Module 1
Module 1
MODULE 1 3
EARTH’S ECOLOGY Weeks
Introduction
There are lot of questions that need to be answer about our ecosystem. One
question is on how does a particular species often deal with their habitat or other
organisms that surrounds them.
In this module, you will be made to study how organisms interact in the
communities and ecosystems and learn how to take part in the conservation of
these species and their habitats.
The interaction of these organisms creates fascination among scientists
specially ecologists who tries to attempt to discover and explain the importance of
a particular species in the environment.
This module consists of three lessons namely:
Lesson 1: Earth’s Ecosystem
Lesson 2: Energy in the Ecosystem
Lesson 3: Biogeochemical Cycle
You are expected to be in class as scheduled to discuss answers to practic-
es set, assigned topics for readings and discussions and activities.
For every activity always follow the steps of the scientific process.
For the exploratory activities, you are required to make a visual display or
presentation and clear verbal presentation. Make sure your presentation:
• Has a logical and coherent introduction, body and conclusion.
• Completed within the allocated time.
Module Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. Express understanding of the complex interactions of humans and
ecosystem in the world.
2. Enumerate the biotic and abiotic factors that contributes to the sur-
vival of an organisms.
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Lesson 1
EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM
WEEK 3
HOURS
Lesson Outcomes 1
Why do plants and animals live in a certain places? How does the amount of
sunlight affect different organisms? Write your hypothesis in the form “If
plants and other photosynthetic organisms needs lot of sunlight, then……”
Test your hypothesis:
Materials
Experiment: Select areas to study. Chose one ar-
Spade or Trowel
ea that receives lots of sunlight and another area
4 small sticks
that receives only little sunlight. Mark of 2 x 2
meter plot in each area with sticks and strings. Measuring stick
Explore More
Make a prediction on how water in an ecosystem affects living things? How
have people affected the ecosystem?
Ecology
- from the Greek Work “oikos” which mean “house”
- it is the study of houses or habitats or more broadly, of organisms and
their relationships to their environment (Wolftree Ecology Field Guide).
- Modern scientist defines it as the study of the structure and function of
nature.
Ecosystem
- ecosystem includes all the different organisms living in a certain area
along with their physical environment.
- “Eco” refers to environment, while “system” refers to a collection of related
parts that works as a whole.
Components of an Ecosystem
Major components of an ecosystem are:
- Solar Energy
- Producers (Plants)
- Consumers (of Plants, Insects, and Animals)
- Decomposers (Bacteria and Fungi)
- Nutrients (Important for growth—carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen,
minerals)
Posted by Keshav Jain in Ecology, Environment, General Knowledge .Oct. 2016. http://
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6
Niches
- it is the way of life or the role a species pursues within its habitat.
- An organism’s niche is composed of both biotic and abiotic parts.
- Biotic factors that defines a niche are food sources and predators.
- Abiotic factors are the amount of sunlight and water.
- Within a niche, a species satisfies its basic needs in four specific catego-
ries:
Food
Water
Shelter
Reproduction
- An organism’s niche includes how much water it needs, what it eats,
where it lives, what it uses for shelter from enemies and the elements, when and
how it reproduces, how its young and such factors makes up its life.
QUICK CHECK!!!
What do you think will
happens when two spe-
cies try to share the same
niche in the same habi-
tat?
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Ecological Disturbances
- A change in an ecosystem caused by an event that disrupts or changes all
or part of an ecosystem.
- It can have many effects on both the abiotic, non-living, and biotic living.
Ecosystem Change
- Its an event that cause disturbances that alter the structure and function
of ecosystems. This will cause changes with the species present in the ecosystem,
the size and stability of populations, and area where communities are located.
- Some organisms will thrive in a changed area, others will be displaced or
killed.
- When studying ecological disturbances consider the following:
Type of disturbances
Intensity or how severe the changes or destruction
Frequency or how often it occurs
- The types, intensities, and frequencies of past disturbance events will pro-
vide information about why an ecosystem looks the way it does today.
- Evidences of Disturbances
Charcoal in soil
Jagged edged stumps
Compacted soil
Fresh sand or silt deposits
Rounded rocks
Single plant species in the forest
Burn scars on trees
Numerous snags
Pole-sized trees bent over
Group of dead or dying trees
Debris in streamside vegetation
Ash and pumice mixed in soil
Even-aged trees
Tree tops missing
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Lesson Review
Name: Date:
Year & Section: Score:
EXPOSITORY WRITING
Research an endangered species (animal or plants) in or near the ecosys-
tem in which you live. What factors contribute to the extinction of this
species in your community.
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Lesson 2
WEEK 3
HOURS
Lesson Outcomes 2
Explore More
What changes might occur in an ecosystem into which the predators move?
Make a prediction and test it. Then analyze and present your results.
Energy
- It is the capacity to do
work, such as moving matter
over a distance. It can take
many forms like heat energy
and chemical energy.
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Energy in the Living System
- Energy is the ability to do work, the first law of thermodynamics describes
behavior of energy and energy may be transformed from one type to another but
never created or destroyed. The energy that an organism uses for its work comes
from the breakdown of organic molecules within cells.
-
- Major Categories of the trophic level
a. Producers or Autotrophs—mainly green plants, photosynthetic or they
produce their own food from simple inorganic materials.
b. Consumers or Heterotrophs—these are animals and other organisms
like fungi and bacteria which cannot make their own foods directly
from simple inorganic materials they take in food that is already
formed by eating plants or other animals. If the organism consume
plants they are called herbivores or primary consumers. If they obtain
their food by eating other animals they are called carnivorous or sec-
ondary or tertiary consumers.
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c. Decomposers– these are dead animal, plants and excretes their own food.
They break down dead organisms into simpler substances. Some of these sub-
stances are absorbed by the decomposers and others returned to the environ- ment.
QUICK CHECK!!!
QUICK LAB……
1. Keep log of everything you eat for one day.
2. Classify: Determine the food whether it is a producer or a consumer.
3. Classify: Which food did you list as consumers?
4. Select two foods from the consumer group and draw a possible food chain
for each. Do not forget yourself. Did you include decomposers in your food
chain? Where do they fit?
Food Web
- a food web is a series of overlapping food chains.
- it shows the roles and relationships of among all the species in an ecosys-
tem.
- Herbivores
• Primary consumers or animals that eat producers.
• On land, herbivores have flat-edged teeth in front of their mouth for
tearing plant materials.
- Carnivores
• These are secondary and tertiary consumers, animals that eat other
animals.
• Some carnivores rip into prey with their sharp incisors and canine
teeth or with their beaks.
- Omnivores
• These are animals that eat both producers and consumers.
- Predators
• Animals that eat hunt and kill other living things for food.
• The animals they hunt are the prey.
- Scavengers
• They seek out the remains of dead organisms to eat. They eat meat
without hunting or killing the prey.
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QUICK CHECK!!!
-
• Intertidal Zone—the area of the ocean at the edge of the land. This ar-
ea is affected by changes in high and low tides. This zone supports a
variety of organisms.
• Ocean Zone—from just beyond the low-tide line to the point where the
ocean begins is an area where sunlight penetrates and water are
calmers. It is where you can find some of the world’s magnificent un-
derwater habitat. This is also a region of complex food webs with
predators and many types of prey at every feeding level. In the open
ocean lies the three main zones these are:
Top or sunlight—zone that reaches from the surface down to
about 200 meters or 656 feet. Plankton live near the surface
where there is light. Other marine organisms like squid, octo-
pus, whales, fish and other marine organisms feed on the
plankton.
Twilightzone—this is between 200 meters to 1000 meters, the
zone where it is dark and cold with little food available. Marine
organisms that live in this zone have adapted to this condition.
Midnight zone—marine organisms that grows and live here are
eyeless. Totally dark and no photosynthetic organisms can live
here.
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QUICK CHECK!!!
Energy Pyramid
- a model that shows how energy moves through a food chain.
- producers always make up the base of the pyramid.
- indicates reduction in the availability of energy between different trophic
levels. Greater amount energy by respiration increases progressively from lower to
higher trophic level.
Pyramid of Numbers
- it illustrates population density relationship within and between the
trophic levels.
Pyramid of Biomass
- it shows a decrease in the biomass from the higher trophic levels.
QUICK CHECK!!!
NOTES:
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Lesson Review
Name: Date:
Year & Section: Score:
Compare and Contrast: Make a Venn Diagram that shows how scaven-
gers differ from a decomposer.
Critical Thinking: Explain why a food web tells us more about an ecosys-
tem than a food chain.
EXPOSITORY WRITING
Research an issue that affects Earth’s ecosystem. Write and record a pub-
lic –service announcement to state your position on the issue.
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Lesson 3
EARTH’S CYCLE
WEEK 3
HOURS
Lesson Outcomes 3
Explore More
What happen if you added some small plants to the bottle? Some small
rocks? What might happen if you added more heat or placed the bottle in
the shade?
Figure 4: The Carbon Cycle. TERC Earth Labs: Climate and the Carbon Cycle.
https://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/carbon/index.html
25
plants and animals die, the nitrogen from their remains returns to the soil when
bacteria break it down into nitrogen gas. These bacteria return about the same
amount of nitrogen to the air as other bacteria take from the air, keeping the na-
ture balance.
QUICK CHECK!!!
Phosphorus Cycle
- Rocks, water, soil, and sediments constitute the primary nonliving sources
of phosphorus, whereas plants and animals form the major living sources.
- there are five steps of phosphorus cycle, these are:
Weathering. This is the first step of the phosphorus cycle where
phosphates found in the sedimentary rocks as PO43-, are leached out
of the disintegrated rocks from its various environmental sources in
the form of inorganic phosphate ions. Other than weathering, volcanic
ash, aerosols, and mineral dust also serve as other significa nt
phosphate sources.
Mineralization by plants. Plants absorb organic phosphorus present in
soil and underground water and convert them to inorganic forms for
utilization is called mineralization. The aquatic plants absorb inorganic
phosphorus from lower layers of water bodies due to their low solubility
in water.
Assimilation by animals. Herbivorous and carnivorous animals,
including humans, absorb phosphorus when they consume these
plants for their food, a process known as assimilation. Besides,
animals obtain phosphorus directly from drinking water.
Decomposition by microorganisms. Microorganisms such as bacteria
and fungi decompose organic phosphates back into the inorganic form,
which is then returned to the soil and water bodies. Phosphorus
containing compounds may also be carried in the surface runoff to
rivers, lakes, and oceans to form sediments.
Geological uplift by tectonic movements. Over long periods, sedimentary
rocks containing phosphorus may be moved from the ocean to the land
by a process called geological uplift.
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NOTES:
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Lesson Review
Name: Date:
Year & Section: Score:
SUMMARY
• Ecology, the study of the interactions among different types of organ-
isms, and between organisms and their physical environment.
• Ecosystems are areas where living things and non-living things interact
with each other.
• The environment is organized into five layers of organisms, these are the
individual species, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere.
And this is sometimes alter due to ecological disturbances having a wide
effect to the biotic and abiotic factor.
• Food Chain is the transfer of energy from plants through a series of oth-
er organisms.
• Food Web are interconnected food chains that shows patterns of energy
flow.
• Trophic level shows how organisms obtained foods from plants by the
same number of stops which is represented by links of food chain in the
trophic level.
• Biogeochemical cycles shows how each materials transfer from the or-
ganisms to their environment and back to the organisms.
REFERENCES
Miller, Tyler G, Scott, Spoolman. Introduction to Environmental Science. Cen-
cage Learning: Singapore. 2009
Catchillar, Gerry C. Fundamentals of Environmental Science. National
Bookstore: Mandaluyong City. 2008
Miller, Tyler G. Environmental Science. Thomson Learning: Singapore. 2006
Tayo, Gilma T, Gascon, Cecilla N. et.al. Fundamentals of Environmental Sci-
ence. Trinitas Pub. Inc., Meycauayan, Bulacan. 2004
Botking, Daniel B., Keller, Edward A. Environmental Science 4th Ed. John
Wiley & Sons Inc., New York. 2003
. Environmental Science: A Study of Relationships. 7th Ed.
2000