CHAPTER 5

Ecosystems &
Communities
Dela Peña O., Dizon J.K., & Peralta, J.
Presentation Overview
THINGS TO COVER
• Succession
Primary and Secondary Succession
• Major Types of Climax Communities: Biomes
- Deserts, Grasslands, Savanna, Tropical Rainforest,
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Taiga, Northern Coniferous Forest, or Boreal Forest and Tundra
• Altitude and Latitude
• Major Aquatic Ecosystems
Marine Ecosystems
- Pelagic Marine Ecosystems, Benthic Marine Ecosystems and Estuaries
Freshwater Ecosystems
- Lakes and Ponds & Streams and Rivers
Succession
A series of regular,
predictable, changes
in the structure of a
community over
time.
PRIMARY SUCCESSION
The area has been almost completely
destroyed or is newly formed.
Can begin on a bare rock surface, pure
sand, or standing water.
 TERRESTRIAL AQUATIC
PRIMARY PRIMARY
SUCCESSION SUCCESSION
Starts with bare rock wherein A series of stages that causes bodies
climate is erratic and nutrients are of water to turn into simply land.
very little to nothing.
 Pioneer Community
Species which are the first to colonize barren environments or
previously bio-diverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted.

Lichens
Mutualistic relationship between two kinds of organisms:
Algae that are green and carry on photosynthesis and
Fungi that retain moisture andattach to the rock surface.
 Climax Community
A relatively stable, long-lasting, more
complex, and interrelated community of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Seral Stage Sere

each step in this process. entire sequence of stages – from pioneer
community to climax community
One
Climax Communities are able to maintain
their mix of species.

Two
They are in energy balance, while succession
communities show changes in species and tend to
accumulate large amounts of new material (gain energy).

Three
They tend to have many more kinds of organisms and
kinds of interactions
among organisms than does a successional community.
Aquatic
Primary
Succession
A relatively stable, long-lasting, more
complex, and interrelated community
of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.
SECONDARY SUCCESSION
Occurs when an existing community is
destroyed in some way
e.g. forest fire, flood, conversion of natural
ecosystem to agriculture
Major Types of Climax
Communities:
Biomes are
terrestrial climax
communities with
wide geographic
distribution.
 TEMPERATURE &
PRECIPATION
impact the community that develops
 Precipitation

Temperature
DESERT
generally receives fewer than 25
centimeters of precipitation
per year

lack of water is the primary factor

that determines if an area in a desert
GRASSLANDS
generally receive between 25 and 75
centimeters of precipitation per
year

the amount of available moisture

contributes to the establishment of
grasslands
SAVANNA
extensive grasslands spotted with
occasional trees or patches of trees

with 50 to 150 centimeters of rain

per year
TROPICAL
RAINFOREST
located near the equator in Central
and South America, Africa, Southeast
Asia, and some islands in the
Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean

temperature is normally
warm and relatively constant
TEMPERATE
DECIDUOUS
FOREST
have a winter-summer change of
seasons typically have trees that lose
their leaves during the winter and
replace them the following spring
TAIGA
spruces, firs, and larches are the
trees most common in these areas
TUNDRA
lack trees and has a permanently
frozen soil layer or permafrost
 Alpine Tundra
scattered patches of tundra like communities also are found
onmountaintops throughout the world.

Precipitation
any product of the condensation
of atmospheric water vapor that
falls under gravity from clouds
Altitude and Latitude
Temperature is warmest near the equator
and becomes cooler toward the poles
As the altitude increases, the average
temperature decreases
Altitude

Latitude
Major Aquatic
Ecosystems
Amount of salt dissolved
in water determines the
nature of aquatic
ecosystems
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
Major factor that influences the nature
of a marine community is the kind and
amount of material dissolved in the
water.
 Pelagic Marine
Ecosystems
ecosystem where pelagic animals are part of

Pelagic
animals that swim actively as
they pursue food
Phytoplankton
organisms that are small, microscopic,
floating algae

Euphotic Zone
the region where the sun’s ray penetrate

Zooplankton
small, weakly animals of many kinds
that feed on the phytoplankton
 Benthic Marine
Ecosystem
ecosystem where benthic organisms are part of

Benthic
organisms that live on the ocean
bottom, whether attached or not
Abyssal Ecosystem
an ecosystem that must rely on a continuous rain of
organic matter from the euphotic zone
 Coral Reef Ecosystem
the result of large numbers of small animals that build cup shaped
external skeletons around themselves
Mangrove
Swamp
Ecosystem
occupy a region near the shore
 Estuaries
a special category of marine
ecosystem
consists of shallow, partially
enclosed areas where freshwater
enters the ocean
particularly productive
ecosystems because of the large
amounts of nutrients introduced
into the basin from the rivers that
run into them.
 FRESHWATER
ECOSYSTEMS
differ from marine ecosystems in
several ways
amount of dissolved salt is less
Lakes and Ponds
have many of the same characteristics as the ocean
 Emergent plants
many kinds of flowering plants that are rooted in
the bottom and some have leaves that float on the
surface or protrude above the water

Submerged plants
rooted plants that stay submerged below the surface of the water
 Limnetic Zone
portion of the lake that does not have rooted vegetation

Littoral Zone
region with rooted vegetation
 Oligotrophic Lakes
deep, cold, nutrient-poor lakes that are low in productivity
Eutrophic Lakes
shallow, warm, nutrient-rich lakes
 Biochemical Oxygen
Demand (BOD)
the breakdown of organic materials by bacteria and fungi and uses
oxygen from the water
Stream and Rivers
a secondary category of freshwater ecosystem
 Periphyton
collection of algae, animals, and fungi

Swamps
contain trees that are able to live in places
that are either permanently flooded or
flooded for a major part of the year

Marshes
dominated by grasses and reeds