ECOSYSTEMS

Biodiversity
ECOSYSTEMS

Biodiversity
https://youtu.be/GK_vRtHJZu4
Ecosystem

An ecosystem or biome describes a single environment

and every living (biotic) organism and non-living
(abiotic) factor that is contained within it or
characterizes it. An ecosystem embodies every aspect
of a single habitat, including all interactions between
its different elements.
Biotic ( living )

In an ecosystem, living organisms are grouped into

producers, consumers, and decomposers, the former
representing all plant life, consumers the organisms that
eat them and each other, and the latter those
scavengers and bacteria that break down
dead organic matter. Together, these living components
are known as biotic factors.
 Biotic components of the ecosystem
PRODUCERS ( Green plants) or
autotrophs, are organisms that can
manufacture their own food by
converting light energy from the sun into
chemical energy, or sugars, through the
process of photosynthesis or
chemosynthesis.
Primary consumers or
heterotrophs/herbivores obtain
their energy by eating producers

Secondary consumers
(Carnivores) – obtain their energy
by preying on primary consumers.
- Flesh-eater
Omnivores – they obtain their energy by feeding on both
plants and animals.
Detritivores - also known as detritus feeders,
are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by
consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts) as
well as feces.
Scavengers are organisms that
consumes mostly decaying biomass,
such as meat or rotting plant matter.
Many scavengers are a type
of carnivore, which is an organism that
eats meat. While most carnivores hunt
and kill their prey, scavengers usually
consume animals that have either
died of natural causes or been killed
by another carnivore.
Decomposers – natures own recycling
system. They perform a valuable service as
Earth’s cleanup crew.
They play a critical role in the flow of
energy through an ecosystem. They break
apart dead organisms into simpler
inorganic materials, making nutrients
available to primary producers.
Decomposers feed on dead things: dead
plant materials such as leaf litter and wood,
animal carcasses, and feces.
 Abiotic ( nonliving) factors

- or the non-living components of an ecosystem, can be

climatic, social and edaphic (influenced by the soil or
ground type). The calorific flow or energy flow that travels
through an ecosystem’s food chain is initially provided
through the input of the ecosystem itself – for example,
the amount of sunlight available for plant life, and the
nutrient levels of the soil. Without abiotic factors, no
ecosystem can provide for biotic factors.
ECOSYSTEMS

Biodiversity
https://youtu.be/5Gv9yuN2Ch8
 Flow of Energy in the Ecosystem
Energy is an essential requirement for all organisms.
Unicellular and multicellular organisms utilize
energy for the growth, reproduction, and repair of
damaged cells. Organisms acquire energy by food
consumption or by converting sunlight into usable
chemical energy. As energy is consumed, it flows in
the biosphere and gradually decreases. Most of this
energy is reverted to space in the form of heat.
 All organisms need energy to survive. Energy
is consumed in cellular growth and reproduction,
and damaged cell repair. This energy is also passed
from one organism to another in a form of food
that provides nourishment. Sunlight or light
energy is converted into chemical energy as it
enters the ecosystem through photosynthesis. This
process enables plants and other photosynthetic
organisms to manufacture their food.
Plants serve as the producers in the ecosystem which
will be eaten by a consumer which can be herbivore
or omnivore. Then first-order consumers will be eaten
by another higher-order consumer forming a series of
transfers of food nutrients. Once the producer or the
consumers die, decomposers will aid in the
decomposition of these organisms to return absorbed
nutrients to the soil. This process is called the food
chain and each step of it is called trophic level.
Food chain
The Food Web It is a fact that in an ecosystem
several food chains are unified in such a way that
they form a complex chain which is called a food
web. The illustration shows that the bird, mouse,
and grasshopper are dependent on rice plants for
food. Other consumers such as owl and frog are
dependent on these first-order consumers. In a
balanced ecosystem, the population size of the prey
is affected by population size of the predator.
Food web
The Energy Pyramid - flow of energy in an ecosystem. It is a
diagram that shows how energy from the first trophic level
dissipate as it moves towards the highest trophic level. The
trophic level with the corresponding energy input tells the
location of the organism in the food chain. Grass, which is a
producer, is in the first trophic level with the highest energy
input of 1000 cal. Rabbit, which is an herbivore located in the
second trophic level will consume the grass. Fox and Lion which
are carnivores occupy the third and fourth trophic levels
respectively.
At each trophic level, organisms consume the energy
they obtain in their activities. You will notice that only
10% of the energy input from the lower trophic level will
be passed to the next. The reason for this is that some of
the energy consumed by the organisms will be converted
to heat and will return to space. The shape of this
diagram expresses the decrease in the available energy
in the successive trophic level. Some authors called this
“Rule of Ten”.
Assignment:
1. What is biodiversity?
2. What are the types of biodiversity?
3. What are the threats in biodiversity?
4. What are the ways to conserve biodiversity?