Nutrient Cycles

• Biogeochemical Cycles: Processes by which elements are transferred from one sphere to another.– Atmosphere

– Biosphere

– Hydrosphere

– Lithosphere

Water Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Bacteria

Plants

Bacteria are integral to the entire cycle. Animals require plants to obtain useable Nitrogen.

Carbon Cycle

• To Atmosphere• Burning• Respiration• Decomposition

• To Biosphere• Photosynthesis• Food web

• To Hydrosphere• Dissolution• Erosion

• To Lithosphere• Decomposition• Burial

5

EnergyEnergy is constantly transferred from one form to another and from

one type to another.

• electrical to light

• mechanical to sound

• chemical to heat

Relationship between (chemical) energy and mass: e=mc2

Remember: ENERGY IS STORED IN BONDS

ENERGY CAN NEVER BE

CREATED OR DESTROYED

Biological Energy Flow

Growth Growth

Sun Plants Animals

Heat

Photosynthesis

6H2O + 6CO2 + light energy C6H12O6 + 6O2

Step Location Goes in Comes out

Light dependent

reaction

Thylakoids (grana) Light and H2O

ADP+P

NADP+

O2

ATP

NADPH

Light independent

reaction

stroma CO2

ATP

NADPH

Sugar

ADP+P

NADP+

6H2O + 6CO2 + light energy

C6H12O6 + 6O2

Photosynthesis

C6H12O6 + 6O2

6H2O + 6CO2 + ATP

Cellular Respiration

Step Location Goes in Comes out

Glycolysis cytoplasm Sugar

ADP+P

NAD+

½ sugars

ATP

NADH

Kreb’s cycle mitochondrial matrix ½ sugars

NAD+

CO2

NADH

Electron transport

chain and ATP

synthase

mitochondrial membrane O2

ADP+P

NADH

H2O

ATP

NAD+

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6H2O + 6CO2 + ATP

Cellular Respiration

•Only plants and algae photosynthesize.

•Animals and fungi only respire.

•BUT, plants and algae also respire.

SO, plants and algae do both…why?

Aerobic vs Anerobic Respiration

• Aerobic: Uses O2

– All 3 steps

– 30+ ATP/sugar

• Anaerobic: No O2

– Glycolysis only

– <5 ATP/sugar

– Types

• Lactic acid fermentation

• Alcohol fermentation

Trophic Levels

• Only ~10% of the energy in each level is passed to the next.

• Never gets higher than 5 or 6 levels due to limited energy availability.

Energy flow

Food Web

Decomposer Food Chain

Ecosystems• The community plus the abiotic factors that influence it

or are influenced by it.– Water– Rock– Nutrients– Energy flow

• Ecosystem type depends on annual temperature and precipitation patterns– Tilt of Earth’s axis– Ocean Circulation– Atmospheric circulation cells– Rainshadow– Lake effect

Tilt of Earth’s Axis

Atmospheric Circulation Cells

Ocean Currents•Ocean currents distribute heat throughout the planet.•Detritus and minerals from land masses and productive areas of the ocean sink to the bottom.•These nutrients are collected and carried on the bottom currents to regions of upwelling where they are returned to the surface.

Rainshadow and Lake Effect

Lake effect: similar to rain shadow, without the shadow

Plate Tectonics•Heat from earth’s core causes convection currents

•Movement of mantle moves crust

•Plate boundaries separate, converge, or slide

Plate Boundaries

Other Geologic Theories

• Uniformitarianism: the same principles that apply now applied in the past.

• Superposition: Older rock layers are on the bottom

• Contiguity: The same rock layers can often be seen on opposite sides of a rift or canyon.

Rock Cycle

• Igneous rock– melting and cooling– Glass, pumice, lava

rock

• Metamorphic Rock– heat and pressure– Marble, granite, slate,

coal

• Sedimentary rock– Erosion and

compaction– Sandstone, shale,

limestone

Ecosystems

Biodiversity: The numbers and types of organisms in an ecosystem.

Productivity: The speed at which nutrients are cycled through the ecosystem. Usually measured by plant growth.

Ecosystems

Ecological Dominant: A species that is characteristic of the habitat.

Keystone Species: A species that is necessary for the healthy function of the community.