Bio 20 Unit C - Topic 1 & 2 Student Notes

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Biology 20

Unit C: Energy and Matter in the Biosphere

Topic 1 – Energy Flow in the Biosphere and


Ecosystems
Topic 2 - Food Chains/Webs and Population
Interdependence
Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Targets:
1. Distinguish between:
a. Open and closed systems
b. Photosynthetic and chemosynthetic ecosystems
c. Biotic and abiotic factors
2. Discuss the one-way movement of energy through the biosphere.
a. Identify different pathways that energy can take over time.
i. Storage
ii. Use by living things
iii. Conduction, convection, radiation
3. Interpret changes in energy flow caused by changes to biotic and abiotic factors.
a. Include human influences
4. Explain how energy in the biosphere remains in balance or dynamic equilibrium.
a. Gas exchange of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and decomposition.

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Topic 1 – Energy Flow in the Biosphere and Ecosystems

Remember from Science 10 that the biosphere is considered to be a closed system.


• This means that energy can enter and leave but matter does not (meteorites and
satellites can be ignored)
• Ecosystems, on the other hand are considered open systems as both energy and
matter can enter and leave.

All organisms require energy for:


o growth
o tissue maintenance
o reproduction
o Locomotion/movement (some species)
• The main concept for all ecosystems is how energy is transferred from one part of
the ecosystem to the others
• Many factors affect this. Some are related to the living things themselves (biotic)
while others are independent of life (abiotic)

• Important vocabulary:
1. Trophic level – the feeding level of an organism in a food chain or food
web
2. Producer – organisms that produce their own food, usually by
photosynthesis (e.g. plants); can also be referred to as an AUTOTROPH
3. Consumer – organisms that eat other organisms for food (e.g. animals); can
also be referred to as a HETEROTROPH
4. Herbivore – primary or first-order consumers; animals that eat plants
5. Carnivore – secondary (second-order) or tertiary (third-order) consumers;
animals that eat other animals

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Energy Flow in Photosynthetic Ecosystems


• Sunlight is the initial energy source for almost all communities.
• Not all light that reaches Earth can be used.
• Producers use light energy to synthesize organic molecules during photosynthesis.
These consumers break down these organic molecules to produce ATP during
respiration. Therefore an ecosystem’s entire energy supply is determined by the
photosynthetic activity of the producers

Producers Consumers
CO2 + H2 O

Pattern of Energy Distribution


99% of the Earth's energy comes from
solar radiation. Solar Radiation is a
combination of many forms of energy at
different wavelengths, including light,
heat, and ultraviolet radiation

_______%Reflected back into space by


the atmospheric gases, clouds, dust, and
surface. The amount reflected varies
from one location to another, from
season to season. E.g. rock, sand,
snow, and ice reflect more energy than
do soil and plants (albedo).

________% Absorbed by the


atmosphere, the soil and water.
Different substances absorb heat
differently therefore this uneven heating
and rotation of the Earth, produce
winds, air currents, storms.

_________% Drives the water cycle.


Evaporated water accumulates in the
atmosphere, cools, forms clouds, and
then participates as rain or snow.

_________%Drives the air and water


currents.

_________% Used for photosynthesis


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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

• It is important to note that in photosynthesis, oxygen is produced and carbon


dioxide is consumed by the producers.
• Through the process of cellular respiration, consumers consume oxygen and
produce carbon dioxide.
• The two processes (photosynthesis and cellular respiration) replenish each other
creating a balance

Energy flow in Chemosynthetic Environments


• While most ecosystems on Earth rely on the Sun as their main original source of
energy, there are many places on Earth where sunlight does not reach
• Such areas include underground and the bottoms of oceans, areas that are too deep
for light to penetrate
• Instead of using light as the main source of energy, some microbes in such places
will use an alternate source of energy: inorganic molecules in their environment
• Chemosynthesis - the process in which some types of microorganisms use energy
from chemical reactions to produce organic (carbon-containing) compounds as
food for themselves
• Recall: an autotroph is an organism that makes its own food. Organisms that make
their own food from chemicals are called chemoautotrophic
• For example, at hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean a unique ecosystem has
evolved in the absence of sunlight; the animals that live around hydrothermal
vents make their living from the chemicals coming out of the seafloor in the vent
fluids. Because they are a local food source, hydrothermal vents typically have
high biomass, in stark contrast to the very sparse distribution of animals outside of
vent areas where animals are dependent on food dropping down from above.
• Chemosynthetic microbes live on or below the seafloor, and even within the
bodies of other vent animals as symbionts. Where microbial mat covers the
seafloor around vents, grazers such as snails, limpets, and scaleworms eat the mat,
and predators come to eat the grazers.

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2
Chemicals
Such as: methane
(CH 4 ), hydrogen (H 2 ), Producers Consumers
hydrogen sulfide
(H 2 S), nitrogen (N 2 ),
and calcium
carbonates (CaCO 3 )

Review Questions (check your textbook readings and glossary. Be warned, you may have
to look elsewhere for answers!)
1. Describe Isaac Newton’s influence on the understanding of how energy moves
through an ecosystem? (think of his laws…)
2. Define the following terms: growth, maintenance, reproduction, locomotion
3. List five examples of autotrophs. List five examples of heterotrophs.
4. Summarize 3 ways energy from the Sun is used in the Earth’s ecosystems.
5. If autotrophs that use chemicals for meeting their energy requirements are called
chemoautotrophs, what term is used to describe organisms that use light to meet
their energy requirements?
6. Compare how organisms in photosynthetic ecosystems meet their energy needs
with how organisms from chemosynthetic ecosystems meet their energy needs.
7. What is a symbiotic relationship? Give an example.
8. Predict the effects of major deforestation on Earth. (note: this may take you some
time and some thought)

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Topic 2: Food Chains/Webs and Population


Interdependence

Targets:
1. Explain the structure of ecosystem trophic levels
a. Compare different ecosystems and explain the factors that allow for their
productivity
2. Draw labeled diagrams of food chains, food webs, and ecological pyramids
(biomass, energy, and numbers)
3. Numerically show the movement of energy through an ecosystem using the
concept of Energy of Efficiency
4. Describe how toxins from human activity can get into the food chain and how
biomagnification can negatively impact ecosystems.

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Recall
• All organisms require energy (food) to function properly
• Trophic level – the feeding level of an organism in a food chain or food web
• Producer – organisms that produce their own food
• Consumer – organisms that eat other organisms for food
• Herbivore – animals that eat plants
• Carnivore –animals that eat other animals
• Omnivore – animals that eat both plants and animals
• In most ecosystems, all energy comes from the Sun

Energy Flow
• Energy (sunlight) that enters an ecosystem is used to make food by producers.
This energy is then transferred throughout the ecosystem as consumers eat the
producers, and as consumers eat other consumers
• Not all energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next; most energy is
used by the organism to perform its functions (moving, growing, etc.). In most
cases, the energy is lost to the system as heat
• In addition to producers and consumers, there is a group of organisms called
decomposers that play an important role in the ecosystem
• Decomposers are involved in the recycling of biomatter. When an organism dies
or produces waste material (feces, urine, etc.) decomposers feed upon these
remains. In the process of doing so they return organic biomatter to the
ecosystem, which provides nutrients to the producers (stay tuned for the next
topic to see these guys in action!)

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Food Chains
• A simplified way of explaining the
energy flow in a community is with
the food chain.
• The food chain describes who may
eat whom in a community.
• E.g. In a grassland community, a
food chain might consist of three
populations: the grass, deer and wolf.
• Plants or other producers always
occupy the first trophic level in a
food chain
• Only one type of organism can
occupy a trophic level
• One organism cannot occupy more
than one trophic level
• Decomposers are assumed to be
feeding off of all trophic levels
• Food chains present information on
who eats whom in an ecosystem in a
simple and easy manner

Practice: Create a food chain that includes 3 trophic levels.

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Food Webs
• Food web – a pictorial representation of the feeding relationships between
organisms in an ecosystem and consists of several interlocking food chains
• Food webs provide a more accurate description of who eats whom as it includes
more than one food source for organisms
• Producers still occupy the first trophic level, consumers still occupy the higher
levels
• More than one organism exists on a trophic level
• An animal can occupy more than one trophic level

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Practice: Create a food web that includes 4 trophic levels (decomposers must be
included). There must be at least 3 autotrophs and 4 consumers. At least 1 organisms in
the food web must inhabit more than one trophic level.

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

For the food web below, at the numbers give the name of the organism and for A, B,
and C indicate the tropic level.

Label the following food web Tropic Levels

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

The Laws of Thermodynamics


• Food chain and webs provide a model for studying the movement of energy in
ecosystems. The amount of energy flowing through the biosphere obeys basic
scientific principles known as the laws of thermodynamics.
• The first law of thermodynamics has traditionally been called the law of
conservation of energy. It states that although energy can be changed from one
form to another, it cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, the energy entering
an ecosystem must equal the energy leaving.
• The second law of thermodynamics states that energy can be changed from one
form to another. During any change, some of the energy is lost as waste energy
or heat.
• Applied to an ecosystem, as energy flows through the community there is energy
loss at each trophic level.
• Much of this loss is in the form of heat which is lost when food molecules are
broken down in the cells.
• There would be less energy loss in the community if only herbivores fed on the
producers. The loss in this first trophic level is estimated to be anywhere from 80
to 90 percent. If the energy flow continues through the second trophic level,
through a carnivore, there is an additional energy loss of 80 to 90 percent. If the
energy continues to flow through more carnivores, two things happen. One there
is continued energy loss. Two, a limit is reached on the length of the food chain.

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Concepts
• Energy input=Energy output
• Energy cannot be created or destroyed
• Energy can be changed (transformed) from one form to another
• e.g. photosynthesis converts light energy to chemical energy
• Energy can be transferred from one organism to another
• All conversions of energy result in the loss of energy as heat

The longer the food chain the less energy


is left for the organisms at the end of the
chain

1. Describe the first law of thermodynamics, the conservation of energy.

2. Describe the second law of thermodynamics.

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3. If 1560 units of energy from the sun were captured by photosynthesis in the leaves of
green plants and 12% of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level, how much
energy would be lost after the leaves were eaten by herbivores. Where did the ‘lost’
energy go?

Assignment
1. Design 4 food chains. Each food chain must be at least three organisms in length,
and must be accurate (no imaginary or extinct animals, and food chain must be
realistic)
2. Design a food web that contains at least:
a. 2 plants
b. 3 herbivores
c. 2 carnivores
d. 1 organism that occupies more than one trophic level

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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2

Ecological Pyramids
• The transference of energy throughout the ecosystem can be represented by using
a pyramid
• There are 3 ways that this can be done:
1. Pyramid of numbers – shows the number of organisms that exist at each
trophic level in the ecosystem
• Typically there are more organisms at the lower levels than at the
upper levels
• Very few top-level carnivores exist
• A pyramid of numbers may not always have the basic pyramid shape.
For example, a single tree can provide food for a large number of
insects

Pyramid of Numbers

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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2

2. Pyramid of biomass – shows the amount of dry mass of organisms at each


trophic level
• Biomass is a measure of stored energy (organisms store energy in
organic molecules)
• Dry mass = water has been removed
• Occasionally a pyramid of biomass does not show the regular pyramid
shape, but such instances are extremely rare

Pyramid of Biomass

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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2

3. Pyramid of energy – shows the amount of available energy at each trophic


level
• Available energy is energy that an organism can obtain from its food
• The most accurate of the pyramids, energy pyramids will always have
the typical pyramid shape

Human tissue
350 kJ

Beef
4,986 kJ
Alfalfa
62,431 kJ

• Generally speaking, the base of the pyramid contains the highest number of
organisms, biomass, and energy of the ecosystem. The base is where the
producers are found
• The highest level of the pyramid represents the top-order consumer and has the
lowest number of organisms, biomass, and energy in the ecosystem

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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2

Calculating Energy of Efficiency


• The energy of efficiency is the percentage of available energy that is successfully
transferred from on trophic level to the next
• Typical energies of efficiency are between 10-20%. This means that 80-90% of
available energy is lost as heat
• This can be calculated using the following formula:
Energy of efficiency = amount of energy transferred to the trophic level x100
amount of available energy at previous trophic level

• E.g. For the above example, calculate the energy of efficiency at each level

• Solution
E.E from alfalfa to beef
EE = amount of energy transferred to the trophic level x 100
amount of available energy at previous trophic level
= 4986 kJ x 100
62431 kJ
= 7.986 %

E.E. from beef to human


EE = amount of energy transferred to the trophic level x 100
amount of available energy at previous trophic level
= 350 kJ x 100
4986 kJ
= 7.02 %

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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2

Population Interdependency
• In ecosystems, populations have a profound effect on each other. A change in one
population of organisms will cause changes to other populations
• For example, consider the following food chain:
Flower nectar → Honey bee → Frog → Heron
➢ If there is a large rainfall that causes more flowers to grow, it
would be expected that the honey bee population would increase as
more nectar is available for food. This would result in an increase
in the frog and heron populations as their food sources increase
➢ If there is a drought in which fewer flowers grow, we would see a
decrease in the flower population, which would in turn cause fewer
honey bees. There would be fewer frogs and herons as well since
their food supplies had been reduced.
• Practice: there is a forest ecosystem that is shown below. Predict what would
happen to all the populations if there was a disease that reduced the number of
deer.

Shrubs → Deer → Wolf

• The interdependence of populations is more noticeable in food webs, and can also
be more difficult to predict

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A few hints to help predict what such effects would be include:

1. Identify the ways that certain populations are linked together. Do they have a
common food source? Is there a common predator? Do they compete for the
same resources, such as food and habitat? Are they affected by the same types
of diseases and parasites?
2. Examine the organism’s ability to adapt to changes in its environment.
Organisms that have only a single food source will be more heavily affected
by a change to that food source. Animals that eat a variety of different foods
are more likely to switch to alternate foods if one becomes scarce
3. Look for the missing pieces. If there seems to be no identifiable reason for a
population to have a change in their numbers, then most likely there is a piece
to the puzzle that is missing. Look for changes in the behaviours or numbers
of other organisms.

Case Study: The sea otter is a larger relative to the river otter and lives along the coastal
line of the Pacific Ocean. Part of the main diet of the sea otter is the sea urchin, a spiny
organism that feeds on shell fish such as oysters and clams. In recent decades the sea
otter was heavily hunted because of their fur. As it could be predicted, the population of
sea urchins rose when the otter population decreased. As sea urchin populations
increased, the local populations of shell fish were drastically reduced. An unexpected
effect of the reduced sea otter population turned out to be a decrease in the sea lion
population at the same time. Sea lions fed mostly on fish, and while sea otters have also
been known to feed on fish, one would have expected the sea lion population to increase
as there was less competition for their food. How could the sea lion population be
effected by the sea otter population in such a manner? As it turns out, both sea otters and
sea lions are prey to the orca. As the sea otter population dwindled, the orca population
turned more to the sea lions for their food. Naturally, as the sea lion population
decreased, the fish population saw a brief increase until other predators filled the role and
the food web became more balanced

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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2

• As it can be seen, there are many ways that a change in one population can affect
others. The difficulty is that often the effects are difficult to accurately predict.
Still, general ideas about what will happen in an ecosystem can be formulated and
some basic models can be designed to assist in the prediction of such occurrences.

• Practice: For the below food web, predict what would happen in each of the given
situations.

A. A heavy rainfall provides more breeding opportunities for the toad population,
allowing for a greater number of tadpoles to be hatched and grow into adult toads.
B. Insecticide is used that drastically decreases the insect and spider populations.
C. A flea infestation weakens the immune systems of the fur-bearing mammals that
they infect as well as causes them to lose fur. This causes them to become more
vulnerable to disease and colder temperatures.
D. A law is passed that outlaws the hunting of foxes

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Biomagnification
• Also known as bioamplification, biomagnification is the accumulation of
chemicals in the tissues of organisms. These chemicals are acquired from the
animal’s food and water intake are often toxic
• Recall: energy and biomatter decrease with each trophic level transfer as the
organisms use energy to survive.
• Because these chemicals are not used by the organism’s metabolic processes and
are difficult for the organism to excrete, they tend to accumulate. As a result,
these chemicals are found in higher concentrations in higher trophic levels.

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• Chemicals such as mercury, selenium, nickel, and chlorinated hydrocarbons are


some of the more serious examples of biomagnification. Sources for these
chemicals are quite often pesticides that get into the water systems of the areas
where they are used.
• Concentrations of these chemicals are often in parts per million (ppm) or parts
per billion (ppb).

Case Study
Read “The Cautionary Tale of DDT” (https://sustainable-nano.com/2013/12/17/the-
cautionary-tale-of-ddt-biomagnification-bioaccumulation-and-research-motivation/)
and answer the following questions:
1. What was the purpose of using DDT?
2. Identify the negative health impacts of DDT on humans. Identify the negative
impacts on birds at the top of the food chain.
3. What are some unforeseen outcomes of the use of DDT on the ecosystem? (hint:
read the section on what happened in Malaysia, Bolivia, and Brazil)

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