Chapter Two

Concepts of Ecology and Natural Resources

Components of the Environment
▪ The word environment originates from French word
“environ” meaning surrounding
Types of environment
Can be divided into three categories
I. Physical
II. Biological
III. Cultural
▪ On the basis of structures, the environment may be
divided into two fundamental types:
1. The abiotic or physical environment consisting of
air, water and soil/sediment
2. The biotic or biological environment consisting of
flora, fauna and microorganisms
▪ On the bases of physical characteristics and state,
the physical environment is subdivided into three
broad categories:
a. Lithosphere(sphere of rocks/soil/sediments)
b. Hydrosphere(sphere of water)
c. Atmosphere (sphere of gas)
Environment component Interaction
 Ecosystem
▪ Ecology can be defined as the study of relationships between
organisms and their environment

• Ecosystem is an abbreviated for form of ‘ecological system’

• An ecosystem is a group of plants and animals, along with the

physical environment with which it interacts

• Ecology examines the life histories, distribution and behavior

of individual species, as well as the structure and functions of
a natural system in terms of populations, communities,
ecosystems and landscapes
• An ecosystem includes all of the organisms as well as
the climate, soil, water, rocks and other nonliving
things in a given area.
Ecosystem

Ecosystem

Community

Community

Population
Population

Organism
Organism
Structure of an ecosystem
▪ Composed of two chief components biotic and abiotic
▪ Biotic components
• Producers or Autotrophs
✓autotrophic organisms -- manufacture their own
food material
✓capture solar energy + simple inorganic substances
(water, carbon dioxide, salts)
✓ Food synthesized → growth, survival, and stored
E.g. Green plants, Photosynthetic bacteria, and
Chemosynthetic bacteria
Structure of an ecosystem
• Consumers or Heterotrophs

✓heterotrophic organisms (nourished by others) consume the

producers directly or indirectly.

✓Primary consumers/herbivores: consume the producers

directly

✓Secondary consumers/carnivores (flesh eaters): feed upon the

primary consumers. Omnivores: feed on both flesh and plants

✓Secondary carnivores/tertiary consumers: Carnivores which

feed upon the secondary consumers, they are also called
secondary carnivores, e.g. lions which feed upon cats and dogs,
etc.
Structure of an ecosystem
• Decomposers/Microconsumers/Reducers

✓heterotrophic organisms which are saprotrophs

✓consume the food by absorption but not by

ingestion.

✓mainly fungi, bacteria and certain protozoans

✓Decompose by excreting enzymes and

absorbtion →energy + inorganic nutrients,
minerals and gases ( used again by autotrophs)
Structure of an ecosystem
▪ Abiotic components

• non-living constituents of the environment i.e. the

habitat.

• A habitat is a specific set of physical and chemical

conditions (space, substratum and climate) that
surrounds a single species, a group of species or a
large community.
Abiotic components
A.Physical Factors
• Light (sun as the main energy source)

• temperature (controls the climate) →organism distribution

• evaporation and precipitation (control climate)

• gravity (controls rock material and hydrological cascade

system, movement of matter, and orientation and
distribution of animals)

• pressure (limits distribution of organisms)

• humidity (Transpiration and absorption of water)

• air and water currents (weathering)

Abiotic components

b. Chemical Factors

• Oxygen →Pulse of the environment

• Carbon dioxide →Raw material

• Minerals (micro- and macro-nutrients)

• Organic matter (Carbohydrates, proteins and

lipids)
 Functions of an ecosystem
▪ Production and flow of energy
▪ Nutrient recycling
▪ Food web
▪ Food Chain
▪ Ecological pyramids
▪ Biogeochemical cycles
 Energy flow in the Ecosystem

• The sun is the primary source of energy

•Primary producers →sunlight-using organisms

•Photosynthesis →convert energy from sunlight into

chemical energy

•6CO2 + 6H2O +2800 kJ energy from sun chlorophyll

C6H12O6 + 6O2

•Net primary productivity (NPP). The rate of

production of biomass glucose, cells, and other
organic chemicals by the primary producers
• Aerobic respiration: the breakdown of organic
chemicals, such as sugar and starches, by molecular
oxygen to form gaseous carbon dioxide

➢ Photohetrotrophs

✓Organisms able to obtain energy through

photosynthesis but are not capable of reducing
carbon dioxide
✓They obtain carbon from reduced carbon
compound generated by other organism
✓Purple non sulfur bacteria, green non sulfur
bacteria etc
➢Chemotrophs
• Obtain their energy from either inorganic or
organic carbon rather than from light

• Can be autotrophic(lithotrophs ): they build

cell mass from inorganic carbon

• Can be heterotrophic(organotrophs) : use

organic form of carbon to synthesize new cells
and compounds
Trophic Levels
 Energy flow in the Ecosystem

▪ Energy flow: is the transfer of energy from one

trophic level to another trophic level

▪ In an ecosystem the flow of energy is unidirectional

▪ The study of energy transfer between different

trophic levels in an ecosystem is known as
bioenergetics
 Energy flow in the Ecosystem
▪ The energy in an ecosystem is controlled by two laws of
thermodynamics
• Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
• Every transfer of energy is accompanied by its dispersion.
▪ The flow of energy in an ecosystem depends on the following
factors:
• Efficiency of producers to trap solar energy and convert it
into chemical energy
• Use of chemical energy present in the producers by the
consumers
• Loss of energy in the form of unused energy in dead
organism and heat during respiration.
Energy Flow
▪ The figure indicates two aspects of energy
flow in an ecosystem

▪ The flow of energy in unidirectional

▪ There is a successive reduction in the energy

flow at successive trophic levels
Food Chain
“The transfer of energy and nutrients from one
feeding group of organisms to another in a series.”

▪ It is the sequence of eater being eaten, or who eats

whom.

▪ Trophic level: successive level of nourishment

▪ In each transfer some energy is lost.

▪ the shorter the food chain, or the nearer the

organism to the beginning of the chain, the greater
the energy available
Food Chain
➢ Two major food chains

▪ Grazing food chain: Starts from living plants, goes

through herbivores and ends in carnivores.

▪ Detritus food chain: Starts from dead organic matter

and ends in inorganic compounds.
 Food web
• Food web: Interconnected food chains

• Food webs maintain the stability of an ecosystem

• Complexity ← the diversity of species and their

interconnectivity.

• Diversity of species ← food habits

•Interconnectivity → alternatives at different level of

consumer

•Complex food webs are more stable than simple food

webs.
Ecological Pyramids
▪Ecological pyramids are the graphic representation of the
number, biomass and energy of the successive trophic levels of
an ecosystem.
▪The loss of energy occurs
–energy is not used efficiently
–energy dissipates as kinetic energy and heat
 Biogeochemical Cycles
▪ Biogeochemical cycle is the complete pathway that
a chemical element follows through the Earth
system.

• chemical cycle because chemical elements are the

form that we consider

• bio- because these are the cycles that involve life.

• geo- because these cycles include atmosphere,

water, rocks, and soils
 Biogeochemical Cycles
▪ We are interested to know

• The major chemical cycles

• The importance of these cycles to life

• The factors that control these cycles

• The rate of these cycles

• How each components of the Environment are

involved

• The impact of humans on these cycles

The Carbon Cycle