Cycles of Matter

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

2. 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.

3. Water Cycle • 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.

4. Nutrient Cycles • 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.

5. Carbon Cycle • Carbon is a key ingredient of living tissue • Carbon enters the atmosphere via: • Respiration • Volcanism • Human activities – mining, burning forests, fossil fuels • Carbon is used in photosynthesis to make oxygen. • Decomposing living organisms store carbon in the ground and become coal and petroleum (fossil fuels).

6. Photosynthesis Volcanic activity feeding Respiration Erosion Human activity Respiration Decomposition Uplift Deposition Photosynthesis feeding Fossil fuel Deposition Carbonate Rocks

7. Nitrogen Cycle • 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.

8. 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.

9. N2 in Atmosphere Synthetic fertilizer manufacturer Atmospheric nitrogen fixation Denitrification Uptake by producers Reuse by consumers Uptake by producers Reuse by consumers Decomposition, excretion Decomposition, excretion Bacterial nitrogen fixation NO3 and NO2 NH3

11. Nitrogen – We all need our fix • Venus Flytrap (Dionaeamuscipula) • 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.

12. Phosphorous Cycle • 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.

13. 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. • Organisms • Land • Ocean • Sediments

14. Nutrient Limitation • 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.

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

16. Bell Ringer • 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 of • A. 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.