Ecosystem Energetics (Chapter 6)

1. A little physics 2. Primary production 3. Transfer of energy across trophic levels

2 Laws of Thermodynamics 1. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed from one type to another
conservation of energy

2. In any transfer of energy, some energy is lost

entropy

 1st law: all energy in an ecosystem ultimately comes from

the sun chemical compounds (hydrogen sulfide)

2nd law: energy is constantly being lost to the environment as heat

Primary production capturing light energy and storing it in chemical bonds of carbon compounds
primary productivity the rate of primary production primary producers photosynthetic autotrophs

 Energy + 6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2

Each gram of C assimilated = 39 kilojoules (kJ) of energy stored
Joules = unit of energy

Biomass is dominated by carbon

biomass and energy are equivalent

Plants use the products of photosynthesis in 2 ways

1. new proteins, tissues, cells, structures growth & reproduction 2. fuel for the above processes

Assimilated Carbon

 Gross primary production (GPP) total amount of energy assimilated by photosynthesis Net primary production (NPP) energy actually stored as biomass GPP NPP = respiration

GPP

NPP

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Net primary production (NPP)

Measuring NPP in nature Units: energy per unit area per year
kJ per m2 per yr, or W per m2

1 g C assimilated = 39 kJ energy
can use plant biomass or CO2 uptake as an estimate of energy

Ignoring roots annual aboveground net productivity (AANP)

Measuring NPP in nature 1. Measure amount of CO2 absorbed by leaves

extrapolate from a very small area

2. Use radioactive isotopes to measure total uptake of C 3. In aquatic systems, measure changes in O2 concentration

Light

Dark

Limits on Primary Production

Light
in shade, forest understory photosynthetic efficiency percentage of the energy in sunlight converted to NPP
averages just 1 to 2%

Temperature
most plants have an optimum temperature respiration increases with temperature

 Water
transpiration (or water use) efficiency amount of plant tissue produced per kilogram of water transpired
2-4 g tissue/kg water

increasing precipitation -> increased NPP some water is lost to runoff

 Nutrients
Liebigs law of the minimum most important in deserts, open ocean, agriculture

Transfer of energy across trophic levels

All energy used by higher trophic levels originates with primary producers With each step in the food chain, 8095% of energy is lost

Ecological efficiency proportion of the biomass of one trophic levels transformed into biomass at the next higher trophic level

 For heterotrophs, ecological efficiencies average 5-20% Why?

indigestible tissues
hair, feathers, insect exoskeletons, cartilage, bone cellulose, lignin

maintenance costs loss of energy as heat (entropy)

 Exploitation efficiency proportion of production on one trophic level consumed by the next higher level
usually less than 100%

Not all food consumed by heterotrophs is transformed into biomass

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Exploitation efficiency = Ingestion/NPP

 Amount of energy actually absorbed from food is assimilated energy Assimilation efficiency proportion of ingested energy actually absorbed by the body
seeds 80% young vegetation 60-70% grazing/browsing 30-40% wood 15% animals 60-90%

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Assimilation efficiency = Assimilation/Ingestion

Indigestible

Assimilation

 Growth and reproduction in heterotrophs adds biomass

Net production efficiency = (biomass production)/(assimilated energy)
the proportion of energy not used for maintenance and not lost as heat birds: 1% small mammals: 6% cold-blooded animals: 75%

 For plants, net production efficiency = NPP/GPP

fast-growing temperate plants 75-85% tropical species 40-60%

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Net Production Efficiency = Growth/Assimilation Respiration, maintenance

Indigestible

Assimilation
Growth

Gross production efficiency = (biomass production)/(ingested energy)

1-5% for warm-blooded animals 5-15% for insects up to 30% for aquatic animals

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Gross production efficiency= Growth/Ingestion

Indigestible

Respiration, maintenance Assimilation

Growth

Detritus (dead stuff) Assimilation efficiency of herbivores is only 30-70%

most plant tissue is not digested by animals and ends up as detritus

Two independent food chains

herbivores
most important in plankton communities

detritivores
terrestrial communities

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Decomposition

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Indigestible

Respiration, maintenance Assimilation

Growth

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Decomposition

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Ecological Efficiency = Biomass (higher level)/ Biomass (lower level)

Indigestible

Respiration, maintenance Assimilation

Growth

Respiration, maintenance Gross primary production (GPP)

Decomposition

Net primary production (NPP)

Ingestion by herbivores

Indigestible

Respiration, maintenance Assimilation

Ingestion by predators

Growth

 Residence time average time that energy spends on one trophic level
= (energy stored in biomass)/(net productivity)

Biomass accumulation ratio residence time based on biomass rather than energy
= (biomass)/(rate of biomass production)