ExamQuest

Environment
Predation (+)(-) -As the energy at each tropic level is fixed and energy transfer only from the
lower to higher trophic levels.
Predation is the nature’s way of transferring energy fixed by plants to higher trophic levels.
To control the population of invasive alien species their predator should be simultaneously
introduced in the ecosystem. Predation helps in maintaining diversity in the community and
also prey species evolving various defence mechanism such as camouflage(lizard, owl,
grasshopper, frog), developing toxins( monarch butterfly), thorns as well as plants
developing quinine( anti malarian drug) caffeine and tannin.

Competition (o)(o)- it is a species interaction in which both the species compete for same
resources which may be limiting or non limiting in nature which causes harm to both
species. As per Gause’s Competitive exclusion principle the two species cannot compete
indefinitely because fitter species will eliminate the inferior species. As per another principle
Mac Arther there is resource partitioning.

Parasitism – they are host specific Endo parasite (inside), Ectoparasite (outside), Brood
parasite in which parasitic birds lay eggs in the nest of its host and let the host incubate
them, coocoo and crow.

Amensalism (-)(o)- it is an interaction in which one is harmed while other is not affected ex
small shrub growing tree, shrub is harmed and tree is not harmed.

Positive
Commensalism (+)(0)- Ex.

Epiphytes orchids growing on mango trees,

Cow dung and beetles
i. Shark and sucker fish (remora), sucker fish gets attached to the shark as shark
ii. provides them food transportation and protection.
iii. Clown fish and sea anomie, stinging tentacles and therefore clown fish gets
protection.
iv.

Mutualism and symbiosis (+)(+)- Both are benefited

i. Common Myna andcattle.
ii Egrets and cattle.
.
Hermit crab and sea anemone.
ii
i.
i
v
.
Lichens - Fungus and Algae
v. Coral reefs and zooxanthellae.
vi. Root nodules of leguminous plants have fungus and bacteria
These microorganism helps in Nitrogen fixation and plant will provide carbohydrates to
microorganism. Ex Rhizobium is a nitrogen fixing bacteria. Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
Environment
 ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest

Food Chain:Introduction
A food chain explains which organism eats another organism in the environment. The food chain is a linear
sequence of organisms where nutrients and energy is transferred from one organism to the other. This occurs
when one organismconsumesanotherorganism.
It begins with the producer organism, follows the chainandendswith the decomposer organism.
The flow of nutrients andenergy from one organismto another at different trophiclevels forms a foodchain.
The foodchainalso explainsthe feedingpatternor relationshipbetween livingorganisms.

Trophic level refers to the sequential stages in a food chain, starting with producers at the bottom, followed by
primary,secondaryandtertiaryconsumers. Every level in a foodchain is known as a trophiclevel.
The foodchain consists offour major parts,namely:

• The Sun: The sun is the initial source of energy,which providesenergy foreverythingon the planet.
• Producers: The producers in a foodchaininclude all autotrophssuch as phytoplankton,cyanobacteria,
algae,and greenplants.
• Consumers: Consumers are all organisms thatare dependenton plants or other organisms for food.
This is the largestpartofa foodweb.
Here, herbivores are known as primary consumers and carnivores are secondary consumers.

• Decomposers: Decomposers are organisms that get energy from dead or waste organic material. This is
the last stage in a food chain. Decomposers are an integral part of a food chain, as they convert organic
waste materials into inorganicmaterials,which enriches the soil orlandwith nutrients.
Decomposers complete a life cycle. They help in recycling the nutrients as they provide nutrients to soil or
oceans, thatcan be utilised byautotrophsorproducers.

Food Web:
Several interconnected food chains form a food web. Occasionally, a single organism is consumed by many
predatorsorit consumes several otherorganisms.
Dueto this,many trophiclevels getinterconnected.
The food chain fails to showcase the flow of energyin the right way. But, the food web is able to show the
properrepresentation of energyflow, as it displays the interactions between differentorganisms.
When there are more cross-interactions between differentfoodchains, the food web gets more complex.This
complexityin a foodweb leadstoa more sustainable ecosystem.

Types of FoodChain

• Detritus food chain: The detritus food chain includes different species of organisms and plants like
algae,bacteria,fungi,protozoa,mites, insects, worms andso on. The detritus foodchain begins with
dead organic material. The food energy passes into decomposers anddetritivores,which are further
eaten by smaller organisms like carnivores. Carnivores, like maggots, become a meal for bigger
carnivores like frogs, snakes andso on. Primary consumers like fungi,bacteria,protozoans,and so on
are detritivoreswhich feed ondetritus.
• Grazing food chain: The grazing food chain is a type of food chain that starts with green plants, passes
through herbivores and then to carnivores. In a grazing food chain, energy in the lowest trophic level is
acquired fromphotosynthesis.
In this type of food chain, the first energy transfer is from plants to herbivores. This type of food chain depends
on the flow of energy from autotrophs to herbivores. As autotrophs are the base for all ecosystems on Earth, the
majorityof ecosystems in theenvironment followthiskindoffoodchain.

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
Environment
 ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest

Dead Zones are low-oxygen areas in the oceans and lakes across the world where aquatic life cannot
survive. The first-ever dead zone was identified on the Chesapeake Bay in the 1970s. The Gulf of
Mexico dead zone is the largest ever recorded, spread over 16,400 squarekilometres.

Environment
 ExamQuest

Bio-Accumulation: Entry of pollutants in to food chain and increase in concentration in certain

tissues of organisms’ bodies due to absorption from food or environment. It occurs within a trophic
level.

If a pollutant enters only from the aquatic ecosystem or in aquatic organisms than its known as
Bioconcentration.
Bio-Amplification\Bio-Magnification- once pollution enters the food chain its concentration
increases from lower to higher food chain this process is known as Bio-Magnification.

Most of these Bio-Accumulates Bio-Magnificante have following properties

I. They are long lived, ex Dichlorodipenyltrichloroethane (DDT)

II. They are stable and mobile
III. Soluble in fat
IV. Biologically active

Therefore, to check the amount of BioMagnificants we check

a. Fat tissues in fishes.

b. Milk in mammals.
Eg. DDT, Endosulphan, Strontium 90, Mercury causes Minamata disease, Polyethene causes cancer
as it gets leached in fluids, soups and gravy.
Solution is food grade plastic i.e HDPE High Density polyethylene, PET polyethylene Terephthalate.

DDT

I. Insecticide to control mosquito.

II. Pesticide used on crops.

DDT is banned under Stockholm convention.

Endosulphan:

A commonly used insecticide and also used as a wood preservative.

It is a POP

Strontium-90
The bio-accumulant that is produced due to nuclear fission, nuclear accident, atomic bombs. I

Strontium-90 is a “bone seeker” that exhibits biochemical behaviour similar to calcium, the next
lighter Group 2 element. After entering the organism, most often by ingestion with contaminated
food or water, about 70–80% of the dose gets excreted. Virtually all remaining strontium-90 is
deposited in bones and bone marrow, with the remaining 1% remaining in blood and soft tissues. Its
presence in bones can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukaemia.

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest

!"##
#
$%!
&'(
)*+

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest
Mangrove Cover
▪ Importance of Mangroves:

o Mangroves have a complex root system that is very efficient

in dissipating the sea wave energy thus protecting the coastal
areas from tsunamis, storm surges, and soil erosion. Their
protective role has been widely recognized especially after
the devastating Tsunami of 2004.
o Mangrove roots slow down water flows and enhance
sediment deposition. Therefore, they act as a zone of land
accretion due to the trapping of fine sediments including
heavy metal contaminants. They also arrest coastal erosion
and sea water pollution.
o They act as a fertile breeding ground for many fish species
and other marine fauna.
o They act as an important source of livelihood for the coastal
communities dependent on the collection of honey, tannins,
wax, andfishing.
o Mangroves are importantcarbonsinks.
▪ Conservation of Mangroves: According to Champion & Seth
Classification (1968), Mangroves are included in Type Group- 4Littoral
& Swamp Forests.

o Important species of Mangrove ecosystems in India include:

• Avicennia officinalis, Rhizophora mucronata,

Sonneratia alba, Avicennia alba, Bruguiera cylindrica,
Heritiera littoralis, Phoenix paludosa, Morinda
citrifolia & Ceriops tagal.
o Sunderban, located in the northern Bay of Bengal is the
world's largest single patch of Mangrove Forests. Spread over
approximately 10,000 sq km, in Bangladesh and India.

• Sundarban is the first Mangrove forest in the world,

which was brought under scientific management,as
early as in1892.
o Government of India set up aNational Mangroves Committee
in 1976 to advise the Government on issues related to the
conservation and development of Mangroves in thecountry.
▪ Status of Mangrove Cover Worldwide: As per Global Forest Resource
Assessment, 2020 (FRA 2020), the world over, 113 countries have
Mangrove forests covering an estimated 14.79 millionhectares.

Environment
 ExamQuest
o The largest Mangrove area is reported in:

• Asia > Africa > North and Central America >South

America.
• Oceania has reportedthe smallest area of
Mangroves.
o More than 40% of the total area of Mangroves was reported
to be in just four countries: Indonesia (19%), Brazil (9%),
Nigeria (7%), and Mexico(6%).
▪ Status of Mangrove Cover in India: The mangrove cover in India is
4,992 sq km, which is 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area.

o Increase in the mangrove cover ascompared to 2019

assessment: 17 sq km
o The states that show significant gain in Mangrove cover are
Odisha and Maharashtra.

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest
Ecological succession: succession is a universal process of directional change in vegetation, on an ecological time
scale which leads to the establishment of a relatively stable climax community.

Primary succession involves gradual establishment of biotic communities on a lifeless ground.

Secondary succession: It involves the establishment of biotic communities in an are where some type of biotic
community is already present.

Autogenic succession: it is brought about by living inhabitants of that community itself.

Allogenic succession: it is brought by outside forces.
Autotrophic succession: succession in which initially green plants are much greater in quantity.
Heterotrophic succession: succession in which heterotrophs are much greater in number.

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
ExamQuest

Environment
Indian Geography ExamQuest by Anish Mohan
ExamQuest

Environment
 ExamQuest
Biomes in India:
Tropical Rain Forest Biome:
In warm and wet climates of the tropics, this biome exits with most majestic and dense vegetation.
Species diversity and richness of life forms are maximum in this biome.
The species diversity is so high that often difficult to find two individuals of same species in close vicinity.
There are lots of full trees with epiphytic growth of mosses, ferns and orchids. The litter fall and their decomposition
rate is very high in the forest. The forest is multitier with dense canopy cover.
Tropical rain forests are common in equatorial belt in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hawaii, Amazonia, and also in
Central Africa particularly in Zaire basin region. In India, the rainforests are confined to North-East in Assam,
Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur. Similarly rainforest also exits in South Western region of
India, like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Over the years of extensive deforestation in tropics, the rainforest area rapidly disappeared and slowly converted
into agricultural land. Rainforest is a natural forest which could not recover by man’s manipulation. Thus there is a
great need for conservation of rainforest rather than creation of rainforest.

Tropical Deciduous Forest Biome:

In tropics, deciduous forest is very much prominent component, where forest shed their leaves before winter onset.
New flush of leaves appear after 2-3 months. These forests are not so dense as that of rainforest. There are places,
where the deciduous forest may be dry and thorny.
In India, deciduous forest biome is very much predominant in various parts. Tropical sal forest or sal with other
deciduous species is quite common. Ground cover vegetation in deciduous forest is very significant.

Temperate Forest Biome:

In mid-altitude of mountains temperate forest biome exits. It extends up to tree line of upper elevation. In
temperate region mostly broad leaved evergreen forest or needle leaved coniferous forest or a mixture of species
prevailed. The climate have high humidity and thus having epiphytes, mosses, ferns and other lower groups of
plants.
In Himalayas, the rich biodiversity is prevailed in temperate biomes. There are a good number of endemic species of
various groups which prevail in this region. In many countries, plantation cups were introduced in temperate climate
by removing natural forest cover and there by destroying the rich endemic germplasm.

Boreal Coniferous Forest Biome:

This is a specialised temperate coniferous forest biome found in high mountains of Canada and Alaska. The plant
community have low statured forests mostly coniferous species with ectomycorrhizae in the roots. Soil is somewhat
acidic (4.5 to 5.0 pH) due to decomposition of needle leave litter. Often these forest also called Taiga. Forest floor
have swamps and pit bogs.

Temperate Grassland Biome:

It is well known that grasslands are the most extensive formations of vegetation types found all over the world and
in all ranges of climates from mesic to xeric and from cold to warm conditions. The temperate grasslands are
however extensive in the North America and are called as prairies.
They may be tall grass prairie, mid grass prairie and short grass prairie depending upon the height of the herbage
portion. In many countries, the natural grassland is largely converted to grazing land or croplands. The temperate
grassland is dominated by graminoids followed by sedges and forbs or the non-graminoids like dicot weeds.

Tundra Biomes:
These are extremely cold condition with alpine or subalpine habitats. Only herbs and dwarf shrubs are grown along
with mosses, lichens and creepers. Because of extreme cold, the soil moisture is frozen at a depth of few centimeter
from the top. This is called permafrost.
There are two kinds of tundra “Arctic tundra” in the extreme northern latitudes (north of 60ON latitudes) and alpine
tundra on mountain tops even at lesser latitudes. The regions is snow covered for sometime in a year. Soils are rich in
organic matter because of very slow decomposition rate.

Temperate and Tropical Desert Biomes:

These are two kinds of desert habitats cold desert and warm or hot desert. Rainfall is very scanty (less than 500 mm
per annum) in hot desert, while frost and snow are common in cold desert. Cold desert often noticed in temperate

Environment
 ExamQuest
to subalpine region, with grasses and succulents, where as hot desert found in tropics where thorny forest, scrubs
and succulents are grown.
West Indian desert which is a part of Thar desert is very well known hot desert, while in the Siberian region cold
desert prevails.

Tropical Savanna and Grassland Biomes:

In an estimate it is reported that grass covered biomes constitute about 42.57% area in Africa, 6-12% in Asia, over
50% in Australia and about 80% in South America. In tropics, the grasslands which is often called savanna are rich in
grasses and sages interspersed by some shrubs and trees. But there are dried places where tall grasses dominate in
ravine land with scattered trees.
Moreover the grassland of various countries are named in different ways:

In Central India, the tropical grassland constitute about four distinct associations viz.,:
(i) Schima- Dichanthium type,
(ii) Dichanthium-Cenchrus— Lasiurus type,
(iii) Phagaguitics—Saccharum—lmperata type and
(iv) Themeda-Arundinella type.

Wetland Biomes:
Wetland habitat constitutes the transition zone between terrestrial habitats and deep water bodies. These includes,
swamps, paddy fields, riverine flood plain, lakes, coastal swamps and so on. These habitats support specialized
vegetation cover with characteristic fauna and serve as the breeding grounds of many migratory birds.
These habitats constitute wetland biomes. In tropics wetland biome have rich flora and fauna. In many place such
unique habitats are transformed for various man made activities and thus many species of flora and fauna became
extinct from the native region.

Freshwater Biomes:
Freshwater biomes include open water systems such as lakes and rivers and as water-logged regions known as bogs,
marshes and swamps. Bogs consists of impervious substrates where rainfall is high. They are dominated by the
growing plants able to tolerate waterlogged and nutrient-poor conditions such as Sphagnum moss and insectivorous
sundews.
Swamps are tree-dominated wetlands occurring in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions.
Freshwater contains dissolved gases, nutrients, trace metals and organic compounds as well as organic and inorganic
particles. These chemical carbonate from rainwater which washes substances out of the atmospheric dust deposi-
tion and from the leaching of soils and rocks from the surrounding catchment areas.
Streams and rivers differ greatly, depending on their size. They also vary in their length from their source in upland
areas to their mouth where the river meets the sea.

In general as the mouth of a river is approached:

(i) The speed of water flow decreases, the water becomes less turbulent and oxygen levels fall;
(ii) The volume of water increases having accumulated as the river passes through its catchment;
(iii)The energy of the river decreases, suspended material is deposited and the river bed becomes composed of finer
particles and eventually silts;
(iv)The river bed becomes less steep because the larger volume of water erodes a broader channel;
(v)Human influences increase; many rivers flow through farmland and urban or industrial areas and receive
agricultural run-off, treated sewage and other effluent which may raise the organic content of the river leading to
eutrophication.

Environment
Streams are high in the catchment that are non-polluted, support caddis fly (Trichoptera) and blackfly (Simulium
spp.) larvae feeding on fine organic particles. The water will be too turbulent and nuitrient poor for all but aquatic
mosses, liverworts and algae.
Plankton communities, consisting of algae, photosynthetic bacteria, crustaceans and rotifers, can develop further
downstream where the volume of moving water is increased and the current is reduced. Fish, reptiles, birds and
mammals may be present.
As water flow continues to decrease, particularly at the edges of a growing channel, plankton communities become
more complex and sediment is deposited, providing a roodng medium for larger aquatic plants (macrophytes) and a
habitat for benthic organisms such as oligochaete worms, chironomid larvae and molluses.
Emergent plants, which grow up beyond the water’s surface provide physical habitat for invertebrates, fish and
epiphytic algae, which in turn provide food for other orgamisms.

Marine Biome:
This is largest biomes of the world. It covers high saline coastal area to open sea area. In polar region it is mostly
snow covered. The coastal shallow marine biomes are highly productive and divisible into tidal neitric and the
continental shelfs. Away from the coast are the oceanic belts with upper surface euphotic zone (up to 200 m) and
lower battyal (200 m to 2000 m deep) and bottom abyssal dark deep zone.
Life is abundant in euphotic zone. Marine biome is the principal food source of mankind today and tomorrow.
In marine environment huge deposit of petroleum, natural gases and minerals are recorded. But exploration of such
resources leads to destruction of marine biome. Over the year, ocean is used as a dumping ground of hazardous
substances of diverse categories.
Such activities are noted and regulated by strong international vigilance. Marine pollution for all sources needs to be
curbed for protecting marine biomes, i.e. resources for 21st century.
The major climatic zones are depicted in Fig.

Environment
Lichen is a ‘pioneer species’ because
a)They are among the most ancient organisms on Earth. For instance, they are found
in the Jurassic era,
b)They are the first to appear on barren rocks, in deserts and icy terrain and after
disturbances like landslides,
c)They play a foundational role in enabling all life. For example, they aid in weathering
rocks, creating soil – the basis of all life,
d)In deserts, lichen form a crust over the surface, retaining moisture — only in such
spots do desert trees grow,
e)These are also bioindicators of pollution. As they depend on the atmosphere for air
and water.

Environment