ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES

Dr.M.S.Dinesh
Department of Biotechnology

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES

Basic Concepts of Ecosystems

Dr.M.S.Dinesh
Department of Biotechnology
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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES
Ecology

• The meaning of the word ecology was given by German

Biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1869.
• The term ‘Ecology’ was derived from two Greek words, OIKOS
(means house) and LOGUS (means study of) to denote the
relationship between the organisms and their environment.
• Definition: The living community of plants and animals in any
area together with the non-living components of the
environment such as soil, air and water, constitute the
ecosystem. 3
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES
Concept of an Ecosystem

• Ecosystems are divided into terrestrial or land based

ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems in water.
• These form the two major habitat conditions for the Earth’s
living organisms:

o At a global level the thin skin of the earth on the land, the
sea and the air, forms the biosphere.

o At a sub-global level, this is divided into biogeographical

realms

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Concept of an Ecosystem

At a national or state level, this forms biogeographic regions.

Eg. There are several distinctive geographical regions in India- the
Himalayas, the Gangetic Plains, the Highlands of Central India, he
Western and Eastern Ghats, the semi-arid desert in the West, the Deccan
Plateau, the Coastal Belts, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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Concept of an Ecosystem

At an even more local level, each area has several

structurally and functionally identifiable ecosystems such as
different types of forests, grasslands, river catchments,
mangrove swamps in deltas, seashores, islands, etc.

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Classification of Ecology

Based on study area:

1. Autecology : It deals with the study of an individual species

of organisms and it’s population. It is also called the
Species ecology.
2. Synecology : It deals with the study of communities, their
composition, their behaviour and relation with the
environment. It is further divided into 3 types:
a) Population Ecology
b) Community Ecology
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c) Ecosystem Ecology
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Classification of Ecology

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES
Types of Ecosystem

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Types of Ecosystem

• Artificial (Man Engineered) Ecosystems: These are maintained

artificially by man where by addition of energy and planned
manipulation, natural balance is disturbed regularly e.g., crop land
ecosystem.

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Ecosystem Degradation

• Ecosystems are however frequently disrupted by human

actions which lead to the extinction of species of plants
and animals.
• Extinction occurs due to changes in land use, pollution
from industry in urban areas. Forests are deforested for
timber, wetlands are drained to create more agricultural
land and semi arid grasslands that are used as pastures
are changed into irrigated fields.
• Some species if eliminated seriously affect the ecosystem.
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These are called ‘Keystone species’.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES
Ecosystem Degradation

• In the 1960s, renowned ecologist Robert Paine disrupted

a patch of Washington State coastline—and made a huge
environmental breakthrough.
• In an effort to understand the food web in a tidal
ecosystem in Makaw Bay, he removed all of a single
starfish species in one area.
• Rapidly the entire ecosystem changed, leading him to the
realization that certain species play outsize roles in the
overall structure and function of their environment.
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Ecosystem Degradation

• While some creatures exert little influence on their

ecosystem, others can topple a whole community of
plants and animals with their absence.
• Paine coined a term for these critical organisms: keystone
species.
• They are nearly always a critical component of the local
food web. One of the defining characteristics of a
keystone species is that it fills a critical ecological role that
no other species can.
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Ecosystem Degradation

• EXAMPLES OF KEYSTONE SPECIES:

• Star fish- By keeping populations of mussels and barnacles
in check, this sea star helps ensure healthy populations of
seaweeds and the communities that feed on them.
• Sea otters- Role as a top predator in the nearshore marine
ecosystem.
• Beavers- Builds well-maintained dams. These dams turn
small streams into ponds and lakes which provide
excellent areas for other animals to use and thrive.
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Ecosystem Degradation

• Wolves- By regulating prey populations, wolves enable

many other species of plants and animals to flourish.
• Bees- It is predicted that if honey bees disappear, more
than 50% of plant species will become extinct. Honey bees
do not only produce cross-pollination which assists with
genetic diversity of plants and possibly other animal
species and accordingly biodiversity relates to healthy
ecosystems.

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Ecosystem Degradation

• Humming birds- Key agents of pollination and by doing so,

aid in the growth and spread of certain plant species.
• American alligators- high level predators, it modifies their
surroundings by their food consumption alone.
• Tiger sharks- control the populations of primary
consumers, it is a top predator in the ocean.

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Functional aspects

• The non-living components of an ecosystem are the

amount of water, the various inorganic and organic
compounds, and climatic conditions such as rainfall and
temperature, which depend on geographical conditions and
location which is also related to the amount of sunlight.
• The living organisms in an ecosystem are inseparable from
their habitat.

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Structural aspects

Components that make up the structural aspects of an

ecosystem include:
1) Inorganic aspects – C, N, CO2, H2O
2) Organic compounds – Protein, Carbohydrates, Lipids –
link abiotic to biotic aspects.
3) Climatic regimes – Temperature, Moisture, Light &
Topography.
4) Producers – Plants.
5) Macro consumers – Phagotrophs – Large animals.
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6) Micro consumers – Saprotrophs, absorbers– fungi.
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Components of Ecosystem

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Producers, Consumers & Decomposers
• Every living organism is in some way dependent on other
organisms.
• Plants are food for herbivorous animals which are in turn
food for carnivorous animals.
• Thus there are different trophic levels in the ecosystem.
• Some organisms such as fungi live only on dead material
and inorganic matter.

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Food Chain

• A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a

biological community (an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition.

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Food Web

• A food web (or food cycle) depicts feeding connections

(what-eats-what) in an ecological community and hence
is also referred to as a consumer- resource system.
• The food web is a simplified illustration of the various
methods of feeding that links an ecosystem into a unified
system of exchange.
• Various food chains are often interlinked at different
trophic levels to form a complex interaction between
different species from the point of view of food.
• Food Web provides more than one alternatives of food to
most of the organisms in an ecosystem and thus
increases their chances of survival.

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Food Web

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Food Web

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Ecological Pyramids
• Graphical representation of trophic structure & functioning
of ecosystem starting with producers at the base &
successive trophic levels forming the apex

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Energy flow in the Ecosystem
Every ecosystem has several interrelated mechanisms that
affect human life. These are the water cycle, the carbon cycle,
the oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the energy cycle.

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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.

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen Cycle is a biogeochemical process through which nitrogen is
converted into many forms, consecutively passing from the atmosphere to
the soil to organism and back into the atmosphere. It involves several
processes such as nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, decay and
putrefaction.

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Nitrogen cycle

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Nitrogen cycle

Excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause an overgrowth of algae in a short

period of time, also called algae blooms. The overgrowth of algae
consumes oxygen and blocks sunlight from underwater plants. When the
algae eventually dies, the oxygen in the water is consumed.

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Oxygen cycle

Oxygen cycle refers to the movement of oxygen through the atmosphere

(air), biosphere (plants and animals) and the lithosphere (the Earth's
crust).

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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES & LIFE SCIENCES
Direct/Indirect values

• Direct and indirect use value of biodiversity

• Direct values: Direct values can be consumptive
or productive values. Plants provide an instant
incentive towards sustainable development as they're the
primary source of food that could be picked and spent
legally. Direct use values include the economic advantages
derived from directly forest wood, fuelwood, edible
plants, and so on.

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Direct/Indirect values

• Indirect values: The indirect values are the social and

cultural values, ethical values, aesthetic values, optional
and environmental values. Aesthetic qualities are an
unusual motivator for biodiversity because unique views
in undisturbed areas are fascinating to see and give
possibilities for leisure activities that promote the eco-
travel sector.

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Direct/Indirect uses

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THANK YOU

M.S.Dinesh
Department of Biotechnology
[email protected]
+91 80 2672 6672 Extn 351

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