LESSON 2

THE ECOSYSTEM
Sir Ise M. Lim
At the end of this chapter, you should be
able to:

1. Discuss the interactions between the

different components of ecosystem.

2. Discuss how abiotic factors affects the

mode of living of different organisms.

3. Identify the different roles being played

by the biotic components of ecosystem.

4. Explain concepts of limiting factors

 The Ecosystem

Ecosystem is the main focus of ecology. Arthur G. Tansley, an English ecologist

pioneered the term ecosystem. It includes all the diverse species of plants and animals
in a certain environment. Ecosystem could range from a large-scale macro-ecosystem
to small-scale micro-ecosystem. A forest and an ocean to single droplet of water from
a canal or to a sample of soil as examples respectively. An ecosystem is generally
classified as terrestrial (land) or aquatic (water).
Components of Ecosystem
1. Biotic components – all living things.
2. Abiotic components – all non-living things.
The Biotic Components of
Ecosystem
I. The producers

a. PLANTS - the producers in terrestrial ecosystem through the process of

photosynthesis by using carbon dioxide, sunlight and water. They are known
as autotrophs.

b. PHYTOPLANKTONS – main producers in an aquatic ecosystem. They are

capable of performing the process of chemical metabolism and chemical
synthesis called chemosynthesis.
II. The Consumers

Animals obtain its energy of food from its environment by eating other
organisms called heterotrophs. They can be classified as:

a. Herbivore – primary consumer; plant eaters

b. Carnivore – secondary consumer; animal eaters
c. Omnivore – tertiary consumer; eat both plants and animals
III. The Decomposers

Bacteria and fungi are the janitors of nature. They are indispensable
component of ecosystem because they are responsible for returning the
nutrients to ecosystem by acting on dead bodies of plants and animals. They
are known as the saprotrophs. Bacteria are the most abundant decomposers
while the fungi is the fast-acting decomposers. Without the decomposers, the
world is full of dead bodies of organisms.
Relationship among Biotic
components of ecosystem
All organisms has its own specific function in the ecosystem; plants as producers,
animals as consumers, bacteria and fungi as decomposers. The work of the organism
or the job being perform by organism is known as its ecological niche. It is the total way
of life or its functional role in ecosystem.
According to trophic standpoint, plants are autotrophs for they can manufacture
its own food, animals are the heterotrophs since they feed on other organisms to obtain
its own energy and bacteria and fungi are the saprotrophs since they feed on dead
organic matter.
According to their niches, species are classified as either specialist or generalist.

a. Specialist species – they have narrow niches. They have a narrow adaptation
to its environment. They can live in one type of habitat, can tolerate narrow
range of climatic and environmental conditions, or use only one or few types
of food and they are prone for becoming endangered or even extinct when
conditions in their environment changes.

Examples: Owls, Giant panda, woodpeckers, tiger salamander

b. Generalist species- with broad niches. They have a wide range of tolerance to
some environmental conditions, they can eat many types of foods and they
can live in different places.

Examples: Cockroaches, Rats, humans, flies

Some specialized roles of species in ecosystem

a. Native species – species that normally live in an ecosystem.

b. Immigrant or alien species – species that migrate or newly introduced in an

ecosystem.

c. Indicator species – species that serve as early warning that an ecosystem is

damaged.

d. Keystone species – species that has a big role in an ecosystem that are
disproportionately important compared to their biomass.
 The Abiotic Components of
Ecosystem

The physical and chemical non-living factors of the environment such as temperature,
water or moisture, light, soil, wind, time and energy makes up the abiotic component of
the ecosystem. It dictates what organisms or species may be found in a particular area.
 I. Temperature
Temperature refers to the hotness or coldness of an area.
It affects both the internal metabolism and behavior of an
organism.

In organisms that are stationary like plants, they

experience a wide range of temperature in their area.

Minimum temperature – lowest limit of temperature that organism can still

function. Further decrease of temperature, organisms may no longer survive.

Maximum temperature – the highest limit of temperature that an organism

could still function further increase may lead to its death.

Optimum temperature – the temperature in which organism can function at

its best.
Temperature and Animals

Three groups of animals according

to its tolerance to temperature:

Homeotherms – the warm-blooded

animals, which rely in their stored
energy (endothermy) to maintain
normal body temperature.
Examples: birds and mammals
Poikelotherms- the cold-blooded
animals, which they control their
body by external means
(ectothermy)
Examples : Invertebrates,
amphibians, reptiles
Heterotherms – they regulate their body
temperature by endothermy and sometimes
by ectothermy depending upon environmental
conditions and metabolic needs.
Examples: bats, bees, humming-birds

Acclimatization – organism adjusts ecologically in

response to changes in the environment specifically
temperature variation
Temperature and Plants

Plants evolved ways on how to survive

very low or high temperatures. Plants living
in cold areas survive by means of
insulation. Thick barks and hairs are its
adaptive structures. At a very low
temperature, plants may suffer from
frostbite by forming ice crystals in between
cells or physiological drought when roots
will be less permeable to water
II. Water

Importance of water

1. Helps in germination of seeds.

2. Transport substances in the body
of organisms.
3. Aids in erosion and breaking of
rocks
4. Serves as a habitat for some
organisms
Water and Plants

Plants enter water in their body through absorption in its roots

and loses water through transpiration process within its
stomata.

Three groups of plants as to its adaptation to water:

1. Xerophytes – grow in dry or arid region where water is not

readily available. They have succulent tissues to store large
amount of water.
Examples: cactus, acacia

2. Hydrophytes – plants that float or submerge in water. Their

adaptation is the continuous air spaces in its body.
Examples: Water lily, water lettuce, lotus

3. Halophytes – grows in saline environment. They have

succulent tissues to store water.
Examples: marine algae, seaweeds, mangrove
Water and Animals

Most animals enter water in their

body through drinking and loses
water through respiration.

Camels can go 8 days without

drinking water and can tolerate
water loss of 25-40% of its body
weight.
III. Light

Light is a visible electromagnetic

radiation. It is the main source of
energy in all ecosystem. Light is an
important ingredient in plant’s
photosynthesis.

In animals because of light, they

can evade their enemies or detect
prey and synthesize vitamin D in
their body.
Characteristics:

1. Shade tolerant – plant to that

can survive and grow in shade.
Example: orchid

2. Photoperiodism - response of
an organism to day lengths.
Examples: breeding and
migration of animals,
Chrysanthemum and poinsettia,
sunflower.
IV. Soil

Soil is the upper layer of earth’s crust

affected by plants and animals. It is
composed of weathered rocks and humus.
It is form through weathering process:
chemical weathering (leaching of chemical
substances), mechanical weathering
(breaking down of rocks into smaller
particles)

Characteristics of Soil
Soil differs in texture, moisture
content, pH content, structure, color and
profile.
a. Soil texture

According to texture, soil can be

classified as:

1. Clay – fine particles of soil, “poorly

drained soil”

2. Sand – coarse particles, “hungry soil”

3. Silt- medium sized particles

4. Loam – mixture of clay, sand and silt,

“most fertile farmland soil”
b. Moisture Content

Factors that affect the moisture

content of soil

1. Texture
2. Amount of rainfall
3. Slope of the land
4. Underlying rock types
c. pH Content

The acidity and alkalinity of a soil is expressed as its

pH, which represents the concentration of hydrogen
ions. The value range from 1-6 is acid, 8-14 is base
and 7 is neutral.

They can be measured by using a litmus paper, pH

paper or a pH meter.

Fertilizers are often applied by farmers and

gardeners to change the pH of a soil usually for
nourishment. Soil with large amount of lime is a
basic or alkaline soil while soil with large amount of
granite is an acidic soil.
d. Soil Structure

Soil structure refers to the proper

arrangement of soil particles that
build up larger soil structure
called peds. Peds provides a
good passageway for air and
water through its cracks or
spaces.
e. Soil Color and Profile

The chemicals present in the

soil influences its color.

Grey soil called podzol lacks

iron while brown or red soil is
rich in iron.
Soil profile is the vertical section of the soil. The soil profile
consists of layers or horizons:

a. Surface or litter layer (O) – consist of dried or dead bodies

of plants and animals that have decomposed into humic
substance.

b.Horizon A – where the humus mixes with smaller particles

of weathered rocks. Water penetrates through this horizon
thus dissolving the chemicals present and carries them
downward. This process is known as leaching.

c.Horizon B – where all the chemicals dissolved in horizon A

goes down. It contains little humus and the soil consists
chiefly of smaller particles of weathered rocks.

d.Horizon C – where parent materials of rocks remain in their

original condition.
V. Wind

Wind is an important abiotic factor

which affects the plants by
uprooting or restricting their growth
by causing physical damage like
torn branches and leaves. It also
affects the rate of transpiration
process. Wind is also an agent of
pollination and seed dispersal.
VI. Time

Time is described as the duration of

an event. The following processes
are affected by time:

1. Food hunting and gathering

2. Reproduction or finding a mate
3. Locomotion
Limiting Factors

Limiting factors are abiotic

factors that tends to slow
down the potential growth of
an organism.
Liebig’s Law of Minimum

Ecologist Justus Liebig proposed it

last 1840. This can be represented
by this statement
“The growth of a plant is
dependent on the amount of
foodstuff induced to it in a
minimum quantity.”
Shelford’s Law of Tolerance

It was develop by American zoologist

Victor Ernest Shelford in 1911.

1. Organism may have a wide

range of tolerance to one ecological
factor and a narrow range to another.

2. Organisms with a wide range of

tolerance to most of the ecological
factors are likely to be most widely
distributed in the ecosystem.
Blackman’s law of Limiting factor

Frederick Blackman proposed the

law of limiting factors in 1905.

According to this law, when a

process depends on a number of
factors, its rate is limited by the
pace of the slowest factor.
END