B16 Organisms in their Environment

The ecosystem refers to the habitat and the community considered together. A habitat is a part of the environment where a group of organisms live, i.e. meadows, ponds, woodlands etc. A community refers to a group of organisms, whereas a population refers to a group of organisms of the same species. The environment of an ecosystem is everything around it which affects the way it lives, including abiotic factors such as climate, landscape, and soil, and biotic factors such as other living organisms. Energy enters an ecosystem in sunlight which is transferred to energy in plants by photosynthesis and it is this energy which is passed along food chains. This is why plants are known as the producers within a food chain since they are capable of producing their own food and are situated within the first trophic level, which refers to the position an organism takes on the food chain. Since consumers are unable to produce their own food they depend upon consuming it, they take up the other trophic levels within a food chain. Decomposers on the other hand are bacteria or fungi which feed on dead and decaying material which return nutrients to the soil. The flow of energy within a food chain is in one direction, with more energy coming constantly from the sun. However, throughout the food chain energy losses occur as a result of wasted energy in organisms, for example some of the food may not be digested, simply because some organisms may not be eaten or some may be lost as heat from respiration. This explains why there are less animals as the trophic level increases, since less energy is passed on to the next around 90% is lost at each level. This idea can be presented by a pyramid of biomass which measures the mass of living organisms at each trophic level, showing the amount of energy lost along the food chain. Although the pyramid of numbers has the same effect, however these pyramids dont take into account of the mass of the organisms so is considered as less accurate. This is why it is often considered advantageous for eating plant products rather than animal products. Since we eat lower down in the trophic level, there is less energy loss as energy flows through the trophic levels, therefore we consume less. This can save resources, prevent extinction, as well as global warming.

Population Growth
Populations will continue to grow if the organisms have everything that they require to survive. The environment is not, however, limitless and limiting factors start to slow down the growth rate as the resources run out. This idea can be presented in a Population Growth Curve.

Lag Phase
The beginning of the graph is the fairly flat as the organisms have to adjust to their new conditions first. There is also the difficulty of finding mates to consider.

Exponential Phase
By the exponential phase the population is growing rapidly by doubling as they have all the resources they require. At this stage the birth rate

P o p u l a t i o n a l

Exponential Phase

Static Phase Death Phase

Lag Phase

Time

by far exceeds to death rates of the population.

Static or Stationary Phase

However, by the static phase the growth rate is decreasing because there are limiting factors such as food present now or the fierce competition this causes the birth rate to roughly equal the death rate. The curve can then continue on to reach equilibrium or depending on the situation can enter the death phase.

Death Phase
During the death phase, population decreases because the death rate is much higher than the birth rate. The animals may have damaged their habitat, there may have been an increase in the number of predators, or a natural disaster may have occurred, e.g. a major disease. Limiting Factors Food/Water With such resources limited in supply animals breed less, fight more under competition and theres a higher chance of death through starvation. Mates A limited amount of mates lowers the birth rate as fewer animals are capable of reproducing. Space When space is limited animals become more aggressive; resulting in even more death. Diseases are also more common and spread easily in overcrowded conditions; this may be a result of a build up of toxic wastes. Predators With more predators in the ecosystem, more of the prey is eaten, faster than they can be born.

Adaptations
Organisms are often adapted to live within their environment, which mainly vary in climate and landscape or other living things, in order to improve their chances for survival, e.g. camels in the desert, polar bears in the north. Adaptations can be easily identified by observing an animals eye, ears, color, teeth, feet, behavioretc. Polar Bears Black skin for absorbing any heat transmitted through the long translucent hairs. They are covered with hair in order to provide a dense and woolly insulating layer in order to keep warm. It also provides them camouflage during hunting because of its white appearance, as well as being oily to repel water. Feet are large which act as snow shoes, spreading weight for walking over snow. Teeth and claws help the predator to kill any prey and tear tough hides. Venus flytrap Bright and colorful in order to attract insects Secretes digestive juices in order to digest the insects for the necessary nutrients Contains trigger hairs which alert the plant when to release its trap