ECOLOGY

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 ECOLOGY
The first law of ecology

Everything is related to everything else

- Barry Commoner

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Components of the Environment

 Lithosphere

 Hydrosphere

 Biosphere

 Atmosphere

 Pedosphere (portion of earth that supports life)

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 ECOLOGY
Organism and its environment

 The study of living organisms in the

natural environment
&
 How they interact with one another, with
other living things and with nonliving
environment 4
 Levels of Organization

Organism

 1st Level: Organism: An individual living thing

that uses energy, reproduces, responds, grows,
and develops.
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 Levels of Organization

Population

 2nd Level: Population: A group of organisms, all

of the same species, which interbreed and live in the
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same place at the same time.

 Community

 3rd Level: Community: All the population of

different species that live in the same place at the
same time (same ecosystem).
Ecosystem

 4th Level: Ecosystem: Populations of plants

and animals that interact with each other in a given
area with the abiotic components of that area.
(terrestrial or aquatic).
Ecosystem
A part of the environment which is self
sufficient independent & closed system

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Ecosystem
 Natural  Aquatic

 Man made  Terrestrial

 Permanent

 Temporary

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Biological system is maintained by
3 groups of species
 Producers (Autotrophs)

 Consumers (Heterotrophs)

&
 Decomposers / Recyclers / Scavengers
(ultimate consumers)

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 Nutritive series / Energy series
Trophic level
A part of the nutritive series in
which many organisms get food
in the same general way

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 An assemblage of tropic

levels within an ecosystem

–Trophic structure /
Food chain.

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Food web - A network of food chains which are
interconnected at various trophic levels.

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Ecological pyramids
 Will have many trophic levels

 Different kinds are possible

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 Biomas Pyramid
Pyramid of Numbers

Energy
Pyramid
 What happens to energy in an ecosystem?
 What happens to matter in an ecosystem?

Habitat is the place a plant or animal lives 19

Pyramid of Biomass

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Tree ecosystem (Parasitic food chain)

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Anthropogenic Ecosystem

Natural Ecosystem

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Human System vs Ecosystem
Anthroposystem
●Very simple ecosystem; max.
3 trophic levels
●Open system; minimal
recycling
●High efficiency of transfer of
biomass to higher trophic level
●Monoculture; high density
●Few favored species
encouraged; weeds destroyed
●Static, highly unstable
●Few people feed the rest-
agriculture
Natural Ecosystem
●Often highly complex food
webs
●Often closed systems with
significant recycling
●Low efficiency of transfer of
biomass to higher trophic level
●High biodiversity
●Natural balance in species
populations achieved adapted to
conditions
●Robust, stable, dynamic,
adaptable, evolving
Problems with Human Systems
● Dependent on very few species
○ 80% of world food from 15 species.
○ Human consume only 150 out of the estimated 50,000 edibles.
○ Out of 10,000 cereals, not one new has been cultivated in the
past 2000 yrs.
● Inherently unstable
○ Irish Great potato famine (1845-47) wind-borne potato blight
fungus; near total crop failure
○ 1 million dead due to starvation, typhoid and cholera
● Require constant inputs; pesticides, fertilizers, etc.
● Prone to pest attacks and failures
● Pollute soil, air, water
● Soil degradation and topsoil loss
Biomagnification /Bioamplification /
Biological magnification

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Thermal power plant run offs,-Mercury – Methyl
mercury
Oil leakages in seas,
Pullution, etc.,
 Water soluble –but harmful
-Mercury
-Arscenic
-Cadmium
-Selenium
 Fat soluble
-Organochlorine pesticides
-DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
-HCB (Hexachlorobenzene)
-PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyl)
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