Lecture 3, 4

Ecology, Ecosystems,
Succession…….
 Ecology, Ecosystem

Ecology is a branch of science that systematically studies the

relationships between living organisms and the physical
and chemical environment in which they live ( i.e. living and
nonliving part of the environment ).

It is the study of connections in nature.

Studying ecology helps to provide a broader and deeper
understanding of the natural processes by which natural
resources are created and maintained.

 A community is bound together by the network of

influences that species have on one another.
 Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals
and microbes etc) in conjunction with the nonliving components of
their environment ( air, water and mineral soil etc), interacting as a
system.
Basic characteristics of ecosystems
1. Living part depends on nonliving parts of the ecosystem for their
survival
2. Members of the ecological community affect the nonliving parts of
the ecosystem
3. Living organisms are connected in complex relationships — difficult
to change one thing without having many effects
4. Relationships among the members of the ecological community are
dynamic & constantly changing, many species are adapted to and
benefit from the changing environment
5. An ecosystem changes over time and can undergo development
through a process called succession.
 Species, Population, Community
• In biology, a species is often defined as the largest group
of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile
offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. E.g., humans
(Homo sapiens). All individuals that are capable of
interbreeding and is made up of populations.

• Population: All members of a single species living in a

given time and place and actually or potentially
interbreeding.

• Communities: All the organisms and their non-living

environment in a defined area.
• A community is bound together by the network of
influences that species have on one another.
 ABIOTIC COMPONENTS BIOTIC COMPONENTS
Sunlight Primary producers
Temperature Herbivores
Precipitation Carnivores
Water or moisture Omnivores
Detritivores
Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, N)
Decomposers
etc. etc.
All of these vary over space/time
* In an ecosystem, the plants Common to all ecosystems :
,animals, and other 1. The flow of energy, and
organisms rely on each other 2. The cycling of chemical elements.
and on the physical
environment – No matter how different two
the soil, water, and nutrients, ecosystems may appear, as
for example. systems they function in very
much the same way.
Producer

Primary Consumer (Herbivore)

Secondary or
Decomposer Tertiary Consumer:
Carnivore
 Cycling of Energy
 The energy cycles within biomes, habitats, and ecosystems determines
which populations survive and which die. All living things need energy.
Energy flows through food chain. Ultimately, the sun is the source of all
energy in an ecosystem.
 Food Chain: The sequence of organisms, each of which is a source of food
for the next, is called a food chain — a linked feeding series (who feeds on
whom).
It determines how energy & nutrients move from one organism to another in
an ecosystem.
A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal.

 Food Web: Most animals are part of more than one food chain and
eat more than one kind of food in order to meet their
food and energy requirements. These interconnected
food chains form a food web.
 Energy Pyramid :
A graphical model that is shaped like a
pyramid to show how the energy flows
through a food chain, how the amount of
energy is decreasing and becoming less
available for organisms as it enters each
trophic level (Each step of food chain is
known as trophic level), and how much of
the energy in the ecosystem is lost to the
atmosphere as heat.

Energy is lost due to limited assimilation,

respiration by consumers, and heat
production (heat is dissipated to the
surroundings that warms the air, water, or
soil). A general rule of thumb is that only
about 10% of the energy in one consumer
level is represented in the next higher level
Energy losses limit the number of trophic
levels in ecosystem.
 Ecological Succession Q
Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural
and human disturbances.

As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants gradually die out

and new organisms move in, causing further changes in
the community.

This series of changes that occurs in a community over

time is called ecological succession.

Sometimes, an ecosystem changes in response to an abrupt

disturbance.

At other times, change occurs as a more gradual response to

natural fluctuations in the environment.
 Ecological Succession…

 Two main types : Primary succession and Secondary

 succession

 Primary succession begins in an area that previously did

not support life.

It starts on surfaces such as bare

rocks, cliffs, sand dunes or new islands
created by volcanic eruptions that has
not previously supported life.

Example: Rock lichen moss grass shrub trees

oak hickory forest.
 Ecological Succession……….
 The first species (called pioneer sp) to colonize bare rock
are usually moss and lichens, which can live without soil.

 Over time, a pioneer species will make the new area habitable
for other species.

 They secrete acids that can break down rock.

Their dead, decaying organic materials, along with bits of

sediment from the rock make up soil. It occurs very slow at
first.

The stable, mature community that eventually develops from

bare rock is called a climax community..
 Ecological Succession……….
 Secondary succession occurs on a surface where an ecosystem
has previously existed (that has been partially or totally destroyed).
It is the process by which one community replaces another
community that has been partially or totally destroyed.
 It is rather reestablishment of an ecosystem.
Secondary succession can occur in ecosystems that have been
disturbed or disrupted by humans, animals, or by natural process
such as storms, floods, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions but left
the soil intact. This is much faster than primary succession.
 Wetland / Bog Succession
Wetlands are landforms such
as salt marshes, swamps,
bogs that remain wet at least
part of the year.
Few of the important
ecological functions
provided by wetlands are:
1. Wetlands help recharge
groundwater
2. Wetlands are natural filters that
help purify water
3. Plants in wetlands trap
sediment and toxins
4. Provide habitat for many
species listed as endangered
or threatened.
Wetland / Bog Succession
End of Slides
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