Unit 2: Ecosystems

Dr. Urvashi Sanwal

Rajdhani College
University of Delhi

Ecology & Ecosystem

• The term Ecology was coined by Earnst Haeckel in 1869 and derived from the Greek words Oikos
(eco)- home + logos- study.

• Ecology is the study of organisms in their natural home interacting with their surroundings
[other living organisms (biotic) and physical (abiotic) components].

• The term Ecosystem was coined by A. E. Tansley in 1935.

• An ecosystem is a self- sustaining, structural and functional unit of biosphere where living
organisms interact with each other and with a biotic (non- living/ physical) components like
air, water, soil.

• Ecology is often defined as ‘‘the study of ecosystems’’.

• Ecosystem depends on solar energy which is captured by green plants and is passed on to
subsequent organisms and without a source of energy an ecosystem will not function.

• Ecosystem is an open system w.r.t flow of energy and a closed system w.r.t flow of minerals.

Types of Ecosystem
Levels of Biological Organization
 Atoms combine Molecules combine Cells which organize into Tissues which
organize to form Organs (neurons form brain etc) forming Body structure (bone
structure, etc) which forms an Organism

 A group of organism of same species that live together in the same area at the same time is a
Population.

 Species: Group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed with one another in wild
to produce fertile offspring.

 Community: Population of different species that live and interact together within an area at the
same time form a community.

 Ecosystem: Community and abiotic factor

 Landscape: Region with several ecosystems

 Biosphere: Layer of earth containing all living organisms.

Structure of Ecosystem
1. BIOTIC COMPONENTS: Different living organisms constitute the biotic component of an
ecosystem and belong to the following categories:
a. Producers/ Autotrophs: These are mainly producing food themselves e.g., Green plants
produce food by photosynthesis in the presence of sunlight from raw materials like
water and carbon dioxide. They are known as photo-autotrophs (auto = self, photo =
light, troph = food). There are some chemo-autotrophs, which are a group of bacteria,
producing their food from oxidation of certain chemicals. e.g. sulphur bacteria.
b. Consumers/ Heterotrophs: These organisms get their food by feeding on other
organisms. They are of the following types:
i. Herbivores/ Primary consumers—which feed on plants e.g. rabbit, cattle, deer.
ii. Carnivores/ Secondary or tertiary consumers—which feed on herbivores as
secondary carnivores (e.g., frog, small fish) or tertiary carnivores (e.g., snake, big
fish), which feed on other consumers.
iii. Omnivores—which feed on both plants and animals e.g., humans, rats, fox,
many birds.
iv. Detritivores / saprotrophs —which feed on dead organisms, waste of living
organisms, partially decomposed matter e.g., termites, beetles, earth worm,
crab, ants, vulture.
c. Decomposers: These are micro-organisms which break down complex organic
compounds present in dead organisms into simpler inorganic compounds and in this
process they derive their nutrition. They decompose the dead remains of other
organisms (autotrophs and heterotrophs). They play a very important role in converting
the essential nutrients from unavailable organic form to free inorganic form that is
available for use by plants e.g., bacteria, fungi.

2. ABIOTIC COMPONENTS: Various physico-chemical components of the ecosystem constitute the

abiotic structure:
a. Climatic factors: include sunlight, solar intensity, rainfall, temperature, wind speed and
direction, water availability, soil texture etc.
b. Inorganic substances: include major essential nutrients like C, N, P, K, H2, O2, S etc. and
micronutrients like Fe, Mo, Zn, Cu etc., salts and toxic substances like pesticides.
 c. Organic substances: proteins, carbohydrates, fats which are present in the living
organisms.

These physico-chemical factors of water, air and soil play an important role in ecosystem functioning.

Function of Ecosystem
Three functional attributes of ecosystem:

1. Biological: Food chain, food web, ecological pyramids, ecological succession.

2. Physical: Energy flow

3. Biogeochemical process: Nutrient cycles

Physical functions of ecosystem

• Unidirectional non cyclic flow of energy from producers to consumers. Primary sources is the
Sun.

• Cyclic flow of nutrients from living organisms to non living environment achieved by activity of
decomposers.

Fig: Model of energy and mineral movement in ecosystem

Energy flow in ecosystem

1. Energy is not created. It is only converted from one form to another. Eg. Plants convert light
energy (from sun) to chemical energy in form of carbohydrate through the process of
photosynthesis.
 2. There is a continuous transfer of energy from one trophic level to next in food chain. In each
trophic level some energy is utilized by organism for activities and growth and rest is lost as heat
which isn’t utilized.
3. Since there is loss of energy as heat at each trophic level, the amount of energy available at
each successive level keeps on decreasing. The energy available at producer level is maximum.

Ten per cent law

At every successive step in the food-chain, there is huge loss of about 90% of the energy in different
processes (respiration, excretion, locomotion etc.) and only 10% moves to next level .

Types of food chain

Fig: Grazing food chain in a pond ecosystem

 Fig: Detritus food chain in an estuary based on dead leaves of mangrove trees

Food web
1. Food web is a network of interconnected food chains.

2. In nature food chains are always inter connected and not isolated.

3. Food web provides alternate pathway of food, therefore a more stable ecosystem.
 Ecological pyramids
1. Graphical representation of ecological parameters like number of individuals, biomass or
energy flow present at each trophic levels of a food chain.

2. Producers form base and top carnivores form the top of the pyramid.

3. Pyramid of numbers: An ecological pyramid constructed on the basis of number of organisms

in each trophic level. The pyramid is mostly upright (grass ecosystem) but can be inverted (tree
ecosystem)..

4. Pyramid of biomass: An ecological pyramid constructed on the basis of total biomass (living
matter) of all organisms at each trophic level. The pyramid can be upright (terrestrial habitats;
forest ecosystem) or inverted (aquatic habitats; pond ecosystem)..
5. Pyramid of energy :Graphical representation of the total amount of energy present in each
trophic level. The pyramid of energy is always upright.

Productivity of Ecosystem
1. It is rate of production of organic materials from inorganic components i.e. total amount of
organic matter accumulated in anyone unit time.
2. Organic compounds like carbohydrate, proteins and lipids contain carbon and Inorganic
compounds like salts, water, metals which lack carbon-hydrogen bonds.
3. Two levels:
a) Primary productivity
b) Secondary productivity
 Ecological Succession
1. Refers to process of community development over time, involving species in one stage being
replaced by different species.

2. Refers to process of change in species structure of a community over time where species in one
stage are being replaced by different species

3. Community: assemblage of interacting population living together, occupying a given area.

Biogeochemical cycle
 Water cycle

Nitrogen cycle
 Biomes
• Biome is a large terrestrial region which has similar climate, soil, plants and animals,
regardless of where it occurs in the world.

• Temperature and rainfall are major determinants of flora and fauna.

• 9 major biomes of world:

1. Tundra (cold plains of far north)

2. Taiga, Boreal forest (conifer forest of north)

3. Temperate rainforest

4. Temperate deciduous

5. Tropical rainforest

6. Temperate Grassland

7. Tropical Grassland: Savanna

8. Chaparral (thickets of evergreen shrubs and small trees

9. Deserts (Arid life zones)

 Mangrove forest
1. A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water.

2. Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.

3. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees. They contain a complex salt filtration system and complex
root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave action. They are adapted to the low
oxygen conditions of waterlogged mud.

4. Because the soil is perpetually waterlogged, little free oxygen is available, they have aerial roots
which allow mangroves to absorb gases directly from the atmosphere, and other nutrients such
as iron, from the inhospitable soil. Mangroves store gases directly inside the roots, processing
them even when the roots are submerged during high tides.

 Orange Mangrove.

 Red Mangrove.

 River mangrove.

 Grey Mangrove.

5. Birds roost in the canopy, shellfish attach themselves to the roots, and snakes and crocodiles
come to hunt. Mangroves provide nurseries for fish; a food sources for monkeys, deer, tree-
climbing crabs... and a nectar source for bats and honeybees."
 Types of ecosystem in India: Threat & Conservation

Ecosystem services:

Ecosystem restoration:

Homeostatis/ Cybernetic nature

1. Derived from two greek words; Homeo: unchanging, statis standby (staying the same).

2. Tendency or inherent property of all living to resist change and maintain an equilibrium.

3. Ecosystem regulates and maintains itself and resists any stress or disturbances up to a limit.
This self- regulation or control is called cybernetic system.

4. There is a max. and min. range of tolerance called homeostatic plateau (range of tolerance).

5. Negative feedback

6. Positive feedback

7. We shouldn’t contribute to Positive feedback or else ecosystem will collapse