CHAPTER 2:

ECOLOGY
2.1 Ecosystem Concept

i. Biotic components

ii. Abiotic components

iii. Interactions between/among biotic components

 competition, parasitisme, predation, commensalisme and
symbiosis.

iv. Interactions between biotic and abiotic

components.
 i. Biotic Components
 Communities of living organisms
 Can be categorized as:
i. autotrophs / producers
ii. heterotrophy / consumers
- herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores,
decomposers
i. Autotrophs / producers

 Make their own organic compounds from

inorganic materials obtained from the
environment
 Do not eat or decompose other organisms
 2 types:
i. photoautotrophs
e.g.: green plants, algae
that perform photosynthesis

ii. chemoautotrophs
e.g.: Nitrosomonas
(nitrifying bacteria) that perform
chemosynthesis
ii. Heterotrophy / consumers
 Cannot make their own food from
inorganic materials
 Require organic compounds produced by
other consumers or producers
 Can be categorized as:
i. herbivores
(primary consumers that eat
plants only)

ii. carnivores
(secondary or tertiary
consumers that eat other
animals)
 Can be categorized as:
iii. omnivores
(eat plants & other animals)

iv. detritivores
(feed on dead matter)

v. Decomposer
v. Decomposers
 Usually saprophytic organisms such as bacteria
& fungi
 Decompose (break down) organic matter into
inorganic materials
 Inorganic materials will be restored in soil or
water to be reused by the producers

bacteria
Fungi
 ii. Abiotic Components
 Non-living (physical & chemical) components of an
ecosystem
 (e.g.:
temperature, light, water, nutrients) to which an
organism is exposed.
 Influence the growth & distribution of plant &
animal communities in that ecosystem
 Can be divided into:
i. Atmosphere
(air layer)

ii. Hydrosphere
(freshwater & saltwater)

iii. Lithosphere
(land; especially the soil
& sediments)
 Interactions between biotic components
• Living organisms interact
in a variety of ways.
• No organism exists
independent of other
living things.

 The producers, consumers and decomposers of a

community interact with one another in a variety of
complex ways and each forms associations with other
organisms.
 Interactions between biotic components
• Example of interactions:
– Competition
– Parasitism
– Predation
– Commensalisme
– Mutualisme
 Interactions between biotic components
Competition

• A relationship in which two or more individual strive to

obtain the same limited resources.
• Occurs when 2 or more individuals compete for a same
particular resource that is in short supply
• 2 types:
i. Intraspecific competition
ii.Interspecific competition
i. Intraspecific competition
(between individuals of same species)
E.g: between adult male panthers
ii. Interspecific competition
(between individuals of different species)
E.g: between lions & panther, Paramecium
aurelia & P. caudatum
 Interactions between biotic components
Parasitism
• A relationship in which one species benefit and the other/
host is adversely affected.
• Parasite gets its nutrients from another organism (its
host)
• The host is harmed or at least loses some energy or
materials
Commensalism
•A relationship in which
one species/ commensal
benefits while the other
species remain unharmed.
•Looser association in
which one partner remains
relatively unaffected.
•Remora fish – shark
–A slight loss in the streamline of the
shark.
–Remora fish is dependent on the
shark for scraps of food
Mutualism
• A relationship in which both species benefit.
• Symbiotic relationship that is beneficial to both species.
– Essential for the growth and survival of the participating
organisms

• Lichen consists of the hyphae of fungus and the cells of

photosynthetic alga so closely associated that they function as a
single unit.
– Fungus – structural support, absorbing water and mineral
– Benefits – organic food materials are manufactured by alga
photosynthesis.
Predation
• A relationship in which one species/ predator eats another species/
prey.
• Occurs when a predator catches, kills & eats its prey
• Usually, the predator is larger than its prey
• Both predator & prey have certain adaptations
Predation
• Presence of predator lowers prey population size
• Eg: between Didinium (predator) & Paramecium (prey)
Interactions between biotic and abiotic
components
Biotic Abiotic
factors factors
Solar energy
Relative humidity
Human activities Atmospheric gases
Temperature
Competitors Photoperiod
ORGANISMS Wind
Predators Topography
Fire
Soil texture
Symbionts
Water
(mutualism,
Minerals
Commensalism,
Organic matter
Parasites)
Soil pH
Wave action
Salinity
Food Chain, Food Web and
Trophic levels.
 Food chain a series of groups of organisms
(trophic levels) in which, there is repeated eating
and eaten by so as to transfer food energy.
 Base of the food chain is always formed by a
plant (producer / autotroph), which is grazed on
by a herbivore, which is predated over by a
carnivore, which may be eaten by another
carnivore.
 Trophic level the level of an organism in a
food chain.
A food chain only follows just one path as animals find food.
Characteristic of Food Chain
 repeated eating in which each group eats the
smaller one and is eaten by the larger one a
nutritive interaction
 unidirectional flow of energy from sun to
producers and then to a series of consumers of
various types.
 80 to 90% of potential energy is lost as heat at
each transfer
 4 or 5 trophic levels usually.
 omnivores occupy more than one trophic level
and, some organisms occupy different trophic
positions in different food chains.
 Food Web

Grazing Detrital
Food Web Food Web

- primary source of energy - primary source of energy

- solar radiations - dead organic matter
- producers (green plants) called ‘detritus’ (fallen leaves,
synthesize their plant plant or dead animal bodies).
biomass by the process of - primary consumers are
photosynthesis. 'detritivores' e.g. protozoans,
- producers form the first bacteria, fungi.
trophic level, follow by - detritivores are inturn eaten
herbivores. by secondary consumers e.g.
insect larvae, and nematodes.
Grazing Food Chain:

Detrital Food Chain:

In nature, detritus food chains are indispensable as the dead

organic matter of grazing food chain is acted upon by the
detritivores to recycle the inorganic elements into the ecosystem.
Ecological Pyramids
A geographical representation of an
ecological parameter

number of amount of amount of

individuals biomass energy

• present in various trophic levels

of a food chain
• producer forming the base and
top carnivores at the tip
 Pyramid of Numbers

Ecological
Pyramid of Biomass
pyramids

Pyramid of Energy

As you go up a food chain the size of the individual

increases and the number of individual decreases.
Pyramid of Number
 Number of individuals per unit area of
various trophic levels.
 Producers forming the base and
carnivores the tip.
 Width of the bars represent the numbers.

 Shape of the pyramid of numbers vary

Pyramids of
number - simple
easy method of
giving an overview;
good at comparing
changes in
population numbers
with time or season.
Disadvantage of
pyramids of number:
All organisms are
included regardless
of their size,
therefore a system
say based on an
oak tree would be
inverted.
Pyramids of Biomass
 Biomass present per unit area of different
trophic levels.
 Producers at the base and carnivores at
the tip.
 Biomass total amount of living or
organic matter in an ecosystem at any
time.
 “Missing mass” (not eaten by consumers)
– becomes detritus and is decomposed.
Disadvantage of
pyramids of biomass:
Only uses samples from
populations, so it is
impossible to measure
biomass exactly; and
also the time of the year
that biomass is
measured affects the
result.
Pyramids of Energy
 The amount of energy trapped per unit
time and area in different trophic level of a
food chain.
 Always upright.
 Because at each transfer about 80 - 90%
of the energy available at lower trophic
level is used up to overcome its entropy
and to perform metabolic activities.
 Only 10% of the energy is available to
next trophic level.
Energy Flow in Ecosystem
 Energy flow is not cyclic but a one way
flow.
 Energy input for an ecosystem is the sun.

Food chain

Organism Detritus

Heat
 Lost in
50 % reflected respiration
or absorbed
NPP

100 % 50 % reach GPP

solar radiation earth surface

8 % reach
green plants

42 % 1-2 % for
lost as heat photosynthesis

6-7 %
lost as heat
 During photosynthesis, light energy will be
changed into chemical energy (GPP) in
the molecules of complex food e.g.
carbohydrate, fats, protein.
 Part of the product of photosynthesis is
used in plant respiration.
 The rest of the photosynthetic products
kept in plants and shown as growth
(NPP).
 Net primary productivity (NPP) supplies
the energy that can be used by organisms
in the next trophic level.
 Not all the energy able to be absorbed by
primary consumer.
 Some will be excreted, some lost to
decomposers.
 Those energy absorb by primary
consumer is used for respiration and
growth.
 The biomass produced is the secondary
production.
 The process of energy transfer will
continues until all the energy loss as heat.
Solar energy from the Sun is trapped by primary producers
and converted into chemical energy. The chemical energy is
transferred in the food web and finally as heat radiated into
space.
 Primary productivity - the amount of biomass
produced through photosynthesis per unit area
and time by plants.
 Gross primary production (GPP) – the amount of
light energy that is converted to chemical energy
by producers through photosynthesis per unit of
time.
 Net primary production (NPP) – net gain in energy
in producers after some energy is used for
respiration and is available to be transferred to
organisms at next trophic level.
NPP = GPP – RS (energy used by autotrophs respiration)
 Secondary production - the net quantity of energy
transferred and stored in the somatic and
reproductive tissues of heterotrophs over a period
of time.
2.3 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
• Organisms require essential chemical elements
(eg: C, H, O, N, P, S ) to build organic matter
• The chemical elements cycle within the biosphere
• Biogeochemical cycles describe the cycling &
changing of chemical elements in ecosystems that
involve biotic & abiotic geological components

(Relation between biological and geological component

and chemical changes)
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Biogeochemical cycles are cycling of matter from the

abiotic environment to organism and then back to the
abiotic environment
…BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
Two components of a biogeochemical cycle:

1. Reservoir pool
- those parts of the cycle where the chemical is held in
large quantities for long periods of time

2. Exchange pool
- the chemical is held for only a short time.
 CARBON CYCLE
• Reservoir pools: atmosphere ( CO2 ), fossil fuels, soils,
sediments, limestone etc
• Atmospheric CO2 is usually taken by plants for
photosynthesis ( to make organic materials )
• Animals assimilate organic carbon by eating the plants
or other animals
• C is returned to atmosphere ( as CO2 ) through cellular
respiration by organisms
• Dead organic matter may form fossils & burning of fossil
fuels also releases CO2
Carbon cycle
 Sources of Carbon:
- Major source of carbon CO2 (Atmosphere & ocean
water).
- Carbonates of earth's crust derived from rocks, which by
chemical reactions give rise to carbon dioxide.
- Fossil fuels like peat, coal and petroleum products.
- Oceans, where carbon remains stored as carbonates in
the form of limestone and marble rocks.
 Carbon Dioxide Utilisation
- Photosynthesis carbon fixed by the producers
enters the food chain and is passed to herbivores,
carnivores and decomposers.

 Carbon Dioxide Production

- Respiration of producers and consumers
- Decomposition of organic wastes and dead bodies by
the action of bacteria and fungi on decay.
- Burning of wood and fossil fuels
- Volcanic eruptions and weathering of carbonate rocks
by the action of acids
NITROGEN CYCLE
 Living organisms cannot pickup elemental gaseous
nitrogen directly from the atmosphere (except nitrogen
fixing bacteria). It has to be converted into nitrates to be
utilized by plants.
 Nitrogen Fixation
- Atmospheric nitrogen fixation: thunderstorms and
lightning convert atmospheric gaseous nitrogen to oxides
of nitrogen. They get dissolved in water forming nitrous
acid and nitric acid, which inturn combine with other salts
to produce nitrates.
Nitrogen (g) Nitrogen oxide nitrous & nitric acid nitrates
- Industrial production of fertilizers (Haber's process)
 - Biological nitrogen fixation: transformation of gaseous
nitrogen into nitrates by living organisms (bacteria). E.g.
rhizobium species in the root nodules of legumes;
Nostoc and Anabaena (cyanobacetria) in the coralloid
roots of cycas; Actinomycetes in the root nodules of
Alnus.

Nitrogen (g)
Nitrogen
fixing
bacteria
Nitrates

Nitrogen fixing Rhizobium

 Ammonification
- Decomposition of protein of dead plants and
animals, and nitrogenous wastes like urea, uric
acid, etc to ammonia, in the presence of
ammonifying bacteria or putrifying bacteria. E.g.
Bascillus vulgaris and Bascillus mycoides.

Ammonifying bacteria
Protein Amino acids Ammonia
 Nitrification
- Oxidation of ammonia to nitrates through
nitrites in the presence of nitrifying bacteria,
which are also chemosynthetic autotrophs.
- Ammonia is converted into nitrites by
Nitrosomonas and Nitrococcus bacteria.
- Nitrites are then converted into nitrates by
Nitrobacter and Nitrocystis, which are now
available for plant absorption.

Ammonia Nitrites Nitrates

Nitrosomonas
 Denitrification
- Ammonium compounds, nitrates and nitrites
are reduced to molecular nitrogen in the
presence of denitrifying bacteria such as
Micrococcus denitrificans, Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, and etc.
- Denitrification reduces soil fertility and is
stimulated by water logging, poor drainage, lack
of aeration and accumulation of organic matter
in the soil.
Ammonium
Nitrates Nitrogen (g)
Nitrites
2.4 Conservation & management
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Balancing the needs of humans with the
need to protect environment to ensure
the needs can be met not only in the
present but in the future as well.
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Development may continue but must be planned /

managed to minimise environmental damage

• E.g.:
i. sustainable forestry
ii. sustainable agriculture
iii. sustainable fisheries
Sustainable forestry

 Reforestation- replanting native sp

 Establish forest reserves- to maintain
ecosystem
 Retention of seed tree- to maintain high
biodiversity
Sustainable agriculture

 Biological control- crop rotation

 Row planting- plant different types of
plants in different alternate rows
 Contour farming and terracing farming
Sustainable fishery

 Open and close seasons in fishing

activities: eg: capture fishery
 Capture fishery: amount of fish that can be
taken from a fishery on a continual basis
without causing it to become overfished or
reducing the stock biomass.
2.5 Population growth
BIOTIC POTENTIAL ( r )

• the maximum
Growth
population growth at biotic
potential
that can possibly
occur under ideal
conditions
 BIOTIC POTENTIAL ( r )

 Gives the maximum

rate for population
Growth
growth when at biotic
resources are plentiful potential

 Resources include
water, food and
spaces
 ENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE
• Environmental conditions that prevent
populations from achieving their biotic
potential

• E.g. of environmental resistance:

– Limiting resources (food, light, shelter)
– Accumulating toxic waste
– Predation
– Diseases
 ENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE

• Growth rate may

become zero

• Described by an
S-shaped growth
curve
 CARRYING CAPACITY

• ‘The maximum population size that can be

supported by the available resources
(energy, shelters, soil nutrients, water and
suitable nesting sites)

• Symbolized as K
 CARRYING CAPACITY

• Carrying capacity is achieved when

population growth slows & maintains at a
nearly steady level

• Described by the stable Stationary phase of

the S-shaped growth curve
 NATALITY & MORTALITY

• Natality
– ‘birth rate’
– the number of offspring produced during a
certain amount of time

• Mortality
– ‘death rate’
– the number of individuals dying during a
certain amount of time
NATALITY & MORTALITY

• If natality > mortality

• population size increases

• If mortality > natality,

• population size decreases

• If natality = mortality,
• population is stable
Population Growth Curves
 Two patterns of population growth:
- Exponential growth
- Logistic growth / S-shaped (sigmoid)
growth pattern
Exponential Growth

Population growth

1200

1000 population
• J-shaped curve
800
• Population
numbers

600
increase in size
400 • Numbers of
200
births > deaths
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

time
 Logistic Growth

Population growth
• S-shaped
30
/sigmoid curve
• Due to
population size

25

20
environmental
15
resistance
10
• 3 phases: lag,
5

0
rapid growth,
0 5 10 15 stable.
tim e