Habitat, flow of energy and food webs and food chains

Introduction

Food web-is an important ecological concept. Basically, food web represents feeding
relationships within a community. It also implies the transfer of food energy from its source in
plants through herbivores to carnivores. Normally, food webs consist of a number of food chains
meshed together. Each food chain is a descriptive diagram including a series of arrows, each
pointing from one species to another, representing the flow of food energy from one feeding
group of organisms to another.

There are two types of food chains

Grazing Food Chain, beginning with autotrophs, and the Detrital Food Chain, beginning with
dead organic matter . In a grazing food chain, energy and nutrients move from plants to the
herbivores consuming them, and to the carnivores or omnivores preying upon the herbivores. In
a detrital food chain, dead organic matter of plants and animals is broken down by decomposers,
e.g., bacteria and fungi, and moves to detritivores and then carnivores.

The idea to apply the food chains to ecology and to analyze its consequences was first proposed
by . In 1927, he recognized that the length of these food chains was mostly limited to 4 or 5 links
and the food chains were not isolated, but hooked together into food webs (which he called "food
cycles"). The feeding interactions represented by the food web may have profound effects on
species richness of community, and ecosystem productivity and stability

Types of Food Webs

Food webs describe the relationships — links or connections — among species in an ecosystem,
but the relationships vary in their importance to energy flow and dynamics of species
populations. Some trophic relationships are more important than others in dictating how energy
flows through ecosystems.

1. Connectance food web- in connectance food web, scientist use arrows to show one species
being consumed by another species

2. Interaction food web- similar to connectance food webs, scientist use arrows to show one
species being consumed by another species, however, the arrows used are weighted to show the
degree or strength of consumption of one species by another.

3. Energy flow food web- energy flows food webs depict the relationships between organisms in
an ecosystem by quantifying and showing the energy flux between organism,
4. Fossil food web- in fossil food web, scientist attempt to reconstruct the relationship between
species based on available evidence from the fossil record.

5. Functional food web- depicts the relationship between organism in an ecosystem by depicting
how different populations influence the growth rate of other populations within the environment,

These feeding groups are referred as trophic levels. Basal species occupy the lowest trophic level
as primary producer. They convert inorganic chemical and use solar energy to generate chemical
energy. The second trophic level consists of herbivores. These are first consumers. The
remaining trophic levels include carnivores that consume a

Food chains

We can use food chains to show which organisms feed on other organisms within an
ecosystem and therefore the flow of energy from one organism to another. Energy always starts
from the Sun and is converted into glucose by photosynthesis in green plants. Glucose is used in
respiration to generate energy which is used to help the organism to grow (increase in biomass).
Organisms which produce biomass by capturing the energy from sunlight are called producers
and are at the beginning of every food chain. An organism which feeds on a producer are called
primary consumers and will also be herbivores, since producers tend to be mostly green plants.
The next organism in the food chain is the secondary consumer which will be eaten by the
tertiary consumer. A predator is an animal which hunts and kills other animals and prey are the
animals which are hunted and eaten.

Food chains are always written starting with the producer and followed by the primary,
secondary and tertiary consumers. The arrows always point from the organism being eaten to the
organism which feeds on it.

A food chain showing how green leaves (the producer) harness the energy from sunlight and
convert it into biomass which passes along the rest of the food chain. The beetle eats leaves so is
a primary consumer and is itself eaten by birds which are the secondary consumer. The snake is
the tertiary consumer since they eat birds.

Food webs

Food webs show the interaction of multiple interconnected food chains within an
ecosystem. For example, in the marine ecosystem pictured below there are a number of food
chains which are all connected together. You can see that if the population size of any of these
organisms changes, it will affect all the other organisms in the food web. This is known as
interdependence. For instance, if the number of squid in the ocean decreased, this would boost
mackerel populations (as there are fewer squid to eat them) and reduce the amount of seaweed
and red algae, since there are more mackerel consuming these plants.
Feeding Relationships

Organisms in an ecosystem are connected in numerous ways. Some organisms may

benefit another, compete with each other for resources and of course, eat one another. Feeding on
another organism passes energy from one organism to the next. The flow of energy through an
ecosystem is represented in a food chain.

Now, let’s have a look at the significant difference between the abiotic and biotic factors.

Biotic Meaning-The term “biotic” is formed by the combination of two terms, “bio” meaning
life and “ic” meaning like. Thus, the term means life-like and is related to all the living entities
present in an ecosystem.

Biotic and abiotic are the two essential factors responsible for shaping the ecosystem. The biotic
factors refer to all the living beings present in an ecosystem, and the abiotic factors refer to all
the non-living components like physical conditions (temperature, pH, humidity, salinity,
sunlight, etc.) and chemical agents (different gases and mineral nutrients present in the air, water,
soil, etc.) in an ecosystem. Therefore, both the abiotic and biotic resources affect the survival and
reproduction process.

Furthermore, both these components are reliant on each other. Suppose if one of the factors is
removed or altered, its repercussions will be faced by the entire ecosystem. Without a doubt,
abiotic factors directly affect the survival of organisms. Read on to explore what role do abiotic
and biotic resources play in the ecosystem.

Biotic Factors

Biotic factors relate to all the living things in the ecosystem. Their presence and their biological
by-products affect the composition of an ecosystem. Biotic factors refer to all living organisms
from animals and humans, to plants, fungi, and bacteria. The interactions between various biotic
factors are necessary for the reproduction of each species and to fulfil essential requirements like
food, etc.

Examples of Biotic Factors

Examples of biotic resources include all the living components present in an ecosystem. These
include producers, consumers, decomposers and detritivores.
Abiotic Meaning-The term abiotic refers to all the non-living factors present in an ecosystem.
Sunlight, water and land, all constitute the abiotic factors.

Abiotic Factors

Abiotic factors refer to all the non-living, i.e. chemical and physical factors present in the
atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Sunlight, air, precipitation, minerals, and soil are
some examples of abiotic factors. These factors have a significant impact on the survival and
reproduction of species in an ecosystem.

For instance, without an adequate amount of sunlight, autotrophic organisms may not be able to
survive. When these organisms eventually die, it will create a shortage of food for primary
consumers. This effect cascades up the food chain, affecting every organism. Consequently, it
leads to an imbalance in the ecosystem.

Examples of Abiotic Factors

Abiotic examples typically depend on the type of ecosystem. For instance, abiotic components in
a terrestrial ecosystem include air, weather, water, temperature, humidity, altitude, the pH level
of soil, type of soil and more. Abiotic examples in an aquatic ecosystem include water salinity,
oxygen levels, pH levels, water flow rate, water depth and temperature.
 POPULATION ECOLOGY

⚫ Population ecology is the study of populations in relation to the environment. It includes

environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in
population size.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION

 Population size

 Population density

 Dispersion patterns

 Demographics

 Survivorship curves

 Population growth

 POPULATION SIZE

"In population genetics and population ecology, population size (usually denoted N) is the
number of individual organisms in a population".

Factors that Govern Population Size

1. Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

2. Crude Death Rate (CDR)

3. Immigration

4. Emigration

Natality-The birthrate, which is the ratio of total live births to total population in a particular
area over a specified period of time

Mortality-The death rate, which is also the ratio of the total number of deaths to the total
population. Immigration-The number of organisms moving into area occupied by the population
is called immigration.
Emigration-The number of organisms moving out of the area occupied by the population is
called emigration.

Factors that increase population size

1. Natality is recruitment to a population through reproduction.

2. Immigration from external populations e.g. Bird migration.

Factor reducing population size

1. Mortality which is the death rate from any source e.g. predation. 2. Emigration, where
individuals leave the population for another habitat.

POPULATION DENSITY-"Population density is a measurement of the number of people in an

area. It is an average number".

It is usually shown as the number of people per square kilometer.

Density = Population/ Area

NEED TO ESTIMATE POPULATION DENSITY

1. How to quantify nature - ecologist role

2. Estimates comparisons between different populations in terms of space and time measure.

MEASUREMENTS OF DENSITY

Density is measured by two methods.

1. Total count method

2. Sampling method

TOTAL COUNT METHOD

⚫ Direct counting of populations.

Possible for few animals.

Breeding colonies can be photographed then later counted.

Examples

Human pop census

Trees in a given area

SAMPLING METHODS

⚫ Depends on the type of organism and its natural abundance and distribution. Two broad
categories:

1. Plot-based (quadrant) methods

2. Capture-based methods

QUADRAT SAMPLING

Widely studies used in plant

Total population Average number per quadratx Total area/Area of quadrat

MARK-RECAPTURE METHOD

Used mobile for or very elusive species

First used in the Peterson to abundance.

POPULATION DISPERSION

The dispersion of a population is the pattern of spacing among individuals within the geographic
boundaries.

3 types

 RANDOM

 CLUMPED

 UNIFORM

CLUMPED DISPERSION

Clumped is a pattern when individuals are aggregated in patches. Most frequent pattern of
distribution in a population

Reasons: Some area of habitat are more suitable than others

• Heterogeneous environment with resources concentrated in patches Tendency of offspring to
remain with parents Mating or social behavior of the individuals

(a) Clumped. For many animals, such as these wolves, living in groups increases the
effectiveness of hunting, spreads the work of protecting and caring for young, and helps exclude
other individuals from their territory.

UNIFORM DISPERSION

Evenly spaced distributions, in which members of the population maintain a minimum distance
from one another.

In plants due to competition for water, sunlight, or available nutrients

Example Creosote bushes in the Mojave desert

In animals due to strong territoriality

Example The desert lizard Uta sp

(b) Uniform. Birds nesting on small islands, such as these king penguins on South Georgia
Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, often exhibit uniform spacing, maintained by aggressive
interactions between neighbors.

RANDOM DISPERSIOn

It is a spacing pattern based on total unpredictability. Least common pattern of distribution

Reasons

Members of a species do not frequently interact with one another

Not heavily influenced by the microenvironments within their habitat

(c) Random. Dandelions grow from windblown seeds that land at random and later germinate.

FACTORS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION

Density Independent Density Dependant

 Floods
 Hurricanes

 Unseasonable

 Weather

 Fire

 Clear Cutting

 Pesticide Spraying

 Competition for Resources

 Predation

 Parasitism

 Infectious Disease

DEMOGRAPHY-Demography is the study of the vital statistics of a population and how they
change over time

Two statistics that are of particular import are a population's age structure and a population's sex
ratio.

SEX RATIO

It is the ratio of males to females in a population.

Primary sex ratio

*Secondary sex ratio ‫ ܀‬Tertiary sex ratio

The human sex ratio is of particular interest to anthropologists and demographers.

Age structure

The age structure describes the number of individuals in each age class as a ratio of one class to
another.

Age classes can be specific categories, such as people in the same age range.

POPULATION PYRAMID

⚫ Age structure diagram

Graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups & sex ratio in a
population.
Three age categories:

1. Prereproductive (ages 0-14)

2. Reproductive (ages 15-44)

3. Postreproductive (ages 45 and up)

LIFE TABLE

A life table (mortality table) is a table which shows, for each age, what the probability is that a
person of that age will die before his or her next birthday. From this starting point, a number of
inferences can be derived.

1. The probability of surviving any particular year of age 2. Remaining life expectancy for
people at different ages Separately for men and for women because of their substantially
different mortality rates.

SURVIVORSHIP CURVE

Graph showing the number or proportion of individuals surviving at each age for a given species
or group (e.g. males/females).

Constructed for a given cohort (a group of individuals of roughly the same age) based on a life
table.

Three types

1. Type I

2. Type II

3. Type III

Type I survivorship curves are characterized by high survival in early and middle life, followed a
rapid decline in survivorship in later life. Example: Humans

Type II curves are an intermediate between Type I and III, where roughly constant mortality rate
is experienced regardless of age.

Example: Some birds In Type III curves, the greatest mortality is experienced early on in life,
with relatively low rates of death for those surviving this bottleneck.

Example: Octopus
POPULATION GROWTH

Refers to how the number of individuals in a population increases (or decreases) with time.
Controlled by the rate at which new individuals are added to the population the birth rate, and the
rate at which individuals leave the population -- the death rate.

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

If a population has a constant birth rate through time and is never limited by food or disease, it
has what is known as exponential growth.

• With exponential growth the birth rate alone controls how fast (or slow) the population grows.

LOGISTIC POPULATION GROWTH are depleted, As resources rate slows and eventually
stops: logistic population growth population growth. Sigmoid (S-shaped) curve Carrying
capacity (K) is the number of individuals of a population the environment can support. Finite
amount of resources can only support a finite number of individuals.