ECOSYSTEM

Ecosystem is a functional unit of nature where living organisms interact among themselves and also with
surrounding physical environment.

ECOSYSTEM – STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

Interaction of abiotic and biotic component results in physical structure and characteristic for each type
of ecosystem.

Autotrophic components: includes green plants, photosynthetic bacteria, cyanobacteria which show
photosynthesis and prepare organic food.(ex- glucose) from CO2 and water with the help of sun light.
The energy trapped in photosynthesis is radiant energy of sun and changed into chemical energy in
glucose – producer. These are herbs, shrubs, large sized trees, free floating phytoplanktons, algae.

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Heterotrophic components: includes organism which consume either other organism or other
readymade organic food and decompose complex organic compounds – consumers

Consumers are of three types- primary, secondary, tertiary.

Primary consumers are herbivorous – aphids, ants, grasshopper, birds. In aquatic ecosystem –
zooplanktons. Secondary consumers are consumers which feed on primary consumers or herbivorous –
frog, fox, centipede, predator birds, small fishes, jackles, bees. Tertiary consumers includes secondary
carnivorous which eat secondary consumers(ex wolf, eat the fox) and tertiary consumers include tiger,
lion. These are not eaten up by other animals.

The forest floor bottom of ponds and other ecosystem have decomposer, which break complex organic
matter into inorganic substances like CO2, N2, P, etc. and help in material recycling.

STRATIFICATION: Arrangement of different plants and animals in different layers from substratum.

Pond ecosystem

In pond , vertical stratification is very little. Three zones can be recognised.

1. Littoral zone: represent by shallow water having rotten plants, animals, also has a rooted plants.

2. Limnetic zone: occupies middle of pond to a depth where light can penetrate in water nad has
microscopic organism, planktons, nektons.

3. Profundal zone: represent the bottom of pond where light cannot penetrate.

Pond ecosystem has abiotic and biotic components which are discussed below.

A. Abiotic component: water, CO2, O2, mineral salts of N2,P, Ca, K dissolved in water. Organic substances
amino acid, humic acid. The air above the surface of water contain CO, O. sun light reaches surface and
reaches 4 to 5 mts. The surface of water is warmer during day and the water at bottom of pond is cooler.
The quality of light penetrating the water, temperature and other climatic condition regulate the rate of
functioning of pond ecosystem.

B. Biotic component: includes producer, consumers. Producer includes microscopic free floating algae,
euglena, volvox, spirogyra, Chara. Submerged plants, surface floating plants – pistia, Eichhornia.
Phytoplankton’s, floating plants are important producer of pond ecosystem. Consumers –

a) Primary consumers – microscopic animals - paramecium

b) Secondary consumers – small fishes, crustaceans, rotifers, frogs

c) Tertiary consumers – large fishes, ducks, rabbits, goats, sheeps.

• Dead producer and consumers and their waste sink to bottom and form organic debris.

• Decomposers like bacteria, fungi, flagellates convert debris into simple organic , inorganic substances.

• Simple organic compounds absorbed by decomposer and release inorganic substances. These are
released to environment for reuse by producers and this event is repeated again and again.

• There is cyclic exchange of materials between living community and abiotic environment of pond
ecosystem.

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The study of pond ecosystem reveals that components are seen to function as unit.

a) Productivity

b) Decomposition

c) Energy flow

d) Nutrient cycling

PRODUCTIVITY

The different unit of an ecosystem called trophic levels, where energy is stored or trapped.

Solar energy is absorbed by producers and the energy produced is passed through the consumers and
finally to decomposers which release the energy from dead bodies and excreta into the environment.

“The rate of synthesis or biomass produced at any trophic level during a given period of time” -
Productivity

It is measured as weight/ energy.

The study of production of biomass by living organism is known as productivity.

It is measured as weight/energy.

There are 2 types of productivity of an ecosystem

a) Primary productivity

b) Secondary productivity

Primary productivity: refers to as amount of organic matter/ biomass produced at producer level
during a given period of time.

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It is a photosynthetic rate at which solar energy is trapped by producer to produce energy rich
compounds. It is depend on factors like solar radiation, temp, soil moisture, etc. primary productivity is
further classified into following two types

a) Gross primary productivity(GPP)

b) Net primary productivity(NPP)

Gross primary productivity(GPP): Total amount of food produced by producers/unit area/ unit time.

Synthesis of organic molecules/ sugar takes place. Chemosynthesis also adds a small fraction of primary
products.

Dependent on sunlight, temperature, rainfall, availability of nutrients.

Net primary productivity(NPP): Amount of gross primary productivity(sugar) is utilised by plants in

Biomass is left after meeting the demands of respiration and maintainance of primary producers is the
energy in form of biomass available for organisms of next tropic levels

NPP = GPP-R( R is respiratory/ other loss of energy)

Secondary productivity: refers to the amount of organic matter/ biomass produced at any of the
consumer level during a given period of time.

“It is the rate of building up of biomass by heterotrophs per unit time and area”

DECOMPOSITION (TAPHONOMY ) – also called decay/ purification

The process of breaking down of complex organic matter into inorganic substances like CO2, H2O,
nutrients in nature.

Dead plant remains – leaves, bark, flowers, fruits, dead remains of animals, faecal matters

Detritus – raw material for decomposition

Decomposition is brought about by reducer organisms – namely bacteria, fungi.

Earthworm -“ farmer’s friend”

Steps of Decomposition

1. Fragmentation of detritus – Microscopic invertebrates – earthworms, bettles, termites called

2. Catabolism – Decomposers( bacteria, fungi) carry out extra cellular digestion – secrete digestive
enyzmes on detritus and convert complex insoluble organic substances into organic and inorganic
compounds. A part of broken down food is taken up by the decomposer and immobilised.

3. Leaching – Water soluble inorganic nutrients produced during decomposition percolates to deeper
layer of soil and get participated as unavailable salts – leaching

4. Humification– Process of formation of humus is called humification

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a) During the process the simplified detritus gets converted to dark coloured amorphous substance
called humus.

b) Acidic humus – Mor

c) Basic humus – Mull

5. Mineralisation– Formation of minerals, release of inorganic substances such carbon dioxide, water,
nutrients in soil takes place. Humus blends to mineral matter to form a highly fertile colloidal matter.

Decomposition is aerobic process. Anaerobic condition slows down the decomposition rate

Temperature, soil, moisture, chemical quality regulates the rate of decomposition. When the
temperature is more than 25oC and in the presence of moist condition results in fast growth of
microflora. Detritus rich with nitrogen water soluble substances like sugar show faster rate of
decomposition under normal climatic condition.

ENERGY FLOW: “The rate of energy transfer between elements of ecological system”.

FOOD CHAIN: “The sequence of transfer of food energy in ecosystem from its source through series of
organism with repeated process of eating and being eaten up”.

The radiant energy of sun captured by plants flows through different organism of an ecosystem –
unidirectional flow of energy from sun to producer and then to consumers

Not all of the producers organic matter is digested and absorbed by consumers. Organic chemicals like
lignin and cellulose is not digested by most animals. It is excreted out.

About 50% of sun light is provided for photosynthesis

About 34% of light is reflected back to space by clouds. Ozone traps 10% of light along with water vapour

1-5% of light reaches earth for photosynthesis. There are two food chains – grazing food chain (GFC) and
detritus food chain (DFC).

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 A. Grazing food chain (GFC)

GFC are those of grass land ecosystem.

Starts from grasses, herbivorous, carnivorous (primary, secondary, tertiary)

In aquatic ecosystem from phytoplanktons zooplanktons small fishes large fishes predatory birds

In forest ecosystem - tree insects and herbivorous

Grazing food chain has following features

1) Producer are in first step, which depend on solar energy directly, forms the first trophic level.

2) Herbivorous ( primary consumers) eat upon producer and form second trophic level.

3) Herbivorous are consumed by variety of carnivorous

4) Food chain are longer and end up at decomposer level.

Grasses primary consumer(insect) secondary consumer(frog) tertiary consumer(snake) quaternary

B. Detritus food chain (DFC)

Generally shorter than grazing food chain

Detritus food chains depend upon dead organic material either in form of fallen leaves, twigs, etc.

These are not directly dependent on solar energy

Primary consumers are detrivorous .these includes bacteria, fungi, protozoans. These decompose
organisms have saprophytic mode of feeding and are considered as primary consumers in this type of
food chain. The detrivorous are eaten by their predator( secondary consumers) like nematode, insects,
larvae, etc.

The main function of detrivorous is to release the inorganic elements into the ecosystem by
decomposing the dead organic matter.

Mangroose fallen leaves(dead bodies) fungi fungi / bacteria insects , crustacean small fishes
large fishes.

FOOD WEB: “Food web is network of food chain” which becomes interconnected at various trophic
level so as to form a number of feeding connection among different organism of biotic community.

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STANDING CROP: Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular time.

The measurement of biomass in terms of fresh/ dry weight.

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

“The graphical representation of ecological parameters present in various trophic levels with producer at
the base and carnivorous at top”

Charles Elton(1927) English biologist first developed the idea of ecological pyramids.

CHARACTERS

1. Calculation of energy content, biomass or numbers has to be include all organism at that trophic level.

2. Trophic level represents a functional level, not species as such

3. The species may occupy more than one trophic level in the same ecosystem at the same time

Ex: sparrow is primary consumer when it eats seeds, fruits, peas and secondary consumer when it eats
insects and worms.

4. Most of ecological pyramids are upright.

TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

A. PYRAMID OF NUMBERS: “Graphical representation of number of individuals in various

EX: In pond ecosystem, primary producers are diatoms and unicellular green algae – minute organism
but large in number. They form broad base of pyramid. Above this zooplanktons, small fishes, large fishes
followed by tertiary consumers like Hawks. As the number of individuals goes on decreasing in
successive trophic levels, this results in upright triangular pyramid.

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EX: In parasitic food chain, the pyramid of number is an inverted pyramid in which single oak tree
supports a large number of fruits eating birds. These birds support a large number of ectoparasites like
lice, bugs.

Spindle shaped pyramid

In tree dominated ecosystem (forest ecosystem) single large sized tree(T1) is attacted by many plants
eating insects(T2). They prey upon by few carnivorous insects(T3) which further preyed upon by a lesser
known birds(T4) and finnaly preyed upon by only a few larged sized birds. So ecosystem is spindle
shaped.

B. PYRAMID OF BIOMASS: “Graphical representation of biomass (total amount of living or

It helps to study the amount of biomass at each trophic level. The biomass of producer and biomass at
consumer level show a progressive decrease with the result, the biomass of pyramid is upright or
straight”

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 C. PYRAMID OF ENERGY:” Graphical representation of amount energy trapped/ unit time and
unit area in different trophic levels of a food chain”.

The energy flows through the food chain in ecosystem in several steps (different trophic levels) till it
reaches top carnivorous. Starting with primary producer, large amount of energy is lost in form of heat.
As we go up the food chain, energy content of several trophic level decreases. So the pyramid of energy
is always upright, never inverted. Ex pond, grass land, tree ecosystem.

Limitation of ecological pyramids

1. A species may occupy more than one trophic level in same ecosystem, same time. Ex sparrow can be
primary consumer (eats grain, nuts) and also secondary consumer (eats small insects, worms)

2. Saprophytes are also important organism in ecosystem in ecosystem, but they are not consider in
ecological in ecological pyramids

3. Pyramid of biomass in sea is also inverted

4. Analysis of human being in food chain show different ecological pyramid.

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