Ecology and Ecosystem

Project on ES
PPT designed by :
Mohammedi Limdiwala

Contents
Biogeochemical Cycles
– Hydrological Cycle
– Carbon Cycle
Energy flow in Ecosystem
Ecological Pyramids
Food Chain
Food Web
8 Oct '14 2Ecology & Ecosystem

Biogeochemical Cycle
The chemical interactions (cycles) that exist
between the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere, and biosphere.
Also known as Nutrient cycle.

Matter Cycling in ecosystem
Global Cycles recycle nutrients through the
earth’s air, land, water, and living organisms.
Nutrients are the elements and compounds that
organisms need to live, grow, and reproduce.
Biogeochemical cycles move these substances
through air, water, soil, rock and living
organisms.

Various Forms

Components
All things in an ecosystem can either be biotic or
abiotic.
– Biotic : The living components of the ecosystem. E.g.:
Plants, animals, etc.
– Abiotic : the non-living components of the ecosystem.
E.g.: water, land, temperature, air, etc.

Hydrological cycle
Also known as water cycle.
The water in its various forms travels through the
biosphere.
Water never leaves the Earth. It is constantly
being cycled through the atmosphere, ocean, and
land. This process, known as the water cycle, is
driven by energy from the sun. The water cycle is
crucial to the existence of life on our planet.

Hydrological cycle
At a glance
PrecipitationPrecipitation
Transpiration
Condensation
Evaporation
Ocean storage
Transpiration from
plants
Precipitation
to land
Groundwater movement (slow)
Evaporation
from land Evaporation
from ocean Precipitation
to ocean
Infiltration and
Percolation
Rain clouds
Runoff
Surface runoff
(rapid)
Surface
runoff
(rapid)

Hydrological cycle
Major Steps
Evaporation from the pool of water resource due
to heating by the sun.
The process of evaporation from plants
is known as Transpiration (in other
words it is also known as plants
sweating).

Hydrological cycle
Major Steps
As water (in the form of gas) rises higher in the
atmosphere, it starts to cool and become a liquid
again. This process is called Condensation.
When a large amount of water vapor condenses,
it results in the formation of clouds.

Hydrological cycle
Major Steps
When the water in the clouds
gets too heavy, the water falls back to the earth.
This is called precipitation.

Hydrological cycle
At a glance

Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by
which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere,
pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere of the Earth.
It comprises a sequence of events that are key to
making the Earth capable of sustaining life; it
describes the movement of carbon as it is
recycled and reused throughout the biosphere.

Carbon Cycle
At a glance

Carbon Cycle
Major Steps
Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants –
due to photosynthesis it moves into plants body.
Carbon moves from plants to animals – plants are
eaten by animals and they are in turn eaten by
other animals, and hence carbon moves along.
Carbon moves from plants and animals to the
ground – their body decay when they die, and
carbon is pulled into the ground.

Carbon Cycle
Major Steps
Carbon moves to atmosphere – 3 ways –
– While respiration carbon is put back into air as CO2
– While burning of fossil fuel carbon is released as CO2
– The ocean and other water bodies absorb carbon from
the atmosphere.

Carbon Cycle
At a glance

Energy Flow In Ecosystem
Everything that organisms do in an ecosystem;
running, breathing, burrowing, growing, requires
energy.
The flow of energy is the most important factor
that controls what kind of organisms live in an
ecosystem and how many organisms the
ecosystem can support.

Trophic Level
Ecologists study how energy moves through an
ecosystem by assigning organisms in that
ecosystem to a specific level called a trophic
level.
energy moves from one trophic level to the next;
from sunlight to producer to primary consumer
and on down the chain.
The path of energy
through the trophic levels
of an ecosystem is called

Trophic Level – Producers
Producers - The lowest trophic level of an
ecosystem is occupied by the producers (plants,
algae, bacteria) which take sunlight and convert it
to food energy.
It use the energy of the sun to build energy rich
carbohydrates.
Ultimately all organisms get their energy from
the sun.

Trophic Level – Consumers – Herbivorous
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and
physiologically adapted to eating plant material.
As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous
animals typically have mouthparts adapted to
rasping or grinding.
Eg: Elephant, deer, grasshopper, etc.

Trophic Level – Consumers – Carnivorous
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism
that derives its energy and nutrient requirements
from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of
animal tissue, whether through predation or
scavenging.
Eg: Lion, panther, eagle, owl, etc.

Trophic Level – Consumers – Omnivorous
An omnivore is an animal that can derive its
energy and nutrients from a diet consisting of a
variety of food sources that may include plants,
animals, algae, fungi and bacteria.

Trophic Level – Decomposers
They assists in breaking down dead organisms
and helping return their nutrients to the Earth.
E.g.: worms, bacteria, fungi, etc

10% Law – Energy Loss
During every transfer of energy in an ecosystem,
energy is lost as heat.
Although heat can be used to do work (as in a
steam engine), it is generally not a useful source
of energy in biological systems.
Thus, the amount of useful energy decreases as
energy passes through the levels of an ecosystem.
This loss of energy limits the number of trophic
levels an ecosystem can support.

When a plant harvests energy from sunlight,
photosynthesis captures only about 10% of the
energy available to the leaves.
When a herbivore consumes a plant only about
10% of the energy in the plant ends up in the
herbivores molecules.
When a carnivore consumes the herbivore, again
only 10% of the energy of the herbivore gets
passed along.
As such 90% energy is lost into environment.

Models
The flow of energy through various trophic levels
in an ecosystem can be explained with the help of
various energy flow models –
– Single channel energy flow model
– Y shaped or double channel energy flow model
– Universal energy model

Models – Single channel
The flow of energy takes place in a unidirectional
manner through a single channel of producers to
herbivores to carnivores.
The energy once travelled by a lower trophic
level to higher one, cannot travel back to the
lower level.
Hence entire system would collapse if a lower
trophic level organism were cutoff.
At each level there is progressive decrease in
energy due to loss as heat.8 Oct '14 29Ecology & Ecosystem

Models – Single channel

Models – Double channel
It conforms to the basic stratified structure of
ecosystem.
It separates the two chains i.e. grazing and
detritus food chain by time and space.
Micro-organisms and macro consumers differ
greatly in size metabolism relation.

Models – Double channel

Models – Universal
Energy is lost while moving from one trophic
level to another, indicated by narrower pipes and
smaller boxes.
Energy lost is the one which is not utilized (NU).
This is lost due to locomotion, excretion,
respiration (CR) , etc.
Rest energy is used for production (P).

Models – Universal

Energy Pyramid
Ecologists often illustrate the
flow of energy through ecosystems with an
energy pyramid.
At each trophic level, the energy stored by the
organisms in a level is about 1/10th
of the energy
stored by the previous level.
An energy pyramid is a diagram in which each
trophic level is represented by a block, and the
blocks are stacked on top of each other, with the
lowest trophic level as the base of the pyramid.8 Oct '14 35Ecology & Ecosystem

Energy Pyramids
Types
Basically energy pyramids are of 3 types:
– Pyramid of Biomass
– Pyramid of Energy
– Pyramid of Numbers

Energy Pyramids
Types - Biomass
Illustrates the amount of biomass in each trophic
level. Biomass weight is determined after
dehydration
Shows the amount
of matter lost
between trophic
levels. Measured
in Kg, grams or
pounds.

Energy Pyramids
Types - Biomass
One problem: They can make a trophic level look
like it has more energy than it really does.
For example: A bird has a beak, feathers and a
skeleton that would count as biomass even
though it does not contribute to the overall flow
of energy into the next trophic level.

Energy Pyramids
Types - Energy
Shows the energy available at each trophic level.
– The size of the blocks represents the proportion of
productivity
– Measured in Joules or Calories

Most of the energy available to the community is
in the 1st trophic level.
Only 10-20% of the energy is available to the
next trophic level (≈ 90% lost)
Energy Pyramids
Types - Energy

Energy Pyramids
Types - Number
Illustrates of the number of organisms at each
level.

Food Chain
A food chain also shows how the organisms are
related with each other by the food they eat.
Diagram showing the flow of energy from
producer to consumer.
Producer Herbivores Carnivores Decomposers

Food Chain
Examples

Food Chain
Examples
In the above picture three food chains were
included.
– Grassland
• Producer – Grass
• Primary Consumer – Grasshopper
• Secondary Consumer – Rat
• Tertiary Consumer – Snake
– Pond
• Producer – Algea
• Primary Consumer – Mosquito
• Secondary Consumer – Dragonfly
• Tertiary Consumer – Frog8 Oct '14 44Ecology & Ecosystem

Food Chain
Examples
– Ocean
• Producer – Phytoplankton
• Primary Consumer – Zooplanktons
• Secondary Consumer – Small Fish
• Tertiary Consumer – Tuna Fish

Food Web
Multiple food chains connected together.
The more chains the more stable the ecosystem.

Food Web
Example

Thank
You

Ecology and Ecosystem

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