Hypothetical situation

Imagine a day in the life of one of the animals

you see.
• What do they eat?
• Where do those plants or animals get their
energy?
• What kinds of predators do they need to
watch out for?
Human well being

Everyone in the world depends completely on Earth’s

ecosystems and the services they provide, such as
food, water, disease management, climate
regulation, spiritual fulfillment, and aesthetic
enjoyment. Over the past 50 years, humans have
changed these ecosystems more rapidly and extensively
than in any comparable period of time in human history,
largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh
water, timber, fiber, and fuel. This transformation of the
planet has contributed to substantial net gains in human
well-being and economic development. But not all
regions and groups of people have benefited from this
process—in fact, many have been harmed. Moreover,
the full costs associated with these gains are only now
becoming apparent.
Keywords

An ecosystem is made up of all the living organisms in a place, interacting

with each other, and their non-living surroundings.

A habitat is the place where an organism lives. It must provide food, shelter and a place to
reproduce.

An adaptation is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a particular place.

Biotic factors are the living components of an ecosystem.

Abiotic factors are the non-living components of an ecosystem.

Ecology
• One very important way of
studying livings things is to
study them where they live.
• Animals and plants do not
live in isolation. They are
affected by their
surroundings, or
environment. Their
environment is also
affected by them.
• The study of the interaction
between living organisms
and their environment is
called ecology.
 Understanding ecosystems
An ecosystem is made up of all the living organisms in a place, interacting with
each other and with their non-living surroundings.

ecosystem
relates to the how a group of things work together
environment
 Understanding ecosystems
Ecosystems can be of any size.

The planet is the largest example of an ecosystem.

planet Earth

A bottle garden can also be described as an

ecosystem.

a bottle garden
 Ecology and Ecosystems

Ecology is the science that deals with the relationships between living organisms with
their physical environment and with each other.

Ecology can be approached from the viewpoints of (1) the environment and the demands
it places on the organisms in it or (2) organisms and how they adapt to their environmental
conditions.

An ecosystem consists of an assembly of mutually interacting organisms and their environment in which
materials are interchanged in a largely cyclical manner. An ecosystem has physical, chemical, and
biological components along with energy sources and pathways of energy and materials interchange. The
environment in which a particular organism lives is called its habitat.
Biotic factors that
affect an
ecosystem include:
-The food supply
-Numbers of
predators and prey
-Diseases and
parasites
Life is not uniformly distributed throughout the biosphere. The dark green
areas are nutrient rich, while the yellow areas are relatively barren.
Ecosystem condition
• “Ecosystem condition” represents
both quality (e.g., levels of toxins
in wetlands) and biophysical state
(e.g., depth of wetland) measures
that are required to understand the
capacity of the ecosystem to
generate services.
• An improvement in quality is
generally interpreted as a positive
contribution to the capacity to
generate ecosystem services.
 Understanding ecosystems
The living parts of an ecosystem are made up of communities.

A community is the interaction between populations of

different organisms in a specific area.

a rainforest community an African grassland communitya coral reef community

 Understanding ecosystems
A population is the number of organisms of one type that live in a
specific area.
For example:

population of humans in a city population of pelicans on a lake

 Understanding ecosystems
Some examples of non-living parts of an ecosystem include:

soil rocks water air

light litter pollution

 Understanding ecosystems
Match the words in the boxes below to the correct descriptions.
The number of one type of organism in a specific
ecosystem
place.

The interacting living organisms and non-living

community
parts in a place.

The interacting populations of living organisms in a

population
place.
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 (Land)
• Aquatic Ecosystem
Understanding the
ecosystem
• What is the nature of the ecosystem? What is its
structure and its functions?
• Who uses the ecosystem and for what purpose?
• How are these ecosystems degraded?
• What can be done to protect it from deteriorating
in the long-term? How can the ecosystem be
conserved?
Ecosystem goods and services
Direct Values: These are resources that people depend upon
directly and are easy to quantify in economic terms.
• Consumptive Use Value - Non-market value of fruit, fodder,
firewood, etc. that are used by people who collect them from
their surroundings.
• Productive Use Value - Commercial value of timber, fish,
medicinal plants, etc. that people collect for sale.

Indirect Values: These are uses that do not have easy ways to
quantify them in terms of a clearly definable price.
• Non-consumptive use value - scientific research, bird-
watching, ecotourism, etc.
• Option value - maintaining options for the future, so that by
preserving them one could reap economic benefits in the
future.
• Existence value - ethical and emotional aspects of the
existence of wildlife and nature.
 • Understanding ecosystems
Features of different ecosystems:

Ocean Tropical rainforest

Living: Living:
Lots of fish and marine animals Lots of plants and animals
Plants only near the shore / surface Lots of organisms living in trees

Non-living: Non-living:
Salt water Warm
Light reduces as you go deeper Lots of rainfall
Lots of open space Light reduced near the forest floor
Sustainable and Unsustainable
use
Forests disappear, rivers run dry, deserts
begin to spread, and air, water and soil
become increasingly polluted as by-
products of development. Human well
being itself is then seriously affected.

Reason for the above statement?

Terrestrial ecosytems
• Land is intensively used (Modified over years for agricultural
purposes/urban and industrial centers).
• The unsustainable use of environmental goods degrades
these natural ecosystems. Similarly, improper use of
resources can destroy the services that the natural
ecosystems provide.
• When our human population was small, most ecosystems
could supply all our needs. Resources were thus used
‘sustainably’.
• As industrial ‘development’ led to a very great increase in
consumption of resources, the short-term economic gains
for people became an indicator of progress, rather than
long term ecological benefits. This has resulted in an
‘unsustainable use’ natural resources.
Tropical Rainforests

Temperature
The rainforest biome remains
warm all year and must stay
frost-free. The average daily
temperatures range from 20°C
(68°F) to 25°C (77°F).

Precipitation
Rainforests receive the most
rain of all of the biomes in a
year! A typical year sees 2,000
to 10,000 millimeters (79 to
394 inches) of rain per year
Location

Between the
Tropic of
Cancer and
the Tropic of
Capricorn
RAINFOREST STRUCTURE
Rainforests are characterized by a unique vegetative structure consisting of several vertical layers including
the overstory, canopy, understory, shrub layer, and ground level.
The canopy refers to the dense ceiling of leaves and tree branches formed by closely spaced forest trees.
The upper canopy is 100-130 feet above the forest floor, penetrated by scattered emergent trees, 130 feet or
higher, that make up the level known as the overstory. Below the canopy ceiling are multiple leaf and branch
levels known collectively as the understory. The lowest part of the understory, 5-20 feet (1.5-6 meters)
above the floor, is known as the shrub layer, made up of shrubby plants and tree saplings.
 Forest Canopy - Structure
A forest is made up of several trees that belong
to many species. A tree has a stem and a crown
of branches that bear leaves, flowers, and fruits.
Forest canopy refers to the arrangement of tree
crowns; it has two components: the vertical
structure and horizontal structure.
• Horizontal structure is created by the
placement of trees and how close their
crowns are to each other. A collection of
these crowns creates the canopy.
• Vertical structure is formed because trees
and shrubs in a forest will have different
heights. So, two or more layers of tree
crowns can be found in forests. These layers
are called forest storeys or strata. The top-
most stratum is made of emergent trees; below them
are the canopy trees, which are usually present as a
continuous layer. The tree strata below them are
called the sub-canopy and the understorey. Next,
close to the ground could be shrubs, herbs, and
grasses
1. Emergent layer
• This layer consists up of tall trees having straight branches and pointed
leaves. At the top of the tree is a crown.
Crown of Tree
Crown is the top part of the tree from which branches grow above the stem.
(As the trees in this layer are very tall, so they are always in sunlight).

2. The Canopy
• Canopy is the outermost layer of the leaves formed by an individual tree
or by the group of trees. It restricts the sunlight and rains from
getting into the layers which are below the canopy. The leaves here are
broader and so on raining water drips from the canopy to the forest floor.
• The rainwater drip slowly from canopy to the branches of shrubs and
herbs and then to the layer of decaying organic matter. Reptiles, squirrels,
bats and many other birds reside here. As the animals communicate with
each other with sounds, the sound is very loud here because of the
strong the network of branches.
3.Understorey
• When the different size and types of crown form horizontal
layers in the forest is called as understorey. Giant and tall
trees constitute the top layer followed by shrubs and tall
grasses, and herbs formed the lowest layer. The sunlight in
this layer is very less with algae, fungi and mould on the trunk
of the leaves. The insects like the snake, butterflies, frogs,
beetles reside in this layer.
4. Forest floor
• Forest floor is covered with decaying organic matter that acts
like a sponge and helps in absorption of rainwater. The
climbing animals like carnivorous and herbivores animals are
found on this floor. As compared to other layers, animals here
are heavier and large in size. Eg. Snakes, wild cats, lizards etc.
The root system of plants also helps water to seeps into the
soil.
 RAINFOREST
BIODIVERSITY

Tropical rainforests support the greatest diversity of living organisms on Earth. Although they
cover less than 2 percent of Earth’s surface, rainforests house more than 50 percent of the
plants and animals on the planet.
There are several reasons why rainforests are so diverse. Some important factors are:
• Climate: because rainforests are located in tropical regions, they receive a lot of sunlight.
The sunlight is converted to energy by plants through the process of photosynthesis.
Since there is a lot of sunlight, there is a lot of energy in the rainforest. This energy is
stored in plant vegetation, which is eaten by animals. The abundance of energy supports
an abundance of plant and animal species.
• Canopy: the canopy structure of the rainforest provides an abundance of places for
plants to grow and animals to live. The canopy offers sources of food, shelter, and hiding
places, providing for interaction between different species. For example, there are plants
in the canopy called bromeliads that store water in their leaves. Frogs and other animals
use these pockets of water for hunting and laying their eggs.
• Competition: while there is lots of energy in the rainforest system, life is not easy for
most species that inhabit the biome. In fact, the rainforest is an intensively competitive
place, with species developing incredible strategies and innovations to survive,
encouraging specialization.
Home assignment
• Find the uses of forest canopy.
• What all we get from tropical rainforests?
Tropical Rainforest
• Tropical rainforest occurs in the area where there is no dry season as rain can
be seen all around the year. It occurs within the 23.5°N and 23.5°S latitudes
between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. It is a hot, moist
biome where it rains all year. It is usually found near the equator. It is often
called the lungs of the planet as they absorb carbon dioxide, greenhouse gas,
and increase local humidity.
 Desert ecosystem
• Desert and semi arid lands are highly specialised and sensitive ecosystems
that are easily destroyed by human activities. The species of these dry areas
can live only in this specialised habitat.
• Located in Western India and the Deccan Plateau.
• The climate in these vast tracts is extremely dry. (There are also cold deserts
such as in Ladakh, which are located in the high plateaus of the Himalayas.
The most typical desert landscape that is seen in Rajasthan is in the Thar
Desert. This has sand dunes.) In most areas of the Thar the rainfall is scanty.
• In the summers they are similar to a desert landscape. However as these
are low-lying areas near the sea, they get converted to salt marshes during Cold desert of Ladakh
the monsoons. During this period, they attract an enormous number of
aquatic birds such as ducks, geese, cranes, storks, etc.
• The Great Rann is famous, as it is the only known breeding colony of the
Greater and Lesser Flamingos in our country.
• How are desert and semi-arid ecosystems used?
• Areas of scanty vegetation with semi-arid scrubland have been used for
camel, cattle and goat grazing in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and for sheep
grazing in the Deccan Plateau. Areas that have a little moisture, such as
along the watercourses, have been used for growing crops such as jowar,
and bajra. The natural grasses and local varieties of crops have adapted to
growing at very low moisture levels. These can be used for genetic
engineering and developing arid land crops for the future.
 Understanding ecosystems

Sam has been asked to describe two ecosystems. These are the
ocean and tropical rainforest. Can you help him?

Think about the characteristics of both ecosystems. How would

you recognise each ecosystem?
Think about the organisms that live there and the non-living
parts of the ecosystem.

Write a short paragraph to describe each ecosystem to Sam.

Salt marshes
 Woodland
• The term woodland is generally used in Australia to
describe ecosystems which contain widely spaced
trees, the crowns of which do not touch. In temperate
Australia, woodlands are mainly dominated by
Eucalyptus species. Temperate woodlands occur
predominantly in regions with a mean annual rainfall
of between 250-800mm.
• Woodland consists of areas with fewer and more
scattered trees than forests.
• Open woodlands have very few scattered trees, often
making the groundcover the most obvious feature of
the landscape. Some woodlands are the result of the
thinning or clearing of forests to promote grass growth
for grazing.
Unmanaged firewood collection threatens
woodlands ecology
• Woodlands are an ecosystem under threat from a variety of processes. These include clearing
and fragmentation, insect outbreaks, diseases, and grazing. Probably the greatest threat to the
long-term survival of woodlands is the failure of woodland trees to regenerate. This is usually due
to intensive grazing killing off any seedlings that do appear. By and large firewood harvest will not
affect recruitment of new woodland trees. However, the removal of old/dead trees for firewood
and the destruction of seedlings by grazing combine to reduce the long-term sustainability of
woodland ecosystems.
• There is a link between collection of wood from roadsides and remnant bush, and the declining
numbers of birds and animals in our temperate woodlands. It is not often appreciated that old
standing trees and dead wood on the ground provide an important source of food and habitat for
many species of birds and mammals. The removal of these trees and logs is mistakenly seen as
just 'cleaning up the forest' when they are in fact a critical part of the ecosystem.
• Many thousands of people collect dead and fallen trees for their firewood without realising that
they could be removing the habitat of native species. Both standing and dead fallen timber from
forests, reserves, private property and even roadsides provides important habitat for the regent
honeyeater, squirrel glider, the red-tailed black cockatoo, swift and superb parrots and a range of
ground dwelling mammal, reptile and invertebrate species. Fallen timber also assists with soil
retention by intercepting and slowing water flow and assisting the accumulation of leaf litter.
Aquatic ecosystems

• An ecosystem which exists in a body of

water is known as an aquatic
ecosystem. The communities of living
organisms which are dependent on each
other and the aquatic surroundings of
their environment for their survival exist
in the aquatic ecosystems. The aquatic
ecosystems are mainly of two types, the
freshwater ecosystems and the marine
ecosystems.
• These ecosystems provide human
beings with a wealth of natural
resources. They provide goods that
people collect for food such as fish.
 Unsustainable changes
If aquatic ecosystems are misused or over utilized, their ability to provide resources suffers in
the long term.
• Over-fishing leads to a fall in the fish catch.
• River courses that are changed by dams to provide electricity affect thousands of people
who do not get a continuous supply of water downstream for their daily use.
• When wetlands are drained, their connected rivers tend to cause floods. These are all
examples of unsustainable changes in the use of natural resources and nature’s
ecosystems that are dependent on hydrological regimes.
 What is an aquatic
ecosystem?
• In aquatic ecosystems, plants and animals live in water. These
species are adapted to live in different types of aquatic habitats.
• The special abiotic features are its physical aspects such as the
quality of the water, which includes its clarity, salinity, oxygen
content and rate of flow.
• Aquatic ecosystems may be classified as being stagnant
ecosystems or running water ecosystems.
• The mud gravel or rocks that form the bed of the aquatic
ecosystem alter its characteristics and influence its plant and
animal species composition. The aquatic ecosystems are
classified based on the salinity levels.
• Marine ecosystems are highly saline, while brackish areas have
less saline water such as in river deltas.
• Coral reefs are very rich in species and are found in only a few
shallow tropical seas. The richest coral reefs in India are around
the Andaman and Nicobar islands and in the gulf of Kutch.
Brackish water ecosystems in river deltas are covered by
mangrove forests and are among the world’s most productive
ecosystems in terms of biomass production. The largest mangrove
swamps are in the Sunderbans in the delta of the Ganges.
Types of aquatic ecosystems
Pond ecosystem
• The pond is the simplest aquatic ecosystem.
• As the pond fills in the monsoon a large number
of food chains are formed. Algae is eaten by
microscopic animals, which are in turn eaten by
small fish on which larger carnivorous fish
depend. These are in turn eaten by birds such as
kingfishers, herons and birds of prey. Aquatic
insects, worms and snails feed on the waste
material excreted by animals and the dead or
decaying plant and animal matter. They act on
the detritus, which is broken down into nutrients
which aquatic plants can absorb, thus
completing the nutrient cycle in the pond.
• The temporary ponds begin to dry after the rains
and the surrounding grasses and terrestrial
plants spread into the moist mud that is
exposed. Animals such as frogs, snails and
worms remain dormant in the mud, awaiting the
next monsoon.
Lake ecosystem
• A lake ecosystem functions like a giant permanent pond. A large amount of its plant material is the algae,
which derives energy from the sun. This is transferred to the microscopic animals, which feed on the algae.
There are fish that are herbivorous and are dependent on algae and aquatic weeds. The small animals
such as snails are used as food by small carnivorous fish, which in turn are eaten by larger carnivorous
fish. Some specialised fish, such as catfish, feed on the detritus on the muddy bed of the lake.
• Energy cycles through the lake ecosystem from the sunlight that penetrates the water surface to the
plants. From plants energy is transferred to herbivorous animals and carnivores. Animals excrete waste
products, which settle on the bottom of the lake. This is broken down by small animals that live in the mud
in the floor of the lake. This acts as the nutrient material that is used by aquatic plants for their growth.
During this process plants use Carbon from CO2 for their growth and in the process release Oxygen. This
Oxygen is then used by aquatic animals, which filter water through their respiratory system.
Marine ecosystems
• The Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal constitute the marine ecosystems around peninsular India.
• In the coastal area the sea is shallow while further away, it is deep. Both these are different ecosystems. The producers in
this ecosystem vary from microscopic algae to large seaweeds. There are millions of zooplankton and a large variety of
invertebrates on which live fish, turtles and marine mammals. The shallow areas near Kutch and around the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands are some of the most incredible coral reefs in the world.
• Coral reefs are only second to tropical evergreen forests in their richness of species. Fish, crustacea, starfish, jellyfish and
the polyps that deposit the coral are a few of the thousands of species that form this incredible world under the shallow sea.
Deforestation of adjacent mangroves leads to silt being carried out to sea where it is deposited on the coral which then dies.
There are many different types of coastal ecosystems which are highly dependent on the tide. The marine ecosystem is used
by coastal fisherfolk for fishing which forms their livelihood. In the past, fishing was done at a sustainable level. The marine
ecosystem continued to maintain its abundant supply of fish over many generations. Now with intensive fishing by using
giant nets and mechanised boats, fish catch in the Indian Ocean has dropped significantly.
• Seashore ecosystems Beaches can be sandy, rocky, shell covered or muddy. On each of these different types, there are
several specific species which have evolved to occupy a separate niche. There are different crustacea such as crabs that
make holes in the sand. Various shore birds feed on their prey by probing into the sand or mud on the sea shore. Several
different species of fish are caught by fishermen. In many areas the fish catch has decreased during the last decade or two.
Coral reef ecosystems
• Corals are composed of thin plates, or layers, of calcium carbonate secreted
over time by hundreds of soft bodied animals called coral polyps. Polyps range
in size from a pinhead to a foot in length. Each polyp lives in a symbiotic
relationship with a host zooxanthellae that gives the coral its color.
Zooxanthellae take in carbon dioxide, process it through photosynthesis, and
give off oxygen and other important nutrients that are then used by the host
polyp. As in all photosynthesizing organisms, this means that corals must be
exposed to a sufficient amount of sunlight. This confines most corals to shallow
waters that are clean and clear.
• Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth, rivaled
only by tropical rain forests. They are made up not only of hard and soft corals,
but also sponges, crustaceans, mollusks, fish, sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and
much more. Competition for resources such as food, space and sunlight are
some of the primary factors in determining the abundances and diversity of
organisms on a reef. Each component of a coral reef is dependent upon and
interconnected with countless other plants, animals and organisms. This
means that fluctuations in the abundance of one species can drastically alter
both the diversity and abundances of others. While natural causes such as
hurricanes and other large storm events can be the stimulus for such
alterations, it is more commonly anthropological forces that effect these types
of shifts in the ecosystem.