ECO: Midterm Reviewer

HUMAN IMPACTS THAT AFFECT THE NATURAL ECOSYSTEM

➢ Population growth
➢ Acid rain
➢ Acidification of lakes
➢ Deforestation
➢ Bioaccumulation
➢ Ozone depletion
➢ Carbon-fluoro-carbons
➢ Pollution
➢ Exxon Valdez oil spill
➢ Global warming
Population growth leads to
Industrialization
➢ Burning fossil fuels
➢ Non-renewable resources
➢ Pollution
➢ Increased CO2, levels
Acid rain
Burning of fossil fuels releases sulphates and nitrates into the air. Sulphates and nitrates mix with water
vapor in the air and form sulphuric acid and nitric acid.
Acidification of lakes
Lakes and ponds can become so acidified that no life can live in them.
Deforestation
Population growth leads to the loss of natural habitats
Cut down trees to build new homes
Loss of biodiversity
Loss of oxygen producers and CO2 eliminators
Pollution
Water pollution
➢ Oil spills
➢ Gasoline spills
➢ Gets into drinking water
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Global warming
Increase in CO2
Increase in the greenhouse effect
Increase in global temperatures
What is biodiversity? Why is it important?
Simply means the diversity, or variety, of plants and animals and other living things in a particular area or
region. It is important because everything that lives in an ecosystem is part of the web of life, including
humans, Each species of vegetation and each creature has a place on the earth and plays a vital role in
the circle of life. Plant, animal, and insect species interact and depend upon one another for what each
offers, such as food. shelter, oxygen, and soil enrichment.
How are humans affecting global biodiversity?
Climate change, brought about by emissions of greenhouse gases when fossil fuels are burnt, is making
life uncomfortably hot for some species and uncomfortably cold for others.
Pollution is currently poisoning all forms of life, both on land and in the water, and contributing to climate
change.
Habitat loss and destruction, usually as a direct result of human activity and population growth, is a major
force in the loss of species, populations, and ecosystems.
What is meant by Conservation?
The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and natural resources such as
forests, soil, and water.
How we can preserve biodiversity?
➢ Do not waste paper, use only as much as you require. Do not scribble on it or tear it off after
writing just a line or two.
➢ Use recycled paper as far as possible
➢ Try to reuse the envelopes wherever possible
➢ 75% of all fisheries are fully exploited or overfished. Species like cod, haddock, and halibut are
already threatened. If we do not move towards sustainable use, there will be no fish left for our
grandchildren.
Climate change is considered to be the greatest challenge for humanity. With changing conditions,
ecosystems and habitats will change as well. It is an obligation to fight climate change and make sure that
species can migrate or adapt to new surroundings.

ENVIRONMENT AND ITS COMPONENTS

Environment
➢ The word Environment is derived from the French word “Environ” which means “surrounding”.
➢ The environment is a complex of many variables
➢ Our surrounding includes biotic factors like human beings, plants, animals, microbes, etc, and
abiotic factors such as light, air, water, soil, etc.
Components of environment
The natural environment consists of four interlinking systems:
➢ The atmosphere (the cover of the air)
➢ The hydrosphere (water bodies)
➢ The lithosphere (the earth’s crust)
➢ The biosphere (the life layer)
These four systems are in constant change and such changes are affected by human activities and vice
versa:
Atmosphere
➢ The earth’s atmosphere, a complex system of gases and suspended particles
➢ The atmosphere as of today has been derived from the earth itself by chemical and biochemical
reactions.
➢ Its boundaries are not easily defined
➢ They can be arbitrarily defined as the earth’s atmosphere interface and space interface.
Hydrosphere
➢ It includes the surface water and its surrounding interface
➢ It is vital for life to survive
➢ Water possesses a number of physical and chemical properties that help to act as best suited
medium for life activities
➢ The movement of water from the earth's surface to the atmosphere through the hydrological
cycle.
Lithosphere
➢ It is the outer boundary layer of solid earth and the discontinuity within the mantle
➢ The outer boundary forms a complex interface with the atmosphere and hydrosphere and is also
the environment in which life has evolved.
➢ Basically, the lithosphere is nothing but a crustal system composed of various layers: core,
mantle, and outer crust.
Biosphere
The biosphere encompasses all the zones on the earth in which life is present, i.e. entire bio-resources of
the earth. The steps involved in the origin of life on earth are very complex and require several centuries.
Ecosystem
An ecosystem represents the highest level of ecological integration, which is energy-based and capable
of energy transformation, accumulation, and circulation. Its main function in the ecological sense is to
emphasize obligatory relationships, interdependence, and casual relationships which is the coupling of
components to form functional units.
Within the biosphere, there are several major regions containing specific types of ecosystems.
Ecosystems are composed of a variety of biotic and abiotic components that function in an interrelated
fashion.
Major environmental problems
Ozone depletion, greenhouse effect, and global warming - increased concentration of GHGs.
Desertification - destructing of the biological potential of land
Deforestation - commercial exploitation of forests
Loss of biodiversity - many species are disappearing rapidly
Disposal of wastes - wastewater, solid waste, and gaseous steams
Key culprits
➢ Population growth
➢ Rapid urbanization
➢ Uncontrolled extraction of natural resources
Environmental engineering
Environmental engineering is the application of scientific and engineering principles to improve and
maintain the environment to:
➢ Protect human health
➢ Protect nature’s beneficial ecosystems
➢ Improve environmental-related enhancement of the quality of human life
Environmental engineering, the development of processes and infrastructure for the supply of water, the
disposal of waste, and the control of pollution of all kinds. These endeavors protect public health by
preventing disease transmission, and they preserve the quality of the environment by averting the
contamination and degradation of air, water, and land resources.
Environmental engineering is a field of broad scope that draws on such disciplines as chemistry, ecology,
geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, economics, and mathematics. It was traditionally a
specialized field within civil engineering and was called sanitary engineering until the mid-1960s when the
more accurate name environmental engineering was adopted.
Projects in environmental engineering involve the:
➢ treatment and distribution of drinking water
➢ the collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater
➢ the control of air pollution and noise pollution; municipal solid-waste management and
hazardous-waste management;
➢ the cleanup of hazardous-waste sites; and the preparation of environmental assessments, audits,
and impact studies.
Mathematical modeling and computer analysis are widely used to evaluate and design the systems
required for such tasks. Chemical and mechanical engineers may also be involved in the process.
Environmental engineering functions include applied research and teaching; project planning and
management; the design, construction, and operation of facilities; the sale and marketing of
environmental-control equipment; and the enforcement of environmental standards and regulations.
Why do we need the Environment?
The environment has played a very important role in making it able to survive for all biotic and abiotic
components on Earth. While talking about the advantages of the environment, it has many more benefits.
Let's take the example of the benefit of it, we human beings are social animals as well as powerful than
other animals on Earth.
A good environment is good for living things same as polluted environment is very harmful to living things.
We human beings need food to live, air to breathe, water to drink, etc. Which are
getting from the environment. If there were no suitable environment on the earth then it would be
impossible for the human to survive on earth.
Types of Environment
➢ Natural environment
➢ Manmade environment
Natural Ecosystems
Ecosystems which are the gifts of nature are called natural ecosystems. Deserts, forests, oceans,
grasslands, etc. are natural ecosystems.
Man-made Ecosystems
Ecosystems that are engineered by man are called man-made or artificial ecosystems. Examples:
Gardens, Man-made lakes, agricultural fields, etc.
Natural Environment
The components of the natural environment are air, water, soil, land, radiation, forests, wildlife, flora and
fauna, etc.
Natural Environment
The components of the natural environment are air, water, soil, land, radiation, forests, wildlife, flora and
fauna, etc.

PIONEERS OF ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT

History of Ecology as a Science
from early teachings of philosophy, ethics, and politics
➢ Aristotle (3rd century B.C.)
➢ Historia Animalia
➢ Theophrastus organism-environment
History of Ecology as a Science (18th C)
Schools of thought:
Arcadian ecology
➢ Arcadian Ecology is the school of thought that advocates for a harmonious relationship between
humans and nature.
➢ It is named for the mountainous Arcady region of Greece.
➢ Opposing the Arcadian view is Francis Bacon's ideology, “imperial ecology”.
➢ Imperialists work “to establish through the exercise of reason and by hard work, man’s
dominance over nature”.
➢ Imperial ecologists also believe that man should become a dominant figure over nature and all
other organisms as “once enjoyed in the Garden of Eden”.
 ➢ Both views continued their rivalry through the early eighteenth century until Carl Linnaeus's
support of imperialism; and in a short time due to Linnaeus's popularity, imperial ecology became
the dominant view within the discipline.
Linnaeus
➢ Father of Taxonomy
➢ binomial system of nomenclature
➢ Systema Naturae (1735)
○ phenology and geography of plants *environmental factors seasonal progression and
plant distribution
➢ Imperial ecology
History of Ecology as a Science (19th C)
➢ plant geography and natural history (e.g. study of plants, birds, mammals, fish, etc.)
➢ expeditions for natural resources (Great Britain, Portugal, Spain)
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)
➢ Father of Ecology
➢ correlated vegetation types with environmental
○ characteristics ecological gradient of latitudinal
○ biodiversity
○ increases towards the tropics
➢ Idea for Plant Geography
Darwin
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)
Haeckel
➢ “ecology”
Edward Seuss
➢ “biosphere”
➢ 1875
➢ “symbiosis” first described – 1879
Eugen Warming
➢ “biogeography”
Eugene Odum and Howard Odum
➢ 1953
➢ wrote the first ecology textbook
➢ Ecology as university course *E. Odum
➢ “systems ecology” (or “ecosystem ecology”), 1966
History of Ecology as a Science (20 th C - present )
➢ Human Ecology - 1920
Vladimir Vernadsky - 1926
➢ redefined biosphere (The Biosphere)
Arthur Tansley
➢ 1950 - harmful effects of pollution on ecosystems known
➢ “ecosystem”
➢ 1935
Other Contributors
- 1971
Charles Elton
➢ Father of animal ecology
➢ food chain/ food web and niche concepts
Barry Commoner
➢ Four Basic Laws of Ecology in “The Closing Circle”
Herodotus and Plato
➢ Providential ecology
Robert Malthus
➢ relationship of population and food supply
Vito Volterra and Alfred Lotka
➢ predation-prey interaction model
Pierre Verhulst
➢ proposed the growth of the population
Justus von Leibig
➢ Law of Minimum (1840)
Victor Shelford
➢ Law of Tolerance (1913)
Georgy Gause
➢ Competitive Exclusion” principle
Ecology
oldest science
Indigenous practices in the Phils:
a. Bontocs in Cordillera
➢ nutrient cycling
b. Ikalahan in Nueva Vizcaya
➢ shifting cultivation
c. Hanunoo Mangyans of Mindoro
➢ kaingin farming from lands cleared from the forest
Implications of Indigenous Practices
➢ survival strategy is an integral part
➢ evolutionary development not only between plants and animals with their environment but also
between human communities and their environments
Environmental Awareness in the U.S.
➢ Early Conservationist George Perkins Marshst / Naturalist Philosophers
20th C – Present
1960s and 1970s
➢ concern for the state of the environment
➢ public prominence of ecology
➢ became involved in social, political, and economic issues- awareness about pollution,
overpopulation, degraded environments
➢ resource management Ex: environmental impact assessment

LIMITING FACTORS
Definition of Limiting Factor
➢ A limiting factor is a resource or environmental condition that limits the growth, distribution, or
abundance of an organism or population within an ecosystem.
➢ These can be either physical or biological factors which can be identified through a response of
increased or decreased growth, abundance, or distribution of a population when the factor is
changed, and when the other factors necessary to life are not.
➢ Limiting factors are theorized under different Laws of the limiting factors
➢ A limiting factor restricts organisms from occupying their fundamental niche and results instead in
the fulfillment of their actual or realized niche
Fundamental Niche
➢ The total range of environmental conditions that is suitable in order for an organism to exist, in the
absence of limiting factors.
Realized Niche
➢ The actual amount of resources or environmental conditions that an organism is able to utilize
within an ecosystem.
Fundamental Niche vs. Realized Niche
Fundamental niche
Range of conditions a species can potentially tolerate
◇ Range of conditions species can potentially use
◇ Not realistic
Realized niche
◇ Range of resources a species actually uses
◇ Species may have to restrict activity to avoid predators
◇ Competition may prevent the use of a resource
A limiting factor restricts organisms from occupying their fundamental niche and results instead in the
fulfillment of their actual or realized niche.
Types of Limiting Factor
Density Dependent Factors
Density-dependent factors are those factors whose effect on a population is determined by the total size
of the population.
Predation and disease, as well as resource availability, are all examples of density-dependent factors.
As an example, the disease is likely to spread quicker through a larger, denser population, impacting the
number of individuals within the population more than it would in a smaller, more widely dispersed
population.
Density-Independent Factors
A density-independent limiting factor is one which limits the size of a population, but whose effect is not
dependent on the size of the population (the number of individuals).
Examples of density-independent factors include environmentally stressful events such as earthquakes,
tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, as well as sudden climate changes such as drought or flood, and
destructive occurrences, such as the input of extreme environmental pollutants.
Density-independent factors will usually kill all members of a population, regardless of the population size.
Physical and Biological Limiting Factors
Physical factors or abiotic factors include temperature, water availability, oxygen, salinity, light, food and
nutrients, biotic factors, and interactions between species like predation, competition, parasitism,
herbivory etc.
Shelford's Law of Intolerance
Shelford's law of tolerance states that an organism's success is based on a complex set of conditions and
that each organism has a certain minimum, maximum, and optimum environmental factor or combination
of factors that determine success.
Victor Ernest Shelford (1911)
According to the law of tolerance, populations have optimal survival conditions within critical minimal and
maximal thresholds.
As the population is exposed to the extremes of a particular limiting factor, the rates of survival begin to
drop.
The distribution of a species in response to a limiting factor can be represented as a bell-shaped curve
with three distinct regions:
1. Optimal zone: Central portion of the curve which has conditions that favor maximal reproductive
success and survivability.
2. Zones of stress: Regions flanking the optimal zone, where organisms can survive but with reduced
reproductive success.
3. Zones of intolerance: Outermost regions in which organisms cannot survive (represents extremes of
the limiting factor).
According to Shelford's law of tolerance, there are upper and lower threshold values on the gradient
beyond which the species cannot survive. Tolerance range differs from one species to another.
Stenothermal-Eurythermal - Pertaining to temperature
Stenohaline--Euryhaline - Pertaining to salinity.
Stenohydric-Eu.yhydric - Pertaining to water
Stenophagic-Euryphagic - Pertaining to food
Stenobathic-Eurybathic - Pertaining to depth
Stenoecious-Euryecious - Pertaining to niche or habitat selection
Carl Sprengel
Liebig law of the minimum, often simply called Liebig's law or the law of the minimum, is a principle
developed in agricultural science by Carl Sprengel (1840) and later popularized by Justus von Liebig. It
states that growth is dictated not by total resources available, but by the scarcest resource (limiting
factor).
Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig, generally credited as the "father of the fertilizer industry", formulated the law of the
minimum: if one crop nutrient is missing or deficient, plant growth will be poor, even if the other elements
are abundant.
Liebig's barrel
Liebig compares the potential of a crop to a barrel with staves of unequal length. The capacity of this
barrel is limited by the length of the shortest stave (in this case, phosphorus) and can only be increased
by lengthening that stave. When that stave is lengthened, another one becomes the limiting factor.
Blackman's Law of limiting factors states that, when a process depends on a number of factors, its rate
is limited by the pace of the slowest factor.
Law of Limiting Factors (Blackman)
As the light intensity (LI) increases, the rate of p/s increases, until the Light plant is photosynthesizing as
fast as intensity it can.
LSP Light Saturation Point.
When the LSP is reached, plants cannot photosynthesize any faster, even when the light gets brighter.

ECOLOGICAL NICHE
Ecology:
The branch of biology deals with the relation of organisms to one another and to their environment.
Environment
The surrounding or conditions in which a persons, animals or plants live.
Factors of environment
Biotic Factors
Abiotic Factors
Difference b/w Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Biotic Factors
The living parts of an ecosystem are called biotic components plants, animals, birds, fungi etc.
Abiotic Factors
The non-living parts of an ecosystem are called abiotic or non- biotic components. Sunlight, temperature
Water, air, soil etc.
Ecological Niche
The role and position of a species in its environment
Factors
➢ Energy
➢ Nutrition
➢ Timing of activity
➢ What they eat
➢ Nest
➢ Condition of temperature & moisture
Ecological niche
➢ It is the role and position of species in environment
➢ Niche of any specie include all the attribute to Lifestyle
➢ where it look for food, animal
➢ what it eat, where it nest and
➢ what condition of temperature and moisture it requires
Discovery
Charles Elden (1917)
Plant occupy own ecological niche
Mistletoe on Eucalyptus
Hutchinson niche concept
A description of the ecological space occupied by a specie.
Types of Ecological Niche
➢ Fundamental Niche
➢ Realized Niche
Fundamental Niche
➢ Range of environmental conditions in which each of the species survive and reproduce.
➢ It is larger.
➢ Elaborate various roles of species.
➢ Full niches of species.
Realized Niche
➢ Range of environmental conditions in which a species is really found.
➢ It is smaller
➢ Portion of fundamental niche that is actually filled.
Types of ecological niche
Fundamental niche
➢ A niche of an organism given that there are no limiting factor son the environment and resources
the organism can use Pre-competitive niche
➢ Theoretical niche
➢ Large in size
➢ elaborate on various role of a particular specie
➢ No competition either for resources or predator
Realized niche
➢ A niche that is occupied by a viable population of a specie in the presence of competitor specie
Post-competitive specie
➢ Where the specie actually tive
➢ Small in size
➢ Elaborate on what specie actually do
➢ Competition occur both for resources and predator
Competitive exclusion principle
Also called as Gause's law because "Georgy Gause "describe this term.
Definition
"Two species can not occupy the same niche"
a. Competition for food
b. Competition for habitat
Gusaes competitive exclusion principle
The principle states that:
"Two species with identical niches cannot co exist"
➢ When two species compete, one is more likely to be more successful
➢ And other species will decrease and remove from the environment
Resource partitioning
If two species are competiting for the same resource, they can avoid competition by choosing different
time for feeding or different forging behavior
Types of resource partition
Temporal:
➢ Same resources but different time
➢ Spiny mouse
Spatial:
➢ Use of different habitat of resources
➢ Warbler
Morphological:
➢ Use of body shape and size
➢ Finches
Importance of ecological niche
➢ Niches reduces competition for resources
➢ Interspecies competition lead to evolutionary changes
➢ Each specie ecological niche include their spot in the food chain if specie is missing from
ecosystem' food chain Then it may cause entire ecosystem to fail and ultimately die
➢ Segregation of organisms into niches avoids confusion of activities in the community and gives a
more orderly and efficient life pattern for each species.
➢ Segregation of different species in a particular niche results in full exploitation of all available
resources.
Narrow and broad niches
Generalist specie:
➢ Have broad niches
➢ Live in many different areas
➢ Eat Varity of food
➢ Tolerate wide range of environmental condition
Specialist species:
➢ Narrow niches
➢ May only live in one type of habitat
➢ Eat few type of food
➢ Tolerate narrow range of environmental condition
Generalist specie
Colorado beetle
➢ Feed on potatoes, belladonna,egg plant and other plant
➢ Live in North America Europe, Asia
Specialist specie
Giant panda
➢ 90 percent diet
 ➢ Live only in few. mountains of china
➢ Temperate forest at 1200- 3900m elevation
Habitat VS Niche
Habitat
➢ Actually where the organisms live including biotic and abiotic factors.
➢ All of the parameters.
➢ Address of the organisms.
Niche
➢ All the factors which an organism require to live and reproduce in a healthy way in a particular
area.
➢ Selective parameters.
➢ Profession or job of the organism.
Difference in habitat and niche
Habitat
➢ A habitat is a particular place where organisms address
➢ It is not specie specific many specie can occupy the same habitat
➢ Habitat consist of several niches
➢ It is superset of niche
➢ Example
Desert, ocean, forest
Niche
➢ A niche is a particular role played by an organism in an ecosystem It is specie specific it support
only one specie
➢ Niche is specific to particular specie, which may overlap with sane niche but have distant
differences
➢ It is a subset of habitat
➢ Example
Different tropic position occupied by darwins finches

ECOLOGICAL NICHE CONCEPT AND SPECIES INTERACTIONS

Habitat vs. Ecological Niche
Habitat
➢ Physical space
➢ Reflects the living area
➢ of an organism
➢ Shared by organisms
Ecological Niche
➢ Functional space
➢ Reflects the interactions
➢ in the ecosystem
➢ Single niche is
➢ occupied by single organism
Ecological Niche Concept
Hutchinson
➢ position of a species
within an ecosystem, describing both the range of conditions necessary for persistence of the species,
and its ecological role in the ecosystem
Ecological Niche Concept
N-dimensional hypervolume
The Niche
Hutchinsonian Niche Hypervolume (1959)
-n-dimensional set of resources and environments that a species requires to persist
Fundamental Niche and Realized Niche
fundamental or pre - interactive niche
➢ corresponds to those values of the two variables where the species can persist
realized or post
➢ interactive niche species in limited range of conditions successfully exploited by that specie
COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE
No two species can occupy the same niche within the environment (Gause's Principle)
Extinction of species
➢ Resource partitioning
➢ Character displacement
Limiting similarity
Species coexistence ensured by niche separation
Ecological Community
assemblage of populations of at least two different species that interact directly within a defined
geographic area
FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS
➢ Patterns of material and energy flow in communities
➢ Food chain is a linear sequence of organisms which starts from producer organisms and ends
with decomposer species.
➢ Food web is a connection of multiple food chains.
➢ Food chain follows a single path whereas food web follows multiple paths.
➢ From the food chain, we get to know how organisms are connected with each other.
➢ Food chain and food web form an integral part of this ecosystem
Species Interactions
Intraspecific interactions between members of the same species
Interspecific - interactions between members of different species
INTRASPECIFIC INTERACTIONS
➢ Interference competition
➢ Exploitative competition
➢ Scramble competition
Intraspecific Interactions Interference competition
➢ involves direct interactions between species
Interference Competition
➢ occurs when organisms compete directly for resources.
Aggressive interactions
Interference competition does not require à direct fight over a resource.
Some birds will attack and destroy eggs in nests near their own, presumably to reduce competition for
resources.
Exploitative competition
➢ species compete indirectly; individuals reduce the availability of a resource as they use it.
Exploitation Competition
There are two possible outcomes from this competition:
➢ They will co-exist
➢ One of the two will be excluded
In theory, if there is enough overlap in their requirements, one species will always have a slight advantage
and will succeed at the expense of the other
Scramble competition
In scramble competition the organisms share the resource - each will try to get as much as possible for
themselves.
Interspecific Interactions
➢ Competition
➢ Predation
➢ Mutualism
➢ Commensalism
➢ Parasitism
1. COMPETITION
Competition
Competition is when organisms compete for limited resources like food, territory, and mates. It can be
between members of the same species (intraspecific) or between different species (interspecific).
Competition is a (-/-) interaction because both parties are negatively affected.
Some specific types of competition
➢ Consumptive competition
➢ Preemptive competition
➢ Overgrowth competition
➢ Chemical composition
➢ Territorial competition
➢ Encounter competition
6 Other Categories of Competition
(Schoener 1983)
Consumptive competition
For renewable resources.
Preemptive competition
For space.
Overgrowth competition
One organism grows on top of the other (i.e. plants competing for sunlight).
Chemical competition
Releasing chemicals to reduce competition with other species.
Territorial competition
Defense of space from other organisms.
Encounter competition
Short-term interactions between organisms.
2. Symbiotic Relationships
SYMBIOSIS refers to relationships between organisms of DIFFERENT species that show an intimate
association with each other
Symbiotic relationships provide at least ONE of the participating species with a nutritional advantage
3 types of symbiosis have been recognized depending on the nature of the relationship:
➢ Parasitism
➢ Commensalism
➢ Mutualism
a. Mutualism
Mutualism
is a biological interaction between two species wherein both the species benefit from
each other.
b. Parasitism
Parasitism is the relationship between two organisms wherein one organism, the parasite, thrives at the
cost of the other, the host.
c. Commensalism
Commensalism
Some examples
➢ Barnacles adhering to the skin of a whale or shell of a mollusk
➢ Sea anemone and clownfish
➢ Cattle Egrets and Cows
Coevolution
Two organisms evolve in response to each other
Ex. Flowering plants and their pollinators
Coevolution
Coevolution happens when two unrelated groups become uniquely adapted to each other

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
What is Ecological Succession?
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION IS: The observed process of change in the species structure of an
ecological community over a period of time
What is Ecological Succession?
Ecosystems are constantly changing.
Ecological succession is a gradual process of change and replacement of the types of species in a
community. Each new community makes it harder for the previous community to survive.
Ecological Succession
The progressive change in the species composition of an ecosystem.
Types of Ecological Succession
There are two main types of Ecological Succession:
Primary Succession
It is the process of creating life in an area where no life existed earlier.
Primary Succession
An example of an area in which a community has never lived before would be a new lava or rock from a
volcano that makes a new island.
Primary Succession
Begins in a place without any soil, like
➢ Sides of volcanoes
➢ Landslides
➢ Flooding
Starts with the arrival of living things such as lichens that do not need any soil to survive.
They are called Pioneer Species
Primary Succession
➢ When lichens die, they decompose, adding small amounts of organic matter to the rock to make
soil.
➢ Simple plants like mosses and ferns can grow on this new soil
➢ The simple plants die, adding more organic material.
➢ The soil layer thickens, and grasses and other plants begin to take over.
➢ These plants die, and they add more nutrients to the soil.
➢ Shrubs and trees can survive now, on this soil.
 ➢ Insects, small birds and mammals can now begin to move in.
➢ What was earlier only bare rock, now supports a variety of life
Secondary Succession
is the process of re-stabilization that follows a disturbance in an area, where life has formed an
ecosystem.
Types of Ecological Succession
Secondary Succession occurs on a surface where an ecosystem has previously existed. It is the
process by which one community replaces another community which has been partially or totally
destroyed, might be by natural process such as floods, earthquake etc.
➢ When an existing community has been cleared by any type of disturbance, such as fire, cyclone
etc and the soil remains intact, the area begins to return to its natural community.
➢ Because these habitats previously supported life, secondary succession begins.
Why does Ecological Succession Occur?
Because it is the process of life for plants and other living organisms. Because organisms alter soil
structure and the species communities constantly change over a period of time. Succession will continue
until the environment reaches its final stage - the Climax Community
How does Ecological Succession take place?
Succession will continue until the environment reaches its final stage, ---- the Climax Community.
Climax Community
➢ A climax community is a mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession
➢ This type of community remains the same through out the time, if it is not disturbed.
➢ A stable group of plants and animals which is the end result of succession process, does not
always mean only big trees. They could be: * Cacti in deserts or * Grasses in fields
Physical Factors
The two main physical factors that determine the nature of the community that develops in an area are:
1. Temperature
2. The amount of rainfall.
Threats to Succession
➢ The grasses that move in as pioneer species are often thought as weeds. The subsequent growth
of shrubs are considered undesirable "brush".
➢ But, without these intermediate stages, the disturbed habitat can't return to forest.
How do Humans affect Ecological succession?
➢ Clearing the land for garden and preparing the soil for planting is a type of major external event
that radically re-structure and disrupt a previously stabilized ecosystem.
➢ This disturbance may immediately begin a process of ecological succession.
Does Ecological Succession ever stop?
➢ Over a long period of time, the climate conditions of an ecosystem is bound to change.
➢ No ecosystem has existed or will remain unchanged over a Geological Time Scale