Module 3
Module 3
Module 3
Concepts in Ecology:
The term “ecology” was coined by combining two Greek words, oikos (house or dwelling place),
and Logos (the study of), to denote the relationship between organisms and their environment.
Ecology is a multidisciplinary enterprise, which cannot be made to fit into one channel of
scientific inquiry: it ranges from reductionism in the study of individual species populations,
through less reductionist approaches in the study of communities, to the holistic in the studies of
the totality of communities on earth.
It is like an enormous puzzle in which each organism has requirements for life which interlock
with those of the many other individuals in the area. Although some of these individuals belong
to the same species, most of them are very different organisms with very different ways of living
or interacting.
The study of these ecological relationships from the point of view of a single species (as
illustrated in the figure) is called autecology. If all the species living together are studied as a
community, then this study is called synecology.
Under similar climatic conditions, there may simultaneously develop more than one
community, some reaching the climax stage, and others under different stages of
succession.
Ecosystem Ecology:
A group of individual organisms of the same species in a given area is called a population.
While, a group of populations of different species in a given area is called a community. And, an
ecosystem or an ecological system is the whole biotic community in a given area and its abiotic
environment. It therefore includes the physical and chemical nature of the sediments, water and
gases as well as all the organisms.
An ecosystem can be any size, from an area as small as a pinhead to the whole biosphere. The
term was first used in the 1930s to describe the interdependence of organisms among themselves
and with the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) environment. At ecosystem level, the units of
study are comparatively very large and there are no practical units, if the nature is conceived as a
single, giant ecosystem.
The overall view of this type of approach is that living organisms and their non-living
environment are inseparably interrelated and interact with each other. Keeping this view in mind,
A.G. Tansley in 1935 proposed the term “ecosystem”. Eco implies the environment, and
‘system’ ‘implies an interacting, interdependent complex.
Ecosystem Ecology emphasises the movements of energy and nutrients (chemical elements)
among the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.
Concepts of an Ecosystem:
Following are the basic concepts of an ecosystem:
i. When both biotic and abiotic components are considered, the basic structural and functional
units of nature are ecosystems.
ii. There exist varying degrees of positive, negative and even neutral interactions among
organisms at both inter- and intra-specific levels.
iii. Energy is the driving force of an ecosystem which is unidirec-tional or non-cyclic.
iv. The chemical components of the ecosystem move in a defined path called biogeochemical
cycles.
v. Successful growth of the organism is governed by limiting factors. The minimal and
maximum levels of tolerance for all species vary seasonally, geographically and according to the
population.
vi. Under natural conditions, different kinds of population undergo succession.
Kinds of Ecosystem:
These are categorised as under:
1. Natural Ecosystems:
These operate under natural conditions without any major interference by man. These are further
divided into
i. Terrestrial:
Forest, grassland, desert, etc.
ii. Aquatic:
These may be further classified as (a) freshwater and (b) marine
2. Artificial Ecosystems:
These are maintained artificially by humans where, by addition of energy and planned
manipulations, natural balance is disturbed regularly. For example, croplands like wheat, rice
fields, etc., where humans try to control the biotic community as well as the physio- chemical
environments, are artificial ecosystems.
Structure of an Ecosystem:
An ecosystem has two major components:
1. Abiotic (non-living) component:
It includes inorganic substances, inorganic chemicals and climate of the given region.
• air
• water
• rainfall
• temperature
• soil
• rocks
• elevation
• humidity
2. Biotic (living) component:
It can be further classified as:
(i) Autotrophic component
(ii) Heterotrophic component—Further divided as:
(a) Macroconsumers: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores
(b) Microconsumers: bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi
environment which is rich in living and non-living elements that interact with each other in some
way. The interactions of an organism with its environment are vital to its survival, and the
functioning of the ecosystem as a whole.
These relationships can be categorized into many different classes. The interactions between
two species do not necessarily need to be through direct contact. Due to the connected nature
of ecosystems, species may affect each other through such relationships involving shared
resources or common enemies.
5. Organisms interact with other organisms, of the same or different species. At the same time,
organisms interact with the non-living factors of the environment.
A food chain refers to the order of events in an ecosystem, where one living organism eats
another organism, and later that organism is consumed by another larger organism. The flow of
nutrients and energy from one organism to another at different trophic levels forms a food chain.
The food chain also explains the feeding pattern or relationship between living organisms.
Trophic level refers to the sequential stages in a food chain, starting with producers at the
bottom, followed by primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Every level in a food chain is
known as a trophic level.
It is estimated that only about 10 per cent of the potential energy available at the previous trophic
level is being available to an organism. The efficiency of a food chain is, therefore, dependent on
the number of trophic levels or links in a food chain. The shorter the food chain, the more is the
amount of energy available to the last trophic levels in an eco-system.
In all the eco-systems, energy moves as per the direction given below:
The total energy assimilated by green plants is subjected to three important processes:
(i) It may be oxidised in respiration.
(ii) It may die and decay.
(iii) It may be eaten by herbivorous animals.
Like green plants, the disposition of energy in herbivores takes place by either respiration or
decay of organic matter by microbes or consumption by carnivore. The primary carnivores eat
herbivore and secondary carnivore eat primary carnivore. The total energy in herbivores takes by
decay of organic matter by microbes The primary carnivore eat herbivore eat primary carnivore.
The total energy assimilated by primary carnivore is derived entirely from the herbivore and its
disposition in to respiration, decay and further consumption by other carnivore is entirely similar
to that of herbivore. Thus, the grazing food chain is more effective or efficient as most of the
primary production is passed on through different trophic levels and only a small fraction goes to
the decomposer system.
A grazing food chain can be described in terms of trophic levels as shown below:
Autotroph→ Herbivore→ Primary Carnivore →Secondary
Carnivore→ Tertiary Carnivore → Decomposer etc.
hosts and the smaller animals which fulfill their nutritional requirements from the hosts are
considered as parasites.
Pond eco-system:
Phytoplankton→ Zooplanktons→ Small fish→ Big fish.
Food Web:
Several interconnected food chains form a food web. A food web is similar to a food chain but
the food web is comparatively larger than a food chain. Occasionally, a single organism is
consumed by many predators or it consumes several other organisms. Due to this, many trophic
levels get interconnected, and the food chain fails to showcase the flow of energy in the right
way. But, the food web is able to show the proper representation of energy flow, as it displays
the interactions between different organisms.
When there are more cross interactions between different food chains, the food web gets more
complex. This complexity in a food web leads to a more sustainable ecosystem.