Matter is the substance that all objects are made of. Matter flows through an ecosystem in a cycle.

Cycles of Matter

Living and nonliving things are both made up of matter.

Energy flows in one direction (trophic levels).Matter flows in cycles.Matter can cycle because biological systems

do not use up matter, they transform it = Law of Conservation of Matter.

Matter

All living things require water to survive

Water enters atmosphere via evaporation (liquid to gas) and transpiration (evaporating from plant leaves).

Water returns to earth in precipitation.

Water Cycle

The chemicals that an organism needs to sustain life are its nutrients.

Nutrients are used to build tissue and maintain life

Nutrients, like water, cycle between organisms and the environment.

Autotrophs acquire most of their nutrients from inorganic substances in the environment.

Heterotrophs acquire their nutrients by eating other organisms.

Nutrient Cycles

Carbon is a key ingredient of living tissueCarbon enters the atmosphere via:

RespirationVolcanismHuman activities – mining, burning forests,

fossil fuelsCarbon is used in photosynthesis to make

oxygen.Decomposing living organisms store carbon

in the ground and become coal and petroleum (fossil fuels).

Carbon Cycle

Photosynthesis

feeding

feeding

Respiration

Deposition

Carbonate Rocks

Deposition

Decomposition

Fossil fuel

Volcanic activity

Uplift

Erosion

Respiration

Human activity

Photosynthesis

All organisms require nitrogen to make amino acids.

Which are required to make…Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up over 78% of

Earth’s atmosphere, but only certain types of bacteria can use this form directly.

These bacteria live on the roots of plants such as legumes. They convert nitrogen gas to ammonia (NH3), which is usable by plants, in a process called nitrogen fixation.

Nitrogen fixation is essential for life as we know it.

Nitrogen Cycle

Other bacteria in the soil convert ammonia into nitrates (NO3-) and nitrites (NO2-).

Producers can use these to make proteins. Consumers then eat the producers and reuse

the nitrogen to make their own proteins.Other soil bacteria convert nitrates into

nitrogen gas in a process called denitrification.

This process releases nitrogen into the atmosphere once again.

Nitrogen Cycle

Bacterial nitrogen fixation

N2 in Atmosphere

NH3

Synthetic fertilizer manufacturer

Uptake by producers

Reuse by consumers

Decomposition, excretion

Atmospheric nitrogen fixation

Uptake by producers

Reuse by consumers

Denitrification

Decomposition, excretion

NO3

and NO2

Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)

Living in nitrogen poor swamps and bogs, the Venus Flytrap augments its diet by consuming nitrogen rich animals.

The terminal leaves are modified to have cilia and a touch-sensitive rapid response mechanism.

The plant then digests its prey with enzymes and reduces its prey to a husk of chitin.

Nitrogen – We all need our fix

Phosphorous is essential to living things because it helps us synthesize DNA and RNA.

Most phosphorus exists in the form of inorganic phosphate. Inorganic phosphate is released into the soil and water as sediments wear down.

Phosphate eventually enters the ocean where it is used by marine organisms.

Some phosphate stays on land and cycles between organisms and the soil. Plants bind the phosphates into organic compounds.

Phosphorous Cycle

Ocean

Land

Organisms

Sediments

Phosphorous Cycle

• Organic phosphate moves through the food web and to the rest of the ecosystem.•The primary productivity of an ecosystem is the rate at which organic matter is created by producers. •One factor that controls the primary productivity of an ecosystem is the amount of available nutrients.

If a nutrient is in short supply, it will limit an organism's growth.

When an ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or cycles very slowly, this substance is called a limiting nutrient.

When an aquatic ecosystem receives a large input of a limiting nutrient—such as runoff from heavily fertilized fields—the result is often an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers.

This result is called an algal bloom. Algal blooms can disrupt the equilibrium of an

ecosystem.

Nutrient Limitation

Algal bloom in Gulf of Mexico, emptying from Mississippi River, as seen from Space.

This type of area is considered a ‘dead zone’ because the massive amount of algae deplete the area of oxygen leaving it completely devoid of marine life.

Algal Bloom

•Why do you think this is occurring here?•How could this be prevented in the future?

1. Transpiration is part of the A. water cycle.B. carbon cycle.C. nitrogen cycle.D. phosphorus cycle.

2. Nitrates are converted into N2 (Nitrogen gas) by the process ofA. nitrogen fixation.B. denitrification.C. decomposition and excretion.D. reuse by consumers.

3. When an aquatic ecosystem receives a large input of a limiting nutrient, the result is A. runoff.B. more primary productivity.C. algal bloom.D. less primary productivity.

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