the rate at which energy is transferred into the organic
molecules that make up new plant biomass.

Gross primary produc vity (GPP) – the energy transferred to primary consumers.

Therefore, NPP = GPP – R.

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Some energy is lost at each trophic level. This can be due to:
• Undigested ma er e.g. bones and hair
• Respira on (exothermic, transfers thermal energy to the surroundings)
• Metabolic waste products like urea

Microorganisms are important in the recycling of nutrients within an ecosystem, for

example in the nitrogen and carbon cycles:

Spearman’s Rank Correla on Coefficient

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A way of measuring the correla on between two variables is to use a Spearman’s Rank
correla on coefficient.

The closer the answer is to 1, the closer to a linear posi ve correla on. The closer the
answer to -1, the closer to a linear nega ve correla on.

Student’s T-Test

A Student’s T-Test can be used to determine if the

means of two sets of data are significantly different
from one another.

Changes in Ecosystems

Succession is the colonisa on of an area by organisms and the gradual replacement of those
organisms by other, more varied and produc ve species.

Primary succession occurs when an area previously devoid of life is colonised by

communi es of organisms; for instance, a er the erup on of a volcano which has led to the
forma on of a rock surface.
Secondary succession occurs with exis ng soil that is clear of vegeta on. This may occur
a er an event such as a forest fire.

The area is first colonised by the pioneer species, such as lichens, which are adapted to
survive in harsh condi ons.
These species penetrate the
rock surface and break it down
into grains. As organisms die,
they are decomposed by
microorganisms, thus adding
humus (the organic
component of soil). This leads
to the forma on of soil, which
makes the environment more
suitable for more complex
organisms.

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As more organisms are decomposed over me, the soil becomes richer in minerals, thus
enabling larger, more varied and more produc ve plants such as shrubs to survive.
Eventually, a climax community is established - this is the most produc ve, self-sustaining
and stable community of organisms that the environment can support.

If there is human interven on such as grazing, the climax community which forms is called a
plagioclimax community. Ini ally, it was thought that a given climate could support only one
climax community - this theore cal climax community was called a clima c climax
community. This idea has since been discredited.

The distribu on and abundance of organisms in a habitat is controlled by both bio c (living)
factors and abio c (non-living factors).

Examples of bio c factors:

• Preda on (predator/prey popula ons oscillate, although prey popula ons seem to
oscillate even without a predator - may be responding to other changes)
• Reproduc ve partners (lack of species in an area - cannot find a mate to reproduce)
• Territory (necessary so breeding pairs have sufficient resources to raise young)
• Parasi sm/Disease (affect survival/reproduc ve success)

Examples of abio c factors:

• Light intensity (photosynthesis - influences plant growth unless plants are adapted to low
light, affects circadian rhythms, reproduc ve pa erns, availability of food).
• Temperature (enzyme ac vity).
• Wind and water currents (wind = water loss and cooling, gales/hurricanes destroy
habitats, water = organisms have to flow with the current, a ach to surfaces, or be strong
swimmers to survive).
• Water availability (need water to survive unless adapted to very low water levels).
• Oxygen availability (oxygen necessary to survive. May especially be a problem in stagnant
or hot water or waterlogged soil where air spaces fill with water).
• Edaphic factors (edaphic = rela ng to the structure of soil. Sandy soil = leaches minerals
as water passes through quickly, drains quickly. Clay = gets waterlogged as difficult to
drain, take too long to warm, hard to work. Ideal soil is loam which is a mixture of types).

Popula on size can also be influenced by density-dependent factors such as preda on,
parasi sm, food source, space and compe on. Density independent factors include
climate, weather and natural disasters.

There are two types of compe on between organisms; interspecific compe on between
individuals of different species and intraspecific compe on between individuals of the
same species.

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 Human Effects on Ecosystems

Global warming is a term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of
the Earth’s atmosphere and surface. It is believed that global warming will lead to a
permanent change in the Earth’s climate. The evidence for climate change includes:
● Records of carbon dioxide levels – increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere are believed to contribute towards climate change as carbon dioxide is a
greenhouse gas and is involved in the greenhouse effect.
● Temperature records which enable analysis of changes in temperature.
● Pollen in peat bogs – pollen grains are preserved in peat bogs and analysis of
samples of pollen can give us an idea of what kind of plants were present at the me
when the peat was being formed.
● Dendrochronology is the study of tree rings as the size of tree rings is affected by
temperature.
The data can be extrapolated to make predic ons which can then be used in models of
future climate change. On the other hand, such models have limita ons as they do not
include factors such as reduc on in emission of greenhouse gases.
The Greenhouse effect is the process by which infrared radia on from the Sun is trapped by
gases such as carbon dioxide and methane thus leading to an increase in the temperature
of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere.

The effects of climate change include changing rainfall pa erns and changes in seasonal
cycles which in turn would lead to:
● Changes in distribu on of species – species would move to cooler areas i.e.
northwards. This could poten ally lead to the ex nc on of some species due to
compe on.
● Changes to development – sex of many rep les is determined by temperature,
therefore an increase in temperature would affect the sex ra o of certain species
thus poten ally leading to ex nc on.
● Disrupted life cycles

The Interna onal Union for Conserva on of Nature (made up of 200+ governments and
900+ NGOs) draws up a Red List of Threatened Species annually. Threatened can be further
broken down into vulnerable, endangered and cri cally endangered.

To prevent ex nc on, there are many interna onal agreements to support conserva on,
encourage sustainable use of resources and protect endangered species.

An example of this is the Conven on on Interna onal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna/Flora (CITES). It regulates the trade of living organisms and their products by
classifying them into three appendices depending on the level of threat to the organism,
guided by the Red List.

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CITES has had some success at conserving biodiversity (e.g. ivory trade, sharks, turtle species
brought back from the brink of ex nc on). However, its successes are limited because it
deals exclusively with trade, many countries haven’t signed up, there is no legal obliga on
to abide by the rules (only trade sanc ons can be used) and commercial interests o en
override scien fic evidence.

Conserva on serves to maintain or increase the biodiversity within a par cular habitat by
allowing sustainable use of natural resources, whereas preserva on serves to maintain the
biodiversity levels and the habitat intact by minimising the effects of human ac vi es on
the par cular habitat.

One of the ways of reducing global warming is the reduc on of carbon dioxide levels in the
atmosphere. This can be done through:
● Growing plants to use as a fuel as biofuels which are carbon neutral – carbon dioxide
released by burning the fuel is removed from the atmosphere by the plants it is
made from (by photosynthesis).
● Reforesta on to increase the rate at which carbon dioxide is removed.

Similar ideas of sustainability can also be applied to the management of global fish stocks.
There are many economic, social and ethical reasons for conserva on. For instance, many
species provide a source of food and medicine and are important for processes such as
pollina on of crops as well as for maintaining a good quality of water as well as a rac ng
tourism. Social reasons include conserva on for aesthe c reasons and recrea on whereas
ethical reasons include the right to survive.

To validate evidence related to the climate change debate, studies are peer-reviewed,
published in scien fic journals, and debated at scien fic conferences.

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