PRINCIPLES

AND
CONCEPTS
OF
ECOSYSTEM

Jocelyn Arguelles

Jay Bianca A. Alistado

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy - 1

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND BIOSPHERE

Environment
- denotes all the physical, chemical and biotic conditions surrounding and influencing a
living organism.

Two main components of environment:

Abiotic or Non-living components

- the physical (climatic), edaphic (nature of soil) and chemical. Ex.
temperature, light, pressure, humidity, precipitation, wind, mineral elements of
soil and composition of air

Biotic or Living components

- All living organisms found in the environment including plants, animals and
microorganisms.

Ecology

- the scientific study of the relationship and interactions between organisms and their
environment. The term ecology is derived from a Greek word Oekologie where
“oikos” meaning “household”and “logos” means “the study of.”

ORGANIZATION OF LIFE

Levels of organization:

Genes → Cell → Organ → Organism → Species - Population → Community →Ecosystem

→ Biome → Biosphere

Levels of biotic organizations show direct impact of the environment:

Habitat
- a specific place where the population lives
Structural Components of habitat:

1. Space 2. Water 3. Food 4. Cover or shelter

FOUR MAJOR HABITATS OF THE EARTH:

TERMS RELATED TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Niche and Organisms

Niche

- the sum of all the activities and relationships of a species by which it uses the
resources in its habitat for its survival and reproduction.
- the functional characteristics of a species in its habitat

- The most important resources available in the niches of animals are food and shelter
while in case of plants, they are moisture and nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen)

Adaptation
- the appearance or behaviour or structure or mode of life of an organism that allows it
to survive in a particular environment”.
- can be observed in structure or behaviour or physiology of an organism.
- have a genetic basis and have been evolved and perfected through the evolutionary
process.
BIOSPHERE
- A thin layer on and around the earth which sustains life

Three physical components of the earth are;

1. atmosphere (air)
2. lithosphere (land)
3. hydrosphere (water)

Atmosphere is a gaseous envelope surrounding the earth’s surface, It is madeup of

nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and many other gases in very small amounts.

Hydrosphere is all the water supply to the earth which exists as liquid, vapour or frozen
form of fresh and salt water.

Lithosphere comprises the soil and rock of the earth’s crust.

- The term ecosphere is being used more commonly.

- It is used to denote biosphere (living components) along with its three abiotic
components –atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere of the earth as one entity
(unit).
Ecosphere = Biosphere + Lithosphere + Hydrosphere + Atmosphere)

Species Composition

- A community is an assemblage of many populations that are living together at the

same place and time.

Stratification
- Ecosystem stratification: The vertical and horizontal distribution of plants in the
ecosystem
FOOD CHAIN
- Transfer of food from the plants (producers) through a series of organisms with
repeated eating and being eaten

Grasses → Grasshopper → Frogs → Snakes → Hawk/Eagle

1 2 3 4 5

- Each step in the food chain is called trophic level.

Some more examples of food chain are given

Three important features that you can note in these chains are :

1. Weaker organisms are attacked by the stronger organisms

2. Number of organisms is reduced at each higher level but the size of organisms is
increases.
3. The number of steps in a food chain is limited to 4-5.

A food chain consists of the following trophic levels:

(Producers) Autotrophs :

- They produce food for all other organisms of the ecosystem. Autotrophs represent
the first trophic level.

Primary consumers Herbivore :

- These are animals which feed directly on the plants.

- They are first level consumers and therefore they are also known as primary
consumers and make the second trophic level in the food chain capable of converting
 energy stored in the plant tissue into animal tissue and therefore they are also known
as key industry.
- They can digest high cellulose diet.

Secondary consumer Carnivore :

- Carnivores are the animals that feed on other animals or its tissues. Therefore they
are secondary, tertiary or quaternary level consumers.

Decomposers :

- They make up the final trophic level in a food chain.

- Decomposers are the organisms that feed on dead organic matter called detritus of
all the trophic levels and help in recycling the nutrients. Ex. bacteria, fungi, mites,
millipedes, earthworms, nematodes, slugs, crabs and molluscs.

Special feeding groups (Consumers):

Scavengers: These are the animals that feed on the dead plants and animals. e.g. termites
and beetles feed on the decaying wood, and many marine invertebrates

Omnivores: Omnivores consume both plants and animals as source of their food e.g. human
beings.

Parasites: They live and feed on/in other living organisms called host.Parasites not only feed
on their host but they also cause lethal or nonlethal disease in it.

FOOD WEB
- A net work of food chains which are interconnected at various trophic levels of the
food chain to form a number of feeding connections

ENERGY THROUGH THE FLOW SYSTEM

- The energy enters into the ecosystem in the form of solar radiation and is converted
Into food (plant biomass) by the producers. Food stored by the plants and their
 biomass (matter) is the chemical form of energy. From the producers this chemical
form of energy passes through various trophic levels in the food chain.

- This process of transfer of energy through various trophic levels of the food chain is
known as flow of energy.

The entire process of energy flow can be summarized in the following four steps:

1. The flow of energy in an ecosystem is always linear or one-way.

2. At every step in a food chain the energy received by the organism is also usedfor its
own metabolism and maintenance. The left over is passed to next higher trophic
level. Thus energy flow decreases with successive trophic levels.
3. It follows the ecological thumb rule of 10%.
4. The number of steps is limited to four or five in a food chain for the transfer of energy.

TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS – NATURAL AND HUMAN MODIFIED

Ecosystems

- classified as natural and human modified depending upon whether they are fully
dependent on the solar radiation and other natural sources of energy or on fertilizers
and fossil fuels.

1. Natural ecosystems are such as ponds, lakes,meadows, marshlands, grasslands,

desert and forests. They are our natural resources and provide us food, fuel, fodder
and medicines.
2. Human modified ecosystem are made and managed by human beings for their
better living. Urban ecosystem, rural ecosystem, agro-ecosystems, aquaculture and
spaceship aquarium terrarium
BIOTIC INTERACTIONS IN ECOSYSTEMS

Intraspecific interaction - The interaction that occurs among different individuals of the
same species

Interspecific interaction - the interaction among individuals of different species in a

community

Interactions between organisms belonging to the same trophic level often involve
competition. Individuals of a population may compete for food, space and mates. For
example if a mouse has been eaten by a cat, other cats competing for this resource would
have one less mouse to prey on. The snake another predator of the mice would also have
fewer mice to eat during the night if the cat has succeeded. Direct competition, though,
between the cat and snake is not much as they prey at different times. They also eat a
variety of different foods.

Interspecific relationship may be direct and close as between a lion and deer or indirect and
remote as between an elephant and a beetle. This is because interactions between two
species need not be through direct contact.
Interactions may be of various kinds:

Amensalism: a type of biological interaction where one species causes harm to

another organism without any cost or benefits to itself. It can be seen as a form of
interaction or competitive behavior among other organisms. An example of
Amensalism is when an organism such as a goat feeds on the same type of shrub as an
insect (such as a beetle). The goat is unharmed when it consumes the shrub, however, the
beetle loses significant quantities of food and may accidentally be eaten by the goat.

Predation: In this type of interaction, predator captures, kills and eats an animal of another
species called the prey. The predator naturally benefits from this relationship; while the prey
is harmed. Predators like leopards, tigers and cheetahs use speed, teeth and claws to hunt
and kill their prey.
Parasitism: In this type of interaction, one species is harmed and the other benefits.
Parasitism involves small sized organisms or parasites living in or on another living species
called the host from which the parasite gets its nourishment and often shelter. The parasite
is benefited and the host is harmed. Many organisms like, bacteria and viruses are
parasites of plants (Fig. 10a) and animals (Fig. 10b). Plants like dodder plant (Cuscuta)
(Refer again to Fig. 10a) and mistletoe (Loranthus) are:

a.1 Dodder, a parasitic plant is eating up a bush

a.2 Dodder, a leafless parasitic plant
growing on the leaf of a grass tree
b. infections. A mass of large round worms from a human infestatic Ascaris lumbricoides

Fig. 25.16: Parasite-host relationship (a) Plant parasite: Dodder (Cuscuta) plant is a parasitic
weed that obtains moisture and nourishment by attaching to a green, living plant. (b) Animal
parasite: Ascaris or round worms are internal parasites found in the human intestine

Competition: This is an interaction between two populations in which both species are
harmed to some extent. Competition occurs when two populations or species, both need a
vital resource that is in short supply. The vital resource could be food, water, shelter, nesting
site, mates or space. Such competition can be: (i) interspecific competition-occurring
between individuals of two different species occurring in a habitat and (ii)
intraspecific competition-occurs between individuals of same species. Intraspecific
competition occurs between members of the same species and so it is very intense.

(i) interspecific competition (ii) intraspecific competition

Commensalism: In this relationship one of the species benefits while the other is
neither harmed nor benefited. Some species obtain the benefit of shelter or transport from
another species. For example sucker fish, remora often attaches to a shark by means of its
sucker which is present on the top of its head. This helps remora get protection, a free ride
as well as a meal from the left over of the shark’s meal. The shark does not however get any
benefit nor is it adversely affected by this association.
Mutualism: This is a close association between two species in which both the species
benefit. For example the sea anemone, a cnidarian gets attached to the shell of hermit crab
for benefit of transport and obtaining new food while the anemone provides camouflage and
protection by means of its stinging cells to the hermit crab (Fig. 11).

BIOMES

A biome is different from an ecosystem. An ecosystem is the interaction of living and

nonliving things in an environment. A biome is a specific geographic area notable for the
species living there. A biome can be made up of many ecosystems. For example, an aquatic
biome can contain ecosystems such as coral reefs and kelp forests.

These are forest, grassland, freshwater, marine, desert, and tundra.

A. Terrestrial: These are the biomes found on land e.g„ tundra, forest, deserts,
grasslands

B. Aquatic: These are the biomes found in water. These can be:
(i) Fresh waters, such as pond, lake and river
(ii) Marine as oceans, shallow sea
Terrestrial Biomes
A. Forests: Forests are one of the largest plant formations, densely packed with tall and big
trees. Three main forest types are: Tropical rain forests, Temperate deciduous forests,
Boreal or North coniferous forests

1. Temperate forests
This type of forest is widespread in eastern Asia and North America. Due to
the four distinct seasons that exist at these latitudes, temperate forests have
varying temperatures throughout the year. There is a lot of rainfall, which
contributes to fertile soil that can support a wide variety of vegetation,
including maple, oak, and birch trees. A few examples of the wildlife that
make temperate forests home include deer, squirrels, and bears.

2. Tropical forests
Tropical forests are widespread in equatorial regions, including Southeast
Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America. 20 to 31°C (68 to 88°F) has
been recorded as the typical temperature in tropical forests. The height of
biodiversity can be found in tropical rainforests.

Tropical mangrove forests are located in the tropics and subtropics and are
characterized by trees and shrubs that grow in brackish or salt water.
 3. Boreal forest
Taiga is another name for this type of woodland. Siberia, Scandinavia, and
North America are all home to boreal forests, one of the largest land biomes
on the planet (Alaska and Canada). Carbon dioxide is significantly removed
from the atmosphere by boreal forests. In boreal forests, the temperature is
typically below zero. The majority of the needle-leaf plant species in boreal
forests are conifers, including spruce, fir, and pine trees.

B. Grasslands: Grasslands are dominated by the grasses. They occupy about 20% of the
land on earth’s surface. They occur in both tropical and temperate regions where
environmental conditions are better than that of the desert but rainfall is not enough to
support the growth of trees. Grasslands are known by various names in different parts of the
world. For example they are called prairies, steppes, savannas and pampas.

C. Deserts: Deserts are waterless barren regions of the earth. They occupy about
one-seventh of the land on earth’s surface. Deserts form an extreme condition in the
sequence of ecosystems with respect to the climatic condition. Any vegetation and wildlife
living in a desert must have special adaptations for surviving in a dry environment.
D. Tundra: The word tundra means a “barren land” since they are found in those regions of
the world where environmental conditions are very severe. There are two types of tundra
arctic and alpine.

Arctic tundra extend as a continuous belt below the polar ice cap and above the tree line on
the northern hemisphere. It occupies the northern fringe of Canada Alaska, European
Russia, Siberia and island group of arctic ocean.

Alpine tundra occur at high mountain peaks above the tree line. Since mountains are found
at all latitudes therefore alpine tundra show day and night temperature variations
Aquatic Biomes
Aquatic ecosystems are constituted by water bodies

Aquatic ecosystems are classified on the basis of salinity into following two types:
1. Freshwater 2. Marine

Freshwater Ecosystem
Water on land which is continuously cycling and has low salt content is known as fresh
water. The study of fresh water ecosystem is known as limnology. Fresh waters are
classified into two types:
(i) Standing or still water (Lentic) e.g. pond, lake, bogs and swamps.
(ii) Running water (Lotic) e.g.. springs, mountain brooks, streams and rivers.

Marine Ecosystem
are aquatic environments with high levels of dissolved salt. These include the open ocean,
the deep-sea ocean, and coastal marine ecosystems