ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Module 3: Interconnectedness

MODULE 3.0
INTERCONNECTEDNESS

Prepared by:
ARNOLD B. FONOLLERA, PhD

Biological Sciences Department

College of Science & Computer Studies
De La Salle University - Dasmariñas

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3.2 INTRODUCTION

Ecology is the science that deals with the way organisms interact with one another and with the
nonliving surroundings. It studies how organisms adapt to their environment and how their
surroundings are utilized and altered by the presence and activities of these organisms. In all
these interactions, energy and matter is involved and that living things require a constant flow of
energy and matter to ensure their survival. If the flow of energy and matter ceases, it deprives
the organism of it means to survive and ultimately dies.

The phrase 'no man is an island' by the metaphysical poet John Donne means that no one
person can survive on their own without help from others. While the phrase was meant to
describe the role of Man in society, it is metaphorically applicable with all creations in Nature.
Every species was created to interact with each other and has been doing so from the moment
it existed. The survival of an organism depends on other organisms in some way. One organism
may eat another and use it for energy and raw materials. Another organism may temporarily
use another without harming it. One organism may provide a service for another, such as when
birds or insects disperse plant pollen or seeds or when microorganisms break down dead organic
matter for reuse. All these interactions take place in a unit of the environment called an
ecosystem. An ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting with other organisms while
at the same time interacting with the nonliving environment. The interaction results in a self-
sustaining system which uses energy and cycled materials. In any ecosystem, a continuous
exchange of energy and materials take place between living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic)
components. While interactions among living organisms is likely to occur even unintentionally,
abiotic factors also affect one another. Indubitably, there is interdependence among the different
components of an ecosystem.

3.3 Environmental Components: Abiotic Factors

Everything that affects an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as its environment.
Environment is a multifaceted concept. For example, during its lifetime, an animal such as a
dog is likely to interact with a wide range organisms such as bacteria that thrives on its wastes,
organisms that serve as its food, parasites that it harbors, mates, competitors and predators. At
the same time, it requires drinking copious amount of water, breathe huge quantities of air and
respond to daily changes in weather conditions. We can just imagine how seemingly endless
the variety of factors that make up the dog’s environment. Because of this complexity, it is logical
to subdivide the concept of environment into abiotic or nonliving factors and biotic or living
factors.

A) Abiotic factors comprise several broad yet interrelated categories: energy, nonliving matter,
and processes that involves the interactions of nonliving matter and energy. All organisms
require a source of energy to in order to survive. The sun is the primary source of energy where
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all organisms can derive directly or indirectly. For plants, the sun directly provides the energy in
order to sustain themselves. Animals acquire energy by eating plants or other animals that eat
plants. Ultimately, the amount of living matter that can exists in an area is determined by the
amount of energy plants, algae and bacteria can collect.

In addition to the energy provided by the sun, other essential requirements for all forms of life
are atoms of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and molecules such as water to
maintain and sustain themselves. Organisms continuously obtain these materials from their
environment. The atoms become an integral part of an organism’s body structure for a certain
period, after which, they are eventually returned to the environment through specific processes
such as respiration, excretion or death and decay.

Habitat which represents the physical structure as well as the geographic and topographic
location of the space that an organism inhabit is also an important abiotic aspect of their
environment. Some habitats are at sea level or beneath, while others are at high elevations.
Some spaces are homogenous and flat while others are a jumble of rocks of different sizes.
Some habitats are close to the equator while others are near the poles. These habitats exist at
various geographic scales and form part of the hierarchy of ecological structures as shown in
the Table below.

Important ecological processes involving interactions of matter and energy are abiotic factors as
well. The climate which reflects the prevailing weather patterns in an area covering a certain
duration of time is an ecological process involving solar energy interacting with matter that makes
up the Earth. Climatic condition is determined by a variety of factors, which includes the amount
of solar radiation, proximity to the equator, prevailing wind patterns and closeness to water.
Daily and seasonal changes are the products of temperature changes influenced by the
intensity and duration of sunlight in an area. Wind is an effect of temperature differences in an
area. Solar radiation is major contributing factor in generating ocean currents, as well as the
evaporation of water into the atmosphere, its condensation into clouds and its subsequent
precipitation as it falls back to earth. Precipitation is manifested in several forms, depending on
the climate: rain, snow, hail or fog. Soil quality and formation are also influenced by seasonal
precipitation patterns, in addition to the prevailing weather patterns, local topography and the
geologic history of the region. These factors interact to produce soils that range from sandy, dry
and infertile to fertile and moist with fine particles.

Hierarchy of Ecological Structures

Unit Components
Biosphere Also known as the ecosphere, it is the summation of all ecosystems
worldwide. On a planetary scale, it only occupies the planet’s surface,
confined in a closed system that is self-regulating.
Biome A distinct biological community of organisms with common characteristics in
an environment with a shared climatic condition covering a wide
geographical area.
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Ecosytem The community of organisms and populations interacting with one another
and with the chemical and physical factors making up their environment
Community Populations of different plants and animals living and interacting in an area
at a particular time
Population Group of organisms of the same species living within a particular area
Organism Any form of life which includes plants and animals
Table 1.0 Hierarchy of Ecological Structures

3.4 Environmental Components: Biotic Factors

The biotic factors of an organism’s environment include all forms of life with which it interacts.
There are many ways to categorize biotic factors. A general way of categorizing them would
include the following:
a) Producers - plants that carry out photosynthesis;
b) Consumers - animals that eat other organisms
c) Decomposers - bacteria and fungi that cause decay
d) Parasites - bacteria, viruses and other parasitic organisms that cause disease.

Ecologists when studying organisms, investigate how they interact with their surroundings
and the most important interactions are the ones that occur between organisms. There are
several general types of organism-to-organism interactions that are common in all
ecosystems. If we examine how organisms interact up close, we will see that each organism
possesses specific attributes that make it suitable to its role. It is very important to
understand that the process of natural selection influences how interactions between
different species of organisms can result in species that are finely tuned to a specific role and
how each species developed special characteristics that evolved to carry out its specific role
or niche. Because these interactions involve two kinds or organisms interacting, we should
expect coevolution to transpire between the two organisms after a long period of interaction
and a harmonious relationship has successfully struck a balance.

Predation. Among the common kinds of interactions is called predation. This occurs when
one organism known as a predator, kills and eats another organism known as the prey. The
predator benefited from this interaction as it harms the prey, consequently killing and eating
it. Many examples of predator-prey relationships exist in nature: snakes and mice; chicken
and earthworms; tigers and deers; frogs and insects. Plants also exhibit predatory behavior

as observed in the Venus flytrap, where it has specially modified leaves that can entrap
unsuspecting insects before eventually digesting them.

Competition. Another type of interaction between species is competition, in which two

organisms every possible means to obtain the same limited resource. Both organisms were
assumed harmed to some extent and have suffered to a certain degree. However, one would
eventually prevail over the other. For example, if a large number of dipterocarp trees happen
to grow close to one another, they will compete for sunlight, water, and soil minerals. None
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of the trees would grow rapidly as it can since in cannot maximize its utilization of the
resources because it is restricted by the presence of the other trees. Eventually, some of the
trees which obtained a greater share of the resources will grow faster. The trees which were
unable to take catch up will get less and less of the resources, eventually will wither and die.
Competition forced both organisms to expend energy in fighting to survive, where one got
more resources and the other got less or nothing. If competition occurred among members
of the same species, it is called intraspecific competition.

Interspecific competition occurs between organisms of different species. When several

species of predator prey on the same species as a food source, the prey population
significantly declines, making the food source scarce for the predators. Intense competition
for food will occur and certain predator species will emerge more successful than the others.
The offshoot of competition whether intraspecific and interspecific is that the survivor with the
larger number of successful individuals evolves form the interaction better adapted to its
environment than its less successful rival. This concept is often formally called competitive
exclusion principle, which states that “no two species can occupy the same ecological
niche in the same place at the same time.”

Symbiotic Relationships. Symbiosis is a close, harmonious, physical relationship between

two different species having stabilized itself through a long period of interaction. This occurs
when two species, usually in physical contact, at least one of them derives some sort of
benefit from the interaction. There are three different categories of symbiotic relationships:
parasitism, commensalism and mutualism.

Parasitism. Parasitism is a relationship, where one organism, known as the parasite, lives
in or on another organism, known as the host, from which it derives sustenance. Generally,
the parasite is much smaller than the host, otherwise it would have been a case of predation.
Even though the host is harmed by the interaction, parasitism generally does not inflict
immediate death to the host. Some hosts may even live a long time and the relationship can
evolve into commensalism if the host remains unaffected by their parasites indefinitely.

Commensalism. If the relationship between organisms where one organism benefits while
the other is unaffected, it is called commensalism. As described earlier, it is possible for a
parasitic relationship to evolve into a commensal one. Since parasites generally evolve to
do as little harm to their host as possible in order to survive longer, the host on the other

hand is striving to overcome the negative effects of the parasite; the interaction might
eventually evolve to the point where the host is not harmed at all.

Mutualism. This kind of symbiotic relationship involve both species benefiting from the
interaction. Generally, mutualistic relationship is obligatory, where, the species cannot live
without each other. Although other mutual relationships allow the species to exist separately,
but they become more successful when they directly engage in a mutualistic relationship.

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Ambiguous Relationships. There are relationships that are not as easy to categorize
without creating a shade of doubt about relationships that some organisms have with each
other. For example, it is not always easy to say whether a relationship is a predator-prey
relationship or a host-parasite relationship. How would you classify a mosquito or a tick?
Both animals require blood meals to live and reproduce. Some ecologists contend that these
organisms search for food the same way as grazing animals do. However, mosquitoes and
ticks don’t kill or eat their prey. Neither do they live in or on a host for a long period of time.
This raises debate on the issues and difficulties encountered when we try to place all kinds
of organisms into a few categories. One alternative to settle the issue is to call them
temporary parasites or blood predators. A summary of all possible interactions is shown in
the Table below

Type of Species Species Nature of Interaction

Interaction 1 2
1. Neutralism 0 0 Neither population is affected
2. Competition - - Both species are directly inhibited by each
through Mutual other
Inhibition
3. Competition for - - There is indirect inhibition due to scarce
Resource Use resources
4. Amensalism - 0 One species is affected while the other is not
5. Parasitism + - The smaller species (parasite) gains at the
expense of the bigger species (host)
6. Predation + - The bigger species (predator) gains at the
expense of the smaller species (prey)
7. Commensalism + 0 Species 1 (commensal) benefits while
species 2 (host) is not affected
8. Protocooperation + + Interaction is favorable to both but not
obligatory
9. Mutualism + + Interaction is obligatory for both species to
benefit
Table 2.0 Classification and Description of Interspecific Interactions

3.5 Ecosystem Roles

Several categories of organisms may be found in any ecosystem. Producers are organisms
that use sources of energy enabling them to make complex, organic molecules from the
simple inorganic substances in their environment. In nearly all ecosystems, energy is
supplied by the sun, and organisms such as plants, algae and tiny aquatic organisms called
phytoplankton use light energy to carry on photosynthesis. Since producers are the only

organisms in an ecosystem that can trap energy and make new organic material from
inorganic material, all other organisms rely on producers as a source of food, either directly
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or indirectly. These other organisms are called consumers because they utilize organic
matter which they have consumed in order to provide themselves with energy and the organic
molecules necessary to build their own bodies. An important part of their role is the process
of respiration in which they break down organic matter to inorganic matter.

However, some consumers have significantly different roles from others. Each role
corresponds to the organism’s niche in the ecosystem. The niche of an organism is the
functional role it has in its surroundings. A description of an organism’s niche includes all the
ways it affects the organisms with which it interacts as well as how it modifies its physical
surroundings. The Table below summarizes each organism’s role in the ecosystem.

Category Ecosystem Role Examples

Producers Converts simple organic Grasses, plants, trees, mosses, algae
molecules by through
photosynthesis
Consumers Uses organic matter as a source
of food
Directly eat plants Grasshopper, ruminants, vegetarian
Herbivore human
Kills and eats animals Dragonfly, sharks, humans
Carnivore
Eats both plants and animals Rats, most humans
Omnivore
Eats meat but often gets it from Blowflies, vultures, hyena
Scavenger animals that died by accident or
were killed by other animals
Parasite Lives in or on another organism Ascaris, many bacteria, some insects
and gets food from it
Decomposer Returns organic material to Bacteria, fungi, some insects and
inorganic material where it worms
completes the recycling of atoms
Table 3.0 Ecosystem Roles and Examples

3.6 Energy Flow

An ecosystem is a stable, self-regulating unit. Such stability is not static but dynamic in nature
through a process called homeostasis. The organisms within an ecosystem are growing and
reproducing in harmony while ultimately dying and decaying at the end of its lifespan. In addition,
an ecosystem must have a continuous input of energy to maintain its stability. While the only
significant source of energy for most ecosystems is sunlight, only producers are capable of
trapping solar energy through the process of photosynthesis and making the energy available to
the ecosystem. The energy is stored in the form of chemical bonds in large molecules such as
carbohydrates, fats and proteins. This stored energy is transferred to consumers when the

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producers are eaten. Each step in the flow of energy through an ecosystem is known as a
trophic level. Producers constitute the first trophic level and herbivores that eat the producers

constitute the second trophic level. Carnivores that eat herbivores are the third trophic level
and carnivores that eat other carnivores are the fourth trophic level. Omnivores, parasites and
scavengers occupy different trophic levels, depending on what they happen to be eating at the
time. If we eat a piece of beef steak, we are at the third trophic level but when we eat vegetables,
we are at the second trophic level.

The second law of thermodynamics states that whenever energy is transformed from one
form to another, some of the energy is converted to a non-useful form which typically is low-
quality heat. The more useful energy is utilized less following an energy conversion as what
generally happens every time energy passes from one trophic level to the next. Thus, there is
less useful energy left with each successive trophic level. The loss of low-quality heat is
dissipated to the surroundings which warms the air, water or soil. In addition to this heat loss,
organisms must expend energy to maintain their own life processes. It takes energy to chew
food, defend its territory, walk to waterholes, evade predators, reproduce and care for its
offsprings. Therefore, the amount of energy present in higher trophic levels is

considerably less than at the lower trophic levels. Approximately 90 percent of the useful energy
is lost with each transfer to the next higher trophic level. So in any ecosystem, the amount of
energy contained in the herbivore trophic level is only about 10 percent of the energy contained
in the producer trophic level. Subsequently, the amount of energy at the third trophic level is
approximately 1 percent of that found in the first trophic level.

Generally, it is difficult to actually measure the amount of energy contained in each trophic level,
ecologists often use other measures such as biomass determination to approximate the
relationship between the amounts of energy at each level. The biomass is the weight of living
material in a trophic level. While it is more possible in a simple ecosystem to collect and weigh
all the producers, herbivores and carnivores, the weights will similarly show the same 90 percent
loss from one trophic level to the next.

3.7 Food Chains and Food Webs

The passage of energy from one trophic level to the next resulting from one organism consuming
another is a food chain. For example, when a plant growing well on moist soil, captures sunlight
via its leaves and converts carbon dioxide and water into sugars and other organic molecules,
the leaves become a food source for insects. Some of these insects are eaten by spiders, which
in turn can be captures and eaten by a frog. Furthermore, the frog can be eaten by a large fish
and the large fish can be caught by a human where the fish ends up as dinner on the table. This
chain of events that began with the plant and end with the fish on the dinner table of a human
consists of six trophic levels. Each organism with its special abilities enable it to occupy a specific

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niche in the food chain where it is involved in converting energy and matter from one form to
another.

There are food chains that rely on a constant supply of dead organic material called detritus
coming from situations where photosynthesis is taking place. When bottoms of deep lakes and
seas are too dark for photosynthesis to take place animals and decomposers rely on a steady
rain of small bits of organic matter from the upper layers where photosynthesis takes place.
Similar situation occur in the forest floor and streams of high-canopy forests, where in the detritus
food chain, a mixture of insects, crustaceans, worms, bacteria and fungi cooperate in the
breakdown of large pieces of organic matter while at the same time feeding on one another.
Even a sewage plant contains a food chain where particle and dissolved organic matter are
constantly supplied to a series of bacteria and protozoa that use this material for food.

When several food chains overlap and intersect, they make up a food web. Each organism is
likely to be a food source for several other kinds of organisms. Even the simplest food webs are
complex.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Every species was created to interact with each other and has been doing so from the
moment it existed in order to survive.
 An ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting with one another while at the
same time interacting with the nonliving environment, resulting in a self-sustaining
system which uses energy and cycled materials.
 The sun is the primary source of energy which all organisms can derive directly or
indirectly. Other essential requirements for all forms of life are atoms of certain elements
and molecules such as water to maintain and sustain themselves.
 In the second law of thermodynamics where energy, while being transformed from one
form to another, some of the energy converted is lost as low-quality heat, and generally
happens every time energy passes from one trophic level to the next