Organisms and their environment

Energy

• All forms of biological systems depend on the sun as the principle source of energy
• Energy flow:
a) Light energy from the Sun is converted through photosynthesis and stored in plants
b) Animals prey on the plants, using the energy stored in the plants to be converted to chemical
energy and used for life processes such as respiration, reproduction, excretion, etc.
c) This relationship indirectly means that all animals depend on the sun for their survival
d) Eventually, all living organisms die, and the energy stored in them returns to the environment
through decomposition
Food chains and food webs

• Energy flow is not a cycle, it starts from the sun and then that energy is harnessed by plants which are
eaten by animals which are eaten by other animals
• At each step, energy is lost to the environment (~90%)
• Food chain: a chart showing the flow of energy from one organism to the next beginning with a producer

• Food web: showing the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning with a producer
 Terms Definition
Producer An organism that makes it own organic nutrients, by using energy
from sunlight via photosynthesis process
Consumer An organism that gets its energy by feeding on another organism
Herbivore An animal that gets its energy by consuming plants
Carnivore An animal that gets its energy by consuming another animal
Omnivore An animal that gets its energy by consuming plants and another
animal
Decomposer An organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic
matter
Ecosystem A unit containing all of the organisms and their environment,
interacting together, in a given area, e.g. decomposing log or a lake

Classification of consumers

• Depending on where the animal is positioned in the food chain, we can classify consumers into
primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary consumers
• A trophic level is the position of an organism in: food chain, food web, pyramid of biomass and pyramid
of numbers
• All food chain normally ends at the 5th trophic level as the energy transferred through each trophic
level decreases to the point where it becomes unsustainable for the organism to utilize for its life
processes and ultimately for its survival
• The nearer we are to the trophic level, the greater amount of energy is obtained by our bodies
• Pyramid of numbers: each trophic level represents the number of organisms feeding at it

• Pyramid of biomass: represents the dry mass of organisms at each trophic level
• Pyramid of biomass always has the correct representative structure of an actual pyramid

Nutrient cycles
• 3 main nutrient cycles: The carbon cycle, the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle
The Carbon cycles

Terms Explanation
Photosynthesis CO2 taken in by plants during photosynthesis and become part of glucose or
starch molecules
Respiration During the night, plants respire to break down the carbon stored in complex
molecules and release it into the atmosphere
Feeding/ Primary consumers feed on plants, and by doing so it also consume the carbon
Consumption in the form of complex molecules from the plants. These complex molecules will
be broken down during respiration and is partly returned to the atmosphere.
The rest being used for the organism’s growth, becomes a part of the organism
Decomposition The carbon eventually makes its way to the top consumer in food webs until the
organism dies. When decomposers such as microorganisms feed on all dead
organisms from across the food webs, the carbon becomes a part of their body
Fossilization All dead organisms eventually get fossilized over the period of million of years.
The carbon gets stored in the fossilized organism
Combustion The carbon in the fossils eventually gets converted to oil, coal, and natural gas.
It is then used as a fuel where it undergoes combustion, and gets released
back into the atmosphere
The Water cycles

Terms Explanation
Evaporation The process by which the sun’s heat over waterbodies causes water
vapor to form
Transpiration The process by which plants release water vapor to the air through a
transpiration stream
Condensation The process by which water vapor cools down to form clouds at higher
colder altitudes
Precipitation The process by which water gets returned to the Earth through the
formation of water droplets. These ultimately end up in waterbodies
through surface run-off, and help sustain the water cycle

The Nitrogen cycles

 • The air consists of about 78% nitrogen gas
• Molecules of nitrogen gas, N2, are made up of 2 nitrogen atoms joined together
• These molecules are very inert, which means that they will not readily react with other
substances-plants and animals cannot use it at all
• Animals consume on plants and obtain their nitrogen in the form on plant protein. Any excess of
amino acids is broken down by animals to ammonia by the process of deamination.
• It must be first be changed into a more reactive form such as ammonia (NH3) or nitrates (NO3-)
a) Plants make proteins
b) Animals feed on plants to obtain the proteins made by the plants
c) Animals excrete and pass feaces that are rich in ammonium compounds
• when the plants and animals die:
-decomposers work on the dead matter and release the nitrogen in the form of ammonium compounds
into the soil
-next, nitrifying bacteria convert the ammonium to nitrates
-the nitrates are again used by the plants and the cycle continues
• Lastly, the denitrifying bacteria convert the nitrates and ammonium compounds to nitrogen gas, which
is released into the atmosphere
Bacteria Their role
Nitrogen fixing bacteria -Are found in the soil. These can convert nitrogen gas from the air into
compounds of nitrogen that they use themselves. When they die and are
decomposed, this fixed nitrogen is available for plants.
-Present in the root nodules of leguminous plants. These bacteria change
nitrogen gas into ammonia that the legume plants can use to make amino
acids. In return, the legume plants provide a suitable environment for the
bacteria (in the nodules) and also provide all the sugars that they need.
Nitrogen fixation requires a lot of energy.
Nitrifying bacteria Convert ammonium ions into nitrate ions and release them into the soil.
These bacteria gain their source of energy from this oxidation reaction
instead of absorbing light or feeding as a decomposer
Denitrifying bacteria Convert the nitrates and ammonium compounds to nitrogen gas at the end
of the nitrogen cycle
• To transform it into a reactive form is called nitrogen fixation, nitrogen must undergo one of the
following processes:

a) Lightening
- Makes some of the nitrogen gas in the air combine with oxygen, forming nitrogen oxides
- They dissolve in rain, and washed into the soil, where they form nitrates
- Nitrate ions are lost from the soil before plants can absorb them as they can be washed out of
the soil by rainwater- called leaching
b) Artificial fertilizer
-nitrogen and hydrogen can be made to react in an industrial chemical process, forming ammonia
-the ammonia is used to make ammonium compounds and nitrates, which are sold as fertilizers
Population size
• A population is a group of individual organisms existing at the same time and place
• A community is defined as all the populations of different species in an ecosystem,
• An ecosystem is a unit containing the community of organisms and their environment, interacting
together

Biological factors affecting rate of population growth

1) Food supply: The lesser the food production rate, the lesser the rate of population growth
2) Predation: The number of organisms of a species being eaten by predators decreases the number
of organisms of the same species, and eliminates their chances of reproducing
3) Disease: spread of incurable diseases from organism to organism can cause a huge dent to the
population growth rate
Growth curve

Lag phase: number of mature, reproducing individuals is low and they may be widely dispersed
Log phase/ exponential phase: exponential growth curve occurs, the conditions are ideal and maximum
growth rate is reached
Stationary phase: limiting factors slow growth- population has reached carrying capacity of its
environment; mortality rate=birth rate
Death phase: population decreases as bacteria die, this could be caused by lack of nutrients

Example: The stages of a population using a sigmoid growth curve in yeast

Lag: population growth rate is very slow as:
a) There are fewer cells
b) Yeast takes time to adjust to the new environmental conditions

Log (Exponential): Population rises rapidly as:

a) There is plenty of food
b) The temperature is suitable
c) The environment has no oxygen
d) There are many cells
e) All cells have adjusted to the environmental conditions
f) Birth rate is greater than death rate
Stationary: At this point, the birth rate is equivalent to the death rate as:
a) At this point, the birth rate is equivalent to the death rate as all the food has exhausted
Death: Birth rate is surpassed by the death rate and the yeast population
a) Population begins to fall

Human population growth

Factors favoring growth Factors controlling growth
Lower infant mortality Disease
Higher life expectancy Famine
Better nutrition War
Better housing
Better sanitation
Quality medication and vaccination

• The human population is becoming stable due to:

-better education (particularly for women), so they work instead of getting married and having children
-better living conditions, fewer people die, fewer births needed
-family planning

Social implication of human growth:

-demands for roads as there is an increased number of cars
-greater expectation for a variety of foods all year round
-smaller families increase demand for housing
-greater demand for leisure and recreation space

Factors affecting the growth of the human population

1) Reduction in disease by:
-improvements in water supply
-improvements in sewage treatment
-improvement in hygienic food handling
-general standards of cleanliness have improved

2) Increase in food supply by:

-increase in land being cultivated
-agriculture has become more efficient

3) Other factors:
-increase in fertility rates
-decrease in infant mortality rates
-increase in life expectancy
-development in physical safety across infrastructure