GE ELECT 103

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
AMABEL MARINA C. MARCAIDA, MASE
Assistant Professor 3
 THE ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

• Introduction:
• The need to carefully manage our fragile environment has certainly become imperative in
the face of the prevailing environmental degradation.
• The history of mankind attests to the severe destruction we have done towards our planet
Earth and how we are now suffering from the consequences.
• The present state of the environment indicates the kind of creatures we have been and the
kind of creatures we need to become in order to survive.
• The need to manage better the resources that are incumbent upon us to preserve and
conserve, namely, our land, water, air minerals, energy sources, and most importantly, our
rich trove of living resources that are all made available to provide for man’s basic and
ultimate needs.
 WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE?
SCIENCE - came from the latin word scientia which means knowledge
- a process for producing knowledge
ENVIRONMENT – from the Frenche word environmer, to encircle or surround
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION - a process by which people develop awareness,
concern and knowledge of the environment and learn to use this understanding to
preserve, conserve and utilize the environment in a sustainable manner for the benefit
of present and future generations.
 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
• study of the interaction of man with the natural environment.
• It is highly interdisciplinary.
• It is inclusive and holistic.

• A major field of study related to environmental science is ecology, the study how organisms
interact with one another and their living environment.
• ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE - as a relative new field, it is a systematic study of our
environment and our place to live in.
• it starts with its most basic functional unit - the ecosystem
 ECOSYSTEM
• is the interactions between living and non-living things in a
particular environment.
• a place where these interactions occur.
• includes organisms, populations, and communities, each
influencing the properties of the others.
• describe the web or network of relations among organisms at
different scales of organization
 LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM

• Ecosystem is a combination of biotic and abiotic components

• Ecology is the scientific study of the interrelationships of plants, animals
and the environment
• Ecology comes from the Greek word “oikos” meaning “house or
dwelling” and “logus” meaning discourse.
It was coined by German scientist Ernst Haeckel.
 Levels of Organization Description 

Chemical Atom  Smallest particle of any matter

Molecule  Basic chemical unit that makes up the parts of a cell

  Organelle  Part of any cell

 
  Cell  Smallest/basic unit of all living things
Biological
Tissue  Group of similar cells

Organ  Group of differentiated tissues work together performing the same function

System  Basic chemical unit that that makes up the parts of the cell

Organism  An individual thing or  any living thing made up of one or more cells and able to
carry on the activities of life
   Species
   Group of individuals that are genetically related and can breed to produce fertile young.
  Individuals are not members of the same species if their members cannot produce offspring that
  can also have children. The second word in the two word name given to every organism is the
  species name. @ Homo sapiens, sapiens is the species name.
 
 
Ecological Population  a group of organisms belonging to the same species occupying the same area and interact with one
another

Community  a group of populations of different species that live in the same area and interact with one another. A
community is composed of all of the biotic factors and distributed in a geographical area.

Ecosystem  group of communities (include the living factors – biotic) interacting with the physical (abiotic) factors

Biome  a set of ecosystems sharing similar characteristics with their abiotic factors adapted to their
environments @ grassland

Biosphere  the region of the Earth which is made up of interacting ecosystems and where all possible life exists
@Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Lithosphere
 ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE
Environmental Factors:
• Biotic Factors- these are the living things, plants and animals
which influence or affect an ecosystem.
• Abiotic Factors – these are the non-living conditions or things,
such as climate or habitat that influences or affects an
ecosystem and the organisms in it.
• @ Water, soil, sunlight, and temperature
 THE STRUCTURE OF THE ECOSYSTEM CAN BE DEFINED IN
TWO WAYS:

According to:
•ecosystem structural components
•trophic structure….
 ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS:
• The nonliving environment is comprised of the abiotic factors that shape
and define the interactions and interdependence within an ecosystem. The
abiotic factors can be either a resource, if it is physical material (organic or
inorganic) of the environment that is constantly altered or exchanged among
organisms; or they can be a regulator, if they represent a physical condition of
the ecosystem. The abiotic factors thus compose the chemical and physical
environment of the living organisms. Depending on the type of ecosystem, the
abiotic factors may range from rainfall, air currents, temperature, pH of soil,
and sunlight for terrestrial land ecosystems, to water depth, turbidity, salinity
and dissolved oxygen in aquatic or water ecosystem. Climate is a notable
regulating abiotic factor as well as natural disasters like typhoon, droughts, and
fire.
 ABIOTIC FACTORS
• play a key role in the living organism’s survival and may serve as a limiting
factor that controls the populations of animals and plants in an ecosystem.
• Each species is adapted only to a specific set of conditions, however it may
also have the ability to withstand fluctuations in biotic and abiotic
environmental factors – a range of tolerance.
• Individuals comprising a population may have a varying tolerance ranges
from abiotic factors such as temperature, due to their genetic makeup as well
as age and health.
• can likewise influence the distribution of organism in an area.
 ABIOTIC COMPONENT - IT COMPRISES ALL THE
NON-LIVING THINGS
• I – Sunlight – it is the primary source of energy in nearly all ecosystems
• -it is the energy that is used by green plants during the process of photosynthesis
• @ Photoperiodism – it is the response of plants to day and night
• The response of plants to changes in the length of day and night can roughly be organized into 3
categories:
1. Long Day Plants –plants that begin the flowering process before the summer solstice (June 12)
-they flower only when the lenghtening days reach some critical length
2. Short Day Plants – begin the flowering process after the summer solstice (December 21)
3. Day Neutral Plants – they appear to be in different cycles of light and darkness
-they may flower continuously or respond to other stimuli Ex: sunflower
 ACTIVITY OF ANIMALS TO
LIGHT
• Many animals develop distinction distinctive behavioral patterns which are part of their
overall adaptation to the environments that they live in.
• Crepuscular - derived from Latin word which means “Twilight”
• -they are active during the twilight hours, at dawn and dusk
• -they take advantage of the twilight, to seek out water and engage in the behaviors since
predators are not active in the twilight
• -they can also hide easier from potential threats Ex: rabbits, cats
• 2. Nocturnal – animals that are active at night
• -they find to have keen eyes and excellent hearing Ex: Owls, Bats
• 3. Diurnal – they demonstrate activity during the day
• Ex: Humans – Eyesight is poor at night
 II - WATER
• it is the universal solvent and the basis of all life in our planet
-it is an odorless, tasteless substance that covers more than ¾ of the
Earth’s surface (75%)
97% is salty water 3% is fresh water (2%) in solid form ice
cups/glaciers (1%) in a form usable by man
-it a primary agent for the chemical and mechanical breakdown of
rock (weathering) to form loose rock fragments and soil
 GROUP OF PLANTS ACCORDING TO WATER
REQUIREMENTS
1. Hydrophytes – water-loving plants
-these are plants that actually live in water
2. Mesophytes – moderate water-loving plants-they are plants
that need a moderate amount of water
3. Epiphytes – these are plants that get their water from the air
4. Xerophytes – plants loving dry condition or grow under dry
conditions
5. Halophytes – salt-loving plants
6. Tropophytes - a plant living in a seasonal climate that can
become dormant in unfavorable conditions
 III- TEMPERATURE
– it is the measure of hotness or coldness of a body or a substance
Temperature Regulation in Animals
Body Temperature-individuals maybe divided into different types:
1. Poikilotherm –an individual whose internal temperature varies along with that of the ambient
environmental temperature
- they are known as “cold-blooded”
Ex: reptiles, fishes, amphibians
2. Homeotherm - also called “warm-blooded” animals
-keep their body temperature at constant level, regardless of ambient temperature
Ex: All Mammals
 TROPHIC STRUCTURE
The trophic structure represents the food relationships
between the structural components of the ecosystem.
In these food relationships, there is always a transfer of
matter and energy between organisms, or between organisms
and the physical environment.
The trophic structure is defined by organisms classification
based on their general nutritional trophic habits.
 PRODUCERS

• Producers are sometimes called Autotrophs (self-feeders or self-nourishing), are

organisms that can manufacture their own organic compounds that they use as sources of
energy and nutrients.
• Most producers are green plants that make the organic nutrients by transforming energy
from the Sun into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis (photosynthetic
organisms).
• The stored chemical energy produced by the photosynthesis is the direct source of food for
most organisms.
• Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere is also a product of photosynthesis. An estimated 59%
of the Earth’s photosynthesis takes place on land and the remaining 41% in the oceans and
other aquatic ecosystems. Algae of all types contain Chlorophyll and carry on
photosynthesis in water (phytoplanktons).
• Some producer organisms, mostly specialized bacteria,
chemosynthetic organisms, can extract inorganic compounds
from their environment and convert them to organic nutrients
in the absence of sunlight in the process called chemosynthesis
(chemosynthesizers).
• They are found supporting communities in some caves and also
at hydrothermal vents along deep sea oceanic ridges
 CONSUMERS
Organisms that get the nutrients and energy they require by feeding either
directly or indirectly on producers are called consumers, or heterotrophs
(other-feeders or other nourishing).
• Depending on their food sources, consumers that feed on living organisms
fall into four major classes:
• Primary consumers (herbivores) – they feed directly and only on all or part of
living plants
• Secondary consumers– primary carnivores, which feed only on plant-eating
animals
• Tertiary and higher-level consumers - large carnivores or omnivores that
feed on primary and secondary consumers, and or producers.
 DECOMPOSERS
• Heterotrophs that feed on detritus, or dead organic plant and animal matter, are known as
detrivores. There are two major classes of detrivores: detritus feeders and decomposers.
• Detritus feeders ingest fragments of dead organisms and their cast-off parts and organic
wastes. Invertebrates, such as crabs, earthworms, and clams and some vertebrates feed on
detritus, contributing to the composition of matter and nutrient cycles in the process.
• Decomposers, on the other, do not ingest dead tissue or waste; rather absorb and endocytose
the soluble nutrients at the cellular level.
• This saprotrophic mode of nutrition is carried out by bacteria and fungi. Bacteria and fungi
decomposers in turn are an important source of food for organisms, such as worms and
insects, living in soil and water.