THE BIOSPHERE

Definition
The Biosphere includes all life on Earth including life living on the Earth's Systems such as in Geosphere
and in Hydrosphere, including humans and all organic matter that has not yet decomposed. This
important sphere distinguishes Earth from all other planets in our solar system as life evolved (and
continues to evolve) since Earth's early history between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago.

In the Biosphere, the following organisms can be found:

1. Human
2. Plants
3. Animals
4. Microorganisms

SUBSYSTEMS
System of Classification (Taxonomy)
Biological Kingdoms – The system of biological kingdoms is the way in which science classifies living
things according to their ancestry over the course of evolution.

1. Animalia – most evolved, including humans and animals.

2. Plantae – trees, plants and other species of vegetation which are essential for life on earth
since they release oxygen through photosynthesis.
3. Fungi – includes yeasts, molds and species of mushrooms and toadstools.
4. Protista – most primitive, includes organisms that are not deemed to be animals, plants or
fungi such as protozoa and algae.
5. Monera – microscopic living things and groups together the archaea and bacteria.

System of Environment
Environment

a. Biotic Environment – Plants, Animals, Humans, Birds, Bacteria

b. Abiotic Environment – Air, Water, Soil, Sunlight, Minerals

Ecology – is the study of the ways organisms interact with each other and with their non-living
surroundings. Deals with the ways in which organisms are adapted to their surroundings. How they
make use of these surroundings. How an area is altered by the presence and activities of organisms.
Interaction, adaption, utilization and alteration.

Ecological Levels of Organization – Individual, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biome, Biosphere.

Biomes are terrestrial climax communities with wide geographic distribution. Patterns of precipitation
and temperature are two primary nonbiological factors that have major impacts on the kind of climax
community that develops in any part of the world.
 1. Desert - A lack of water is the primary factor that determines that an area will be a desert.
Deserts are areas that generally average less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation per
year. Make a table on biomes.

System of its interaction

The different interactions among organisms involve energy and matter.

Atoms, Matter, Energy, Work, Types of Energy, Energy and state of matter.

Living things require a constant flow of energy and matter to assure their survival. If the flow of energy
and matter stops, the organisms die.

Ecosystem – is a defined space in which organisms’ interactions take place between a community, with
all its complex interrelationships and the physical environment.

Types of interaction

a. Predation – when predator kills and eats prey.

b. Competition – when two organisms strive to obtain the same limited resources.
c. Symbiotic relationship (parasitism, commensalism, mutualism) – close, long-lasting, physical
relationship or at least one of them derives some sort of benefit from this contact.
1. Commensalism – one organism benefits while the other is not affected. (orchids; cattle
& birds)
2. Mutualism – beneficial to both species involve. Relationship is obligatory, one cannot
live without the other. (insect pollination; ants and acacia tree, birds and crocs)
3. Parasitism – one organism/parasite lives in or on another/host, from which it derives
nourishment.

System of its roles in ecosystem

Roles

a. Producers – organisms that are able to use sources of energy to make complex organic
molecules (sugar) from the simple inorganic substances (CO2) in their environment. In nearly all
ecosystems, energy is supplied by the sun, and organisms such as plants, algae, and tiny aquatic
organisms (phytoplankton) use light energy to carry on Photosynthesis.
b. Consumers – organisms that require organic matter (sugar) as a source of food. They consume
organic matter to provide themselves with energy and molecules necessary to build their own
bodies. Important part of their roles is the process of Respiration in which they breakdown
organic matter (sugar) to inorganic matter (CO2)
a. (Primary consumers) Herbivore – only eats plants
b. Carnivore – only eats animals
c. Omnivore – plants and animals
c. Decomposer – are organisms that use non-living organic matter as a source of energy and raw
materials to build their bodies. Whenever an organism sheds a part of itself, excretes waste
products, or dies, it provides a source of food for decomposers. They feed on the remains of
other animals. By digesting dead matter, they put nutrients back into the soil, making them
available to producers
System of Energy flow
Food Chain and Food Web shows how energy flows through ecosystems.

Trophic levels – are several levels of energy flow through an ecosystem. It is the position an organism
occupies in a food chain. Each link in the chain represents one trophic level. Each time energy flows to
another trophic level, approximately 90percent of the useful energy is lost, usually as heat to the
surrounding. In most ecosystems, higher trophic levels contain less energy and fewer organisms.

System of its cycle

Biogeochemical cycle

1. Hydrologic cycle
2. Carbon cycle
3. Nitrogen cycle
4. Phosphorus cycle
5. Sulfuric cycle

System of its population

Population Characteristics

a. Population Size
b. Sex Ratio
c. Age Structure
d. Population Density
e. Distribution

Carrying Capacity

Human Population Growth

a. Biological
b. Social
c. Economic
d. Political

System of its Diversity

The biodiversity found in genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes is vital to sustaining life on
earth.

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is the variety of the earth’s species, the genes they contain, the
ecosystems in which they live, and the ecosystem processes of energy flow and nutrient cycling that
sustain all life.

Components of Biological Diversity

a. Functional Diversity - The biological and chemical processes such as energy flow and matter
recycling needed for the survival of species, communities, and ecosystems.
b. Ecological diversity - The variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the
earth.
 c. Genetic Diversity - The variety of genetic material within a species or a population.
d. Species Diversity - The number and abundance of species present in different communities. A
major component of biodiversity and tends to increase the sustainability of some ecosystems.

Human activities can decrease biodiversity by causing the premature extinction of species and by
destroying or degrading habitats needed for the development of new species.

In this process, called speciation, one species splits into two or more different species.

a. Geographic isolation - when different groups of the same population of a species become
physically isolated from one another for a long period of time.
b. Reproductive isolation - mutation and change by natural selection operate independently in the
gene pools of geographically isolated populations.
c. Genetic engineering - Humans are playing an increasing role in the process of speciation.
a. We have learned to shuffle genes from one species to another through artificial
selection (Artificial selection has given us food crops with higher yields, cows that give
more milk, trees that grow faster, and many different types of dogs and cats. But
traditional crossbreeding is a slow process. Also, it can combine traits only from species
that are close to one another genetically)
b. and, more recently, through genetic engineering (is the alteration of an organism’s
genetic material, through adding, deleting, or changing segments of its DNA to produce
desirable traits or eliminate undesirable ones)

Another process affecting the number and types of species on the earth is extinction, a process in which
an entire species ceases to exist (biological extinction) or a population of a species becomes extinct over
a large region, but not globally (local extinction). Endemic species - Species that are found in only one
area and are especially vulnerable to extinction.

a. Throughout most of the earth’s long history, species have disappeared at a low rate, called
background extinction.
b. In contrast, mass extinction is a significant rise in extinction rates above the background level.

System of its environmental Issues

Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity is a broad term that is used to describe the diversity of genes, species, and ecosystems in a
region.

Biodiversity is lost when populations are greatly reduced in size, when a species becomes extinct, or
when ecosystems are destroyed or greatly modified. Extinction is the death of a species—the
elimination of all the individuals of a particular kind. Extinction is a natural and common event in the
long history of biological evolution.

Causes

a. Habitat loss- occurs when human activities result in the conversion of natural ecosystems to
human-dominated systems. The resulting changes eliminate or reduce the numbers of species
that were a part of the original ecosystem.
a. Conversion to agriculture, urban, industrial uses
 b. Deforestation
b. Invasive Species - Introduction of exotic species can also have a significant effect on biodiversity
because exotic species often kill or directly compete with native species and drive them to
extinction.
c. Climate Change -
d. Over harvesting - occurs when humans harvest organisms faster than the organisms are able to
reproduce. Overexploitation has driven some organisms to extinction and threatens many
others.
a. Overfishing
b. Aquaculture
e. Pollution

Conservation

a. Conservation status (international Union for the Conservation of Nature)

a. Extinct,
b. Extinct in the wild,
c. Critically endangered
d. Endangered
e. Vulnerable
f. Near threatened
g. Least concern
b. Laws and Policies
a. RA 9147 – The Philippine Wildlife Act
b. RA 7586 – National Integrated Protected Areas System
c. RA 8749 – Clean Air Act
d. RA 9003 – Ecological Solid Waste Management Act
e. RA 9168 – Philippine Plant Variety Protection Act
f. RA 6969 – Toxic Substances & Hazardous & Nuclear Waste Control Act

Assignment: no assignment this time. Enjoy your weekends, see you on November 25.