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ECOLOGY

Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other & their environment.

TERMS USED IN ECOLOGY

Community – all organisms of all species living in the same habitat

Habitat – the area where an organism lives
Population – a group of organisms of the same species
Species – a group of organisms of the same kind which mate & produce a fertile offspring
Environment – the surroundings where an organisms lives
Ecosystem – consists of a community & its environment
Food chain – a linear feeding relationship between organisms
Food web – a set of linked food chains showing a more complex but realistic feeding relationship
Producer – an organism which makes its own food e.g. plants. (also known as autotrophs)
Primary consumer – an organism that feeds directly on producers; a.k.a. herbivores
Secondary consumers – an animal that feeds on primary consumers a.k.a. meat eaters/ carnivores
Omnivores – an animal that feeds on both meat & plants e.g. man
Tertiary consumers – organisms that normally feed secondary consumers
Decomposers – organisms that normally feed on dead animal or plant matter
Scavengers – animals that feed on the remains of dead animals e.g. vultures & hyenas
Trophic / feeding level – stage in a food chain or food web
Pyramid of numbers – a diagram showing the number of organisms at each trophic level, the length of the
bar is proportional to the number of organisms.

An Ecosystem is a habitat – a place where an organism lives and the physical factors that influence it e.g. temperature,
soil type, rainfall; (or a community of organisms interacting with their environment)

All energy for an ecosystem which flows through an ecosystem comes from the sun, i.e. the sun the principal source of
energy.
Energy is transferred through an ecosystem by feeding, when one organism eats another organism some energy is
passed on.

The feeding relationships are shown using food chains & food webs. A food chain is a linear representation of how
energy is passed between organisms, & has one type of organism at each feeding (trophic) level.
A food web is a complex but more realistic way of presenting energy flow – made of several food chains interlinked.
There are usually 4 to 5 feeding levels in a food chain, and these levels are called trophic levels.

The first trophic level is Producers. These are always green plants / green algae which are photosynthetic. Producers
produce food for the next trophic level, which are primary consumers. These are always plant eaters so they are called
Herbivores. The primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers, also referred to as carnivores because they
eat other animals. The tertiary consumers feed largely on secondary consumers. Producers & all the consumers stated
above are fed on by Decomposers.
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Sun’s energy Producers Primary Consumers Secondary Consumers Tertiary Consumers

Decomposers
The arrows show the direction of flow of energy. Energy is not cyclical meaning that it does not return to its source & it
can be used over & over.
Energy is either lost or used up along the food chain.

If Producer Primary Consumers Secondary Consumers Tertiary Consumers

Has 100KJ keeps 10KJ for growth keeps 1KJ Keeps 0.1KJ

90KJ lost 9KJ lost 0.9KJ lost

Most energy is passed on between producers & tertiary consumers, but also most of it is lost i.e. only 10% of the
energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next as shown above. A very small amount of energy reaches the
tertiary level. After that there is not enough energy to support life at fourth consumer level. More energy is found at the
beginning of the food chain & it decreases up the trophic level.

This means that there are more producers & a few consumers. This can be illustrated using a pyramid of numbers as
shown below

.
Tertiary consumers

. Secondary consumers

. Primary consumers

Producers
.

Energy cannot be recycled in an ecosystem but nutrients can be recycled, carbon & nitrogen for example, can be used
again & again in different forms in an ecosystem.

The Carbon Cycle

There is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which is used by plants to make carbohydrates through
photosynthesis. Therefore green plants remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Plants are eaten by animals, so the process of feeding passes carbon from plants to animals.
Plants and animals respire all the time when there are alive, and respiration releases carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.
When plants & animals die, they are decomposed by bacteria & this causes decay. This process also
releases CO2 to the atmosphere. Through these processes the carbon cycle is balanced
Photosynthesis is balanced naturally by Respiration & Decay
However, human beings have upset the cycle by adding more CO 2 to the air. This is caused by combustion of
fossil fuels like; natural gas, crude oil, coal.

Refer to the figure below of the Carbon cycle

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PHOTOSYNTHESIS Plants use the

CO2 in the atmosphere RESPIRATION atmospheric CO2 to make
DECAY carbohydrates

DECAY Animal tissue formed EATEN

from eating plant tissue
RESPIRATION

Fossil fuels; e.g.

COMBUSTION S natural gas, Coal, FOSSILISATION
Crude oil

The Nitrogen Cycle

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Nitrogen forms 78% of the atmosphere and is an essential element in proteins. However, plants cannot readily use
nitrogen, it should rather be converted to nitrates which soluble in water.

How nitrates are made available to plants;

1. Fixations by bacteria in the roots of legumes – some plants have nodules (swellings) on their roots which
contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into nitrogen compounds from
which plants can synthesise proteins. (e.g. peas, beans clover)
2. Fixation by lightning – nitrogen & oxygen combine in the atmosphere during a thunder a storm (and in the
vehicle engines during combustion). The nitrogen oxide formed dissolves in rain water & is converted to
nitrates in the soil
3. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium salts into nitrates – animal excreta and decaying animal & plants
contain ammonium salts which can be converted to nitrates by nitrifying bacteria freely living in the soil
4. Addition of ammonium fertilizers to soils – farmers add both nitrates & ammonium salts as to the soil as
fertilizers.

How nitrates are removed from the soil;

1. Leaching – the washing away of nutrients from the soil.
2. Denitrification – a process by which some bacteria convert nitrates and ammonium salts back to nitrogen
3. Absorption by plants

EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITY ON THE ENVIRONMENT

There is a natural balance between plants & animals, as shown by food webs & food chains. However human activities
upset the balance, harming the environment & posing many problems to human beings themselves. Examples are
given below

How Poor Agricultural Practices Result in the Destruction of Ecosystems

1) Monoculture
This means growing one type of crop on the same piece of land year after year. Such crops cannot support a mixed
population of organisms. It also leads to the displacement of the natural plants & animals, as the land will be cleared
for growing that particular crop. Monoculture also results on the use of pesticides to control pests affecting that crop,
but this often kills not only the pests but also other beneficial organisms.

2) Overstocking
This means keeping a large number of livestock with a small area. This leads to overgrazing which might lead to soil
erosion. Overgrazing leads to the destruction of habitats for small organisms.

3) Deforestation

This refers to the cutting down of too many trees (for the purposes of building industries, residential houses,
construction of roads & other things) without replacing them. As a result most habitats are destroyed & also certain
plant species are destroyed. The noise caused during the construction away drive some animals & hence disturbing
the ecosystem.

4) Pesticides

Some insecticides such as DDT are non-biodegradable, i.e. cannot be decomposed by biological organisms. Therefore
they enter the smaller organisms in the food chain. The concentration of this insecticide increases up the trophic levels
hence the tertiary consumer may die due to higher concentrations of the insecticides, (Bioaccumulation)

Bioaccumulation
Scenario - A lake was sprayed with an insecticide to control mosquitoes. The diagram shows how the insecticide
passed from organism to another in a food chain.
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Mosquito larva small fish large fish fish eagle

Vulture

Cat Consumes many organisms which had consumed more organisms with high
concentrations of the pesticides

Lizard

Mosquito Treated with pesticides & therefore more small organisms will be affected by the
pesticide

5) The use of Fertilizers

Fertilizers are very rich in nitrates & phosphates, and they are normally used to enrich the soil for better crop yields. If
these nitrates & phosphates are drained into rivers due to running water, they promote the growth of green algae.
These green algae will flourish & cover up the surface of the water and prevent the plants beneath from receiving
sunlight; as a result, these plants may eventually die because they will not be able to make themselves food. When
they die, they get decomposed by the bacteria & this process uses lot oxygen from the water. As a result, there will be
insufficient oxygen supply to the marine animals, e.g. fish. These animals will then suffocate & die. This whole process
is called EUTROPHICATION

PROBLEMS LEADING TO FAMINE

 Unequal Distribution of Food
The country may have enough food but not equally distributed among the whole population. There are certain areas
where people are extremely poor due to lack of food while in other areas in the same country people have more than
enough.

 Natural Disasters
Certain areas may experience heavy rainfall resulting in floods, which may destroy many houses & vegetation. People
will remain poor without shelter & food. In certain areas it may be very hot & dry without any rain which will make
farming impossible. Since many people rely on farming, they will starve because livestock will be destroyed & no crops
will be grown.

 Increase in Population
If there are too many people in a given area & less resources, there will be a serious problem because there will be
acute shortage of food supply.

ENERGY FLOW

Energy flow refers to the movement of energy from one trophic level to another. The sun is the principal source of
energy for all biological systems. i.e. plants & animals.

The Sun (principal source o f energy)

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Green Plants (photosynthesis)

Herbivores (starch eaters)

Carnivores (meat eaters)

Decomposers (carcass eaters)

Non – Cyclical flow of Energy

Energy does not flow backwards & return to the sun therefore we say that the energy flow through the ecosystem is
non-cyclical

Food chains – a linear feeding relationship between organisms

Should always begin with a producer
Should have arrows to indicate the direction of energy flow

producer Primary consumer Secondary consumer Tertiary consumer

e.g.
1. grass zebra lion vulture

2. algae tadpole water scorpion perch

Schematic flow diagram of food chain

Food web – It is made of many food chains linked together.

e.g.

Owl Flea Tick

Shrew Fox Weasel Badger

Caterpillars Rabbit Grasshopper

Oak tree Grass

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Schematic flow diagram of food web

ENERGY LOSES IN FOOD CHAINS

The plants in field use a lot of sunlight & convert it into chemical energy in food. Every time energy passes from one
organism to the next in a food chain, quiet a lot of energy is wasted. On average only about one tenth of the energy
from trophic level is passed onto to the next trophic level.

Energy from
the sun Produce Primary Secondary 0.1%
100% r 10% consumer 1% consume
r

90% lost 9% lost 0.9% lost

When herbivores eat the plants they do not get all the energy from them. Only a part of the energy is passed onto the
herbivores.
There are several reasons to this;
1. the plants will have used some of the energy for themselves
2. the herbivores may not eat all of the plants e.g. may only eat leaves
3. the herbivores may not be able to digest all parts of the plants

Pyramid of Numbers
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Algae tadpole water scorpion perch

Perch
Water scorpion
Tad poles
Algae

The bar for producers is always at the bottom of the diagram. Pyramids of numbers are usually a typical shape with a
broad base, but in certain circumstances they are in wrong shape, e.g.

Eagle
This happens when the producer is a
large with lots of smaller consumers
birds
feeding on it
Caterpillar
Large plant

Parasites
This happens when one of the
consumer bars is made of parasites
e.g. ticks / fleas. Lots of these tiny
animals can live on a host

Pyramids of Biomass
These are diagrams that show the mass of organisms at each trophic level. The length of the bar is proportional to the
mass of organisms

Perch
Water scorpion
Tadpole
Algae
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POLLUTION

It is the presence of harmful substances in an environment

OR
It refers to bringing about changes that are destructive to both living & non-living things in an environment.

These harmful substances are called POLLUTANTS

Types of Pollution

Air Pollution

The presence of pollutants in the atmosphere causes air pollution. E.g. poisonous gases from industries results in the
pollution of air. One of the most common gases released from industries is Sulphur dioxide. When this gas combines
with the moisture in the atmosphere, it falls down as acid, which corrodes buildings & destroys vegetation.
Excess CO2 in the atmosphere can also bring about some problems. An increase in CO2 may be due to burning fuels;
e.g. fire wood, fossil fuels etc. at a higher rate & also due to the cutting down of trees which could otherwise help in
reducing the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. CO2 has the ability to trap a lot of heat energy & allow little to
escape the atmosphere. If the concentration of CO2 is very high it means more heat will be trapped leading to a rise in
the earth’s temperature. This is known as Global Warming. This rise in temperature may result in the melting of ice in
the arctic poles raising the sea levels, which may even lead to floods.

Some oxides such as lead oxide released from car exhausts may also pollute the air & are harmful to people when
inhaled.

Water Pollution
 Sewage Disposal
Some waste materials from toilets and kitchens when drained into rivers will cause water pollution. This waste
contains disease causing micro-organisms which may result in people catching diseases if they use this
untreated water, e.g. cholera, bilharzia etc.
 Inorganic wastes
These are usually the waste materials from industries which when discharged into rivers, pollute the water. This
waste may contain poisonous chemical substances such as mercury, lead etc. If they enter the food chain e.g.
e.g. from small fish up to human beings, they may cause serious health problems such as cancers or even death.

Land Pollution

The land may be polluted by litter e.g. tins, papers, glasses etc, which may end up acting as breeding places for
disease causing micro-organisms. The land may also be polluted by disposed chemicals, which may destroy beneficial
organisms.
CONSERVATION
This involves preserving habitats & protecting individual species of plants & animals.

Advantages
1. it ensures biodiversity
2. it ensures the protection & keeping of species with survival value

Reasons for Conserving Organisms

1. they are a source of food e.g. Mowana & Mosukujane
2. For medicinal purposes e.g. sengaparile (devil’s claw) & monepenepe
3. For tourist attraction e.g. rhinos, cheetahs, lions etc.

Material Recycling
This is one way of conserving materials & it involves the use & reuse of materials (i.e. reprocessing of used materials
to be used again).
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Reasons For Recycling

1. Reduces littering & pollution
2. Saves money because there is no need to make new materials

Examples of Recycling
 Organic waste can be fermented to produce methane gas, which is used in cooking and other things.
 Empty bottles can be cleansed and reused in the packaging of drinks, like at kgalagadi breweries
 Scrap metals & tins can be heated up & molded to make new items.
 Old newspapers can be used to make toilet paper.

Additional Info (Schematic Diagram of the Carbon cycle)

Carbon Cycle
Carbon, used by all living organisms, continuously circulates in the earth’s ecosystem. In the atmosphere, it exists as the gas carbon
dioxide, which is used by plants in the process of photosynthesis. Animals acquire the carbon stored in plant tissue when they eat and
exhale carbon dioxide as a by-product of metabolism. Although some carbon is removed from circulation temporarily as coal,
petroleum, fossil fuels, gas, and limestone deposits, respiration and photosynthesis balance to keep the amount of atmospheric carbon
relatively stable. Industrialization, however, has contributed additional carbon dioxide to the environment.
By Lebsy Mb ; 71726846