Chapter 15 Our Environment Environment includes all of the external factors affecting an organism.

These factors maybe other living organisms (biotic factors) or nonliving variables (abiotic factors), such astemperature, rainfall, day length, wind, and ocean currents.What happens when we add waste to our environment? Some of this waste may be broken down by Biological processes (eg. Saprophyteslike fungi and bacteria) and this waste is called BIODEGRADABLE.Examples: plant and animal waste, vegetable peels etc. Some of this waste will not be broken down by Biological Processes and this waste iscalled NONBIODEGRADABLE.Examples: Polythene bags, plastics, metal objects etc. Non biodegradablesubstances can beharmful to the environment. An ecosystem is a natural system consisting of all plants, animals and microorganisms(biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical (abiotic) factorsof the environment. The abiotic components of an ecosystem include various physical andchemical factors. Physical factors: Eg. Sunlight and shade , average temperature, averageprecipitation, nature of soil (for terrestrial ecosystems) etc.Chemical factors: Eg. Level of water and air in soil , level of plant nutrients dissolvedin soil moisture (for terrestrial) and in the water (for aquatic) etc. Biotic Components: Organisms that make up the biotic component of an ecosystemare usually classified as Autotrophs and heterotrophs based on how they get their food or

or organic nutrients they need to survive. and heterotrophs , based on how they get their food or organic nutrients theyneed to survive. Autotrophs (producers)are organisms that can manufacture the organic compounds theyneed as nutrients from simple inorganic compounds obtained from their environment. Inmost terrestrial ecosystems, green plants are the producers. In aquatic ecosystems, most of the producers are phytoplankton, consisting of various species of of floating and driftingbacteria and protist.Some producers , mostly specialized bacteria, can extract inorganic compounds from their environment and convert them into organic nutrient compounds without the presence of sunlight. These producers are called chemosynthesis . Heterotrophs (consumers)are organisms which cannot synthesize the organic nutrientsthey need and get their organic nutrients by feeding on the tissues of producers or other consumers. There are several classes of of consumers, depending on there food source. 1. Primary consumers (herbivores) feed directly on plants or other producers. 2. Secondary consumers (carnivores) feed only on primary consumers. 3. Tertiary or higher level consumers feed only on animal-eating animals.

4. Omnivores can eat both plants and animals.Examples are pigs, rats, cockroaches,and humans. 5. Detrtivores (decomposers and detritus feeders) live off of detritus, parts of deadorganisms and castoff fragments and waste of living organisms. Decomposers digest detritus by breaking down the complex organic molecules in these materialsinto simpler, inorganic compounds. Decomposers consist of various bacteria andfung

Natural ecosystems: Forests, ponds and lakesArtificial Ecosystems (manmade): gardens, crop fields, aquarium FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS A food chain is the flow of energy from one organism to the next. Organisms in a food chainare grouped intotrophic levels from the Greek word for nourishment, trophikos basedon how many links they are removed from theprimary producers.They usually start with aprimary producer and end with a carnivore. A food chain shows how each living thing getsits food. i.e. WHO EATS WHOM. Each link in this chain is food for the next link.Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food inorder to meet their food and energy requirements. These interconnected food chains form a food web

. A food web extends the food chain concept from a simple linear pathway to acomplex network of interactions. Environment Food webs show how many animals are interconnected by different paths. Environment FOOD WEBS show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to helpthem all survive. Transfer of Energy in Food Chains: Energy and organic compounds are passed from onetrophic level to the next. What is the efficiency of the transfer? In a highly efficient transfer almost all of the energy would be transferred -- 80% or more. In a low efficiency transfer very little energy would be transferred -- less than 20%. In a typical food chain, not allanimals or plants are eaten by the next trophic level. In addition, there are portions or materials (such as beaks, shells, bones, etc.) that are also not eaten. That is why the transfer of matter and energy from one trophic level to the next is not an efficient one.One way to calculate the energy transfer is by measuring or sizing the energy at one trophiclevel and then at the next. Calorie is a unit of measure used for energy. The energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is about 10%. For example, if there are 10,000 calories atone level, only 1,000 are transferred to the next. This 10% energy and material transfer rulecan be depicted with an ecological pyramid that looks like this: DeerGrass Trophic levels are the feeding position in a food chainsuch as primary producers, herbivore, primary carnivore,etc. Green plants form the first trophic level, theproducers. Herbivores form the second trophic level,while carnivores form the third and even the fourthtrophic levels.

To summarize: In the flow of energy and inorganic nutrients through the ecosystem, a fewgeneralizations can be made:1.The ultimate source of energy (for most ecosystems) is the sun2.The ultimate fate of energy in ecosystems is for it to be lost as heat.3.Energy and nutrients are passed from organism to organism through the food chain asone organism eats another.4.Decomposers remove the last energy from the remains of organisms.5.Inorganic nutrients are c ycled, energy is not. Biological magnification Biomagnification , also known as bioamplification , or biological magnification

is theincrease inconcentrationof a substance, such as thepesticide DDT, that occurs in afoodchainas a consequence of: Food chainenergetics Low (or nonexistent) rate of excretion/degradation of the substance. Biological magnification is the tendency of pollutants to become concentrated in successivetrophic levels. Often, this is to the detriment of the organisms in which these materialsconcentrate, since the pollutants are often toxic. Biomagnificationoccurs when organisms atthe bottom of the food chain concentrate the material above its concentration in thesurrounding soil or water. Pollutantsthat biomagnify have another characteristic. Not only are they taken up by the producers, butthey are absorbed and stored in the bodies of the consumers. This often occurs withpollutants soluble in fat such as DDTThe "best" example of biomagnification comes from DDT. This long-livedpesticide (insecticide) has improved human health in many countries by killing insects such asmosquitoes that spread disease. On the other hand, DDT is effective in part because it doesnot break down in the environment. It is picked up by organisms in the environment andincorporated into fat. Even here, it does no real damage in many organisms (includinghumans). In others, however, DDT is deadly or may have more insidious, long-term effects.In birds, for instance, DDT interferes with the deposition of calcium in the shells of the bird'seggs. The eggs laid are very soft and easily broken; birds so afflicted are rarely able to raiseyoung and this causes a decline in their numbers. HOW DO OUR ACTIVITIES AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT? Environmental Problems: Depletion of Ozone Layer, Waste DisposalOzone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4 percentper decade in the total amount of ozone

in Earth's stratosphere since around 1980; and amuch larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions duringthe same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole.CFCs and other contributory substances are commonly referred to as ozone-depletingsubstances ( ODS ). Since the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths (270315 nm) of ultraviolet light(UV light) from passing through theEarth's atmosphere, observedand projected decreases in ozone have generated worldwide concern leading to adoption of theMontreal Protocolbanning the production of CFCs and halons as well as related ozone

depleting chemicals such ascarbon tetrachlorideandtrichloroethane. The ozone layer inthe stratosphere blocks out the suns deadlyultravioletrays. It acts as our planetsnatural sunblock. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences such asincreases inskin cancer , damage to plants, and reduction of planktonpopulations inthe ocean'sphotic zonemay result from the increased UV exposure due to ozonedepletion. Waste Disposal

Every year, millions of tons of "trash are generated.. Less than one-quarter of it isrecycled; the rest is incinerated or buried in landfills. With a little forethought, wecould reuse or recycle more than 70 percent of the landfilled waste, which includesvaluable materials such as glass, metal, and paper. This would reduce the demandon virgin sources of these materials and eliminate potentially severe environmental,economic, and public health problems.The Eco friendly mantra isREDUCE REUSE RECYCLE Answer the following questions: 1.Why is non biodegradable waste more harmful than biodegradable waste?2.A crop field is termed as an artificial ecosystem. Why?3.Why does the same enzyme not break down everything that we eat? 4. Animals like cows can digest cellulose , but humans cannot. Give reasons.5.Comment on the statement we will not get any energy if we eat coal. 6. What is the role of UNEP in protecting the ozone layer?7.What would happen if there was no ozone in the stratosphere? 8. Classify the following as biotic and abiotic components:Rainfall, a rose plant, soil, fish, earthworm, fertilizer, temperature, bacteria.9 . M a t c h t h e f o l l o w i n g : H e r b i v o r e s P r o d u c e r s F i r s t T r o p h i c l e v e l P l a n t s S e c o n d a r y c o n s u m e r s S e c o n d T r o p h i c l e v e l S m a l l c a r n i v o r e s P r i m a r y c o n s u m e r s T h i r d T r o p h i c l e v e l L a r

g e c a r n i v o r e s T e r t i a r y c o n s u m e r s F o u r t h T r o p h i c l e v e l 10.Why does a food chain normally consist of only 4-5 steps?11.How is the flow of energy different from the flow of nutrients in anecosystem?