Ecosystems and Ecology

Unit-1 Lecture-I
 Dr. Mukta Tyagi

Introduction

• The term ‘Ecology’ was coined by Earnst Heckel in 1869

• Definition- it is defined as a scientific study of the relationship of the living

organisms with each other and their environment

• It deals with the way each and every organisms is connected to its
environment and how the environmental factors affect its life
• Ecology is derived from the word ‘ Oikos’ which means home or place of
living and ‘logos’ means study

Environment and Its Components

• Everything that surrounds or affects an organism during its life time is
collectively known as its environment
• Therefore, environment is defined as the sum total of living, non

living components • All organisms from virus to man are dependent

upon other organisms and environment for food, energy, water,
oxygen, shelter and for other needs
• The relationship between organisms and its environment is highly
 complex
• It comprises both of living and non living components
Environment and Its Components

• The environment is not static

• Components of the environment
• Biotic (living) components
• Abiotic (non-living) components
• Both biotic and abiotic
components are in flux and keep
changing continuously
Environment and Its Components
• Fauna( animals)
• Biotic components • Green • Abiotic components • Energy-
Plants Radiation
• Non-green Plants • Decomposers • Temperature and Heat Flow •
• Parasites Water/ Rain
• Animals • Atmospheric gases/wind •
• Man Topography/Soil
• Flora ( plants) • pH

Biotic and Abiotic Components eg. fish

External environment of Fish
Abiotic environment- such as light, temperature, including nutrients in
water, oxygen, and other organic matter

Biotic environment- microscopic organisms called as planktons, aquatic

plants, animals and decomposers

*Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or

air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind)
Structure and Function of Ecosystem
Food Chain
• A food chain shows a single pathway from the producers to the
consumers and how the energy flows in this pathway. In the animal
kingdom, food travels around different levels
• Example of Food Chain
Types of food chain
There are basically two different types of food chains in the ecosystem,
namely –
1. Grazing food chain (GFC) – This is the normal food chain that we observe
in which plants are the producers and the energy flows from the
producers to the herbivores (primary consumers), then to
carnivores(secondary consumers) and so on.
2. Saprophytic or Detritus food chain (DFC) – In this type of food chain, the
dead organic matter occupies the lowermost level of the food chain,
followed by the decomposers and so on.
*Parasitic food chains (PFC) – In this type of food chain, large organisms
either the producer or the consumer is exploited and therefore the
food passes to the smaller organism
 Cuscuta vine ( a parasitic plant)

Structure and Function of Ecosystem

1. Species Composition- figuring out the number and type of species

2. Stratification – vertical alignment of species in relation to their trophic
 levels

3. Trophic Structure or levels- is arrangement of species in order of their

consumption

4. Functional Group in ecosystem- a biological category composed of

organisms that perform mostly the same of kind of function in the
ecosystem eg. Plants ( all plants perform photosynthesis)

Food Web
• Many interconnected food chains make up a food web

• Sometimes, a single organism gets eaten by many predators or it eats

 many other organisms. This is when a food chain doesn’t represent
the energy flow in a proper manner because there are many trophic
levels that interconnect. This is where a food web comes into place.

• It shows the interactions between different organisms in an

ecosystem
Trophic levels

• The feeding levels from producers to consumers is called trophic

level. The energy flows only one way through various trophic levels.

• First trophic level- Producers – Autotrophs

• Second trophic level – Primary consumers – Herbivores • Third

trophic level – Secondary consumers – Carnivores • Fourth

trophic level – Tertiary consumers – Top level carnivorous

Producers, Consumers and Decomposers
• A biotic system is divided into three main categories:
• Producers- algae, plants
����2 + ��2�� → Glucose
• The glucose can used as a primary or secondary source of energy,
where it combines with other molecules to form a biomass
• What is Biomass?
• Biomass is plant or animal material used as fuel to produce electricity
or heat. Examples are wood, energy crops and waste from forests,
yards, or farms
Function of Ecosystem
• Function of Ecosystem
• An ecosystem is a discrete structural, functional and life sustaining
environmental system.
• The environmental system consists of biotic and abiotic components
in a habitat.
• Biotic component of the ecosystem includes the living organisms;
plants, animals and microbes whereas the abiotic component
includes inorganic matter and energy.
Ecosystem
 Biotic Components- Producers, Consumers
and Decomposers
• The living organisms (or) living members in an ecosystem collectively form
its community called biotic components (or) biotic community. Examples
Plants (producers), animals (consumers), microorganisms (decomposers)
• Consumers –heterotrophs, these are the organisms which obtain organic
molecules and energy by consuming other organisms or plant matter
• Decomposers- final link in a food web, which breaks down dead organic
matter from producers and consumers to produce energy which is returned
to atmosphere
• Energy flow through the ecosystem- energy flow from one organism to
other, when one organism consumes the other one. Any energy remaining
in the dead organism is consumed by decomposers
Producers
• They are autotrophs and represent 1st trophic level which can synthesize
the food using light energy
• They produces food for all other organisms of ecosystem.
• They are largely green plants and photosynthetic prokaryotes which
converts inorganic substrate into organic food by the process of
photosynthesis
• Gross primary productivity is the amount of carbon fixed during
photosynthesis by all producers in the ecosystem is highest in coral reef
ecocsystem due to large number of autotrophs per unit area
• Photosynthesis (Autotrophs)- It is a process used by plants and other
organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through
cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's metabolic
activities
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
Consumers
• Consumers (heterotrophs):Examples : Plant eating species: Insects, rabbit,
 goat, deer, cow, etc.,
• Classification of consumers: Consumers are further classified as: • Primary
consumers (Herbivores) (Plant eaters)- Primary consumers are also called
herbivores, they directly depend on the plants for their food. So they are
called plant eaters. Examples : Insects, rat, goat, deer, cow, horse, etc. •
Secondary consumers(primary carnivores) (meat eater)- Secondary
consumers are primary carnivores, they feed on primary consumers. They
directly depend on the herbivores for their food. Example: Frog, cat, snakes,
foxes, etc.,
• Tertiary consumers (Secondary carnivores) (Meat-eaters)- Tertiary
consumers are secondary carnivores, they feed on secondary consumers.
They depend on the primary carnivores for their food. Examples: Tigers,
lions, eagle etc.
Decomposers
• They feed on dead and decayed plants or animals
• They make up the final trophic level in food chain
• They decompose the dead and decay matter and helps in recycling
the nutrients.
• During the decomposition inorganic nutrients are released. The
inorganic nutrients together with other organic substances are then
utilized by the procedures (plants) for the synthesis of their own food
• Decomposers attack the dead bodies of producers and consumers
and decompose them into simpler compounds
• They are classified into two class:
• Micro-decomposers: Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa
• Macro-decomposers: Earth worm
 Concept of Energy Flow in Ecosystem
• The process of transfer of energy to various trophic level of food chain
is known as flow of energy
• Energy is the most essential requirement for all living organism. Solar
energy is the only source to our planet earth. Solar energy is
transformed to chemical energy in photosynthesis by the plants
(called as primary producers). Though a lot of sunlight falls on the
green plants, only 1% of it is utilized for photosynthesis
• Thus the energy enters the ecosystems through photosynthesis and
passes through the different tropic levels feeding levels
Principal steps in the operation of ecosystem
 • The flow of energy is unidirectional
• The two ecological processes—energy flow and mineral cycling which
involve interaction between biotic and abiotic components lie at the heart
of ecosystem dynamics
• At each energy step in food chain, the energy received by the organisms is
used for its own metabolism and heat. The left over energy is passed to
next higher trophic level. Thus the energy flow decreases with successive
trophic level
• Flow of energy follows the ecological rule of 10%.
Flow of energy in ecosystem
Ecological Pyramids
• The concept was first introduced by Charles Elton, the pioneer British
Ecologist
• It is a graphic representation of the relationship between organisms
at various trophic levels in a food chain
• The basis of an ecological pyramid is the biomass, energy, and
number. Just as the name suggests ecological pyramids are in the
shape of a pyramid
• The bottom of an ecological pyramid is the broadest and is occupied
the producers, which form the first trophic level
Ecological Pyramids
• Producers are at the lowest level

• The producers are consumed by the primary consumers, in an ecological

pyramid

• A pyramid-shaped diagram representing quantitatively the numbers of

organisms, energy relationships, and biomass of an ecosystem; numbers
are high for the lowest trophic levels (plants) and. low for the highest
trophic level

Types of Ecological Pyramids

 • Pyramid of numbers

• Pyramid of biomass

• Pyramid of energy
Pyramid of Numbers

• It depicts the number of individual

organisms at different trophic levels
of food chain
• This pyramid points out the
difference in number of organisms as
we go up the trophic levels
• Producers are found as the lowest
trophic levels and therefore larger in
number
• If the producers have the broadest
platform…it shows ecological
balance
Pyramid of Biomass
• This pyramid represents the amount of biomass of the organisms
present at each trophic level

• Biomass is nothing but the weight of the organisms at each trophic level

• Pyramid of biomass for terrestrial (grassland) region is upright •

Pyramid of biomass for oceans (aquatic ecosystem) in inverted

Pyramid of biomass
Pyramid of Energy
• This is an upright pyramid that represents the flow of energy from the
producers to the final consumers
• When production is considered in terms of energy, the pyramid indicates
not only the amount of energy flow at each level, but more important, the
actual role the various organisms play in the transfer of energy
• An energy pyramid illustrates how much energy is needed as it flows
upwards to support the next trophic level
• Energy pyramids are always slopping because less energy is transferred
from each level than was paid into it by previous trophic level • Raymond
Lydnman – a scientist who illustrated the energy flow and stated that only
10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to another, rest is
consumed by the organism for its own metabolic process
Pyramid of Energy
Ecological Succession
• A characteristic feature of biological communities is that their structure
and composition changes according to certain changes in environmental
conditions

• Some of these changes occur in a more predictable and orderly fashion

• The phenomenon through which these changes occur in ecological

communities is Ecological succession

• This is an important aspect of the study of ecology and forms the core of
ecological science
Types of ecological successions

• Ecological succession is mainly of two types-

• Primary succession: The primary succession is a slow process that initiates

in areas where there are no living organisms

• Secondary succession: Secondary succession begins in areas that were

once inhabited but destroyed due to environmental disturbances (drought,
fire, flooding). This is generally faster, as most of the other factors are
already present
Primary Succession
Secondary Succession
Types of community in a forest
1. Climax Community-When the changes create a community that is almost
in equilibrium with the environment, it is what we call a climax
community. (the community of species which is in equilibrium with all
the biotic and abiotic components around it is called as climax
community, it is a stable community when environmental parameters are
favourable
2. Sere-In a given ecological area, the communities change successively. This
sequence of communities is a sere. The transitional communities are
called seral communities ( hydrosere, lithosere, xerosere ( xero-desert
etc.)
3. As the seral communities progress, there is an increase in diversity of
 organisms, increased number, and an increased biomass
Steps in Ecological Succession
Steps in Ecological Succession
1. Nudation: Succession begins with the development of a bare site, called Nudation
(disturbance), environmental factors are becoming favorable

2. Invasion: That Migration which ends in establishment ( chilli, potato) Migration

(Dispersal): It refers to arrival of propagules (buds, spores, seeds), wind acts mode
for this stage…
Ecesis (Establishment): It involves establishment and initial growth of
vegetation. Aggregation: Increase in numbers of individuals in community
1. Competition: As vegetation becomes well established, grow, and spread, various species
begin to compete for space, light and nutrients ( species which are able to survive the
competition, are further seen in the community)
2. Reaction: During this phase autogenic ( naturally occurring/self-occurring) changes
such as the build up of humus affect the habitat, and one plant community replaces
another.
3. Stabilization: A supposedly stable climax community forms

Types of Ecosystem
• A forest ecosystem is a natural woodland unit consisting of all plants, animals and microorganisms
(Biotic components) in that area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic)
factors of the environment
• Freshwater ecosystems are found in water containing low concentrations of salts, from ponds to
estuaries
• Marine ecosystems are found in the saltwater of seas and oceans. Most of us are not far away
from an aquatic ecosystem of some kind, whether it be in the ocean or a local pond
• Desert Ecosystem Desert are areas of land that are arid, or dry, and get less than 10 inches of rain
per year. Deserts can be hot or cold. Plants and animals in the desert ecosystem have adaptations
 that allow them to survive the lack of rainfall and extreme temperatures ( thar desert)
• Grassland ecosystem is a type of terrestrial ecosystem with an open land of grasses. The
grassland ecosystem occupies about 25% of the total land area throughout the world. Abiotic
components of grassland ecosystem are light, temperature, wind, humidity, atmospheric pressure
and some chemicals

Forest Ecosystem

1. Temperate forest Ecosystem- main feature, Areas found, species

found

2. Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem

3. Taiga Forest Ecosystem
Types of Forest Ecosystem
deciduous
Tropical forest- Amazon

Taiga forest Canada, America

Temperate Forest Ecosystem

• The temperate forest ecosystem is very important on Earth
• Temperate forests are in regions where the climate changes a lot from summer to winter
• Temperate forests are almost always made of two types of trees:
• deciduous and evergreen Deciduous trees are trees that lose their leaves in the winter
• Evergreens are trees that keep leaves all year long, like pine trees. These are found in California,
Oregon and Washington in the United States.
• These forests are made of redwoods and sequoias, the tallest trees in the world
• The amount of rainfall in an area determines if a forest is present. If there is enough rain to support
trees, then a forest will usually develop. Otherwise, the region will become grasslands
• Flora- Beech, Oak, Maple and Cherry
• Fauna- Vertebrates and invertebrates
• Mostly productive agricultural areas of the earth, rainfall abundant and moderate average
temperature

Temperate Forest Ecosystem

 Tropical Rain Forest
• Tropical rain forests are in regions where the climate stays constant all year
long
• Temperatures are hot throughout the year – mainly between 26 & 27⁰C.
 Rainfall is heavy and mainly convectional – up to 1800 mm a year. It rains
everyday in the afternoon and in every month of the year. Its growing season is
365 days a year – in other words no seasons
• These special ecosystems are homes to thousands of species animals and
plants
• Rain forests are not only densely packed plants, but are also full of tall trees
that form a forest canopy
• This ceiling keeps smaller plants from growing. Areas where sunlight can reach
the surface are full of interesting plants. The famous Amazon jungle is located
in Brazil

Tropical Rain Forest

Taiga forest Ecosystem
• The forest ecosystem is the contiguous green belt of conifer and deciduous trees that
encircles a large portion of the Northern Hemisphere

• In North America, the forest stretches across most of northern Canada and into Alaska

• This forest ecosystem covers roughly 35% of Canada’s land mass and is the single largest land
based ecosystem in North America

• It also contains a significant proportion of Canada’s biodiversity and has long been recognized
as an important global carbon sink ( forests)

• This forest ecosystem houses the largest and smallest mammal species (wood bison & pygmy
shrews) of the North American continent
Taiga Forest
 Structure of Forest Ecosystem
• Producers All living organisms intake energy in order to survive. In a forest
ecosystem, trees and other plants get their energy from sunlight. Plants produce
their own food, in the form of carbohydrates. Photosynthesis is the chemical
reaction that allows plants to produce their own food

• Consumers Animals cannot produce their own food therefore animals particularly
primary consumers ( herbivores) take food from producers of plants

• Decomposers Leaves, needles, and old branches fall to the forest floor as trees
grow. Decomposers break these items down into their smallest primary elements
to be used again. Decomposers are important in that they sustain the nutrient
cycle of ecosystems

Humans as a part of ecosystem

• Humans are consumers. We get food and materials from forests.

Because of this, we are a part of the forest ecosystem.

• Human consumption alters forest ecosystems. Human intervention

may be necessary to sustain forest communities under the increased
pressure of human use

Aquatic Ecosystem
 • An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem in a body of water.
Communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on
their environment live in aquatic ecosystems
• Fresh Water Ecosystem
• Lentic Ecosystem ( standing water): Ponds, lakes
• Lotic Ecosystem (Running Water): River, streams
• Marine Ecosystem _oceans (salt water ecosystem)
• Transition/Brackish Water Ecosystem- Kerala Back waters,
Sundarbans • Estuaries
• Wetlands/Swamps
Factors affecting a Fresh Water Ecosystem
1. Temperature- it fluctuates as the area changes (rivers). The variation
is small, decreasing gradually from the surface to the bottom of
the water body

• It is a limiting factor as the aquatic animals have a narrow range of

tolerance for temperature change

• Waterbodies like rivers also play role in controlling the climate of the
land and its surroundings
Factors affecting Fresh • In river systems, heavily shaded
streams rely on the degraded organic
Water Ecosystem matter and leaves from the
surrounding catchment to fuel the
2. Transparency- it is limiting factor as it ecosystem
affects the amount of light penetrating • Transparency of water is measured
the water body using Secchi disk
• Large shallow lakes with large area • Secchi disk transparency of clear lake
tend to be more productive than those is about 40 meters whereas for a
with deep water because more light heavily turbid waterbody it is as low as
reaches the lake bed a few centimeters
• Proper light maintains the ecological
balance between the trophic
levels…producers, consumers etc.
Secchi disk

Factors Affecting Fresh Water Ecosystem

3.Current- Current plays important role in estimating the distribution of salts, vital
gases and small organisms. It serves as an important limiting factor for the lotic
systems especially for streams

• Oxygen and the carbon dioxide concentration are often limiting in freshwater
environment.

• Dissolved oxygen content (DO) and Biological oxygen demand (BOD) are important
factors for measuring the biological and physical health of a waterbody.

• Bod tells you, the amount of oxygen consumed by micro-organisms to convert

organic matter present in water into simpler compounds
Lotic Ecosystem (Running)- Rivers & Streams
• Lotic aquatic systems are the fresh water bodies with flowing waters •
Rivers and streams are the most common examples of such systems
• The basic function of lotic water bodies is assumed to carry the excess
of rain water back to the sea
• The flow of water in continuous and unidirectional in a lotic system
• The volume of water changes rapidly which results in change in the
velocity of water currents
• Water in these systems act as effective agent of transportation,
transfer, and dilution
 • They continuously erode materials along their channels and deposit
them to other places
• Watershed- area drained/watered by a stream or river and its
tributaries
Lentic Ecosystem ( Still Waters)- Ponds, Lakes, Wetlands, Swamp

• This type of ecosystem includes the lakes, ponds, wetlands, small

reservoirs of water storage
• The major source of water for this type of ecosystem is seasonal rainfall
• Any adverse situation like sparse rainfall or drought situations leads to
drying up of this type of ecosystem
• Rice culture is one of the most common forms of artificial wetlands
created
• Swamps or flood plains are another kind of naturally occurring wetlands
• Swamps and flood plains are found in the low-lying areas where there is
depression in soil topology
Types of Lentic Ecosystem

• Lakes - is a body of relatively still fresh water of considerable size, localized

in a basin, that is surrounded by land
• Ponds- body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually
smaller than a lake

• Swamp - is a wetland that is forested

• Bog - is a wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant

material—often mosses, and in a majority of cases eg. Sphagnum
moss

Lentic Ecosystem
 Lake
Pond

Swamp Bog
 Importance of Fresh Water Ecosystem
1. These ecosystem provide water for terrestrial as well as domestic
use
2. There is only 1 % of total water present on earth which supports a
population of more than 7 billion humans on this earth
3. It is important to keep the fresh water ecosystem safe in order to
survive on this plant
Eutrophication
Definition- It is the process in which a water body becomes overly enriched with nutrients,
leading to plentiful growth of simple plant life. The excessive growth (or bloom) of algae and
 plankton in a water body are indicators of this process

• Natural Eutrophication- it is caused by normal process and can take several years ,

• Cultural Eutrophication- caused by human activities

• Causes-
• Natural run off from soil, inorganic fertilizers
• Erosion
• Animal waste and sediments entering into water
• Discharge of partially untreated sewage into water
• Domestic and Industrial Wastes

Eutrophication
Marine Ecosystem
• A marine ecosystem is the one that occurs in or near salt water like
sea or ocean
• The ocean covers 71% of the planet, so marine ecosystem make up
the most of the earth
• Types of Marine ecosystems
• Sandy Beaches
• Salt Marshes
• Coral Reefs
• Mangrooves
Rocky Shore
Mangroves
Desert Ecosystem
• Desert- Desert are areas of land that are arid, or dry, and get less than 10 inches of rain per
year

• Deserts can be hot or cold

• Plants and animals in the desert ecosystem have adaptations that allow them to survive the
lack of rainfall and extreme temperatures

• There is one desert in every continent except Europe and Antarctica

• The desert sand started out as rock, but years of weathering by wind and water has created
dunes in the deserts

• These sands are mostly minerals, and sometimes oil can be found hidden deep within the
 rocks

Types of Deserts

Hot
Desert- Sahara Cold Desert
Types of Deserts
• Hot Desert- Generally remains above 40 degree Celsius, rainfall- less than
250 mm a year

• eg. Sahara desert, Thar desert

• Cold desert – Cold deserts have hot summers but extremely cold winters.
These are found in high flat areas like plateaus or mountain areas

• Eg. Gobi Desert in Central Asia , sees a temperature drop of -40 degree
Celsius during winters

• Ladakh region and Spiti Valley in India are also examples of cold desert
Species in Deserts
• Plants- Mainly Shrubs and Cactus

• The saguaro cactus is the tall, pole shaped cactus. The saguaro can grow up to 40 feet tall. It can hold several
tons of water inside its soft tissue

• These plants are called as succulents as they store a lot of water in their tissues and have a waxy coating over
their leaves to preserve water from evaporation

• Animals-Reptiles are some of the most interesting creatures of the desert

• Reptiles can withstand the extreme temperatures as they can control their body temperatures very easily

• Desert reptiles into one of two categories: snakes and lizards • Camels are the most common animals used for

transport in desert areas

Saguaro Cactus
Grassland Ecosystem
• Grassland ecosystem is a type of terrestrial ecosystem with an open
land of grasses
• The grassland ecosystem occupies about 25% of the total land area
throughout the world
• Abiotic components of grassland ecosystem are light, temperature,
wind, humidity, atmospheric pressure and some chemicals
• Biotic Componets
• Grass Species- Brachiaria sp., Cynodon sp.
• Animals- Herbivores, Carnivores
• Eg. Prairies in USA, Pampas in Argentina, Alpine Meadows of
Himalayas, Banni Grassland Reserve in Gujarat
Types of Grasses
 Brachiaria sp- Browntop
Millet Cynodon Sp.-Scutch grass

Grasslands
 Prairies -USA

Alpine Meadows in Himalayas

Bioaccumulation Bio magnification

Gradual accumulation of substances such as The concentration of toxic chemicals in organism
pesticides or other chemicals in living beings while going along a food chain from one trophic
level to other trophic levels
It occurs in a organism It occurs between different trophic levels
Ecological Values, Services and Carrying capacity
• Humans are consuming much more resources than what Earth can
 regenerate in a year
• It shows humans may be going beyond the carrying capacity of Earth as an
ecosystem
• Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that an ecosystem can
sustainably ( using resources in such way that they are available for
upcoming generations too) support without degrading the ecosystem • Eg.
Over grazing
• Deaths and long term damage to an ecosystem occurs when a population
exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecosystem
• Disease, competition, predator-prey interaction, resource use and the
number of populations in an ecosystem all affect carrying capacity
Ecological Values, Services and Carrying capacity
• Therefore, there is need of sustainable development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs
• Various factors affecting Sustainable living
• Economic Planning- it should be done in order to provide resources at the place of
need
• Population Control- to stop over exhaustion of fossil fuel, potable water, food
resources
• Biodiversity Conservation- all the species present on this planet are the part of food
web. Sancturies, natural parks and should be protected
• Agriculture Management- reflect the need of population, requirement of crops
according to the water available in the region
• Urban Planning- reduce pollution, waste management, sewage treatment
• Food security