HAPTER

ONE
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EcOLOGICAL
TERtvrs
AND CONCEPTS
FIRSr PRINCIPTE'
There are a number of terms and concepts that
are fundamental to the study of environmental
science. Some basic definitions and explanations
are listed below.
Defnitions
The living components of the environment, such as
plants, animals and fungi, are called the biotic
components.
The non-living coftLponents of the environment, such
as sunlight, rock types, slope, geographic setting
and climate, that affect ecological functions, are
called the abiotic comPonents.
An ecosystem is a natural unit of livingor biotic
components, together with non-living or abiotic
surroundings, through which energy flows in a
nutrient cycle.The biotic and abiotic components
influence each other in many ways, interacting to
form a relatively stable system. An example of a
small ecosystem is a
Pond.
Ecosystems are relatively self-contained.
Any
ecosystem tends to perpetuate itselfby cycling
and iecycling minerals within itself. Examples of
individu.al ecosystems include salt marshes, corcI reefs,
ponds, lakes and mangrot es.
An ecosystem may also be defined as a dynamic
complex of plants and animals and microorganism
c ommunities and their non-liv ing env ir onment,
interacting as a
functional
unit.
A habitat is the locality in which an organism
occurs; it is where the organism is normally
found. If the area is extremely small, it is called
a microhabitat. The wasps that make a home in the
bark of a tree, or water beetles living under rochs on a
riverbed, are in their own microhabitats.
The habitat may also be defined as the place or
type of site where an organism or population naturally
occurs.
A species is a group of organisms that have
numerous physical features in common and
that are normally capable of inter-breeding
and
producing viable offspring. The species is the
basic unit of biological classification.
7
A population consists of all living things of the
same species in a habitat at any one time. The
members of a population are capable of breeding
among themselves, assuming that the species
concerned reproduces sexuallY.
A community consists of all living things in
a habitat. It is the total of all populations in
the habitat. The community of a well'stoched
pond
would include the population of rooting,
floating
and
submerged plants, the populations of bottom-Iiving
animals, of
fsh
and of non-vertebrates of the open
water.
The niche of an organism is its role or function
within the ecosystem. It is the contribution
of
each organism to the success ofthe ecosystem
that will lead to a balanced and stable
environment.
While thehabitat is defined as the physical
location of the organism, the niche relates to
the functional role of the organism, including
the eating habits, predator-prey relations
and physical location. The niche therefore
incorporates the habitat of the organism.
The Earth's mantle is the layer that lies directly
below the Earth's crust and above the Earth's
outer core. It extends from 30 to 2900 kilometres
below the surface.
The atmosphere of a planet comprises gases that
are held around the planet by its gravitational
force.
The lithosphere is the upper layer of the Earth.
It includes the oceanic and continental crusts and
parts of the cooler, solid, upper mantle.
The hydrosphere is that part of the Earth that is
composed of water and includes clouds, oceans,
seas, ice caps, glaciers, lakes, rivers, underground
water supplies and atmospheric water vapour.
The part of the Earth that includes all the land
masses and water masses is called the geosphere.
It comprises the lithosphere plus the hydrosphere.
The region outside the geosphere is the
atmosphere.
The part of the Earth that is able to support
life is known as the biosphere or zone of life.
The biosphere extends from the bottom ofthe
ocean to the upper atmosphere but amounts to
only a relatively narrow layer around the Earth;
it includes the atmosphere, hydrosphere and parts
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of thelithosphere.The study of ecology sets out
to explain, among other things, the distribution
patterns within the biosphere.
The border between two major ecosystems is called
the ecotone. Examples include
features
such as
coastlines that separate the ocean
from
the land. This
transition zone contains plants and animals from the
adjacent ecological regions. It also supports many
species not found in the bordering ecosystems.
An ecotone has features and conditions that are
different from those of the two ecosystems it
separates; this encourages the survival of species
from both ecological systems.
* It supports many species not found in either of
the bordering ecosystems.
* It may contain a mixture of species and many
unique species.
* It contains plants and animals from adjacent
regions.
t Figure | ,I An ecotone: on the left is a freshwater rtver
and on the right ls the ocean;the ecotone ts the sand bar in
the middle.
A biome is a regional ecosystem or major life zone,
characterised by distinct types of vegetation,
animals and microbes that have developed
under the specific soil and climatic conditions
typical ofthe region. Tropical rainforest, deciduous
woodlands, coniferous
forest,
mangroves, sea grassbeds
and grasslands are examples of
biomes.
Any species that is rare,
vulnerable and in danger
of dying out, or becoming
extinct, is a threatened
or endangered species.
Examples include the blue and
gold macaw,
found
in Trinidad.
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Figure 1.2 The blue and goid
macaw
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* Threatened species
-
anv species that is rare,
vulnerable and endangered
+ Ecosystem
*
a dynamic complex of plant,
animal and microorganism communities and
their non-living environment, interacting as a
functional unit
* Habitat
-
the place or type of site where an
organism or population naturalil' occurs
* Biome
-
a regional ecosystem that has its own
distinctive climate and soil conditions and a
definitive biological community that is adapted
to these conditions
* Indigenous
-
native to a particular area
* Animal
-
any member of the animal kingdom,
whether alive or dead, in any stage of biological
deveiopment; also refers to any part or product
thereof
* Managed resource protected area
-
an area
containing natural systems that are largely
unspoilt, but that require ongoing use and
management to protect and maintain their
state of biological diversity, rvhile, at the same
time, providing a sustainable flow of natural
products and services to meet the needs of the
community
* Natural resources
-
the living plants, animals,
organisms and other biological factors within
the environment and the geoiogic formations,
mineral deposits, renewable and non-renewable
assets and the habitat of the living plants,
animals, organisms and other biological factors
* Plant
-
any member of the piant kingdom,
whether alive or dead, in any stage of biological
development; also refers to any part or product
of these
* Rare
-
infrequently occurring; the rarity of a
species may or may not result from human
activity
* Sustainable resource use
-
natural resources
and ecosystems should be used in such a way
that their ability to recover is not put at risk
* Vulnerable
-
the state of a species with a
life history that makes it prone to population
depletion and consequent endangerment by
human activity
CHAPTER 1 THE STUDY oF ECOLOCY
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3.:;:a. BToGEOCH EtvtICAI CYCLES
Carbon, in its various forms, moves between the
biosphere, atmosphere, oceans and geosphere'
This movement is described as the carbon
cycle. Within the carbon cycle there are carbon
sinks, which are areas that absorb and hold large
amounts of carbon dioxide. Examples include
oceans, soil, rocks, peat dePosits, fossil fuels and
forests.
Again, within the cycle, a carbon sink may
become a carbon source. These are processes
or sources that provide or produce carbon, often
in the form of carbon dioxide, for example, the
combustion of fossil fuei and respiration.
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Cellular respiration
Detritivores
(soil microbes
and others)
Figure L3 The carbon cYcle
A living forest is a carbon sink, absorbing more
carbon than it releases. When a forest burns,
however, it becomes a carbon source as it releases
lots of carbon into the atmosphere.
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Water can take three forms, as it circulates from
the land to the sky and back again. The path it
takes is called the water cycle, also known as the
hydrological cycle.
Heat from the Sun provides energy for water to
evaporate from oceans and lakes on the Earth's
surface. Animals and plants breathe out water,
in the form of water vapour, in the process of
respiration. Plants also lose water to the air, in
a process cal1ed transpiration.
Tire
water vapour
rises, then eventually condenses in tiny droplets
to form clouds. When the clouds meet cooi air
over land, this causes precipit::ion in the form
of rain, sleet, or snow, so lvater ieturns to the
4
Figure 1.5 Carbon source
Iand or sea). Some of this water soaks into the
ground. Water that is trapped between rock or
clay layers is called groundwater. Most water'
however, flows downhill as run-off
(both above
ground and underground). Eventually, the water
joins streams and lakes, returning to the ocean as
slightly salty water.
Burning
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Photosynthesis
Figure 1.4 Cadron sink
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Vapour transport
Surface
runoff
River
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Precipitation
Groundwater flow
CHAPTER 1 THE STUDYOF ECOLOcY 5
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Figure 1.8 RinconWater fall
Phosphorus occurs in water, in soil and in
sediments. It does not have a gaseous state and it
is not found in the atmosphere, except in minute
dust particles. The phosphorous cycle has no
atmoipheric
phase. Phosphorus
is transported in
"qu"out
form. Inorganic phosphorous is taken
ii by producer organisms
(plants), incorporated
into organic molecules and passed on to
consumers
(that feed on producers). It returns
to the environment
through decomposition'
Replenishment is very slow. Phosphorous that
is deposited on the sea bed is usually lost to the
cycle.
Nitrogen, in both the atmosphere and the soil,
go"t thtough many complex changes, chemical
ind biological. It is combined into living and
non-living material and eventually returns to the
soil or air in a continuous cycle. This is called the
nitrogen cycle.
Rain
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Phosphate in solution
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Chemical precipitation
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Detritus pettling
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Decomposers
t Figure 1.9 The
PhosPhorus
cYcle
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Sedimentation =
new rocks
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Animal waste and plant matter
Nitrates increased
by decay and
nitrifying bacteria
Nitrites
increased by
nitrogen-fixing
bacteria (legume
root nodules)
Nitrates
decreased by
denitrifying
bacteria
Nitrates
decreased by
plants to
make proteins
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?rre I .lO The nitrogen cycle
\itrogen fixation is the process of converting:
gaseous nitrogen to ammonia by bacteria in soil
and root nodules
-
ammonia dissolves in soil
moisture
gaseous nitrogen can also be converted into
ammonia by lightning.
Nitrification
Ammonium ions are converted into nitrite ions
under anaerobic conditions.
Nitrite ions are converted to nitrate ions by
nitrifying bacteria.
Denitrification
Under anaerobic conditions, denitrifying
bacteria convert nitrate ions in the soil back to
nitrogen gas which escapes into the atmosphere.
Figure I I I Lightning converts (fixes) atmospheric
nitrogen to ammonia
CHAPTER 1 THE STUDY OF ECOLOGY