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Our Environment
Created @October 7, 2022 1:32 AM

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ENVIRONMENT
1. Everything which surrounds and influences an organism directly or indirectly is
included in the environment.

2. It is a place in time

3. An organisms environment changes as it moves from one place to another

ECOSYSTEM
1. It was coined by A.G. Tansely (1935)

2. All the interacting organisms in an area together with the nonliving constituents
of the environment form an ecosystem.

3. An ecosystem consists of biotic components comprising living organisms and

abiotic components comprising physical factors like temperature , rainfall , wind ,
soil and minerals.

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 artificial- crop field, garden, aquarium.

COMPONENTS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

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 Abiotic Components:

all the non-living components such as air, water,land,CO2,O2,ligh,temperature and

water etc.

Physical factors or abiotic factors affecting ecosystem

1. Light -

light energy (sunlight) is the primary source of energy in all ecosystems .It is
energy which is commonly used by green plants which contain chlorophyll,
during process of photosynthesis.

2. Temperature -
The distribution of plants and animals is greatly influenced by extremes in temp.
for eg. during warm season temp warms the water bodies and water evaporates
causing rain later which affects the growth of plants which determines variety
animals living that place.

3. Atmospheric Gases
The most imp. gases are CO2 , O2 , Nitrogen . O2 is used by all
diving organisms during respiration , CO2 is used by green plants for

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 photosynthesis and nitrogen is made available to plants by certain bacteria.

4. water -
water is essential for life and all organisms depend on it to survive inespecially
desert area.

Biotic Components-

All the living components such as plants, animals , bacteria etc form the biotic
components .

On the basis of nutrition types are-

1. Producers -
Those org. who can produce their own food using abiotic component
(photosynthesis) are called producers and also autotrophs .
all green plants, blue -green algae etc.
*These are source of nutrition for rest of ecosystem.
*Indirectly by these are also source of O2 and pick up CO2 , so they balance the
composition of air.

2. Consumers-
These are org. who are dependent on producers directly for indirectly for their
food.
They are thus, heterotrophic.
eg. all animals , including human
a) Herbivores -
These are animals which directly fed on plants .
They are called primary or first order consumers.
eg. - dear, goat etc. since they convert plant matter → animal matter they are
know as key industry animals .

b)carnivores - These are animals which prey upon their animals and feed on
their flesh .
They are called second-order consumers .
Some carnivores may be predator which kill their prey and feed. These are
called third order consumers.

c) Omnivores -
Those who feed upon both plants and animals .

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 d) parasites -
Those who live on body of host and take food from it without killing them.
Eg. lice, cascutta etc.

3. Decomposers -
these are known as organisms of decay as these are microorganisms which
feed on decaying and dead living matter.
They breakdown the remains of dead plants and animals releasing substances
that can used
by other members or ecosystem .
eg- bacteria, fungi etc..
It plays following role in the environment :
→They help in recycling of material ,replenishment of soils nutrients.
→They also clean up surroundings by decomposing organic waste.

FOOD CHAIN
1. A series of organisms where one organism eats the other on as food.

eg. grass→deer→lion

2. trophic level: different steps in a food chain where transfer of energy takes
place.

3. levels:
T1.first trophic level- producers
(autotrophs)
T2:second trophic level:
herbivores or primary
consumers

T3:third trophic lever- carnivores

or secondary consumers
T4:fourth trophic level- tertiary
level consumers

4. The flow of energy in a food chain

is unidirectional.

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 sun→producer→consumer.

FOOD CHAIN EXAMPLES

1. grassland

2. forest

3. marine

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 FOOD WEB
in nature a large number of food chains are inter connected forming a food web.

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 10 PERCENT LAW
only 10% of energy is transferred to the next trophic level. The remaining 90%
energy is used in life processes (digestion, growth) by present trophic level.

Gradual decrease in energy, food chain contains 3-4 levels.

Pyramid of Biomers -
Represents total weight of organism in each trophic levels . It may be
Upright eg -in grasslands ,Inverted eg-in pond ecosystem

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 rest from support material.

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