Includes living (biotic) elements and non living (abiotic)elements Environment is the general term for everything that

surrounds a man It includes the following:

1. 2. 3.

Bio-physical environment
  

biotic and abiotic elements Everything with which people interact Where people exchange goods and ideas

Socio cultural environment Politico-economic environment

Environmental Impacts


effects generated by activities undertaken within a certain environment  these activities may be: 1. Formal various types of developmental

activities 2. Informal - day-to-day chores of certain communities or households like cooking food or washing clothes  Many environmental problems can be better understood by 1. clear understanding of how organisms interact with their physical environment and with each other 2. understand flow of materials and energy 3. structure of material and chemical reactions

Ecology is the study of the relationships of organisms and environment (ecosystems) and how energy and materials behave in ecosystems I t deals with :
The ways in which organisms are molded by their surroundings How they make use of their surroundings How an area is altered by the presence and activities of other organisms

Basic functional unit of ecology Complex web linking animals, plants, air, water and every other life form in the biosphere An ecosystem is the combination of a community of organisms and populations interacting with one another and with the chemical and physical factor making up the environment

Community population of plants and animals living and interacting in an area Population group of organisms of the same species living within a particular area Organism any form of life including all plants and animals Habitat place/type of place where an organism naturally lives within a community Niche obligatory role of an organism - job / occupation within the ecosystem Biosphere - where life exist  Components : lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere

STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM
A.

Abiotic Components - includes physical and chemical factors such as: 1. organic substances (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, etc) 2. inorganic substances (involved in material cycles like N, P, Water, etc)

3. Climate Regime rainfall, temp, wind, etc 4. Latitude distance above sea level 5. Nature of soil for terrestrial ecosystems 6. Fire for terrestrial ecosystems 7. Amount of suspended solid materials for aquatic ecosystems B. Biotic Components a. PRODUCERS Sometimes called autotrophs (self-feeders) Organisms that can manufacture the organic compounds they use as sources of energy and nutrients

Mostly are green plants that make the organic nutrients through photosynthesis:
light energy /sunlight enzymes

CO2 + H2O

Glucose + O2

This process coverts sunlight energy into chemical energy stored in the chemical bonds that hold the atoms of glucose and other carbohydrates together This stored chemical energy is the direct or indirect source of food from most organisms

Most of the atmospheric oxygen is also produced by the process 59% of the earths photosynthesis takes place on land 41% takes place in the oceans and other aquatic ecosystems Another process of conversion is called Chemosynthesis - producer organisms can extract inorganic compounds from their environment and convert them to organic nutrients in the absence of light (eg. Conversion of inorganic H2S into nutrients)

b. CONSUMERS Heterotrophs / other feeders Organisms that get the nutrients and energy they require by feeding directly or indirectly on producers

Classified as: 1. Herbivores (plant eaters) primary consumers, feed directly and only on living plants 2. Carnivores (flesh eaters) secondary consumers, feed only on plant eating animals 3. Omnivores tertiary or higher-level consumers, feed on plants, herbivores, and carnivores

4. Detrivores - feed on small fragments of dead plants and animal matter (detritus) - e.g. crabs, earthworms, clams 5. Decomposers digest dead tissue or wastes and absorb their soluble nutrients - Examples: Fungi Bacteria aerobic, anaerobic, facultative Bacteria and fungi are in turn important source of food for organisms such as worms and insects

 Producers (autotrophs)  Photosynthesis  Consumers (heterotrophs)  Aerobic respiration  Decomposers

Heat

Abiotic chemicals (carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, minerals)

Heat

Solar energy

Heat

Decomposers (bacteria, fungus)

Producers (plants)

Heat

Consumers (herbivores, Carnivores,omnivores)

Heat

1. PRODUCTION (Photosynthesis / Chemosynthesis)

Responsible for the accumulation of organic structures in the ecosystem Deals with build up of organic structures using materials from the non living environment The by products of respiration (CO2 and H2O) are the raw materials of the 1st step of production Free energy is fixed from some energy source by phototrophs (photosynthesis) and by chemical compounds by chemothrophs (chemosysnthesis) After energy-fixing, the raw materials are transformed into the energy-rich materials (CH2O) resulting to the evolution of O2

2. RESPIRATION

Process of unleashing bound energy for utilization Opposite of photosynthesis All organisms have the common ability to break down food (chemical energy) so that the energy can be released for use Summary of the equation for respiration:
CO2 + H2O + energy released

CH2O + O2

The energy released is used to fuel all essential functions in the organisms (reproduction, ingestion, photosynthesis, protoplasm building, etc)

3. CONSUMPTION It acts as a regulator (balances production and decomposition) This involves the digestion of the ingested food material with the aid of digestive enzymes Ensures that production would not be too much & decomposition too little, or vice versa 4. DECOMPOSITION Responsible for the breakdown of complex structures in the ecosystem

The ultimate source of energy (for most ecosystems) is the sun Only producers are capable to trap this energy through the process of photosynthesis The ultimate fate of energy in ecosystems is for it to be lost as heat. Energy and nutrients are passed from organism to organism through the food chain as one organism eats another. Decomposers remove the last energy from the remains of organisms.

As energy flows through an ecosystem, it passes through levels known as trophic level Each time energy moves to a new trophic level, approximately 90% of the useful energy is lost Higher trophic levels therefore, contains less energy and fewer organisms in the ecosystem

Ecological efficiency=10%

An energy pyramid is the another way of graphically representing the trophic levels band the transfer of energy in an ecosystem

FOOD CHAINS refer to the transfer of food energy from the source(e.g. plants) through a series of organisms, in a process of sequential or repeated eating or being eaten Can be classified as:
Grazing Food Chain Starts from a green plant base from which the chain goes to grazing herbivores and then to carnivores b. Detritus Food Chain goes from dead organic matter into microorganisms and then to detrivores and their predators
a.

FOOD WEB Refers to the interconnected or interlocking relationships among various food chains in an ecosystem Intersecting food chains FOOD PYRAMID Constitutes the overall structure of dependency among the living elements in an ecosystem The sustainability of the food pyramid rests on the continuing presence & efficiency of those at the bottom level

Important to consider in monitoring effects of activities in ecosystems Any unnatural activity will cause disruptions in the interactions related to taking in food Example: Construction of a bridge may result in river siltation that damages marine plants used as food by fishes. Such activities may even poison fishes due to toxic construction materials and this may eventually lead to human food poisoning as man takes in fish from the food chain

A.

DIVERSITY (Species Diversity or Biodiversity) It is the extent to which an ecosystem possesses differences in species in terms of genetic variation and distribution Related directly to the stability of an ecosystem Populations increase through births, seed production and immigration (movement into a population) Population decrease through death and emigration Higher diversity results in longer food chains and interactions among species

B. DISTRIBUTION Individuals in a population either distributed randomly, uniformly or clumped Random distribution is rare and occurs only when the environment is so uniform In areas where there are uniformly distributed species, there is severe competitions among individuals Any introduced activity, massive grazing, road construction, etc. disrupt the natural distribution of species which may lead to specie extinction unless special attention is given to the nature of species distribution

C. DENSITY Population Density is generally expressed as the number of individuals per unit volume or area The lower the environmental disturbance, the higher is the species density and therefore the greater the capacity of the ecosystem to sustain itself Clustering or aggregation of individuals occurs due to factors such as seasonal weather changes, reproductive practices, local habitat differences or threat from other species

D.

DOMINANCE Every community has one or two dominant species, being the most abundant or containing the most biomass Dominant species may not be necessarily essential to a community Keystone species most important species in an ecosystem ; determine the structure of the entire community

V. LIMITING FACTOR Particular tolerance to variations in chemical and physical factors in the environment Law of Tolerance: The existence, abundance, & distribution of species in an ecosystem are determined by whether the levels of one or more physical or chemical factors fall above or below the levels tolerated by the species Acclimation process by which an organism adapts to its environment ; organisms can change their tolerance to physical factors if they are exposed to it gradually

For every factor influencing growth, reproduction, and survival, there is an optimum level. Above and below the optimum, there is increasing stress, until survival becomes impossible at the limits of tolerance.

A.

PREDATION One animal (predator) eats and kills another (prey) One sided relationship and the benefit seems to be totally with the predator Examples: lions & zebras, birds & worms, wolves & moose, frogs & insects

B. COMPETITION Two organisms strive to obtain the same limited resource and in the process, both are harmed to some extent

Both

organisms fight but only one gets the food and is probably less harmed while the other gets nothing but gets more harmed

C. SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP Symbiosis is a close, long-lasting, physical relationship between two different species of organisms At least one of the organisms is benefitted Has three categories: Parasitism, Commensalism, Mutualism

1.

Parasitism One organism (parasite) lives in or on another organism (host) from which it derives nourishment The host is harned but is not killed by the parasite Ectoparasites - parasites live on the surface of their hosts (e.g. fleas, lice, molds & mildews, mistletoe plant) Endoparasites parasites that live in the bodies of their hosts (e.g tapeworms, bacteria )

2. Commensalism One organisms benefits while the other is not affected Parasitism can evolve to commensalism Examples: orchids on trees (orchids need a surface to establish itself), remoras on shark (remoras have suckers attached to the shark 3. Mutualism Both species are benefited In most cases, these relationships are obligatory Example: honeybees and certain flowers

Stages of development of an ecosysten Predictable changes in the structure of a community It occurs because organisms cause changes in their surroundings that make the environment less suitable for them and more suitable for other kinds or organisms Has 2 kinds : Primary and Secondary Primary Succession Begins with bare mineral surfaces such as bare rock surface, pure sand or standing water

1.

Example: Lichens are the first that can colonize bare rocks (pioneer community). They grow very slowly & may take 100 years to grow as big as dinner plate Climax Community - relatively stable, long lasting, more complex and interralated community of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria Successional stage / seral stage - each step in the process of succession Sere total number of stages from the pioneer to the climax stage

2. Secondary Succession Begins with the destruction / disturbance of an existing ecosystem Example:
Secondary succession from a pond to a wet meadow A plowed field showing a parade of changes over time: annual weeds are replaced by grasses and other perennial herbs, which are replaced by shrubs, which are replaced by trees

As the plant species change, so do the animal species

Population - group of individuals of the same species inhabiting an area Characteristics of Population a. Natality (Birth Rate) number of individuals added to the population through reproduction b. Mortality (Death Rate) number of deaths per year c. Sex ratio number of males relative to the number of females in a population, and a populations ability to grow by reproduction depends on this

d. Age Distribution number of individuals of each age in the population 1. PRE productive unable to reproduce 2. RE productive able to reproduce 3. POST productive - unable to reproduce Population Issues: a. If majority of a population is made up of reproducing adults, a rapid increase in the number of preproductive individuals will probably result

b. When density of organisms is too great, all organisms within the population are injured because of competition for water, soil, nutrients, etc c. In animals, overcrowding might cause exploration and migration into new areas d. Emigration results in seasonal reproduction leading to a rapid increase in the size of the local population , or causes competition to intensify e. Immigration may introduce new characteristics that were not in the original population (e.g. genetic & cultural characteristics, even diseases)

Lag Phase - population grows very slowly because the process of reproduction and growth of offspring takes time Exponential Growth Phase - there are more mature adults that reproduce while their parents are still reproducing. This growth ill continue as long as birth rate exceeds death rate Stable Equilibrium Phase population growth stop becase the birth rate equals the death rate

Carrying Capacity - refers to the number of individuals of species that can survive in an area over a period of time 4 categories of factors affecting carrying capacity:

Availability of raw materials Availability of energy Accumulation of waste products and their means of disposal Interactions among organisms

These are summed up as environmental resistance (Limiting Factors)

Examples of Limiting Factors:

Lack of food Lack of oxygen Competition with other species Presence of predators Limited space Diseases

On the other hand, if a population continues to grow, changes are also anticipated ( dwindling supply of resources, peope living in tropical areas tends to clear tropical forests and convert them into farmland, etc)

NUTRIENT CYLES in ECOSYSTEM