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the former situation, grounded species with a taste for bird eggs would seem to have easy pickings; hence, the probability is that there are no such predators in the ecosystem. Or, if there are, then the ability of the bird population to lay eggs and hatch the next generation of the species is superior to the predators’ ability to find and eat the eggs.

Appetite and Sustenance

In our very simple example ecosystem comprised primarily of lettuce and rabbits, two of the basic boundary parameters of the ecosystem insofar as the rabbits are concerned, are lettuce and water. Of course, implicit in this ecosystem is air, thus establishing the three primary ingredients for sustenance of life: food, water and air. We’ve alluded to the fact that in a more realistic, complex ecosystem the processes through which life presents itself gain impetus from a variety of sources. A most basic process is that of cell operation and reproduction and the impetus for this process is energy in the form of chemical bonds that can be made available to the DNA replication process and to the synthesizing of proteins within the cell under the direction of instructions from the DNA; more about this in the next chapter.

Central to any physical ecosystem is the existence of one or more food chains that support the species of plants and animals found within it. From the perspective of the ultimate energy source, there are two distinct variants of food chains within earth ecosystems: solar-based chains and chemical-based chains. Interestingly enough, one derives ultimately from the strong nuclear force while the other is enabled largely by the weak force. For most food chains, the ultimate source of energy is the sun which runs on nuclear fusion derived from the strong force. Energy is conveyed from the sun to the earth through the electromagnetic force, with the basic energy of the food chain then being derived from sunlight. In the typical solar food chain ecosystem, a variety of plant species are able to directly convert solar energy into chemical sugars that form the foodstuff of other plant and animal species. Among the animal species, herbivores feed on plants and predator animals feed on the herbivores and other predators. Some omnivorous species, such as humans, can be opportunistic with respect to their food sources; for example, they can pretty well make do on a purely vegetarian diet.

Recently, we have also become aware of ecosystems surrounding sub-ocean volcanic vents that derive their basic energy source from minerals dissolved in the super-heated water emerging from them. In areas where magma from the lower mantle makes its way relatively close to the surface, ground water is heated and then expelled through vents in the ocean floor. This hot water dissolves large amounts of minerals from the surrounding formations, particularly large amounts of sulfurous compounds. In these areas, the food chains are grounded in bacteria species called chemosynthetic autotrophs that can convert these various minerals into the chemical sugars that can feed other species. Since the minerals themselves and the primary source of heat that produces the molten magma that dissolves the minerals derives from the initial creation of the planet, augmented by tidal force heating (from the deformation of earth under the same gravitational forces that deform the sea) and weak-force based radioactive decay within the earth, this truly does constitute a food chain that does not ultimately derive from solar fusion. Well, technically all the higher mass elements, beyond hydrogen and helium, are the by-products of solar fusion released through nova and supernova explosions, but that’s kind of pushing a point.

In any case, the ultimate effect of the food chains within an ecosystem is to provide basic life with a means to obtain energy in order to replicate or reproduce. Some organisms derive energy from basic physical processes such as light or chemical reactions based on inorganic material. Other organisms derive energy from other organisms. This leads us down the path to predators and prey,

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