Chapter 12

Interactions Within
Ecosystems
 Contents
12.1 How Do Our Actions Impact the Environment?

12.2 How Does an Environment Influence the Survival of

Organisms?

12.3 What Types of Interactions Affect the Stability of an

Ecosystem?

12.4 What Are the Processes Involved in Maintaining a

Stable Ecosystem?

12.5 How Can We Help to Maintain a Stable Ecosystem?

 How Do Our Actions
12.1 Impact the
Environment?
Earth and its resources
Name some actions that affect
the environment negatively.
 Actions that affect
the environment negatively

Wasting food Using more electricity

Using more water Creating excessive waste

 Waste pollutes the
environment

Plastic debris lead to the Waste incineration releases

ingestion, suffocation and toxins and pollutants into the air,
entanglement of hundreds of harming local air quality
marine species
 High energy demand
requires more fossil fuels

Burning of fossil fuels to Greenhouse gases trap heat

generate electricity in the atmosphere, speeding
releases greenhouse gases up climate change
 Think-Pair-Share
Why do we need to conserve the environment?
 Actions that conserve
the environment

Reducing the use of Reducing consumption

fossil fuels

Introducing environmentally Reforestation

friendly practices
Actions that conserve
the environment
Actions that conserve
the environment
Actions that conserve
the environment
 How Does an
12.2 Environment
Influence the Survival
of Organisms?
 Physical / Abiotic Factors

● Air
● Water
● Temperature
● Light
● Minerals
● Acidity or alkalinity
 Water

● Essential to the chemical reactions in living organisms,

and is a key component for photosynthesis
● Serves as a living environment for aquatic creatures
● Ability to hold temperature moderates temperature
changes within its mass and in nearby areas
 Temperature

● Coral and algae depend on each other to survive.

When oceans get too warm, the algae leave the
coral's tissue.
● Without the algae, the coral loses its major source of
food, turns white very pale, and is more susceptible to
disease.
 Minerals

● Many plants require high levels of

soil minerals to grow well
● E.g. magnesium is required to
produce chlorophyll

● Plants with unnaturally yellow leaves

may have a magnesium deficiency
● Carnivorous plants, have evolved to
catch insects to supplement the low
levels of soil minerals
 Most extreme places
on Earth

Ethiopia's Danakil Depression

Burning salt, volcanic rock, and sulfuric acid
 Most extreme places
on Earth

Vostock station, in the middle of Antarctica

Coldest place on Earth (- 89.2°C)
 Most extreme places
on Earth

Death Valley
Has such high average temperatures (54°C)
that tourists try to fry eggs on the ground
 Most extreme places
on Earth

Mount Everest
Highest elevation in the world (8,848 m above sea level)
Air pressure is one-third of air pressure at sea level
 Most extreme places
on Earth

Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii

Most active volcano in the world
Measuring physical factors
 What are some differences you can
think of making measurements on your
own as compared to measurements
made by a data logger?
 Using a Datalogger

1. Connect the probe to CH 1 of the datalogger.

The probe will be automatically detected.

If not, unplug the probe and try again.
 Using a Datalogger

2. Set the duration for data collection.

Tap and select “10 min” for the duration

to monitor.

Then, tap “Stop after 10 min” and tap “Done”.

 Using a Datalogger

3. Press to start data collection, which will stop

automatically after 10 min.

4. Tap to stretch the graph to the best y-scale.

Observe the trend shown in the graph.

5. Tap once, then tap at the start and at the

end of the graph. The Ampl diff gives the
difference between the first and last reading.
 Adaptations in
organisms

Structural Behavioural
adaptations adaptations

Physical characteristics Different behaviours

that help and organism that help and organism
to survive in its habitat to survive in its habitat
 e.g. ponds, lakes

e.g. rivers, streams

e.g. marshes, swamps

 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- RAINFOREST
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- RAINFOREST

so sedentary that algae

grows on its furry coat,
providing camouflage
from predators

tall, densely growing,

broad-leaved
evergreen trees
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- RAINFOREST

high annual rainfall (> 254cm)

leaves with waxy covering and

pointed ends (drip tips) allow
water to run off the leaves quickly
without damaging or breaking
them
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- RAINFOREST

long, sticky tongue

to catch prey

strong front legs and

claws for digging

termites and ants found

around the forest floor
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- RAINFOREST

active mostly at night

to avoid predators

large, protective scales

covering their skin

curls into a ball to

protect itself
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- MANGROVE SWAMP

breathes by holding
water in their mouth and
large gill chambers
can also breathe through
its wet skin

amount of dissolved
oxygen is lower than
open sea
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- MANGROVE SWAMP

muscular leg-like
pectoral fins enable them
to crawl over the mud at
low tide
→ graze on algae and
detritus by moving mouth
over the mud

immersed in seawater at
high tide, dry at low tide
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- MANGROVE SWAMP

aerial roots exposed to

the air to take in oxygen

amount of dissolved
oxygen is lower than
open sea
 How an environment affects the
adaptive traits of organisms living in it
- MANGROVE SWAMP

salt exclusion occurs

through filtration
→ root membranes
prevent salt from
entering, allowing water
to pass through

high level of salinity

push salt from seawater

out through special pores
or salt glands in leaves
 What Types of
12.3 Interactions Affect
the Stability of an
Ecosystem?
 Think!

What is an ecosystem?

*If you need help, consider:

Are the terms “ecosystem”, “environment” and “habitat” the

same?
 What is an Ecosystem?

The interactions between a community and its

physical environment.
 Parts making up an
ecosystem
Usually adapted to the environment
Organism
it lives in

Organisms of the same kind living

Population in the same environment

Different populations of organisms

Community living and interacting in a particular
environment

Interactions between a community

Ecosystem and its physical environment
 Interrelationships in an
Ecosystem

● Predator-prey Relationship
● Mutualism
● Parasitism
 Predator-prey Relationship

Predator
● Hunts and kill prey for
food
○ Adaptations:
■ Sharp teeth
■ Strong claws
■ High speed
■ Sharp senses to
detect prey
○ Hunting strategies
 Predator-prey Relationship

Prey
● Avoids being caught
○ Adaptations:
■ High speed
■ Small size
■ Camouflage
■ Defensive body
parts
■ Mimic objects to
fool predators
 Mutualism
Relationship in which two or more organisms
support or benefit one another.
 Parasitism

Organism that causes harm to another organism

(a host) without killing it.

● Parasite benefits by obtaining its food or

nutrients from the body of its host (can be a
plant or animal)
 Stable Ecosystem

Achieved when all interrelationships between

organisms in a community are maintained

Affected by: Results in:

● Changes in ● Decrease in
environmental number of
conditions organisms
● Removal of any ● Extinction
organism in the
ecosystem
 What Are the
12.4 Processes Involved
in Maintaining a
Stable Ecosystem?
 Flow of energy and
nutrients in an ecosystem

● Photosynthesis
● Respiration
● Feeding
 Recap!

What is photosynthesis?

Which organism is able to carry out photosynthesis?

Which organelle is required for photosynthesis to

occur?
 Photosynthesis

Process where food (glucose) is produced using

carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light

Green plants are producers. They have chlorophyll

found in chloroplasts to trap light energy
 Respiration

Process where food substances (glucose) is broken

down in the presence of oxygen to release energy

Released energy:
● Mostly used for growth
● Some are stored as chemical potential energy
 Respiration

● Animals are consumers

as they feed on either
plants or animals to
obtain energy.
● During respiration,
chemical potential energy
stored within food (either
plant or animal) is
released and thus used.
 Food Chains

● Arrows in a food chain represents the feeding

relationship between organisms.
● During feeding, energy and nutrients are
transferred.

Producer Primary Secondary Tertiary

consumer consumer consumer
 Food Webs
● Food webs show how one or more food chains are
interconnected.
● Producers are always at the start of every food chain
and food web.
 Decomposers

● Breaks down dead plants and

animals
○ Energy is transferred
○ Nutrients within dead
organisms returned to the
environment
● Breaks down waste products
● Examples:
○ bacteria, fungi, termites,
earthworms
 In an ecosystem,

● Flow of energy
occurs together with
the flow of nutrients
○ Photosynthesis
and respiration are
involved in these
flow of energy and
nutrients
 Flow of Energy

Producers:
○ Converts light energy to chemical potential energy
stored in food (photosynthesis)
○ Respire to release energy stored in food for life
processes
Consumers
○ Obtain energy during feeding
○ Release energy when passing out faeces
Decomposers
○ Feed on faeces and remains of dead organisms
 Flow of Energy

● At each stage, about 90% of energy is released

into environment as heat
○ Last organism receives least amount of
energy from the sun
○ Lost energy cannot be reused by producers
○ Flow of energy is therefore, non-cyclical
 Flow of Nutrients

1. Consumers feed on producers

○ Nutrients stored in producers are transferred to
consumers
2. Predators feed on consumers
○ Nutrients in consumers will be passed on to predators
3. Decomposers break down faeces and remains of dead
organisms
○ Nutrients are returned to the environment

Flow of nutrients in an ecosystem is cyclical.

 How Can We Help to
12.5 Maintain a Stable
Ecosystem?
 Living Sustainably

● Not over-using resources

● Reduce usage of plastics
● Reuse, Reduce and Recycle
● Making of compost
○ Reduce amount of waste that needs to be
burnt → reducing amount of greenhouse
gases released