Ecosystem PDF

ECOSYSTEM ESTUARIES - System that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) and - Estuaries are areas where freshwater from rivers mixes with its physical environment (abiotic factors)...

ECOSYSTEM ESTUARIES - System that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) and - Estuaries are areas where freshwater from rivers mixes with its physical environment (abiotic factors) saltwater from the sea. - Benefits: stable climate, breathable air, supplies of ware, - Home of many marine species food, and materials, protection from disasters and diseases - Protect coastal areas from storms and flooding. - Beneficial for ecological balance and supporting livelihoods. COMPONENTS - Examples: bays, delta, lagoons  BIOTIC FACTOR - Species: salmon, crabs, wading birds, oysters, otter, crocodile o Living things o Presence and byproducts affect the composition MANGROVES of an ecosystem - coastal forest that is usually seen at tropical and subtropical areas o Fungi, plant, animals, protist, archare, bacteria that has salt-water. o Producers, consumers, decomposers - has special roots.  ABIOTIC FACTOR - is a biodiversity hotspot. o Non-living things that affect living organisms and - absorb large amount of carbon dioxide. functioning of ecosystems - has unique adaptation like prop roots and pneumatophores. o Chemical component, physical conditions, and - Species: juvenile fish, shrimp, king fisher, oysters, bats, crocodile non-living resources that affect living organisms in terms of growth, maintenance, reproduction, 3. WETLANDS and survival - Either covered by water or saturated with water o MAJOR 5: air, water, temperature, - Covered by water (salt, fresh, or somewhere in between) sunlight/light, temperature/humidity, soil either seasonally or permanently - Functions as its own distinct ecosystem TYPES - Animals: ducks, otter, snake, beaver, alligator, tiger 1. TERRESTRIAL a. SWAMPS - Land-based community of organisms and the interactions of - Dominated by trees biotic and abiotic factors b. MARSHES - Diverse and interconnected - Without trees a. FOREST – area of land dominated by trees and animals c. BOGS b. GRASSLAND – grasses and herbs - Peat-accumulating c. TUNDRA – type of biome where tree growth is hindered - with acidic, nutrient-poor water, fed by rainfall by low temperatures and short growing seasons d. FENS d. DESERT – barren area of landscape where little - Peat-forming precipitation occurs and, consequently, living - Fed by groundwater, with higher nutrient levels conditions are hostile for plant and animal life 2. AQUATIC SOME MAJOR WETLANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES - Community of organisms that live in and around a body of  Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary – largest in the PH water, along with the physical and chemical environment that  Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park supports them  Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary - 71% of Earth are covered in water  Lake Danao Natural Park - Endangered: turtle, corals, alligator, shark  Aliwagwag Protected Landscape  Tinuy-an Falls Protected Landscape FRESHWATER MARINE  Las Pinas Paranaque Wetland Park Definition - no salt content; low levels of - More substantial salt dissolved salts and other content and greater  Amro River Protected Landscape solids biodiversity  Dinadiawan River Protected Landscape - suitable for human - Covers 70% of Earth’s  Hinulugan Taktak consumption and surface and over 97%  Taal Volcano Protected Landscape agricultural use of the planet’s water  Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park - generated from humid air Relative Humidity  Buhi Wildlife Sanctuary using various technologies (RH) at standard  active air cooling, height of 2 meters  desiccant-based technology, 80% 4. ARTIFICIAL and TRHS polymer approach - “Man-made Ecosystem”  mimics natural ecosystems Example lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, seas and oceans - Not self-sustaining and can perish without human help and wetlands - Example: botanical garden, orchards, aquarium, zoo, park Salinity Level less than 1,000 parts per - Average salinity: 35 a. URBAN million (ppm) or 1 part per grams of dissolved - In cities, shaped by human activity, infrastructure, thousand (ppt) salt per liter or 35 ppt and the need to support large populations of - range: 33-38 ppt people, plants, and animals Temperature - summer: 4°C (near the - in the tropics: (warm) bottom) to 22°C (at the top) 30°C (86°F) - Natural system that exists within a city or other - winter: 4°C at the bottom - near the poles: (very densely populated area and 0°C at the top cold) -2°C (28°F) - combination of natural and man-made elements, and is affected by many factors, including culture, CORAL REEFS politics, economics, and social organization - large underwater structures composed of the skeletons of - Examples: urban forest, native plantings, green colonial marine invertebrates  coral roofs, rain garden, community gardens - home to millions of species of marine life - protect coastlines from storms and erosion ADVANTAGE - filter toxins and contaminants out of the ocean - REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION - renewable energy sources like solar and wind power  reduce TYPES reliance on fossil fuels a. FRINGING REEFS - IMPROVING AIR AND WATER QUALITY - offers - Grows close to the shore of a mainland or high island and is regulatory services like temperature control, air attached to the coast quality upkeep, and stormwater management, plus b. BARRIER REEFS provisioning like food and water - Separated from the main coast by a deep channel or lagoon - LOWERING AMBIENT TEMPERATURES - can c. ATOLL REEFS ameliorate the 'urban heat island effect' and reduce - Ring-shaped that surrounds a lagoon, a body of water air temperatures through shade, thereby reducing energy required for cooling.  DISADVANTAGE TROPHIC LEVELS - DEFORESTATION AND LOSS - can decrease - Relative position of an entity in the food chain biodiversity and alter species ranges and - Forms the feeding positions in a food web or food chain which interactions. both have at least two or three trophic levels - LIMITED CARRYING CAPACITY - urban ecosystems - Usually don’t get more than 4 or 5 can become overpopulated  strain limited resources and make them hazardous to the health LEVEL TYPE EXAMPLES of their inhabitants. 4 Apex predators Tertiary Consumers Lion, eagle, - CLIMATE CHANGE - urban vegetation can be Carnivores snake exposed to increased stormwater runoff and 3 Carnivores Secondary Snake pollutants due to climate change. Consumers 2 Herbivores Primary Consumers Rabbit b. AGRICULTURAL Only eat the - Human-managed focused on food production which producers involves crop cultivation, livestock, and resource 1 Producers Where all the Plant, algae management energy in the food chain comes from LIST OF MAN-MADE ECOSYSTEMS 1. Agro Economy Ecosystem - 10% distributed each level - complex and interconnected system that includes all the - There is not enough energy to sustain organisms in a higher economic, environmental, and social components involved in trophic level agricultural production and its associated industries. - OMNIVORES (eat both plants and animals) like bears  - Examples: Sawah padi, palm oil tree, pepper organisms that don’t fit neatly into the pattern 2. Hydrology Ecosystem - DECOMPOSERS (vultures) can be inserted at any level; other - Dam system  example of artificial ecosystem accidentally examples: fungi, bacteria developed by humans as being recoverable water from river - DETRITIVORES  some small animals like worms ecosystems. - Decomposers and detritivores decompose dead plant and 3. Livestock Ecosystem animal matter  recycle nutrients from animals and plants - reignite land and strengthen economy back into the ground to be used again by producers 4. Forest Ecosystem Production - created for the purpose of preservation and retention such as jati and pinus FOOD CHAIN 5. Aquarium Ecosystem - Series of organisms that eat one another so that energy and - function to be used as decoration or place of recreation nutrients flow from one to the next - Circular cycle c. NATURAL ECOSYSTEM a. self-sustaining ecosystem in which both living and TYPES non-living entities occur freely in nature. 1. GRAZING FOOD CHAIN b. doesn't require the intervention of humans. - The consumers utilizing plants as their food - Example: flower  caterpillar  frog  snake  owl 2. DETRITUS FOOD CHAIN - Starts from dead organic matter of decaying animals STUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEM and plant bodies to the micro-organisms and then to c. Organization of both biotic and abiotic components detritus feeding organisms and to other predators d. Includes distribution of energy in the environment - Example: dead leaves  woodlouse  blackbird BIOTIC 3 MAJOR GROUPS ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEM  PRODUCERS - Energy passed on from one trophic level to another o Can make their own food  autotrophs - Based on 2 LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS: o Example: plants, green algae, photosynthetic bacteria o Energy is neither created nor destroyed (cyanobacteria) o As energy is transferred, more and more of it is wasted  CONSUMERS - Uses Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) o Consumer other organisms to obtain energy  - Units of energy per level: 1000  100  10  1 (10%) heterotrophs  MACROCONSUMERS - Large consumers ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS - Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores - Graphical representations of the relationship between the  MICROCONSUMERS different living organisms at different trophic levels.  DECOMPOSERS o Microconsumer organisms that break down organic matter IMPORTANCE and release nutrients into the environment around them  Tracks feeding patterns and food chains. o Final consumer  saprotrophs  Shows the number of organisms in each ecosystem level. o Example: fungi, bacteria, worm  Reveals the biodiversity of a region. ABIOTIC COMPONENTS  Reflects the balance of the ecosystem: if disrupted  can  WATER collapse o Vital as all living organisms need water  Monitors the health of the ecosystem and helps prevent further  SUNLIGHT damage o Main source of energy on Earth, and essential for photosynthesis  process by which plants make food TYPES  SOIL o PYRAMID OF ENERGY o Ground’s temperature and moisture levels are important - Pyramid of productivity for soil solarization, fertilizing, and weed management - Determines the flow of energy from one trophic level to another  TEMPERATURE o Influences metabolic rates and distribution of organisms - 100%  10%  1%  0.1%  AIR o  o PYRAMID OF BIOMASS NUTRIENT CYCLING - Graphic presentation of biomass present per unit area of NUTRIIENT CYCLE different trophic levels - cyclic pathway by which nutrients pass through, in order to be recycled and reutilized TOP to UPRIGHT TOP to DOWNRIGHT - nutrients get absorbed, transferred, released and reabsorbed BOTTOM PYRAMID BOTTOM PYRAMID LEVEL (terrestrial) LEVEL (aquatic) FOUR TYPES Top 1kg Carnivore 12gm/m2 1. CARBON CYCLE carnivore Carbon Primary 10kg Herbivores 8gm/m2 carnivore - moves between the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living Herbivores 100kg Producer 4gm/m2 organisms, ensuring it is reused and balanced in nature Producers 1000kg - backbone of all organic molecules - mostly carbon dioxide and methane in atmosphere ADVANTAGE - continuous exchange of carbon between biotic and abiotic - Overcomes the problem of pyramid of numbers components by  photosynthesis and respiration - all living organisms release carbon dioxide during respiration DISADVANTAGE - Organic carbon from dead and decaying organisms and waste - Only uses samples from population  difficult to measure products is released into the atmosphere after decomposition exact biomass - Time of year of biomass is measured influences result e.g., ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES trees in summer - Supports ecosystems - Deforestation impact - Organisms of the same size do not necessarily have the - Regulates climate - Ocean acidification same energy content - Nutrient cycling - Inverted pyramids may result from producers with high turnover rate 2. NITROGEN CYCLE - biogeochemical process which transforms the inert nitrogen 3. PYRAMID OF NUMBERS present in the atmosphere to a more usable form for living - Ecological representation illustrating the total number of organisms organisms at each trophic level - nitrogen  crucial component of proteins and nucleic acids INVERTED SPINDLE-SHAPED STAGES Hyperparasites Carnivore i. Nitrogen - initial step of the nitrogen cycle Parasites Herbivores Fixation Process - Atmospheric Nitrogen (N2) – primarily available Herbivores Producer in an inert form – converted into usable form  ammonia (NH3) Producers TYPES ADVANTAGE a) Atmospheric fixation - natural - Simple easy method (number counting) of giving an phenomenon  energy of lightning breaks overview the nitrogen into nitrogen oxides  used by - Good for comparing changes to the ecosystem at different plants times of year (e.g., between seasons) b) Industrial nitrogen fixation – man-made alternative  aids in nitrogen fixation by use of ammonia DISADVANTAGE c) Biological nitrogen fixation – bacteria like - Numbers of specific species can be too great to measure Rhizobium and blue-green algae transform accurately the unusable form of nitrogen into other - Does not take into account ‘juvenile’ or immature forms compounds that are more readily usable - All organisms regardless of size, hence ‘inverted’ pyramids ii. Nitrification - Ammonia is converted into nitrate by the presence of bacteria in the soil - Nitrates  formed by oxidation of ammonia with the help of Nitrosomonas bacteria species HOW THESE PYRAMIDS REPRESENT THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENERGY - Produced nitrates  converted into nitrates by AND ORGANISM Nitrobacter which is important as ammonia gas Pyramid is toxic for plants - help us visualize the transfer of energy and nutrients within 2NH3 + 302 2N02- + 2H+ + 2H20 2N02- + O2 ecosystems. 2N03- - Shows relationship between different organisms  each part of iii. Assimilation - Primary producers (plants) take in the nitrogen compounds from soil with the help of their the bars represents different trophic level and their order roots  available in form of ammonia, nitrite - Objectives: show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic ions, nitrate ions or ammonium ions  used in level the formation of the plant and animal proteins - Ecological pyramid  Highest consumer at highest level with - Enters the food web when primary consumers low quantity eat the plants iv. Ammonification - Nitrogen present in a dead plant or animal is - Pyramid of productivity (most widely used)  can never be released back into the soil largest at the apex and smallest at the bottom - Decomposers (bacteria or fungi) convert the - Pyramid of energy organic matter back into ammonium o how much energy from the sun (initial) is retained or stored - Produces ammonia  used for other biological in the form of new biomass at each trophic level processes v. Denitrification - Nitrogen compounds make their way back into o upright in healthy ecosystems  always has more energy the atmosphere by converting nitrate (NO3-) available at a given level to support the energy and biomass into gaseous nitrogen (N) requirement of the next level - Final stage and occurs in the absence of oxygen - Carried out by denitrifying bacterial species – Clostridium and Pseudomonas – which will process nitrate to gain O2 and gives out free N as a byproduct 3. WATER CYCLE HOW NUTRIENTS ARE RECYCLED WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM - ‘Hydrologic cycle’ - Nutrient recycling  fundamental process that sustains life - Natural movement of water from the Earth’s surface to the within ecosystems. atmosphere and back through various processes - continuous movement of essential elements from the non- (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection) living environment into living organisms and back again, - Water  essential for all life processes ensuring a constant supply of nutrients for growth and development. Evaporation Water at the surface turns into water vapors Condensation Cool air of the atmosphere causes the water KEY PLAYERS vapor to turn back into liquid water, creating  PRODUCERS clouds o convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into organic Precipitation Wind movements cause the water-laden compounds, forming the base of the food chain clouds to collide and fall back on the Earth’s o absorb nutrients from soil and water  incorporate into surface their tissues Collection  CONSUMERS o Play crucial role in transferring nutrients to different FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATER CYCLE trophic levels  CLIMATE – impact precipitation and evaporation o Obtain nutrients  consume producers and other  TOPOGRAPHY – direct changes in timing and magnitude of consumers evapotranspiration  DECOMPOSERS  HUMAN ACTIVITY – modifying the water flow, storage, and o Process of releasing nutrients back into soil and water  quality essential for making nutrients available for reuse of producers ROLE OF WATER CYCLE IN THE ECOSYSTEM  WATER AVAILABILITY – sustain life  CLIMATE REGULATION – regulate earth’s temperature  BALANCE ECOSYSTEM INTERACTIONS – influences interactions between biotic and abiotic 4. PHOSPHORUS CYCLE Phosphorus - Symbol: P; atomic number: 15 - Essential nutrient for living organisms for energy structure and cell structure - Part of phosphate group, component of DNA, RNA, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and the phospholipids that form all cell membranes - Problem: no phosphorus in the atmosphere Phosphorus Cycle - Phosphorus moves through the environment, primarily through soil, water, plants, animals, and sediments STEPS Weathering - P enters cycle through weathering (breakdown) of rocks that contain phosphate minerals (usually in the form of calcium phosphate) - Rocks are broken down by phosphate ions 3 (PO ) are released in to the soil and water 4 Assimilation by - Plants absorb through their roots Plant Cells - Plants directly absorb P from the water and grow Assimilation by - Consumers absorb P from plants from their Consumers food - Animals obtain P directly from drinking water Decomposition of - Microorganisms decompose organic Microorganisms phosphates back into the inorganic form  returned to the soil and water bodies - Phosphorus-containing compounds may also be carried in the surface runoff to rivers, lakes, and oceans to form sediments Geological Uplift by - Geological uplift  sedimentary rocks with Tectonic phosphorus may be moved from the ocean to Movements the land over long periods - P  deposited as sediments  released back to the environment through weathering, thus completing the cycle HUMAN IMPACT - Human activities like using fertilizers and transporting goods  disrupt P cycle by adding excess P to water systems - Causes harmful agal blooms that damage the aquatic ecosystems