3.

0 The Ecosystems
Science, Environment and Society
 Outline
3.1 Introduction to Biodiversity
3.2 The Ecosystems
3.3 Types of Organism Living in a Ecosystem
3.4 Principles of Ecosystem
3.5 Components of Ecosystem
3.6 Types of Ecosystem
 What is biodiversity?

Is a degree of variation of life form at all levels of biological

biodiversity systems and is used to measure the health of ecosystem.
 Biodiversity
What does “Bio” mean?

Bio =
 Biodiversity
What does “Diversity” mean?

Diversity = Variety
biodiversity Is a degree of variation of life form at all
levels of biological systems and is used to
measure the health of ecosystem.
 Richness
How to measure diversity? Evenness

Richness – measure of the number of different kinds of organisms in a

particular area

Evenness – measure of the relative

abundance of the different species
making up the richness of an area

Shannon index, Simpson index, etc.

 Biodiversity is not evenly distributed because:
 Variations in temperature
 Precipitation
 Altitude
 Soils
 Geography
 Presence of other species

Some measures that could protect and

restore rich biodiversity:
 Removal of exotic species
 Reintroduction of the lost species
 Biodiversity banking
 Reduction of pesticide usage
 There are 3 components of biodiversity

1. Diversity of genes
Chihuahuas, beagles, and rottweilers are all the same
species —but they're not the same because there is variety in
their genes.

Chihuahua Beagle Rottweilers

2. Diversity of number of species
For example, monkeys, dragonflies, and
meadow beauties are all different species.

Saki Monkey Golden Skimmer Meadow Beauty

 ES30 – Introduction to Environmental Engineering

3. Variety of ecosystems

Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers are all Freshwater

Ecosystems.

Rocky coast, Sand Dune, Estuary, Salt Marsh

, Coral Reef are all Marine Ecosystems.

So what’s an ECOSYSTEM???
WHAT ARE ECOSYSTEMS?
 WHAT ARE ECOSYSTEMS?

• Where Things Live

Living things need a place to live and grow.

• Fish live in water

• Birds live in trees and fly through the air.
• Plants grow where there is soil, water and
sun.
 ECOSYSTEMS
• An Ecosystem is all the organisms living in a place
together and interacting with their environment.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANISMS LIVE IN AN
ECOSYSTEM
• A group of organisms of the same kind living in the same
place is a population.
• All the population that live in an ecosystem at the same
time form a community.
 All members of a community live in the
same ecosystem but they do not all live in
the same part of the ecosystem.
• Habitat is a place where plants and animals lives. It is a
place where they can meet their needs.
Animals get food, water, and shelter from their habitat,
 Organisms and their Habitats
• Some organisms can survive only in certain habitats.
• For example, a polar could not find the water it needs in a
desert.
 There is a great variety of ecosystems in
existence, all of them are characterized by
general structural and functional attributes.
 Three major principles of ecosystem
• Nutrient cycling:
– Movement of chemical elements from the environment into living
organisms and from them back into the environment through
organisms live, grow, die and decompose.
• Energy flow:
– Energy is required to transform inorganic nutrients into organic
tissues of an organism.
– Energy is the driving force to the work of ecosystem.
• Structure
– It refers to the particular pattern of inter-relationships that exists
between organisms in an ecosystem.
 - Refers to the flow of energy
through a food chain
- Calorific flow
- An open system

Energy flow
 TROPHIC LEVEL
- is the position it
occupies in a
food chain

Energy flow
 - PRODUCERS
(autotrophs)
- Manufacture their
own food using
photosynthesis
Energy flow
 - CONSUMERS
(heterotrophs)
- cannot
manufacture their
own food
- consume other
organism

Energy flow
Energy flow
 - DECOMPOSERS
(detritivores)
- Break down dead
plants and animals
and their waste
Energy flow
Components of
an ecosystem
 Abiotic components
• They form the environment and determine the type /
structure of ecosystem.
– Sunlight (temperature)
– Nutrients
• Rainfall, minerals, carbon, nitrogen,…..
• Type of ecosystems:
– Tropical rainforest, Desert, Tundra, Grassland,…..
 Biotic components
• Producers (Autotrophs):
– All green plants. They use solar energy, chlorophyll, inorganic
nutrients and water to produce their own food. (Photosynthesis)
• Consumers:
– They consume the organic compounds in plant and animal
tissues by eating.
• Herbivores (plant feeders) Primary consumers
• Carnivores (meat eaters) Secondary consumers
• Omnivores (general feeders)
 Biotic components

• Decomposers
– They are tiny organisms includes bacteria and fungi, which turn
organic compounds in dead plants and animals into inorganic
materials.
– They cause the continual recirculation of chemicals within
ecosystem (nutrient cycle)
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS?
 MARINE ECOSYSTEM
- refers to the oceans and
seas and other salt water
environments
- also called salt water
ecosystem.
- Oceans cover about 3/4 of
Earth’s surface, so there are
more saltwater ecosystems
than any other.
 MARINE ECOSYSTEM
TYPES:
1) Salt marshes
2) Estuaries
4) Inter-tidal zones
5) Coral reefs
6) Lagoons
7) Mangrooves
8) Deep sea and sea floor
 OCEAN ECOSYSTEM
 community of interacting organisms and their physical
environment at coastlines.
 Coastline - the area where land meets the sea
 they contribute economic benefits like tourism and
commercial fisheries
 they include mangroves, rocky shores, sandy beaches,
seagrass meadows and tidal creeks
 LOWLAND ECOSYSTEM
 lowlands are usually ecosystem with less than 200m
elevation
 warm with slow-flowing rivers found in relatively flat
lowland areas, with water that is frequently colored by
sediment and orgranic matter
 they include, deserts which are very dry ecosystem,
grasslands that are often in flat areas of land
 UPLAND ECOSYSTEM
 cold, clear and rocky
whose rivers are fast
flowing in mountainous
areas
 higher than 200m
elevation asl
 FOREST ECOSYSTEM
 high rainfall
 large number of organism and flora
 highly diverse population
 stability of ecosystem is very sensetive
 Tropical - occur near equator;
distinct seasonality: winter is absent, and
There are three major types only two seasons are present (rainy and
of forests, classed accodring dry).

to lattitude:  Temperate - changing seasons

 Boreal forests (taiga)