MODULE #1: Biology: The Study of Life

Introduction

In this course, you’re going to take your first detailed look at the science of Ecosystem. Ecosystem, the
biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment, is a vast subject, with
many subdisciplines that concentrate on specific aspects of biology. Ecosystems are the foundations of
the Biosphere and they determine the health of the entire earth system.

What Is Life?

If biology is the study of life, we need to determine what life is. Now to some extent, we all have an idea
of what life is. If we were to ask you whether or not a rock is alive, you would easily answer “No!” On the
other hand, if we were to ask you whether or not a blade of grass is alive, you would quickly answer
“Yes!” Most likely, you can intuitively distinguish between living things and nonliving things.

Even though this is the case, scientists must be a little more deliberate in determining what it means to
be alive. Thus, scientists have developed several criteria for life. Not all scientists agree on all of these
criteria, but in general, most biology courses will list at least some of the following criteria for life:

1. Aquatic ecosystem

2. Grassland ecosystem

3. Desert ecosystem

4. Forest ecosystem.

If something meets all of these criteria, we can scientifically say that it is part of ecosystem. If it fails to
meet even one of the criteria, we say that it is not part of the ecosystem. Now if you’re not sure exactly
what each of these criteria means, don’t worry. We will discuss each of them in the next few sections of
this module. 1

Our first criterion is about Aquatic ecosystem. Now we’re sure you’ve at least heard about Aquatic
ecosystem. It is probably, however, still a big mystery to you at this point. Why is water part of the
ecosystem? Basically,
An ecosystem is the community of biological organisms, where they interact with their physical
environment.

That is the correct definition, but we could sum up this definition by saying that an ecosystem is the set
of living things in a place, plus that place .

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Types of Ecosystems According to the Environment

As we have seen there are many types of ecosystems and it would be impossible to classify them all but
there are some general classifications that can be used for their study. Let’s look at several main ways of
classifying ecosystems.

. Aquatic Ecosystem

ecosystem type: Aquatic

They are made up of plants and animals that live in the water. These ecosystems differ in relation to the
geographic region where they exist (Antarctica, Subantarctic, tropical and subtropical) and their
proximity to the land (coastal, oceanic and estuarine ecosystems).

Aquatic (as well as terrestrial) ecosystems can vary widely in size from an ocean to a pool of water. There
are also aquatic ecosystems of salt and fresh water.

This kind of ecosystem talk about living things in the water. The organisms acquire physical
characteristics very similar to each other as a result of their adaptation to the water. In this ecosystem
the variations of temperatures are not very marked, reason why this does not affect the survival of the
alive beings. This ecosystem is the largest because they represent 75%.

According to different habitats of aquatic organism, aquatic ecosystem are various kinds and divided into
the following:
Benthic: these are located at the bottom of aquatic ecosystems. In those that are not very deep, the
main inhabitants are algae. In the deeper ones, the majority are consumers.

Nectonic: these animals move freely, thanks to their means of locomotion can adapt to water currents.

Planktonic: these living beings live floating in the terrestrial or marine water and are dragged by the
water currents, they do not move by their own movements.

Neustonic: these live on the surface of the water, floating.

Terrestrial ecosystems, such as the aquatic ecosystem, present a series of landscapes that have their own
characteristics. So According to the characteristics of landscapes aquatic ecosystem is the following:

– Wetland : is a zone of flat lands that has groundwater of shallow depth and that ascend to the surface
in determined periods, forming lagoons and marshes, until where they come to live hundreds of species.
There are five classes of wetlands: marine, estuarine, lake, riparian and marshy.

– Mangrove : is a grouping of semi-submerged trees that have been flooded with water, with high levels
of salinity and therefore they develop and survive in coastal lands. The trees grow on long roots, which
like stilts raise the trunks above the level of the waters. To reproduce, they quickly retain the seeds in the
branches until they are about to develop. When the tide goes down they are able, within a few hours, to
root and begin to grow before being again underwater.

– Coral reef : it is one of the richest aquatic ecosystems of the planet, product of the great amount of
species that inhabit in them (fish, snails, corals and algae). The reef structure consists of large colonies of
corals, accumulations of sediments and calcareous sands. They are found mainly in tropical regions and
there are two types of coral: hard and soft.

Grassland Ecosystem

Different types of grassland ecosystems can be found in prairies, savannas and steppes. Grassland
ecosystems are typically found in tropical or temperate regions, although they can exist in colder areas as
well, as is the case with the well-known Siberian steppe. Grassland ecosystem are all places where there
is too little rain for trees to grow in great numbers. Instead, these lands are covered in grasses and grass-
like plants that have growing points close to the soil and can keep on growing even after being nibbled
on by animals. These grasses can support high densities of grazing animals, such as zebra, antelope and
bison. And these herds in turn support iconic predators, including lions and cheetahs.Grassland
ecosystems are particularly fragile because water is scarce.

Desert ecosystem
Deserts are areas of land that are arid, or dry, and get less than 10 inches of rain per year. These areas
can be covered by sand, rock, snow, and even ice. Additionally, they do not have a lot of plant life
covering the land. Deserts' ecosystems cover approximately 25% - 30% of the land on Earth. An
ecosystem includes all the life in a particular environment or location. Deserts can be divided into two
main types: hot and cold.

Hot Deserts

Hot deserts are warm year round and very hot in the summer. During the day, temperatures often reach
over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In the evening, the temperatures drop sometimes below freezing. Much of
the time rain does not fall, but when it does, it is only for a short amount of time. The ground is usually
rocky or sandy. Most of the hot deserts in the world are located just north and south of the equator,
where it is the hottest.

Cold Deserts

Cold deserts are cool year around with very cold temperatures in the winter. Temperatures in cold
deserts are often below freezing. Heavy snows happen during the winter, with most of the rainfall
happening during the spring months. The ground can be solid ice in colder temperatures and rocky or
spongy soil in milder temperatures.

The cold deserts of the world are mostly located on the coasts near oceans and closer to the north and
south poles. The largest cold desert, and the largest desert in the world, is the continent of Antarctica.

Forest ecosystem

A forest ecosystem is the community formed by plants and animals of that particular area that interact
with the chemical and physical features of the environment in which they live. The Amazon rain forest
ecosystem is an example of a forest ecosystem. This ecosystem is home to a wide variety of plant and
animal species, which include producers, consumers and decomposers. These organisms are
interdependent on each other for survival.

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Home » Nature

Types of Forest Ecosystems

By Shelby Redfield; Updated April 24, 2017

Types of Forest Ecosystems

Approximately 30 percent of the earth's surface is covered in forests, according to Elizabeth Mygatt,
author of the article, "World's Forests Continue to Shrink." Mygatt goes on to further explain the crucial
role that forests play in maintaining a healthy planet, such as controlling the water cycle and stabilizing
soils, assisting in leveling the climate by saturating and storing carbon dioxide, providing a habitat for
wildlife and supplying wood, food and medicines. Across the world there are several different types of
forest ecosystems. The textbook definition of ecosystem, as stated in "Elemental Geosystems," is, "a self-
regulating association of living plants, animals and their non-living physical and chemical environment."

Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical rain forest region

Days usually last 12 hours, temperatures averaging around 77 degrees F, surplus of rain and high
insolation (sunlight) are all attributes of a tropical rain forest year-round. Tropical rain forests cover the
Amazon region, as well as equatorial regions in Africa, Southeast Asia, the east coast of Central America
and elsewhere along the equator. These areas are characterized by broadleaf evergreen trees, vines, tree
ferns and palms.

Tropical Seasonal Forest

In the middle of a deciduous forest

Located on the edges of rain forests are the tropical seasonal forests that receive dwindling and irregular
rainfall. These areas are characterized by broadleaf evergreen trees, some deciduous trees and thorn
trees. Deciduous trees lose their leaves during the winter.