The Interactions in the Science 6

Ecosystem
Objectives:
•Define ecosystem and ecology.
•Discuss the interactions that happen
among the living and nonliving
components in different environments.
Write SP if the plant is spore-bearing and CP
if it is cone-bearing.
________1. Pine tree ________ 6. Horsetail
________2. Fern ________ 7. Club moss
________3. Ginkgo biloba ________ 8. Fig
________4. Moss ________ 9. Cypress
________5. Liverwort ________ 10. Juniper
• When you see a bird
fixing its nest on a tree,
there is already an
interaction that takes place
between the bird and the
tree. It may not be
conspicuous, but this
interaction exists so one or
both the bird and the tree
may benefit or survive.
Ecology
•It is the study of the interactions
among organisms and their
environment. People who specialize
in this course are called ecologists.
Ecosystem
•It is a community of biotic
components that interact with
each other and with the abiotic
components in a given area.
Biotic Components
•Biotic components include all
organisms such as plants,
animals, and bacteria.
Abiotic components
• Abiotic components are the nonliving parts, such as
weather, climate, temperature, rocks, soil, and the
sun.
• Both biotic and abiotic components depend on
each other.
• The absence of one can affect the others in the
ecosystem.
Every organism in an ecosystem has a niche or a
role to play:
a. Producers manufacture their own food.
b. Consumers feed on other organisms.
c. Decomposers break down or decompose
decaying or dead bodies of organisms.
d. Scavengers eat dead organisms.
Different types of ecosystems:
a. the tropical rainforest
b. the coral reefs
c. and the mangrove swamps
 Terrestrial Ecosystem: Tropical
Rainforests
Tropical rainforests are terrestrial
ecosystems. They are usually found in wet
tropical uplands and lowlands near Earth’s
equator. So, these forests have a relatively hot
and moist environment, which can be suitable
for various organisms.
This type of
ecosystem contains
a wide array of
vegetation and is
dominated by trees
with broad leaves
that form a green,
functional canopy.
There are three layers of
trees in the tropical
rainforests.
a. Emergent layer
b. Canopy Layer
c. Forest Floor
 Emergent Layer of the Rainforest
It has enormous, umbrella-shaped trees that take
up plenty of sunlight.
These trees are also exposed to winds that can dry
up their leaves.
Many of these trees have small, pointed leaves. In
the Philippines, plants and trees such as Bamboo,
Talisay, and Narra are found in the emergent layer.
Animals such as orangutans, monkeys, and
birds such as hornbills and eagles also live in
this layer. Bats and butterflies are also visible
in the emergent layer of tropical rainforests.
 Canopy Layer of the Rainforest
It is divided into upper and lower canopies.
The upper canopy is below the emergent
layer. Plenty of sunlight is readily available
in here, blocking light exposure for the
lower canopy.
 Woody vines such as lianas climb
and attach themselves to the trunk
Canopy of tall trees to get support and
obtain enough sunlight to survive.
Layer of
the Philippine lianas include rattan
Rainforest palms that are used for making
baskets, ropes, and decorations.
Epiphytes such as philodendrons
can also be found in this layer.
Rattan Palm Epiphytes
Plants that eat small insects are
also found in the upper canopy,
such as the Rafflesia.
The third species of Rafflesia, the
Rafflesia speciosa, is a parasite of a
species of lianas.
This is an endemic plant to the
Philippines. Its smell resembles
that of rotting meat, attracting
flies.
Another carnivorous
plant, the pitcher plant,
has a species that is
endemic to Romblon. The
pitcher plant has
modified leaves called
pitfall traps that have a
deep cavity filled with
liquid. It traps very small
insects.
Canopy Layer of the
Rainforest
Because food is
abundant in this layer,
most of the rainforest
animals live in here.
These include big
parrots and spider
monkeys.
On the other hand, the lower canopy or the
understory is mostly made up of shrubs and small
trees.
It also contains trees that are about 18 meters or less
in height. Because most of the sunlight is blocked by
the upper canopy, this area is always shaded and has
high humidity.
Animals such as bats, owls, monkeys, spiders, ants,
and stick insects are usually found in this layer.
 Forest Floor
This is the darkest layer in
the rainforest. Because it only
gets a small amount of
sunlight due to the layers
above it, only a few plants
grow in this part. Termites,
earthworms, and fungi that
decompose the fallen dry
leaves and wastes occupy this
area.
Giant millipedes, frogs,
snakes, lizards, and some
insects also live in this layer.
There are no dominant species
in any layer of the tropical
rainforest.
Each plant or animal thrives
in the layer that it inhabits
depending on the conditions it
favors.
Some organisms that occupy the forest floor

millipede termites

fungi earthworm
Forest Floor
In the Philippines, tropical
rainforests receive plenty of
rain per year. Plants are
adapted to the rain by
having special
characteristics that help
them adapt to their
environment.
• Some trees have oil-coated leaves to repel water.
• The tall trees get plenty of sunlight but they need to
withstand other factors such as high temperature, low
humidity, and strong winds.
• Some taller trees tend to have darker, leathery leaves
so they will not lose water from the strong sunlight.
• Smaller plants survive as epiphytes, or plants that
grow on another plant as support, but get enough
sunlight and their nutrients from the air.
• Some trees, such as the
kapok, have buttresses and
stilts, or roots that act as extra
support.
• Vines have tendrils that coil
and crawl on the trees for
support.
• Ferns and mosses also grow
and depend on their host trees
or other plants.
The tropical rainforests in the Philippines can be found in
Eastern Visayas and in Mindanao.
Lowland rainforests in Davao, South Cotabato, Cagayan de
Oro, Samar, Bohol, Leyte, Basilan, Biliran, and Palawan are
home to many animals and plants as well.
There are also endemic species that are found in the Philippine
rainforests, such as the Palawan peacock, the tamaraw (dwarf
buffalo) and the tree frog in Mindoro, the Luzon peacock
swallowtail, the bleeding-heart pigeon in Negros, the narrow-
mouthed frog in Catanduanes, and the Philippine eagle, to
name a few.
These rainforests have wet and dry seasons. Contrary
to the belief, not all tropical rainforests receive a high
amount of rain.
The temperature in these ecosystems can rise as high as
34 degrees Celsius (°C) and can drop to as low as 20°C.
The humidity, or the average amount of vapor in the,
is between 77% and 88%.
The temperature in these ecosystems is ideal for the
growth and survival of different organisms.
 Symbiotic Relationship and Interactions of
Organisms
• Different organisms coexist within the ecosystem.
This interaction means that these organisms
depend on each other for food and shelter.
Symbiotic Relationship-
•The long-term relationship that exists
between two organisms.
In a tropical rainforest, some animals are
predators, and some serve as prey.
The predators eat the weaker organism
called the prey.
The frog or lizard, for example, eats insects.
Snakes, owls, or eagles eat small birds.
This symbiotic relationship is called predation.
Frogs use their long elastic tongues to catch flying insects.
There are small animals such as ants and small
birds that live in the trees.
They protect the trees from other insects and
vines.
Because of this, the tree grows more quickly.
This type of relationship is called is mutualism,
wherein two organisms benefit from each
other.
The ants and birds use the tree as their
shelter.
The tree gets protection from other
organisms.
There are cases wherein one organism
benefits, but the other organism is
unaffected. One example is the epiphyte
that gets support from the trees to obtain
more sunlight and nutrients from the air.
The tree is neither harmed nor does it
benefit from the relationship. This is called
commensalism.
There are cases wherein two or more
animals fight for the same food, or trees
compete to get more sunlight. This
relationship is called competition.
Organisms in the tropical rainforests also
interact with the abiotic components to
survive and live. For instance, plants
manufacture their own food through
photosynthesis. They need sunlight and
carbon dioxide to do this.
All plants and animals need sunlight,
water, food, and air to live. Terrestrial
plants need soil and rocks to stand upright.
Worms and some insects live in the soil and
speed up the decomposition of dried
leaves, wastes, and dead animals so they
can be used again by the plants.
 Aquatic Ecosystem: Coral Reefs
• A coral reef is an aquatic ecosystem for different
marine plants, animals, and other organisms.
• Only about 0.1% of the ocean area has coral reefs,
but these reefs support 25% of the marine life on
Earth.
• A coral reef is actually the exoskeleton of a coral,
a marine coelenterate invertebrate.
 Aquatic Ecosystem: Coral Reefs
• When the corals grow, multiply and split into
two, they leave their outer skeletons behind.
• These skeletons are made of calcium or
limestone that stay together in a fixed position.
• These skeletons gradually build up to form
coral reefs.
 There are four types of coral reef
formations:
a. the fringing reefs
b. barrier reefs
c. atolls
d. patch reefs
 Fringing reef
• This is commonly found
near the coastline or in
places where the water is
shallow. It is the most
common type of reef. It
is separated from the
shore by narrow, shallow
lagoons.
 Barrier reef
• This is parallel with the
shore, but it is separated
by deeper, wiser lagoons.
It forms a “barrier” to
navigation at the
shallowest point, where
it reaches the water
surface
 Atoll
• This is a circular reef
with open lagoons that
is usually located in the
middle of the sea. One
example is the
Tubbataha reef in
Palawan.
 Patch reef
• This is a small, isolated
reef that usually
occurs between
fringing reefs and
barrier reefs.
• Aside from providing shelter and habitat to
many marine animals and other species, coral
reefs also give numerous benefits.
• Coral reefs are sources of nitrogen and other
essential nutrients for aquatic organisms.
• They also protect coastlines from damage that
the waves and tropical storms bring.
• The fishing industry also depends on them as
they are the breeding ground of fishes.
• Studying the growth changes of coral reefs also
provides clear and scientific-based findings
about the effects of human activities and
climate change
• Coral reefs also support different types of
symbiotic relationships among these marine
animals and other organisms. Mutualism
happens between coral polyps and
zooxanthellae (a symbiotic dinoflagellate
organism).