Conservation of Environment for Future

By

P. SURESHKUMAR, M. Sc., M. Phil., M.B.A., Ph.D.,

Assistant Professor in Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Marine Sciences
Annamalai University
Parangipettai-608 502
Mob. 8903041579
sure2004@gmail.com
 ENVIRONMENT

 The living and

nonliving things that
surround a living thing
make up its
environment.
Ecology

Scientific study of the interactions between

organisms and the environment.
 Ecosystem

• A group of living things and their physical surroundings.

 Parts of an Ecosystem

• An ecosystem is made up of all the living and

nonliving things in an environment.
 Non Living Components
 Intensity of light
 Range of temperatures
 Amount of moisture
 Type of substratum (soil or rock type)
 Availability of inorganic substances such as minerals
 Supply of gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen
 pH ,etc.
• Abiotic factors acting as limiting factor.
 Different types of organisms live in an
ecosystem.

Individual living things can be

grouped into higher levels of
organization.

 A group of organisms of the same

kind living in the same place is a
population.
All the population that live in an ecosystem at the same
time form a community.
• Different communities form ecosystems.

• A Biome is a collection of related

ecosystems.
 Living Components

• Producer

• Consumer – Herbivores, Carnivore, Omnivore and Decomposer

 Producers
• Energy enters most ecosystems as sunlight.
• Some organisms, such as plants, algae, and some
bacteria, capture the energy of sunlight and store it as
food energy. (Through photosynthesis)
• An organism that can make its own food is a
producer.

Energy is transferred to
Consumers
 Consumers
• Some members of an ecosystem cannot
make their own food.
• An organism that obtains energy by feeding
on other organisms is a consumer.
 Consumers
• Consumers are classified (grouped) by what
they eat.
»Herbivores
»Carnivores
»Omnivores
»Scavengers
 Consumers - Herbivores
• Consumers that eat only plants are
herbivores.
–Examples: caterpillars and deer
 Consumers - Carnivores
• Consumers that eat only animals are
carnivores.
–Examples: Lions and spiders
 Consumers - Omnivores
• Consumers that eat both plants and animals are
omnivores.
–Crows, bears, and most humans are
omnivores.
 Consumers - Scavengers
• Some carnivores are scavengers.
• A scavenger is a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of
dead organisms.
– Examples: catfish and vultures

http://www.fisheriesmanagement.co.uk/catfish/catfish_introduction.htm
 Decomposers

• Decomposers break down wastes and dead

organisms and return the raw materials to the
ecosystem.
• You can think of decomposers as nature’s
recyclers.
• Mushrooms and bacteria are common
decomposers.
 Food Chains and Food Webs
• Energy enters most ecosystems as sunlight and
is converted into food molecules by producers.
• This energy is transferred to each organism
that eats a producer, and then to other
organisms that feed on these consumers.
• The movement of energy through an
ecosystem can be shown in diagrams called
food chains and food webs.
 What is a food chain?
• A food chain is “a sequence of organisms,
each of which uses the next, lower member of
the sequence as a food source”
 Food Webs

• A food web
consists of
the many
overlapping
food chains
in an
ecosystem.
 Ecological Pyramids
Write the Definitions of Each Pyramid

Energy Pyramid
Shows the relative amount of
energy available at each trophic
level. Organisms use about 10
percent of this energy for life processes. Pyramid of Numbers
The rest is lost as heat. Shows the relative
number of individual
organisms at each
trophic level.

Biomass Pyramid
Represents the amount of
living organic matter at each
trophic level. Typically, the
greatest biomass is at the
base of the pyramid.
 Energy Pyramids
 An energy pyramid
shows the amount of
energy that moves from
one feeding level to
another in a food web.
Where is the
most energy
available?
Why does less
energy become
available at each
level?
 Ecosystem Classification
• 1. Natural ecosystem
• 2. Artificial ecosystem
• Artificial /Man made ecosystem

 Artificial ecosystems are created by humans.

Ex.
Animal reserve or a giant terrarium e.g. zoo
Gardens are also artificial ecosystem
Crop lands like maize, sugarcane, rice-fields,
wheat, orchards,
Dams, aquarium, cities, and manned spaceship.
Man Made/Artificial ecosystem
 Natural Ecosystems
• Terrestrial
• Aquatic
Dessert Ecosystem and Grassland ecosystem
Rain forest
Types of Aquatic Ecosystems

Rivers &
Streams Lakes &
Ponds
Wetlands

Estuaries

Groundwater

Marine
 Freshwater aquatic system

• A Pond • A Lake
A Stream A River
A Lake ecosystem
Ecosystem goods and services
 Direct Values:
• These are resources that people depend upon directly and
are easy to quantify in economic terms.
• Consumptive Use Value - Non-market value of fruit,
fodder, firewood, etc.
• Productive Use Value – Commercial value of timber, fish,
medicinal plants, etc. that people collect for sale.
Ecosystem goods and services
 Indirect Values:
• These are uses that do not have easy ways to quantify them in
terms of a clearly definable price.
• Non-consumptive use value - scientific research, bird watching,
ecotourism, etc.
• Option value - maintaining options for the future, so that by
preserving them one could reap economic benefits in the future.
• Existence value - ethical and emotional aspects of the existence
of wildlife and nature.
 Natural Resources

According to Ramade (1984), a natural

resource is defined as a form of energy
and/or matter, which is essential for the
functioning of organisms, populations and
ecosystems.
 Modern Development
Satellite, Rocket Technologies and Maglev Trains
Concrete Jungles
Do you think this is the right
development?
 “Harmonious Nature” Myth
• There is a persistent belief in many
cultures that in the “old days,” people lived
in harmony with nature.
• In fact, use and abuse of nature has a long
history in all human cultures.
 Use and Misuse of Natural Resources
• Natural resources are the substances that are
supplied by nature and needed for survival
– Include air, water, soil, sun, plants, animals, and
fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)
• Many natural resources are limited in supply
and cannot be renewed

continued
The Vicious Circle

Poverty Population

Environment

Instability
Water pollution
Air pollution
SOLID WASTE POLLUTION
G L O B A L Global
Warming
ISSUES
Toxic Waste

Pollution
ENVIRONMENTAL
HAZ ARDS
WILDLIFE WATER CONTAMINATION
ENDANGERMENT

SOIL EROSION INEFFICIENT CHEMICAL USE

 “Pollution, pollution every where
Man is safe no where
We must find a solution some where”
• From the initial 202,586 applicants, only 100 hopefuls have been selected to
proceed to the next round of the Mars One Astronaut Selection Process, The
Netherlands-based non-profit organisation Mars One has announced. The project
aims to set up a human colony on Mars and eventually around 40 people will be
sent to the red planet on a permanent basis. The finalists will train for seven years
and Mars One will begin sending out four at a time from 2024. The Mars 100
Round Three candidates include 50 men and 50 women with 39 from the Americas,
31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, 7 from Africa, and 7 from Oceania. The Indian
candidates include 29-year-old Taranjeet Singh Bhatia, who is studying Doctorate
in Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. The other two are Ritika
Singh, 29, who lives in Dubai, and Shradha Prasad, 19, from Kerala. ….
• This shows the use and throw culture of the
highly developed society
 Current Slogan

“Don’t drink water in

under developed countries,
Don’t breathe air in the
developed countries”
NOW YOU SAY HONESTLY ARE WE
DEVELOPING IN RIGHT
DIRECTION?
 Origin of the Environmentalism
• Several different branches of science and social
movement come together in today’s
environmentalism:
– Conservation
– Preservation
– Ecology
– Biodiversity
 Mantra for future

• Sustainability – using a natural resource so

that it is not depleted or permanently
damaged
• Sustainability reduces pollution and helps to
keep the environment safe

continued
 Conservation vs. Preservation

• The goal of conservation is sustainable

use and management of an
economically important natural
resource so that people can continue
using the resource.
• The goal of preservation is to maintain
areas of the earth that are so far
untouched by human exploitation.
• “Conservation” is sometimes used to
refer to both principles.
Conservation
 Protect and Conserve Natural Resources

• Conserve – to save
• Using alternative energy sources helps to
conserve limited fossil fuels
– Hybrid engines in cars and trucks use much less gas
– Wind turbines can produce electric power

continued
 Conserving Natural Resources

• Alternative energy – using energy from

renewable resources such as wind/sun
– Hybrid engines in cars and trucks use much less gas
– Wind turbines can produce electric power
– Going for non polluting energies( H2, Magnets, etc.)
 The 3 R’s
“Find your own ways to make less trash,
and help others to learn how to Reduce,
Reuse, and Recycle.”
Using Cooling Systems Wisely

continued
• State what you can do to protect and
conserve natural resources.
 Energy Conservation Water conservation

Soil conservation Mineral conservation

Preserving Our Future
AGRICULTURE

F e e d
In g T h e WSoil
Conserve orld
Protect Water
Reduce Chemicals
Protect Wildlife
• “We do not
inherit the earth
from our
parents, we
borrow it from
our children”
-Chief Seattle
• Think globally and act
locally