What is an ecosystem ® @ The term Ecology was coined by Earnst Haeckle in 1869. it is derived from the Greek words Oikos- means home and /ogos- means study. ® So ecology deals with the study of organisms in lS Lene CS tee =a surroundings. » Any ecological unit that includes all the organisms which interact among themselves and with the hysical environment, so that a flow of energy eads to successive trophic level, biotic diversity and material cycle within the system, is known as ecological system or ecosystem. » The term Ecosystem was coined) by Tanseley(1935).iar) aoe ecosystem The [= [eel ye] . ack: fi rh ogee facie See cu) e Tar et am e Renee ee eae eee eer ate le Mee environment, so that a ay By ran pang ag he By ha EY gag ange ed Cue ‘ ; ae ey abo) CAV HOO Cc Holi MIU Ae e ame) i ecosystem @ An tem structure includes two main feta to ical or living or biotic components and non-living or abiotic Peel eum (CM: e) ome ete ay ll a or biotic components can be classi Chet ig jucers, consumers or di depending on how they get their food. ® Producers (autotrophs i.e. self- no can make the organic nutrients Ure Te-am ele om occ) in m ronment. Example: green etc.® Detritivores- detritus feeders or saprotrophs i.e. they feed on dead organisms, wasters of living organisms, their cast-offs and partially decomposed matter. Example- beetles, ants, termites, vultures etc. ® Decomposers digest the complex organic molecules in dead organisms or detritus to simpler organic compounds. Example- bacteria, fungi etc. ® Abiotic components: abiotic or non-living components of ecosystem include all the eestor: Mele Meuse: Mle ee Mur Miinen + } living organisms. These are air, water, soil, rocks, sunlight etc.Cease mee ley ie Sees emg of bound energy and porsigateiae alia ceacauaee nine Pn err UMUC UUM Boe Mm ed heat. tEnergy flow in an ecosystem ® Energy is the capacity to do work. Biological activities require consumption of energy which ultimately comes from the sun. Solar energy is transformed into chemical energy by the felcere ST MOM uel SUC om UM Colo) plant tissues and then transformed into Cu reir] ae MT Lee) ee metabolic activities. In the biological world, the CU ee ML MURR Mem CE Ulm inete (2) all the heterotrophic organisms, such.as micro organism, human and other animals.Food chain, food web and ecological succession ® Food chain: The sequence of eating and ere CM ee) Ce) 1) food chain. Each organism in the ecosystem is assigned as a feeding level or trophic level. ® Example: Grass _.Grasshopper_. Frog —-Snake—. Hawk _—— ane ie De ag) wie® There are two major types of food chains — ® Grazing food chain- it starts with green plants and culminates in carnivores. Example: Grass—- Rabbit——-Fox : ® Detritus food chain — it starts with dead organic matter which the detritivores and decomposers consume. Example: Leaf litter — Algae— Crabs — Small camivorous fish —— Large carnivorous fish (Mangrove ecosystem) Dead organic matter —— Fungi (Forest ecosystem) -B® Food web: In a given ecosystem various food chains are linked together and interact with each other to form a complex network called food web. Or food web is a network of food chains where different types of organisms are connected at different trophic levels, so that there are a number of options of eating and being eaten at each trophic level. Generally food webs are not too complex. As more and more species are@ Ecological succession: ere [ese|(e-)) succession is defined as an orderly process of changes in the community structure and function with time mediated through modifications in the physical environment and ultimately culminating in a stabilized ecosystem known as climax. ® The process of succession takes place in a systematic order of sequential steps as follows- ® Nudation: It is the development of area without any life form.® Reaction The living organisms grow, use water and nutrients from the substratum, and in turn, they have a strong influence on the environment which is modified to a oe. ease eneadan adeeimlanstandaeprenen Ce raed The succession ultimately culminates in a more or less stable Cee Sel Meas a eee Ueaha Mee) 0h @ These are the ecosystems having a ee Ue MUM Oe | with a large number of species of herbs, shrubs, climbers, lichens, algae and a wide variety of wild animals and birds. Various types of forest ecosystem are- tropical rain forests, tropical deciduous forests, sub- tropical forests, temperate rain foreGrassland ecosystem @ Grasslands are dominated by grass species but sometimes allow the growth of Fe CU lee Me dee grasslands are found to occur in different climatic region- tropical grasslands (sovornes “'pce), temperate grasslands (prairies-U.S & Canada, pampas-South America, Velds-Afnca, steppes-central Europe & Asia), polar grassland tundra)A in 2 we sana a Aquatic ecosystem ® Aquatic ecosystem dealing with water bodies EM Me Cemee eu Me Me) CU CL ecosystems are further of standing type (/entic) weal = and lakes or free-flowing type (/otic) ® Pond pre foreland) meee Meese Mie: Mee eel algae, aquatic plants, insects, fishes and birds. meme el LlCe Ml meee eM ey PM MC eae ee lo oxygen and nutrient in the water is more uniform and EU et meet ee se Me sd even though the green plants are much less in number. BU Ee leo tolerance to oxygen. ® | oles Lakes are usually big freshwater bodies with standing water. They have a shallow water zone called ele ee MM a eh) penetration of solar light takes place, called Limnetic zone and a deep bottom area where light penetration is negligible, known as Profundal zone. Some lakes of our country are the Dal lake in Srinagar, lake in Nainital, Loktak lake in Manipur. : ial _ lOMe a ee | from mountain highlands and flowing through the plains fall into the sea. So the river ecosystems show a series Ce My deere ely Be ee ee eee Me en el Ce a ee eee Mere oxygen. The plants are attached to rocks(periphytes) and fishes are cold-water, high oxygen requiring fish like trouts. SUM warmer and support a luxuriant growth of plants and less oxygen requiring fishes. eTMountain ecosystem @ It is characterized by sparse but diverse flora and fauna. At higher altitudes harsh environmental conditions prevail and a treeless alpine vegetation is supported. In India, trans-Himalayan region is an yes) Me Mela EL eee] | Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world, is one of the richest area of Indi URC Rear ls) a ey