MEDICAL COLLEGES OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES

Alimannao Hills, Peñablanca, Cagayan

PEOPLE AND EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM

PRELIM COVERAGE

Chapter 1: ECOSYSTEM: What are they and how do they

work?
“The earth’s thin film of living matter is sustained by grand-scale cycles of chemical
elements.” G. EVELYN HUTCHINSON

LESSON 1 What keeps us and other organism alive?

Ecologist study Interactions in Nature

Ecology is the science that focuses on how organisms interact with one another and
with their non-living environment of matter and energy. Scientist classify matter into levels of
organization ranging from atoms to galaxies, the universe rather. Ecologist study interactions
within and among five levels – organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and
biosphere, which are illustrated and defined below.
 Figure 1.1: the organization of matter, Some levels of organization of matter in
nature. Ecology focuses on the top five of these levels.

Atom – smallest unit of a chemical element that exhibits its chemical properties

Molecule - chemical combination of two or more atoms of the same or different elements

Cell – the fundamental structure and functional unit of life

Organism – an individual living being

Population – a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular place

Community – Populations of different species living in a particular place and potentially

interacting with each other

Ecosystem - a community of different species interacting with one another and with their
nonliving environment of matter and energy

Biosphere – Parts of the earth’s air, water, and soil where life is found

All kinds of matter in the ecosystem are made of tiny particles called ATOMS. The atoms
make up molecules which both living and non-living organisms are made up. All organisms on
Earth have their own life cycles. The animals grow and survive from getting its nutrients from
plants and within their Surroundings. Plants also grow by getting from the soil. All animals and
plants grow, reproduce, and die. After they die, they decompose, and original molecules that
made them up go back to the soil. Thus energy from the ecosystem and matter conserves itself
and indulges in the recycling. Energy does not cycle through ecosystems, instead they move to
another direction.

Cells Are the Basic Units of Life

All organisms (living things) are composed of cells: the smallest and most fundamental
structural and functional units of life. They are minute compartments covered with a thin
membrane and within which the processes of life occur. The idea that all living things are
composed of cells is called the cell theory and it is the most widely accepted scientific theory in
biology. Organisms may consist of a single cell (bacteria, for instance) or huge numbers of cells,
as is the case for most plants and animals. On the basis of their cell structure, organisms can be
classified as either eukaryotic or prokaryotic. A eukaryotic cell is surrounded by a membrane
and has a distinct nucleus (a membrane-bounded structure containing genetic material in the
form of DNA) and several other internal parts called organelles, which are also surrounded by
membranes. Most organisms consist of eukaryotic cells. A prokaryotic cell is also surrounded by
a membrane, but it has no distinct nucleus and no other internal parts surrounded by
membranes. All bacteria consist of a single prokaryotic cell.

Species Make Up the Encyclopedia of Life

For a group of sexually reproducing organisms, a species is a set of individuals that can
mate and produce fertile offspring. Every organism is a member of a certain species with
certain traits. Scientists have developed a distinctive system for classifying and naming each
species. We do not know how many species are on the earth. Estimates range from 4 million to
100 million. The best guess is that there are 10–14 million species. So far biologists have
identified about 1.8 million species. These and millions of species still to be classified are the
entries in the encyclopedia of life found on the earth. Up to half of the world’s plant and animal
species live in tropical rain forests that are being cleared rapidly Insects make up most of the
world’s known species (Science Focus, p. 54). In 2007, scientists began a $100 million, 10-year
project to list and describe all 1.8 million known species in a free Internet encyclopedia
(www.eol.org).

Figure 1.2: Natural capital: (a) generalized structure of a eukaryotic cell and (b)
prokaryotic cell. Note that a prokaryotic cell lacks a distinct nucleus and generalized
structure of a eukaryotic cell.

Organisms have basic needs just like humans, they need air, water, light, and nutrients.
These factors sustain life. Organisms can survive only in the environments in which their needs
can be met. There are several abiotic environmental factors that influence the survival of
organisms in their ecosystem.

Figure 1.3: The Abiotic factors that influence the lives of the biotic components
of the ecosystem.
 1. WATER is the most essential factors that helps most living organisms to survive. Water is
the lifeblood of Earth. It consists of important elements such as carbon, phosphorus, and
potassium are carried from the soil to the plants through water. However, availability of
water in the ecosystem increases and decreases due to changing environments. Hot
temperature in the atmosphere produces greater moisture, which leads to the process of
condensation, which then is converted to rain.

2. TEMPERATURE is the heat and cold equilibrium in relation with the many environment
factors that governs several physiological and biological processes of the earth.
Temperature varies from time to time depending on the percentage of greenhouse gases
present in the atmosphere. The earth’s atmosphere has different temperatures in different
zones and locations. Some animals and plants can bear extreme heat or extreme cold
from them to survive. There are other living things, most especially animals, whose body
temperature fluctuates in different seasonal conditions.
3. LIGHT is the main source of energy of all plants. Animals and humans need light, too.
Natural light has an important part to play in the life of many living things. In plants, they
utilize the light for the process of photosynthesis where light energy helps produce
complex organic substances essential for growth and reproduction. Humans need light to
become healthy. There are some animals like birds that use UV light to distinguish their
sources of food for them to survive. Plants as food source indirectly transfer energy to
animals.
4. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE is due to the gravitational force of the earth in which the
atmospheric gases are pulled towards the surface, which produces air pressure. The
environmental factor affects organisms’ survival in a particular range of atmospheric
pressure.
5. CHEMICAL COMPONENTS such as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen are essential
elements to sustain life. There are 92 known natural occurring elements on earth, and 25
elements are found in living things. Organic and inorganic compounds are derived mostly
in plants and other food sources, which are very essential for every organism to survive.

Earth’s life-support system has four major components

a. Atmosphere- is a thin spherical envelope of gases surrounding the earth’s surface
 Troposphere- the inner layer of the atmosphere which extends only about 17
kilometer above sea level at the tropics and about 7 kilometers above the earth’s
north and south poles which contains the air we breathe, consisting mostly
nitrogen (78% of the total volume) and oxygen (21%). The remaining 1% of the
air includes water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane, all of which are called
greenhouse gases, which absorb and releases energy that warms the lower
atmosphere, without these gases, the earth would be too cold for the existence
of life as we know it. Almost all weather occurs in this layer.
 Stratosphere- the next layer, stretching 17-50 kilometers above earth’s
surface, its lower portion hold enough ozone (O 3) gas to filter out about 95% of
the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. This global sunscreen allows life to exist on
land and in the surface layers of the bodies of water.
Figure 1.4: Natural capital:
general structure of the earth
showing that it consists of a
land sphere, air sphere, water
sphere, and life sphere.

b. Hydrosphere consist of all the water on or near the earth’s surface. It is found as
water vapor in the atmosphere, liquid water on the surface and underground, and ice-
polar ice, icebergs, glaciers and ice in frozen soil layers called permafrost. The oceans
which cover about 71% of the globe, contain 97% of the earth’s water.
c. Geosphere consist of the earth’s intensely hot core, a thick mantle composed mostly of
rocks, and a thin outer crust. Most of the geosphere is located in the earth’s interior. Its
upper portion contains non-renewable fossil fuels and minerals that we use, as well as
renewable soil chemicals (nutrients) that organisms need in order to live, grow and
reproduce.
d. Biosphere consist of the parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere where
life is found. If the earth was an apple, the biosphere would be no thicker than the
apple’s skin. One important goal of environmental science is to understand the
interactions that occur within the thin layer of air, soil and organisms.
Three Factors that sustain the Earth’s Life
a. The one- way flow of high-quality energy from the sun through the living things in
their feeding interactions, into the environment as low-quality space as heat. No round
trips are allowed because high-quality energy cannot be recycled.
b. The cycling of nutrients (the atoms, ions, and molecules needed for survival by living
organisms) through the parts of the biosphere. Because the earth is closed to significant
inputs of matters from space, its essential fixed supply of nutrients must be continually
recycled to support life. Nutrient cycle in ecosystems and the biosphere are round trips,
which can take from seconds to centuries to complete. The law of conservation of
matter governs the nutrient cycling process.
c. Gravity, which allows the planet to hold onto its atmosphere and helps to enable the
movement and cycling of the chemicals through air, water, soil and organisms.

What Happens to Solar Energy Reaching the Earth?

Millions of kilometers from the earth, in the immense nuclear fusion reactor that is the
sun, nuclei of hydrogen fuse together to form larger helium nuclei, releasing tremendous
amounts of energy into space. Only a very small amount of this output of energy reaches
the earth—a tiny sphere in the vastness of space. This energy reaches the earth in the form
of electromagnetic waves, mostly as visible light, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and heat
(infrared radiation). Much of this energy is absorbed or reflected back into space by the
earth’s atmosphere, clouds, and surface. Ozone gas (O3) in the lower stratosphere absorbs
about 95% of the sun’s harmful incoming UV radiation. Without this ozone layer, life as we
know it on the land and in the upper layer of water would not exist. The UV, visible, and
infrared energy that reaches the atmosphere lights the earth during daytime, warms the air,
and evaporates and cycles water through the biosphere. Approximately 1% of this incoming
energy generates winds. Green plants, algae, and some types of bacteria use less than
0.1% of it to produce the nutrients they need through photosynthesis and in turn to feed
animals that eat plants and flesh. Of the total solar radiation intercepted by the earth, about
1% reaches the earth’s surface, and most of it is then reflected as longer-wavelength
infrared radiation. As this infrared radiation travels back up through the lower atmosphere
toward space, it encounters greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. It causes these gaseous molecules to vibrate and
release infrared radiation with even longer wavelengths. The vibrating gaseous molecules
then have higher kinetic energy, which helps to warm the lower atmosphere and the earth’s
surface. Without this natural greenhouse effect, the earth would be too cold to support
the forms of life we find here today. would be too cold to support the forms of life we find
here today. Human activities add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. For example,
burning carbon-containing fuels releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the
atmosphere.
 Growing crops and raising livestock release large amounts of methane (CH4) and nitrous
oxide (N2O). Clearing CO2-absorbing tropical rain forests faster than they can grow back
also increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. There is considerable and growing
evidence that these activities are increasing the natural greenhouse effect and warming the
earth’s atmosphere. This in turn is changing the earth’s climate as we discuss at length in
Chapter 19Human activities add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. For example, burning
carbon-containing fuels releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the
atmosphere. Growing crops and raising livestock release large amounts of methane (CH4)
and nitrous oxide (N2O). Clearing CO2-absorbing tropical rain forests (Core Case Study)
faster than they can grow back also increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. There
is considerable and growing evidence that these activities are increasing the natural
greenhouse effect and warming the earth’s atmosphere.

Figure 1.5: Solar capital: flow of energy to and from the earth.

ADAPTATION FOR SURVIVAL

1. Structural Adaptation refers to the physical characteristics of an organism to survive
in their ecosystem. Animals and plants have protective covering to refrain water in their
body. They can learn to adapt so that they can survive changes in the atmosphere like
temperature and humidity. Living organisms depend on their physical appearance to
help them secure food, keep them safe, build their homes, and withstand climate
change.
 These are the following examples of body parts that help animals structure and
to help them survive:
a. the shape of a bird’s beak helps them to procure food from their surroundings
b. the number of fingers helps animals to feed themselves
c. color of the fur and skin helps them to protect themselves from fast- changing
weather conditions, some animals can change the color of their skin to deceive
their enemies by blending with their environment. This type of behavior of
animals is known as camouflage.
d. The thickness of thinness of the body covering and other derivate protect them in
case of danger.
2. Adaptation for Unfavorable Conditions
Some animals transfer from one place to another in order for them to survive.
Animals move to another place to hunt food and to escape extreme weather
conditions.
Some examples are listed below:
a. hibernation of most mammals in cold weather
b. inactivation of some mammals
c. animals in deserts have deep sleep called estivation

LESSON 2 What are the major components of an ecosystems?

Living organisms seem to interact amongst themselves and with the physical
environment. This, in short, can be called an ecosystem. There can be different types of
ecosystems. The biosphere, for example, can be a global ecosystem. It all depends on the
different components and the extent to which you want to define the space, to consider it as an
ecosystem. And hence to be able to learn more about them, ecosystems are generally divided
into smaller forms.
Ecology or environmental biology is the field that studies this complex set of
relationships between the living organisms and their surrounding environment. The scope of
this field is very large and covers things like global warming, environmental pollution, plant and
animal extinctions. There are two main components of an ecosystem which are in constant
communication with each other. They are the biotic components and the abiotic components.

Figu
re 1.6: Major living and non-living components of the ecosystem

1. Biotic Components of Ecosystem

 The living components of an ecosystem are called the biotic components. Some of
these factors include plants, animals, as well as fungi and bacteria. These biotic components
can be further classified, based on the energy requirement source. Producers, consumers,
and decomposers are the three broad categories of biotic components.

Ecologists assign every organism in an ecosystem to a feeding level, or trophic

level, depending on its source of food or nutrients. The organisms that transfer energy and
nutrients from one trophic level to another in an ecosystem can be broadly classified as
producers and consumers.

 Producers are the plants in the ecosystem and sometimes called autotrophs, which can
generate their own energy requirement through photosynthesis, in the presence of sunlight
and chlorophyll. All other living beings are dependent on plants for their energy requirement
of food as well as oxygen.

Most producers capture sunlight to produce energy rich carbohydrates (such as

glucose, C6H12O6) by photosynthesis, which is the way energy enters most ecosystems.
Although hundreds of chemical changes take place during photosynthesis, the overall
reaction can be summarized as follows:

carbon dioxide + water + solar energy glucose + oxygen

6 CO2 + 6 H2O + solar energy C6H12O6 + 6 O2

A few producers, mostly specialized bacteria, can convert simple inorganic

compounds from their environment into more complex nutrient compounds without using
sunlight, through a process called chemosynthesis.

 Consumers or heterotrophs. The herbivores are the living organisms that feed on plants.
Carnivores eat other living organisms. Omnivores are animals that can eat both plant and
animal tissue.

There are several types of consumers:

• Primary consumers, or herbivores (plant eaters), are animals such as rabbits,

grasshoppers, deer, and zooplankton that eat producers, mostly by feeding on green
plants.

• Secondary consumers, or carnivores (meat eaters), are animals such as spiders,

hyenas, birds, frogs, and some zooplankton-eating fish, all of which feed on the flesh of
herbivores.

• Third- and higher-level consumers are carnivores such as tigers, wolves, mice-
eating snakes, hawks, and killer whales (orcas) that feed on the flesh of other
carnivores. Some of these relationships.
 • Omnivores such as pigs, foxes, cockroaches, and humans, play dual roles by feeding
on both plants and animals.

• Decomposers, primarily certain types of bacteria and fungi (saprotrophs), are

consumers that release nutrients from the dead bodies of plants and animals and return
them to the soil, water, and air for reuse by producers. They feed by secreting enzymes
that speed up the breakdown of bodies of dead organisms into nutrient compounds such
as water, carbon dioxide, minerals, and simpler organic compounds.

• Detritus feeders, or detritivores, feed on the wastes or dead bodies of other

organisms, called detritus (“di-TRI-tus,” meaning debris). Examples include small
organisms such as mites and earthworms, some insects, catfish, and larger scavenger
organisms such as vultures.

Producers, consumers, and decomposers use the chemical energy stored in glucose and
other organic compounds to fuel their life processes. In most cells this energy is released by
aerobic respiration, which uses oxygen to convert glucose (or other organic nutrient
molecules) back into carbon dioxide and water. The net effect of the hundreds of steps in this
complex process is represented by the following reaction:

glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water + energy

C 6H12O6 + 6 O2 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy

Although the detailed steps differ, the net chemical change for aerobic respiration is the
opposite of that for photosynthesis. Some decomposers get the energy they need by breaking
down glucose (or other organic compounds) in the absence of oxygen. This form of cellular
respiration is called anaerobic respiration, or fermentation. Instead of carbon dioxide and
water, the end products of this process are compounds such as methane gas (CH4, the main
component of natural gas), ethyl alcohol (C2H6O), acetic acid (C2H4O2, the key component of
vinegar), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S, when sulfur compounds are broken down). Note that all
organisms get their energy from aerobic or anaerobic respiration but only plants carry out
photosynthesis.
Figure 1.7: Various detritivores and decomposers (mostly fungi and bacteria) can “feed
on” or digest parts of a log and eventually convert its complex organic chemicals into
simpler inorganic nutrients that can be taken up by producers.

Figure 1.8: Natural capital: the main structural components of an ecosystem (energy,
chemicals, and organisms). Nutrient cycling and the flow of energy—first from the sun,
then through organisms, and finally into the environment as low-quality heat— link
these components.
Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycling Sustain Ecosystems and the Biosphere
Ecosystems and the biosphere are sustained through a combination of one-way energy
flow from the sun through these systems and nutrient cycling of key materials within them—
two important natural services that are components of the earth’s natural capital. These two
scientific principles of sustainability arise from the structure and function of natural ecosystems,
the law of conservation of matter, and the two laws of thermodynamics

1. Abiotic Components of Ecosystem

 Limiting Factor Principle: Too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit
or prevent growth of a population, even if all other factors are at or near the
optimal range of tolerance. This principle describes one way in which population
control—a scientific principle of sustainability.
On land, precipitation often is the limiting abiotic factor. Lack of water in a desert
limits plant growth. Soil nutrients also can act as a limiting factor on land. Suppose a farmer
plants corn in phosphorus-poor soil. Even if water, nitrogen, potassium, and other nutrients
are at optimal levels, the corn will stop growing when it uses up the available phosphorus.
Too much of an abiotic factor can also be limiting. For example, too much water or fertilizer
can kill plants. Temperature can also be a limiting factor. Both high and low temperatures
can limit the survival and population sizes of various terrestrial species, especially plants.
Important limiting abiotic factors in aquatic life zones include temperature, sunlight,
nutrient availability, and the low solubility of oxygen gas in water ( dissolved oxygen
content). Another such factor is salinity—the amounts of various inorganic minerals or salts
dissolved in a given volume of water.
Abiotic components are the physical and/or the chemical factors that act on the
living organisms at any part of their life. These are also called as the ecological factors. The
physical and chemical factors are characteristic of the environment. Light, air, soil, and
nutrients, etc. form the abiotic components of an ecosystem.
The abiotic factors vary from ecosystem to ecosystem. In an aquatic ecosystem, the
abiotic factors may include water pH, sunlight, turbidity, water depth, salinity, available
nutrients and dissolved oxygen. Similarly, abiotic factors in terrestrial ecosystems can
include soil, soil types, temperature, rain, altitude, wind, nutrients, sunlight etc.
Here, the sun is the energy source. Producers/plants use this energy to synthesize
food in the presence of carbon dioxide and chlorophyll. The energy from the sun, through
several chemical reactions, turns into chemical energy.
The herbivores are dependent on plants for the energy requirements. The
carnivores, in turn, feed on the herbivores and other carnivores. At any level, microbes then
decompose any dead and decaying organic matter. These decomposers, after various
chemical reactions, release molecules back to the environment in the form of chemicals.
The chemicals are again used by the producers, and the cycle starts again.
In conclusion, ecosystems have a complex set of interactions that happen between
the biotic and abiotic components. The components of an ecosystem are linked to each
other through the energy flows and nutrient cycles. Even though ecosystems do not have
clear boundaries, these interactions get affected, even if one factor is changed or removed.
This ultimately has the capacity to affect the entire ecosystem.
LESSON 3 What happens to an energy in an ecosystem?
 Figure 1.9: The energy flow through ecosystem

Energy Flows through Ecosystems in Food Chains and Food Webs

1. Food Chain
In scientific terms, a food chain is a chronological pathway or an order that
shows the flow of energy from one organism to the other. In a community which has
producers, consumers, and decomposers, the energy flows in a specific pathway. Energy
is not created or destroyed. But it flows from one level to the other, through different
organisms.
A food chain shows a single pathway from the producers to the consumers and
how the energy flows in this pathway. In the animal kingdom, food travels around
different levels.
The sun is the source of energy, which is the initial energy source. This is used
by the producers or plants to create their own food, through photosynthesis and grow.
Next in this chain is another organism, which is the consumer that eats this food, taking
up that energy.
The primary consumers are the organisms that consume the primary producers.
In a terrestrial ecosystem, it could be a herbivore like a cow or a goat or it could even
be a man. When a goat is consumed by man, he becomes the secondary consumer.
As the energy goes one level up, the food chain also moves up. Each level in the
food chain is called a trophic level. The different trophic levels are Primary producers,
primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and quaternary
consumers.
When dead organic matter becomes the starting of a food chain, then it is called
the detritus food chain (DFC). The decomposers, which are the fungi and bacteria,
feed on the organic matter to meet the energy requirements. The digestive enzymes
secreted by the decomposers help in the breakdown of the organic matter into inorganic
materials.
 Figure 1.10: A food chain. The arrows show how chemical energy in nutrients
flows through various trophic levels in energy transfers; most of the energy is degraded
to heat, in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics.

2. Food Web
Many interconnected food chains make up a food web. When you look at the
larger picture, a food web shows a realistic representation of the energy flow through
different organisms in an ecosystem.
Every use and transfer of energy by organisms involves a loss of some useful
energy to the environment as heat. Thus, eventually an ecosystem and the biosphere
would run out of energy if they were not powered by a continuous inflow of energy from
an outside source, ultimately the sun.
Trophic levels can be assigned in food webs just as in food chains. Food chains
and webs show how producers, consumers, and decomposers are connected to one
another as energy flows through trophic levels in an ecosystem.
Energy transfer through food chains and food webs is not very efficient because,
with each transfer, some usable chemical energy is degraded and lost to the
environment as low-quality heat, as a result of the second law of thermodynamics. In
other words, as energy flows through ecosystems in food chains and webs, there is a
decrease in the amount of chemical energy available to organisms at each succeeding
feeding level.
The percentage of usable chemical energy transferred as biomass from one
trophic level to the next is called ecological efficiency. It ranges from 2% to 40% (that
is, a loss of 60–98%) depending on what types of species and ecosystems are involved,
but 10% is typical. Assuming 10% ecological efficiency (90% loss of usable energy) at
each trophic transfer, if green plants in an area manage to capture 10,000 units of
energy from the sun, then only about 1,000 units of chemical energy will be available to
support herbivores, and only about 100 units will be available to support carnivores. The
more trophic levels there are in a food chain or web, the greater is the cumulative loss
of usable chemical energy as it flows through the trophic levels.
Ecological Pyramid and Ecological Succession
By now, you have learned that there is a lot of interaction between all the components
of an ecosystem. However, did you know that we can represent this relationship between the
energy and biomass of organisms through a simple diagram? An Ecological pyramid shows
precisely this relationship in a diagrammatic format. The predictable changes that are seen in
organisms are shown by ecological succession.

Figure 1.11: The pyramid of energy flow - this energy loss for a simple food
chain, assuming a 90% energy loss with each transfer.

Ecological Pyramid It is a graphic representation of the relationship between organisms at

various trophic levels in a food chain.
The basis of an ecological pyramid is biomass, energy, and number. Just as the name
suggests, ecological pyramids are in the shape of a pyramid. The concept was first introduced
by Charles Elton, the pioneer British Ecologist.
The bottom of an ecological pyramid is the broadest and is occupied by the producers.
They form the first trophic level. Just as in a food chain, in the ecological pyramid also, primary
consumers occupy the next level. This is because primary consumers consume producers.
Similarly, secondary consumers occupy the third level. And then the tertiary consumers that
occupy the next level and so on.

Types of Ecological Pyramids

Depending on the factors that we use to represent an ecological pyramid, there are three
types. They are:
 Ecological pyramid of numbers– Here, the important factor is the number of organisms
in each trophic level. As we go up the levels of the pyramid, the number of organisms
decreases. The producers form the largest number and hence, are at the bottom of the
pyramid.
 Ecological pyramid of energy– The energy pyramid is an upright pyramid that
represents the flow of energy from the producers to the final consumers.
  Ecological pyramid of biomass – This pyramid represents the amount of biomass of the
organisms present at each trophic level. Biomass is nothing but the weight of the
organisms.
In general, all ecological pyramids are upright, except in certain cases. For example,
in a detritus food chain, the pyramid of numbers is not upright. This is because many
organisms feed on one dead plant or animal. The pyramid of biomass in an ocean is also
inverted. This is because the biomass of producers in an ocean is less. But a point of note
is that the energy pyramid is always upright as the flow of energy is unidirectional.
The large loss in chemical energy between successive trophic levels also explains
why food chains and webs rarely have more than four or five trophic levels. In most cases,
too little chemical energy is left after four or five transfers to support organisms feeding at
these high trophic level.

Figure 1.12: Generalized pyramid of energy flow showing the decrease in usable chemical
energy available at each succeeding trophic level in a food chain or web. In nature, ecological efficiency
varies from 2% to 40%, with 10% efficiency being common. This model assumes a 10% ecological
efficiency (90% loss of usable energy to the environment, in the form of low-quality heat) with each
transfer from one trophic level to another.

Ecological Succession
A characteristic feature of biological communities is that their structure and composition
changes. These changes are according to certain changes in environmental conditions. Some of
these changes occur in a more predictable and orderly fashion. The phenomenon through which
these changes occur in ecological communities is ecological succession. This is an important
aspect of the study of ecology and forms the core of ecological science.
Now, any form of disturbance or formation of new habitats in the ecosystem can trigger
the ecological succession. When the changes create a community that is almost in equilibrium
with the environment, then we call the community as a climax community. In a given ecological
area, the communities change successively.
This sequence of communities is a sere. The transitional communities are known as
seral communities. As the seral communities progress, there is an increase in the diversity of
organisms, numbers, and biomass.
The starting point of ecological succession can be traced back to millions and millions of
years back when living organisms never existed. Slowly, new organisms started developing. The
diversity of the planet started showing changes. These changes were occurring along with the
change in the environment.

Types of Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is mainly of two types: Primary succession and secondary
succession. The primary succession is a slow process that initiates in areas where there are no
living organisms. Secondary succession begins in areas that were once inhabited but destroyed
due to environmental disturbances. Secondary succession is generally faster, as most of the
other factors are already present.

Some Ecosystems Produce Plant Matter Faster Than Others Do

The amount, or mass, of living organic material (biomass) that a particular ecosystem
can support is determined by the amount of energy captured and stored as chemical energy by
the producers of that ecosystem and by how rapidly they can produce and store such chemical
energy. Gross primary productivity (GPP) is the rate at which an ecosystem’s producers (usually
plants) convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass found in their tissues. It is usually
measured in terms of energy production per unit area over a given time span, such as
kilocalories per square meter per year (kcal/m2/yr). To stay alive, grow, and reproduce,
producers must use some of the chemical energy stored in the biomass they make for their own
respiration. Net primary productivity (NPP) is the rate at which producers use photosynthesis to
produce and store chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored
chemical energy through aerobic respiration. In other words, NPP GPP R, where R is energy
used in respiration. NPP measures how fast producers can provide the chemical energy stored
in their tissue that is potentially available to other organisms (consumers) in an ecosystem.
Ecosystems and life zones differ in their NPP. On land, NPP generally decreases from the
equator toward the poles because the amount of solar radiation available to terrestrial plant
producers is highest at the equator and lowest at the poles. In the ocean, the highest NPP is
found in estuaries where high inputs of plant nutrients flow from nutrient-laden rivers, which
also stir up nutrients in bottom sediments. Because of the lack of nutrients, the open ocean has
a low NPP, except at occasional areas where an upwelling (water moving up from the depths
toward the surface) brings nutrients in bottom sediments to the surface. Despite its low NPP,
the open ocean produces more of the earth’s biomass per year than any other ecosystem or life
zone, simply because there is so much open ocean. As we have seen, producers are the source
of all nutrients or chemical energy in an ecosystem for themselves and for the animals and
decomposers that feed on them. Only the biomass represented by NPP is available as nutrients
for consumers, and they use only a portion of this amount.
 Thus, the planet’s NPP ultimately limits the number of consumers (including humans)
that can survive on the earth. This is an important lesson from nature. Peter Vitousek, Stuart
Rojstaczer, and other ecologists estimate that humans now use, waste, or destroy about 20–
32% of the earth’s total potential NPP. This is a remarkably high value, considering that the
human population makes up less than 1% of the total biomass of all of the earth’s consumers
that depend on producers for their nutrients.

Figure 1.13: Estimated annual average net primary productivity in major life zones and
ecosystems, expressed as kilocalories of energy produced per square meter per year
(kcal/m2/yr). (Data from R. H. Whittaker, Communities and Ecosystems, 2nd ed., New York:
Macmillan, 1975)
LESSON 4 How do scientist study ecosystem?
 Field research a.k.a "muddy-boots biology"- involves observing and measuring the
structure of natural ecosystems and what happens in them
 Geographic information system (GIS)- software used to capture, store, analyze, and
display geographically or spatially based information
 Laboratory research- used to supplement field research by setting up, observing, and
making measurements of model ecosystems and populations under laboratory
conditions
 Baseline data- beginning measurements of variables being studied
 Remote sensing devices- used to scan and collect data on Earth's surfaces: aircraft
and satellites equipped with sophisticated cameras

a. Computer Models
 As temperature decreases, population (blue) deteriorates.
 *Laboratory Research
 Testing samples at Kiowa Environmental Laboratory
 Help scientists better understand large complex systems that cannot be adequately
studied through field and laboratory research.
 With these, they are able to change the values of variables to project possible
changes in environmental conditions and analyze effectiveness of solutions to
environmental problems
 Predictions are only as accurate as data collected in field and laboratory research.
 Field research is supplemented by this research.
 Model systems make it easier for scientists to carry out control experiments.
 Saves time and money

b. Field Research
 GIS Software
 Health of the World's Ecosystems
 Ecologists study various environments by collecting data and observing species, so
they may carry out various experiments.
 Perform controlled experiments by isolating and changing a variable in one area and
comparing the results in a nearby unchanged area.
 Technology used to collect the data includes remote sensing devices and GIS
software.
 Data can be stored electronically as numbers or images. They can be used to
produce 3-dimensional maps. Doing this can lead to better decision making about
how to deal with environmental problems.
 A 2002 study by the Heinz foundation, and the 2005 millennium ecosystem
assessment state that scientists have less than half of the basic ecological data then
needed to evaluate the status of ecosystems in the United States.
Figure 1.14: Geographic information systems (GIS) provide the computer technology for
storing, organizing, and analyzing complex data collected over broad geographic areas. They
enable scientists to produce maps of various geographic data sets and then to overlay and
compare the layers of data (such as soils, topography, distribution of endangered populations,
and land protection status).
 Chapter 2: Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The
Ecosystem Approach
“There is no solution, I assure you, to save Earth’s biodiversity other than preservation of
natural environments in reserves large enough to maintain wild populations sustainably.”
EDWARD O. WILSON

LESSON 1 What are the major threats to forest ecosystem?

Figure 2.1 Major interconnected causes of the destruction and degradation of

tropical forests. The importance of specific secondary causes varies in different parts
of the world.

 Forest ecosystem provide ecological services far greater in value than the value of raw
materials obtained from forest.
 Unsustainable cutting and burning of forest, along with diseases and insect are chief
threats of forest ecosystems.
 Tropical deforestation is a potentially catastrophic problem because of the vital
ecological services at risk, the high rate of tropical deforestation, and its growing
contribution to global warming.

Forest provide Important economic and ecological services:

1. Support energy flow and chemical cycling 4. purify water and air
2. reduce soil erosion 5. influence local and regional climate
3. absorb and release water 6. store atmospheric carbon
7. provides habitat 11. wood for fuel
8. lumber 13. recreation
9. pulp to make paper 14. employment
10. mining
12. livestock grazing
Figure 2.2: Natural capital: an old-growth forest in the U.S. state of Washington’s Olympic
National Forest (left) and an old-growth tropical rain forest in Queensland, Australia (right).
 Figure 2.3: Major ecological and economic services provided by forests

 Effects of Unsustainable Logging is a major threat to forest ecosystem

 1. Increase erosion
2. Sediments runoff into waterways
3. Habitat fragmentation
4. Loss of biodiversity
5. Invasion by nonnative pest, diseases, wildlife species

 Effects of Fire, insects, and climate change can threaten Forest ecosystem
1. SURFACE FIRES-usually burn leaf litter and undergrowth, may provide food
in the form of vegetation that sprouts after fire
2. CROWN FIRES- extremely hot and it burns the whole tree which can kill
wildlife and increase soil erosion
3. Introduction of foreign diseases and insects by accident and deliberate can
cause species invasion
4. Global warming: may lead to rising temperatures, trees are more prone to
diseases and pests, dries forest and more fires and more greenhouse gases

Figure 2.4: Surface fires (left) usually burn undergrowth and leaf litter on a forest floor. They
can help to prevent more destructive crown fires (right) by removing flammable ground
material. In fact, carefully controlled surface fires are deliberately set sometimes to prevent
buildup of flammable ground material in forests. They also recycle nutrients and thus help to
maintain the productivity of a variety of forest ecosystems.
LESSON 2 How should we manage and sustain forest?
  We can sustain forest by emphasizing the economic value of their ecological services,
protecting old-growth forests, harvesting trees no faster than they are replenished
and using sustainable substitute resources.

We Can Improve the Management of Forest Fires

In the United States, the Smokey Bear educational campaign undertaken by the Forest
Service and the National Advertising Council has prevented countless forest fires. It has also
saved many lives and prevented billions of dollars in losses of trees, wildlife, and human
structures. At the same time, this educational program has convinced much of the public that
all forest fires are bad and should be prevented or put out. Ecologists warn that trying to
prevent all forest fires increases the likelihood of destructive crown fires by allowing
accumulation of highly flammable underbrush and smaller trees in some forests. According to
the U.S. Forest Service, severe fires could threaten 40% of all federal forest lands, mainly
because of fuel buildup resulting from past rigorous fire protection programs (the Smokey Bear
era), increased logging in the 1980s that left behind highly flammable logging debris (called
slash), and greater public use of federal forest lands. Ecologists and forest fire experts have
proposed several strategies for reducing fire-related harm to forests and people. One approach
is to set small, contained surface fires to remove flammable small trees and underbrush in the
highest-risk forest areas. Such prescribed fires require careful planning and monitoring to try to
keep them from getting out of control. As an alternative to prescribed burns, local officials in
populated parts of fire-prone California use herds of goats (kept in moveable pens) to eat away
underbrush. A second strategy is to allow many fires on public lands to burn, thereby removing
flammable underbrush and smaller trees, as long as the fires do not threaten human structures
and life. A third approach is to protect houses and other buildings in fire-prone areas by
thinning a zone of about 60 meters (200 feet) around them and eliminating the use of
flammable materials such as wooden roofs. A fourth approach is to thin forest areas vulnerable
to fire by clearing away small fire-prone trees and underbrush under careful environmental
controls. Many forest fire scientists warn that such thinning should not involve removing
economically valuable medium size and large trees for two reasons. First, these are the most
fire-resistant trees. Second, their removal encourages dense growth of more flammable young
trees and underbrush and leaves behind highly flammable slash. Many of the worst fires in U.S.
history—including some of those during the 1990s—burned through cleared forest areas
containing slash. A 2006 study by U.S. Forest Service researchers found that thinning forests
without using prescribed burning to remove accumulated brush and deadwood can greatly
increase rather than decrease fire damage. Despite such warnings from forest scientists, the
U.S. Congress under lobbying pressure from timber companies passed the 2003 Healthy Forests
Restoration Act. It allows timber companies to cut down economically valuable medium-size and
large trees in 71% of the country’s national forests in return for clearing away smaller, more
fire-prone trees and underbrush.
However, the companies are not required to conduct prescribed burns after completing
the thinning process. This law also exempts most thinning projects from environmental reviews,
which are currently required by forest protection laws in the national forests. According to many
biologists and forest fire scientists, this law is likely to increase the chances of severe forest
fires because it ignores the four strategies scientists have suggested for better management of
forest fires. Critics of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 say that healthier forests
could be maintained at a much lower cost to taxpayers by giving communities in fire prone
areas grants to implement these recommendations.
We Can Reduce the Demand for Harvested Trees
One way to reduce the pressure on forest ecosystems is to improve the efficiency of
wood use. According to the World watch Institute and forestry analysts, up to 60% of the wood
consumed in the United States is wasted unnecessarily. This results from inefficient use of
construction materials, excess packaging, overuse of junk mail, inadequate paper recycling, and
failure to reuse wooden shipping containers. One reason for cutting trees is to provide pulp for
making paper, but paper can be made out of fiber that does not come from trees. China uses
rice straw and other agricultural residues to make much of its paper.

Figure 2.5: Solutions:

pressure to cut trees to
make paper could be greatly
reduced by planting and
harvesting a fast-growing
plant known as kenaf.
According to the USDA,
kenaf is “the best option for
tree-free papermaking in the
United States” and could
replace wood-based paper
within 20–30 years.

Governments and Individuals Can Act to Reduce Tropical Deforestation

In addition to reducing fuelwood demand, analysts have suggested other ways to protect
tropical forests and use them more sustainably. One way is to help new settlers in tropical
forests to learn how to practice small-scale sustainable agriculture and forestry. Another is to
harvest some of the renewable resources such as fruits and nuts in rain forests on a sustainable
basis. And strip cutting can be used to harvest tropical trees for lumber. In Africa’s northern
Congo Republic, some nomadic forest-dwelling pygmies go into the forests carrying hand-held
satellite tracking devices in addition to their traditional spears and bows. They use these Global
Positioning System (GPS) devices to identify their hunting grounds, burial grounds, water holes,
sacred areas, and areas rich in medicinal plants. They then download such information on
computers to provide a map of areas that need to be protected from logging, mining, and other
destructive activities. Debt-for-nature swaps can make it financially attractive for countries to
protect their tropical forests. In such swaps, participating countries act as custodians of
protected forest reserves in return for foreign aid or debt relief. In a similar strategy called
conservation concessions, governments or private conservation organizations pay nations
for concessions to preserve their natural resources. Loggers can also use tropical forests more
sustainably by using gentler methods for harvesting trees. For example, cutting canopy vines
(lianas) before felling a tree and using the least obstructed paths to remove the logs can
sharply reduce damage to neighboring trees.
 In addition, governments and individuals can mount efforts to reforest and rehabilitate
degraded tropical forests and watersheds and clamp down on illegal logging. Finally, each of us
as consumers can reduce the demand that fuels illegal and unsustainable logging in tropical
forests. For building projects, we can use substitutes for wood such as bamboo and recycled
plastic building materials. Recycled waste lumber is another alternative, now marketed by
companies such as TerraMai and EcoTimber. We can also buy only lumber and wood products
that are certified as sustainably produced. Growing awareness of tropical deforestation and the
resulting consumer pressure caused the giant retail company Home Depot to take action. It
reported in 2007 that 80% of the wood it carries meets such certification standards.
 Solution: Sustainable Forestry
1. Identify and protect forest areas high in biodiversity
2. Rely more on selective cutting and strip cutting
3. No clear- cutting on steep slope
4. No logging of old-growth forests
5. Sharply reduce road building into uncut forest areas
6. Leave most standing dead trees and fallen timber for wildlife habitat and
nutrient recycling
7. Plant tree plantations primarily on deforested and degraded land
8. Certify timber grown by sustainable methods
9. Include ecological services of forests in estimating their economic value
 We can improve the management of forest fires
1. The Smokey Bear educational campaign
2. Prescribed fires
3. Allow fires on public land to burn
4. Protect structures in fire prone areas
5. Thin forest in fire-prone areas
 Governments and individuals can act to reduce tropical depression
1. Reduce fuelwood demand
2. Practice small-scale sustainable agricultural and forestry in tropical forest
3. Debt-for-nature swaps
4. Conservation concessions
5. Use gentler logging methods
6. By certified lumber and wood products

 Solution: Sustaining Tropical Forests

a. Prevention:
1. Protect the most diverse and endangered areas
2. Educate settlers about sustainable agriculture and forestry
3. Subsidize only sustainable forest use
4. Protect forests with debt-for-nature swaps and conservation concessions
5. Certify sustainably grown timber
6. Reduce poverty
7. Slow population growth
b. Restoration
1. Encourage regrowth through secondary succession
2. Rehabilitate degraded areas
3. concentrate farming and ranching in already-cleared areas
LESSON 3 How should we manage and sustain park and natures reserves?
Sustaining biodiversity will require protecting much more of the earth’s remaining
undisturbed land areas as parks and natures reserves.

National Parks Face Many Environmental Threats

Today, more than 1,100 major national parks are located in more than 120 countries.
However, most of these national parks are too small to sustain a lot of large animal species.
And many parks suffer from invasions by nonnative species that compete with and reduce the
populations of native species and worsen ecological disruption. Parks in developing countries
possess the greatest biodiversity of all parks, but only about 1% of these parklands are
protected. Local people in many of these countries enter the parks illegally in search of wood,
cropland, game animals, and other natural products for their daily survival. Loggers and miners
operate illegally in many of these parks, as do wildlife poachers who kill animals to obtain and
sell items such as rhino horns, elephant tusks, and furs. Park services in most developing
countries have too little money and too few personnel to fight these invasions, either by force
or through education.
In the worldwide, there are 1100 major national parks, and some parks in developing
countries has greatest biodiversity but only 1% is protected against illegal animal poaching and
illegal logging and mining. In United States Public parks, 58 major parks have biggest problem
may be popularity with noise, congestion, pollution, and damage or destruction of vegetation
and wildlife. Repairs are needed to trails and buildings.

Figure 2.6: Natural capital degradation: damage from off-road vehicles in a proposed
wilderness area near the U.S. city of Moab, Utah. Such vehicles pollute the air, damage soils
and vegetation, threaten wildlife, and degrade wetlands and streams.
Designing and Connecting Nature Reserves
Large reserves sustain more species and provide greater habitat diversity than do small
reserves. They also minimize exposure to natural disturbances (such as fires and hurricanes),
invading species, and human disturbances from nearby developed areas. In 2007, scientists
reported on the world’s largest and longest running study of forest fragmentation, which took
place in the Amazon. They found that conservation of large reserves in the Amazon was even
more important than was previously thought. Because the Amazon rain forest is so diverse, a
large expanse of it may contain dozens of ecosystem types, each of which is different enough
from the others to support unique species. Therefore, developing just a part of such a large
area could result in the elimination of many types of habitats and species. However, research
indicates that in other locales, several well-placed, medium-sized reserves may better protect a
wider variety of habitats and preserve more biodiversity than would a single large reserve of the
same total area. When deciding on whether to recommend large- or medium-sized reserves in a
particular area, conservation biologists must carefully consider its various ecosystems.
Whenever possible, conservation biologists call for using the buffer zone concept to design and
manage nature reserves. This means protecting an inner core of a reserve by usually
establishing two buffer zones in which local people can extract resources sustainably without
harming the inner core. Instead of shutting people out of the protected areas and likely creating
enemies, this approach enlists local people as partners in protecting a reserve from
unsustainable uses such as illegal logging and poaching. The United Nations has used this
principle in creating its global network of 529 biosphere reserves in 105 countries. According to
Craig Leisher, an economist for The Nature Conservancy, “Local people are often the best
people in developing countries to manage these conservation areas, because they want them to
survive in the long term as well.” So far, most biosphere reserves fall short of these ideals and
receive too little funding for their protection and management.

Figure 2.7:
Solutions: a model
biosphere reserve.
Each reserve
contains a
protected inner
core surrounded by
two buffer zones
that local and
indigenous people
can use for
sustainable
logging, growing
limited crops,
grazing cattle,
hunting, fishing,
and ecotourism.
 An international fund to help make up the shortfall would cost about $100 million per
year—about the amount spent every 90 minutes on weapons by the world’s nations.
Establishing protected habitat corridors between isolated reserves helps to support more
species and allows migration by vertebrates that need large ranges. Corridors also permit
migration of individuals and populations when environmental conditions in a reserve
deteriorate, forcing animals to move to a new location, and they support animals that must
make seasonal migrations to obtain food. Corridors may also enable some species to shift their
ranges if global climate change makes their current ranges uninhabitable.
On the other hand, corridors can threaten isolated populations by allowing movement of
pest species, disease, fire, and invasive species between reserves. They also increase exposure
of migrating species to natural predators, human hunters, and pollution. In addition, corridors
can be costly to acquire, protect, and manage. Nevertheless, an extensive study, reported in
2006, showed that areas connected by corridors host a greater variety of birds, insects, small
mammals, and plant species. And in that study, nonnative species did not invade the connected
areas. The creation of large reserves connected by corridors on an eco-regional scale is the
grand goal of many conservation biologists. This idea is being put into practice in places such as
Costa Rica.
 Solutions: National Parks
1. Integrate plans for managing parks and nearby federal lands
2. Add new parkland near threatened parks
3. Buy private land inside parks
4. Locate visitor parking outside parks and provide shuttle buses for people
touring heavily used parks
5. Increase federal funds for park maintenance and repairs
6. Raise entry fees for visitors and use resulting funds for park management
and maintenance
7. Seek private donations for park maintenance and repairs
8. Limit the number of visitors in crowded park areas
9. Increase the number of park rangers and their pay
10. Encourage volunteers to give visitors lectures and tours
LESSON 4 What is the ecosystem approach?

We Can Use a Four-Point Strategy to Protect Ecosystems

Most biologists and wildlife conservationists believe that we must focus more on
protecting and sustaining ecosystems, and the biodiversity contained within them, than on
saving individual species. Their goals certainly include preventing premature extinction of
species, but they argue the best way to do that is to protect threatened habitats and ecosystem
services.
This ecosystems approach generally would employ the following four-point plan:
• Map global ecosystems and create an inventory of the species contained in each of
them and the ecosystem services they provide.
• Locate and protect the most endangered ecosystems and species, with emphasis on
protecting plant biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Seek to restore as many degraded ecosystems as possible.
• Make development biodiversity-friendly by providing significant financial incentives
(such as tax breaks and write-offs) and technical help to private landowners who agree
to help protect endangered ecosystems.

Some scientists have argued that we need new laws to embody this strategy. In the
United States, for example, there is support for amending the Endangered Species Act, or
possibly even replacing it with a new law focused on protection of ecosystems and biodiversity.
Protecting Global Biodiversity Hotspots Is an Urgent Priority in reality, few countries are
physically, politically, or financially able to set aside and protect large biodiversity reserves. To
protect as much of the earth’s remaining biodiversity as possible, some conservation biologists
urge adoption of an emergency action strategy to identify and quickly protect biodiversity
hotspots—an idea first proposed in 1988 by environmental scientist Norman Myers.) These
“ecological arks” are areas especially rich in plant species that are found nowhere else and are
in great danger of extinction. These areas suffer serious ecological disruption, mostly because
of rapid human population growth and the resulting pressure on natural resources. Myers and
his colleagues at Conservation International relied primarily on the diversity of plant species to
identify biodiversity hotspot areas because data on plant diversity was more readily available
and was also thought to be an indicator of animal diversity. In the 34 global areas, a total of
86% of the habitat has been destroyed. They cover only a little more than 2% of the earth’s
land surface, but they contain an estimated 50% of the world’s flowering plant species and
42% of all terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians). They are also
home for a large majority of the world’s endangered or critically endangered species. Says
Norman Myers, “I can think of no other biodiversity initiative that could achieve so
much at a comparatively small cost, as the hotspots strategy.” One drawback of the
biodiversity hotspots approach is that some areas rich in plant diversity are not necessarily rich
in animal diversity. And when hotspots are protected, local people can be displaced and lose
access to important resources. However, the goal of this approach—to protect the unique
biodiversity in areas under great stress from human activities—remains urgent. Despite its
importance, this approach has not succeeded in capturing sufficient public support and funding.
Figure 2.8: Endangered natural capital: biodiversity hotspots in the United States that need
emergency protection. The shaded areas contain the largest concentrations of rare and
potentially endangered species. Compare these areas with those on the map of the human
ecological footprint in North America.