A2

Lesson 8
Effect of biotic factors on ecosystem
Biotic factors are all of the living elements in a habitat.
Predation
Predators affect the abundance of their preys:
1. Horses grazing a field , reduce the reproduction of
grass by eating the potentially flower forming parts
2. A fox family reduce the number of rabbits
3. Lynxes reduce the number of hare population

Mathematical model describing the relationship between

preys and predators: The population will oscillate in a
repeating cycle
Prey population increase providing more food for predators

The predator population grows as well

More preys eaten then are replaced by reproduction

Number of prey falls

The food supply of preys will fall

Number of predators fall allowing the abundance of preys to increase again.

It is important to study all factors in ecosystem :

The hare population follows a similar oscillating pattern
even when there are no lynxes as the number may
oscillate because of the food cycles related to changes in
climate and changes in pest population.
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Finding a mate
To determine that a species live in a habitat , a single
individual is not enough so for :
1. Animals : there must be males and females to
achieve population
2. Plants : pollination , a seed dispersed , germinates
and grow with other seeds of the same species so
they can reproduce.

Territory
A territory is an area controlled and defended by a
specific animal or group of animals against other
organisms
Territories have been classified as six types:
Type A: An 'all-purpose territory' in which all activities
occur, e.g. courtship, mating, nesting and foraging.
Common in songbirds.
Type B: A mating and nesting territory in which all
breeding activities occur, but most foraging occurs
elsewhere.
Type C: A nesting territory which includes the nest plus a
small area around it. Common in colonial waterbirds.
Type D: A pairing and mating territory. The type of
territory defended by males.
Type E: Roosting territory.
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Type F: Winter territory which typically includes foraging

areas and roost sites. May be equivalent (in terms of
location) to the Type A territory, or for a migratory
species, may be on the wintering grounds.
In birds, Golden Eagles have territories of 9,000
hectares, Least Flycatchers' (Empidonax minimus)
territories are about 600 square metres and Gulls have
territories of only a few square centimetres in the
immediate vicinity of the nest.
Rather than retaining a territory simply by fighting, for
some animals this can be a 3-stage process.
Many animals create "sign-posts" to advertise their
territory. Sometimes these sign-posts are on the
boundary thereby demarcating the territory, or, may be
scattered throughout the territory. These communicate to
other animals that the territory is occupied and may also
communicate additional information such as the sex,
reproductive status or dominance status of the territoryholder.
Sign-posts may communicate information by olfactory,
auditory, or visual means, or a combination of these. If an
intruder progresses further into the territory beyond the
sign-posts and encounters the territory-holder, both
animals may begin "ritualised aggression" toward each
other. This is a series of stylized postures, vocalizations,
displays, etc. which function to solve the territory dispute
without actual fighting as this could injure either or both
animals.
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Ritualised aggression often ends by one of the animals

fleeing (generally the intruder). If this does not happen,
the territory may be defended by actual fighting,
although this is generally a last resort.
Scent marking, also known as territorial marking or
spraying when this involves urination, is a behaviour used
by animals to identify their territory. Most commonly, this
is accomplished by depositing strong-smelling substances
contained in the urine, faeces, or, from specialised scent
glands located on various areas of the body.
Often, the scent contains pheromones or carrier proteins
such as the major urinary proteins to stabilize the odours
and maintain them for longer.The animal sniffing the
scent mark will frequently display a flehmen response to
assist in communication of the information.Not only does
scent marking communicate information to conspecifics,
but can also indicate the presence of the territory-holder
to prey species.
For example, felids such as leopards and jaguars mark by
rubbing themselves against vegetation. Prosimians and
New World monkeys also use scent marking, including
urine washing (self-anointing the body with urine), to
communicate.
Many ungulates, for example the Blue Wildebeest, use
scent marking from two glands, the preorbital gland and
a scent gland in the hoof.
Territorial scent marking may involve behaviours specific
to this activity. When a wolf marks its territory, it lifts a
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hind leg and urinates on a scent post (usually an elevated

position like a tree, rock, or bush). This raised leg
urination is different from normal urination, which is done
while squatting. Usually, this urine marking posture is
exclusively performed by female and male alpha wolves,
although it is usually the alpha male that does this most
often. The alpha female usually urinates on a scent post
that her breeding partner has just urinated on, although
during the mating season, the female may first urinate on
the ground. All other females in the pack, and also young
wolves and low-ranking male wolves, will urinate while
squatting.Males and female ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur
catta) scent-mark both vertical and horizontal surfaces at
the overlaps in their home ranges using their anogenital
scent glands. To do this, they will perform a handstand to
mark vertical surfaces, grasping the highest point with
their feet while applying the scent.
Example: white-tailed deer
White-tailed deer possess many glands that allow them to
produce scents, some of which are so potent they can be
detected by the human nose. Four major glands are the
pre-orbital, forehead, tarsal, and metatarsal glands. It
was originally thought that secretions from the preorbital
glands (in front of the eye) were rubbed on tree branches;
recent research suggests this is not so. It has been found
that scent from the forehead is used to deposit scent on
branches that overhang "scrapes" (areas scraped by the
deer's front hooves prior to rub-urination). Glands are
found on the upper inside of the hock (middle joint) on
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each hind leg. Scent is deposited from these glands when

deer walk through and rub against vegetation. These
scrapes are used by bucks as a sort of "sign-post" by
which bucks know which other bucks are in the area, and
to let does know that a buck is regularly passing through
the areafor breeding purposes. The scent from the
glands, found on the outside of each hind leg, between
the ankle and hooves, may be used as an alarm scent.
The scent from the glands, which are located in between
the hooves of each foot, emit a yellow waxy substance
with an offensive odor. Deer can be seen stomping their
hooves if they sense danger through sight, sound, or
smell, this action leaves an excessive amount of odor for
the purpose of warning other deer of possible danger.
Throughout the year deer will rub-urinate, a process
during which a deer squats while urinating so that urine
will run down the insides of the deer's legs, over the
tarsal glands, and onto the hair covering these glands.
Bucks rub-urinate more frequently during the breeding
season.Secretions from the gland mix with the urine and
bacteria to produce a strong smelling odor. Sign-post
marking (scrapes and rubs)are a very obvious way that
white-tailed deer communicate.[Although bucks do most
of the marking, does visit these locations often. To make a
rub, a buck will use its antlers to strip the bark off of
small diameter trees, helping to mark his territory and
polish his antlers. To mark areas they regularly pass
through bucks will make scrapes.

Often occurring in patterns known as scrape lines,

scrapes are areas where a buck has used its front hooves
to expose bare earth. They often rub-urinate into these
scrapes, which are often found under twigs that have
been marked with scent from the forehead glands.
Visual sign-posts may be a short-term or long-term
mode of advertising a territory. Short-term
communication includes the colouration or behaviour of
the animal, which can only be communicated when the
resident is present. Other animals may use more longterm visual signals such as faecal deposits, or marks on
the vegetetation or ground. Visual marking of territory is
often combined with other modes of animal
communication.
Some animals have prominent "badges" or visual displays
to advertise their territory, often in combination with
scent marking or auditory signals. Male European Robins
are noted for their highly aggressive territorial behaviour.
They will attack other males that stray into their
territories, and have been observed attacking other small
birds without apparent provocation.
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) advertises its territory
with urine scent marks. When it is urinating for marking
purposes, it holds its extremely distinctive tail high in the
air adding a visual component to the advertisement;
when it is urinating for eliminative purposes, its tail is
only slightly raised.

Rhinoceros have poor vision but may use visual marking.

Dominant white rhino bulls mark their territory with
faeces and urine (olfactory marking).The dung is laid in
well defined piles. There may be 20 to 30 of these piles to
alert passing rhinoceros that it is occupied territory. Other
males may deposit dung over the piles of another and
subsequently the sign-post grows larger and larger. Such
a dung heap can become up to five metres wide and one
metre high. After defecating, greater one-horned rhinos
scratch their hind feet in the dung. By continuing to walk,
they transport their own smell around the paths, thus
establishing a scent-marked trail.
Another method of visually marking their territory is
wiping their horns on bushes or the ground and scraping
with the feet, although this is likely combined with the
smell of the marking animal. The territorial male will
scrape-mark every 30 m or so around its territory
boundary.
After leaving a urination mark, some animals scrape or
dig the ground nearby, thereby leaving a visual
advertisement of the territory. This includes domestic
dogs.
Several species scratch or chew trees leaving a visual
mark of their territory. This is sometimes combined with
rubbing on the tree which may leave tufts of fur. These
include the Canada lynx and the American black bear.
Many animals have scent glands in their paws or deposit
fur during tree-marking, so tree-marking may be a
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combination of both visual and olfactory advertising of

the territory.
The male ring-tailed lemur has a specialised adaptation
to assist in leaving visual/olfactory territorial marks. On
their inner forearm (antebrachial) is a scent gland which
is covered by a spur. In a behaviour called "spur
marking", they grasp the substrate, usually a small
sapling, and drag the spur over it, cutting into the wood
and spreading the gland's secretions. When on the
ground, ring-tailed lemurs preferentially mark small
saplings and when high in the trees, they usually mark
small vertical branches.
European wildcats deposit their faecal marks on plants
with high visual conspicuousness that enhances the
visual effectiveness of the signal.
Many animals use vocalisations to advertise their
territory. These are short-term signals transmitted only
when the animal is present, but can travel long distances
and over varied habitats. Examples of animals which use
auditory signals include birds, frogs and canids.
Wolves advertise their territories to other packs through a
combination of scent marking and howling. Under certain
conditions, wolf howls can be heard over areas of up to
130 km2 . When howling together, wolves harmonize
rather than chorus on the same note, thus creating the
illusion of there being more wolves than there actually
are. Wolves from different geographic locations may howl
in different fashions: the howls of European wolves are
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much more protracted and melodious than those of North

American wolves, whose howls are louder and have a
stronger emphasis on the first syllable.

territories are used to make sure that breeding pairs have

sufficient resources to raise young .

Animals show clear territorial behavior and competition

plays a role in the distribution of animals living in a
habitat.
Parasitism and diseases
Parasites affects their hosts usually by feeding off the
living body of their host and so weakening it.
Some diseases are very infectious that they can spread
even without contact such as avian flu which can be
spread in the feces of an infected bird. They spread more
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rapidly in high population density as individual are close

to each other.
In a community with grater biodiversity , the effect of a
disease or a parasite on the whole community will not be
big.
Devil facial tumour disease

Affecting Tasmanian devils , malignant tumours develop

around the face that spread and kill it within 6 months.
A non viral infection , parasitic cancer , originated in
schwan cells .
scientists suspected a virus was involved , but , now it
appears that a mutation took place which reduce the
number of chromosomes from 14 to 13 . Tissue of all
tumours showed the same mutation. The devil population
dropped from 150.000 to under 50.000.
Tasmanian devils bite each other when they feed or mate
and bits of the tumours are passed on through bites on
the face
Questions
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1. Animals mark out and defend their territories in a

number of ways. Find out three different animals
mark and protect their territories , including one
species of bird and one mammal.
2. Why is disease likely to have a greater effect on an
ecosystem With little biodiversity than on a more
diverse community.

End of lesson
Study well and good
luck

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