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15. Relationships of organisms with one another and with the

environment
Content
15.1 Energy flow
15.2 Food chains and food webs
15.3 Carbon cycle
15.4 Nitrogen cycle
15.5 Parasitism
15.6 Effects of humans on the ecosystem
15.7 Pollution
15.8 Conservation
Learning outcomes
Candidates should be able to:
(a) state that the Sun is the principal source of energy input to biological systems
(b) describe the non-cyclical nature of energy flow
(c) define the following terms and establish the relationship of each in food webs:
producer an organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually using energy from sunlight
through photosynthesis
consumer an organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms
herbivore an animal that obtains its energy by eating plants
carnivore an animal that obtains its energy by eating other animals
decomposer an organism that obtains its energy from dead or waste organic matter
food chain a chart showing the flow of energy (food) from one organism to the next, beginning
with the producer (e.g. mahogany tree caterpillar songbird hawk)
(d) describe energy losses between trophic levels and infer the advantages of short food chains
(e) describe and interpret pyramids of numbers and of biomass
(f) describe and state the importance of the carbon cycle
(g) describe the nitrogen cycle in making available nitrogen for plant and animal protein, including
the role of
bacteria in nitrogen fixation, decomposition and nitrification (details of denitrification and the names
of individual bacteria are not required)
(h) understand the role of the mosquito as a vector of disease
(i) describe the malarial pathogen as an example of a parasite and describe the transmission and
control of the malarial pathogen (details of the life cycle of the pathogen are not required)
(j) describe the effects of humans on the ecosystem with emphasis on examples of international
importance (tropical rainforests, oceans and important rivers)
(k) describe the consequences of deforestation in terms of its effects on soil stability, climate and
local human populations
(l) evaluate the effects of:
water pollution by sewage, by inorganic waste and by nitrogen-containing fertilisers
air pollution by greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane), contributing to global warming
air pollution by acidic gases (sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen), contributing to acid rain
pollution due to insecticides
(m) discuss reasons for conservation of species with reference to maintenance of biodiversity,
management of fisheries and management of timber production
(n) discuss reasons for recycling materials, with reference to named examples.
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ECOLOGY

Relationships of Organisms with One Another and with the Environment

Energy flow

The source of energy for all life on the earth is the sun. Living organisms use that energy for their
activities. The light energy from the sun is captured by the green plants during photosynthesis to
form chemical energy in food molecules. A plants chemical energy is passed on to an animal
when the animal eats the plant. If that animal is eaten by another animal. The energy is passed on
again.

In this way the suns energy enters then flows through biological ecosystems and is gradually lost
to the environment as it passes from one organism to the next. It is never recycled.

Key terms

Ecology: study of relationship between organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem: A system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in an area as well as its physical environment (abiotic
factors) functioning together as a unit.

Community: all organisms that live in an ecosystem.

Population: A group of same species living in a same habitat.

Habitat: place where an organism live.

Niche: a particular role of an organism in its environment.

Producer: organisms which prepare their own food by the process of photosynthesis with the help of sunlight.

Consumer: all organisms which rely on the energy supplied by the producer in that chain

Herbivore: organisms which feeds directly on producer and only plant products.

Carnivore: organisms which feeds on animal products.

Primary consumer: consumer which feeds directly on producer.

Trophic level: the position occupied by the organisms in the food chain.

Predators - kill for food. They are either secondary or tertiary consumers - eg polar bears, golden eagles

Prey - are the organisms that predators feed on. Examples of predator and prey species are: fox and rabbit;
blue tit and caterpillar; wolf and lamb

Decomposer - an organism such as bacteria and fungi that breaks down dead organisms and their wastes.

Food Web - a network of interrelated food chains in a given area

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Food chains and food webs

A food chain is a sequence of organisms starting with a photosynthesising organism through which energy
is passed as one is eaten by the next in the sequence.

A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal.

1. Plants are called producers because they are able to use light energy from the Sun
to produce food (sugar) from carbon dioxide and water.

2. Animals cannot make their own food so they must eat plants and/or other animals.
They are called consumers. There are three groups of consumers.

a. Animals that eat ONLY PLANTS are called herbivores (or primary
consumers).

b. Animals that eat OTHER ANIMALS are called carnivores.

carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers

carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers
e.g., killer whales in an ocean food web ... phytoplankton small fishes
seals killer whales
3. Animals and people who eat BOTH animals and plants are called omnivores.

4. Then there are decomposers (bacteria and fungi) which feed on decaying matter.

These decomposers speed up the decaying process that releases mineral salts back into
the food chain for absorption by plants as nutrients.

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FOOD WEB

Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food in order to
meet their food and energy requirements. These interconnected food chains form a food web.

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Do you know why there are more herbivores than carnivores?

In a food chain, energy is passed from one link to another. When a herbivore eats, only a fraction
of the energy (that it gets from the plant food) becomes new body mass; the rest of the energy is
lost as waste or used up by the herbivore to carry out its life processes (e.g., movement, digestion,
reproduction). Therefore, when the herbivore is eaten by a carnivore, it passes only a small
amount of total energy (that it has received) to the carnivore. Of the energy transferred from the
herbivore to the carnivore, some energy will be "wasted" or "used up" by the carnivore. The
carnivore then has to eat many herbivores to get enough energy to grow.

Because of the large amount of energy that is lost at each link, the amount of energy that is
transferred gets lesser and lesser...

The further along the food chain you go, the less food (and hence energy) remains available.

Energy loss along a food chain

Some of the energy locked away by producers (plants) is

released by the producer itself through the process of
transpiration. Some of the energy is used by the producer,
for example in process of cell division, growth and
reproduction. A lot of energy is still present when a plant
dies and then available to decomposers. Only 10% of a
plants available energy is passed on to the herbivores eat
it.

Herbivores then release the energy by respiration, and use

it for growth, movement and, as heat, to maintain the body
temperature.
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Pyramid of biomass:- The food pyramid represents the numbers of the biomass of organisms at
each trophic level.

Biomass is the total dry mass of organisms per unit area or volume.

An animal uses for its growth only about 10 % of the energy in an organisms it eats (that is only
10% of the energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level). The rest of the eaten
organisms energy, about 90%, is either not digested by the eater in movement and other
activities. This is why there is always a far greater biomass at the bottom of a pyramid than at the
top.

The above energy pyramid shows many trees

& shrubs providing food and energy to
giraffes. Note that as we go up, there are
fewer giraffes than trees & shrubs and even
fewer lions than giraffes ... as we go further
along a food chain, there are fewer and fewer
consumers. In other words, a large mass of
living things at the base is required to support
a few at the top ... many herbivores are
needed to support a few carnivores

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Examples for pyramid of biomass

Pyramid of numbers:- pyramid that represents number of organisms in each trophic level.

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Pyramid numbers vs pyramid of biomass

Water cycle

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Carbon cycle

- When decomposition occurs, carbohydrates in dead organic matter are

used as a substrate for respiration by decomposers (bacteria and fungi).
Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere as it is in case of aerobic
respiration.
- Combustion, the burning of fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere. Many of these fuels are fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and
gas.
- Photosynthesis absorbs carbon dioxide from atmosphere and converts it
into carbohydrates (which may then be used to make fats or proteins) in a
plant.
- Animal nutrition involves transfer of carbon containing molecules to
animals. Animals and plants respire, releasing carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.

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Nitrogen cycle
Decomposing bacteria convert proteins in dead organic matter into amino acids and the amino acids are
converted to ammonium ions. This process usually takes place in the soil.
Ammonium ions (NH4+) contain nitrogen atoms but before plants can absorb nitrogen from the soil it
must be in the form of nitrate ions.
Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium ions first into nitrites and then into nitrates (nitrification).
Plants absorb these nitrates and use them together with the carbohydrates made by photosynthesis, to
make aminoacids and then proteins.
Atmospheric nitrogen (79% of the air) cannot be used by the plant or animals in its gaseous form but it
is used by some of the bacteria (nitrogen fixing bacteria). These bacteria are found in two forms;
1. Those which live in root nodules of leguminous plants.
Eg: Rhizobium.
2. Those which live in freely in the soil.
Eg: Azetobactor.
Nitrogen fixation by these bacteria changes the atmospheric Nitrogen, via ammonia, into proteins.
The nitrogen become available to other organisms, and these nitrogen later decompose.
Nitrogen fixation also occurs when lightning passes through the atmospheric nitrogen in the air,
converting it to nitric acid which forms nitrates in the soil.
Some bacteria living in the soil convert the Nitrates back into Nitrogen. This process is called
denitrification. These denitrifying bacteria are usually found in water logged areas where there is no
oxygen available.

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The effects of human activity on environment

Deforestation
Deforestation is permanent removal of trees either by burning or cutting.

A great deal of natural wood land has been destroyed for the following reasons:-

To harvest timber for building houses and making furniture.

To make ways for building roads and industrial development.
To create agricultural land for the growth of crops rearing live stock.
To manufacture paper and other types plant products.
Effects of deforestation

1. Loss of humus in soil

Leaves fall on the ground where they are decomposed to make humus of the soil. Humus provides a
steady supply of ions for the growth of plants. It acts as a sponge, seeking up and holding water in
the soil and helps; soil to bind together preventing soil erosion.
2. The loss of protection from excessive sun, wind and rain.
Trees form a canopy, which give protection to the delicate organisms from powerful sun rays. It also
protects the soil from the force of tropical rainfall. The canopy protects the small organisms, plants
and animals from the full force of high winds. Tree roots also help to bind the soil. Removal of trees
therefore leads to soil erosion caused by wind and water.
3. Flooding.
When water is not absorbed in to the ground due to the lack of humus and tree roots causes flooding.
4. Climatic changes.
Trees supply enormous quantity of water vapour to the atmosphere through transpiration.
Transpiration leads to the formation of clouds. Deforestation therefore can lead to have reduced rain
fall. In most extreme cases, relatively fertile areas can become deserts.
Deforestation can reduce the amount of CO2 taken in by the plants for photosynthesis. The amount of
CO2 in atmosphere rise, increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This leads to global
warming; which effects the distribution of plants and animals. And also it causes the ice berg in the
Antarctica and Arctic to melt down rising sea level.
5. Loss of habitat for a lot of organism.
About 70% of land animals are found in forests and it is a habitat for many species of plants.
Deforestation removes the habitat for these organisms and sometimes leads to extinction of some
organisms.

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Pollution
Pollution of water by sewage

Sewage contains pathogenic organisms - causes diseases if consumed by human

Sewage Contains large number of bacteria which use up the oxygen in the water for their own
respiration. This does not leave any oxygen for other organisms, so they die.

Sewage Contains large number of bacteria which decomposes the organic matter in the Sewage
and release as ions. The ions encourage rapid growth of water plants. This is called
eutrophication.

When nutrients are used up the algae eventually die and decompose. The decomposition again use
up much oxygen in the water that no life can exists
Industrial wastes such as those which contain mercury (eg: from paper mills) and copper are
highly toxic to all organisms.

Polluted rivers discharge into seas. Polluted seas lead to contamination of producers in the
seas food chains. This is called bioaccumulation. One small fish consumes many smaller
contaminated food organisms. One large fish eats many small fish. In this way the amount of
poison gradually increases along the food chain. This is called bio-magnification

Bio- magnification is the Process

by which non-excreted substances
like DDT, mercury become more
concentrated in organisms in the
higher trophic levels of the food
chain.

Use of too much artificial fertilisers in the farmlands leads it to carry the excessive fertilizers with the
water when it rains. This is called as leaching.
When these fertilizers leach to rivers and oceans it also can cause eutrophication

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Acid rain
Mostly caused by human emissions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds, which reacts in the
atmosphere to produce acids such as ammonium nitrate, sulphuric acid, and nitric acid.

How do these things enter our atmosphere?

while the burning of coal and other organics adds sulfur dioxide (SO2) and Nitrous oxides (NOx) to the atmosphere where

they react to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid,

2SO2 + H2O + O2 -> 2H2SO4

4NO2 + 2H2O + O2 -> 4HNO

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Effects of acid rain

Acidic soil greatly effects vegetation growth.

Scientists say that acid rain damages the waxy outer coating that protects the leaves. This allows acid
to seep into the trees. This can also prevent a plant from taking in carbon dioxide to perform
photosynthesis, and eventually the plants will die.

Once pH reaches a certain point, the aluminum in the soil enters the soil solution, and this element
becomes toxic to trees, plants, and animals inside the habitat
Acids have a corrosive effect on limestone or marble buildings or sculptures

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Pest control
A pest is an organism, usually an insect, which has characteristics that are regarded by humans as
injurious or unwanted.

Pesticides

'Pesticides are is a range of products that are used to control pests.

insect killers (insecticides)

mould and fungi killers (fungicides)

weedkillers (herbicides)

slug pellets (molluscicides)

plant growth regulators

bird and animal repellents

rat and mouse killers (rodenticides)

Farmers use pesticides to:

protect crops from insect pests, weeds and fungal diseases while they are growing

prevent rats, mice, flies and other insects from contaminating foods whilst they are being stored

safeguard human health, by stopping food crops being contaminated by fungi

However, as pesticides are used to kill unwanted pests, weeds and moulds, they can also harm
people, wildlife and the environment.

Biological control is, generally, human's use of a specially chosen living organism to control a
particular pest. This chosen organism might be a predator, parasite, or disease which will attack the
harmful insect.

Harmful effects of pesticide

1) Useful insects such as those needed for pollination, may be killed as well.

2) If the livers of animals cannot breakdown the insecticide, it may be passed from animal to animal
through food chain leading to biomagnification.

3) Agricultural can be washed into rivers, entering the food chains in the water as well as on the
land.

The threat of extinction

The removal of an organism from an environment at a faster rate than the organism can reproduce
itself leads to extinction of the species.

Widespread Deforestation can lead to extinction of plants species as well as animal species.
Overfishing can lead to the extinction of species of fish.
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because
it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.

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Recycling

Pressure is taken off endangered species if countries encourage a

policy of recycling.

Many commodities we use every day can be recycled. For example:

a) Aluminum cans, tin cans and many car parts can be made of
recycled metals. This reduces:
- Mining activity.
- Burning fossil fuels.
b) Bottles are made from recycled glass.
c) Paper can be recycled, so fewer trees cut down.
d) Litter also reduced by recycling making our environment cleaner.
When sewage is properly treated, it can be recycled to provide an effective fertilizer.
Parasitism

A parasite is an organism which feeds on other living organisms (host) and cause harm to the host.
Pathogens are therefore parasites. One such pathogen is the unicellular organism plasmodium which causes
malaria.

Malaria

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasite which lives in red blood cells. It is carried from person to person
(host to host) by female anopheles mosquito. The mosquito is described as the vector or the carrier of the
microorganism.

Mosquito injects saliva into the person blood before sucking the blood. This saliva contains chemical to stop
blood from clotting. If the mosquito has previously taken blood from a person infected with malaria, it may
also contain malaria parasite.

Control of malaria

Malaria can be treated by controlling mosquito and by treating parasite in the blood.
Controlling mosquito

Cover the tanks with netting to stop mosquito laying their eggs in the water.
Drain swamps where mosquito lay their eggs.
Introduce fish into swamps to feed on mosquito larvae.
Cover the surface of water with light oil. The larvae do not get oxygen to breath, so they suffocate
and die.
Use insecticides or mosquito coils to kill or repel adult mosquito inside building.
Place nets over doors.
Use insect repellent sprays.
Sleep under mosquito nets.
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