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Important Issues of

Environment and Ecology


By Dr. Roman Saini
The Environment
What is Environment?
● According to the Environment Protection Act 1986, “environment"
includes water, air and land and the inter-relationship which exists among
and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures,
plants, microorganisms and property.
● Therefore, it includes both-
○ The biotic components - Human, animals, birds etc.
○ The abiotic components - Water, air, land etc.
Environmental Pollution
● Environmental pollution is defined as the unfavourable alteration of our
surroundings wholly as a by-product of man's activities, through direct or
indirect effects of changes in the physical, chemical and biological
characteristics of the land, air, or water that harmfully affect human life or
any desirable living thing.
● Human population explosion, rapid industrialisation, deforestation,
unplanned urbanisation, scientific and technological advancement etc.
are the major causes of environmental pollution.
Classification of Pollution
● It may be classified as natural and artificial or man-made pollution.
1. Natural Pollution:
● It originates from natural processes or sources such as hydrocarbons in the
atmosphere, radiation pollution coming from the sun or radioactive materials
found in nature, oxides of carbon, sulphur etc. coming out from volcanic activity.
2. Artificial or Man-made Pollution:
● It originates due to the activities of man such as lead aerosols in the atmosphere
coming from automobile exhaust, chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT, etc.) from
excessive use of pesticides, etc.
Types of Pollutants
● Primary Pollutants:
○ These are those which are emitted directly from the source and persist in
the form in which they were added to the environment.
○ Typical examples of pollutants included in this category are ash, smoke,
fumes, dust, nitric oxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrocarbons etc.
● Secondary Pollutants:
○ These are those which are formed from the primary pollutants by
chemical interaction with some constituent present in the atmosphere.
○ Examples: sulphur trioxide, nitrogen dioxide, aldehydes, ketones, ozone,
etc.
Air Pollution
● Air pollution is the presence of materials in the air that are harmful to
humans and the environment they live in.
● Air pollutants are mainly of two types:
a. Gaseous pollutants like hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide, ozone, etc.
b. Particulate pollutants like smoke, dust, mist, fume, spray, etc.
Sources of Air Pollution:
● Industrial pollutants like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon
monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrous oxide, ozone, chlorine, arsenic, etc.
● Domestic pollutants from fossil fuels burnt by humans.
● Automobile exhaust or vehicular emission.
● Industrial accidents like leakage of methyl isocyanate from the Union
Carbide Plant at Bhopal etc.
● Suspended particulate matter (SPM) like fine dust particles and soot
emitted by industrial units.
Effects of Air Pollution:
● Carbon monoxide, having an affinity to haemoglobin, replaces oxygen from
oxyhaemoglobin when it enters blood and thus increases the concentration of CO2
in blood causing headache, eye irritation, breathing problem and death.
● Ozone, which also causes smog, is toxic to plant growth and harms human and
animal health.
● Smog causes reduced visibility, eye irritation and plant damage.
● Carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming.
● SPM like asbestos dust causes lung diseases, lead causes nervous disorder and
brain damage.
Photochemical smog:
● Photochemical smog is caused by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation
on atmosphere polluted with hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen
especially from automobile exhaust.
● Smog can occur both during the day and at night but photochemical smog
only happens in the presence of sunlight.
● When volatile organic compounds exit from a smokestack or tailpipe after
burning of fossil fuel, they combine with hydroxide molecules in the air to
form water and complex molecules which in turn combine with the nitrogen
oxide that is emitted at the same time.
● The reaction produces nitrogen dioxide.
● Nitrogen dioxide breaks down again into nitrogen oxide in sunlight, but
this degradation produces a free oxygen radical.
● The highly reactive radical combines with molecular oxygen in the air to
form ozone.
National Air Quality Index
● The index was launched in 2014 as a part of Indian Government’s mission to
introduce the culture of cleanliness.
● Institutional and infrastructural measures have been undertaken in order to
ensure that the mandate of cleanliness has been fulfilled across the country.
● There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted,
Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.
● The AQI considers eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3 and
Pb) for which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient
Air Quality Standards are prescribed.
Water Pollution
● Water, an essential component for our survival and the most important
ecological factor present everywhere, has also been extensively polluted
over the years.
Sources:
● Domestic sewage
● Industrial waste
● Chemical inputs of agriculture
● Elevated temperatures
Causes of Freshwater Pollution:
● Excess of nutrients from sewage and soil erosion causing algal blooms;
● Pathogens from sewage which spread disease.
● Heavy metals and organic compounds that bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms.
Effects of Water Pollution:
● Increased water treatment costs
● Spread of epidemics like cholera, jaundice, dysentery, typhoid, etc.
● Metals like mercury, copper, zinc, lead, etc. and their oxides from industrial waste
cause nervous disorder.
● Release of dyes, etc. into water sources and their use by humans and animals
affect biological processes.
Remedies of Water Pollution:
● Input control- pollutants should be prevented from being generated in the first
place.
● Output control - it attempts to control the pollutant and/or its effect that has
been produced.
● Developing of proper sewage system can reduce incoming point source of
pollution.
● Extensive afforestation can help in minimizing non-point sources of pollution.
● Strict enforcement of pollution control laws.
● Discharge of drinking water after primary and secondary treatment of water
using chlorinator unit.
Eutrophication
● Eutrophication is a kind of nutrient pollution where nutrients like nitrogen
and phosphorus are present in excessive quantities in the water.
● Eutrophication occurs naturally, but it occurs very slowly.
● Rapid eutrophication is caused due to discharges of sewage treatment plants
and septic tanks into the nearby water bodies, fertilizer runoff from agricultural
fields etc.
● Due to the presence of excessive chemicals, there is an explosive growth of
algae on the surface of the water body.
● The algal bloom can be seen as a dense layer on the water surface.
● This layer is usually foul smelling and it reduces the clarity as well as the
quality of water.
● The dense blooms limit light penetration, reducing growth and causing die-offs
of plants in littoral zones.
● When the algae die, microorganisms act upon the dead matter.
● To perform the decomposition, the microorganism needs oxygen.
● Gradually, the eutrophic water body becomes hypoxic i.e. amount of
dissolved oxygen becomes low and sometimes the oxygen depletes completely
(anoxic state).
● The aquatic organisms start dying.
River Pollution in India
● Untreated municipal sewage is considered to be the major source of
pollution of rivers, besides industrial and other non-point sources of
pollution.
● The sources of pollution can be classified broadly into two categories, viz.
a. Point sources – These are organized sources of pollution where the
pollution load can be measured.
E.g. surface drains carrying municipal sewage or industrial effluents,
sewage pumping stations and sewerage systems, trade effluents from
industries, etc.
b. Non-point sources – These are non-measurable sources of pollution
such as runoff from agricultural fields carrying chemicals and fertilizers,
run-off from solid waste dumps and areas used for open defecation,
dumping of un-burnt/half-burnt dead bodies and animal carcasses, dhobi
ghats, cattle wallowing, etc.
● Water being a State subject, it is the responsibility of the State
Government/concerned local bodies to set up proper facilities for collection,
transportation and treatment of sewage being generated and ensure that
untreated sewage does not fall into the rivers thereby polluting them.
Steps to be taken for control of pollution of rivers include:
● Untreated sewage shall not be disposed into the river or at any other recipient
system.
● Local/urban body to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of adequate
capacity and provide sewerage system to cover the entire local/urban areas and to
ensure complete treatment of sewage generated.
● In case of disposal of effluents on land or river or any water body, the treated
effluent should meet the designated standards.
● There is a need to reduce the water footprint, including water conservation in
the agriculture, industrial and other sectors.
● Need to ensure minimum/adequate flow in the rivers throughout the year,
especially in the lean flow season.
National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP)
● For conservation and management of polluted and degraded lakes in urban
and semi-urban areas of India, the Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation is implementing the Centrally
Sponsored Scheme of National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) on 70:30
funding pattern.
● The Plan includes core components of interception, diversion and
treatment of wastewaters before their entry into the lake, catchment area
treatment, shoreline protection, in-lake treatment etc.
● Non core activities include lakefront eco-development and public
participation.
Soil Pollution
Causes:
● Solid and liquid wastes by paper and pulp mills, oil refineries, power plants, etc.
● Use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.
● Domestic waste.
● Soil erosion due to deforestation,
● Wrong farming practices,
● Shifting cultivation,
● High velocity of winds, water flow etc.
Noise Pollution

● Noise is an unpleasant sound or sound without value.


● The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, recognized noise pollution as an
offence.
● The intensity level of sound is measured in decibel (dB) scale.
● It is considered that noise levels below 80 dB (A) do not produce any ill
effects.
● However, higher levels often cause impairment of hearing.
● Exposure to noise levels exceeding 75 dB (A) for more than eight hours
daily can impair hearing.
● Other effects are stress, hypertension, fatigue, sleep disturbances, speech
interference, irritability.
Measures for Noise Pollution:
● Industrial noise can be controlled by using sound absorbing materials.
● Workers should be provided with ear muffs and protectors.
● The working hours should be so adjusted that they are not exposed to high
level of noise and Audiometric tests must be done annually.
Radiation Pollution

● Radiation pollution is mainly due to naturally occurring radiations and


man-made radiations.
● Exposure to high level of radiations can destroy living tissues.
● Radiations are known to cause cancer, genetic damage, and mutations.
Light Pollution
● Artificial lighting at night is contributing to an alarming increase in light
pollution, both in amount and in brightness.
● Some regions have shown a steady increase in light pollution aligned with
economic development.
● But more developed nations that were thought to be "going dark" by
switching to energy-saving LEDs showed no apparent decline in their rates
of light pollution.
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
● United Nations Environment Programme defines EIA as a tool used to
identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to
decision-making.
● It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in the project
planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape
projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to
decision-makers.
● By using EIA both environmental and economic benefits can be achieved,
such as reduced cost and time of project implementation and design avoided
treatment/clean-up costs and impacts of laws and regulations.
EIA in India

● To facilitate the collection of environmental data and preparation of


management plans, guidelines have been evolved and circulated to the
concerned Central and State Government Departments.
● EIA has now been made mandatory under the Environmental
(Protection) Act, 1986 for 29 categories of developmental activities
involving investments of Rs.50 crores and above.
Environmental Appraisal Committees
● With a view to ensure multidisciplinary input required for environmental
appraisal of development projects, Expert Committees have been constituted for
the following sectors:
1. Mining Projects
2. Industrial Projects
3. Thermal Power Projects
4. River Valley, Multipurpose, Irrigation and H.E. Projects
5. Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous Projects
6. Nuclear Power Projects
Climate Change
Evidence of Climate Change
Rise in global temperature:
● Earth’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1
degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century which has been chiefly driven by
anthropogenic activities that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
● Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest
years on record occurring since 2001.
● 2016 was the warmest year on record, and 8 of the 12 months of 2016- January
through September, with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for
those respective months.
Warming of the oceans:
● The increase in surface temperature of Earth has resulted in the oceans
absorbing a significant amount of this increased heat.
● The top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of the ocean has shown warming of
0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.
Melting of ice-sheets on Greenland and Antarctica:
● The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass.
● Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment showed that
Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometres (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per
year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometres
(36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005.
Retreating of glaciers:
● Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including
in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa.
Decrease in snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and melting of Arctic
sea ice:
● Data collected from satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring
snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past
five decades.
● Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over
the last several decades.
Increase in ocean acidity:
● Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean
waters has increased by about 30 per cent.
● The chief reason for this is an increase in carbon dioxide emissions post
industrialization era.
● Carbon dioxide dissolves rapidly in waters and is absorbed significantly by the
oceans. The dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid.
● The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is
increasing by about 2 billion tons per year.
● The corals have been bearing the brunt of increased ocean acidity.
● Coral bleaching is the result of more acid in the ocean.
Causes of global warming
● According to most climate scientists the chief cause of the current global
warming trend is the increase in the "greenhouse effect".
● While greenhouse effect occurs naturally and is the reason behind habitable
conditions on Earth, anthropogenic activities have led to an expansion in the
greenhouse effect by adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
● Gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond
physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as "forcing"
climate change.
● Gases, such as water vapour, which respond physically or chemically to changes
in temperature are seen as "feedbacks."
Agents for Greenhouse effect
Water vapour:
● It is the most abundant greenhouse gas, but it acts as a feedback to the
climate.
● Water vapour increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the
possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most
important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
Nitrous oxide:
● It is produced by soil cultivation practices like commercial and organic
fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass
burning.
Carbon dioxide (CO2):
● It is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano
eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation, land use
conversion, and burning fossil fuels.
● Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by more than a
third since the Industrial Revolution began.
Methane:
● It is a hydrocarbon gas that is produced through decomposition of wastes
in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, ruminant digestion
and manure management associated with domestic livestock.
● On a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less
abundant in the atmosphere.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs):
● They are synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a
number of applications.
● They are a major source of destruction to the ozone layer and also act
as greenhouse gases.
● They are now largely regulated in production and released to the
atmosphere by international agreement.
Effects of Climate Change

● The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stated that- “the


range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of
climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time.”
● It forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next
century.
● According to the IPCC, the extent of climate change effects on individual
regions will vary and will depend on the mitigation or adaptation ability of
different societal and environmental systems.
Future Effects
● The IPCC predicts that increases in global mean temperature of less than
1 to 3 degrees Celsius above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts
in some regions and harmful ones in others.
● Net annual costs will increase over time as global temperatures increase.
● It is predicted that global climate change will continue over this century
and beyond.
● The magnitude of climate change depends primarily on the emission of
greenhouse gases.
● In the countries that experienced frost periods during winters like the US,
the length of the frost-free season and the corresponding growing season has
been increasing.
● More droughts and heat waves are predicted as the temperature continues to
rise.
● Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since 1880. It is projected to rise
another 1 to 4 feet by 2100 due to the addition of water from melting land ice
and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
● Increase flooding in regions, especially coasts can be experienced in the next
several decades when storm surges and high tides combine with sea level rise
and land subsidence.
● Sea level rise will continue past 2100, the reason being that oceans take
a very long time to respond to warmer conditions at the Earth’s surface.
● Ocean waters will, therefore, continue to warm and sea level will
continue to rise for many centuries at rates equal to or higher than those
of the current century.
● The Arctic Ocean is expected to become ice free in summer before
2050.
Solving the Climate Change Problem

● The response to climate change revolves around two possible approaches:


a. Mitigation that involves reducing and stabilizing the levels of
heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
b. Adaptation that involves adapting to the climate change that is
already taking place.
Mitigation:
● The 2014 report on Mitigation of Climate Change from the IPCC stated that
mitigation efforts should-
“Stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems
to adapt naturally to climate change, ensure that food production is not
threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable
manner”.
● The aim of mitigation is to reduce the flow of greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere.
● This can be achieved either by reducing the source of GHG, like relying less on
fossil fuels and turning to renewable energy sources, or by increasing the carbon
sinks like forests.
● The goal of mitigation is to avoid significant human interference with the
climate system that will allow the climate system to stabilize itself over the
course of time.
Adaptation:
● Examples of adaptation measures include:
○ Using scarce water resources more efficiently;
○ Adapting building codes to future climate conditions and extreme weather
events;
○ Building flood defences and raising the levels of dykes;
○ Developing drought-tolerant crops and choosing tree species and forestry
practices less vulnerable to storms and fires; and
○ Setting aside land corridors to help species migrate.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

● IPCC is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change.
● It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988.
● It was established to provide a clear scientific view on the current state of
knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and
socio-economic impacts.
● The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and
socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding
of climate change.
● It does not conduct any research or monitor climate related data or
parameters.
● IPCC activities prepare comprehensive Assessment Reports about the
state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on climate
change, its causes, potential impacts and response strategies.
● It also produces Special Reports, which are an assessment on a specific
issue and Methodology Reports meant to provide practical guidelines for
the preparation of greenhouse gas inventories.
The Ecology
What is Ecology?
● Ecology may be defined as the scientific study of the relationship of
living organisms with each other and with their environment.
● It has been derived from the Greek oikos meaning "house" or "dwelling",
and logos meaning "discourse“.
● The term ecology was first coined in 1869 by the German biologist Ernst
Haeckel.
Hierarchy Under Ecology
1. Organism-
● The basic unit of study.
2. Population-
● A group of organisms consisting of a number of same species that
live in an area and interact with each other.
3. Community-
● A group of organisms consisting of a number of different
populations that live in a defined area and interact with each other.
4. Ecosystem-
● Communities of organisms and their physical environment, interacting
as an ecological unit.
5. Biome-
● The world's major communities classified according to the predominant
vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular
environment.
● A biome is different from an ecosystem as an ecosystem is the interaction
of living and non-living things in an environment.
● A biome is a specific geographic area notable for the species living there.
● A biome can be made up of many ecosystems.
6. Biosphere-
● The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists.
● The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees to the dark
environment of ocean trenches, to lush rainforests and high
mountaintops.
● The solid surface layer of the Earth is the lithosphere.
● The atmosphere is the layer of air that stretches above the lithosphere.
● The Earth’s water—on the surface, in the ground, and in the air—makes
up the hydrosphere.
● Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, the biosphere
overlaps all these spheres.
Biosphere Reserve
● Biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal
ecosystems.
● Each reserve promotes conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.
● Biosphere reserves have three interrelated zones that aim to fulfil three
complementary and mutually reinforcing functions:
a. the core area,
b. the buffer zone and
c. the transition area.
● The core area comprises a strictly protected ecosystem that contributes
to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic
variation.
● The buffer zone surrounding the core areas which can be used for
scientific research, monitoring, training and education.
● The transition area where human activity is allowed and
socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable economic and human
development is carried out.
Habitat and Niche
Habitat:
● It is an area or a zone where an organism lives.
● A habitat may support many species where the individuals have similar
environmental requirements.
● The structural components of habitat are- food, shelter, space/shelter and
water.
Niche:
● It refers to the functional characteristics of a species in its habitat and is
unique for that species.
Organism’s Adaptation
● Organismal ecology studies interaction of an organism with the biotic
and abiotic components of the environment.
● It also involves the adaptations that an organism develops in response
to the environment.
● An adaptation is the appearance or behaviour or structure or mode of
life of an organism that allows it to survive in a particular environment.
● The adaptations studied pertain to the organism’s behaviour, physiology
and morphology, in response to environmental challenges.
Physiological Adaptation-
● Cold-blooded animals like reptiles are not found in low temperature regions
like the Arctic region.
● This is because they cannot regulate the body temperature like warm-blooded
animals like mammals.
● Animals in higher elevations produce more red-blood cells to carry more
oxygen as there is lower oxygen concentration in the air.
Morphological Adaptations-
● Presence of thick fur in animals found in colder regions.
● In cacti, the leaves are reduced to spines to reduce transpiration and the stem
is green and thick to perform photosynthesis and store water respectively.
Behavioral Adaptations-
● Certain animals like brown and black bears undergo hibernation in
response to extremely cold climates.
● Some birds migrate from their original habitat to another place to
escape harsher climates.
● E.g. Siberian Cranes, Greater Flamingo and Demoiselle Crane are
originally from Siberia but migrate to India during the winter months.
● Olive Ridley sea turtles migrate in huge numbers from the beginning of
November, every year, for mating and nesting along the coast of Odisha.
The Population
Population-
● Population refers to a group of individuals belonging to the same species
and living in the same geographic area at a given time.
Population density -
● The number of individuals of a species per unit area or volume.
● Natality rate, Mortality rate and Dispersal affect population density.
Natality rate -
● The rate at which new individuals are born and added to a population
under given environmental conditions is called natality rate.
Mortality -
● Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in
general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to
the size of that population, per unit of time.
Dispersal -
● This includes emigration and immigration.
● Emigration is the movement of individuals of a population out of a region on
a permanent basis whereas immigration refers to the movement of
individuals into a new area.
Patterns of Dispersion-
● The way in which individuals are spaced in a population.
Population Growth Models-
● The rates at which populations grow is calculated that reflects the
reproduction biology of the respective species.
Carrying Capacity-
● The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the
maximum population size of the species that the environment can
sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water, and other necessities are
available in the environment.
The Ecological Community
Community-
● An ecological community is a group of actually or potentially
interacting species living in the same location.
● They share the environment and form a network of influence that each
species has on the other.
Species Diversity
● Species diversity contributes to a healthy ecosystem where each species
performs a function.
● Disappearance of a species has disturbing consequences on the
ecosystem.
● Species richness and species evenness are studied under species diversity.
● Species richness refers to the number of species per unit of area.
● Species richness measures are typically separated into measures of α
(alpha), β (beta), and γ (gamma) diversity.
● α diversity is measured at the local scale and consists of a count of species
within a relatively homogeneous area.
● β diversity provides information about how diversity changes along
environmental gradients.
● γ diversity is a measure of diversity across habitats or community types
within a landscape or region.
● Species evenness refers to how close in numbers each species in an
environment is.
● Therefore, the number of species in an area indicate its richness
whereas the relative abundance of species indicate its evenness.
Keystone Species
● Keystone species maintain the structure and integrity of the ecological
community. They have a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to
its biomass.
● A keystone species exert a top-down influence on lower trophic levels and
prevent species at lower trophic levels from dominating over critical resources,
such as competition for space or key producer food sources.
● Sea otters are keystone predators that keep the population of sea urchins
controlled. Sea urchins feed on kelp and macroalgae.
● When the population of sea urchins is controlled, there is adequate kelp available
for species other than sea urchins as well, and the ecosystem remains balanced.
Stratification
● In Ecology, stratification refers to the stratification of a community that refers
to the vertical layers of the vegetation.
● E.g. in moist tropical rain forests these distinct strata or layers of vegetation
can be found:
○ Ground layer of mosses and liverworts associated with dead leaves and
other substances rich in organic matter
○ Herb or grass layer
○ Short shrub layer
○ Tall shrub layer
○ Layer of understorey of short trees
○ Layer of canopy of lower tress
○ Emergent tree layer formed by tall trees
Ecological Succession
● It is a progressive change in which plant and animal species in an area
that make up a community are replaced by other species over a period of
time.
● The change is triggered by the activities of the species and the physical
environment.
● Therefore, ecological succession involves activities of the biotic as well as
the abiotic components.
● Usually, two types of Ecological succession are discussed-
a. Primary Succession
b. Secondary Succession
1. Primary Succession-
● It takes place on bare or unoccupied areas where no community lived earlier.
● These areas can be like bare rocks outcrop, newly formed deltas and sand
dunes, emerging volcano islands and lava flows glacial moraines etc.
● In primary succession, the area is first weathered by physical forces so that
soil formation is initiated.
● The area is first inhabited by pioneer species- algae, mosses, and lichens.
● They further the soil forming process and provide the organic matter in the soil
once they die.
● Bacteria and fungi help in decomposition of dead pioneer species.
● The pioneer community, after some time, gets replaced by another community
with different species combination.
● Each transitional (temporary) community that is formed and replaced during
succession is called a stage in succession or a seral community or sere.
● The terminal (final) stage of succession forms the community which is called as
a climax community.
● A climax community is stable, mature, more complex and long lasting.
● Primary succession takes a long time as the area has to be altered to support
the growth of living communities.
2. Secondary Succession-
● It takes place in an area that was previously occupied by living
communities but the community was wiped out after a destructive event
like a fire.
● The area is re-colonized by living communities.
● Secondary succession is faster than primary succession as the area was
already colonized before. Therefore the soil there has nutrients in it.
● Therefore, the area might not need pioneer species, although in some cases,
pioneer species can be the first to inhabit the area.
Biotic Interaction
● The interaction that occurs among different individuals of the same species is
called 'intra-specific' interaction while the interaction among individuals of
different species in a community is termed as 'inter-specific' interaction.
● The types of interspecific interactions are divided into –
a. Negative interactions
b. Neutral interactions
c. Positive interactions
1.Negative Interaction
● In this association, at least one of the species is harmed by the other.
● Types of negative interaction are:
Amensalism:
● This is a negative association between two species in which one species is
harmed or restricted by the other species that itself is not adversely affected
or harmed by the presence of the other species.
● Examples- antibiosis in which one organism secretes a chemical that kills the
other organism, while the one that secreted the chemical is unharmed.
● For example, penicillin is an antibiotic secreted by the fungus Penicillium
which destroys many forms of bacteria.
Predation:
● In this type of interaction, predator actively hunts for a prey.
● The predator captures, kills and eats an animal of another species called the
prey.
● Example- In the wild, lions and tigers hunt for preys like deer.
Parasitism:
● In this, one species that is called a parasite is benefitted at the expense of the
other species called the host.
● The parasite can live within the host or outside it.
● Parasite derives all the nutrients from the host and in this process harms the
host.
● A parasite living inside the host is called endoparasite whereas the
parasite living outside the host (on the surface of the host) is called
ectoparasite.
● Example of endoparasite- Tapeworm lives inside human intestines and
sucks the nutrients from the intestine.
● Malarial parasite Plasmodium completes its life cycle in human cells.
● Example of exoparasite- Flea, lice, leech.
2. Neutral Interaction
● In this, the two species that interact but do not affect each other.
● It describes interactions where the health of one species has absolutely no
effect whatsoever on that of the other.
● Example- Rabbit and deer interact with each other without harming each
other.
3. Positive Interaction
Commensalism:
● In this relationship, one of the species benefits while the other is neither
harmed nor benefited.
● Example – Epiphytes like orchids grow on the trees and derive moisture and
nutrients from the air, rain, water or from debris accumulating around it.
● Suckerfish (Remora) attaches itself to a big fish like shark and feeds on the
leftovers of the food of the shark.
● Apart from food, it also achieves free locomotion.
Mutualism:
● In mutualism, both the individual’s benefit.
● Symbiotic association is mutualism.
● Examples- Lichens are a symbiotic association between fungi and alga.
The Ecosystem
● The term ‘ecosystem’ was coined by A.G. Tansley in 1935.
● An ecosystem is a functional unit of nature that encompasses a complex
interaction between the living components called biotic components and
non-living components called abiotic components.
● They perform the following crucial functions:
○ Energy flow through food chain
○ Nutrient cycling through biogeochemical cycles
○ Ecological succession or ecosystem development
○ Homeostasis (or cybernetic) or feedback control mechanisms
Natural Ecosystem
Terrestrial ecosystem:
● Ecosystems found on land e.g. forest, grasslands, deserts, tundra, etc.
Aquatic ecosystem:
● Plant and animal communities found in water bodies.
● These can be further classified into two sub-groups:
1. Freshwater ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes and ponds, etc.
2. Marine ecosystems, such as oceans, estuary, etc.
Man-made Ecosystem
● Humans have modified the natural ecosystems to their benefit and
consumption. Such ecosystems are man-made ecosystems.
● For example, forest land is converted to agricultural land for economic
prosperity and increasing food availability for human population.
● This conversion brings down the species diversity and needs human
intervention, for example, irrigation and use of fertilizers, insecticides,
pesticides etc. for the crops to grow.
● This is an agro-ecosystem which is a human-made ecosystem.
Characteristics of a man-made ecosystem:
1. Highly simplified
2. Low species diversity
3. Huge dependence on humans
4. Since species diversity is low, food chains are smaller
5. Soil erosion is common.
6. Unstable without constant human intervention and support
Components of Ecosystem
Biotic components:
● Producers, i.e. autotrophs which perform photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
to gain energy.
● Most of the green plants are producers as they perform photosynthesis for
conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in the presence of carbon dioxide
and water.
● Consumers, i.e. heterotrophs that depend upon producers or other
consumers for food.
● Example, herbivores that eat plants, carnivores that eat other animals, omnivores
that eat both plants and animals.
● Decomposers or detritivores: e.g. fungi and bacteria, break down
chemicals from producers and consumers (usually dead) into a simpler
form which can be reused.
Abiotic components:
● These include physical conditions and non-living resources that affect the
biotic components.
● Examples of abiotic factors are temperature, light intensity, moisture and
water levels, air currents, carbon dioxide levels and the pH of water
and soil, minerals present in the soil.
Food Chain
● Food chain represents the flow of energy in a linear sequence from one
organism at one trophic level to another organism at another trophic level.
● Each step in the food chain is called a trophic level.
● An example is:
Grasses → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk
● Here, the grass is an autotroph that converts solar energy to chemical energy
and stores it in form of carbohydrates.
● Grass represents the first trophic level. Grasshopper is a herbivore, a
consumer that feeds on grass.
● The frog is a carnivore that feeds on a grasshopper. The Frog is the food of a
snake.
● The hawk is the fifth trophic level and the last organism in this food chain.
● Another example is:
Diatoms (Phytoplankton)→ crustaceans → small fish → larger fish like
salmon → Shark or a Seal
● During each trophic level, between 80% and 90% of an organism's energy,
or biomass is lost as heat energy.
● Therefore, the transfer of energy from one trophic level to another is inefficient
and thus the length of the food chain become limited to 4-6 trophic levels.
Trophic Levels in the Food Chain

The trophic levels identified in the food chain are:


1. Autotrophs:
● They are the producers of food for all other organisms of the ecosystem.
● They are largely green plants and convert inorganic material in the
presence of solar energy by the process of photosynthesis into the chemical
energy (food).
● The total rate at which the radiant energy is stored by the process of
photosynthesis in the green plants is called Gross Primary Productivity
(GPP).
● This is also known as total photosynthesis or total assimilation.
● From the gross primary productivity, a part is utilized by the plants
for its own metabolism.
● The remaining amount is stored by the plant as Net Primary
Production (NPP) which is available to consumers.
2. Herbivores:
● The animals which eat the plants directly are called primary
consumers or herbivores.
● E.g. insects, birds, rodents and ruminants.
3. Carnivores:
● They are secondary consumers if they feed on herbivores and tertiary
consumers if they use carnivores as their food. e.g. frog, dog, cat and
tiger.
● Sometimes quaternary consumers can also be found.
● Organisms at the top of a food chain are called apex consumers.
4. Omnivores:
● Animals that eat both plant and animals e.g. pig, bear and men
5. Decomposers:
● They take care of the dead remains of organisms at each trophic level
and help in recycling of the nutrients e.g. bacteria and fungi.
Types of Food Chain
1. Grazing Food chain:
● It starts from the autotrophs on which the primary consumers feed.
● The energy usually comes from the sun as photosynthesis by green
plants requires it.
2. Detritus Food chain:
● It starts from the dead organic matter like fallen leaves, plant parts
or dead animal bodies on which the detritivores organisms called
saprophytes like protozoans, bacteria, fungi feed.
Bioaccumulation
● It is the gradual buildup of toxic chemicals or heavy metals inside an
organism’s body over time.
● Bioaccumulation is seen in food chains.
● The pesticides or insecticides sprayed on plants comprises toxins.
● These plants are consumed by primary consumers, which are eaten by
secondary consumers, and the secondary consumers are eaten by higher level
consumers.
● At each trophic level, the consumer consumes more quantity e.g. a secondary
consumer may feed on two primary consumers and the tertiary consumer
may feed on 4-5 secondary consumers.
● Thus, the amount of toxin accumulated increases at each trophic level and is
the maximum at the apex level
● Harmless substances are usually excreted but the toxins deposit in the tissues.
● Especially fat tissues of organisms and the concentration of toxin becomes
most concentrated in the body tissues of the animals at the top of the food chain.
● In the 1940s and 1950s, a pesticide called DDT
(dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was widely used to kill insects that spread
diseases.
● DDT bioaccumulates in an ecosystem and causes damage to the environment.
● It was the cause of decline in the population of bald eagles, which are
the apex predators.
● DDT caused the eggs of the eagles to have extremely thin shells and the
eggs broke before they could hatch.
Biomagnification-
● Increase in concentration of a substance/toxin in a food chain across
trophic level and not in an organism is called Bio-amplification or
biomagnification.
Ecological Pyramid
● Ecological pyramids are the graphic representations of trophic levels in an
ecosystem.
Pyramid of number:
● This represents the number of organisms at each trophic level.
● For example, in a grassland, the number of grasses is more than the number of
herbivores that feed on them and the number of herbivores is more than the
number of carnivores.
● In some instances the pyramid of number may be inverted, i.e herbivores are
more than primary producers as many caterpillars and insects can feed on a
single tree.
Pyramid of biomass:
● This represents the total standing crop biomass at each trophic level.
● Standing crop biomass is the amount of living matter at any given time. It is
expressed as gm per unit area or kilocal per unit area.
● In most of the terrestrial ecosystems, the pyramid of biomass is upright.
● However, in the case of aquatic ecosystems the pyramid of biomass may be
inverted e.g. in a pond phytoplankton are the main producers.
● They have very short life cycles and a rapid turnover rate (i.e. they are rapidly
replaced by new plants).
● Therefore, their total biomass at any given time is less than the biomass of
herbivores supported by them.
Pyramid of energy:
● This pyramid represents the total amount of energy at each trophic level.
● Energy is expressed in terms of rate such as kcal per unit area per unit
time or cal per unit area per unit time.
● Energy pyramids are always upright.
Biogeochemical Cycles
● The matter on Earth comprises the elements that are necessary for the
structure and chemical processes of life.
● These elements are cycled continuously through the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere, on time scales ranging from a few
days to millions of years.
● The biogeochemical cycles comprise biological, geological, and chemical
processes.
● The major biogeochemical cycles are carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle and
hydrological cycle (water cycle).
The Carbon Cycle
● The carbon cycle involves two sub-cycles which differ in the time scales.
● The first sub-cycle is fast and occurs at the biological level.
● An estimated 1,000 to 100,000 million metric tons of carbon move through
the biological pathway each year.
● The second sub-cycle is geochemical and takes an enormous amount of
time as the geological processes take a lot of time, sometimes which
extends upto millions of years.
The global carbon cycle consists of the following steps:
Photosynthesis:
● Green plants in the presence of sunlight utilize CO2 in the process of
photosynthesis and convert the inorganic carbon into organic matter
(food) and release oxygen.
● A part of the food made through photosynthesis is used by plants for their
own metabolism and the rest is stored as their biomass which is available to
various herbivores, heterotrophs, including human beings and
microorganisms as food.
Respiration:
● Respiration is carried out by all living organisms.
● It is a metabolic process where food is oxidized to liberate energy, CO2
and water.
● The energy released from respiration is used for carrying out life processes
by living organism (plants, animals, decomposers etc.).
● Thus CO2 is released into the atmosphere through this process.
Decomposition:
● All the food assimilated by animals or synthesized by the plant is not
metabolized by them completely.
● A major part is retained by them as their own biomass which becomes
available to decomposers on their death.
● The dead organic matter is decomposed by microorganisms and CO2 is
released into the atmosphere by decomposers.
Combustion:
● Burning of biomass releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Geological Carbon Cycle
● It may take up to millions of years.
● Carbon may be stored for long periods of time in the atmosphere, bodies of liquid
water—mostly oceans— ocean sediment, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and Earth’s
interior.
● Oceans play a very important role in the geological carbon cycle. CO2 readily
dissolves in water, hence oceans can store a great amount of carbon dioxide.
● The dissolved CO2 combines with water molecules to form carbonic acid, which
is unstable and dissociates into carbonate ions.
● The carbonate ions react with calcium ions to form calcium carbonate.
● Calcium carbonate is the chief inorganic material that forms the shells of
marine organisms.
● Once the organisms are dead, the calcium carbonate remains settled on the
ocean floor as sediment.
● Over the course of time, the sediment is converted to carbonate rocks like
limestone.
● However, the exchange of carbon in this form with the atmosphere is very slow.
● Carbon is stored in the interior of the Earth in the form of carbonate rocks,
such as limestone, dolomites, and chalk.
● Also, fossil fuels are a carbon reservoir that forms over the course of
millions of years.
● When humans burn them, carbon is released into the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide.
● Carbon is released from the Earth’s interior into the atmosphere
during volcanic eruptions as well.
● Carbon is in the form of carbon dioxide.
The Nitrogen Cycle
The main steps in the nitrogen cycle are:
Nitrogen fixation:
● This process involves the conversion of gaseous nitrogen into Ammonia,
a form in which it can be used by plants.
● Atmospheric nitrogen can be fixed by the following three methods:
1. Atmospheric fixation: Lightning, combustion and volcanic activity
help in the fixation of nitrogen.
2. Industrial fixation: At high temperature (400oC) and high pressure
(200 atm.), molecular nitrogen is broken into atomic nitrogen which
then combines with hydrogen to form ammonia.
3. Bacterial fixation: There are two types of bacteria-
A. Symbiotic bacteria e.g. Rhizobium in the root nodules of
leguminous plants.
B. Free living or symbiotic e.g. Nostoc, Azotobacter,
cyanobacteria can combine atmospheric or dissolved nitrogen
with hydrogen to form ammonia.
Nitrification:
● It is a process by which ammonia is converted into nitrates or nitrites
by Nitrosomonas and Nitrococcus bacteria respectively.
● Another soil bacteria Nitrobacter can convert nitrate into nitrite.
Assimilation:
● In this process, nitrogen fixed by plants is converted into organic
molecules such as proteins, DNA, RNA etc.
Ammonification :
● Living organisms produce nitrogenous waste products such as urea and
uric acid.
● These waste products, as well as dead remains of organisms are converted
back into inorganic ammonia by the bacteria called Ammonifying
bacteria.
Denitrification:
● Conversion of nitrates back into gaseous nitrogen is called
denitrification.
● Denitrifying bacteria live deep in soil near the water table as they like to
live in the oxygen free medium.
● Denitrification is reverse of nitrogen fixation.
The Water Cycle
● Most of the water on the Earth does not cycle very rapidly.
● The residence time of water refers to the average time that an individual water
molecule spends in each of Earth’s major water reservoirs.
● Water in oceans, underground, and in the form of ice tends to cycle very slowly.
● The driving forces for water cycle are solar radiation and gravity.
● Evaporation and precipitation are two main processes involved in the water
cycle. These two processes alternate with each other
● Water from oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams evaporates by sun’s heat
energy.
● Plants also transpire huge amounts of water.
● Water remains in the vapour state in air and forms clouds.
● Clouds meet with the cold air in the mountainous regions above the forests and
condense to form precipitation (e.g.rain) which comes down due to gravity.
● When precipitation reaches the Earth's surface, it has a few options: it may
re-evaporate, flow over the surface as runoff, or percolate i.e. sink down into
the ground.
● Water usually flows as runoff when the soil is saturated with water, during a
heavy downpour, or when the surface can't absorb much water.
● Water in the upper levels of the soil is absorbed by plant roots.
Homeostasis
● Homeostasis is the capacity of the ecosystems to maintain a dynamic
equilibrium.
● Ecosystems self-regulate using negative feedback mechanism that makes
them relatively stable.
● Interactions between predators and prey are widely cited as a classic
example of how consumer/ resource dynamics can result in negative
feedback that stabilizes the system.
● In a simple predator-prey system - initial increases in prey populations
result in increased resource availability for their predator.
● Because consuming prey results in increased reproduction and survival in the
predator population.
● In this way, increases in the prey population initially provide an impetus
for the predator population to increase.
● As predator abundance increases, the demand for prey also increases and the
increase in death rate for the prey causes declines in prey populations.
Thank You!

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