CEDAR MONTESSORI

PRIMARY DEPARTMENT
GRADE 6 SUBJECT: SCIENCE
WEEK 6- WEEK 8 NOTES
STRAND 3: SYSTEMS SUB-STRAND 3: ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem is a system formed by organisms in interaction with their environment. The
biotic and abiotic compounds are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.

There are two factors that affect an ecosystem or a habitat to thrive or deteriorate. These
include biotic and abiotic factors.

Abiotic Factors: The Non-Living Foundations

Abiotic factors are the non-living components of a habitat that significantly influence the life
within it. These can be categorized into:

 Climate: Temperature, precipitation, humidity, sunlight, and wind patterns all play a
critical role in shaping the habitat. For instance, a desert habitat experiences extreme
temperatures and minimal rainfall, selecting for species adapted to these conditions.

 Soil: The composition of the soil, including mineral content, pH level, and drainage,
dictates what types of plants can grow, which in turn affects the animals that rely on
those plants. Sandy, nutrient-poor soil will support different vegetation than rich, loamy
soil.
  Water: Whether freshwater or saltwater, the quality and availability of water directly
affect aquatic life and influence terrestrial habitats as well. The salinity of the water,
the current velocity, and its temperature all has profound impacts.

 Topography: The physical features of a habitat, such as mountains, valleys, and plains,
create variations in temperature, sunlight, and water availability, leading to diverse
microhabitats within larger regions.

 Geographic Location: Latitude and altitude strongly influence the climate and,
therefore, the types of species present. Polar habitats, for example, differ drastically
from tropical habitats due to their geographic location.

Biotic Factors: The Living Interactions

Biotic factors are the living components of a habitat that interact with each other. These
interactions include:

 Competition: Organisms compete for resources like food, water, and space. This
competition can occur within a species (intraspecific) or between different species
(interspecific).

 Predation: The relationship between predators and prey drives population dynamics and
influences evolutionary adaptations. Predators control prey populations, while prey
adaptations often lead to camouflage or defense mechanisms.

 Symbiosis: Close and often long-term interactions between different species, including
mutualism (both benefit), commensalism (one benefits, the other is unaffected), and
parasitism (one benefits at the expense of the other). These relationships shape
communities and influence the distribution and abundance of species.

 Herbivory: The consumption of plants by herbivores, shaping plant communities and

influencing their growth and distribution. Herbivores are often a crucial link in the food
chain.

 Decomposition: The breakdown of organic matter by decomposers (like fungi and

bacteria) releases essential nutrients back into the ecosystem, sustaining plant life and
supporting the entire food web.

Types of Ecosystem
An ecosystem can be as small as an oasis in a desert, or as big as an ocean, spanning thousands
of miles. There are two types of ecosystem:

 Terrestrial Ecosystem
 Aquatic Ecosystem
Terrestrial Ecosystem

Terrestrial ecosystems are exclusively land-based ecosystems. There are different types of
terrestrial ecosystems distributed around various geological zones. They are as follows:

1. Forest Ecosystem
2. Grassland(Savannah) Ecosystem
3. Tundra Ecosystem
4. Desert Ecosystem

Forest Ecosystem

A forest ecosystem consists of several

plants, particularly trees, animals and
microorganisms that live in coordination
with the abiotic factors of the
environment. Forests help in maintaining
the temperature of the earth and are
the major carbon sink.

Grassland (Savannah) Ecosystem

In a grassland ecosystem, the vegetation is dominated by grasses and herbs. Temperate

grasslands and tropical or savannah grasslands are examples of grassland ecosystems.
Tundra Ecosystem

Tundra ecosystems are devoid of trees and are found in cold climates or where rainfall is
scarce. These are covered with snow for most of the year. Tundra type of ecosystem is found
in the Arctic or mountain tops.

Desert Ecosystem

Deserts are found throughout the world. These are regions with little rainfall and scarce
vegetation. The days are hot, and the nights are cold.
Aquatic Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems are ecosystems present in a body of water. These can be further divided
into two types, namely:

1. Freshwater Ecosystem
2. Marine Ecosystem

Freshwater Ecosystem

The freshwater ecosystem is an aquatic ecosystem that includes lakes, ponds, rivers, streams
and wetlands. These have no salt content compared with the marine ecosystem.

Marine Ecosystem

The marine ecosystem includes seas and oceans. These have a more salt content and greater
biodiversity in comparison to the freshwater ecosystem.

Interaction of living organisms in the ecosystem

Biotic components refer to all living components in an ecosystem. Based on nutrition, biotic
components can be categorised into autotrophs, heterotrophs and saprotrophs (or
decomposers).

 Producers include all autotrophs such as plants. They are called autotrophs as they can
produce food through the process of photosynthesis. Consequently, all other organisms
higher up on the food chain rely on producers for food.
 Consumers or heterotrophs are organisms that depend on other organisms for food.
Consumers are further classified into primary consumers, secondary consumers and
tertiary consumers.
 Primary consumers are always herbivores as they rely on producers for food.
They depend solely on plants for food.
 Secondary consumers depend on primary consumers for energy. They can either
be carnivores or omnivores.
 Tertiary consumers are organisms that depend on secondary consumers for
food. Tertiary consumers can also be carnivores or omnivores.

 Decomposers include saprophytes such as fungi and bacteria. They directly thrive on
the dead and decaying organic matter. Decomposers are essential for the ecosystem as
they help in recycling nutrients to be reused by plants.
Scavengers

There are animals that feed only on dead animals. Vultures and hyena are examples of
scavengers.

Important Ecological Concepts

1. Food Chain
A food chain is a sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow through an ecosystem.
The sun is the ultimate source of energy on earth. It provides the energy required for all
plant life. The plants utilise this energy for the process of photosynthesis, which is used to
synthesise their food.

During this biological process, light energy is converted into chemical energy and is passed on
through successive trophic levels. The flow of energy from a producer, to a consumer and
eventually, to an apex predator or a detritivore is called the food chain.

Dead and decaying matter, along with organic debris, is broken down into its constituents by
scavengers. The reducers then absorb these constituents. After gaining the energy, the
reducers liberate molecules to the environment, which can be utilised again by the producers.
3. Food Web
Food web is a network of interconnected food chains. It comprises all the food chains within a
single ecosystem. It helps in understanding that plants lay the foundation of all the food
chains. In a marine environment, phytoplankton forms the primary producer.

A food chain
 Predation in the ecosystem

Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, eats all or part of the
body of another organism, the prey.

Types of Predation

Predation is classified into different types on the basis of the prey and the relationship
between the predator and the prey.

1. Carnivory

 Carnivory is the most common type of predation where the predator kills the prey and feeds
on its flesh.
 The predators involved in carnivory are often large animals like tier, shark, and wolf that
feed on smaller animals like rabbits and deer.
 Carnivory is common in higher animals, and the predators or carnivores exist in different
sizes and feed on different groups of smaller animals.
 This type of predation can be further classified depending on their feeding habits. Obligate
carnivores are animals that exclusively feed on animal’s flesh for their survival. Facultative
carnivores are animals that can feed on meat, but the flesh is not required for survival.
 2. Herbivory
 Herbivory is a type of predation where the predators feed on autotrophs like plants and
algae.
 Herbivory is not usually considered a type of predation as the predatory interaction is often
associated with carnivorous animals.
 Like in all other forms of predations, the predators and prey in herbivorous interaction
develop different forms of adaptation.
 Many herbivores have adaptations that enable them to determine which plants contain high-
quality nutrients and fewer defensive features.
 Even though predation is supposed to harm the prey, some plants might get benefitted from
the interaction. The herbivores feed on plant fruits and result in the dispersal of seeds to
newer areas.

3. Parasitism
 Parasitism is also a form of predation where the parasite consumes nutrients from the host
resulting in a decrease in fitness of the host and even death.
 In extreme cases, the parasites produce different forms of the disease at which point the
parasites are called pathogens.
 Even though parasites usually do not kill their hosts, a distinct group of parasites termed
parasitoids are known to feed on the host and eventually cause them to die.
 The parasitic organism is much smaller than the host in most cases which is different from
the size of predators and prey in predation.
 Tapeworm is one of the common parasites in human beings and cattle which is found in the
digestive tract of the hosts.
 The organism reaches the intestine through contaminated food and drinks where it
attached itself to the intestinal wall.
 4. Mutualism
 Mutualism is a type of interaction between two species where both species are benefitted
from the interaction.
 One of the species provides the other with some resource or service, and the other also
reciprocates with a benefit.
 Mutualism doesn’t result in the death of any species as both the species obtain the benefits.
 Mutualism, unlike other predatory interactions, requires that involved species have similar
functional and ecological features.

Commensalism

Commensalism is a unique relationship between two

species wherein one species draws food, shelter, or
transport from the other without harming it. The
interaction duration between two species varies
from short too long. It is a kind of symbiotic
relationship; however, one of the partners is neither
benefited nor harmed. The partner that draws the
benefit is known as a commensal while the other one
is known as the host species.
Effects of interactions in the ecosystem

Hunting is the process by which humans trap or kill animals mainly for food. Indiscriminate hunting of
animals has several effects on the balance in the ecosystem,

 Indiscriminate hunting of animals drastically reduces animal population and causes imbalance
hunting of lions reduces the population of lions which means that the prey of lions like antelopes
will increase without population of in the ecosystem. For example, control. This can lead to
imbalances in the ecosystem.

 Hunters kill pregnant animals and this affects the population of the animals. Some hunters burn
bushes or cut down trees to trap animals. These activities destroy the habitat of animals.

 Some hunters uses poisonous substances like DDT to trap fish and other animals. These
poisonous substances destroy water bodies and affect humans. Humans who eat animals caught
with poison fall sick and may even die. Using poisoned water bodies for washing, cooking and
drinking have harmful effect on human health. "

 Hunting causes constant noise, fear and stress for animals which restrict their ability to eat
well and store the energy they need to survive.

 Hunting also changes how animals migrate, which can lead to reduced populations. Hunted
animals usually migrate to safe environments. For example, in Ghana antelopes and deer are very
rare in the forest because of excessive hunting.

 Hunting endangers both wildlife and the environment. Some animals are extinct because of
indiscriminate hunting.

 Hunting destroys the food chain because those animals that are hunted to extinction are the
food source of other animals. For example, animals like tiger are endangered species because
humans have hunted all antelopes in the forest which is their food.

Extinct animals

As the years gone by, animals continue to vanish off the face of the earth. There are six main
reasons why species now become extinct:

 Habitat loss
 Introduction of a foreign species
 Hunting
 Pollution
 Disease
 Loss of genetic variation
 Some extinct animals

Endangered animals
An endangered species is one that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either
globally or in a specific area. This is caused by human activities such as bush burning, hunting
and poaching.

 Mammals: Tiger, chimpanzee, Asian elephant, sea otter.

 Birds: Egyptian vulture, Galápagos penguin.
 Reptiles: Alabama red-bellied cooter, green sea turtle.
 Fish: Humphead wrasse, whale shark.
The imbalance of the ecosystem

An imbalance of the ecosystem occurs when the natural balance of an ecosystem is disrupted.
This can be caused by natural events or human activities.

1. Natural events

Volcanic eruptions and floods can disrupt ecosystems. Lightning can start and turn a forest to
ash. The climate may also change and may cause drought or flooding.

2. Human activities:

a. Land use: converting natural land to urban areas or intensity managed systems.

b. Invasive species: Invasive species can compete with native species for resources and alter
habitats.

c. Pollution: Industrial and atmospheric pollution can harm ecosystems.

d. Faulty water use: Faulty water resources can contribute to ecological imbalance.

e. Deforestation: When trees are cut down indiscriminately, it can cause imbalance of the
ecosystem.

f. Mining: Faulty mining practices can contribute to ecological imbalance.

g. Fertilizer and pesticides: Using too much fertilizer or pesticides can damage ecosystems.

Ways of preserving the ecosystem