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3: Ecosystems and the Biosphere

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  • Page ID
    106513

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    A Karner blue butterfly and a lupine, whose leaves are the only food for the caterpillars.
    Figure 3.1 The (a) Karner blue butterfly and (b) wild lupine live in oak-pine barren habitats in North America. This habitat is characterized by natural disturbance in the form of fire and nutrient-poor soils that are low in nitrogen—important factors in the distribution of the plants that live in this habitat. Researchers interested in ecosystem ecology study the importance of limited resources in this ecosystem and the movement of resources (such as nutrients) through the biotic and abiotic portions of the ecosystem. Researchers also examine how organisms have adapted to their ecosystem. (credit: USFWS)
    Learning Objectives
    • Describe the basic types of ecosystems on Earth
    • Differentiate between food chains and food webs and recognize the importance of each
    • Describe how organisms acquire energy in a food web and in associated food chains
    • Discuss the biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur
    • Explain how human activities have impacted these cycles

    Chapter Outline

    • 3.1 Energy Flow through Ecosystems
    • 3.2 Biogeochemical Cycles
    • 3.3 Terrestrial Biomes
    • 3.4 Aquatic Biomes
    • 3.5 Chapter Resources

    Thumbnail image - The (a) Karner blue butterfly and (b) wild lupine live in oak-pine barren habitats in North America. This habitat is characterized by natural disturbance in the form of fire and nutrient-poor soils that are low in nitrogen—important factors in the distribution of the plants that live in this habitat. Researchers interested in ecosystem ecology study the importance of limited resources in this ecosystem and the movement of resources (such as nutrients) through the biotic and abiotic portions of the ecosystem. Researchers also examine how organisms have adapted to their ecosystem. (credit: USFWS)

    This page titled 3: Ecosystems and the Biosphere is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Matthew R. Fisher (OpenOregon) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.