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‡ Made up of two important parts:

± 
 



±

 


 
 


‡ Definition:   components of the
ecosystem which includes plants, animals
and microorganisms.

‡ Biological relationships may be between

individual of the same species
(intraspecific) or between animals of
different species (interspecific) or between
plants and animals
 
 


‡  ± it includes
mating behaviors and competition.
 
 


‡ Interspecific relationships ± it involves
associations such as mutualism,
predation, commensalism and
competition.


 


‡ Definition: 
  components in an
ecosystem.
‡ Factors such as;
± WATER
± SOIL
± SUNLIGHT
± TEMPERATURE
 ß
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‡ The most important ecological factor
‡ It brings about changes in the life forms of
plants and animals.
‡ In science, it is the universal solvent for
biological processes


 |
ß
|
 

‡ The character of soils determines largely
the character of vegetation and the types
of animals that maintain themselves upon
it.
‡ Soil is made of particles of inorganic and
organic matters such as bacteria,
protozoan, algae, fungi etc.
‡ The decomposing matter in soil is called
˜

|


  
‡ An important physical factor
‡ Without light, life on earth would not be
possible.
‡ 

 | = organisms depend
for the manufacture of food.
the ultimate source of energy in the ecosystem
 ||
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‡ The effects of temperature on the presence or
absence of animals in different habitat are
varied.
 |



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‡ Abiotic ± abiotic = relationship among
physical factors in the environment.

‡ Biotic ± biotic = relationship among biotic

factors in the community.

‡ Biotic ± abiotic = relationship between

living and non-living things in a
community.
 |
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‡ It involves two processes;

± || 
ß

± |
  
‡ Plants are either
directly or
indirectly eaten
by animals

‡ Animals in turn
are eaten by
certain
predators.
‡ Finally the
predators die and
may be eaten by
dendritus or
decomposers

‡ All of them can be

eaten in their turn
‡ Transfer of energy
from autotrophs to
heterotrophs make
a trop˜pattern

‡ The position of an
organism in the
sequence is called
trop˜eve
‡ The first trophic level
is the population of
green plants which
produces food and
are called pr
ary
prod er

‡ Organisms which are

dependent on plants
are called
on
er
 
 





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‡ !"
‡ "
‡
#"
‡ "$
Trophic levels and energy flow


%

‡ It is the passage of
energy in a
community from one
organism to another

‡ it can be defined as a
sequence of
organisms related to
one another as prey
and predators.


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‡ It is a pattern of food chain that interlocks
and forms a network.

‡ It is an attempt to describe the numerous

alternative food energy pathways in a
community.

‡ A predator may feed on several different

species and also a prey may be eaten by
several predators


%ß|
Food web
FOOD WEB IN OCEANS

ß ||

 ||%&


%
%
‡ Productivity ± refers to the amount of
energy stored in chemical compounds
among plants.

‡ Ecological Pyramid
± Pyramid of Productivity
± Pyramid of Numbers
± Pyramid of Mass

%

%  
‡ A diagram that explains the loss of energy
from a food chain.
 6
'|$(
‡ In general, about 10% of energy at a
particular trophic level is incorporated into
the next trophic level.

‡ This rapid loss loss of energy explains why

a food chain rarely has five links.
ß(|$(
)**&

%

%  
‡ 1stLaw of Thermodynamics
± Energy is neither created nor destroyed.
‡ 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
± Disordered randomized state of energy that is
unavailable to do work
‡ There is a loss of some energy in the form of
heat.
‡ When energy is transformed from one form to
another, there is always some loss of energy
from the system, usually as low grade heat.
‡ Thus, this form of energy is no longer available
to do work.
 ß*'#*(#&
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#: No energy
conversion is 100%
efficient; some energy is
transformed to heat and
lost as a less useable
energy form.
 
%

%  
‡ Caterpillars digest and
absorb only about half
of what they eat,
passing the rest as
feces.

‡ Thus, if caterpillar
consumed leaves
containing 200 Joules
of energy. 100 J would
be lost in feces
 
%

%  
‡ Approximately two-thirds
of the absorbed material,
or 67 J , would be used in
maintenance, as fuel for
cellular respiration, which
degrades food molecules
to inorganic waste
products and heat.
 
%

%  
‡ The remaining 33 J
would be converted
into caterpillar
biomass, and
therefore would be
available to the next
trophic level
 
%
|
‡ The number of producers at the base is greater
than the number of consumers.

‡ Which decreases in size from bottom to top

‡ A community has many producers at the base of

the pyramid, fewer herbivores at the middle and
even fewer carnivores at the top.
 
%
|
‡ Small animals are
more numerous than
larger ones.
‡ If the size of the
individuals at a given
trophic level is small,
their numbers can be
large and vice versa.

%
|
‡ Pyramid of
numbers will often
be pyramid-shaped
like this ± 


ß


%
|
‡ If the producer is
too large, the
second level
represents a lot of
consumers.

‡ It is best to draw
the (#*
!#
 
%



‡ Refers to the total weight
of dry material present in
the ecosystem.

‡ Pyramids of Biomass are

ALWAYS pyramid
shaped.
 Pyramid of Biomass

‡ # is a quantitative estimate of the total

mass (amount) of living material«or
«


 .

‡ Measuring biomass: total volume, dry weight, or

live weight

‡ A 90% reduction occurs between each trophic

level
 Pyramid of Biomass
‡ Biomass also
diminishes with the
distance along the
food chain from the
autotrophs which
make the organic
molecules in the first
place.
 |$( '

‡ Energy enters ecosystems from an

external source. What is it?

‡ Energy flows linearly and exits an

ecosystem through ___________.

‡ What happens to the amount of energy as

it travels through an ecosystem?