-Sir Lance Alexis M.

Francisco
 Adaptation to the environment
• Darwin’s theory states that those organisms that are best suited to tolerate the
specific conditions of a particular environment will be most likely to survive and
pass on their inherited traits to their offspring.

• Every species lives in a particular place. Every place on earth has specific
conditions, including air temperature, average monthly rainfall, kinds of
minerals in the soil, and the direction and strength of wind that blows.
• The most common types of adaptations are those that involve
the MORPHOLOGY, that is, the shape and structure, of
organisms

Leaves are morphological adaptations of plants that serve two

purposes:

1. Leaves provide a surface area that collects light energy from

the sun to make food.
2. 2. Leaves have openings that allow the gases carbon dioxide
(co2) and oxygen (o2) to move in and out of the plant while
controlling the amount of water that is lost.
 Maple trees
• have leaves with a broad surface area. Leaves of this type
are adaptations to forests where leaves often block light
that strikes other leaves, but where water is abundant. A
broad leaf, even though it allows water to escape from its
surface, collects abundant light. Very narrow grass blades
and the needles of evergreens or cactuses have much less
surface area and thus are adapted to drier, sunny
climates.

• he adaptation of an organism to its environment may also

involve its physiology, that is, the way the organism and
its internal parts function.
 Speciation
• the word species comes from the Latin word that
means “type” or “kind.”

• separation of one group from another group is called

ISOLATION, and being unable to breed with that other
group is known as reproductive isolation. The way in
which two groups of organisms become reproductively
isolated is part of the process of speciation.
• Geographic isolation
-the most common type of isolation that leads to the formation of new
species is geographic isolation. An actual physical barrier, such as a
wide river or a mountain range, prevents organisms from moving from
one population to another.
Basic principles of ecosystem
functioning
• Ecosystem:
• An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals
and microorganisms in an area functioning together with all of
the non-living physical factors of the environment.

• According to British ecologist Arthur Tansley (1935), “an

ecosystem is a system that arises from the integration of all living
and non-living factors of the environment.”
• Ecology is how living and non-living things affect
each other in their environment.

• Concept of ecosystem: there are no conceptual

restrictions on how large or small a space or an area
must be to host an ecosystem, or on the minimum
numbers species or individual organisms to be
present.
 Biotic Components of Ecosystems:
Producers
• Green plants and some bacteria which manufacture their
own food.
Consumers
• Animals which obtain their food from producers
1. Primary consumers
2. Secondary consumers
3. Tertiary consumers Decomposers

 Bacteria and fungi that decompose dead organic matter

and convert it into simpler parts
Abiotic components of an Ecosystem:
1. Organic
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
2. Inorganic
• Water
• Ammonia
• Gases
3. Climatic
• Rainfall
• Humidity
• Temperature
• Functions of an Ecosystem:
• Food chain and Food web
• Energy flow
• Cycling of matter (chemicals)
• Food Chain: The transfer of food energy from the source in plants through
a series of organisms by repeated eating and being eaten up is referred to
as food chain.

• Food Web: The interlocking patterns formed by several food chains that
are linked together are called food webs.
• Flow of Energy in an Ecosystem:
4. First Law of Energy
5. Second Law of Energy
6. 10% Rule of Energy
• Biogeochemical cycling: The cycling movement of minerals from their
reservoirs (air, water and soil) to the living components and back to the
reservoirs is called nutrient cycling or biogeochemical cycles.

• Ecological pyramid: The graphical representations of different trophic

levels in an ecosystem is known as Ecological Pyramid They are used to
illustrate the feeding relationships between organisms.
• Types of ecological pyramids:

• 1. Pyramid of Number Pyramid of Number: To show the number of individuals in

each trophic level. Pyramid of number is upright in case of grassland and pond
ecosystem. In some cases the pyramid of number will be inverted. E.g. in case of
forest ecosystem.

• 2. Pyramid of Biomass Pyramid of biomass: To show the total biomass of individuals

in each trophic level. Pyramid of biomass is better in than pyramid of number in
showing the relationships between organisms. Pyramid of biomass is upright in case
of grassland and forest ecosystem whereas inverted in case of pond ecosystem
• 3. Pyramid of Energy To show the amount of energy transferred in
each trophic level. The pyramid of energy flow is always upright
because there is always loss of energy while moving from each
trophic level. Therefore the energy reaching the next trophic level is
always decreasing.

• 4. Pyramid of energy: Ecological Succession: a series of changes in a

community in which new populations of organisms gradually replace
existing ones.
• Forests: Why do different regions have different biomes?
Major reasons:

1. Temperature
2. Precipitation The mean value of temperature and
precipitation determines the kind of biomes in an area.
3. Climate, plants and animal species of region varies
with latitude and longitude. The unique thing is that
every species has adapted to the climate and has
found its niche in the community.