Bio 20 Unit C - Topic 1 & 2 Student Notes
Bio 20 Unit C - Topic 1 & 2 Student Notes
Bio 20 Unit C - Topic 1 & 2 Student Notes
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
• 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
Producers Consumers
CO2 + H2 O
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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
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
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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.
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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2
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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
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Biology 20 Unit C Topics 1& 2
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
Pyramid of Biomass
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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2
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
• 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 %
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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.
• The interdependence of populations is more noticeable in food webs, and can also
be more difficult to predict
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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2
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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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2
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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Biology 20 Unit 1 Topics 1& 2
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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