SCHEMEOFWORKFORSECONDTERM

WEEK1.
BASI
CECOLOGI
CALCONCEPTS
WEEK2.
BIOMES
WEEK3.
POPULATI
ONSTUDI
ES
WEEK4.
FUNCTI
ONI
NGECOSYSTEM
WEEK5.
ENERGYTRANSFORMATI
ONI
NNATURE
WEEK6.
ECOLOGI
CALMANAGEMENT
WEEK7.
MIDTERM BREAK
WEEK8.
NUTRI
ENTCYCLI
NG
WEEK9.
ADAPTATI
ON
WEEK10.
POLLUTI
ON
WEEK11.
CONSERVATI
ONOFNATURALRESOURCES
WEEK12.
REVI
SION
WEEK13.
EXAMI
NATI
ON

BASI
CECOLOGI
CALCONCEPTS

1
Ec ol
ogyisformedfrom theGreekwor d‘’
oikos
’’meani
ngdwel l
i
ngpl ac
eorhomeand
“logos”meaningtos tudy.Therefor
e,ecol
ogyc anbedefinedast hestudyofplant
s
andani malsinrel
ati
ont otheirenvi
ronment.I
tisabranchofsciencethatdeal
swi t
h
therelat
ionshi
pbetweenl i
vingorganis
msandt hei
renvi
ronment.
Br
anchesofEcology
Ec
ologyi
sdividedintot
womainbr anches;
A.Aut
ecology:Studyofi
ndi
vidualorgani
sm andt
hei
renvi
ronment
B.Synecol
ogy:Studyofthe i
nter
-rel
ati
ons
hipsbet
ween gr
oupsofor
gani
sms
l
ivi
ngtogetheri
nanar
ea.
ECOLOGI
CALCONCEPTS
1.Envir
onment:Thi
sincl
udesallf
act
ors( i
nternalandexter
nal,l
i
vingandnon-
l
ivi
ng)whichaff
ectanorgani
sm.E.
g.,habitat
,cli
mate,di
seas
es,predat
or-
prey
rel
ati
ons
hipetc.
2.Habi
tat:Thi
sisapl acewhereanor gani
sml i
vesnat
ural
l
y.Someex
ampl
esof
habi
tat
sareaquat
ic,ter
res
tri
al,ar
bor
ealetc.
3.Ecol
ogicalni
che:Thi
sref
erst
ot hespecifi
cpor t
ionofthehabi
tatoccupiedbya
part
icul
arorgani
sm,thef
uncti
onalr
ol eitplaysinthehabit
atandit
spos i
ti
onin
thefoodweb.Not wospeci
esofor ganismss har
et hesameroleatt hes ame
ti
me.
4.Populat
ion:Thi
sist he t
otalnumberofor gani
sms oft
he s
ame s
pec
ies
occupyi
ngagivenar
eaataparti
cul
arper
iodi
nt i
me.
5.Communit
y:Thi
sismadeupofdif
fer
entpopul
ati
onsoflivi
ngor
gani
smst
hat
exi
stt
oget
herandar
eadapt
abl
etocondi
ti
onsi
ntheirhabi
tat
.
6.Biosphere:Thi
sisthepar toftheear
thoc cupi
ed byl
ivi
ng or
gani
sms.I
tis
compos edofatmosphere(gas
eouspor
tion)
,hydros
pher
e( l
i
quidpor
ti
on)and
l
ithosphere(
sol
idport
ion)
.
7.Bi
ome:Thisisadi s
tinct
iveregi
onoft er
rest
rialecos
ystem whi
chismar ked
di
ff
erentwi
thres
pectt othet
ypeofvegetati
onandani malli
fet
hatitcontains
.
Majorcl
i
mati
cfact
orsthatdet
erminebi
omesar erai
nfal
landtemperat
ure.
8.Ecosystem:An ec osys
tem ref
er stoac ommuni t
y ofplants and ani
mals
funct
ioning t
ogetherwiththei
rnon-livi
ng envi
ronment.I
tc onsi
stsofli
ving
fact
orsinter
acti
ngwiththenon-l
ivi
ngfactor
sintheenvi
ronment.
ComponentsofanEcosys
tem
(
a)Biot
icComponent
:Thebi
oti
ccomponentiscomposedofal
lli
vi
ngt
hings(
ani
mal
s
andplant
s)whi
chcanbegr
oupedint
o;

2
  Pr
oducer
swhi
char
eaut
otr
ophs(
greenpl
ant
sands
omemi
croor
gani
sms
)
 Consumerswhichar
ehet er
otr
ophs(
animal
sands
omepl
ant
s).Theymaybe
pri
mary,
secondar
yorter
ti
arycons
umers
.
 Decompos
erswhicharesapr
ophyt
icor
gani
sms(
bac
ter
iaands
omef
ungi
)that
f
eedondeadorganicmat
ter.
(
b) Abi
oti
cComponent
:Thi
sinc
ludesnon-
li
vi
ngt
hingswhi
char
e;
 Cl
i
mat
icf
act
orsl
i
ket
emper
atur
e,wi
nd,humi
dit
y,s
unl
i
ghtandr
ainf
all
I
norgani
cmater
ial
sand nut
ri
ent
ssuc
hasc
arbondi
oxi
de,ox
ygen,ni
tr
ogen,
c
alc
ium,phos
phoruset
c.
 Edaphi
cfac
tor
sli
kes
oil
,roc
ks,t
opogr
aphyet
c.
 Or
gani
csubs
tanc
esl
i
kec
arbohydr
ates
,pr
otei
ns,l
i
pidset
c.
 Ot
herf
act
orsl
i
kedus
t,s
tor
m,f
ir
eandwat
er.
Interacti
oni nanecos ys
t em
Thebi oti
candabi ot i
ccomponent sinteractwi t
hint hems elves,andwi t
heac hot her.
Themos timportanti sthei
rf eedingr el
ati
ons hip.Foodpr oduc ersuses un’
sener gy
andnut ri
entsfr
om t heabioti
cenvi ronmentt omakef ood.Theener gyandnut ri
entsin
thi
sfoodi spas sedont ohet erotr
ophsandt hent odec ompos ers.Astheener gyin
foodispas s
edf r
om or ganis
mt oor ganis
m,itevent uallyescapesi ntotheenvi
ronment
and c annot be r eused.The nut r
ient
s however ar er eleased intot he abioti
c
envi
ronmentand c an be r eused by f ood pr oduc ers.Thus ,an ec osyst
em i sa
funct
ionaluniti
nwhi chther
ei saf l
owofener gyandr ecycli
ngofi norgani
cnutrients.
BIOMES
Thes
ear
elar
genat
uralt
err
est
ri
alec
osys
tem.Thel
ocalbi
omesofNi
ger
iaar
e:
 Mangr
oveSwamp
 Tr
opi
calRai
nfor
est
s
 Mont
aneFor
est
s
 Sout
her
ngui
neas
avanna
 Nor
ther
ngui
nea(
Sudan)Sav
anna
 Sahels
avanna(
HotDes
ert
)
1.MangroveSwampsorEs t
uari
ne:Thi
sbiomeisf
oundalongcoastalregi
onsand
r
ivermouths.I
tisfoundinstat
esli
ke;Del
ta,Cros
s-r
iver
,River
s ,Akwa-i
bom,
Ondo,Ogun,Bayel
saandLagos.

3
 Commonplant
sfoundher
einc
lude;Redmangr
ove,Whi
temangr
ove,Coc
onut
,
Raphi
apal
msetc.
Animal
sf ound hereincl
ude;ti
lapi
a,her
mitc
rabs
,mud s
kipper
s,bi
rds
(ki
ngf
isher
),s
nakes
,monkeyset
c.
Char
act
eri
sti
csoft
hisbi
omei
ncl
ude;
(
a) I
thast
allwoodyt
rees
.
(
b) Itrec
eivesahigh r
ainf
allofover250c
m(2500mm)perannum whi
ch
r
esul
tsi
nwaterl
oggi
ng.
(
c) I
thasevergr
eent
reesandbr
oadl
eaves
(
d) I
thasaver
agemont
hlyt
emper
at eof260C
ur
(
e) Theyhaveaer
ialr
oot
s
2.Tr
opicalr
ainf
or es
t:Thi
sbiomeisfoundinstat
esli
keEdo,Delta,Imo,Ondo,
Abi
a,Ogun,Rivers
,Bayel
sa,AkwaI
bom,Oyo,AnambraandLagosstate.
Commonpl antsfoundher
einc
lude;I
roko,Obec
he,Mahogany,Af
ri
canwal
nut
,
Opepe,Ebony,Teaketc
.
Ani
malspec
iesf
oundhereinc
lude;monkeys
,bi
rds
,chamel
eon,s
nakes
,squi
rr
el,
ear
thwor
m,snai
l
s,el
ephantet
c.
Char
act
eri
sti
csi
ncl
ude:
(
a) Theveget
ati
oni
sdens
ewi
tht
allt
reeshavi
ngbr
oadl
eaves
(
b) Tr
eeshavebut
tres
sroot
sandever
greenl
eaves
(
c) Treesfor
m 3layer
s/str
ata.Thi
sfor
msac anopythatpr
eventssunli
ght
fr
om reachi
ngthefor
estfloor
.Asar es
ult
,vegetat
iononforestf
looris
spars
e.
(
d) Annualr
ainfal
lisar
ound200cm( 2000mm),therel
ativehumi
dit
yisabout
0
70%whil
et heannualmeantemperatur
eisabout27C.
(
e) Epi
phyt
esar
ecommoni
nthi
shabi
tat
.

3.Souther
n GuineaSavanna:Thisbiomei sfound i
nstat
eslike;Kogi
,Enugu,
Benue,Kwara,Oyo,Ebonyi
,Osun,Niger
,Kaduna,Abuj
a,Tar
abaandAdamawa
st
ates.
Pl
ant
sf ound her
eares hrubsand scat
ter
ed t
rees
.E.
g.oft
reesf
ound her
e
i
ncl
ude;sheabutt
er,l
ocustbean,gr
ass
esetc.

4
 Ani
malsf
ound herei
ncl
ude;gr
ass
cut
ter
,ant
elopes
,el
ephant
s,l
i
on,c
heet
ah,
l
eopar
d,z
ebraetc.
Char
act
eri
sti
csi
ncl
ude;
(
a) Theyr
ecor
dmoder
ateamountofr
ainf
all(
bet
ween100c
m –150c
m)
(
b) Theyhavel
owr
elat
ivehumi
dit
y
(
c) I
tist
hel
arges
tofal
lbi
oti
ccommuni
ti
esi
nNi
ger
ia
(
d) I
thast
allgr
ass
esasi
tspr
edomi
nantveget
ati
on.
5. Northern Guinea Savanna orSudan Savanna:Thisisf ound ins t
ateslike;
Sokoto,Bauc hi,Pl
ateau,Kaduna,Borno,Kano,Niger
,Tar abaandAdamawa
st
ates .Examplesofani malsfound hereincl
ude;antel
ope,z ebra,elephant,
gi
raffe,l
iz
ard,insec
ts(ter
mitesandgrass
hoppers)
,li
ons
,leopard,cheetahsetc.
Char
act
eri
sti
csi
ncl
ude;
(
a) Lowannualaver
ager
ainf
allbet
ween50c
mto100c
m perannum.
(
b) I
thass
cat
ter
edands
hor
tdec
iduoust
rees
(
c) Thedr
yseas
onl
ast
sformor
ethans
ixmont
hs.
(
d) Someoft
het
reeshavet
hor
nswhi
l
eot
her
shavet
hic
kbar
ks.
6. SahelSavanna:Thi
ssavanna i
slocat
ed around Lake Chad and ex
treme
nort
her
ns tat
esofSokot
o,Katsi
na,Bornu,Yobe,Kebbi
,Zamf ar
a,Kanoand
Ji
gawa.
Char
act
eri
sti
csi
ncl
ude;
(
a) Lowaver
ageannualr
ainf
allofl
esst
han50c
m.
(
b) Hi
ght
emper
atur
eandl
owhumi
dit
y.
(
c) Sc at
ter
ed,shor
tanddr
oughtr
esi
stantpl
ant
s.E.
g.Ac
aci
asp.
,Gum Ar
abi
c,
Dat
epalm,Cact
usetc.
Maj
orBi
omesoft
heWor
ld
1.Tr
opi
calr
ainf
ores
t
2.Temper
atef
ores
t
3.Temper
ates
hrubl
and
4.Temper
ategr
ass
land
5.Af
ro-
Alpi
ne

5
 6.Tundr
a
7.Des
ert
s

POPULATI ONSTUDI ES
Popul ati
oni sdef inedast het otalnumberofor gani smsoft hes ames pecies
occupyi ngagi v enar eaatapar ti
cul art i
me.
Inpopul ations t udiesofahabi t
at, thef ol l
owi ngar eus uall
ys tudied;
(1) Typeofor gani sm
(2) Domi nanc e:Thi sr ef er stot hos es pec i
est hatex er tagr eatinfluenc eont he
habitatandot herpopul ations .Itcanbeex pr ess edi nt ermsof ;
 Thei rnumber
 Oc cupat ionofl arges tpor ti
onofs pac e
 Pos s ess i
onofhi ghes tbi omas s
 Lar ges tc ont ri
but ionofener gyf l
owi nt hehabi t at
(3) Popul ationc har ac teristics:Theyi nc l
ude;
(a) Popul ations i
ze:Thi si st het otalnumberofs pec iesoft hes ameki ndinagi ven
areaorhabi tat. Mat hemat icall
y,itisgi venby;
Popul ati
ons ize=Popul at iondens ityxAr eaofhabi tat.
(b) Popul ationdens ity:Thi sisthenumberofi ndi vi
dualor gani smsperuni tareaor
volumeoft hehabi tat .Mat hemat ically,itisgi venby;
Popul ationdens i
ty= Tot alpopul ati
onorpopul ati
ons i
z e
Ar eaofhabi tat
(c) Popul ationf requenc y:Thi sref erst ot henumberoft imesanor ganism occ urs
withi
nagi venar eaofhabi tat. Mat hemat i
cally,itisgi venby;
Fr equenc y= Numberofpl otsi nwhi chas peciesoc c
ur red
Totalnumberoft osses
Per c
ent agef requenc y= Numberofpl otsinwhi c has pec i
esoc cur r
ed X100
Totalnumberoft osses
(d) Per cent agec ov er :Thi sisthear eaors pac ec over edoroc cupiedbyagi ven
speciesi nitshabi tatandi ti sex pres sedi nper c
ent age.
(e) Popul ationgr owt hr at e:Thisi st henetr esultoft heinfluenc eofnat al
i
tyand
mor t
al i
tyofor gani smsi nagi venhabi tat.

POPULATIONSTUDI ESMETHODS
Tocarr
youtpopul
ationstudiesi
nahabitat
,sever
als
mal
lar
easoft
hehabi
tati
s
chos
enatrandom.Thi sknownass
si ampli
ng.
Sampli
ngmethodsi
nc l
ude:
1.Quadr atmet
hod
2.Transectmet
hod
6
 3.Capt
ure-r
ecapt
uremet
hod

Toconductpopulat
ionstudi
es,wec ar
ryoutt hefol
l
owi ngprocedures
;
 Choosethehabit
attobes tudied
 Sel
ectthesampli
ngmet hodt obeus ed( Quadrat
,TransectandCapt
ure-
Recaptur
eMethod)
 Coll
ect,c
ountandrecordthedi ff
erentt ypesoforganism pres
ent
Identif
ythedif
fer
entorganisms
 Repeatthepopulat
ionstudi
esati ntervalstotrac
kc hanges

FACTORSAFFECTI NGPOPULATI ONS

(1) Mi grati
on
(2) Invasionorc oloniz
ationbynews peci
es
(3) Avai l
abili
tyoffood
(4) Predat ors
(5) Par asit
ism
(6) Compet it
ion
(7) Increas eordec r
easei nbi
rthr
atesanddeathrates
(8) Climat i
cc hanges
(9) Nat uraldisast
ers(fi
res,dr
ought,f
lood,vol
cani
cerupt
ion,er
osi
onet
c.)
(10)Di
seas es

MEASUREMENTOFECOLOGI CALFACTORS
S/N Instrument Functi
ons /
uses
1 Rai ngauge Usedf ormeas uringt heamountofr ai
nfall
2 Mi ni mum andmax i
mum Us edt omeas uret hel owes tandhi ghest
mer cur yingl ass temper atureoft heday.
thermomet er
3 Anemomet er Usedt omeas ures peedofwi nd
4 Wi ndvane Usedt oi ndic
at ewi nddi recti
on
5 Wet -and- dr ybulb Usedt omeas urer elati
vehumi dit
y
Hygr omet er
6 Bar omet er Usedt omeas urepr es sure
7 Phot omet erorl ight Usedt omeas urel i
ghti ntensityonland
met er
8 Hydr ophot omet er Usedt omeas urel i
ghti ntensityinwater
9 Col or imeterorpH Usedt omeas uret heac i
dityoralkali
nit
yofs oi
l
indicator orsolution
10 Tul lgrenf unnel Usedf orc ompar ingt henumberandt ypesof
animalsindi ff
erents oi
lsampl es
11 Baer mannf unnel Usedf orc oll
ectingt i
nyor ganismsthatliveins
oil
water

7
12 Sec
chidi
sc Usedtomeas urethet urbi
dit
yort ransparencyof
water
13 Measuri
ngt ape Usedformeas ur
inghei ghtandl engt hofobject
s
14 Depthgauge/ dept
h Usedformeas ur
ingt hedepthofr unningor
meter st
andingwat er
15 Thermograph Usedforlongper iodr ecordi
ngoft emperature
andrelat
ivehumi dity
16 Met err
ule Usedformeas ur
inglengt hofobj ects
17 Wat erspeedmet
er Usedformeas ur
ings peedofwat erf l
ow
18 Slopegauge Usedtomeas ureslopeofanar eaofl and
19 Wax edbulb Usedtomeas urethet emperatureofwat erat
thermomet er dif
fer
entdept hsinabodyofwat er.

FUNCTIONI
NGECOSYSTEM
Aut
otr
ophs
,Het
erot
rophsandDecomposer
s

Autotrophs:Theseareorgani
smscapabl
eofus i
ngsunl
i
ghtorchemicalenergyto
manufac t
uretheirownfoodfrom s
impl
einorgani
csubs
tanc
es.Theyarecall
ed
pri
mar yfoodpr oducers
.Exampl
esofautot
rophsaregr
eenplant
s,photosynthet
ic
proti
stands omebac ter
ia
Heterotrophs :Theseareor gani
smsthatc annotmanuf act
urefoodont hei
rown. They
dependdi rectlyorindi
rectl
yonaut otrophsforfood.Examplesofheterotr
ophsare
ani
mal s
,c arni
vor ousplants
,fungi,mostproti
standbac teri
a.
I
nanec osystem,het er
otrophsareeitherconsumer s(pri
mary,secondaryorter
ti
ar y)
ordecompos er s
.

Decompos er
s:Thes
eareorgani
smsthatfeedondeadanddec aying( dec
omposing)
organi
cmat t
er(r
emainsofpl
ants
,ani
mals,andot
herorganis
ms ).Theyarealsoc
alled
saprophyt
es.
Examplesofdecomposer
sincl
ude;mushr
oom,toadst
ools,mould,soilbact
eri
aetc.

Foodchai nandFoodweb
Af oodc hai nist hel i
nearfeedingr elati
ons hi
pex i
sti
ngbetweenor ganis
msi nt
he
ecologicals ystem.
Therear et wot ypesoff oodc hains;
 Thepr edat or(grazi
ng)foodc hain
 Thedet ri
tus( decompos er)foodc hain
1. Pr edat or( grazing)foodchai ns :Thisismadeupofpr edatorspeciesandthei
r
preyorf oods pec i
es.Inthist
ypeoff oodc hai
n,theaut
otrophsaret hepri
mary
produc ersoff ood. Thefinaldeathands ubsequentdecomposit
ionbymi cr
oorgani
sms
ofdec ayt ermi nat esthefoodc hain.
Exampl esi nclude;

8
  Gras s Sheep Wolf Li
on
 Gras s Gr asshopper Toad Snake Hawk
 Phyt oplankton( diatom) Zoopl anktons(par
ameci
um) Shrimp
Til
api afish Crocodi
le
2. Det ri
tus( decompos er )f
oodchain:Thisfoodc hai
nst
art
swi t
hdecomposers
(e.
g.saprophyt i
cbac teri
aandf ungi
)thatfeedondeadandunus edor
ganicmater
ial
(e.
g.deadpl ants,animals ,faeceset
c.)
.
Humus Earthwor m Domes t
icFowl HumanBei
ng Decomposers

Foodweb
Afoodwebisac omplexfeedi
ngrel
ati
ons
hipex
ist
ingbet
weenor
gani
smsi
nthe
ecol
ogi
cals
ystem.I
tismadeupoft woormorefoodchai
ns.
Exampl
esoffoodwebar egivenbel
ow:

Trophi
cLevel
Trophi
clevel(energylevel)i
nanec os
ys t
em involvesseveraldi
fferentorganis
mswith
energytr
ansferus ual
l
yf r
om thesmallestnumer ousorganismst olargestandfew
organi
sms.
Eachstepalongt hefeedingpathwayi sknownast r
ophiclevel.Thereisdecreas
ein
energyateverylevel.Energyisus
edpr ogressi
velyateac htrophiclevelthr
ough

9
r
espi
rat
ion.

 Gui
neagras
s Gras
shopper Toad l
iz
ard Hawk
ST nd rd t
h
1 Tr
ophi
clevel 2 t r
ophi
clevel3 t r
ophi
clevel4 tr
ophi evel 5tht
cl rophi
clevel
Ener
gyf l
ow
Ener
gythroughaf oodchai
nf rom onetr
opicl
eveltoanotheri
sut i
l
izedinei
therof
thef
oll
owingmanner s
;
 Produc ti
onofbiomass(weightofproducers
,consumersanddec ompos ersi
n
theec osyst
em atapar t
icul
arti
me).
 Forres pi
rat
ion(theprocessbywhichenergyisuti
l
izedforvari
ousmet aboli
c
acti
viti
es).
 Ther estoftheenergyislostasheatwhi
chisrel
easeddur i
ngvariousacti
vit
ies
.

EcologicalPyr ami ds
Ecologicalpyr ami dsaregraphi calr epres entati
onofc hangesbas edonnumber sof
i
ndividual s,tot aldryweightandener gyi nanec osystem.
Note:Ec ol ogi calpyramidsdonoti nc l
udedec ompos ers,whos enumberi stoolarge
butwei ghti st oos mal
lmaki ngi tinc onveni enttobemeas uredorgr aphed.
Therear et hr eet ypesofec ologicalpyr amids ;
 Pyr ami dofnumber s
 Pyr ami dofener gy
 Pyr ami dofbi omass
1. Pyr ami dofnumber s:Thi sisadi agrammat i
crepresentationoft heprogressive
decreasei nt henumberofor gani smsal ongaf oodc hain.I
ts howst hatthenumberof
i
ndividualor gani smsateac ht rophi cleveldec reasesprogres si
velyfrom thefi
rstto
thelasttr ophi clevelinafoodc hain.
2. Pyr ami dofener gy:Thispyr ami ds howst heamountofener gypr esenti
nl i
ving
organism atdi ff
erenttr
opicl evelsofaf oodc hain.I
tshowsapr ogr
es si
vedecreas ei
n
energyf rom t hef i
rstt
rophicl evel(pr oduc ers)tothelasttrophiclevel(consumers )i
n
afoodc hai norweb.

10
3. Pyr
ami dofbiomas s:Biomas sist
hedr yorwetweightofanorganism.Thepyramid
representsthetotalweight/mas softheorgani
sm ateachtr
ophi
clevel.I
ttheref
ore
givesamor eaccuraterelat
ionshipbetweenorganis
msinthedif
ferenttr
ophiclevel
s
thant hepyramidofnumber s.Biomassalsodecreas
esasonemovesf rom thefi
rst
trophiclevelt
oot hertrophiclevel
s.

ENERGYTRANSFORMATI
ONI
NNATURE

Energylossi nt heecos ys t
em
Energyisdef inedast heabi l
itytodowor k.Ener
gys uppor tslifeandi sinvol vedinall
l
ifeact
ivi
ties. Thes unist heul ti
mat es ourceofbiologi calener gy.Ener gyt rappedf r
om
thesuneithers toredorut il
ized.Lightener gyisabs or bedbyt hec hloropl astsand
usedinphot osynt hesisbygr eenpl antstopr oducec arbohydr ates.Thec hemi cal
energyinc arbohydr ateist henpas seddownt hefoodc hainfrom t hepr imar y
consumerst ot het ert
iaryc ons umer s/dec ompos ers.
Asenergyf lowsf rom eac ht ropiclevel,thereisener gyl ossateac hlevel.Inor ganis
ms,
energyislostdur ingres pirati
on,movementandot hermet abolicac t
ivit
ies .I
nthe
ecosyst
em,ener gyi sl
os tthrought heveget ati
on,s oil,air
,heat ,evapor ationofwat er
andeffectsofwi nd.
Lawsoft her modynami cs
(a) FirstlawofTher modynami c
s
Thefir
stlawoft her modynami csalsoknownast hel awofc onservati
onofmat ter
stat
esthatener gyc annei therbec reatednordes troyedbutc anbec onver t
edf r
om
oneformt oanot her.

11
(b) Secondl awofThermodynamics
Thes econdlawofther
modynamicsst
atesthatinanyconvers
ionofenergyfrom one
for
mt oanother
,aconsi
der
ableamountofener gyi
slostasheatenergy.I
tcanal
s o
besaidt hatwhenener
gyistr
ansf
ormedf r
om onef or
mt oanother
,thereisal
waysa
decreaseintheamountofbi
ologi
cal
lyusefulener
gy.

Appl icationoft hel awsoft her modynami cst oecol ogi calphenomena
Thef i
rstlawoft her modynami cs :Thi slawappl iest ot hec onver si
onofl ightener gy
from t hes unint oc hemi calener gys tor edi nc ar bohydr atesandot herf oods .The
chemi calenergyi sc onver tedt oot herf or
msofener gyasi tf l
owst hrought hef ood
chai nort rophicl evelint heec os yst em. Ateac ht rophi clevel,theener gywi thinan
organi sm maybec onver tedt odi f
f erentf or mse. g. i
nanani mal,itmaybec onverted
toki neticener gy( l
oc omot i
on) ,s oundener gy( noi se,s peec h),li
ghtener gy
(biolumi nescenc eins omebac teria,f irefli
eset c.).
I
thasal sobeenobs ervedt hatt heener gyoft hepr oduc ersatt hebas eoft he
pyr ami dofener gyi shighandi st rans formedgr adual lyf r
om ones t ageoft het rophic
l
evelt oanot her. Event houghener gyi st rans for medi nt ovariousot herfor min
suc cess i
vetrophi clevel s,thes um t ot aloft heener gyi sc onstant.
Thes econdl awoft hermodynami cs :Theappl icat ionoft hislawi st hatdur i
ng
trans f
or mationofener gy,ac ros st hef oodc hain,al ltheener gyi nanor ganis misnot
suc cess f
ull
yc onver ted. Suc cess i
vel evel shavel es sener gyands uppor tf ewor ganisms.
Produc ershav et hehi ghes tener gyf ollowedbyt hepr i
mar yc ons umer st hatfeedon
produc ers.Whens econdar yc ons umer sfeedonpr imar yc ons umer s,theener gyl evel
i
sf urtherr educ ed. Notal lpar toft hepr ecedi ngor gani smsar eeat enbyt hepredat or
oror gani sm att henex ttr ophi cl evel .Ener gyi sl os tasheatateac ht r
ophi clevel
throughr espiration,feedi ng,movementorot hermet abol i
cac ti
viti
es .

NUTRIENTCYCLI NG
Thi
sisagener
alter
mf ort
hec ours
etracedbyanypar ti
cul
arli
fees
sent
ials
ubs
tanc
es
asi
tmovesthroughthephys
icalandbiologi
calenvi
ronment.
Thes
ees
sent
ialnut
ri
ent
sinc
lude:
1.Wat
er
2.c
arbon
3.Ni
tr
ogen
4.Ox
ygen

WATERCYCLE
Wat
ercyc
lei
sdef
inedasthec
ont
inuousmovementofwat
erf
rom t
heat
mos
pher
eto
t
heear
thandbac
kagain.

12
 Proces sofwat ercycl ingi nnature
Theat
mospher
erec
eiveswat ert hrough;
1.Evapor ati
onf rom landands ea
2.Tr anspirationfrom plants
Thel
andr
eceiv
eswatert hrough;
i. Rai nfallorpr ec i
pit
ation
ii.I nfil
trationorper colation
I
MPORTANCEOFWATERTOLI VI NGORGANI SMS
1.Regul atebodyt emper ature
2.Itac tsasamedi um fort ransportati
onf orpl
antnutri
ent
s
3.Itisanes sentialrawmat erialnecessaryforphotos
ynthesi
s
4.Wat eri srequi redfors eedger minati
on
5.Itisanat uralhabi t
atforaquat i
cor ganisms

NI
TROGENCYCLE
Ni
trogenisanessent
ialel
ementf
orpl
ant
sandani
mal
s.I
tisac
ons
tit
uentofami
no
ac
id,prot
eins
,enz
ymeset c
.
Alll
i
vingthingsneednitr
ogenforthei
rpropergrowthandrepai
r.Thepathal
ong
whichnitr
ogenatomsmovet hr
ought heair
,plant
s,ani
mal
s,soiland wat
eri
na
cont
inuousmannerisknownastheNITROGENCYCLE.
Ni
tr
ogenc
annotbeabs
orbeddi
rec
tlybypl
ant
sandani
mal
sunt
ili
tisc
onver
tedi
nto

13
 c
ompoundst
heyc
anus
e.

Thef
oll
owi
ngaret
hestagesi
nvol
vedi
nNi
tr
ogenc
ycl
e:
1. Nitr
ogenFi
xat
ion

i.Symbi oti
c Ni trogen Fi xati
on- Spec i
albac t
erias uch as Rhi z obium conver tt he
nitr
ogen gas( N2)t o ammoni a(NH3)whi chthepl antsc an us e.Thepl anti nturn
suppl i
esc arbohydr atesfort heus eoft hebac teria.Thes ebac ter i
aaref oundi nt he
rootnodul esofl egumi nouspl ants.
i
i
. El ectri
calDi scharge:Ni t
rogenc anal sobef ixedi ntot hesoildur inglightningand
thunderstorms .Nitrogeni ntheairc ombineswi t
hox ygentof orm Ni t
rogen( I
I)oxide
whic hfurtherunder goesox i
dation int heairt of or
m Ni trogen ( I
V)ox ide.The
Nitrogen (IV)ox i
de wi l
ldi ss
olve inr ai
n wat ert of orm ni tricacid whi chlater
dissoci
atest oform nitratesinthes oil
.

i
i
i. Non-symbi oticni trogenf ixati
on:Somebac teriali
vef reelyint hes oilandc anfix
atmospheric ni trogen ei t
heraer obically and anaer obicall
y.Ex ampl es ofsuch
bact
eriaincludeCl os t
ri
dium.
2. Ammoni ficat ion:Af terallofthelivingor ganismshaveus edt heni t
rogenand
aredead,ammoni um c ompoundsar ef ormedf rom t hei
rdec ayingpar t
s.Als
o
from thei rwas tepr oduc t
sli
keur i
neandf aeces.
3. Ni t
rif
ication- Ni tr
ificati
on isthe pr ocesswhi chc onvertst he ammoni um
compoundsf i
rstint oni t
ri
tebyni trif
yingbac t
eriac all
edNi trosomonast hen
intoni trat esbyot herbac teri
ac alledNi t
robact er.Plantsc anonl yabs or
b
nitrat
esf r om t hes oil
.
4. Deni tri
fi
cat ion- Deni tri
fi
cati
on ist he finals tep in whi ch ot herbac t
eria
conver tt hes impl eni tr
ogenc ompoundsbac kintoni tr
ogengas( N2),whichis
thenr eleas edbac ki ntotheatmos pheret obegi nt hecycleagai n.

14
 NI
TROGENCYCLE
Ef
fect
sofHumanI ntervent
ionOnNit
rogenCycle
 Nit
ricOxide(NO)i srel
easedi
ntotheat mospher
ewhenanyt ypeoff
ueli
s
burned.
Thisi
ncludesby-pr
oduct
sofint
ernalc
ombus t
ionofengi
nes.

15
  Nitr
ous Ox i
de (N2O)isrel
eas ed int
ot he atmos pherethr
ough bact
eri
ai n
l
ivestoc
kwas teandcommercialfert
il
iz
ersappli
edt othesoi
l.
 Removingni t
rogenfr
om t
heEar t
h’scrustands oi
lwhenwemi neni
tr
ogen-ri
ch
mineraldeposi
ts.
 Dischar
ge of muni ci
pal s
ewage adds ni trogen c ompounds to aquati
c
ecosyst
ems .

ADAPTATI ON
Adapt at
ionisdefinedastheabili
tyofanor gani
smt oli
vesuc cessf
ull
yinaparti
cul
ar
habitatasar es
ultofi t
sstr
uctur
e,func
tionorbehavior.St
ructuraladapt
ati
oncanbe
defi
nedast hes pecialmodi
fi
cati
onofstruct
uresthathelporganismstosurvi
vebett
er
i
nt heirvar
iousenvironments.
Adaptat
ionofAni
mal
stoAquat
icHabi
tat
(
a) Pos
ses
sionofst
reamli
nedbodyf
oreas
ymovementinwat
er
(
b) Pos
ses
sionoff
insf
ormovement
.
(
c) Pos
ses
sionofgi
l
lsf
orgas
eousex
change
(
d) Pos
ses
sionofs
wim bl
adderf
orbuoyanc
y.
(
e) Pos
ses
sionoft
ailf
ors
wimmi
ng.
(
f) Pos
ses
sionofs
tic
kyunder
sur
fac
est
oadher
etoobj
ect
se.
g.s
nai
l

Adapt
ati
onofAni
malstoTer
res
tri
alHabi
tat
(
a) Pos
ses
sionofpower
full
i
mbsformovement
.
(
b) Pos
ses
sionofl
ungsf
orgas
eousex
change.
(
c) Pos
ses
sionofs
weatgl
andsf
orex
cret
ion
(
d) Pos
ses
sionofhai
rsf
orr
egul
ati
onofbodyt
emper
atur
e.
(e) Poss
ess
ionofs ki
ninmammal
sandc
uti
cl
esi
nins
ect
stopr
otec
tandpr
event
dryi
ngupandinj
ury.
Adaptat
ionofAni
mal
stoAr
bor
ealHabi
tat
(
a) Pos
ses
sionofwingsforf
li
ght
.
(
b) Pos
ses
sionofhol
l
owbonest
omaket
hem l
i
ght
(
c) Pos
ses
sionofbr
ightc
olour
sforc
amouf
lage.
(d) Posses
sion ofpower
fulpt
erodac
tyll
i
mb,c
laws and t
ailf
orc
li
mbi
ng and
perc
hing.

16
(
e) Pos
ses
sionofs
treaml
i
nedbodyf
oreas
yfl
i
ght
.
Adaptati
onofPlantstoAquati
cHabi t
at
(
a)Poss
essionofwaxyc ut
icl
esonleavese.
g.waterlet
tuce.
(
b)Posses
sionoflongstem andfl
owerstal
ke.g.waterl
il
y.
(
c)Pos
sessionofadventi
ti
ousrootse.
g.waterl
ettuc
e.
(
d)Pos
ses
sionofai
rfl
oat
sandai
rspac
esi
nleaves
,st
em andt
iss
uef
orbuoyanc
y.
NOTE:Pl antsthatthri
ves uccessf
ull
yinf r
eshwat erar
ec al
led hydrophyt
eswhile
mesophytesar el
andpl ant
st hatarefoundinenvir
onmentswithanadequat ewater
suppl
y,andx erophytesarelandplantsthatcansurvi
vei
ndr yareas(desert
s)where
watersupplyisscar
ce.
Adaptat
ionofPl
antstoTerr
est
rialHabi
tat
(
a) Pos
ses
sionofext
ensiver
ootsys
tem f
oranchorageandwat
erabs
orpt
ion.
(
b) Pos
ses
sionoft
hic
kbar
kont
hes
tem t
opr
otec
tint
ernalt
iss
ues
.
(
c) Pos
ses
sionofnumer
ousl
eavest
oenhanc
ebet
terphot
osynt
hes
is.
(
d) Poss
ess
ionofs
ucc
ulents
temsbydes
ertpl
ant
stoenabl
ethem s
tor
eex
ces
s
wat
er.
(
e) Theleavesofdes
ertpl
ant
sar
ereduc
edt
ospi
nest
oreduc
ewat
erl
osst
hrough
t
rans
pir
ati
on.
Adapt
ati
onofBi
rds
(a) Bir
dst hatar
ecarni
vor
oushavestr
ongandhookedbeaksadaptedf
orkill
i
ng
andtear
ingfles
hofpr
ey. Theirf
eet ar
estr
ongwi
thshar
pc l
aws.e.
g.owl
s,eagl
es,
hawksetc.
(
b) Seedeatingbirdshaveshor
t,t
hic
kbeaksf orc
rac
kingt
hehar
dcover
ingof
s
eedsornute.
g.spar
rows,beaver bi rdset
c.
(
c) Insectand nect
arf eedi
ng bi
rdshavel
ong,s
lenderand poi
nted beakse.
g.
woodpecker
,sunbi
rdetc
.
(d) Birdsli
keduc
kswhic
hc ans
wim havewebbedf
eet.Theyal
sohavebeakswhi
ch
areadaptedforgri
ppi
ngfi
shand sievi
ngt
hewaterforf
ood.
(e) Fowlshavestrong feetwi
thbluntnai
l
sf ors c
rat
c hi
ng t
heear t
hforwor
ms,
grai
nsandseeds
.Theirbeaks ar
ealso s hortandstouttosui
tthei
rdi
et.
(
f) Pos
ses
sionofwi
ngsf
orf
li
ght
.
(
g) Pos
ses
sionofoi
lgl
andwhi
chs
ervesaswat
erpr
oofagai
nstwet
nes
soft
hebi
rds
.
Adapt
ati
onofEndopar
asi
te

17
(
a) Pr
esenc
eofs
ucker
sandhooksf
orat
tac
hmentt
oint
est
inalwal
l
s.
(b) Posses
sionoft
hinmembranec
oupledwit
hhighs
urf
acear
eat
ovol
umer
ati
ofor
easyabs
orpti
onbydiff
usi
onof diges
tedfood.
(c
) Pos ses
sionofant
i-enz
ymest
oavoi
dbei
ngdi
ges
tedbyt
hehos
t’sdi
ges
tive
enzymes
.
(
d) Theyar
eher
maphr
odi
tes
.
Adapt
ati
onofEctoparasi
tes
(
a) Posses
sionofpi
erc
ingandsucki
ngorbiti
ngmouthpar
tswi
thwhi
cht
heypi
erc
e
t
hebodyofthei
rhost
s andsuc
kf l
uidsf
rom them.
(b) Poss
es s
ionofs
mal
lfl
att
enedorc
ompr
ess
edbodywhi
chmakest
hem nott
obe
easi
l
ybrushedoff
.

POLLUTI
ON
Poll
utionisther eleaseintotheenvir onmentofchemicalssubst
anceorener gy,through
man’ sacti
viti
es,ins uchquant i
tiesandf orsuchdurati
on,thatmayc auseharmt oman
orhisenvi ronmentorr esources.I
not herwords
,pol l
uti
oni sthereleas
eofhar mful
substancesintot heenvi r
onmentwhi chc oul
dbewat er,ai
randlandinquant iti
esort o
thelevelthatarehar mfult oman,pl antsandanimalstheharmfulsubst
ancest hatcause
poll
utionarec al
ledpol l
ut ants
.
TypesofPol
l
uti
on
1.Ai
rpol
l
uti
on
2.Noi
sePol
l
uti
on
3.Landpol
l
uti
on.
4.Wat
erpol
l
uti
on.
Pol
l
uti
onoft
heAt
mos
pher
e
Air Sources Eff
ects
poll
utant
Carbon Burningoffuels I
tc ausessuffoc
ationbec aus
ei tcombineswith
monox i
de in car
s, ot
her haemogl obinand r educesit
sabi li
tytoc arr
y
combus ti
on of engines ox ygenwhi chresultsindeat
h.
and s ome i ndust
rial
processes.
Sul
phur Burning f rom vehi cl
e[ i
]i tc auses i
mpai red healt
hs uch as the
di
ox i
de exhaust,coalmini
ngand i rri
tati
on ofeye,l ungsand s ki
n,c ough and

18
 c
ementf
act
ory otherr es pirator yt rac tdi seases .
[i
i]itc anc aus eac idr ain.
Nit
rogen El ec tr
icaland di s charge [ i
]itf or msni tricac i
dwi th wat erinai rtof or
m
oxi
des i
n ai r and i ndus tri
alac i
dr ainwhi chc or rodesmet alli
cobj ects.
proc es s
es. [i
i]i
tirritat est hes kinandr espiratorys ys
tem.
Smoke Bur ning of s ubs tanc es [i
]par ti
c les c an damage l ungs and c ause
ands oot f rom i
ndus tri
es,di scomf or t.
mac hinesand c oali nt o[ i
i]sootc anc overt hel eavesofpl antst hereby
theai r. reduc ingphot osynt hes is
[i
ii
]s moker educ esvi s i
bi l
ity.
[i
v]itbl ac kenspai ntonbui l
dings .
Dust Mi ning, quar ri
es,( i
)Iti rri
t ates r es pirat or ys ystem and c ause
part
icles mac hines and i ndus tri
al r es pirat or yissuesl ikec atarrhandc ough
proc es s
es (i
i)Itreduc esvi si
bi li
ty
(i
ii
)Pol lengr ainsc ont aini ngdus tcanaf fectthe
lungsr es ult
ingi nas thma.
Radio- I
ndus tri
alproc ess ess uc hItc andes t royoral tergenes .
acti
ve asel ec t
ri
cpl antst hatus e
substances radio-ac t
ives ubs tanc es
Noise Sour ce Effects
Poll
ution
-Fac tory or i ndus tri
al- I tc aus esl os sofhear ing
noi se -I tc anl eadt oemot ionaldi sor der
-Aer oplane or Avi ati
on - I tc anc aus eheadac he
noi se - Loud noi se makes peopl e unc omfor t
able
-Rai l
way engi ne or andc anal sor es ulti ntol ossofs leep.
l
oc omot i
venoi s
e.
-Hi gh pi tched mus i
cal
sounds f rom l
oud
speaker s
-Carhor nsands irens
-Noi sef rom heavyguns
orc annons hot s
-Noi sefrom t hunder
Noi sef r
om gener at ors

Cont
rolofAi
rPol
l
uti
on
1.Chemi
calwas
tess
houl
dbedi
schar
gedi
ntot
heai
rthr
oughf
umesc
hamber
s.
2.I
ndus
tri
ess
houl
dbes
itedf
arawayf
rom r
esi
dent
ialar
eas
.
19
 3.Provis
ionsmus
tbemadef
orc
ompl
etec
ombus
tionoff
ueli
nint
ernalc
ombus
tion
engines.
4.Legi
sl
ati
ons
houl
dbemadeagai
nsti
ndi
scr
imi
nat
ebur
ningt
hatmaybr
ingabout
smoke.
Cont
rolofNoi
sePol
l
uti
on
1.Cont
rol
sour
ceofnoi
sei
fyouc
an.
2.Useofpersonalprot
ect
iontoreduceef
fec
tsofnoi
see.gus
eofear
-muf
fsby
f
actor
y,ai
rportandquar
ryworker
s.
3.Legi
sl
ati
ons
houl
dbemadeagai
nstt
heus
eofl
ouds
peaker
sinpubl
i
cpl
aces
.

LandPol
l
uti
on
Thi
sinc
ludess
oilpol
l
utant
sandveget
ati
onpol
l
utant
s
Soi
lpol
l
utant
sar
eref
use,s
ewage,met
als
craps
,gl
ass
,pl
ast
icsandmi
ningwas
tes
.
Vegetat
ion poll
utantsinclude-pesti
ci
des,wast
e pr
oduc
tsf
rom ex
haus
tfumesf
rom
vehi
cl
es,andc hemicaleff
luentsf
rom f
actor
ies
.
Somel
andpol
l
utant
s,t
hei
rsour
cesandef
fect
sar
est
atedi
nthet
abl
ebel
ow:
LandPollutants Sour ces Eff
ec ts
1.Refus e e.
g.Homes ,Off
ices,Mar ket
s Oc cupymuc hs pac e,maybeuns ightly,
Paper andFac t
ori
es. some i t
em may dec ay and c aus e
offensiveodour .
2.Sewage Homesandof f
ices -Gas esgi venof fas hydr ogens ulphide
mayhaveof fens i
ves mell
-I tmayc ont ains omedi sease-
c aus i
ng
organis mswhi chc anbewas hedbywat er
i
ntos ourcesofdr i
nki ngwaterorc arri
ed
byai rintohumanf ood.
3.Met al Disused vehi cles and - Oc cupylands pac e
scrapsand mac hi
nes - Obs tr
uc tl and us ef or farmi
ng and
bodi es of ot herpur pos es
old
vehic l
es
4.Glas s Glass manuf ac t
uri
ng - Canc uthumans kinorbody.
and bottle-usi
ng - Itdoesnotdec ayandr enderssoilri
sky
compani es. t ous eforal ongt ime.
5.Plastics Plast
ic i ndustries ,- Does notdec ay butoc cupi
es l and
20
 homes space.
-Itmayc oll
ec twat erand s erve asa
breedingplac eformos quit
oes .
6.Chemical
s Chemi cal wastes f
rom - Maybepoi sonoust omane. g.Lead,
such as pai
nts, l
ead Cadmi um,Zi ncet c.
Lead,Zinc accumulat
ors, - Plants may abs orbt hem f rom s oi
l
,
and gal
vanizi
ngindust
ri
es. causingil
l-healtht ohumanswhof eed
Cadmium ons uchplants.
Compound
s
7.Pest
ici
des Pes ti
ci
des s pr
ayed on - Mayki l
lusefulinsects
cr
ops - Maybewas hedbys urfacefloodsinto
ri
versands treams ,pol
luti
ngt hewat er
.

8.Mi
ning Mines(e .g.Iron or
e,- OccupyMuchl ands pac
e
Lead,Zi
ncmines
) -Itmayc ont
ainpoi s
onouschemi
cal
s
- Windsmay r aise dust
sfrom mi
ning
wastesandthedus tsmaypol
l
utethe
envi
ronment
.

Cont
rolofLandPol
l
uti
on
1.Ref
uses
houl
dbebur
nti
npr
operi
nci
ner
ator
s
2.Metalscr
aps
,tincans,bott
les,motorvehi
cl
epar
tss
houl
dbec
ompr
ess
edi
ntover
y
smallc
ompactobj
ectsforeasydis
posal
.
3.Plas
tic
sshoul
dber
ecyc
ledorbur
nti
npr
operi
nci
ner
ator
sfort
hec
ont
rolofpoi
sonous
fumes.
4.Pes
tic
idess
houl
dbeappl
i
edi
nthec
orr
ectf
orm andamount
.

Wat
erPol
l
uti
on
Water Sour
ces Ef
fec
ts
Pol
l
utant
Explosi
on of oilr i
gs,leaki
ng of - Crudeoilistoxi
ctopl antsand
Cr
udeOi
l pi
pel i
nes,t
ankersandtanks. animals
.
Spil
l
ing dur i
ng loadi
ng and off-- Its oaksfeat
hersofwat erbirds
l
oadi ngoftanker
sandt anks makingthem unabletofly
-Itc oversthes ur
faceofwat er
and pr event
s ox ygen f rom

21
 di
ssolvi
ng inthe wat
erhence
l
eadingt othedeat
hofaquat
ic
or
gani s
ms .

Fer
ti
li
zer
s Fert
il
iz
er s applied t o f arms ar e - Makeswat erunf itf ordr inki
ng.
washed by s urface f l
oods i nto - Nitrates and phos phat es i n
st
reams ,ri
ver
s ,lakesandoc eans. wat er caus e nutrient
enrichmenti n wat erwhi c
hi n
turnc aus es r api d gr owt h of
algaeandwat erpl ants .
- The undue gr owt h of wat er
plant smaybl oc kwat erways ,
event uall
y t he wat er pl ants
begi ns t o di e and dec ay.
Putrefying bac ter ia mul ti
ply
rapidly and t heirr espiration
depl etes the oxygen
conc entrationi nt hewat er.
- Thisl eads t o t he deat h of
aquat icorgani s ms .
Untr
eated Human f aeces, and ur ine f r
om - Unt r eated s ewage makes
sewage homesand publ i
cbui l
dingsmaybe wat erunf i
tf ordr i
nki ng
dis
charged di rectlyi ntos t
reams,- Sewagemayc ont ainor ganisms
ri
vers
,lakesandoc eans. that c ause di seas es s uc h as
cholera, typhoi d f
ever,
dysent ery, i nfec ti
ve hepat i
tis
,
diarrhea.
-Itmays ti
mul at eunduegr owt h
ofwat erplant s.

Deter
gent
sIndus t
ri
es that manuf ac
ture - Detergentsmakewat erunfi
tfor
deter
gentsorus et hem t o was h dri
nking.
bottl
es(e.
g.brewer i
es). - Theyar etoxi
ct ofis
handot her
aquaticanimal
s
- Phosphatesins omedet ergents
may c ause undue gr owth of
waterplants.
Or
ganic Organic matter may be was hed - Organic mat t
ers make wat er
Matt fr
om farmsorf or
estsintowat er
. unfi
tfordomes ti
cus e.
er I
tmaybet hrowni ntowat erduet o-I tenc ouragesex c
essgr owthof
wrong met hod of di sposal e.g. wat erplants
22
 chic ken dr oppi ngsorr efus ef rom
mar kets .
Her bi
cide, Pes ticidess prayedi nfarms ,homes - Cont ami natedr inkingwat er.
I
ns ecti
cide or dr ains may be was hed by - They ar e poi sonous t o f i
s h,
and sur facef l
oodi nt owat erbodi es. l
ives t
oc kandman
Fungicides
Cyanide Maybepr es entini ndustri
alwas tes,- Cyani desar et oxict omanand
chemi c alsdis chargedi ntobodi esof ot herl i
vingor gani sms .
wat er.
Pres enti nc assavas t
ockedbys ome
farmer si npondar easandi ts l
owl y
fl
owsi ntot hewat erbodi es .
Lead Maybepr es entinex haus tfumesof - Lead c ompoundsar et oxict o
Compound vehi clesbec aus ei nsomec ount ri
es, man, aquat ic pl ants and
s al eadc ompoundi saddedt opet rol ani mal s.
topr eventengi neknoc k. - Theyac cumul atei n or ganisms
Maybe pr esent i n i ndus tri
al al ong f ood c hains i .e. t he
chemi c alwas tess uc h ast hoseof c onc entration i ncr eases f rom
pai nt and l ead ac cumul ator onet rophi clevelt ot henex t.
.
i
ndus tries .
Mer c
ur y Maybepr es enti nc hemi calwas tes - Veryt oxict omanandaquat ic
Compound f rom i ndus tr i
est hatus emer cury. plantsandani mals
s - Even l ittl
e c oncent rati
on i n
wat erac cumul atesal ong f ood
chains .
-
Copper Maybepr es enti nc hemi calwas tes - Veryt ox i
ct oman,l ivestoc kand
of i ndus t
ries t hat us e c opper c rops .
compounds . - Conc ent rati
on bui lds up f rom
onet rophicl evelt oanot heri n
foodc hains.

Cont
rolofWat
erPol
l
uti
on
 Sewage,industr
ialwas
teset
c.s
houl
dbet
reat
edbef
oreempt
yingt
heef
fl
uenti
nto
waterbodies.
 Useofor
gani
cmanur
eins
teadofi
nor
gani
cfer
ti
li
zers
houl
dbeenc
our
agedamong
f
armer
s.
 Oi
lspi
l
lages
houl
dbeavoi
ded.
 Radi
oac
tiv
e was
tess
houl
d be s
tor
ed i
n nuc
learwas
tes
il
osi
n or
dert
o avoi
d
23
 c
ont
ami
nat
ionofgr
oundwat
erbyr
adi
oac
tivemat
eri
als
.

CONSERVATI ONOFNATURALRESOURCES
Whati scons ervation?
Cons er vati
oni st hepr ocessbywhi chnaturalresourc
esar econservedbyus i
ngt hem
wiselyand s afekeepi ng them f orthegood ofmanki nd t
o ensuret hei
rc onti
nuous
availabi l
it
yandt opr es er
vet heor i
ginalnatureoft heenvironment.Formanyyear s
,
natur alresour ceshavebeenwas tedmuc hofthewi l
dli
fehasbeendes t
royedduet ot he
i
gnor anc eandc arelessnessofman.
Nat uralRes ources
Nat uralr esourc esr ef
ert ous efulthi
ngspr ovidedbynat urewhichc anbewat er,soil
,
wildli
f e,forest,mi neral,sunli
ghtandai r.Naturalr
esourcesarecategorizedintotwo[ 2]
categor i
esnamel y:
1. Repl aceabl eorr enewabl eresources
2. I rreplaceableornon- r
enewabl eresource
Repl aceabl enat ur alresources
Thes e ar et hos er esources whi chc an only be replaced by offs
pring thatis by
reproduc ti
on.Ex ampl estreesandani mals

I
rreplaceablenaturalres ources
Thesear ethoser esourceswhi chc annotber eplacedwhent hei ni
ti
als
tocki
sus edup.
Exampl esar ec r
ude oi l,c oal,gol d,diamond,c opperand i r
on. Theref
ore,these
resourcesmus tbe c areful
lymanaged t o avoidt heirshort
age unti
lan accept
able
substit
utearefound.
Cons ervat
ionofSoil
Theneedt oconser vesoi li
st oav oidshortageoff oodandf amine.Mis
managementof
soilresul
tsinlossofi tsf er
tili
ty.Forex ample,overgrowingandbus hburni
ngofl and
promot esoili
nferti
l
ityander osion.Thef oll
owingwaysc anhelptoconser
vesoil
s

1. Erosi
onmus tbec hec kedbypl antinggr assesandl egumest opr eventwas t
ing
awayoft hef ert
il
et ops oil
.Cropst obepl antedonr i
dgesar ec r
oss- sl
opedt o
preventtops oilbeinger oded.
2. Practi
ci
ngs hi
fti
ngc ultivationandc ropr ot
at i
onal sohelpst oimproves oilf
ert
ili
ty.
3. Bushbur nings houldbeavoi dedbec auset heydes troytimber,youngt rees,seeds
andani mals.
4. Manur eshoul dbeaddedt othetops oiltomakei tferti
l
e.
5. Theus eofc overc r
opsandl egumi nouspl ant salsoc onservessoi
lfert
il
ity.
6. Preventi
onofpol l
utionofl andsoasnott odes troyus efulsoi
lorganism.
7. Avoidanceofbus hc l
ear ingwhi chmayex poset hes oilt
oer osi
on.
8. Adopt i
onofabet terf armi ngpractic
e.
9. Bypr acti
ci
ngmul ching.

24
 Benef itsofSoi lCons ervat
ion
1. Soilsupportsagri
cul
turalorf ar
mi ngac ti
viti
es.
2. I
tens uresconti
nuoussour cesofpl ant
snut ri
ents
3. I
tens uressourcesofwaterr eservef orsoilorgani
s ms.
4. I
tal s
oens uressourc
esofr awmat eri
alsforsomei ndustr
ies
.
5. I
t’samedi um foragri
cultur
eandpl antgrowt h.

Cons
ervati
onofWater
Wateri
ssoessenti
altoli
fethati
tsconser
vat
ioni
ssonec
ess
aryf
oranor
malex
ist
enc
e
ofl
i
fe.Wateri
sc onser
vedinthefol
lowi
ngways:

1. Burstwaterpi
pesmus tber epai
redimmediat
elyt
opreventwast
ageofdrai
ning
water.
2. Tapsmustbelockediftheyarenotinuse.
3. Dumpingofpoisonousc hemical
s,r
efuseandsewagemustnotbeal
lowed.Law
for
biddi
nglumpingshouldbees t
abli
shed.

Benef i
tsofWat erConservati
on
1. I
tensur
esgoodwat ersuppl yf oragri
cult
ure.
2. I
tensurestheprot ecti
onofnat ural
,habitat
soffi
shandotheraquati
cani
mal
s
pr
omotinghighyieldoffis hforman’ sfood.
3. I
tprovi
deswaterfordomes ti
cus e.
4. I
tprovi
dessourceforhydr o-electr
icpower.
5. I
tprovi
desmedium f ortrans portat
ion
6. I
tprovi
desrecr
eationac tivit
iessuchass wimmingands
port
se.g.f
ishi
ng.

Conser
vati
onofWi l
dli
fe
Conser
vat
ionofwildli
femeanspreser
ving ani
malsintheirnat
uralhabi
tats. These
i
ncludefi
sh,f
rogs
,r epti
l
es,bi
rdsand mammal s. Wi
ldl
if
ec anbec onserved i
nt he
fol
l
owingways:

1. I
ndi sc
r i
minatekill
i
ngofwi l
dli
feshouldbedis couraged.
2. Establis
hmentofgamer eserveisnotall
owedbyl awunl esspermi t
ted.
3. Wat erbodi ess uchasr i
ver s
,s t
reamsandl akess houldbedevoi dofpoi sonous
chemi cals[suchasGammal i
n20andmer cury]s ewageandgar bage.Thes ekil
l
fi
shes,thef oodoft hefi
shandot heraquati
cani mal s
.
4. Prevent i
ng deforestati
on: I tdes t
roysthehabi tatofani malsi ncl
uding birds
,
therefore,cutti
ngdownoft reesandbur ningofbus hindiscr
iminatelyshouldbe
discourageed.Goodc ons ervat
ionofforestalsohel psinthec onservati
onoft he
wildl
ife.
5. EstablishmentofGameRes erves:Agover nmentac quir
esapar t
icularareaand
establis
hesl awspr otec
tingt heanimalsfrom bei nghunt edandt hef orestfr
om
deforestati
on.
25
 Benefit
sofWi l
dli
feConservat
ion
1. I
tprovi
desc ont
inuoussourc
eoff ood.
2. I
tprovi
desc ont
inuoussourc
eofr awmat er
ials
uchasf ur,hideandski
n.
3. Conser
vat i
onofwi l
dli
fewouldens urethatanimals pec i
esareprotec
tedf
rom
ext
inct
ion.
4. Theywillbeeas
ilyavai
l
ableforst
udyintheirownnatur alenvi
ronment
.

Conservati
onofFores
ts
Fores
tarefastdwindl
i
ngduet oi ndi
scri
minat
efel
li
ngoft
reesf
orvar
iousus
esuc
has
fi
rewood,f
urni
tur
eandf orc
onstr
uc ti
on.

BushBur ni
ng:Thi sisamaj ordi sast eri nt hef ores t
,al s
oai rands oilpoll
utionar ealso
cont
ri
butiontot hedwi ndlingf ores t.Thef ol lowingar ewaysofc ons ervi
ngf orest
s
1. Laws :Thes ear ees tabl i
s hedl awsr egul ati
ont hef elli
ng[ cuttingdown]oft i
mber
tr
ees .Bef oreanyt imberi sfell,per mi ss i
onmus tbeobt ainedf rom theMi nistryof
Agricul
tur eandNat ur alRes our c es.
2. For estGuar ds : For es tguar dswhoar eus uallyc ivils ervant smus tguar d and
protectthef orestagai ns tmi sus e.
3. Sel ecti
veCut ti
ngofTr ee:Onl ymat uret reear eal lowedt obef ell
edf orti
mber s
.
Youngt reesar el ef
tt ogr owandr eplac ethemat ureones .
4. Pl anti
ngofNewTr ees[ Af f
or es tation] :Itisnowac ommonpr ac t
icetoplantnew
tr
ees .Thes l
ogani st hatwhenyour emoveonet ree,t woar epl anted.I ft
reesar e
notplant ed,therewoul dbeas hor t
ageoft reesi nfut ure.
5. For estRes er
ves :var i
ousgover nment shaveac quiredf or estknownasRes erves
.
Nobodyi sallowedt oc utdownt rees ,farmsandhunti nt her eservesex ceptby
permission.
6. Nobus hbur ning:Bur ningoff or estisf orbiddenbyl aw,anybodyc aughtbyl awis
severel
ypuni shed.

BenefitsFor estCons ervati

on
1. They ensure preservation and c ontinuous availabi l
i
ty oft i
mberand ot her
economictrees.
2. Theyhelptopr es
ervet hef er
til
ityoft hetops oilbypr eventi
ngsoileros
ion.
3. Theypreventdesertenc roachmentt hatisdes ert
if
ication.
4. Theypreservethenat uralhabitatofani malshenc e;inc r
easeinanimalpopul
ation.
5. Theyencour agerai
nfallwhi c
hpl antsneedt ogr ow wel l.Heavygr owthofplants
l
eadstoabundantf oods upply.

Conser
vati
onofMi neral
s
Mineral
saresomeoftheirr
epl
aceableres
our
ces .Onl
yFeder
algovernmentinNi
geri
ais
authori
zedtominemineral
sinNigeri
a.Few indivi
dual
sofprivat
ec ompani
esmaybe
al
lowedt omineminer
als
.Thequant i
tytobemi nedisr
egul
atede.g.bythenumberof
26
bar
rel
sofc
rudeoi
lpumpeddai
l
yisl
i
mit
ed.

Benefit
sofMi neralCons ervati
on
1. Theyprovidec onti
nuoussourceofenergye. g.s oili
susedformovinganddr ivi
ng
ofloc
omot ivessuchas;tr
ainswhilepetr
olisusedf ordri
vi
ngmot orvehi
cl
es .
2. Theyprovider aw materi
alsforindust
ri
ese. g.Ironor eandc oalareusedi nthe
i
ronindustry
3. I
tens ur
est hec onti
nuousavail
abili
tyofc ommons al
ts(NaCl
)us edforfoodand
i
ndustri
es.
4. Whens oldt oforei
gncountri
es,earni
ngist heforeignexchange.

Di ff
iculti
esofNat uralRes ourcesCons ervati
on
1. Limiteds our ceofener gy:Thepoorpeopl ewhoar ethemaj orityont hes ociety
resortt odes tr
uc ti
onoff orestforfir
ewoodf orc ooki
ng. I tisdiffi
culttos top
peopl ees pec iall
yt hepoorf r
om usingfir
ewoodwheni tisthec heapestandmos t
abundant .
2. Bus hbur ni ng:s omepeopl esetf i
retot hebus ht okil
lanimal s.Smoker swho
throw lightedc i
gar ettestot hebus halsoc ausebus hbur ni
ng.Thi smayl eadt o
deat hofani mal si nl arges caleandevenex t
incti
onofs omes uchasl ands nail
,
tortoi
seands nakes
3. Poachi ng:Thi sisapr acti
c eofill
egall
ykilli
ngofani mal
sf orthem forc ommer ci
al
purpos ese. g;el ephant sar eill
egall
yki l
led fort heirtusks[ i
vory].Thi sunhol y
prac t
icehadl edt oel ephantdes t
ructi
oni nWes tandEas tAfri
ca.However ,there
i
snowani nter nationalbanoni vorytrade.
4. I
nadequat eguar ds :Gover nmentof f
ici
alstoguar dandpr otectther esourcesar e
few. I
tisnoteas yf ort hefewf orestguardst oguar dallforest
sdayandni ght .
5. I
ns uffi
cientmoneyandequi pment:Insuffi
cientmoneyandequi pmentt oex ec ut
e
thepol icyofc ons ervat i
onhaveadver s
elyaf fectedt heeffort
sofc onservat i
on.

WaysofEns uringCons ervati

on
1. Agenci es: Di f
ferent agenc ies have been es tabli
shed t oc ons erve nat ur al
resourcesbyvar i
ousgover nment .Cons ervati
onFoundat i
ons,For estryandf ishes
divi
sionsoft hefeder alands tat eminis t
riesofAgr i
cultureandnat uralr esourc es,
game r eserve i
n Bauc his tate. Bor gu game r eserve in Kwar as tate,Okomu
sanctuar yinEdos tat e.Zool ogi calgar dense. g.zoologicalgardenofuni versit
yof
I
badanandOAUi nIle- I
fe.
2. Cons ervationEducat ion:Peopl eneedt obeeduc atedaboutt heus efulnessof
conser vati
onofnat uralr esourc es.Adayhasbeenof fici
all
ysetas i
deever yyear
asa‘ TreePl anti
ngDay’byf eder algover nmenti nwhi chMi nist
ers,Commi ssioner s
and s uper vis
oryc ounc i
lorsofAgr iculture and Nat uralresourc esar e always
i
nvolved.
3. Cons ervationLaws : Var i
ousc onservationl awshavebeenpas sedbydi f
ferent
gover nmentt oregul ateandpr ojecttheus ageofnat uralresources
27
28