Chapter 2
Concepts of Ecology and Natural
Resources
Interaction between various types of
environment
Ecosystem
• Ecology can be defined as the study of
relationships between organisms and their
environment.
– chemistry of solids to which a particular plant
species is restricted
– between the number of eggs a bird lays and the
amount of food available for its chicks to eat
– the changes occurring in a lake or river when
untreated sewage is added to it.
Ecosystem
• Ecosystem = ‘ecological system’
• An ecosystem is a group of plants and animals,
along with the physical environment with
which it interacts.
• Ecology examines the life histories,
distribution and behavior of individual species,
as well as the structure and functions of a
natural system in terms of populations,
communities, ecosystems and landscapes.
Structure of an ecosystem
• biotic and abiotic
• Biotic components
– Producers or Autotrophs
• autotrophic organisms -- manufacture their own food
material
• capture solar energy + simple inorganic substances
(water, carbon dioxide, salts)
• Food synthesized growth, survival, and stored.
• E.g. Green plants, Photosynthetic bacteria, and
Chemosynthetic bacteria
Structure of an ecosystem
• Consumers or Heterotrophs
– heterotrophic organisms (nourished by others)
consume the producers directly or indirectly.
• Primary consumers/herbivores: consume the producers
directly
• Secondary consumers/carnivores (flesh eaters): feed upon
the primary consumers. Omnivores: feed on both flesh and
plants
• Secondary carnivores/tertiary consumers: Carnivores which
feed upon the secondary consumers, they are also called
secondary carnivores, e.g. lions which feed upon cats and
dogs, etc.
Structure of an ecosystem
• Decomposers/Microconsumers/Reducers
– heterotrophic organisms which are saprotrophs
– consume the food by absorption but not by
ingestion.
– mainly fungi, bacteria and certain protozoans
– Decompose by excreting enzymes and absorbtion
energy + inorganic nutrients, minerals and
gases ( used again by autotrophs)
Structure of an ecosystem
• Abiotic components
– non-living constituents of the environment i.e. the
habitat.
– A habitat is a specific set of physical and chemical
conditions (space, substratum and climate) that
surrounds a single species, a group of species or a
large community.
Structure of an ecosystem
• Biotic components
– (a) Physical Factors
• Light (sun as the main energy source),
• temperature (controls the climate)Organism distribution,
• evaporation and precipitation (control climate), modulate
• gravity (controls rock material and hydrological cascade
system, movement of matter, and orientation and
distribution of animals),
• pressure (limits distribution of organisms),
• humidity (Transpiration and absorbtion of water)
• air and water currents. (weathering)
Structure of an ecosystem
• Biotic components
– (a) Chemical Factors
• Oxygen Pulse of the environment
• Carbon dioxide Raw material
• Minerals (micro- and macro-nutrients)
• Organic matter (Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids)
Functions of an ecosystem
• Production and flow of energy
• Nutrient recycling
• Food web
• Food Chain
• Ecological pyramids
• Biogeochemical cycles
Energy flow in the Ecosystem
• The sun is the primary source of energy
• Primary producers sunlight-using organisms
• Photosynthesis convert energy from sunlight
into chemical energy
• 6CO2 + 6H2O +2800 kJ energy from sun chlorophyll
C6H12O6 + 6O2
• Net primary productivity (NPP). The rate of
production of biomass glucose, cells, and other
organic chemicals by the primary
Energy flow in the Ecosystem
Type Energy Source Electron Donor Carbon Source
Phototrophs Light
Organic or inorganic
Chemotrophs
compounds
Lithotrophs
Reduced inorganic
(subgroups of
compounds
chemotrophs)
Organotrophs
(subgroups of Organic compounds
chemotrophs)
Inorganic compounds
Autotrophs
(e.g., CO2)
Heterotrophs Organic carbon
Energy flow in the Ecosystem
• controlled by two laws of thermodynamics
– Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
– Every transfer of energy is accompanied by its dispersion.
• depends on the following factors:
– Efficiency of producers to trap solar energy and convert it
into chemical energy
– Use of chemical energy present in the producers by the
consumers
– Amount of energy present in the producers by the
consumers
– Loss of energy in the form of unused energy dead
organism and heat during respiration.
Food Chain
• Food chain: The transfer of energy and nutrients
from one feeding group of organisms to another
in a series.
• It is the sequence of eater being eaten, or who
eats whom.
• Trophic level: successive level of nourishment
• In each transfer some energy is lost.
• the shorter the food chain, or the nearer the
organism to the beginning of the chain, the
greater the energy available
Food Chain
• Two major food chains
• Grazing food chain: Starts from living plants,
goes through herbivores and ends in
carnivores.
• Detritus food chain: Starts from dead organic
matter and ends in inorganic compounds.
Food Webs
• Food web: Interconnected food chains
• Food webs maintain the stability of an ecosystem
• Complexity the diversity of species and their
interconnectivity.
• Diversity of food habits
• Interconnectivity alternatives
• Complex food webs are more stable than simple
food webs.
Ecological Pyramids
• Ecological pyramids are the graphic representation of
the number, biomass and energy of the successive
trophic levels of an ecosystem.
• The loss of energy occurs
– energy is not used efficiently
– energy dissipates as kinetic energy and heat
Biogeochemical Cycles
• Biogeochemical cycle is the complete
pathway that a chemical element follows
through the Earth system.
– chemical cycle because chemical elements are the
form that we consider
– bio- because these are the cycles that involve life.
– geo- because these cycles include atmosphere,
water, rocks, and soils
Biogeochemical Cycles
• We are interested to know
– The major chemical cycles
– The importance of these cycles to life
– The factors that control these cycles
– The rate of these cycles
– How each components of the Environment are
involved
– The impact of humans on these cycles
The Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Cycle
• Backbone of life
• Fossil fuel burning 5.5 GtC / year
• land-use changes 1.6 GtC / year
• Totally due to human activities 7.1 GtC / year
• 3.2 GtC remains in the atmopshere
• 2 GtC diffuses in to the ocean
• 1.9 GtC is unaccounted
The Carbon Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Phosphate Cycle
• Phosphates (PO4) bones and teeth
• Organo-phosphates cell division (DNA &
RNA)
• The phosphate cycle doesn’t include gas
phase
• Affected by agricultural run-off
eutrophication
The phosphate cycle
The phosphate cycle
The phosphate cycle in water
The Sulfur Cycle
• Sulfur (S), the tenth most abundant element in
the universe
• Sulfur (compounds) to synthesis certain
amino acids and proteins
• Humans impact by burning of fossil fuels and
the processing of metals.
• 90% of sulfur dioxide due to human activities.
• Ultimately sulfate salts acid rain/offset
global warming
The Sulfur Cycle
