SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)

GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)

BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
SYSTEMS
CONTENTS OF THE MODULE
A. Introduction
Topics Page/s
System
Systems 1-4 ➢ Any part of the universe that can be
a. Introduction isolated for the purposes of
b. Ecosystem observation and study
c. Scenario 1
d. Scenario 2 Ecosystem
Anthropogenic imbalances in 4 - 8 ➢ Any unit that includes all
the environment organisms that function together
a. Water cycle (the biotic community) in a given
b. Urbanization of farmland area interacting with the physical
c. Typhoon Ondoy environment so that the flow of
energy leads to clearly defined
Biogeochemical cycles 8 - 14
a. Carbon cycle biotic structures and cycling of
materials between living and
Limiting nutrients 14 - 17 nonliving parts (Odum 1983)
a. Example 1 ➢ Basic functional unit of ecology
b. Example 2 ➢ Components and processes of an
c. Example 3 ecosystem:
d. Redfield ratio of
a. The biotic community =
phytoplankton
group of populations that
Systems ecology and energy 17 - 19 interact with one another
flow through ecosystems b. Flow of energy = typically
a. Role of organisms one-way
b. Energy flow through c. The cycling of materials
ecosystems
d. Feedback control loops =
BIodiversity ecosystem 19 - 23 that regulate the flow of
function energy and cycling of
materials

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ As the basic functional unit of

systems ecology
Notes:
➢ The ecosystems that are typically
➢ The symbols are typically used in
studied are rather difficult because
engineering and systems ecology
the properties of life are such that
(systems design)
systems that isolated in purposes
➢ The circle represents the energy
of the study
source
➢ The isolation itself changes the
➢ The bullet shapes involve represents
behavior of the system
the autotrophs (biotic components
➢ Most ecosystems are open systems
that can produce their own food)
(there’s some flow across the
➢ The hexagon represents
boundaries)
heterotrophs (have to eat autotrophs
➢ In many studies, we typically make
to supply their energy needs)
an assumptions like the
➢ S represents “storage” or the cycling
steady-state assumption
of materials within the ecosystem
➢ Steady-state also known as
➢ The boundaries of the ecosystem
dynamic equilibrium means total
are typically arbitrarily set
input equals total output
➢ The rule of thumb depending on the
➢ There’s some sort of balance and
interest of researchers is to defined
that balance is essential for us to
the boundaries that maximize within
derive better understanding of
the flows in the boundaries and
systems behaviors
minimize flows across the
boundaries of system
To illustrate all this definitions:

B. Ecosystem

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ Let’s look at this system in this case

where we look at the flow of C. Scenario 1
phosphorous around seagrass ➢ Let’s say that the flow from
ecosystem compartment D to compartment C is
➢ It is defined as effectively closed increased or all else keep the same
system ➢ Let’s assume further that different
➢ The compartments are presented as compartments are large enough to
pails, the amount of phosphorus are contain all the phosphorus in the
represented as fluid within the pails ecosystem
or compartments ➢ There’s no overflow
➢ The flows within the compartments ➢ As stated earlier, assume that this is
are represented by arrows (you can a closed system
think it as a pipes) with pumps ➢ Imagine a situation, where the flow
making sure that the flow is one-way from D to C is increased
and a set rate ➢ Everything is the same
➢ Set rates are represented by the ➢ Because of the amount coming into
numbers next to each arrows this container is less than the
➢ For example, the flow of this amount going out to the same
compartment to this compartment is container
16 units per unit time ➢ We know that the amount of fluid in
➢ Because the amount going in each compartment D is going down
compartment is equal to the ➢ In contrast, the amount of fluid in
amount of going out per unit time compartment C (the amount coming
➢ Then, this system is steady-state is greater than the total amount of
going out), you can expect it to
increase

So, the amount of fluid in D goes down and

the amount of fluid in C goes up, is there
anything that’s going to happen next?

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ Nothing else will happen
ANTHROPOGENIC IMBALANCES IN
➢ The amount of fluid in D will go down THE ENVIRONMENT
➢ The amount of fluid in C will go up

A. Water cycle
D. Scenario 2
➢ The flow from D to C is decreased

What will happen to the amount of fluids in

D and in C, will the amount of fluid to the
other compartments change as well?
➢ Now, let’s imagine the other scenario
➢ In this one, there’s a doubling rate of
flow from compartment C to
compartment B
➢ That flow among the smallest in this
cycle (one unit per unit time)
➢ Same as the flow of compartment B
to compartment A
➢ Water cycle = essentially represents
➢ As compared to the flow from C to A
the movement of the water around
which is 15 units per unit time
the planet (considered ecosystem in
this perspective)
So, the amount of fluid in C will go down
➢ Most of the water is found in the
and the amount of fluid in B will go up, what
oceans and into the atmosphere
will happen next?
➢ Eventually, the water will precipitate
➢ If the flow from C to B is doubled
in various forms — snow, rainfall,
and everything else is kept the same
slit, and etc.
➢ The amount of fluid in C will go down
➢ Some of the rainfall will go straight to
➢ And the amount of fluid in B will go
the sea
up
➢ Others will flow on land and
➢ The amount of fluid in A will go down
eventually get to sea in two ways:
➢ When A is near bottom, the amount
a. Through surface runoff
of fluid in E will go down
b. Through groundwater
➢ When E is near bottom, the amount
of fluid in D will go down next
➢ There was a bifurcation in the cycle
➢ Eventually, most of the fluids are
➢ Changes associated with that
concentrated in Compartment D
bifurcation will lead to cascade of
➢ The other four compartments will
changes that might affect the
never really dry
other compartments as well

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
modifications concerning the flow of
water going back to the sea
➢ This is clearly seen in our country
particularly in how we modify the
surface of land

B. Urbanization of farmland

➢ The water cycle is better presented

using this diagram
➢ Like what we did in the pails
➢ We also consider the amount flowing
per unit time
➢ So, this is what you have as
numbers within the parentheses in
this example
➢ As stated earlier, there’s evaporation
in the sea which is 319 units
➢ Most of the 283 units return as
precipitation directly to the sea
➢ The balance precipitates over land
and the precipitation flowing into the
land either goes out as surface
water or groundwater
➢ Unfortunately, this is broken down
into units in this example
➢ As you can see, this is a
steady-state representation of the
➢ Urbanization of farmland starts out
water cycle
as farmland became covered with
➢ The amount going towards land is
heats of metal and pavements of
equal to the amount flowing away
concrete and asphalt
from land
➢ Imagine a situation where all of this
➢ Imagine scenario, where these flows
is an old farmland and let’s pretend
are disrupted
that this big structure is the original
➢ For example (with climate change
structure before other homes were
and increase in air temperatures),
built
what are the consequences of
➢ If that was the case and the only
increase evaporation and
structure surrounded by open

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
ground and primarily devoted to is also very good with trapping
crops; most of the rainfall will likely and releasing heat
penetrate the ground and become ➢ Which is manifested as convection
part of groundwater currents, warm air rising over this
➢ However, with increasing urban areas and that’s the
urbanization, most of that land is turbulence we feel
now covered with impermeable
layers of materials
➢ The original structure, they might C. Typhoon Ondoy
rarely experience floods ➢ With climate change and increasing
➢ But because all of the surrounding frequency and strength of typhoons
ground (particularly are the ones that is felt more and more
are higher), covered impermeable
material
➢ In this case, the first surface flow
will be manifested as increasing
amounts and frequency of
flooding that will affect the lower
lying areas (where the big structure
was built)

➢ The very good example is “Typhoon

Ondoy” which is drop a month's
worth of rain in one day (September
26, 2009)
➢ Because we are living in a highly
➢ That’s what happening around Metro urbanized city, most of that rainfall
Manila is in lower ground rather than
➢ Farmland is being converted to enter in the groundwater
subdivisions which not just affects
the ability to produce our own food
but also changes the microclimate
over the city
➢ As the plane approaches the city,
there is more and more turbulence
➢ The reason being is this structures
we associated with urbanization

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ Another illustration of consequences

is when we looked at the heat
budget of the earth which
typically comes in from sunlight
and converted to various
wavelengths of radiation by the
surface it hits

➢ The sunlight penetrates the

atmosphere at this wavelengths as
converted by the earth to another
wavelengths and cannot
penetrate the atmosphere because
of the gasses such as water vapor
and carbon dioxide which prevents
➢ Some of the sunlight gets bounce the outgoing radiation from
back almost immediately but much leaving our atmosphere
of it hits the surface of the earth
gets converted to heat
➢ Unlike the sunlight that the energy
came to us, this forms of energy
besides visible light get filtered by
the atmosphere as illustrated

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ We are after all carbon based life
➢ Carbon is essential part of all
organic molecules and also very
important in determining global
climate

➢ As the amounts of these gasses

increase, the temperature of the
planet also increases

Note:
➢ Think about the consequences of
those individual changes
➢ So, the carbon is storing biomass in
the atmosphere and in the oceans,
soil, fossil fuels, petroleum, and
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
carbonate rocks like calcium and
chalk
➢ Also known as nutrient cycle
➢ It is a global cycles of chemicals that
involved the earth and life
➢ Hence, the terms on its name,
nutrient cycle are small scales
➢ Biogeochemical cycles are global

A. Carbon cycle

➢ So, part of the carbon is stored in

the atmosphere, part is stored in life
or biomass, and the other parts are
stored in earth

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ This conversion among
these different compartments and
the flows involved processes like
photosynthesis and respiration, as
well as burning

[continue 3:35]
➢ Carbonic acid system = involves
➢ If we looked at an actual carbon interconversion of carbon either
cycle budget on the form of carbon dioxide,
➢ Notice where the contents of the carbonate, or bicarbonate
particular components are large and
where they are small
➢ For example, the oceans contain a B. Phosphorus cycle
significant part of carbon (a lot more
than the amount within the
atmosphere)
➢ Part of the reason why there’s a lot
of carbon stored in the oceans is
because of the carbonic acid
system

➢ Energetics: ATP
➢ Genetics: nucleic acid material

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ Unlike the carbon cycle,
most of the phosphorus is stored
in solid form
➢ Hence, it is predominantly a
sedimentary cycle
➢ Phosphorus in particular is generally
unavailable to life unless it is
dissolved in water (that water is a
certain range of pH values that allow
for its absorption)
➢ Because it is tied to the rock cycle,
the phosphorus cycle is the very
slow cycle with the residence time
of thousand of years
➢ Residence time = average amount
of time that particular substance
(phosphorus) remains within the
➢ That component of the
compartment
phosphorus cycle is the slowest
➢ So in the case of the phosphorus
➢ The slowest moving process in the
cycle, because it is sedimentary, if it
cycle determine the rate of the cycle
gets track to a sediments at the
in general
bottom of the ocean
➢ The uplifting of the rock that is used
to be at the bottom in the ocean or
freshwater lakes will take thousand
of years
➢ It will take a long time for the
rocks to be weathered and be
dissolved in water and become
available to life

➢ Those sediments get subducted and

smelted into the core of the earth
➢ It will take thousands of years for
that phosphorus to go back to the
sea bottom and also to get in land
and therefore be available to land
plants

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ Humans disrupt the phosphorus

cycle in many ways
➢ It is not surprising that the budget of ➢ Some compartments of the cycle,
the phosphorus cycle is a very little the phosphorus is depleted
in the atmosphere (sedimentary because we keep planting the
cycle) same crops on that soil (year after
➢ A lot is dissolved in the sea (water) year) depleting the same nutrients
➢ More importantly, the amounts ➢ If we do add nutrients to enhance
trapped in the bottom of the sea plant growth, we add too much in
➢ Phosphorus at the bottom of the sea many cases (or more likely we add
is generally not available to life the wrong types of nutrients in those
because the deep sea (most of the fertilizers)
sea) is poorly lit
➢ Therefore, the plants could not
absorb that phosphorus will not C. Nitrogen cycle
have enough sunlight to get any
photosynthesis done
➢ Remember the Liebig’s Law of the
Minimum, the substance in short
supply will determine the rate and
extent at which reactions e(ven
biochemical reactions) will proceed

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ The nitrogen cycle like ➢ The turnover rate of nitrogen is
the phosphorus cycle involves some faster than the turnover rate of the
nutrient (in this case, is a nitrogen) phosphorus cycle
➢ Unlike the phosphorus cycle, the
nitrogen cycle is gaseous
➢ It means that most of the nitrogen
(the largest component that stores a
lot of the substance) is in case the
atmosphere
➢ The atmosphere is composed of
about 80% of nitrogen
➢ Despite its abundance to
atmosphere, nitrogen is generally
not available to life because the
inorganic form (nitrogen gas) has
to be converted to an organic
form (nitrites, nitrates, and
ammonium)
➢ Conversion from inorganic to organic
involves either lightning cosmic
radiation from space (most ➢ So, in this diagram is the limiting rate
importantly cyanobacteria, that step of conversion of the nitrogen
convert nitrogen in its inorganic form from the atmosphere into organic
to its organic form) forms like ammonium (step that
➢ Because the conversion is not rapid involves bacteria)
or does not occur in lot of places, the ➢ Ultimately, the availability of
nitrogen typically is the nutrient in nitrogen to life depends mostly on
short supply that limits the bacteria
production in terrestrial and
marine systems
➢ Not necessarily to freshwater and
aquatic systems
➢ Its residence time is about 625
years, it stays in particular
component in the cycle on average
of about 625 yearS (shorter than the
residence time of phosphorus cycle
in sediments)
➢ Residence time is a reciprocal of
turnover rate

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
automobile engines (produces
➢ You will see it better in the global nitrogen oxide which eventually
budget of nitrogen, you will notice became part of the acid rain; notice
that the amount of the oceans is that molecular formula there is a
significant nitric acid)
➢ Most of the nitrogen is in the ➢ The nitrogen also made unavailable
atmosphere, despite that huge to the rest of the life on the planet if
amounts of nitrogen in the for example, we harvest the biomass
atmosphere notice the rate of the contains the nitrogen and
fixation (by the bacteria or lightning concentrates the biomass in the
discharges), the amounts are rather form of a wood in urban areas
small ➢ So in some natural ecosystems,
nitrogen is even in short supply
because of human activity

D. The impact of ecosystem alteration

➢ However, because of technology

and human ingenuity, we still
manage to disrupt the nitrogen cycle
➢ One way is because we are able to
produce our own nitrogen fertilizer
using fossil fuels and electricity
➢ We can produce a large amounts of
nitrogen fertilizer and notice that 12 ➢ The impact of human activity is
fold increase in nitrogen fertilizer obvious in this large-scale
application only results to a doubling manipulative experiment involving
of yield modifications of big parts of the
➢ Some other nutrients are in short ecosystem
supply after we add a nitrogen ➢ In this case, the experimental forest
➢ Internal combustion engines are where there is a clear cutting of all
rather good at producing nitrogen trees in a particular sections of this
oxides because of the heating of landscape
the pressure inside the piston or
combustion chambers of the

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ Within a few months, the ➢ The particular formulation of
remaining nitrogen leak out of the doughtnuts require that you eat in a
system into the bodies of water fixed ratio, an amount such that for
➢ Hence, the elevated nutrient levels every green doughnut that you eat,
in the rivers in a forest relative to the you have to eat 2 blue doughnuts or
control forest where there is no clear else you will get indigestion
cutting is done ➢ Alternatively, you could eat half of
➢ It illustrates very well the impact of green doughnut and eat one-fold
human activities on the nitrogen blue doughnut because the ratio is
cycle 2:1 and you will not get indigestion
➢ In this particular party, equal
amounts of blue and green
doughnuts are served (a one platter
LIMITING NUTRIENTS
of blue doughnuts and a one platter
of green doughnuts)
➢ We are looked at how different
biogeochemical cycles are linked to Question: Assuming nobody wants to eat
one another sick and you have to eat in this ratio of 2
➢ As a consequence of this linking, blue:1 green, which doughnut runs out first?
disruption in one cycle could ➢ Answer: the blue doughnuts
cascade into other cycles leading to
even more extensive changes
B. Example 2

A. Example 1

➢ Imagine a situation, where you have ➢ Answer: Both doughnuts run out at
a party an the only food that is serve the same time
are doughnuts
➢ There are two kinds of doughnuts:
blue and the green ones C. Example 3

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ Answer: the green doughnuts will ➢ What actually happens is that the
run out first (green doughnut is a two used simultaneously
limiting doughnut)

D. Redfield ratio of phytoplankton

➢ Keep in mind that this doughnuts are ➢ In many processes, we will just
consumed at the same rate focus on photosynthesis
➢ It is not the blue doughnut being ➢ The main photosynthetic organism in
eaten first before the required the sea is phytoplankton or
portion of the green doughnut is microscopic plants
eaten ➢ They consumed these two
nutrients (nitrogen and
phosphorous) at a fixed ratio
➢ The amount of fixed carbon (in the
form of carbohydrates that they
produce) also follows a ratio
referred to as the Redfield ratio

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ So, if you don’t have enough of

phosphorus, the amounts of
nitrogen is irrelevant and only a
certain amount of fixed carbon can
be produced
➢ If the limiting nutrient is Nitrogen,
the amount of phosphorus
available is irrelevant and only a
fixed ampount of Carbon (consistent
with the redfield ratio) will be
produced
➢ These numbers tie three very
➢ Redfield ratio = specifies that in important biogeochemical cycles to
phytoplankton each other
➢ For every mole of phosphorus
they used, 16 moles of Nitrogen
must be used
➢ If both 1 mole of phosphorus and
16 moles of nitrogen is available,
that will be sufficient to lead to the
production of 106 moles of fixed
Carbon
➢ Notice that the ratio refers to the
amounts of phosphorus, nitrogen,
and carbon in moles (not the moles
of phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, or
carbohydrates)

➢ Example is the sulfur cycle which

has a properties of phosphorus
cycle, nitrogen cycle, and the
carbon cycle
➢ Notice there’s a sufur in the
atmophere, in the sediments, and in
the water

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________

➢ We grouped the organisms in this

case, in terms of their function
rather than in terms of their
➢ Disruption of any of these cycles
species
because of the ratios (like redfield
➢ We grouped them as producers
ratio) will lead to disruption of
(autotrophs) in the initial ecosystem
other cycles
diagram
➢ They produced their own food
through the process of
SYSTEMS ECOLOGY AND ENERGY photosynthesis
FLOW THROUGH ECOSYSTEMS

➢ In systems ecology, we have dealt

with compartments and flows and its
compartments are typically not
species or species population but
rather a groupings of organisms
➢ The basic component of an
ecosystem is the biotic
community which is the
assemblage of species population
living together in one place — the
cycling of materials, the flow of
➢ Then, we looked at the consumers
energy, and feedback control
either as primary consumers,
groups
herbivores, secondary consumers
➢ We will examine the system from the
(the carnivores), and for the groups
perspective of energy and energy
that kind of defy the categorization
flow
which are the omnivores and
detritivores (which are in the
separate food chain)
A. Roles of organisms

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ And we do this, we apply the laws of
thermodynamics from physics
➢ As we know from the second law of
thermodynamis, when you convert
energy from one form to another,
there’s always a lost associated to
that conversion
➢ In the case of the food webs and
food chains, the lost is when
energy in the form of the
producers (plants) is converted to
biomass of herbivores
➢ So, energy in the second trophic
➢ Detritivores (decomposers) = level, conversion from one trophic
forms an essential component of the level into another involved a loss
recycling of materials in an of energy typically at around 90%
ecosystem ➢ And because energy is rather
difficult to track it is easier to track
biomass and numbers of individuals
B. Energy flow through ecosystems for organisms that could be
quantified in that way
➢ It is easier to follow energy in
terms of these proxies (biomass
or numbers)

➢ When we examined energy flow

through ecosystems, we grouped
the organisms by trophic level which
is essentially the feeding level
➢ So, the primary producers (plants)
formed the first trophic level
➢ The herbivores formed the second ➢ Becuase of this lost in conversion,
trophic level food chains have finite lengths
➢ The carnivores formed the third typically on land (4 levels, 5 is
trophic level and so on considered long), and in aquatic
organisms rarely exceed 6 or 7 links

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ This food chains and ➢ The volume of the third trophic level
food webs have finite lengths represents the carnivores and so on
because as you convert the energy ➢ You can see that because 90% of
from the primary producers (the the energy is lost as you convert
plants) at some point up in the from producer biomass to herbivore
higher trophic levels, there’s biomass to carnivore biomass to
simply not enough energy to secondary carnivore or tertiary
support viable population of consumser biomass, the volume
organisms at the highest trophic keeps shrinking
levels ➢ There is not enough energy left
➢ In other words, at some point there and you will probably not have
is not enough energy to sustain fifth trophic level because simply
an effective population sizes that there’s not enough energy to
manages to avoid inbreeding, sustain a viable population of that
genetic drift, and so on organism
➢ So, that is why, for example, there is
no viable species that preys
exclusively for lions
➢ There is simply not enough lions to
support that species (or even single
popualtion of that species)
➢ But there are many implications, an
example is the population of
Philippine Eagles
➢ Because there is so little forests left
here in the Philippines, even if we
managed to breed enough Philippine
Eagles, the ecosystem is simply not
enough to support a large number of
them
➢ That’s why this idea of looking an
ecoystems in terms of energy is so
powerful
BIODIVERSITY ECOSYSTEM
➢ The broad base of producers FUNCTION
represents the biomass, the enrby
trapped in the bodies of producers
Question: Why would the number of
➢ The volume of this second trophic
species or species richness, be crucial to
level, the herbivores represents the
the way an ecosystem functions? What is it
biomass which is the proxy for
about the number of species that makes the
energy trapped in the bodies of
ecosystem work better and contribute to the
herbivores
resiliency or the stability of the ecosystem?

19 | Systems Ecology (LE 4) Transes made by: Cedric Co (BS-MedBio)

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ Scientists are beginning that material or matter, and energy
to study this and the emerging field are moving form one species to
is referred to as BEF or another
Biodiversity ecosystem function
➢ We can think of any ecosystem as
species that network one to
another
➢ They have interactions with each
other and they can be a lot of
different interactions

➢ Arrows showing the direction of

energy that is flowing from one
species to another

➢ For example: Like certain birds

nesting in trees or a bird and a worm
might eat one another

➢ The most important thing about this

webs is that the strength of these
interactions can vary
➢ That is, the interdependence of the
organisms in the web can vary

➢ In a network diagram, it is a
relatively simple ecosystem in
which the organisms are
interacting one with the other
➢ Lines indicate those interactions
and lines can be directional to show

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ And here’s something
that might be counterintuitive, these
interactions become less Notes:
important — the more species
you have within a network
➢ You can think of it as the interactions
being spread among more players

Question: But what happens when there are

fewer players?

➢ So the higher the biodiversity or

species richness in a system (or in
a network), the stronger it is
➢ The more stable it will be because of
all the additional options open to the
organisms in it
➢ Not all interactions within a given
ecosystem or network are exactly
➢ Let’s say we’ve got a simple the same strength because some
interaction where the owl is eating species have stronger interactions
the mouse but can also eat a with each other than they do with
squirrel some other species
➢ This gives the owl options

➢ If we remove one of these, then we

only have two species interacting
with each other and it’s really ➢ For example, let’s imagine a whale
easy to disturbed that system and he’s eating plankton (the
➢ It can cause total ecological microscopic organisms living in the
collapse water)

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
➢ Plankton are the communities that change over
producers and the ones that can time as the condition of the whale
photosynthesize itself changes, that turn the whale
➢ Remember, food equals energy from a fleshy organism to bones
➢ So, a lot of energy flowing from the
propducers to the consumer
represented
➢ Lines represent the flow of energy
through the ecosystem

➢ And eventually even the bones are

eaten
➢ So this huge influx of energy that
➢ Eventually, the whale succumbs to
the whale’s been accumulating
life and dies and the whale ends up
fromn these producers (the
on the sea floor
plankton) that it’s been feeding on is
returned to the environment,
Question: Are things over at that point?
cycled back through the
➢ Definitely not, because at that point,
ecosystem
he’s gonna give up and that ends up
as part of the producers’ food web
➢ These events where whales fall
onto the sea bottom start an
ecosystem of their own in ways
➢ This is known as whale fall
➢ Lots of organisms comes and feed
on the whale

➢ It turns out, that where you get

concentrated clustered of things
happening in these webs, it’s
usually because energy’s being
run through the larger organisms
in the system
➢ There’s a succession of
➢ And when you disturb a bit of that,
organisms, that is organismal
where you have got large amounts

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 SYSTEMS ECOLOGY (LE 4)
GENERAL ECOLOGY LECTURE (ECOLGEN)
BS MEDICAL BIOLOGY | Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan | Term 2 | DLSU - Manila
___________________________________________________________________
of energy flowing through the
system, you can get a real drop in
ecosystem function
➢ If you take the whales out of the
equation by over-hunting them, you
get this drop in ecosystem function
➢ Because there’s this removal of an
entire major energy flow system
from this network
➢ So these webs of interaction
throughout an ecosystem are really ➢ Everything’s doing something
important different. Some things will matter
➢ If the system is bigger with more more than others if you remove
species and more interactions, them
you’re gonna reduce the chance
that a perturbation or a
disturbance will have a negative
impact

➢ Because you are just reducing the

chance that you will take out
something that’s really crucial
➢ The other thing about is that all of
these things are doing something
different in the ecosystem

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