Understanding Ecology and Basic Concepts in Environmental Science
Explore the fundamental concepts of ecology and environmental science, including species, habitat, population, community, autotrophs, heterotrophs, environment components, food chains, and trophic levels. Learn about the intricate relationships between living organisms and their surroundings in this informative presentation by Amit Mishra from NES International School Mumbai.
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Basic Concepts Species : a group of organism that can interbreed & produce fertile offspring.(have a common gene pool). Habitat: the environment in which species normally lives (location). Population: a group of the organism of the same species ,living in the same area at the same time. Community: a group of populations living & interacting with each other in an area. Ecology: the study of relationships between living organisms & their environment. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 2
Environment Its everything which surrounds an organism. It has 4 main components Hydrosphere (water) Atmosphere (gases) Lithosphere (rocks) Biosphere (all living beings) The first 3 are abiotic components while the 4th is the Biotic component Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 3
Autotrophs & heterotrophs Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 4
Autotrophs are the organisms with the capacity to make their own food. Eg.:cynobacteria, Algae,Grass, Trees. Hetrotrophs are the organisms which do not have the capacity to produce their own food. Eg.:animals,fish,zooplanktons. Three types : consumers detritivore saprotroph Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 5
Detrivores & saprotrophs Detrivores are the organism that consumes dead organic matter. Eg.: earthworm, woodlice. Saprotrophs are the organisms that live on, or in, dead organic matter. (digesting the food by secreting enzymes). Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 6
Food chain & food web Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 7
A food chain is a sequence of relationships between trophic levels where each member feeds on the previous one. A food web is a diagram that shows the feeding relationships in a community. The arrows indicate the direction of energy flow. It s the interlinking of the food chains. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 8
Define trophic level. A trophic level is where an organism is positioned on a food web. Producer Primary consumer Secondary consumer Tertiary consumer (1) Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 9
Sun is the principal source of energy in biological systems. Green plants absorb only a very small fraction of (about 10%) of the light energy. Light energy converts into chemical energy by plants. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 10
10 % Law of energy flow Of the total energy entering a particular trophic level, only 10% is available for the next higher trophic level. Grass Goat Tiger 200 Kg 20Kg 2Kg Hence short food chains provide more energy to higher trophic level. That s the reason why vegetarians get more energy than meat eating people. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 11
Ecological pyramids Pyramid of biomass Biomass is the total dry mass of all organism in an unit area. Total biomass = biomass of producers + biomass of consumers + biomass of decomposers. The mass of all the organisms at each step of the food chain is measured. On the basis of the measurement of the dry mass (at each trophic level) a diagram can be drawn. This is known as pyramid of Biomass. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 12
Pyramid of Number This is drawn according to the number of organisms at each trophic level of the food chain. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 13
Pyramid Of Energy Energy pyramids are formed by measuring the amount of energy available at each trophic level in the food chain. The energy is measured over a fixed period of time. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 14
Pyramid of Energy Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 15
Explain that energy can enter and leave an ecosystem, but that nutrients must be recycled. Energy enters as light and usually leaves as heat. Nutrients do not usually enter an ecosystem and must be used again and again. Nutrients such as Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 16
Greenhouse Effect Phenomenon The mean global temperature has risen about 1 degree Celsius since 1856. We saw an increase between 1910 and 1940, and from 1970 onwards. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 17
Greenhouse Effect Human Activities Increased burning of fossil fuels releasing Greenhouse gases Deforestation less trees to convert CO2 back to O2 Other industrial activities that release other Greenhouse gases Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 18
Greenhouse Effect Causes Light from the sun has short wavelengths and can pass through most of the atmosphere. This sunlight warms the earth which in turn emits long wave radiation. This long wave radiation is bounced back by the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, and sulphur dioxide Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 19
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Greenhouse Effect Flooding of low lying land Melting of glaciers and polar ice More frequent storms and hurricanes Changes in weather patterns Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 21
Greenhouse Effect Measures Increase photosynthesis and reduce emissions by: restoring ecosystems where there has been deforestation or desertification spreading nutrients such as iron in nutrient- deficient oceans to encourage algal growth Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 22
Greenhouse Effect Reducing energy consumption; insulation, smaller vehicles, local grown food instead of transported Changing from fossil fuels to solar, wind, or nuclear Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 23
Carbon cycle The carbon cycle includes the interaction of living organisms and the biosphere through the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, fossilization and combustion. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 24
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Populations Outline how population size can be affected by natality, immigration, mortality and emigration. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 26
Populations Natality offspring are produced and added to the population Mortality individuals die and are lost from the population Immigration individuals move into the area from somewhere else and add to the population Emigration indivuals move out of the area and are lost from the population Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 27
Populations Draw a graph showing the sigmoid (S- shaped) population growth curve. (1) Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 28
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Populations Lag phase: population just begins to grow Exponential Phase Population increases exponentially because the natality rate is higher than the mortality rate. This is because there is an abundance of food, and disease and predators are rare. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 30
Populations Transitional Phase Difference between natality and mortality rates are not as great, but natality is still higher so population continues to grow, but at a slower rate. Food is no longer as abundant due to the increase in the population size. May also be increase predation and disease. Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 31
Populations Plateau Phase Natality and mortality are equal so the population size stays constant. Limiting Factors: shortage of food or other resources increase in predators more diseases or parasites If a population is limited, then it has reached its carrying capacity Amit Mishra - NES International School 32 Mumbai
Populations Define carrying capacity. The maximum population size that can be supported by the environment Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 33
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Populations List three factors which set limits to population increase. Limiting Factors: shortage of food or other resources increase in predators more diseases or parasites Amit Mishra - NES International School Mumbai 35
