ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND

PRINCIPLES
TTH 5 - 6:30 pm
7 – 8:30 pm

2nd Semester
AY: 2018 - 2019
Learning Outcomes:
• Explain the different ecological concepts and principles
• Discuss the components of an ecosystem.
• Explain the different types of biogeochemical cycles.
• Discuss how organism interacts with each other
• Identify the different types of ecosystem
INTRODUCTION
• One of the very serious problems not only in our country, but all over
the world is DEGRADATION
• DEGRADATION: the wearing down of the land by the erosive action of
water, wind, or ice.
• We have this adverse environmental issue and problem, which will
serve as a driving force that result to environmental conservation
and sustainable development. This means that people must
collaborate and work hand in hand with the goal to save Mother
Earth.
INTRODUCTION
• Adoption of new value, change of habits and lifestyle towards the
PRESERVATION and CONSERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT; these are
the requirements to obtain Environmental awareness, consciousness
and understanding. The results are People provide SOLUTIONS to
environmental problems of their community. This will prove that WE
need to inculcate in our minds the need to love, care and nurture the
environment.
BUT WHY conserve and preserve the
environment?
BUT WHY conserve and preserve the environment?

…… Because of environmental crises.

Among the solutions are environmental education,
information and advocacies.
ECOLOGY
• Is the study of between the living organisms and their environment.
No living organisms exist under isolation. The term “ecology” was
coined by German Biologist Ernst Haeckel from oikos (House or living
place) and logos (study or science of).
• Literally it means study of the earth’s house. It has two types:
autecology and synecology. Autecology deals with the relationships
between an organism or population and environment, whereas
synecology focuses on the relationships between communities and
their environment.
COMMON TERMS
• Population
- It is a group of organisms belonging to the same species living
together in a certain area or habitat.

• Community
- It is a group of organisms belonging to different species living
together and interacting in a certain area or habitat.
COMMON TERMS
• Ecosystem
- It is a group of organisms and their interaction or interrelationships
with the non-living environment.

• Biosphere
- It is composed of all living organisms on or around the earth.
COMMON TERMS
• Ecological niche
- It is the physical space occupied by an organism and its functional
role in the ecosystem.

• Habitat
- It is the place where an organisms lives.
ECOSYSTEM
• It is an interaction of the living organisms and non-living environment.
• It is an area within the natural environment in which physical factors
such as rocks & soil, function together along with interdependent
organisms such as plants & animals, under the same habitat to form a
stable system.
Components of Ecosystem
1. Biotic or Living components
- Bio means life. Therefore, the biotic components refer to the living
world of an ecosystem. Such as plants, animals and microorganisms.
2. Abiotic or nonliving components
- Which includes air, water, soil, inorganic substances, organic
substances that link biotic and abiotic factors ,and climate regime in
a given area.
BIOTIC COMPONENTS
1. Autotrophs
- These are organisms that fix light energy and use simple inorganic
substances to build up complex substances which includes plants.
2.Heterotrophs
- these are the organisms that utilize, rearrange and decompose the
complex materials, particularly the animals, bacteria, and fungi
Primary Producers
• Green plants are called producers or the first level of biotic
component of the ecosystem.
• Through photosynthesis plants synthesize their own food like
proteins and fats and hence are also called autotrophs. Besides this
producers also maintain CO2 / O2 balance in nature.
Heterotrophs
Herbivores
- Also called as plant eaters. These are the primary consumers that eat
plants only.
Carnivores
- Meat eaters, the secondary consumers that ingest other animals for
their food
Omnivores
- Which eat both plants and animals
Heterotrophs
Microorganisms
- Obtain nourishment by absorbing dissolved organic material.
- They are called saprotrophs or osmotrophs
- They are responsible for the decomposition or breaking down of
dead organic matter.
Detritus feeders
- They extract nutrients from partly decomposed matter
- Such as crabs, termites, carpenter ants and earthworms
NON-LIVING COMPONENTS
Hydrosphere(water)
- One of the most unusual natural compounds found on earth, and it is
also one of the most important.
- Covers 71% of the earth’s surface and a meduim of transport of
several ecosystems
Properties of Water
• Solvent
• Carrier
• Temperature regulator
• Protectant
• Lubricant
• Has high heat capacity
Important Process which Involves Water
• Dissolving of minerals and nutrients for use in natural processes in the
body.
• Hydrolysis
• Support of aquatic organisms
• Fertilization of gametes ( germ cell  zygote)
• Dispersal and germination of seeds, gametes and larval
stages of aquatic organisms
• Photosynthesis
• Osmosis and turgidity (swollen , plant cells)
• Transpiration
• Translocation (rearrangement ) of microorganisms and organic compounds
• As habitat for aquatic organism
NON-LIVING COMPONENTS
Lithosphere (solid outer portion of the earth)
• The role of soil in the ecosystem is that they are the source of all
nutrients and water for living organisms in terrestrial ecosystem.
• The rocks facilitate the storage and movement of groundwater; they
are the source of mineral constituents of sedimentsand soils; and
they serve medium of storage and transportation of groundwater
• Sediments serve as the habitat for aquatic organisms and the source
of nutrients for aquatic organisms
Con’t …Lithosphere
Three Components of Lithosphere
• Soil- a complex mixture of rock fragments, highly altered minerals,
organic debris and living organisms which supports plants in the
terrestrial environment.
• Rocks- consolidated units of the earth’s crust which consists of
minerals that have come together by hardening of lithification of
sediments, by solidification from molten mass or by alteration of a
pre-existing rock.
• Sediments- rock fragments that may or may not be chemically
altered by weathering which are carried by wind or water
NON-LIVING COMPONENTS
Atmosphere (air)
• It is the site of weather and different gases which are needed by
living organisms.

Stratosphere
- it is where the ozone layer is found, absorbs ultraviolet radiation
(UV) from the sun, thus preventing excessive amounts of UV rays
to reach the surface of the earth.
ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYTEM
ENERGY
• It never appears or disappears into nothing. It can always accounted
for. It is everywhere.
• For life to exist, the earth must constantly receive energy inputs from
the sun and make energy outputs mostly as heat, which passes on
the outer space.
• Energy from the sun maintains all the life processes in the earth
ecosystem
ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM
Solar energy
• Radiated in all directions, part of it is toward the earth; but the
atmosphere keeps some solar radiation from reaching the earth.
ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM
First Law of Thermodynamics
• It states that energy can be transformed from one form to another
but can never be created or destroyed.

• It also tells us that one cannot get something from nothing. Although
the amount of energy in various forms may change, the sum in all
forms remains constant.
ENERGY FLOW IN THE ECOSYSTEM
Second Law of Dynamics
• It states that every time energy is transformed, it tends to go from a
more organized and concentrated form to a less organized and more
dispersed form that it is no longer useful.
• The ecological implication of the second law is that the transfer
of energy from one use to another is never very efficient

… The energy decreases in each successive step.

Food Chain, Food Web and Trophic Levels
FOOD CHAIN
• It is the transfer of energy and material through a series of organisms
as each on is fed by the next.
• The series of feeding relationship between organisms that shows
who eats whom.
• A series of steps of eating and being eaten.
• A food chain is the way energy goes from one living thing to another
through food.
FOOD CHAIN
FOOD WEB
• Food Web is a relatively complex series of feeding relationships which
may comprise a group of food chains.
• It is made of many food chains in a community of plants and animals.
FOOD WEB
TROPHIC LEVELS
• Trophic Levels are
composed of three basic
levels, the producer,
various level of consumers
and decomposers.
• It refers to the number of
steps of the organisms are
away from primary
production.
TROPHIC LEVELS
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
• In ecology and Earth science, a biogeochemical cycle or nutrient cycle
is a pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves
through both biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere,
and hydrosphere) compartments of Earth. In effect, the element is
recycled, although in some cycles there may be places(called
reservoirs) where the element is accumulated or held for a long
period of time (such as an ocean or lake for water)
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
• Nutrient Cycle:
- Living organisms need 30-40 elements for normal development.
• Most important elements:
- Carbon:
- Hydrogen
- Oxygen
- Nitrogen
- Sulfur
- Phosphorus
• The most important feature of a biogeochemical cycle is that the biotic and
abiotic components are tightly intertwined with one another. Without cycles, the
biogeochemical cycle would cease; and without biogeochemical cycles, all life would
cease.
Characteristics of Biogeochemical Cycles
• Movement of the nutrient element from the environment to
organisms and back to the environment.
• Involvement of biological organisms
• A geological reservoir(atmosphere and lithosphere)
• Chemical change
Water Cycle
• One of the earth’s great cycles is the water or hydrological cycle.
Water constantly moves from the atmosphere to the earth to the
oceans and back to the atmosphere. Water changes the surface of
the earth. It is not simply found in the bodies of water., underground
and in the atmosphere.
• It is constantly cycled from one of these locations to another. The
water cycle is driven by energy from the sun and by gravity. It
provides the connection among the atmosphere, the lithosphere, and
the hydrosphere. It makes the presence of life on earth possible.
Different Process of Water Cycle
Precipitation
• Condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth's surface . Most precipitation occurs as
rain, but also includes snow, hail, fog drip, graupel, and sleet. Approximately 505,000 km 3
(121,000 cu mi) of water fall a sprecipitation each year, 398,000 km 3 (95,000 cu mi) of it over the
oceans.
Snowmelt
• The runoff produced by melting snow.
Infiltration
• The flow of water from the ground surface into the ground. Once infiltrated, the water becomes
soil moisture or groundwater.
Runoff
• The variety of ways by which water moves across the land. This includes both surface runoff and
channel runoff. As it flows, the water may seep into the ground, evaporate into the air, become
stored in lakes or reservoirs, or be extracted for agricultural or other human uses.
Different Process of Water Cycle
Subsurface Flow
• The flow of water underground, in the vadose zone and aquifers.
Subsurface water may return to the surface (e.g. as a spring or by
being pumped) or eventually seep into the oceans. Water returns to
the land surface at lower elevation than where it infiltrated, under
the force of gravity or gravity induced pressures. Groundwater tends
to move slowly, and is replenished slowly, so it can remain in aquifers
for thousands of years
Different Process of Water Cycle
Evaporation
• The transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves
from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere.
The source of energy for evaporation is primarily solar radiation.
Evaporation often implicitly includes transpiration from plants,
though together they are specifically referred to as
evapotranspiration. Total annual evapotranspiration amounts to
approximately 505,000 km 3 (121,000 cu mi) of water, 434,000 km 3
(104,000 cu mi) of which evaporates from the oceans.
Different Process of Water Cycle
Sublimation
• The state change directly from solid water (snow or ice) to water
vapor.
Advection
• The movement of water — in solid, liquid, or vapor states — through
the atmosphere. Without advection, water that evaporated over the
oceans could not precipitate over land.
Different Process of Water Cycle
Condensation
• The transformation of water vapor to liquid water droplets in the air,
creating clouds and fog.
Transpiration
• The release of water vapor from plants and soil into the air. Water
vapor is a gas that cannot be seen.
Water Cycle
Water Cycle
A. Water Vapor
Precipitation over the ocean is more than three times greater than that
over land. This precipitaion may take any several courses:
• It may be immediately re-evaporated by the sun’s energy
• It may fall into the ocean(major water reservoir)
Water Cycle
• It may fall into land masses, which results :
- It may infiltrate the soil to be absorbed by plants roots, used in
photosynthesis and transpired
- It may run off to join streams and rivers and eventually reach ocean.
Water is primarily responsible for eroding the earth’s surface.
- It may sink downward to join ground water reservoirs and then
reappear later as springs, seeps or lakes.
- It may be evaporated once again.
Types of Biogeochemcal Cycles
• Gaseous nutrient cycle: it is in which the reservoir of the nutrients in
the atmosphere.
- The typical gaseous nutrient cycles are the carbon dioxide, the
oxygen cycle and the nitrogen cycle.
• Sedimentary nutrient cycle: it is in which the nutrient reservoir is
sedimentary rocks, soil and minerals.
- It includes the phosphorus cycle and the sulfur cycle.
- These cycles are slower and tend to exert a more limiting influence
on living organisms.
Gaseous Carbon Dioxide Cycle
Gaseous Oxygen Cycle
Gaseous Nitrogen Cycle
Gaseous Nitrogen Cycle
• The major reservoir of nitrogen is the earth’s atmosphere.
Atmospheric nitrogen is combined with other chemicals into organic
compounds used by plants and animals. It is a vital component of
proteins which are necessary to all living things. When plants and
animals die, their bodies are broken down by bacteria into ammonia,
a nitrogen compound. Other bacteriachange the ammonia to nitrates.
Still other bacteria break down the nitrates and release back the
nitrogen as gas back into the atmosphere.
Sedimentary – Sulfur Cycle
Sedimentary Phosphorus Cycle
Sedimentary Phosphorus Cycle
• The major reservoir of phosphorus is sedimentary rock, which is
available to the basic cycle in small amounts as a result of weathering.
The cycle does not have a major gaseous phase and therefore moves
at a very slow pace. It begins with dissolved phosphates, which are
absorbed by plants through their roots and incorporated into all cells
in complex molecules. Animals get phosphorus from plants. When
plant and animal die or excrete waste products, their organic
compound are broken down by phosphotizing bacteria into organic
dissolved phosphates.
• Notice that in all biogeochemical cycles, the nutrient usually enters
the living systems through vegetation.
• Animals are unable to free and absorb the nutrient elements from the
soil.
• Plants easily absorb nutrients along with the soil water through root
system.
• An ecosystem depends on plants not only to supply the necessary
nutrient to maintain the flow of energy but also to fix the solar energy
Interactions among Organism

How do organisms interact with each other?

Interaction among Organism
• Mutualism
• Competition
• Parasitism
• Commensalism
• Predation
Mutualism
• A biological interaction in which
the growth and survival of both
interacting species are enhanced.
• In nature, neither species can
survive without the other.
• A relationship between two
organisms of different species
that benefits both and harms
neither.
Competition
• A type of interaction between
two populations in which they
vie for the same limited
resources.
• The struggle between organisms
of the same or different species
for limited resources such as
food or light.
 Commensalism
• A type of interaction between
two species populations where
one population benefits and the
other is unaffected.
Parasitism
• A type of interaction between a
host and a parasite. Called
a destructive symbiosis where
parasite harms the host And
benefits at the expense of the
host.
Predation
• A relationship between the prey
and the predator. The predator
is the organism that eats and
generally larger than the prey,
the organism that is being
eaten.
KINDS OF ECOSYTEM
• Terrestial
• Aquatic
• Man-made
• Natural
Environmetal Concerns
• Forest clearing to provide farms for landless peasants or large cattle
ranches often leaves the land and soil barren and causes biodiversity
loss and erosion. Tree removal for firewood in erosion-prone areas
causes loss of vital topsoil and flooding downstream. Forest trees are
cut for their lumber, often with no attention to replanting,which leads
to soil erosion.
• Rain forest clearing, burning, and reforestation affect the global
carbon cycle and causes global warming. Loss of tropical rain forest
brings wide-scale extinction of organisms or biodiversity loss.
Environmental Concerns
• Pollutants from estuaries and coastal ecosystems contaminate
shellfish and fish. Rising sea levels will inundate many low-lying
coastal areas. Overfishing of coastal fisheries causes loss of breeding
stock and changes in ecology. Past whaling in coastal areas has
depleted the stocks of most species. Dynamite and cyanide fishing kill
many aquatic organisms leading to biodiversity loss and habitat
destruction. Global warming can cause coral bleaching.
Man-made Ecosystem: Agroecosystem
• Is an ecosystem which is modified or regulated by man in order to
produce food. It is self-sufficient where the living organisms and the
nonliving components of the environment interact to exchange energy
and matter in a continuing cycle.
• It is also referred to as community of plants and animals interacting with
their physical and chemical environments that have been modified by
people to produce food, fiber, fuel, and other products for human
consumption and processing. It comprises domesticated plants and/or
animals and the people who manage them.
Man-made Ecosystem: Agroecosystem
Characteristic of Agroecosystem
• The farmer decides the plant(species and variety) to grow.
• It is composed of one or few species only, simple flora.
• The age and status of growing plants is uniform.
• The farmers supplies water and fertilizer uniformly high.
• The farmers harvest the products and remove them all away from the
yield (continuity is short.)
• Insect fauna is simple, comprising, of their pests and natural enemies.
• There is an order of arriving of organisms: crops, pests and
natural enemies.
• It is ecologically unstable due to simple flora and fauna and low
• naturalcontrol effect.
• The chances of pest outbreak is high.
Properties of an Agroecosystem
Productivity
• is the desired output of a system or output of valued product per unit resource input. It
is measured in terms of crop yield or net income.
Stability
• is the property of short-term homeostasis or the consistency of productivity in the face
of small, disturbing forces arising from the normal fluctuations and cycles in the
surrounding environment.
Sustainability
• is the ability of the system to persist in the face of repeated stress or major perturbation
or it is the ability of the agrosystem tomaintain productivity when subjected to major
disturbing forces.
Properties of an Agroecosystem
Equitability
• is the evenness of distribution of the productivity of the agroecosystem
among the human beneficiaries, i.e., the level of equity that is generated.
Authonomy
• is the extent to which a social system is able to function at a normal level,
using only resources derived from the ecosystem over which it has effective
control.
Solidarity
• is the ability of the social system to make and implement decisions in
managing ecosystem.
What problems beset the agroecosystem?
1. Soil erosion, overgrazing
2. Land conversion
3. Pollution
4. Loss of generic diversity
5. Depletion of ground water and salinization
Urban Ecosystem
• Urbanization is an increasing concentration of the population in cities
and a transformation of land use and society to a metropolitan
pattern of organization. A city or urban ecosystem is a differentiated
community with a population and resource base large enough for
urban residents to specialize in arts, crafts, services or profession
rather than natural resource-based occupations.
Urban Problems
1. Scarcity of trees, shrubs and other natural vegetation
2. Alternative of local and sometimes, regional climate
3. Lack of water
4. Rapid runoff of water from asphalt and concrete
5. Production of large quantitieso f air pollution, water pollution, and
garbage and other solid waste
6. Excessive noise
- End-