Ecology:

Ecology is the branch of life

science that deals the study
of interactions of organisms
with their environment.

Ecosystem
It can be defined as a region
where plants, animals and
microbes can interact with
each other and their
environment.
 Type of Ecosystem
Natural Ecosystem
Ecosystem Artificial Ecosystem

Terrestrial Ecosystem: forest, grassland and desert etc.

Natural Ecosystem
Aquatic Ecosystem: water ecosystem

Fresh Water Ecosystem

Aquatic Ecosystem
Marine Water Ecosystem

Fresh Water Ecosystem

Aquatic Ecosystem
Marine Water Ecosystem
Lotic – spring, river and streams etc.
Fresh Water Ecosystem
Lentic – lake, ponds, pools, ditches etc.
Marine Water Ecosystem - sea
Crop-land Ecosystem
 Artificial Ecosystem
(Man-Engineered Ecosystems)
1. Man tries to control the biotic
community.
2. Physico-chemical environment.
3. Example: croplands like maize,
wheat and rice-fields etc.

Components of Ecosystem
1. Biotic Structure (Living)
2. Abiotic Structure (Non-living)
Biotic structure of ecosystem

Producers
or
Autotrophs

Consumers Carnivores
Herbivores or
(plant eaters) (animal eaters)
Heterotrophs

Omnivores Detritivores
Producers (Autotrophs)
1. They can make their food themselves
by photosynthesis.
2. On land, most producers are green
plants.
3. In freshwater and ocean ecosystems,
algae and aquatic plants growing
near shorelines are the major
producers of variable colors.
4. In open water, the dominant
producers are phytoplankton—
mostly microscopic organisms that
float or drift in the water.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process
in which green plants can
prepared their food by using
atmospheric CO2, water and
chlorophyll in the presence of
sun light.
Consumers (Heterotrophs)
The organisms which get their food by feeding upon other organisms
called consumers.

Types of
Consumers
1. Herbivores or Primary Consumers (Plant eaters)
2. Carnivores or Secondary Consumers (Meat eaters)
3. Omnivores (Plants as well as meat eaters)
4. Detritivores (Feed on parts of dead organisms,
waste of living organisms are called detritus.)
Herbivores (plant eaters)
Herbivores (plant eaters)
Carnivores (meat eaters)
 Detritivores

Three vultures and two marabou are feeding

Fungus feeding on dead tree
carcass of animal killed by other animal
Decomposers

are consumers that, in the

process of obtaining their
own nutrients, release
nutrients from the wastes
or remains of plants and
animals and then return
those nutrients to the soil,
water, and air for reuse by
producers. Examples:
bacteria and fungus.
Decomposers

In certain ecosystems, producer predominates (eg.

forest) while in others decomposer predominate (eg.
deep ocean)
Abiotic
Structure
1. Basically, physical and chemical components of an ecosystem
constitute its abiotic structure.
2. It includes climatic factors, edaphic (soil) factors, geographical
factors, energy, nutrients and toxic substances.

Physical
Factors
1. The sun light and shade, intensity of solar flux, duration of sun
hours, average temperature, maximum-minimum temperature,
annual rail fall, wind, latitude and altitude, soil type are water
availability and some important physical factors which have strong
influence on the ecosystem.
 Bio-chemical
Factors
1. Availability of major essential nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur, level of toxic materials, salts
causing salinity and various organic substances present in soil or water
mainly influence the functioning of ecosystem .

nteraction of biotic-abiotic components

Biotic component of ecosystem is

influenced by abiotic component and vice

versa. They are linked together by energy

flow and matter cycling

Natural