CHAPTER 4:

Environmental Science: Ecosystems

The present state of the environment needs to be addressed by every human

being inhabiting the Earth. Being the highest form of animal, endowed with the ability
to discern what is right or wrong, humans are expected to assume the responsibility to
take care of the planet and not destroy it.
It is a must for everyone to have basic knowledge about ecology to ensure that
every living being will work hand in hand to help protect and preserve this planet, we
call home.

Ecology is the study of the interactions of organisms with their physical environment
and with each other. The following introductory vocabulary for the topic are significant
to familiarize yourself with.

 Species – all the organisms (plants, animals, or microbes) of a single kind. The
“single kind” is determined by similarity of appearance or by the fact that
members do or can mate and produce fertile offspring.
 Population – a group of individuals of one species living in one area who can
interbreed and interact with each other.
 Community- consists of all the organisms living in one area.
 Ecosystem- includes all the organisms in each area as well as the abiotic (non-
living) factors with which they interact.
 Biosphere- is the global ecosystem.

Four Laws of Ecology

To understand the ecological impact of our actions, it is useful to look at what
Barry Commoner and others have referred to as the four informal laws of ecology:

1. Everything is connected to everything else,

2. Everything must go somewhere,
3. Nature knows best, and
4. Nothing comes from nothing.

The first of these informal laws, everything is connected to everything else,

indicates how ecosystems are complex and interconnected. Everything in nature
affect each other. Living things need the different non-living entities to sustain life.
Plants, for example, need carbon dioxide to produce food in the process of
photosynthesis, and in return, release oxygen for animals to use. The activities of
man, on the other hand affects the quality of air causing the concentration of gases
like carbon dioxide to either increase or decrease. Increase in carbon dioxide, being a
greenhouse gas, contributes to global warming due to greenhouse effect. Increase
atmospheric temperature cause water scarcity in some localities that will in turn
cause the death of vegetations.
 The example cited above clearly shows that all components of the ecosystem are
interconnected. It is therefore a must for man to think and evaluate carefully how his
activities will affect nature because whatever outcome his actions will result to will
certainly affect his very existence.

Two Major Components of the Ecosystem

There are two major components in the ecosystem, the biotic and abiotic factors.

 Biotic factors are made up of biological components consisting of living and

dead plants, animals, and microorganisms.
 Abiotic factors consist of nonliving chemical and physical components such as
water, air, nutrients in the soil or water, and solar energy. It can be categorized
as conditions or resources.
o Conditions are abiotic factors that vary in space and time but are not
used up or made unavailable to other species. Conditions include
temperature, wind, pH 9acidity), salinity, and fire. Within aquatic
systems, for example, the key conditions are salinity (freshwater vs.
saltwater), temperature, the texture of the bottom (rocky vs. silty), the
depth and turbidity (cloudiness of the water determining how much, if
any, light reaches the bottom) and currents.
o Resources are any factor- biotic or abiotic- that are consumed by the
organisms. Abiotic resources include water, chemical nutrients (like
nitrogen and phosphorus), light (for plants), and oxygen. Abiotic
resources also include spatial needs, such as a place on the intertidal
rocks or a hole in a tree.

Community Structure and Population

Interactions
The first step in investigating a biotic community may be simple to catalogue
all the species present. Species are the different kinds of plants, animals, and
microbes in the community. On the other hand, the number of individuals that make
up the interbreeding, reproducing group makes up the population.
Communities are made of populations that interact with the environment and
with each other. Communities are characterized by how diverse they are and how
dense they are. Species diversity has two components. One is species richness, the
number of different species in the community. The other is relative abundance of the
different species.
Interactions within a community are very complex but can be divided into five
categories: competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.

Competition
The Russian scientist G.F. Gause developed the competitive exclusion principle
after studying the effects of interspecific competition in a laboratory setting. He worked
with two very identical species. Paramecium caudatum and Paramecium Aurelia. When
he cultured them separately, each population grew rapidly and then leveled off at the
carrying capacity.

However, when he put the two cultures together, P. Aurelia had the advantage
and drove the other species to extinction. His principle states that two species cannot
coexist in a community if they share a niche, that is, if they use the same resources.

Predation
Predation can refer to one animal eating another animal, or it can also refer to
animals eating plants. For their protection, animals and plants have evolved defenses
against predation.
 Plants have evolved spines and thorns and chemical poisons such asstrychnine,
mescaline, morphine, and nicotine to fend off attacks by animals.
 Animals have evolved active defenses such as hiding, fleeing, or defending
themselves. These, however, can be very costly in terms of energy. Animals have
also evolved passive defenses such as cryptic coloration or camouflage that
make the prey difficult to spot.

Mutualism
Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit (+ / +). An
example is the bacteria that live in the human intestine and produce vitamins.

Commensalism
Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and one
is unaware of the other organism (+/0). Remora that attach themselves to the
underside of a whale benefit by gaining access to a variety of food sources as the whale
swims into different areas. The whale is unaware of the remoras.

Parasitism
Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship (+/-) where one organism, the parasite,
benefits while the host is harmed. A tapeworm in the human intestine is an example.

Energy Flow and Primary Production

Every day, Earth is bombarded with enough sunlight to supply the needs of the
entire human population for the next 25 years. Most solar radiation, though, is
absorbed, scattered, or reflected by the atmosphere. Only a small fraction reaches
green plants and less than 1% is converted to chemical bong energy by
photosynthesis. However, that energy is the basis for almost all of earth’s food chains
and fuels all life on Earth.
Ecologists use two terms when they discuss energy flow on Earth: gross
primary productivity and net primary productivity. Gross primary productivity (GPP) is
the amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis per
unit time. Net primary productivity (NPP) is equal to the GPP minus the energy used
by producers for their own cellular respiration.
Energy Flow and the Food Chain

The food chain is the pathway along which food is transferred from one trophic
or feeding level to another.

Energy, in the form of food, moves from the producers to the herbivores to the
carnivores. Only 10 percent of the energy stored in any trophic level is converted to
organic matter at the next trophic level. This means that if you begin with 10,000 kJ
of plant matter, the food chain can support 1,000 kJ of herbivores (primary
consumers), 100kJ of secondary consumers, and only 10 kJ of tertiary consumers. As
a result of the loss of energy from one trophic level to the next, food chains are rather
short. They never have more than four or five trophic levels. A good model to
demonstrate the interaction of organisms in the food chain and loss of energy is the
food pyramid.
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

Most communities are dynamic, not stable. The size of the population increases
and decreases around the carrying capacity. Migration of new species into a habitat
can alter the entire food chain. Major disturbances, whether natural or man-made,
like volcanic eruptions, strip mining, clear cutting a forest, and forest fires, can
suddenly and drastically destroy a community or an entire ecosystem. What follows
this destruction is the process of sequential rebuilding of the ecosystem called
ecological succession.

If the rebuilding begins in a lifeless area where even soil has been removed, the
process is called primary ecological succession. The essential and dominant
characteristic of primary succession is soil building. After an ecosystem is destroyed,
the first organism to inhabit a barren area are pioneer organisms like lichens (a
symbiont consisting of algae and fungi) and mosses, which are introduced into the
area as spores by the wind. Soil develops gradually as rocks weather and organic
matter accumulates from the decomposed remains of the pioneer organisms. Once soil
is present, pioneer organisms are overrun by other larger organisms.

The process known as secondary succession occurs when an existing

community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact. This is
what happened in 1988 in Yellowstone National Park when fires destroyed all the old
growth that was dominated by lodgepole pine vegetation. When the ecosystem reaches
its final stage of balanced species development, it is known as climax community.
Biomes

Biomes are very large regions of the Earth whose distribution depends on the
amount of precipitation and temperature in an area. Each biome is characterized by
dominant vegetation and animal life. There are many biomes, including freshwater,
marine, terrestrial and aquatic. In the Northern hemisphere, from the equator to the
most northerly climes, there is a trend in terrestrial biomes: from tropical rainforest,
desert, grasslands, temperate deciduous forest, taiga and finally, tundra in the north.
Changes in altitude produce effects like changes in latitudes.

Tropical Rain Forest

 Found near the equator with abundant rainfall, stable temperatures, and high
humidity.
 Although these forests cover only 4% of the Earth’s land surface, they account
for more than 20 percent of the Earth’s net carbon fixation (food production)
 The most diversity of species of any biome on Earth. May have as many as 50
times the number of species of trees as a temperate forest.
 Dominant trees are very tall with interlacing tops that form a dense canopy,
keeping the floor of the forest dimly lit even at midday. The canopy also
prevents rain from falling directly onto the forest floor but leaves drip rain
constantly.
 Many trees are covered with epiphytes, photosynthetic plants that grow on
other trees rather than supporting themselves. They are not parasites, but they
may kill the trees inadvertently by blocking the light.
 The most diverse animal species of any biome include birds, reptiles, mammals,
and amphibians.
 Some are biodiversity hotspots, meaning that many species are endangered.

Desert
 Less than 10 inches (25 cm) of rainfall per year; not even grass can grow.
 Experiences the most extreme temperature fluctuations of any biome. Daytime
surface temperatures can be as high as 70oC.
 Characteristic plants are the drought-resistant cactus with shallow roots to
capture as much rain as possible during hard and short rains, which are
characteristic of the desert.
 There are many small annual plants that germinate only after a hard rain, send
up shoots and flowers, produce seeds, and die, all within a few weeks.
 Most animals are active at night or during a brief early morning period or late
afternoon when heat is not so intense. During the day, they remain cool by
burrowing underground or hiding in the shade.
 Cacti can expand to hold extra water and have modified leaves called spines,
that protect against animals attacking the cactus for its water.
  As an example of how severe conditions in a desert can be, in the Sahara Desert
are regions hundreds of miles across that are completely barren of any
vegetation.

Temperate Grassland
 Covers huge areas in both the temperate and tropical regions of the world.
 Characterized by low total annual rainfall or uneven seasonal occurrence of
rainfall, making conditions inhospitable for forests.
 Principal grazing mammals include bison antelope in the United States and
wildebeest and gazelle in Africa. Also, burrowing mammals, such as prairie dogs
and other rodents, are common.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

 Found in the northeast of North America, south of the Taiga, and characterized
by trees that drop their leaves in winter.
 Shows vertical stratification of plants and animals; that is, there are species
that live on the ground, the low branches, and the treetops.
 Soil is rich due to decomposition of leaf litter.
 Principal mammals include squirrels, deer, foxes, and bears which are dormant
or hibernate through the cold winter.

Conifer Forest – Taiga

 Located in Northern Canada and much of the world’s northern region.
 Dominated by conifer (evergreen) forests, like spruce and fir.
 Landscape is dotted with lakes, ponds, and bogs.
 This is the largest terrestrial biome.
 Characterized by heavy snowfall, trees are shaped with branches directed
downward to prevent heavy accumulations of snow from breaking their
branches.
 Principal large mammals include moose, black bear, lynx, elk, wolverines, and
porcupines.
 Flying insects and birds are prevalent in summer.
 Has greater variety in species of animals than does a tundra.

Tundra
 Located in the far northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.
 Characterized by permafrost, permanently frozen subsoil found in the farthest
point north including Alaska.
 Commonly referred to as the frozen desert because it gets very little rainfall and
what rainfall occurs cannot penetrate the frozen ground.
 Has the appearance of gently rolling plains with many lakes, ponds, and bogs in
depressions.
 Insects, particularly flies, are abundant. As a result, vast numbers of bird’s nest
in the tundra in the summer and migrate south in the winter.
 Principal mammals include reindeer and caribou. Arctic wolves, arctic foxes,
arctic hares. Lemmings and polar bears
 Though the number of individual organisms in the tundra is large, the number
of species is small.

Aquatic Biomes

Aquatic biomes cover about 75% of the Earth. Unlike terrestrial biomes, they
are not characterized by a single dominant group of organisms. The primary
distinction among aquatic biomes is salinity. The three major types are freshwater,
estuary and marine biomes. Freshwater biomes have a salinity of less than 0.1%
and include rivers, streams, ponds, and wetlands. Some of our freshwater reserves
are stored in groundwater. Freshwater makes up less than 4% of Earth’s aquatic
biomes. Estuaries are located at the mouth of rivers where saltwater and
freshwater mix. Salt marshes and mangrove forests are estuaries that support
enormous populations of animal life. However, the largest biome on Earth is the
marine biome with a salinity of 3% on average. The following are the characteristics
of a marine biome.
 The largest biome, covering three-fourths of the earth’s surface.
 The most stable biome with temperature that vary little because water has a
high heat capacity and there is such enormous volume of water.
 Provides most of the earth’s food and oxygen.
 The marine biome is itself divided into different regions classified by the
amount of sunlight they receive, the distance from the shore, and the water
depth and whether it is open water or ocean bottom.