ECO MIDTERM REVIEWER Types of Consumers

Chapter 1: Energy flow ● Herbivores - Eat only plants

Chapter 2: Human impacts ● Carnivores - Eat only meat
Chapter 3: Limiting factors (includes insects)
Chapter 4: Niche ● Omnivores - Eat both plants and
Chapter 5: Pioneers animals (includes insects)
Chapter 6: Rocks and Minerals ● Detritivores - Eat detritus, or dead
Chapter 7: Succession organic matter
● Decomposers - Are detritivores
that break down organic matter
into simpler compounds

CHAPTER 1: ● Specialist - A consumer that

ENERGY primarily eats one specific

FLOW organism or feeds on a very small

number of organisms. Ex. Giant
Pandas are specialists. Over 95%
1.1. PRODUCERS VS CONSUMERS of their diet comes from bamboo. If
Producers provide energy for other bamboo became scarce, the
organisms in an ecosystem Panda would be in danger of
● Producers = Plants extinction.
- Producers are also known ● Generalist - Consumers that have
as autotrophs. a varying diet. Ex. Raccoons are
- Producers need sunlight to generalists. They can live almost
make food. anywhere, and eat almost
- The sun is their main anything.
source of energy.
● Consumers = Everything else! 1.3. TROPHIC LEVELS
- Consumers are also known Trophic levels are the levels of
as heterotrophs. nourishment in a food chain.
- Energy flows from ● Producers - Basis of all trophic
producers to consumers. levels.
● Primary consumers - herbivores
Almost all producers obtain energy from ● Secondary consumers - carnivores
sunlight that eat herbivores.
Chemosynthesis ● Tertiary consumers - carnivores
- In 1977, scientists discovered the that eat secondary consumers.
first prokaryotes (archaea) that did ● Omnivores - May be listed at
NOT need sunlight to make food. different trophic levels in different
- Instead, these prokaryotes utilized food chains.
the chemicals in the water to form
carbohydrates—this is called
chemosynthesis.

1.2. FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS

1. Food Chains
A food chain is a sequence that links
species by their feeding relationships.
 only eat producers. Secondary
consumers eat primary
consumers, and tertiary
consumers eat secondary
consumers and are considered
carnivores.

The table below summarizes the types of

organisms that might be in each trophic
level in a forest ecosystem.

- According to the law of

conservation of energy, also
known as the first law of
thermodynamics, energy is never
created or destroyed, rather it is
only converted from one form to
another. This law also applies to In the food web or energy pyramid, each
ecosystems and living things. In trophic level only gets 10% of its energy
living ecosystems, the first law of from the level before it. The other 90% of
thermodynamics manifests as the the energy in the trophic level goes to
10 percent rule. many functions, such as:
- Ecosystem energy transfer can be - Living
understood in the terms of food - Growing
webs. Food webs are diagrams - Reproduction
that show who eats who in a food - Heat lost to the environment
web, or the energy transfer
between organisms. Food webs 2. Food Web
are divided into levels called A food web is a model that shows the
trophic levels. These levels can be complex network of feeding relationships
drawn as a pyramid because the and the flow of energy within and
levels at the bottom of the food sometimes beyond ecosystems.
web support the levels at the top.
- Producers are at the bottom of the At each link in a food web, some energy is
food web. These are organisms stored within an organism, and some
that make their own food. energy is dissipated into the environment.
Producers are usually plants, but
can also be algae and even The stability of any food web depends on
bacteria. They get 100% of their the presence of producers, as they form
energy from the Sun. the base of the food web.
- Next in the food web are the
consumers, or organisms that The mouse is both a primary and
must eat to get energy. secondary consumer because it eats both
Consumers can be divided into plants and insects in this food web.
different types. Primary consumers
 Because energy is lost at each stage of a
food chain, the longer the chain is, the
more energy is lost overall.

The total energy used by producers far

exceeds the energy used by the
consumers they support.

An energy pyramid is a diagram that

compares the energy used by producers,
primary consumers, and other trophic
levels.

Other pyramid models illustrate an

ecosystem’s biomass and distribution of
organisms.
1.4. PYRAMID MODELS ● Biomass pyramid - Diagram that
An energy pyramid shows the distribution compares the biomass of different
of energy among trophic levels. trophic levels within an ecosystem.
● Pyramid of numbers - Shows the
- Sunlight provides the energy for number of individual organisms at
photosynthesis, and that energy each trophic level in an ecosystem.
flows up the food chain. Along the
way, some of the energy is
dissipated, or lost.

Loss of Available Energy

Biomass is a measure of the total mass of
organisms in a given area.

When a consumer incorporates the

CHAPTER 2:
biomass of a producer to its own biomass,
HUMAN
a great deal of energy is lost in the
process as heat and waste. IMPACTS
The dissipation, or loss, of energy from - Population growth
one trophic level to the next may be as - Acid rain
much as 90%. Only 10% of the available - Acidification of lakes
energy is left to transfer from one trophic - Deforestation
level to the next - Bioaccumulation
Energy Pyramid
 - Ozone depletion killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds,
- Carbon-Fluoro-Carbons otters, seals and whales.
- Pollution
- Exxon Valdez oil spill 2.6. Global Warming
- Global warming - Increase in CO2
- Increase in greenhouse effect
2.1. Population Growth - Increase in global temperatures
Industrialization
- Burning fossil fuels 2.7. Biodiversity
- Non-renewable resources What is Biodiversity? Why is it important?
- Pollution Simply means the diversity, or variety, of
- Increased CO2 levels plants and animals and other living things
in a particular area or region.
2.2. Acid Rain It is important because everything that
Burning of fossil fuels release sulfates and lives in an ecosystem is part of the web of
nitrates into the air. life, including humans. Each species of
Sulfates and nitrates mix with water vapor vegetation and each creature has a place
in air and form sulphuric acid and nitric on the earth and plays a vital role in the
acid. circle of life. Plant, animal, and insect
species interact and depend upon one
2.3. Acidification of lakes another for what each offers, such as
Lakes and ponds can become so acidified food, shelter, oxygen, and soil enrichment.
that no life can live in them.
How are humans affecting global
2.4. Deforestation biodiversity?
- Population growth leads to the loss - Climate change, brought about by
of natural habitats. emissions of greenhouse gasses
- Cut down trees to build new when fossil fuels are burnt, is
homes making life uncomfortably hot for
- Loss of Biodiversity some species and uncomfortably
- Loss of oxygen producers and cold for others.
CO2 eliminators - Pollution is currently poisoning all
forms of life, both on land and in
2.4. Pollution the water, and contributing to
Water Pollution climate change.
- Oil Spills - Habitat loss and destruction,
- Gasoline Spills usually as a direct result of human
Gets into drinking water activity and population growth, is a
major force in the loss of species,
2.5. Exxon Valdez oil spill populations, and ecosystems.
Exxon Valdez oil spill was a manmade
disaster that occurred when Exxon What is meant by “Conservation”
Valdez, an oil tanker owned by the Exxon The protection, preservation,
Shipping Company, spilled 11 million management, or restoration of wildlife and
gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince of natural resources such as forests, soil,
William Sound on March 24, 1989. The oil and water.
slick covered 1,300 miles of coastline and
How we can preserve?
 - Do not waste paper, use only as - Limiting factors are theorized
much as you require. Do not under different laws of the limiting
scribble on it or tearing it off after factors
writing just a line or two. - A limiting factor restricts organisms
- Use recycle paper as far as from occupying their fundamental
possible. niche and results instead in the
- Try to reuse the envelopes where fulfillment of their actual or realized
ever possible. niche.
- 75% of all finishes are fully
exploited or overfished. Species ● Fundamental Niche
like cod, haddock and halibut are - The total range of
already threatened. If we do not environmental conditions
move towards sustainable use, that is suitable in order for
there will be no fish left for our an organism to exist, in the
grandchildren. absence of limiting factors.
- Climate change is considered to - Ranges of condition a
be the greatest challenge for species can potentially
humanity. With changing tolerate
conditions, ecosystems and - Range of conditions
habitats will change as well. It is an species can potentially use
obligation to fight climate change - Not realistic
and make sure that species can ● Realized Niche
migrate or adapt to new - The actual amount of
surroundings. resources or environmental
conditions that an organism
is able to utilize within an
ecosystem.
- Range of resources a
CHAPTER 3: species actually uses
LIMITING - Species may have to
FACTORS restrict activity to avoid
predators
- Competition may prevent
use of resources
3.3. Fundamentals of LImiting Factors
- A limiting is a resource or Types of Limiting Factor
environmental condition which ● Density Dependent Factors
limits the growth, distribution or - Density dependent factors
abundance of an organism or are those factors whose
population within an ecosystem. effect on a population is
- These can be either physical of determined by the total size
biological factors which can be of the population.
identified through a response of - Predation and disease, as
increased growth, abundance, or well as resource
distribution of a population, when availability, are all
the factor is changes and when the examples of density
other factors necessary to life are dependent factors.
not.
 - As an example, disease is
likely to spread quicker 3.2. Law and its Pioneers
through a larger, denser Shelford’s Law of Intolerance
population, impacting the - States that an organism’s success
number of individuals within is based on a complex set of
the population more than it conditions and that each organism
would in a smaller, more has a certain minimum, maximum,
widely dispersed and optimum environmental factor
population. or combination of factors that
determine success.
● Density Independent Factors - According to the law of tolerance,
- A density independent populations have optimal survival
limiting factor is one which conditions within critical minimal
limits the size of a and maximal thresholds.
population, but whose - As population is exposed to the
effect is not dependent on extremes of a particular limiting
the size of the population factor, the rates of survival begin to
(the number of individuals). drop
- Examples of density - The distribution of a species in
independent factors include response to a limiting factor can be
environmentally stressful represented as a bell-shaped
events such as curve with three distinct regions:
earthquakes, tsunamis, and
volcanic eruptions, as well 1. Optimal zone: Central portion of curve
as sudden climate changes which has conditions
such as drought or flood, that favor maximal reproductive success
and destructive and survivability.
occurrences, such as the 2. Zones of stress: Regions flanking the
input of extreme optimal zone, where
environmental pollutants. organisms can survive but with reduced
- Density independent reproductive success.
factors will usually kill all 3. Zones of intolerance: Outermost
members of a population, regions in which organisms
regardless of the cannot survive (represents extremes of
population size. the limiting factor)

● Physical and Biological Limiting

Factors
- Physical factors or abiotic
factors include
temperature, water
availability, oxygen, salinity,
light, food and nutrients;
biological factors or biotic
factors, involve interactions
between organisms such
as predation, competition,
parasitism and herbivory.
According to the Shelford’s law of
tolerance, there are upper and lower
threshold value on the gradient beyond
which the species cannot survive.
Tolerance range differ for one species to
another

Blackman"s Law of limiting factors

- states that, when a process
depends on a number of factors,
its rate is limited by the pace of the
slowest factor.
- As the light intensity (LI) increases,
Liebig law of the minimum the rate of p/s increases, until plant
- Often simply called Liebig’s law or is photosynthesizing as fast as it
the law of the minimum, is a can
principle developed in agricultural - LSP: Light Saturation Point. When
science by Carl Sprengel (1840) the LSP is reacted, plants cannot
and later popularized by Justus Photosynthesize any faster, even
von Liebig. when the light gets brighter.
- It states that growth is dictated not - Max. quantity of light that the plant
by total resources available, but by can tolerate.
the scarcest resource (limiting
factor)
Justus von Liebig
- generally credited as the "father of
the fertilizer industry", formulated
the law of the minimum:
- if one crop nutrient is missing or
deficient, plant growth will be poor,
even if the other elements are
abundant.

Liebig compares the potential of a crop to

a barrel with staves of unequal length. The
capacity of this barrel is limited by the
length of the shortest stave (in this case,
CHAPTER 4:
phosphorus) and can only be increased by
ECOLOGICAL
lengthening that stave. When that stave is
lengthened, another one becomes the NICHE
limiting factor.

Ecology - The branch of biology that deals

with the relation of organisms to one
another and to their environment
Environment - The surrounding or ● Fundamental Niche
conditions in which a person, animals or - There are no limiting
plants live. factors on the environment
and resources can use
Factors of environment - Theoretical niche
● Biotic Factors - Range of environmental
● Abiotic Factors conditions in which each of
the species survive and
4.1. Difference b/w Biotic and Abiotic reproduce.
Factors - It is larger.
- Elaborate various roles of
● Biotic Factors species. Full niches of
- The living parts of an species.
ecosystem are called biotic - No competition either for
components resources or predator
- Plants, animals, birds, ● Realized Niche
fungi, etc. - Occupied by a variable
● Abiotic Factors population of a specie in
- The non-living parts of an the presence of competitor
ecosystem are called - Where the specie actually
abiotic or non-biotic live
components - Range of environmental
- Sunlight, temperature conditions in which a
water, air, soil, etc. species is really found.
- It is smaller
4.2. Ecological Niche - Portion of fundamental
- It is the role and position of a niche that is actually filled.
species in its environment. - Competition occur both for
resources and predator
Factors
● Energy Competitive Exclusion Principle - Also
● Nutrition called Gause's law because “Georgy
● Timing of activity Gause “describe this term.
● What they eat
● Nest “Two species can not occupy the same
● Condition of temperature & niche” , “Two species with identical niches
moisture cannot co exist”.
a. Competition for food
4.3. Discovery b. Competition for habitat Definition
Charles Elden (1917) - Plants occupy their
own ecological niche Ex. Mistletoe on - When two species compete, one is
Eucalyptus more likely to be more successful
- And other specie will decrease and
Hutchinson Niche Concept - A description remove from the environment
of the ecological space occupied by a
species.

Types of Ecological Niche

 chain. If the species is missing
from the ecosystem food chain
then it may cause the entire
ecosystem to fail and ultimately
die.
- Segregation of organisms into
niches avoids confusion of
activities in the community and
gives a more orderly and efficient
life pattern for each species.
- Segregation of different species in
An example of Competitive exclusion is
a particular niche results in full
the two protozoan species.
exploitation of all available
- Paramecium aurelia
resources.
- Paramecium caudatum
4.4. Narrow and Broad niches
When grown individually in the laboratory,
they both thrive. But when they are placed
● Generalist specie
together in the same test tube (habitat), P.
- Have broad niches
aurelia outcompetes P. caudatum for food,
- Live in many different areas
leading to the latter’s eventual extinction.
- Eat Variety of food
- Tolerate wide range of
Resource Partitioning
environment condition
- If two species are competing for
- Ex. Colorado Beetle: Feed
the same resource, they can avoid
on potatoes, belladonna,
competition by choosing different
eggplant and other plants.
time for feeding or different
Live in North America,
foraging behavior
Europe, Asia
- MacArthur show five closely
related species of warblers on the
● Specialist specie
same tree by behavioral
- Narrow niches
differences in their foraging.
- May only live in one type of
habitat
Types of resource partition
- Eat few type of food
● Temporal - Same resources but
- Tolerate narrow range of
different time. Ex. Spiny mouse
environmental condition
● Spatial - Use of different habitats
- Ex. Giant Panda: 90
of resources. Ex. Warbler
percent diet. Live only in
● Morphological - use of body shape
few mountains of china.
and size. Ex Finches
Temperature forest at
1200-3900m elevation.
Importance of ecological niche
- Niches reduces competition for
resources
4.5. Habitat VS Niche Habitat
- Interspecies competition lead to
● Habitat
evolutionary changes
- Actually where the
- Each species' ecological niche
organisms live including
includes their spot in the food
biotic and abiotic factors.
 - All of the parameters. - Historia Animalia
- Address of the organisms. - Theophrastus organism
- It is not specie specific , environment
many specie can occupy
the same habitat 5.1. History of Ecology as a Science
- Habitat consist of several (18th Century)
niches Schools of Thought:
- It is superset of niche ● Arcadian ecology
- Ex. Desert, ocean forest - Arcadian Ecology is the
● Niche school of thought that
- All the factors which an advocates for a
organism requires to live harmonious relationship
and reproduce in a healthy between humans and
way in a particular area. nature.
- Selective parameters. - It is named for the
- Profession or job of the mountainous Arcady region
organism. of Greece.
- A niche is a particular role ● Imperial Ecology
played by an organism in - Opposing the Arcadian
an ecosystem. view is Francis Bacon's
- It is species specific. It ideology, “imperial
support only one specie ecology”.
- It is a subset of habitat. - Imperialists work “to
- Ex. Different trophic establish through the
position occupied by exercise of reason and by
darwin's finches. hard work, man’s
dominance over nature”.
- Imperial ecologists also
believe that man should
become a dominant figure
over nature and all other
CHAPTER 5: organisms as “once
PIONEERS enjoyed in the Garden of
AND Eden”.
ECOLOGICAL - Both views continued their
AND rivalry through the early
ENVIRONMEN eighteenth century until
TAL Carl Linnaeus's support of
SCIENTIFIC imperialism; and in a short
THOUGHT time due to Linnaeus's
popularity, imperial ecology
became the dominant view
within the discipline.
5.1. History of Ecology as a Science
From early teachings of philosophy, ethics
Carl Linnaeus
and politics.
- Father of Taxonomy
- binomial system of nomenclature
● Aristotle (3rd century B.C.)
- (1735) Systema Naturae
 - phenology and geography of Charles Elton
plants *environmental factors - (1971) Father of animal ecology
seasonal progression and - food chain/ food web and niche
plant distribution concepts
- Imperial ecology Barry Commoner
- Four Basic Laws of Ecology in
5.2. History of Ecology as a Science “The Closing Circle”
(19th Century) Herodotus and Plato - Providential
- plant geography and natural ecology
history (e.g. study of plants, birds, Chief Indian Seattle - pursued a path of
mammals, fish, etc.) accommodation to white settlers, forming
- expeditions for natural resources a personal relationship with David
(Great Britain, Portugal, Spain) Swinson "Doc" Maynard
Robert Malthus - relationship of population
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and food supply
- Father of Ecology Vito Volterra and Alfred Lotka - predator-
- correlated vegetation types with prey interaction model
environmental characteristics Pierre Verhulst – proposed the growth of
- ecological gradient of latitudinal population
biodiversity Justus von Leibig - (1840) Law of
- increases towards the tropics Minimum
- Idea for Plant Geography Victor Shelford - (1913) Law of Tolerance
Darwin Georgy Gause - “Competitive Exclusion”
- (1859) On the Origin of Species by principle
Means of Natural Selection
Haeckel - ecology Ecology
Edward Seuss - oldest science
- (1875) Biosphere - indigenous practices in the Phils:
- (1879) symbiosis first described a. Bontocs in Cordillera: nutrient cycling
Eugen Warming - biogeography B. Ikalahan in Nueva Vizcaya: shifting
cultivation
5.3. History of Ecology as a Science c. Hanunoo Mangyans of Mindoro: kaingin
(20th Century) farming from lands cleared from forest

(1920) Human Ecology Implications of Indigenous Practices

- survival strategy is an integral part
Vladimir Vernadsky - (1926) redefined - evolutionary development not only
biosphere “The Biosphere” between plants and animals with
Arthur Tansley their environment but also between
- (1950) harmful effects of pollution human communities and their
to ecosystems known environments
- (1935) Ecosystem
Eugene Odum and Howard Odum George Perkins Marshst
- (1953) wrote first ecology textbook - Environmental Awareness in the
- Ecology as university course *E. U.S.
Odum - Early Conservationist/Naturalist
- (1966) systems ecology or Philosophers
ecosystem ecology - Book: Man and Nature
John Wesley Powell & Henry David
Thoreau - Book: Life in the woods
CHAPTER 6:
ROCKS AND
5.4. History of Ecology as a Science
MINERALS
(20th Century - Present)

1960s and 1970s 6.1 FUNDAMENTALS OF MINERALS

- concern for the state of MINERALS
environment - Naturally occurring, Inorganic,
- public prominence of ecology Solid, has a definite chemical
- became involved in social, political composition, and has a definite
and economic issues- awareness crystal structure.
about pollution, overpopulation,
degraded environments HAS DEFINITE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
- resource management Ex: Graphite – pencil lead, batteries
environmental impact assessment Sulfur – matches, fireworks
Rachel Carson Talc – Powder, ceramics
- Mother of environmental
movements NOT Minerals
- “There was once a town in the - Cement
heart of America where all life - Steel (Man-made)
seemed to live in harmony with its - Coal (comes from plants)
surroundings. Then a strange - Amber (comes from tree sap)
blight crept over the sea and - Pearls (comes from oysters)
everything began to change.There - Mercury (it is liquid at room
was a strange stillness. The few temperature)
birds seen anywhere were
moribund; they trembled violently Solids
and could not fly. It was a spring - Have a definite volume and a
without voices. On the mornings definite shape.
that had once throbbed with the - Stable and solid at room
dawn chorus of scores of bird temperature
voices, there was now no sound; - Mercury is NOT A MINERAL
only silence lay over the fields and
woods and marsh.” Chemical Composition
Fairfield Osborn - Book: Our Plundered (a) SILICATE and (b) NON-SILICATE
Planet
James Lovelock - Book: GAIA A new look SILICATE - silicon and oxygen groupings;
at life on earth SiO2
—----------------------------------------------------- - Combined with one or more metals
Talc- Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
- Largest group of minerals
90% of the earth's crust

NON-SILICATE - Do note contain SiO2

 - Subdivided into several other - The internal structure or
classes: Native, Sulfides, Sulfates, arrangement of atoms within a
Oxides, Halides, Carbonates mineral
- Extremely rare Halite (NaCl)
8% of the Earth's crust - Atoms/molecules are arranged in
- Few are relatively common repeating geometric patterns.
Calcite

a. Native SIX BASIC CRYSTAL SYSTEMS

- elements found in nature in a. Cubic - Galena, Halite, Pyrite
their mineral form.
- gold (Au), sulfur (S),
silver(Ag)
b. Sulfides
- minerals that contain sulfur
ions. b. Tetragonal – Chalcopyrite
- Galena (PbS), Pyrite
(FeS2)
c. Sulfates
- minerals which include the
sulfate ion (SO42-).
- Gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O)
d. Oxides
- minerals that contain c. Hexagonal - Quartz, Calcite
oxygen bonded with one or
more metals
- Hematite (Fe2O3),
Magnetite (Fe3O4)
- Minerals containing (OH)
are typically included in this
class. (hydroxides)
d. Orthorhombic - Olivine, Topaz
- Portlandite (Ca(OH)2)
e. Halides
- Minerals that contain
Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine
and Iodine ions.
- Halite (NaCl), Fluorite
e. Monoclinic – Mica, gypsum
(CaF2)
f. Carbonates
- Minerals that contain a
carbonate ion, CO2−3.
- Calcite (CaCO3), Dolomite
(CaMg(CO3)2) f. Triclinic – Feldspar, Turquoise

6.2. CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

6.3. MINERAL FORMATION
- When lava or magma cools to
solidification
- When water evaporates and
leaves minerals remain
- When water is supersaturated with
a mineral; minerals will settle out Sulfur - yellow
of the water and deposit as a
precipitate.

6.4. IDENTIFYING MINERALS

can be identified by their physical and
chemical characteristics.

A. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- Color Hematite - black, silver, reddish brown
- Streak
- Luster
- Hardness
- Cleavage or Fracture
- Density

2. STREAK
B. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
- The color of the mineral in its
- Specific and unique for each
powdered form.
mineral
- Determined by using a streak plate
- Determined by chemical
Quartz: White/colorless
composition and structure
Hematite: reddish brown

A. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

1. COLOR
- Is Not a reliable property; some
minerals can be many different
colors.
- Color may vary due to:
3. LUSTER
Natural coloring agents - impurities
The way a mineral shines/reflects light
Weathering; exposure to the environment
from its surface.

Malachite-green
A. Metallic: reflects light like the
surface of a polished metal
Galena, Pyrite, Graphite,
Magnetite

Quartz - clear, purple, white, grey-brown

 A measure of how easily a mineral can be
scratched.
a. Determined by a minerals internal
structure.
b. When a mineral is scratched by a
substance; it is softer than the
substance
B. Non Metallic: reflects light in more c. When a mineral scratches a
subtle ways substance; it is harder than the
substance
- Pearly-Mica

Mohs Hardness Scale

Hardness Name of Mineral

1 Talc

- Glassy-Quartz
2 Gypsum

3 Calcite

4 Fluorite

- Dull/Earthy-Bauxite
5 Apatite
- Waxy-Talc

6 Feldspar

7 Quartz

8 Topaz
- Brilliant-Diamond

9 Corundum

10 Diamond

5. CLEAVAGE
When a mineral splits/breaks along
4. HARDNESS smooth flat surfaces
 - Mica - One direction; sheet - Reaction between copper
- Galena – Three; cubic shape and air; creates a greenish
Determined by atomic structure coating
of mineral - Copper (Cu) + oxygen =
- Cleavage is the way a mineral copper oxide
breaks ● metal is not
- Crystal Shape is the way crystal weakened; pennies
grows

6. FRACTURE C. SPECIAL PROPERTIES

When a mineral breaks unevenly into a. Lodestone - Magnetite; is naturally
curved or irregular pieces with rough and magnetic
jagged surfaces.

Sulfur, bauxite, hematite, quartz

b. Iceland Spar - Calcite; produces

double refraction
7. DENSITY OR HEFT
Minerals have different densities, and vary
in weight given the same sample size.
- How heavy the mineral feels in
your hand

c. Pitchblend; radioactive

B. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
a. Effervescence
- Calcite reacts with HCl;

CHAPTER 7:
bubbles of CO2

ECOLOGICAL
b. Oxidation
- Reaction between Iron (Fe) SUCCESSION
and oxygen (O2).
- Iron (Fe) + oxygen = Rust
● Metal is weakened - The observed process of change
by change in the species structure of an
 ecological community over a - Shrubs and trees can
period of time survive now, on this soil.
- Is a gradual process of change 5. Insects, small birds and mammals
and replacement of types of can now begin to move in.
species in a community. - What was earlier only bare
- The progressive change in the rock, now supports a
species composition of an variety of life.
ecosystem.

Each new community makes it harder for

the previous community to survive.

7. 1. TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL
SUCCESSION
A. PRIMARY SUCCESSION
- It is the process of creating
life in an area where no life B. SECONDARY SUCCESSION
existed earlier. - It is the process of re-stabilization
- An example of an area that follows a disturbance in an
which a community has area, where life has formed an
never lived before, would ecosystem.
be a new lava or rock from - It occurs on a surface where an
a volcano that makes a ecosystem has previously existed.
new island. - It is the process by which one
- It begins in a place without community replaces another
any soil, like: sides of community which has been
volcanoes, landslides, and partially or totally destroyed, might
flooding. be by natural processes such as
1. It starts with the arrival of living floods, earthquakes, etc.
things such as lichens that do not - When an existing community has
need any soil to survive. been cleared by any type of
- They are called PIONEER disturbance, such as fire, cyclone
SPECIES. etc and the soil remains intact, the
2. When lichens die, they area begins to return to its natural
decompose, adding small amounts community.
of organic matter to the rock to - Because these habitats previously
make soil. supported life, secondary
- Simple plants like mosses succession begins
and ferns can grow on this
new soil. The Circle of life in Secondary Succession
- The simple plants dies,
adding more organic
material.
3. The soil layer thickens, and
grasses and other plants begin to
take over.
4. These plants die, and they add
more nutrients to the soil.
7.2. WHY AND HOW: ECOLOGICAL
SUCCESSION 7.4. THREATS TO SUCCESSION
Why does Ecological Succession Occur? - The grasses that move in as
- Because it is the process of life for pioneer species are often thought
plants and other living organisms. of as weeds.
- Because organisms alter soil - The subsequent growth of shrubs
structure and the species are considered undesirable
communities constantly change “brush”.
over a period of time. - But, without these intermediate
- Succession will continue until the stages, the disturbed habitat can’t
environment reaches its final stage return to forest.
– the Climax Community
How do Humans affect Ecological
Gradual Change from Pioneer Stages to succession?
Climax Community - Clearing the land for garden and
preparing the soil for planting is a
type of major external event that
radically re-structure and disrupt a
previously stabilized ecosystem.
- This disturbance may immediately
begin a process of ecological
succession.
How Ecological Succession takes place? Does Ecological Succession ever stop?
- Succession will continue until the - Over a long period of time, the
environment reaches it’s final climate conditions of an ecosystem
stage, ---- the Climax Community. are bound to change.
- No ecosystem has existed or will
7.3. CLIMAX COMMUNITY remain unchanged over a
- A climax community is a mature, Geological Time Scale
stable community that is the final
stage of ecological succession
- This type of community remains
the same throughout the time, if it
is not disturbed.
- A stable group of plants and
animals, which is the end result of
the succession process, does not
always mean only big trees. They
could be:
● Cacti in deserts
● Grasses in fields

PHYSICAL FACTORS
The two main physical factors that
determine the nature of the community
that develops in an area are:
a. Temperature
b. The amount of rainfall.