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Ecosystem (Basic Concepts)

Ecology is the study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the flows of energy and materials between biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. An ecosystem is defined as an area where a community lives and interacts with its physical environment. It consists of biotic components like plants and animals and abiotic components like water, air, and sunlight. Organisms can be classified based on how they acquire energy, such as autotrophs that produce their own food like plants, and heterotrophs that consume other organisms like animals.

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53 views

Ecosystem (Basic Concepts)

Ecology is the study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the flows of energy and materials between biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. An ecosystem is defined as an area where a community lives and interacts with its physical environment. It consists of biotic components like plants and animals and abiotic components like water, air, and sunlight. Organisms can be classified based on how they acquire energy, such as autotrophs that produce their own food like plants, and heterotrophs that consume other organisms like animals.

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Malvar Pasion
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ecology is the study of the distribution and abundance of organisms,

AND the flows of energy and materials between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems.

Ecosystems: Basic Concepts


Ecosystem defined an area in which a community lives with interactions taking place among the organisms between the community and its non-living physical environment. an ecosystem is formed by the interactions between all living and non-living things How do living and non-living things interact in an environment? System = regularly interacting and interdependent components forming a unified whole Ecosystem = an ecological system; = a community and its physical environment treated together as a functional system ABIOTIC components: Solar energy provides practically all the energy for ecosystems. Inorganic substances, e.g., sulfur, boron, tend to cycle through ecosystems. Organic compounds, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and other complex molecules, form a link between biotic and abiotic components of the system. Example: water, air, temperature, soil, sunlight, etc. Biotic components the living things in an ecosystem Example: plants and animals an ecosystem can be classified according to their mode of energy aquisition. In this type of classification, there are: 1. Autotrophs (plants) Organisms that produce their own food from an energy source, such as the sun, and inorganic compounds.
1. 2.

Components of ecosystem

Heterotrophs(animals) Organisms that consume other organisms as a food source Trophic level: All the organisms that are the same number of food-chain steps from the primary source of energy

Trophic Levels A trophic level is the position occupied by an organism in a food chain. Trophic levels can be analyzed on an energy pyramid. Producers are found at the base of the pyramid and compromise the first trophic level. Primary consumers make up the second trophic level. Secondary consumers make up the third trophic level. Finally tertiary consumers make up the top trophic level.

The greatest amount of energy is found at the base of the pyramid. The least amount of energy is found at top of the pyramid.

FOOD CHAIN The producers, consumers, and decomposers of each ecosystem make up a food chain. There are many food chains in an ecosystem. Food chains show where energy is transferred and not who eats who

FOOD WEB All the food chains in an area make up the food web of the area.

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