NATURAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

COLLEGE

DIPLOMA IN CROP SCIENCE, ANIMAL SCIENCE

AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT,
EDUCATION NUTRITION AND FISHERIES

MODULE 2
1. Levels of organization in animals.
2. Ecology.

COURSE: AGRICULTURAL ZOOLOGY (BS 122)

Open and Distance Learning Unit, NRDC
Natural Resources Development College
P.O. Box 310099
LUSAKA

© Open and Distance Learning, NRDC 2008.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying recording or otherwise without the
permission of the publisher.

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Module Contents
Page
Module Overview…………………………………iv
Unit 1 Levels of organization in animals……...1
Unit 2 Ecology………………………………..16

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Module overview
Page
Introduction…………………………………v

Module learning outcomes………………….vi

About this module………………………….vii

Assessment………………………………...vii

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Introduction

Welcome to Module 2: 1. Levels of organization in animals.

2. Ecology.

In this module, you will be introduced to cells, tissues as well as organs

and organ systems of animals. This will aid your future understanding of
animal physiology and functioning of animal organs. This also aids your
understanding of animal nutrition and disease symptom recognition.
Ecology principles will also be introduced as well as how organism
populations depend on their environmental factors. You will also be
introduced to nutrient cycles covering elements from the environment
important for animal nutrition.

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Module learning outcomes

Knowledge
When you have worked through this module you should be able to:

• Identify the various tissue types and cell types which make animal
organisms
• State the functions of the various tissue types including the organs and
organ systems they make.
• Identify the different elements making up an ecosystem
• Outline the linkages among the different elements of an ecosystem
• Link animal population fluctuations to environmental factors.

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About this module
Unit 1
This unit defines tissues; composition and function of epithelial tissues,
connective tissues, skeletal muscles, smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and
nervous tissues. It further defines organs and organ systems with specific
examples.

Unit 2
This unit defines ecology, community, population, niche, habitat, biome and
ecosystem. It further describes ecosystem structure and flow of matter and
energy as well as population change.

Assessment

The module will be assessed together with module one as follows:

1. 30% continuous assessment; 2 assignments and 1 test,

2. 30% practical; Laboratory work and examination,

3. 40% theory examination

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Unit 1 Tissues, organs and systems
Table of Content
Page
Unit introduction……………………………………2
Unit learning outcomes……………………………..2
1.1 Definition of tissues, organs and organ systems..3
Unit Summary……………………………………..15
References…………………………………………15

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Unit introduction
Welcome to unit 1: Tissues, organs and systems
This unit defines tissues; composition and function of epithelial tissues,
connective tissues, skeletal muscles, smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and
nervous tissues. It further defines organs and organ systems with specific
examples. The unit also describes digestive-ruminant and non ruminant
physiology.

Unit learning outcomes

When you have worked through this unit, you should be able to:

• Identify the various tissue types and cell types which make animal
organisms
• State the functions of the various tissue types including the organs and
organ systems they make.

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1.1 Tissues, organs and organ systems

The cells of the body are organized into tissues. Tissues are groups of
similar cells that work together to perform a function. Traditionally tissues
are divided into four basic types based on their function; epithelial,
connective, muscle and nervous. For example the cells making up the
walls of the air sacs of your lungs are a type of epithelial tissue (tissue that
covers body surfaces and lines its cavities).

Two or more tissues grouped together to form a structural and functional

unit are called organs. Your heart is an organ. It contains cardiac muscle
tissue wrapped in connective tissue and ‘wired’ with nerves. All these
tissues work together to pump blood through your body. Other examples
of organs are the stomach, skin, liver and eyes. An organ system is a group
of organs that function together to carry out the principal activities of the
body for example, the digestive system is composed of individual organs
concerned with the breaking up of food (teeth) the passage of food to the
stomach (esophagus) the storage and partial digestion of food (stomach),
the digestion, absorption of food and the absorption of water (intestine)
and expulsion of solid waste (rectum).

1.1.1 Tissues

(i) Epithelial tissues

All epithelial cells, collectively called the epithelium are broadly
similar in form and function. The epithelial layers of the body
function in six different ways.
(a) Protection: They protect the tissues beneath as
well as from drying out, mechanical injury and
invasion by micro-organisms.
(b) Absorption: They provide a barrier that can help
or hinder the movement of materials into tissue

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 beneath because epithelium encases all the body’s
surfaces, every substance that enters or leaves the
body must cross an epithelial layer.
(c) Sensation: Many sensory nerves end in epithelial
call layers. The epithelium therefore provides a
sensory surface.
(d) Secretion: Certain epithelial cells are specialized
to produce and discharge substances; they are
called glands. Glands may be single cells, since as
the mucus-secreting cells lining the intestine. Most
glands however are multicellular structures, such
as the thyroid gland located in your neck or the
pituitary gland that hangs like a tiny pea from the
underside of the brain. Even the sweat glands are
made up of many cells.
(e) Excretion: Specialized epithelial cells in the
kidney excrete waste products during the
formation of urine. Also, the epithelium forming
the air sacs of the lungs excrete the waste gas
carbon dioxide.
(f) Surface transport: Some epithelial cells have hair
like projections called cilia. These cilia beat in
unison causing a wave like movement in the thin
film of mucus that bathes the cells’ surfaces,
sweeping particles along in the process. The cells
lining parts of the respiratory tract for example use
this technique to effectively keep many foreign
particles from entering the lungs.

There are three main shapes of epithelial cells: squamous, cuboidial and
columnar. Squamous cells are thin and flat. They are found in places such as
the air sacs of the lungs, the lining of the blood vessels and the skin cuboidial
cells have complex shapes, but look like cubes when the tissue is cut at right
angles to the surface. These cells are found lining tubules in the kidney and the
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ducts of glands. Columnar cells look like tine columns when viewed from the
side. Much of the digestive tract is lined with columnar epithelium.

The various types of epithelial cells may also be arranged in various ways.
Epithelial tissue that is only one cell thick is referred to as simple epithelium.
It is usually found in areas were substances diffuse through the tissue and
where substances are secreted, excreted or absorbed. The cells lining blood
vessels are simple squamous epithelium, for example where much of the
digestion tract is lined with simple columnar epithelium. Stratified epithelium
is made up of two or more layers. These layers usually serve a protective
function. The surface of the skin is stratified squamous epithelium. Pseudo
stratified epithelium only looks as though it is layered. In reality this tissue is
made up of only one layer of cells (some tall some short). The sides of the top
portion of the tall cells rest on top of the shorter cells looking like two or more
layers of cells. Some of the airways are lined with pseudo stratified
epithelium. Transitional epithelium is tissue that can stretch. The cells of
transitional epithelium are cube like (when stretched the cells appear thin and
flat. Transitional epithelium is found in the bladder and ureters of the urinary
tract, an organ and tubes that accommodate fluid fluctuations.

Assignment
During residential school, using the college Library, list down the locations
and functions of the various epithelial tissues and draw representative cell
types of each tissue type.

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(ii) Connective tissue

The cells of connective tissue provide the body with structural building blocks
and potent defenses. In addition connective tissue joins the other tissues of the
body. Connective tissue performs an assortment of important functions for the
body. The varied composition of the different types of connective tissue
reflects this diversity. However, connective tissue is generally made up of
cells that are usually spaced well apart from one another and are embedded in
a non living substance call a matrix. In fact connective tissue is made up of
more matrix than cells. It varies in consistency among the different types of
connective tissue from a fluid to a gel to crystals.

The different types of connective tissues and cells are categorized in many
different ways. One way to group them is by function; defense, structural and
isolating connective tissue. Defensive cells, those that protect the body from
attack, float in a matrix of blood plasma. They roam the circulatory system
“hunting” invading bacteria and foreign substances. An example of this kind
of cell is the lymphocyte, a special type of white blood cell. Structural
connective tissue cells, such as bone and cartilage cells stay in one place,
secreting proteins into the empty space between them. These proteins provide
structural connective tissue with a fibrous matrix, giving it the strength it
needs to support the body and provide connections among tissues

Isolating connective tissue also act as storehouses, accumulating specific

substances such as fat, the skin pigment melanin and hemoglobin.

a. Cells that defend

The three principal defensive cell types are lymphocytes, macrophages and
mast cells. All of these cells are dispersed throughout the body either in the
blood or among other tissues.

Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that circulates in the blood or
resides in the organs, vessels and nodes of the lymphatic system. Both these
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cells and the lymphatic system itself play complex, key roles in the body’s
defense against infection. The body has an amazing trillion or so lymphocytes
ready to attack foreign cells or viruses that enter the body or produce specific
antibodies that can act against specific substances.

Macrophages are abundant in the blood stream and also in the fibrous mesh of
many tissues; such as the lungs, spleen and lymph nodes. They develop or
differentiate from white blood cells called monocytes. Usually macrophages
freely move about, but some times they stay in one place attached to fibers.
These cells clean up cellular debris and invading bacteria by a process known
a phagocytosis (engulfing and digesting of particles.)

Mast cells produce substances that are involved in the body’s inflammatory
response to physical injury or trauma. One important substance produced by
most cells is histamine a chemical that causes blood vessels to dilate or widen.
As more blood than flows through the vessels, it brings added oxygen and
nutrients and dilutes any toxins, or poisons. The increased blood flow also aids
the movement of defensive lymphocytes coming to the area. Mast cells
although important in the inflammation response, also play a role in allergic
reactions.

b. Cells and tissues that shape and bind

The three principal types of cells found in structural connective tissue are
fibroblasts, cartilage cells (chondrocytes) and bone cells (osteocytes). These
cells produce substances which cause the tissues of which they are a part to
have distinctive characteristics.

c. Fibroblasts
Of all the connective tissue cells, fibroblasts are the most numerous. They are
flat irregular, branching cells that secrete fibers into the matrix between them.
These fibers are of three basic types; collagen, reticulin and elastic.

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Both the collagen fibers and the reticulin fibers are made up of the protein
collagen, the most abundant protein in the human body. Collagen fibers are
strong and wavy. These properties allow the connective tissues that they make
up to be somewhat flexible and strong, without the fibers themselves
stretching. Dense fibrous connective tissue is primarily made up of collagen
fibers. This type of connective tissue is very strong and is found as tendons
connecting muscles to bones, making up the lower layer of the skin and
making strong attachments between organs.

Reticulin is a fine branching fiber that forms the framework of many glands
such as the spleen and the lymph nodes. It also makes up the junctions
between many tissues. The tissue formed by fibroblasts and reticulin alone is
called reticular connective tissue.

Elastic fibers, as the name suggests, act much like rubber bands. They are not
made of collagen but of a protein called elastin a “stretching” protein. Elastic
connective tissue is made up of branching fibers with fibroblasts interspersed
through out. This type of tissue is found in structures that expand and then
must return to their original shape, such as the lungs and large arteries.

Loose connective tissue contains various connective tissue cells and fibres
within a semi fluid matrix. Fibroblasts and macrophages are the most common
cells in loose connective tissue. It also contains loosely packed elastic and
collagen fibers so it is therefore a somewhat strong but very flexible tissue.
Loose connective tissue is distributed widely throughout the body and is found
wrapping nerves, blood vessels and tissues, filling spaces between body parts
and attaching the skin to the layers beneath it. If you have ever skinned
chicken before cooking, for example, you have seen the loose connective
tissue that binds the skin to the muscle beneath.

d. Cartilage cells

Chondrocytes are the cells that produce cartilage, or specialized connective

tissue that is hard and strong. It is found in many places such as the ends of
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long bones, the air ways of the respiratory system, and the spaces between the
vertebrae.
Cartilage is made up of cells that secrete a matrix consisting of a semisolid gel
and fibers. The fibers are laid down along the lines of stress in long parallel
arrays (groups). The result of this process is a firm and flexible tissue that does
not stretch.
As the cartilage cells secrete the matrix, they wall themselves off from it and
eventually come to lie in tiny chambers called lacunae. Three different types
of cartilage are hyaline, elastic and fibrocartilage all of which have cells
within lacunae.

Their differences lie in the matrix. Hyaline cartilage has very fine collagen
fibers in its matrix that are almost impossible to see under the light
microscope. During development before birth most of the skeleton is
composed of hyaline cartilage. As an adult the hyaline cartilage is found on
the ends of the long bones, cushioning the places where these bones meet.
Hyaline cartilage also rings the wind pipe, keeping this air way open, and
makes up parts of the ribs and nose. Elastic cartilage as the name suggests has
elastic fibers embedded in its matrix. It is found where support with flexibility
is needed, such as in the external ear. Fibro cartilage has collagen fibers
embedded in its matrix. It is therefore a very tough substance and is used in
places of the body where shock absorbers are needed. It is found for example,
as discs between the vertebrae and in the knee joint.

e. Bone cells
Osteocytes are the cells that produce bone. As in cartilage, theses cells are
isolated in lacunae. They lay down a matrix of collagen fibers that become
coated with small, needle shaped crystals of calcium. The calcium imparts
rigidity to the bone, while the fibers keep the bone from being brittle.
Bone makes up the adult skeleton, which serves to support the body and
protect many of the organs. It is also a store house for calcium.

The bones of the skeleton have two types of internal structure; spongy bone
and compact bone. Spongy bone makes up the ends of long bones, and the
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interiors of long bones, flat bones and irregular bones. It is composed of an
open lattice of bone that supports the bone just as beams support a building. I
also helps keep bones lightweight. The spaces within the lattice work of bones
are filed with red bone marrow, the substance that produces most of the body’s
blood cells.
Compact bone is denser than spongy bone and gives the bone the strength to
withstand mechanical stress.
In compact bone, the cells lay down matrix in thin concentric rings, forming
tubes of the bones around narrow channels or canals. These canals run parallel
to the length of bone, are interconnected and contain blood vessels and nerves.
The blood vessels provide a lifeline to the bone forming cells, and the nerves
control the diameter of the blood vessels and thus the flow through them.

(iii) Cells and tissues that isolate

The third general class of connective tissue is composed of cells that specialize
in accumulating and transporting particular molecules. Isolating tissues
include the fat cells of adipose tissue as well as pigment containing cells.
Fat takes up much of the space in fat cells and is released when the body needs
it for fuel. Adipose tissue also helps shape and pads the body and insulates
against heat loss.
Possibly the most important isolating cells are red blood cells one of the solids
that float in the fluid connective tissue called blood. Blood cells are classified
according to their appearance either as erythrocytes (red blood cells) or
leukocytes (white blood cells). The role of the red blood cells is to act as
mobile transport units, picking up and delivering gases. Cell fragments called
platelets are also present in the blood. These cell pieces play an important role
in the clotting of blood.

Red blood cells are the most common of the blood cells. There are about 5
billion in every milliliter of blood. During their maturation in the red bone
marrow, they lose their nuclei and mitochondria and their endoplasmic reticula
dissolve. As a result of these processes, red blood cells are relatively inactive
metabolically, but they still perform the life sustaining job of carry oxygen to
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the tissues. This oxygen is carries by the iron-containing pigment hemoglobin.
This pigment imparts the color to red blood cells. Hemoglobin is produced
within the red bone marrow as the red blood cells are formed.

Blood cells float in a fluid intercellular matrix or plasma. This fluid is both the
banquet table and the refuse heap of the body, since practically every
substance used and discarded by cells is found in the plasma. These substances
include the sugars, lipids and amino acids that are the fuel of body, as well as
the products of metabolism such as the waste gas carbon dioxide. The plasma
also contains minerals such as calcium used to form bone; fibrinogen, which
helps the blood to clot; albumin, which gives the blood its viscosity and
antibody proteins produced by lymphocytes.
Every substance secreted or discarded by cells is also present in the plasma.

(iii) Muscle tissue

Muscle cells are the work horses of the body. The distinguishing characteristic
of muscle cells is the abundance of special thick and thin microfilaments.
These microfilaments are highly organized to form strands called microfibrils.
Each muscle cell is packed with many thousands of those myofibril strands.
The myofibrils shorten usher the microfilaments slide past pass each other,
causing the muscle to contract. There are three different kinds of muscle cells
of the human body and these are smooth muscle, skeletal and cardiac muscles.

Assignment
During residential school, using the college Library, draw the myofibrils and
draw microfilaments sliding past each other.

• Smooth muscle

Smooth muscle cells are long with bulging middles and tapered ends and a
single nucleus. The cells are organized into sheets, forming smooth muscle

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tissue. This tissue contracts involuntarily. Because it is found in the organs or
viscera, smooth muscle tissue is also often called visceral muscle tissue.

Some smooth muscle contracts when it is stimulated by a nerve or hormone.

Examples of smooth muscle that contract in this way are the muscles found
lining the blood vessels and those that make up the iris of the eye. But nerves
do not reach each muscle cell. In many cases, impulses may be able to pass
directly from one smooth muscle cell to another so that a wave of contraction
can pass through a layer of some kinds of smooth muscle all by itself. In other
smooth tissue such as that found in the wall of the intestines, individual cells
may contract spontaneously when they are stretched, leading to a slow, steady
‘squeeze’ of the tissue.

• Skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscles are attached to the bones and allow you to move your body.
These muscles are called voluntary muscles because you have conscious
control over their action. They are also called striated muscles because the
tissue has ‘stripes’– microscopically visible bands or striations. These
striations are due to the organization of thick and thin microfilaments within
the myofibrils and the alignment of the myofibrils with one another.

Striated muscle cell are extremely long. A single muscle cell or fiber has many
nuclei that are pushed to the edge of the cell and lie just under the cell
membrane. Bundles of these muscle cells are wrapped with connective tissue
and joined with other bundles to form the muscle itself.

• Cardiac muscle

The heart is composed of striated muscle fibers, but these fibers are arranged
differently from the arrangements in skeletal muscle. Instead of very long cells

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running the length of the muscle, heart muscle is composed of chains of single
cells. There chains of cells are organized into fibers under that branch and
interconnect, forming a lattice work. This lattice structure is critical to how
heart muscle functions, and it allows an entire portion of the heart to contract
at one time.

(v) Nervous tissue

The fourth major class of tissue in humans is nervous tissue. It is made up of

two kinds of cells. One type is the neurons which transmit nerve impulses and
the other type is supporting cells, which nourish and protect the neurons.

Neurons are cells specialized to conduct an electric current. The cell body of a
neuron contains the nucleus of the cell. Two different types of cell projections
extend from the cell body. One set of projections, the dendrites, act as
antennae for the reception of nerve impulses and conduct these impulses
towards the cell body. A single projection called on axon conducts impulses
away from the cell body. When axons or dendrites are long they referred to as
nerve fibers. Some nerve fibers are so long, in fact, that they can extend from
the spinal cord all the way to the fingers or toes. Single nervous over a meter
in length are common.

The nerves, which appear as fine white threads when they are viewed with the
naked eye, are actually composed of dusters of axons and dendrites. In
addition the nerve contains numerous supporting cells bunched around the
nerve fibers. In the brain and spinal cord, which together make up the central
nervous system, these supporting cells are called glial cells. The supporting
cells associated with nerve fibers of all other nerve cells, which make up the
peripheral nervous system are called schwann cells.
Assignment
During residential school, using the college Library, draw a neuron indicating
the axon and the dendrites.

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1.1.2 Organs
The four major classes of tissues above are the building blocks of the body.
These tissues form the organs of the body. Each organ contains several
different types of tissue coordinated to form the structure of the organ and to
perform its functions. A muscle for example, is composed of muscle cells that
together make up the muscle tissue. Bundles of this tissue are wrapped in
connective tissue and wired with nervous tissue. Muscles help you walk, pump
your blood and help you digest your food. Different combinations of tissues
are found in different organs that perform different functions.

1.1.3 Organ systems

An organ system is a group of organs that function together to carry out the
principal activities of the body. There are eleven major organ systems of the
human body.
The skeletal system supports and protects the body. It is moved by the large
voluntary muscles of the muscular system. Other muscles in this system help
move internal fluids throughout the body. The nervous system regulates most
of the organ systems. It can sense conditions in both your internal and external
environment and help your body respond to this environmental information.
The organs of the endocrine system secrete chemicals called hormones that
also regulate body processes and functions. The circulatory system is the
transportation system of the body. It brings nutrients and oxygen to the cells
and removes the waste products of metabolism. Along with the immune and
integumentary (skin) systems, it also helps defend the body against infection
and disease. The respiratory system work hand in hand with the circulatory
system, supplying the blood with oxygen and ridding it of the waste gas
carbon dioxide. The food eaten is broken down by the digestive system and is
absorbed through the intestinal walls into the blood stream. Solid wastes are
also eliminated by the urinary system after is collects waste materials and
excess water from the blood stream. And to ensure continuity of life, the
reproductive system produces gametes, or sex cells that, join in the process of
fertilization to produce the first cell of the new individual.
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Assignment
During residential school, using the college Library:
1. Write short notes on the reproductive, digestive and respiratory systems in
the class Aves.

2. Draw the cross section of a bird egg structure (fertilized) and write on
incubation.

3. Draw the reproductive structures of cows and write on the functions of the
various parts. In addition, write on the respiratory, circulatory and lymphatic
systems of cows.

Unit summary
• Tissues are groups of similar cells that work together to perform a
function
• Tissues are divided into four basic types based on their function
and these are epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous

• Two or more tissues grouped together to form a structural and

functional unit are called organs.
• An organ system is a group of organs that function together to
carry out the principal activities of the body.
References
Taylor, Green and Stout- Biological sciences
- Biology today

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Unit 2 Ecology
Page
Unit introduction…………………….17
Unit learning outcomes……………...17
1.1 Introduction to ecology………….18
1.2 Growth of populations…………..22
Unit Summary……………………….23
References…………………………...24

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Unit introduction
Welcome to unit 2: Ecology
This unit defines ecology, community, population, niche, habitat, biome and
ecosystem. It further describes ecosystem structure and flow of matter and
energy as well as population change. The unit aids your understanding of the
relationships between animals and their environments.

Unit learning outcomes

When you have worked through this unit, you should be able to:
• Identify the different elements making up an ecosystem
• Outline the linkages among the different elements of an ecosystem
• Link animal population fluctuations to environmental factors.

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1.1 Introduction to ecology

Living things within the biosphere (thin outer layer of earth capable of
supporting life) may be examined at seven different levels of ecological
organization. The most inclusive level of organization below the biosphere is
the ecosystem. An ecosystem is a complex self sustaining natural system of
which living organisms are a part, together with the non living components.
All the interactions that bind the living (biotic) and non living (abiotic)
components together are included in the ecosystem. An ecosystem may be
quite large as a grass land, a forest, a lake, or even an ocean, or it may be more
restricted such as a river bank or tree hole.

Whatever the size of the biological structures it contains, certain

characteristics of an ecosystem can be described. The sun’s energy is fixed by
plants and then transferred to consumers and decomposers. Nutrients are
cycled and recycled through the various living components of the ecosystem.
No ecosystem is ever completely closed, however. There is always some flow
of resources and organisms into and out of an ecosystem.

The next level of organization is the community; an assemblage of living

organisms sharing the same environment and having a certain distinctive
unity. Communities comprise the living elements of an ecosystem. Like
ecosystems, communities may be large or small ranging from the tropical
forest community that may cover a continent to the inhabitants of a rotting log
community or the community of micro organisms living in a human’s large
intestine. The elements of a community are closely interdependent.

The population, the next lower level of organization is a group of organisms

of the same species sharing a particular space. The size of a population is quite
variable. It may be defined by obvious boundaries (such a as the population of
a species of fish in a lake) or it may extend across a large geographic area.
Every community is composed of several populations, including those of
plants animals and micro organisms. Energy and nutrients flow through a
population. Its size is regulated by its relationships to other populations in the
community and by and the abiotic characteristics of the ecosystem in which is
found.

At the base of the ecological hierarchy within the biosphere is the organism
itself. It is the living expression of the species. Each organism responds to its
environment. To understand why animals are distributed as they are,
ecologists must examine the varied mechanisms that animals use to
compensate for environmental stresses and alterations. Within an ecosystem,
each living thing has a home, an actual in which it resides. This space,
including the factors within it, is an organism’s habitat. Organisms not only
reside in their habitats, they interact with the biotic and abiotic factors within it
and use them to survive. Each organism also plays a special role within an
ecosystem. This role is called a niche. A niche may be described in terms of
space, food, temperature, appropriate conditions for mating and requirements
for moisture. An organism’s niche also includes the organism’s behavior and

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the ways in which this behavior changes at different seasons and different
times of the day.

1.1.1 The flow of energy through ecosystems

The energy that flows through an ecosystem comes from the sun. Green
plants, the primary producers of terrestrial ecosystems, are able to capture
some of the sun’s radiant energy that falls on their leaves and convert it to
chemical energy during the process of photosynthesis. Producers then are the
key to life on earth, since no other organisms can capture this energy for use in
living systems.

Primary consumers, or herbivores, feed directly on the green plants,

incorporating some of this energy into molecules that make up their bodies
and using the rest to perform the activities of life. Secondary consumers are
meat eaters or carnivores that feed in turn on the herbivores. And so the chain
continues, with one living thing feeding on another, passing energy along that
was once captured from the sun.

The refuse or waste material of an ecosystem is known as detritus. Organisms

that are decomposers breakdown the organic materials of detritus into organic
nutrients that can be reused by plants. Some of the energy still held in tissues
of once living things is used by the decomposers, but they are the last link in
this transfer of energy among organisms.

1.1.2 Food chains and webs

All of the feeding levels previously described and additional levels such as
tertiary consumers are represented in any fairly complicated ecosystem. These
feeding levels are called trophic levels. Organisms from each of these levels
feeding on one another make up a series of organisms called a food chain.

An example of a food chain can be seen in a pond ecosystem in which water

fleas (primary consumers) feed on green algae (producers). Sunfish (secondary
consumers) eat the water fleas but are in turn eaten by green heron a bird
(tertiary consumers). The length and complexity of food chains vary greatly.

In reality it is rare for any species of organism to feed on only one another
species. Organisms feed on many different species and types of organisms and
are in turn food for two or more other kinds. These relationships appear as a
series of branching and overlapping lines rather than as one straight line. The
organisms in an ecosystem that have such interconnected and interwoven
feeding relationship make up a food web.

Assignment
During residential school, using the college Library, draw two food webs and
food chains.

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1.1.3 Nutrient cycles

All of the elements essential for life are derived from the environment where
they are present in the air soil, rocks and water. When plants and animals die
and their bodies decay or when organic substances are burned or oxidized, the
elements and inorganic compounds essential for life processes (nutrients) are
released and returned to the environment. Decomposers fulfill an essential role
in this process by feeding on the remains of plants and animals, and on fecal
material.

The result is that nutrients flow in a perpetual cycle between the biotic and
abiotic components of the ecosystem

Nutrient cycles and energy flow are closely interrelated, since both influence
the abundance of organisms in an ecosystem. However, unlike nutrients which
recirculate, energy follows one direction; it does not follow a cycle because it
is lost as it is used. The continuous input of energy from the sun keeps
nutrients flowing and the ecosystem functioning.

Although energy flows through ecosystems and most is lost at each successive
level, the matter making up the organism at each level is not lost. All these
substances are recycled and are only used temporarily by living things.

Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen- the principal elements that make
up all living things – are primarily held in the atmosphere in molecules of
water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas and oxygen gas. Other recycled substances
necessary for life such as phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, magnesium,
calcium, sodium, iron and cobalt are held in rocks and after weathering enter
the soil. The atmosphere and rocks are therefore referred to as the reservoirs of
inorganic substances that cycle within ecosystems.

The cycling of materials in ecosystems is usually described as beginning at the

reservoirs. Living things incorporate substances into their bodies from their
reservoirs or from other living things, passing these materials along the food
chain. Ultimately these substances, with the help of decomposers, move from
the living world back to the nonliving world, becoming part of the soil or the
atmosphere once again.

Assignment
During residential school, using the college Library, draw a life cycle and
write notes on the significance of the cycle to life for each of the following
nutrients:
a. nitrogen
b. carbon
c. water
d. phosphorous

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1.1.4 Biomes and climate

Biomes are ecosystem of plants and animals that occur over wide areas of land
within specific climatic regions and are easily recognized by their overall
appearance. Each biome is similar in its structure and appearance wherever it
occurs on earth and differs significantly from biomes. Biomes are sometimes
named by the climax vegetation (stable plant communities) of the region such
as the tropical rain forest.

The characteristics of biomes are a direct result of their temperature and

rainfall patterns. Those patterns result from the interaction of the features of
the earth itself (such as the presence of the mountains and valleys) with two
physical factors:

1. The amounts of heat from the sun that reach different parts of the
earth and the seasonal variations in that heat.
2. Global atmospheric circulation and the resulting patterns of oceanic
circulation.

Together these factors determine the local climate including the amounts and
distribution of precipitation.

Biomes are often classified in seven categories

(1) Tropical rain forests.

(2) Savannas
(3) Deserts
(4) Temperate grass lands
(5) Temperate deciduous forests
(6) Taiga (Coniferous Forest) and
(7) Tundra (cold northern most regions)

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1.2 Growth of populations

Living organisms have reproductive potential beyond that required for

replacement of their number, some far in excess of such requirement. Some
female insects lay thousands of eggs and a single female cod fish may spawn 6
million eggs per season. It has been calculated that a bacterium dividing three
times per hour would produce a colony a foot deep over the earth in one and a
half days, and the colony would be over our heads one hour later.
Unrestricted geometric (or exponential) growth can happen only in a
environment with a lot of resources and no competition. This kind of growth,
shown by the steeply rising curve is called the intrinsic growth rate of a
population and is referred to by the symbol r.
Of course, the growth potential of a population can never proceed unchecked.
We are in no danger of being buried in bacteria, or cod fish, or any other
organisms because as the population becomes more crowded, individuals
compete with each other for limited resources, especially food and space.
Eventually the population cases to grow larger. Most populations tend to reach
a certain density and then fluctuate about that level. What keeps populations in
check? How is the balance of nature explained? Or is nature ever really in
balance? If we plot the numbers of individuals on a graph against units of
time, the population describes a growth history that is sigmoid in shape.

GRAPH OF A POPULATION SIZE AGAINST TIME

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In the beginning, with ample food and space, the starting population breeds
and grows as fast as its reproductive potential allows. We see this kind of
growth – the intrinsic growth rate – as eruptions of insect pests (locust) and
growth of weeds in old field. But, as resources become depleted the upper
population limit is approached, growth slows and finally stops altogether. This
limit, the maximum density the environment can support is called the carrying
capacity of the environment and is represented by the symbol K. The simple
sigmoid curve has been demonstrated repeatedly in the laboratory with
bacteria, protozoa and some insects.
When populations reach the carrying capacity of the environment, they may
remain at this level, or they may fluctuate above and below the upper limit.
One important reason for such oscillations is that the carrying capacity of the
environment itself changes. Nature is seldom in balance, at least not for long,
because of weather fluctuations, spread of diseases, changes in predation
patterns and other disturbances.

Thus population numbers are influenced by factors generated within the

population and by forces from without, and usually no single mechanisms can
account fully for growth is curbed in a given population. Natural populations
are controlled by density dependent and density independent forces. Humans
are the greatest force of all. By altering habitats of animals we change the
balances that set the old limits to abundance. Our activities can increase or
exterminate whole populations of animals.

Unit summary
• An ecosystem is a complex self sustaining natural system of which
living organisms (biotic) are a part, together with the non living
(abiotic) components.
• Communities comprise the living elements of an ecosystem
• A population is a group of organisms of the same species sharing a
particular space.
• Each organism also plays a special role within an ecosystem and this
role is called a niche.
• Organisms feed on many different species and types of organisms and
are in turn food for two or more other kinds. These relationships
appear as a series of branching and overlapping lines rather than as one
straight line. The organisms in an ecosystem that have such

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OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING UNIT. NRDC 2008.
 interconnected and interwoven feeding relationship make up a food
web.
• Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen- the principal elements that
make up all living things – are primarily held in the atmosphere in
molecules of water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas and oxygen gas.
Other recycled substances necessary for life such as phosphorous,
potassium, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron and cobalt are
held in rocks and after weathering enter the soil.
• Biomes are ecosystem of plants and animals that occur over wide areas
of land within specific climatic regions and are easily recognized by
their overall appearance.
• Population numbers are influenced by factors generated within the
population and by forces from without, and usually no single
mechanisms can account fully for growth is curbed in a given
population. Natural populations are controlled by density dependent
and density independent forces.
• Humans are the greatest force of all. By altering habitats of animals
we change the balances that set the old limits to abundance. Our
activities can increase or exterminate whole populations of animals.

References
Taylor, Green and Stout- Biological sciences
Hickman- Integrated Principles of Zoology

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