INTERACTION AND
INTERDEPENDENCE
GROUP 5
Presentation
1. Life on Earth
a. Factors that Sustain Life
b. Three Principles of Sustainability
Factors that Sustain Life
1. Sunlight
- Drives photosynthesis, the process by which
plants convert sunlight into energy. Essential for
plant growth and sustains the entire food chain.
2. Air
- Provides oxygen for respiration, a critical
process for most living organisms. Facilitates
the exchange of gases crucial for metabolism.
3. Water
- Vital for hydration, nutrient transportation
within organisms, and maintaining cellular
structures. Essential for the survival and
functioning of all life forms.
4. Temperature - Influences biochemical
reactions and metabolic rates. Each organism
has an optimal temperature range for survival
and growth.
5. Soil - Acts as a medium for plant growth,
providing essential nutrients. Supports various
ecosystems and contributes to the cycling of
nutrients.
The Three Principles of Sustainability
Economic Sustainability - Ensuring that
economic systems are viable and contribute to
the well-being of current and future
generations.
Social Sustainability - Focusing on social equity,
justice, and the well-being of communities to
ensure fair and just treatment of all individuals.
Environmental Sustainability - Preserving and
protecting the natural environment, including
biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural resources,
to maintain a healthy planet.
Living Things and Their Environment
interactions are essential for the balance of
ecosystems. These interactions can be complex
and include various relationships such as
competition, predation, mutualism, and
parasitism. The environment provides living
things with the resources they need to survive,
such as food, water, and shelter. In return, living
things contribute to the environment through
processes like photosynthesis, decomposition,
and nutrient cycling. These interactions help
maintain the health and stability of ecosystems,
and any disturbances or imbalances can have
far-reaching effects on the environment and the
organisms that depend on it. It is important to
understand and protect these interactions in
order to preserve the biodiversity and
sustainability of our planet.
Living Systems Through Constant Change
1. Availability of resources: Resources such as
food, water, nutrients, and habitat availability
can limit the growth and sustainability of a
population. For example, a lack of suitable
habitat can restrict the distribution of certain
species within an ecosystem.
2. Predation and competition: The presence of
predators and competition for resources can
limit the population size of a species. Predators
can restrict the growth and distribution of prey
populations, while competition for resources
can constrain the abundance of certain species
within an ecosystem.
3. Climate and physical conditions:
Environmental factors such as temperature,
water availability, light, and pH levels can also
act as limiting factors. For example, extreme
temperatures can restrict the distribution of
certain plant species, and a lack of water can
limit the growth of organisms within a particular
area.
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Reproductive patterns refer to the various
methods and strategies employed by different
organisms for reproduction. These patterns can
vary widely across different species and can be
influenced by factors such as evolutionary
history, environmental conditions, and social
behaviors. Some common reproductive patterns
include sexual reproduction, asexual
reproduction, and various forms of reproductive
strategies within these two categories.
Sexual reproduction involves the union of
genetic material from two individuals, typically
a male and a female, to produce offspring. This
form of reproduction often allows for genetic
diversity and adaptation to changing
environments. Some examples of sexual
reproductive patterns include internal
fertilization in mammals and birds, external
fertilization in fish and amphibians, and complex
courtship behaviors and mating rituals in many
species.
Asexual reproduction, on the other hand, does
not involve the fusion of gametes (sex cells)
from two individuals. Instead, offspring are
generated from a single parent, resulting in
genetically identical or nearly identical
offspring. Asexual reproduction can occur
through various methods such as budding,
fission, fragmentation, and parthenogenesis.
Earth's Life Zone Climate and Weather
The Earth's life zone, also known as the
biosphere, encompasses all the regions on our
planet where life can exist. It includes various
climate and weather patterns that sustain
different ecosystems around the globe.
The Earth experiences a wide range of climates,
from tropical to polar, and everything in
between. These climates are primarily
determined by factors such as temperature,
precipitation, humidity, and atmospheric
pressure.
In the tropical regions near the equator, the
climate is generally hot and humid throughout
the year, with relatively stable temperatures.
These areas typically receive high levels of
rainfall, supporting lush rainforests and diverse
wildlife.
Moving away from the equator towards the
mid-latitudes, you may encounter temperate
climates. These regions experience distinct
seasons, with warm to hot summers and cool to
cold winters. Temperate climates often have
moderate rainfall and support a variety of
ecosystems, including deciduous forests and
grasslands.
As you approach the higher latitudes, closer to
the poles, the climate becomes colder and more
extreme. In polar regions, such as the Arctic and
Antarctica, the temperature remains
consistently low, and there is minimal
vegetation. These areas are characterized by icy
landscapes and harsh weather conditions.

Terrestrial Zones Aquatic Biomes
Terrestrial ZONES Tundra Tundra is a treeless
plain near the north pole that has extremely
cold climate and low species diversity.
Temperatures in the tundra never rise above
freezing for very long and the ground is a
permanently frozen structure called permafrost.
The soil is lacking in nutrients and can only
sustain simple vegetation. The cold
temperature delays decomposition of organic
materials making nutrient recycling a long and
tedious process. The tundra hosts small
mammals such as weasels, arctic foxes, and
snowy owls. A few large animals like the caribou
and reindeer migrate into the tundra and graze
vegetation during the summer months.
Taiga Down south of the tundra lies the taiga,
the largest among the biomes. It is also known
as the northern coniferous forest with rows and
rows of needleleaf trees fir, hemlock, and
spruce. The taiga biome is warmer and wetter
than tundra, but the climate is still harsh with
long, cold winters and short, mild summers.
There is no permafrost unlike in the tundra, but
the soil is still somewhat poor in nutrients and
minerals. The presence of trees accommodates
larger species of animals such as the red
squirrels, elk, and moose.
Desert The desert is the driest biome on Earth
with less than 25 cm of precipitation annually. It
is an arid region that can sustain only plants and
animals that have adaptations for water
retention and tolerance to heat. With rainfall as
the limiting factor, vegetation is mainly
comprised of shrubs and trees that are drought-
resistant in scattered locations with vast
expanses of bare land in between. Cacti are
especially modified for the desert habitat, with
its leaves reduced to spines, photosynthetic
stems called cladodes that can store water and
thick waxy coating to prevent transpiration.
Desert animals are mostly reptiles and little
mammals that forage on plants at night to save
on water and energy.
Components of Ecosystem a. Kinds of
ecosystem Forest Grassland Desert Marine
Ecosystem Fresh water
b. Energy flows in the Environment •Producer
•Consumercountries •Decomposer c. Food
chain and food web
Producers: Producers, such as plants and algae,
are the foundation of the food chain. They have
the ability to convert sunlight into energy
through a process called photosynthesis. This
energy is stored in the form of organic
compounds.
Consumers: Consumers are organisms that
obtain their energy by consuming other
organisms. They can be categorized into
different levels based on their diet. Primary
consumers, also known as herbivores.
Secondary consumers are carnivores that
consume herbivores, while tertiary consumers
are carnivores that feed on other carnivores.
Consumers transfer energy from one trophic
level to another as they consume and are
consumed.
Decomposers: Decomposers play a crucial role
in energy flow within the environment. They
break down dead organisms and organic
matter, releasing nutrients back into the
ecosystem. Decomposers include bacteria,
fungi, and certain types of worms. By breaking
down complex organic matter, decomposers
help in recycling nutrients and returning them
to the soil, making them available for producers
to use again.
A food chain is a linear representation of the
feeding relationships within an ecosystem. It
shows the flow of energy and nutrients from
one organism to another as they consume each
other. The basic structure of a food chain
consists of producers, primary consumers,
secondary consumers, and sometimes tertiary
consumers. For example, a simple food chain in
a grassland ecosystem can be: grass ->
grasshopper -> bird.

On the other hand, a food web is a more

complex representation of the interconnecting
food chains within an ecosystem. It includes
multiple interconnected food chains, showing
the feeding relationships between various
organisms in the ecosystem. A food web takes
into account that most organisms have multiple
food sources, and it accounts for the complexity
of interactions within an ecosystem.

The 10% rule in a food chain refers to the

idea that only about 10% of the energy from
one trophic level is transferred to the next
trophic level. In other words, as energy
moves up the food chain from producers
(plants) to primary consumers (herbivores)
to secondary consumers (carnivores), only
about 10% of the energy consumed at each
level is passed on to the next level. The
remaining energy is lost as heat or used for
metabolism and other life processes. This
rule helps to explain why food chains tend to
be limited in length, as there is not enough
energy available to sustain large numbers of
organisms at each trophic level.

THANK YOU.