AQUATIC

AND
GRASSLAND
ECOSYSTEMS
 AN ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem is the basic unit of study of biological and
geographical aspect of our nature .
An ecosystem embodies every aspect of a single habitat,
including all interactions between its different elements.
In an ecosystem, living organisms are grouped into
producers, consumers, and decomposers, the former
representing all plant life, consumers the organisms that
eat them and each other, and the latter those scavengers
and bacteria that break down dead organic matter.

Biotic and Abiotic Factors work together to

create a unique ecosystem.

PRESENTATION TITLE 2
BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC
The biotope (abiotic): a particular
physical environment with specific
physical characteristics such as the
climate, temperature, humidity,
concentration of nutrients or pH.
The biocenosis (biotic): a set of living
organisms such as animals, plants or
micro-organisms, that are in constant
interaction and are, therefore, in a
situation of interdependence.
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AQUATIC
ECOSYSTEMS
An aquatic ecosystem includes
freshwater habitats like lakes, ponds,
rivers, oceans and streams, wetlands,
swamp, etc. and marine habitats include
oceans, intertidal zone, reefs, seabed and
so on. The aquatic ecosystem is the
habitat for water-dependent living species
including animals, plants, and microbes.
Freshwater Ecosystems
 They cover only a small portion of earth nearly 0.8
per cent.
 Freshwater involves lakes, ponds, rivers and
streams, wetlands, swamp, bog and temporary
pools.
 Freshwater habitats are classified into lotic and
lentic habitats.
 Water bodies such as lakes, ponds, pools, bogs, and
other reservoirs are standing water and known as
lentic habitats.
 Whereas lotic habitats represent flowing water
bodies such as rivers, streams.
Marine Ecosystems
 Marine ecosystem covers the largest surface area of
the earth.
 This ecosystem contains about 85% of the dissolved
materials such as sodium and chlorine.
 The marine ecosystem is more concentrated with salts
which make it difficult for freshwater organisms to
live in.
 Also, marine animals cannot survive in freshwater.
Their body is adapted to live in saltwater; if they are
placed in less salty water, their body will swell
(osmosis).
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BIOTIC FACTORS
 All the living and previously living components, including single-
cell organisms and decomposing plant and animal material. This
would include the food chain/web of the biome, who eats who,
prey-predator relationship.
 A biotic factor is a living organism that shapes its environment. In a
freshwater ecosystem, examples might include aquatic plants,
fish, amphibians, and algae.
 Like all ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems have five biotic or living
factors: producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores,
omnivores, and decomposers.
 Producers are generally plants and algae, consumers include fish,
mammals, reptiles, amphibians, crustacean and insects, while
decomposers represent bacteria and fungi, and scavengers like
shrimp and crabs.

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ABIOTIC FACTORS
 Abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical properties
in the environment. This would include the amount of sunlight,
depth of water, substrate, temperature.
 Chemical properties would include the pH, salinity(dissolved
minerals), pollution, turbidity.
 The abiotic substances are both inorganic and organic.
 The chief inorganic substances are H2O, CO2, O2, N2, Ca, P, etc.
These substances in a state of solution or solubility are available
for the nutrition of organisms from the environment.
 Light is an essential factor for photosynthesis.  Most of the
life forms are found in places where higher density of light is
present.

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GRASSLAND
ECOSYSTEMS
Grasslands grow in the area where there
is less moisture in the soil. Furthermore,
the grassland ecosystem contains plants
that do not grow much. They remain
shorter in height as they do not receive
much rainfall.
Types of Grassland Ecosystem

Grassland ecosystem contains five types of

grasslands that are:
•Tropical Grasslands
•Temperate Grasslands
•Flooded Grasslands
•Montane Grasslands
•Desert Grassland

Examples of Temperate grasslands include Eurasian

steppes, North American prairies, and Argentine
pampas. Tropical grasslands include the hot savannas
of sub-Saharan Africa and northern Australia.

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LOCATIONS OF GRASSLANDS

The prairies of the

Great Plains of North
America, the pampas
of South America, the
veldt of South Africa,
the steppes of Central
Eurasia, and
surrounding the
deserts in Australia.

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BIOTIC FACTORS
 Trees, grasses, shrubs, mosses and lichens are types of
producers found in a grassland.
 Consumers eat plants or animals to obtain energy for growth
and reproduction and are divided into three categories:
herbivores, omnivores and carnivores.
 Producers provide energy for many species of organisms
such as insects, fungi, and larger animals.
 Herbivores eat plants only. Omnivores eat both plants and
animals. Carnivores eat animals only. Decomposers break
down organic material to obtain nutrients and include the
fungi, insects, algae and bacteria.

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ABIOTIC FACTORS
 The abiotic components of a grassland are the nonliving
aspects of the grassland ecosystem that the living organisms
depend upon. These include climate, soil, topography and
natural disturbances.
 Precipitation is important to a grassland as it determines the
amount and types of plants and trees that grow.
 The topography of a grassland includes the landscape. The
landscape includes hills and prairies, rocks, cliffs, gullies and
low-lying areas.
 The natural disturbances that occur in a grassland include
flooding from rivers and streams and fires from lightning
storms.

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