Ecosystems and Food Chains

and Webs

Ecology: is the study of relationships between organisms and the

environment.

Why Ecology is Important?

- Our species (Humans) depends on how well we understand the
relationships between organisms and the environment.
- Our species is rapidly changing earth’s environment.

Levels of hierarchy and organization in ecology: -

1: Individuals
2: Population
3: Interactions
4: Community Order
5: Ecosystem
6: Landscape
7: Region
8: Biosphere
Population: group of potentially interacting individuals
- Of the same species
- living in the same place and at the same time
- Able to interbreed with each other
- Produce fertile progeny

Community: group of interacting plant and/or animal populations

inhabiting a given area.
 community in Khor Dubai consists of several kinds of birds,
marine organisms and some plant species dominated by
mangrove plants.
 communities and ecosystems have boundaries
ex: Intertidal zone (a transitional zone) separates land (terrestrial)
and water (aquatic; marine) ecosystems.

Kinds of ecosystems present in the UAE: -

(A) Main Substrate;
- Aquatic ecosystems (could be marine or fresh-water
ecosystems).
- Terrestrial ecosystems. Ex: sand dune, mountains, and
agro–ecosystem.

(B) Kind of vegetation;

- Woodland - Savana (small trees+ grasses)
- Desert - Agricultural ecosystems
Inputs and outputs of Ecosystems: -

System input:
- wet and dry deposition
- N2-fixation
- fertilization
- water inflow

Internal Nutrient Cycle Internal Nutrient Cycle

System output:
- water outflow
- wind erosion
- N2 losses to air (denitrification)
- fire (burning dung)
- haymaking
- animal products (meat, wool,...)
Ecosystem Structure Trophic (feeding) relationships: -
- Trophic structure: feeding relations among organisms in an
ecosystem.
- Trophic relationships: determine an ecosystem’s routes of
energy flow and chemical cycling.

Autotrophs (self-feeding): -
- Organisms that can use the energy in sunlight to convert water
and carbon dioxide into Glucose (food).
- Also called Producers because they produce all of the food that
heterotrophs use.

Two types of Autotrophs: -

1- Phototrophs:
- feed themselves by using light.
- get their energy from Photosynthesis.

2- Chemotrophs:
- feed themselves by using chemical processes.
- get their energy from inorganic substances (such as salt) in
chemical processes.
- Live deep down in the ocean where there is no sunlight.
Heterotrophs: -
- Do not make their own food
- Is Consumer because they consume other organisms in order
to live.

6 Types of consumers: -
1- Scavengers:
feed on the tissue (flesh) of dead organisms (Ex: Vultures,
Crows, and Shrimp).
2- Detritivores:
feed on the detritus (the remains and dry dead materials) (Ex:
insects, worms, and isopod crustaceans).
3- Herbivores:
eat ONLY plants (Ex: Cows, Elephants, Giraffes).
4- Carnivores:
eat ONLY meat (alive flesh) (Ex: Lions, Tigers, Sharks).
5- Omnivores:
eat BOTH plants and animals (Ex: Bears and Humans).
6- Decomposers:
absorb any dead material and break it down into simple
nutrients or fertilizers (Ex: Bacteria and fungi such as
mushrooms).

Transfer of Energy: -
- No organism EVER receives all of the energy from the organism
they just ate.
- Only 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to
the next – this is called the 10% law.
Trophic Level: step in the transfer of energy in a food chain.

Main trophic levels in a food chain are: -

1- Producers
2- Consumers
3- Decomposers (could be present in all food chains).

Food Chain: A series of steps (levels) through which energy flows

from one trophic level to the another.
 involves one organism at each trophic level;
- Primary Consumers: eat autotrophs (herbivores)
- Secondary Consumers: eat the primary consumers
- Tertiary Consumers: eat the secondary consumers
Decomposers: bacteria and fungi that break down dead
organisms at all levels and recycle the material back into the
environment.

Food Web: -
- Most organisms eat more than JUST one organism
- When more organisms are involved, it is known as a FOOD WEB
Ecological Pyramid: Ecological pyramid shows the relationship
between consumers and producers at different trophic levels in an
ecosystem.
 shows which level has the most energy and the highest number
of organisms
 shows the relative amounts of energy or Biomass contained at
each trophic level. EX;
- Energy pyramids
- Biomass pyramids
- Pyramids of numbers

Biomass: Is a measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given

area.
Pyramid of Numbers: Shows the numbers of individual organisms
at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
Keystone species: are species with substantial influence on
community structure.
- In marine (salty aquatic) communities: as the number of
species in a community increase, the proportion of predators
also increases.
- Experimental removal of Starfish (predator): Removal of
top predator (starfish) from a food web revealed a decrease in
species number at 2 different study sites.
Prosopis cineraria (ghaf): A keystone tree in the UAE: -
 Many kinds of birds and insects are using ghaf as shelter and
nesting sites.
 Many small rodents and some reptiles are feeding on the debris
of Ghaf.
 Many small and large mammals are using ghaf as shelter and
food source.
 Ghaf facilitates the environment for many kinds of plants…
They call the high soil fertility under ghaf in the desert soils,
which has very low fertility, fertility islands.
 Ghaf tree is endangered in the UAE.
 The population is very old.
 Few recruitments.
 introduced to the environment of the UAE for the purpose of
afforestation in Abu Dhabi Emirate.
 It has escaped the artificial forests and invaded many places,
especially in the Northern Emirates.
 The IUCN (International Union of Conservation of Nature) has
considered it among the worse 100 invasive alien plants in the
world.

Exotic (introduced, or alien) Species: -

Introduced Fish: Predators that simplify aquatic food webs.
- Increased number of species in a food web before introduction
of the new species.
Prosopis juliflora: Impacts on the environment: -
• Guaif withdraws groundwater and consequently affect water
reserve and quality.
• It produces allelochemicals that kill most of the associated
native plants and decrease biodiversity.
• Pollen grains of Guaif cause several allergies for sensitive
peoples.
• P. juliflora is distributed mainly in habitats close to
groundwater.
• controlling this species will save the groundwater and increase
biodiversity through saving the inhibited plant species.

farms have been invaded by Gueif: -

 cause land ruin and abandonment.
 farms are no longer growing with any crop.

We can survive with mesquite invasion through its

sustainable utilization: -
 Prosopis juliflora has the potential to be used in many
economical services
 we could benefit from the widespread presence of the tree in
the country.
 we are not able to control it.
 1- Establishment of forest in saline habitats: -
 P. juliflora is with great density in the waterlogged saline soils
in many habitats of the UAE.
 this species could be used in the afforestation of such areas in
the UAE.
 could save the amount of underground water that is used in
the artificial forests in the country.

2- Introduction of opuntia to control P. juliflora: -

Introduction of the desert succulent plant (opuntia);
 able to outcompete and stop and even replace Ghuaif.
 Their fruits are edible and very nutritive.
 dry materials of opuntia could be used as animal feeds.

3- Production of biochar: -
 pyrolysis, mesquite could be converted in biogases, liquid fuel
and biochars.
 Biochar could be amended to sandy soil of the UAE render
them fertile and increase their water holding capacity.
 Using biochar can increase crop productivity in the nutrient-
poor soils of the UAE .

** Charcoal is made using Prosopis juliflora wood