ECOLOGY

Ecology is the study of the relationship between the environment and its organisms.

The following are common terms used in Ecology:

 Ecosystem: a group of organisms and their environment.
An ecosystem is made up of biotic and abiotic components of the environment
(a) Biotic components :Living organism such as the producers and consumers
(b) Abiotic components: Nonliving components such as climate, water, temperature, air, soil
conditions.
An Example of an Ecosystem:

A lake

Environment: water, air, soil, temperature etc.

Organisms: - tadpoles
- fish
- frogs
- algae
- crocodiles
- hippo
- water-lily
- turtle
- fish-eagle

 Habitat: an environment in which a certain group of organisms live.

 Community: a group of organisms living in a particular environment.
 Population: the total number of organisms, of specific species, living in a
particular area.
 Food-Chain: a linkage of organisms showing the flow of energy in an
ecosystem.
 Food-Web: a complex inter-linkage of organisms showing energy flow in an
ecosystem.

ENERGY FLOW
Energy enters most ecosystems as light, is transferred from one organism to another as chemical
energy, and returns to the environment as heat. The original/principal source of chemical energy in
living organisms is light energy, which is captured by green plants and other photosynthetic organisms
and transferred to organic compounds such as carbohydrates during photosynthesis. Living organisms
use that energy for their activities. A plants’ chemical energy is passed onto an animal when the
animal eat the plant. If that animal is eaten by another animal the energy is passed on again.
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Photosynthetic organisms (algae and photosynthetic bacteria) therefore supply almost all the chemical
energy used by living organisms: they are said to be PRODUCERS.
Animals and fungi obtain their supply of energy by feeding on other organisms: they are called
CONSUMERS.
Herbivorous animals which feed on plants are PRIMARY CONSUMERS
CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS which feed on herbivores are SECONDARY CONSUMERS.
CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS which feed on SECONDARY CONSUMERS are called
TERTIARY CONSUMERS.
Most fungi, some animals and some bacteria feed on dead organisms or waste material from them and
these organisms are called DECOMPOSERS.

FOOD CHAINS

DEFINITION
A food chain is sequence of organisms, starting with a photosynthetic organism (usually a green plant)
through which energy is passed as one organism is eaten by the next in the sequence.

An example of a food chain in a large pond:

Green Algae Mosquito larvae Small Fish Heron
(Anopheles) (Small Tilapia)

Construct 4 food chains of different trophic levels

Energy loss along a food chain

Organisms in a food-chain loose some of their energy through different activities. This results in a
reduction in energy as you go up the food-chain.
Some of the energy locked away by producers (plants) is released by the producer itself through the
process of respiration. Some of the energy is used by the producer, for example in the process of cell
division, growth and reproduction. A lot of energy is still present when a plant dies, and is then
available to decomposers. Only about 10% of a plant’s available energy is passed onto the herbivores
which eat it.

Herbivores then release the energy by respiration, and use it for growth, cell division, contraction of
muscles and as heat to maintain body temperature.
Much of the energy is still present in the faeces of herbivores, and some of the nitrogenous waste. This
is available to decomposers. Not all herbivores are eaten, so the amount of energy available to be
passed on to carnivores is small, at around 20%. This is only 2% of the amount that originated in the
producer.

The longer the food chain, the less energy is available to the Carnivore at the end of the chain. Short
food chains are therefore much more energy-efficient than long ones. In order to supply enough
energy in food to maintain an ever-increasing world population, it must be realized that far less energy
is lost when humans eat green plants than when crop plants are fed to animals which are then eaten by
humans.
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FOOD WEBS

DEFINITION
A food web is made up of interlinked food chains involving organisms within the same ecosystem. All
food chains and all food webs begin with a photosynthesizing organism, the producer. When
organisms in a food chain/web die, they are decomposed by saprotrophic organisms usually bacteria
and fungi.

Construct two food webs

PYRAMIDS OF NUMBERS,
Producers (plants) need to produce enough food- and therefore enough energy- for their own
metabolic processes. They must also provide enough food for the herbivores that eat them and leave
enough surviving individuals to produce for the next generation. Therefore, we would expect that there
be a larger number of producers than primary consumers (herbivores). For the same reason, we would
expect that there be more primary consumers than secondary consumers, and so on. These decreasing
numbers along a food web can be represented in the form of a PYRAMID OF NUMBERS, as shown
below.

3rd CONSUMER

2nd COMSUMER

1stCOMSUMER

PRODUCER

Pyramid of Numbers for a food web

A PYRAMID OF BIOMASS is a pyramid constructed using the dry mass of organisms at each
trophic level in a food chain (or food web). It produces pyramid of a more standard shape (e.g. Fig 61)
and can be constructed by collecting data from population estimates in any particular habit. Biomass is
the total dry mass of a population, i.e. the theoretical mass of chemicals other than water in the
organisms under consideration (water can vary considerably).

LEAVE A SPACE FOR DIAGRAM

A PYRAMID OF ENERGY is the most reliable of all the representations of the interactions between
organisms in a food web. It shows how much energy is passed from one trophic level to the next,
within organisms in a food web, over a period of time. It thus allows for the growth of producers over
that period, and thus can show productivity (how much organic material is made) and how much
energy is passed on, during that period, to the herbivores. Its shape is that of a standard pyramid
(like the pyramid of biomass), but the information necessary to construct it is difficult to obtain, since
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it requires knowing how much of all the different foodstuffs are manufactured by the producer, how
much energy they obtain, and how much of each foodstuff is passed on to each member of the food
web.

LEAVE A SPACE FOR DIAGRAM

NUTRIENT CYCLE

Nutrients like Nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus are recycled so that they can be used repeatedly by
organisms.

Carbon Cycle

ATMOPHERE
CO2

C
A B

D
H PLANTS ANIMALS

E
F

ORGANIC
G MATERIAL

FOSSILS
e.g. -Crude oil
-Coal

Organisms obtain carbon from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide
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The process which removes Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is photosynthesis
Process which release CO2 into the atmosphere are; combustion, respiration and decomposition,

Importance of the carbon cycle

 It provides a ready supply of carbon as a nutrient for living organisms. Living things use
carbon to make carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The supply of carbon to all organisms is
limited and depends on recycling in ecosystem again and again.
 By studying the Carbon cycle, man can gain a better understanding of how man’s activities
affect the ecosystem. Large scale deforestation reduces the amount of CO2 that can be absorbed
by green plants. This upsets the balance of CO2 in the atmosphere which can lead to global
warming

The nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen is an important structural component of many necessary compounds, particularly proteins.

The main source of nitrogen is air. Living organisms cannot pickup elemental gaseous nitrogen
directly from the atmosphere It has to be converted into nitrates to be utilized by plants

Processes making nitrogen accessible to plants and animals

(i) Lightning provides energy to react nitrogen with oxygen forming weak acids which react
with metallic ions in the soil to form nitrates.

(ii) Nitrogen fixation

The roots of legumes have swelling called nodules. Inside this nodules are nitrogen fixing
bacteria. This bacteria converts nitrogen in air into ammonia. This ammonium compounds are then
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 converted to nitrites by nitrifying bacteria. The nitrifying bacteria will in the presence of oxygen
convert nitrites into nitrates. The nitrates are highly soluble in soil water and are then absorbed by
plants.

Process that returns nitrogen to atmosphere

Denitrification
Denitrifying bacteria (a decomposer which is found in water logged areas and marshes) converts
nitrates into nitrogen.
The nitrogenous waste material from animal such as urea and uric acid together with plant waste are
also acted upon by denitrifying bacteria to release nitrogen into the atmosphere.
Thus denitrification returns nitrogen to air

Importance of nitrogen
 Living things use proteins to make proteins
 Plants absorb nitrates from the soil
 Animals get nitrogen when they eat plant

NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON THE ECOSYSTEM

1. Poor Agricultural Practices

2. Causes of famine (except natural disasters and certain geographical areas)
3. Pollution

Poor Agricultural Practices

(a) Over-stocking:
It refers to keeping a large number of live-stock exceeding the carrying capacity of
an area.
Overstocking leads to overgrazing. An overgrazed area is exposed to the agents of
soil erosion. When soil erosion occurs the minerals are carried away along with the
top soil and thus eliminating part of the environment, hence an imbalance in the
ecosystem. The eroded area allows poor vegetation.

(b) Deforestation:
It is the excessive cutting down of trees (in a large area) without replacing them.
Deforestation results in soil erosion which eventually leads to desertification. In
addition, deforestation deprives some organisms of their habitats. With time
deforestation also leads to an accumulation of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere.
As carbon-dioxide has a green house effect, this accumulation would result in
GLOBAL WARMING. That is, Heat would be trapped near the earth surface as there
would be minimum radiation due to carbon-dioxide. The heat would cause ice at the
poles to melt and increase the sea-level. Increase in sea-levels results in climatic
changes e.g. extreme temperatures, floods and severe drought.

(c) Monoculture:
Ploughing one kind of crop yearly, on the same patch of land.
Monoculture leads to uncontrollable pests and diseases. It also causes mineral
depletion that gives rise to poor vegetation.

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 (d) Ploughing Along the Slopes:
Ploughing along the slopes encourages soil erosion. Running water carries away
the top soil leaving the eroded area infertile.

(e) Excessive Use Of Fertilisers:

This causes Eutrophication. Eutrophication involves the following:
1. The addition of fertilizers, manure or sewage to a water body e.g. pond, river, etc.
2. The increase in plant life especially algae.
3. Death and decay of plant matter at the bottom of a water-body.
4. Increase in the bacterial population.
5. An increase in the Biological Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) i.e. the dissolved oxygen
level drops.
6. Suffocation and death of aquatic animals such as fish.

(f) Excessive Use of Pesticides:

Application of excess fertilizers causes death of untargeted organisms, especially
insects. It also causes accumulation (or increased concentration) of non-biodegradable
pesticides in the organisms that are at the end of a food-chain.

Famine
(a) Political Instability/ Civil War:
Political Instability may lead to civil war, and both these lead to a decline in the economy.
Civil war also brings about a low production of goods such as agricultural products.

(b) Natural Disasters - Floods or Drought:

They lead to a low production of food. For instance, drought leads to some domesticated
animals dying due to lack of water and food. Also, crops are unlikely to grow as there is
shortage of water.
Floods, on the other hand, cause soils to be waterlogged hence discouraging plant growth.
Domesticated animals are likely to drawn.

(c) Over-population:
The supply of food is exceeded by its demand. This could be due to scarce agricultural land
hence less food production.

(d) Unequal Distribution of Food:

Food Distribution is not equal in the world due to factors such as:
(i) the geographical area of a particular country.
(ii) the country’s population size.
(iii) economy of the country.
(iv) political stability.

POLLUTION
Pollution is defined as the contamination of an environment.

Types of Pollution: - air-pollution

- Water-pollution
- Land-pollution

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 (a) Air Pollution:
Examples of air pollutants are:
1. Carbon monoxide
2. Sulphur dioxide
3. Oxides of nitrogen
4. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)
5. Carbon dioxide
6. Hydrocarbons
7. Car exhaust fumes (i.e. carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, lead etc)

Causes / Origin:
 Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels in cars, mine, manufacturing industries
and in power stations.
 CFC’s are emitted by aerosols (sprays).

Effects of air pollution:

- Carbon monoxide is oxidized to form carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide and other gases
such as sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen form acid rain (which is weak carbonic
acid, sulphuric acid and nitric acid respectively) which erode buildings, damages plant
leaves and kills the fish eggs.
- Carbon dioxide also has a green house effect that leads to global warming which
results in the rise in sea level and climatic changes.

Control Measures for Air Pollution:

 Use of catalytic converters in cars.
 Use of unleaded petrol.
 Burn fossil fuels with sufficient oxygen.
 Use ozone friendly sprays and fridges.
 Use sulphur dioxide extractors or pass the gas through water.

(b) Water Pollution:

Examples of water pollutants are:
1. sewage
2. fertilizers
3. oil
4. Pesticides
5. Mercury

Causes/ Origin:
 Human waste that result in sewage.
 Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural areas.
 Ship accidents or leaking ship tanks and some industrial waste.

Effects of Water Pollution:

- Sewage and fertilizers cause eutrophication.
- Oil spillage causes suffocation of aquatic animals e.g. fish, tadpoles, sea-gull
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 - Pesticides and mercury in certain fungicides are harmful to aquatic animals. Some are
carcinogenic (cause cancer). These are normally passed along food chains and become
concentrated in the final consumers.

Control Measures for Water Pollution:

 Water is recycled or sewage is treated.
 Sufficient fertilizers could be used or manure be used instead.
 Good servicing of ships and avoiding ship accidents as much as possible.
 Ban non-biodegradable pesticides such as DDT.

(c) Land Pollution:

Examples of land Pollutants are:
1. litter
2. insecticides
3. Radioactive waste

Causes/ Origin:
 Domestic waste that is not disposed properly leads to littering.
 Crop protection and control of disease vectors e.g. mosquito leads to increased
usage of insecticides.
 Nuclear reactor accidents and waste or even atomic bombs results in radioactive
materials that are difficult to dispose.

Effects of Land Pollution:

- Insecticides kill the top consumers.
- Radio active materials cause cancer and mutation.
- Littering provides breeding areas for disease vectors e.g. mosquito.

Control Measures for Land Pollution:

 Ban the non-biodegradable insecticides.
 Make nuclear waste silos / bury the waste.
 Have litter picking or clean up campaigns occasionally.

CONSERVATION

Conservation is defined as the wise usage of natural resources e.g. vegetation, water, minerals,
animals and fossil fuels.

Q1: Discuss reasons for conservation of species with reference to local plants and animals.
Ans: We conserve local plants such as Sengaparile, Monepenepe, Mosukujane, Mowana etc.
Animals that are conserved locally include rhinos, lions, cheetahs, elephants, wild-dogs etc.

Reasons For Conserving:

 To avoid extinction of species, (i.e. we conserve for ecological importance. Each species has a
role to play in maintaining the delicate balance in ecosystems. Just removing one species will
upset this balance.)
 To attract tourists in-order to diversify the economy and gain foreign currency or even create
employment for the local people (i.e. we conserve for economic importance).
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  For future use.
 For medical purposes.
 For food.
 For use of by-products e.g. leather for making bags.
 For scientific importance e.g. in selective breeding economically important plants are often
crossed with their wild relatives.
 For aesthetic importance i.e. for the beauty of nature as it enriches our life and is essential for
our emotional and mental health.
 One other reason for conserving non-living resources is to avoid their depletion e.g.
fossil-fuels, minerals and water.

Q2: Find out from the local community which plants and animals have become scarce and
why?
Ans: White-rhinos have become very scarce and are actually endangered species in Botswana.
This is due to poaching.
Endangered species are those that need human protection for survival e.g. white
rhino in Botswana (and Panda in snowy countries

Conserving Endangered Species

There are several ways of conserving endangered species. They include:
Conservation Education- is included in the school curriculum of most countries, either as a separate
subject or included in other subjects. It can also be spread by Conservation Pressure Groups who act as
watch dogs of the environment. Conservation organizations and conventions have been formed e.g
CITES, WWF
Having certain areas for wildlife-in the UK these include National Parks, National Nature Reserves,
Areas of Special Scientific Interest and Environmentally Sensitive Areas. These areas are protected
from development, and farmers are supposed to be particularly careful of them.
Encouraging farmers to protect wildlife-Farmers are paid to follow procedures that protect animals
and plants. For example, the European Union has set-aside schemes that pay farmers for leaving 20%
or more of their land uncultivated.
Breeding animals in captivity-this is being done, with more and more success, in zoos throughout the
world. Zoos collaborate with each other, swapping animals so as to avoid inbreeding.
Creating seed banks-the idea is to collect the seeds of rare or threatened plant species and keep them
in Botanical Gardens. Kew Gardens in London aims to collect the seeds of 10% of the world’s wild
plant species by 2010.
Preventing endangered species being exploited-Endangered species include the blue whale (caught
for its oil and meat), the African elephant (shot for the Ivory from its tusks) and the Indian tiger
(hunted for its skin which is sold for rugs and wall hangings). Some of the protection measures are
organized by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora). One of the most important measures is to prevent poaching.
Controlled harvesting of wildlife- also called game cropping, the population of the animals is closely
monitored to make sure that the environment is not degraded by over-population. The animals are
culled to prevent this.
Legislation- laws are made to protect wildlife especially endangered species, e.g. laws on hunting
seasons, licenses and fines to go with the offences that might be committed.

Threatened Species are those species which are fairly abundant but face serious
threats to their survival e.g. African elephant, cheetah, lion,
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 Monepenepe etc. Sengaparile is one of the threatened species in Botswana as it is
heavily harvested by people

Q3: Discuss reasons for recycling of materials including sewage water, paper, bottles and cans.
Ans: - 1 Recycling reduces the problem of waste disposal. Garbage is normally burnt or dumped
in land fills if not let to scatter. By recycling waste, we can reduce the amount of
garbage that needs to be burnt or dumped.

2 Recycling conserves natural resources e.g. forests, water and metals/minerals.

(i) Water shortage is a serious problem in many countries. This is due to an ever
increasing population, deforestation and pollution of fresh-water bodies. One way of
conserving freshwater is to recycle water from sewage and use it in industries for
washing rubbish chutes, and watering roadside plants (or even drink it after thorough
treatment).
(ii) Forests are another natural resource that is vanishing rapidly. We cut down large
areas of coniferous forests to produce wood pulp which is used for making paper
(or even make firewood). By recycling paper, we can conserve a part of our forests.
(iii) Metals are non-renewable resources. We can conserve them by recycling metal scraps,
metal tins, lids, etc.

3 Recycling also saves energy. For instance, it is much cheaper to use scrap-iron to make steel
than to mine the iron-ore and extract it with high energy consuming processes. (Thus recycling
not only conserves the material that is being recycled, it also conserves fossil fuels like coal
and crude oil which are used to supply the energy in most industrial processes. Cutting down
the amount of fossil fuels is important for the following reasons:
(i) It cannot be recycled.
(ii) Its supply is dwindling rapidly.
(iii) Its use is also a major cause of air pollution.

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