2. In this chapter we will go
through……………….
1] Types of Ecosystems
2] Interaction between Biotic and
Abiotic factors in an Ecosystem
3] Energy Flow and its Importance
3. 1] TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS
THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF COMPONENTS:
>BIOTIC- LIVING
>ABIOTIC- NON LIVING
IN THE INITIAL DAYS EARTH HAD ONLY
ABIOTIC FACTORS ROCK, SOIL.ETC.
LIFE EVOLVED FROM THESE ABIOTIC
FACTORS.
THE NATURE OF THE ABIOTIC FACTORS
DECIDE THE NATURE OF THE LIVING
ORGANISM THAT WILL LIVE IN THAT
PLACE
4. ECOSYSTEM
BIOTIC FACTORS, ABIOTIC
FACTORS,AND THEIR INTERACTIONS
FORM AN ECOSYSTEM.
PARTS OF EARTH HAVE MORE OR LESS
THE SAME TYPE OF ABIOTIC FACTORS
SPREAD OVER A LARGE AREA.
THE BIOTIC PARTS IN THESE AREAS
ARE ALSO SIMILAR.
THIS CREATES A LARGE ECOSYSTEM
OVER A LARGE AREA.
5.
6. SUCH MAJOR ECOSYSTEMS ARE CALLED
BIOMES.
BIOMES ARE ECOSYSTEMS WHERE SEVERAL
HABITATS INTERSECT.
THE EARTH ITSELF IS ONE LARGE BIOME.
THERE ARE 2 MAJOR TYPES OF BIOMES ON
EARTH :-
1. LAND BIOMES: THEY ARE MOSTLY THE FOREST
TYPES LIKE GRASS LANDS AND AREAS LIKE
TUNDRA.
2. AQUATIC BIOMES: THEY ARE THE WATER LIFE
I.E, LIFE UNDER WATER.THEY ARE OF 2 TYPES
>FRESH WATER: FRESH WATER ECOSYSTEM
>MARINE WATER: MARINE ECOSYSTEM
7. Coral Reef in the Red Sea
Coral reefs support more fish and marine animals than any
other ecosystem in the ocean.
9. DIFFERENT LIVING ORGANISMS NEED
DIFEERENT ABIOTIC FACTORS TO SURVIVE.
ALSO, DIFFERENT LIVING ORGANISMS HAVE
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF TOLERANCE FOR
DIFFERENT ABIOTIC FACTORS.
THUS,EVERY ABIOTIC FACTOR IN A GIVEN
ECOSYSTEM LIKE TYPE OF SOIL, QUANTITY OF
LIGHT, ETC. AFFECT THE BIOTIC FACTORS IN
THAT ECOSYSTEM.
BIOTIC FACTORS DEPLET OR ADD ABIOTIC
FACTORS.
EACH BIOTIC FACTOR AFFECT THE ABIOTIC
FACTOR IN THAT ECOSYSTEM.
THE SIGNIFICANCE AND FUNCTION OF EACH
ORGANISM IN AN ECOSYSTEM IS DIFFERENT.
10. > NICHE
NICHE IS THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE
AND SPACE THAT AN ORGANISM
FILLS IN AN ECOSYSTEM.
THE ECOLOGICAL NICHE INVOLVES
BOTH THE PLACES WHER AN
ORGANISM LIVES AND THE ROLES
THAT AN ORGANISM CARRIES OUT
IN ITS HABITAT.
12. > AUTOTROPHS
THE LIVING ORGANISMS THAT CAN
PRODUCE FOOD ON THEIR OWN ARE
CALLED AS AUTOTROPHS OR SELF
FEEDERS.
PROPERTIES:
1. THEY CAN MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD.
2. ALL GREEN PLANTS ARE
AUTOTROPHS.
3. THEY ARE PRODUCERS OF THE
LIVING WORLD.
13. > HETEROTROPHS
ORGANISMS THAT CANT MAKE
THEIR OWN FOOD AND ARE
DEPENDENT ON OTER ORGANISMS
ARE CALLED AS HETEROTROPHS.
THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS:
1.PRIMARY CONSUMER
2.SECONDARY CONSUMERS
3. APEX CARNIVORE
4. OMNIVORES
14. 1.PRIMARY CONSUMER
ORGANISMS THAT DIRECTLY
FEED ON AUTOTROPHS ARE
FIRST LEVEL CONSUMERS.
THEY ARE CALLED AS
HERBIVORES.
15. Rabbit
Rabbits eat grass and other plants. Meat-eating animals,
such as foxes and coyotes, like to hunt and eat rabbits.
16. 2.SECONDARY CONSUMERS
ORGANISMS THAT
FEED ON HERBIVORES
ARE CALLED AS
SECOND LEVEL CONSUMERS.
THEY ARE ALSO
CALLED AS CARNIVORES.
17. Hunting for Food
Some animals that are high up on the food chain can kill larger animals.
These lionesses feast on a buffalo they have hunted down at a game
park in Kenya.
18. 3. APEX CARNIVORE
THE FINAL FEEDER THAT
NO ONE DIRECTLY EATS
ARE KNOWN AS TOP OR
APEX CARNIVORE.
19. 4. OMNIVORES
ORGANISMS THAT FEED ON
BOTH CARNIVORE AS WELL
AS HERBIVORE ARE CALLED
AS OMNIVORES.
20. > DETRITIVORES
ORGANISMS THAT FEED ON DEAD
BODIES OF AUTOTROPHIC AND
HETEROTROPHIC ORGANISMS ARE
CALLED AS DETRITIVORES.
Eg :- termites, pigs, vultures, etc.
21. Termites
Termites live in colonies (groups) with as many as
several million members. They feed on wood and can do
great damage to trees and wooden buildings.
22. Bush Pig
A bush pig is a type of wild pig that lives in parts of
Africa. Bush pigs usually travel in small groups. They
are fierce when cornered and can kill goats, sheep, and
other pigs.
23. > DECOMPOSERS
THE ORGANISMS THAT BREAK
DOWN DEAD ORGANISMS AND
RETURN THE NUTRIENTS TO THE
SOIL ARE CALLED AS
‘DECOMPOSERS’ OR ‘SAPROPHYTES’
Eg.:- Fungi and Bacteria
24. Decomposition
Bacteria and fungi, like this slime mold, decompose (break down)
dead plants and animals. This returns nutrients into the soil, helping
plants grow and renewing the food chain.
25. > Food Chain and Food Web
FOOD CHAIN IS A LINKAGE OF
ORGANISMS WITHIN AN
ECOSYSTEM, IN WHICH EACH LINK
FEEDS ONE BEFORE IT IS AND IS
FED ON BY THE ONE AFTER IT.
SIMILARLY, DIFFERENT FOOD
CHAINS INTERWINE WITH ONE
ANOTHER AND FORM THE
INTICRITE NETWOORKS CALLED
‘FOOD WEBS’
26.
27.
28. Bug Eaters
Many animals rely on insects as their main source of food.
This chameleon uses its long, sticky tongue to catch and eat bugs.
29. Salmon Catch
Fishers haul in a salmon catch off the coast of Japan. Salmon and other
fish are an important part of many people’s diets.
30. > ENERGY PYRAMID
EACH LEVEL IN A FOOD CHAIN IS
CALLED A TROPHIC LEVEL OR
FEEDING LEVEL.
TROPHIC LEVELS ARE THE DIFFERENT
FEEDING POSITIONS IN THE FOOD
CHAIN.
ALL THE PRODUCERS IN AN
ECOSYSTEM FORM THE 1st
TROPHIC
LEVEL, THE HERBIVORES FROM THE 2nd
TROPHIC LEVEL, AND THE 1st
LEVEL
CARNIVORES FORM THE 3rd
TROPHIC
LEVEL.
31.
32.
33. ORGANISMS AT THE TROPHIC
LEVEL DON’T PASS ALL THE ENERGY
THEY HAVE CAPTURED FROM THE
SUN OR THE PREVIOUS TROPHIC
LEVEL.
SOME OF THE ENERGY IS USED BY
THEMSELVES LIKE IN BREATHING,
GROWING, MOVING, JUMPING, ETC.
34. Cheetah Running
The cheetah is one of the fastest animals on Earth, reaching
speeds of close to 60 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour)
while chasing prey. Wildebeests, gazelles, impalas, and other
hoofed mammals make up much of the cheetah’s diet.
35. Kangaroo Hopping
The kangaroo, a mammal native to Australia, has powerful hind
legs that enable the animal to jump as far as 16 feet (5 meters)
in a single leap. Its tail is used for balance while jumping.
36. > CYCLE OF NUTRIENTS IN TERRESTIAL
AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
THOUGH THE FLOW OF ENRGY IS
UNIDIRECTIONAL , THE FLOW OF
NUTRIENTS IS CYCLIC.
ALL THE ORGANISMS REQUIRE
NUTRIENTS FOR GROWTH.
> PLANTS NEED WATER, CO2, ETC.
ANIMALS NEED PROTEINS, VITAMINS ,
ETC.
THESE ORGANISMS RECEIVE ALL THE
NEEDED THINGS THROUGH THE PATH OF
AIR, WATER OR SOIL INTO THEMSELVES
AND AGAIN BACK TO THE AIR,
WATER,SOIL WHICH IS CALLED
‘BIOCHEMICAL CYCLE’
37. > NATURE’S MECHANISM IN
MAINTAINING BALANCE
THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERSTICS OF
ECOSYSTEM ARE :-
1) UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW OF ENERGY
2) CYCLIC FLOW OF NUTRIENTS.
EVERY ECOSYSTEM PERFORMS THESE JOBS .
THE HEALTH OF AN ECOSYSTEM DEPEND ON
THE EFICIENCY OF DOING THESE JOBS.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE THE ONES
WHO ARE DEPLETING IT.
SO IT IS OUR PRIME DUTY TO MAINTAIN THE
BALANCE O NATURE AND PRESERVE THE
BIODIVERSITY TO ENRICH THE
BIOSPHERE(life).