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Ecosystem

1. An ecosystem consists of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components that interact. Biotic components include producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers. Abiotic components include climate factors like temperature and water, edaphic factors like soil composition, and physiographic factors like topography. 2. Energy enters ecosystems through photosynthesis by producers and is transferred through food chains and food webs as herbivores consume producers and carnivores consume herbivores. Decomposers break down dead organic matter and cycle nutrients. 3. Ecosystems function through interactions between biotic and abiotic components, including energy and nutrient flows through

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45 views

Ecosystem

1. An ecosystem consists of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components that interact. Biotic components include producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers. Abiotic components include climate factors like temperature and water, edaphic factors like soil composition, and physiographic factors like topography. 2. Energy enters ecosystems through photosynthesis by producers and is transferred through food chains and food webs as herbivores consume producers and carnivores consume herbivores. Decomposers break down dead organic matter and cycle nutrients. 3. Ecosystems function through interactions between biotic and abiotic components, including energy and nutrient flows through

Uploaded by

Judy Colasito
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ECOSYSTEM

COMPONENTS AND FUNCTION OF


ECOSYSTEM
COMPONENTS OF
ECOSYSTEM

Kinds of Ecosystem
1. Macro ecosystem – cover large geographical
areas (biomes)
Examples: desert, grassland, forest and ocean
2. Micro ecosystem – can be found within a large
ecosystem
Examples: decaying log where termites live, potted
plants in the garden
 Organisms live in a specific place within an
ecosystem. The place where an organisms
live is called “habitat”.
 An ecosystem consists of living
components or biotic factors and the non
living components called abiotic factors
that interact with each other.
The Abiotic Factors

 Nonliving components of the area


 Influence the number and variety of plants
that will grow in the area.
 Grouped into three categories: climate
factors, edaphic factors and
physiographic factors.
Climate Factors

 Those that affect the weather of the place


such as light, temperature, water and wind.
1. Light – visible portion of solar radiation
 the primary source of energy in almost all
ecosystem
 the energy that is trapped by plants and
used in the food manufacturing process
2. Temperature – sunlight that strikes the
surface undergoes transformation ultimately
forming heat energy.
 as season change, the temperature
changes as well
 certain metabolic functions in the body can
happen only under a certain temperature
3. Water – the bodies of living things are
made up mostly of water
- The amount of water in an area dictates
what plants will grow in the area and hence
the number and type of consumers that can
be supported
Plants are classified into three distinct types
in terms of water requirement:
1. Hydrophytes – plants that grow in water
2. Mesophytes – grow in places with
moderate amount of water
3. Xerophytes – grow in very dry
environments
4. Wind – also called as air current
 It defines how strong and sturdy an
organisms in an ecosystem
 Plays an important role in the dispersal of
pollens that can fertilize nearby plants and
in the dispersal of spores and seed so they
can spread and germinate.
Edaphic Factors

 Pertains to the structure and composition of the


soil as well as its physical and chemical properties.
1. Soil texture – size of the particles that compose
the soil
Clay soil – composed of very tiny particles
Sandy soil – composed of larger particles that
provide good aeration
Loam soil – composed of particles of varied sizes
that provide for better aeration
2. Soil pH – alkalinity or acidity of soil
3. Humus content – humus is the dark,
spongy and jelly like material that is formed
when organic substances fully decompose.
Physiographic Factors

 Pertains to the physical nature of the land


surface or its topography (altitude and slope) and
direction.
1. Topography – the varied landscapes that exists
in the ecosystem – gently rolling hills, rocky
areas, gullies, cliffs and plains.
2. Directions – pertains to where the area in
facing. If the area is facing the sun, then the
temperature is hotter and drier in that place.
The Biotic Factor
 Living
things comprise the biotic factors of the
environment.
 Species – group of similar individuals that are
capable of interbreeding to produce fertile
offspring.
 Organisms of the same species group and
interact together forming populations.
 Some animal populations become closely
organized into a group called society.
Classification of Living Organism
based on how they obtain their
energy source

1. Autotrophs – self sustaining organisms


that can manufacture food from simple
inorganic molecules present in the
environment. There are two kinds of
autotrophs: photosynthetic autotrophs
and chemosynthetic autotrophs
 Photosynthetic Autotrophs – chlorophyll-
bearing organisms. Light energy is trapped
by the chlorophyll molecules and it is used
in synthesizing complex organic molecules
 Chemosynthetic Autotrophs – can
extract inorganic molecules from the
environment and convert them into high
energy inorganic nutrients.
2. Heterotrophs – are living things that
cannot make their own food. They obtain
energy by feeding on the tissues of
producers or other consumers.
Subcategories of
Heterotrophs

1. Herbivores – plant eater.


Examples are rabbits, goats, cow
2. Carnivores – flesh eater
Examples are snakes, tigers, cheetahs, lions,
eagles
Subcategories of
Heterotrophs

3. Omnivores – consumers that can eats


both plants and animals
Examples are humans, pigs, mice, bears
4. Detritivores – decomposers that consume
dead remains and change them into smaller
fragments
Examples are earthworms, spiders and ants
ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION

All ecosystem are characterized by the


interactions that exists between the biotic
and abiotic factors.
FOOD CHAIN

 Energy enters the living system in the form


of light. This energy is trapped by the
producers (autotrophs) which use it in
making food. The flow of energy in the
ecosystem begins when the producers are
eaten by the herbivores. The herbivores
eaten by the carnivores and the
decomposers act on the dead remains.
FOOD WEB

 The flow of energy in an ecosystem is


much more complicated than what a food
chain represents. Ecologists say that
“everything is connected to everything
else”. Thus, the food chain is only part of
the many food links that are interconnected
in an ecosystem. This interconnected food
chain is called food web.

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