Concepts of the Ecosystem Community

- inhabit a common environment and are

Biological Organization
interdependent.
Nested hierarchy:
Ecosystem
 Cell
- Populations in a community and the abiotic
 Tissue,
factors with they interact
 Organ, Biomes
 Organ System, - a community of plants and animals that have
 Organisms, common characteristics for the environment
 Population, they exist in.
 Community, - They can be found over a range of continents.
 Ecosystem, - Biomes are distinct biological communities that
 Biomes, have formed in response to a shared physical
 Biosphere climate.
- Biome is a broader term than “habitat”, any
Levels of Organization biome can compromise a variety of habitats.
 Galaxies Biomes
 Solar Systems - Biomes are categorized and define by abiotic
 Earth factors (non-living) such as the climate,
 Biosphere vegetation and geology.
 Biomes
 Ecosystems Ten major biomes in the world:
 Communities  Tropical Forest
 Populations  Savannah
 Organisms  Deserts
 Organs  Desert Scrubs
 Tissues  Mediterranean
 Cells  Temperate Grasslands
 Protoplasm  Temperate Deciduous Forest
 Molecules  Coniferous Forest
 Mountains
Organism  Tundra
- unicellular or multicellular form exhibiting all of
the characteristics of life, an individual. Biosphere
- It is the lowest level of organization - The highest level of organization
Population Life supporting portions of Earth composed of:
- group of organisms of one species living in the - air
same place at the same time that interbreed - land
and compete with each other for resources - fresh water,
- and salt water
What do organisms need to survive? Environment
 Food - It is everything that is around us.
 Water - It includes both the living (biotic) or non-living
 Shelter (abiotic) things.
 Air - It includes physical, chemical and other natural
 Clothing forces.
Ecosystem
- When a population in a community forms a
system resulting from interaction of all living
and non-living factors of the environment
- The term Ecosystem was first proposed by A.G.
Tensely in 1935.
- He defined it as “the system resulting from the
interaction of all the living and non-living
factors of the environment.
- An ecosystem consists of the biological
community that occurs in some locale, and the
physical and chemical factors that make up its
non-living or abiotic environment.
Examples of ecosystems –
 a pond,
 a forest,
 an estuary,
 a grassland
Components of Ecosystem
 Abiotic factors
- consists of non-living chemical &
physical components such as air, nutrients in
the soil or water & solar energy.
- Abiotic factors act as “limiting factor” that keep
a population at a certain level
Abiotic components are mainly of two types:
1. Climatic Factors: includes rain, temperatures, light,
wind, etc.
2. Edaphic Factors: includes soil, pH, topography,
minerals, etc.
 Biotic factors
- all living things that directly or indirectly affect
the ecosystem.
- Biotic factors interact with other living
organisms and physical environment can also be
“limiting factors”.
Major Biological Components of Biotic Factors:
1. Producers (autotrophs): also known as self-feeders
2. Consumers (heterotrophs): get their energy &
nutrients by feeding on other organisms or their
remains
3. Decomposers (detritivores): mostly certain types of
bacteria and fungi are specialized consumers that
recycled organic matter in the ecosystems
Types of Ecosystem
1. Natural Ecosystem
 these operate under natural conditions without
any major interference by man
 Examples: Forest ecosystem, Aquatic
ecosystem, Grassland, Dessert ecosystem
2. Artificial (Man Engineered) Ecosystem
 These are maintained artificially by man where
by addition of energy and planned
manipulation, natural balance is disturbed
regularly.
 Examples: Crop land ecosystem, greenhouses
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE
- It is the pathway by which a chemical substance
cycles the biotic and the abiotic compartments
of Earth
 - The biotic compartment is the biosphere and  Level 2: herbivores eat plants
the abiotic compartments are the atmosphere,  Level 3: carnivores that eat herbivores
hydrosphere and lithosphere  Level 4: carnivores that eat other carnivores
 Sulfur Cycle  Apex predators: by definition have no natural
 Oxygen Cycle predators and are at the top of their food web
 Nitrogen Cycle
Food Chain
Dynamics of Ecosystem - It shows a one way flow of energy of in an
- The various components of the ecosystem ecosystem.
constitute an interacting system. - It is a linear network of links in a food web
- They are connected by energy, nutrients and starting from producer organisms (such as grass
minerals. which use radiation from the sun) and ending at
apex predator species (like grizzly bears).
Dynamics (functions) of the Ecosystem - It basically shows how the organisms are
➡Energy related with each other by the food they eat.
➡Primary production Food Web
➡Secondary production - It shows all the possible paths that energy can
➡Food chain take in an ecosystem.
- It is the archetypal ecological network.
➡Trophic levels
- It also shows how organisms are dependent on
➡Food web
each other in the ecosystem.
➡Energy flow
Energy flow in the trophic levels:
➡Ecological pyramids - Energy flow, also called the calorific flow, refers
➡Biogeochemical cycles to the flow of energy and matter through the
ecosystems influences the abundance and
Trophic Levels distribution of organisms within it.
- Each link in a food chain is known as a trophic - As you move up a food chain, both available
level. energy and biomass decrease.
- Trophic levels represent a feeding step in the - Energy is transferred upwards but is diminished
transfer of energy and matter in an ecosystem with each transfer.
Three basic ways in which food are as:
➡ Producers (autotrophs) The Sun is the source of energy for almost all
➡ Consumers (heterotrophs) ecosystems.
➡ Decomposers (detritivores)
• Plants create chemical energy from abiotic factors
that include solar energy.
• The food energy created by producers is passed down
to consumer’s scavengers, and decomposers.

Predator-Prey Relationship
• Predators are a biotic factor.
• They control population size by feeding on prey.
• There is a delicate balance that needs to be
maintained.

Habitat
- the environment over which a species is known
 Level 1: plants and algae make their own food to occur and the type of community that is
(producers) formed as a result.
 - regions in environmental space that are
composed of multiple dimensions.
Examples of natural habitats:
 ocean
 forest
 desert
 grassland
Environment vs Habitat
Biodiversity
- An abbreviation of “biological diversity”
describes the diversity of life from genes to
ecosystems and spans every level of biological
organization.
- It is the variety of life in the world or in a
particular habitat or ecosystem
- It includes species diversity, ecosystem
diversity, and genetic diversity
3 Types of Biodiversity
Niche vs Habitat
 A habitat may consist of many niches and could
support various species at a given time.
 Niche is all about a single species as a part of a
habitat with all its biological activities as
influenced by biotic and abiotic factors.
Symbiotic Relationship
Symbiosis - describing any relationship or interaction
between two dissimilar organisms
3 Types of Symbiosis:
 Commensalism
 Parasitism
 Mutualism
➡Commensalism - one species benefits and the other is
neither harmed nor helped
Ex. Shark and remora relationship
Orchids Growing On Tree Branches

➡Parasitism - one species benefits (parasite) and the

other is harmed (host)
Ex. Parasite-host relationship

➡Mutualism - beneficial to both species

Ex. Nile crocodile and Egyptian Plover bird

Niche
- It describes how a species fits within its
environment or living under specific
environmental conditions.
- Generally considered to pertain to how an
organism or a population responds to, as well as
alters, competition and the distribution of
resources.
- It particularly describes the relational position
of an organism or a population in a particular
ecosystem.
- A niche may be influenced by biotic and abiotic
factors of an ecosystem.