What is the interaction of organisms with their living and non living surroundings called?
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The word ecosystem means ecological systems. Ecology is the study of ecosystems An ecosystem includes all the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere). In an ecosystem, each organism has its own niche or role to play. Ecosystems are the foundations of the Biosphere and they determine the health of the entire Earth system. Sir Arthur George Tansley (1871 –1955) was an English botanist who introduced the concept of the ecosystem into biology Ernst Heinrich Philipp August (1834 –1919) was a German biologist, naturalist philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist, and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms invented many words commonly used by biologists today, such as phylum, phylogeny, and ecology. An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area. The term `eco' refers to a part of the world and `system' refers to the co-ordinating units. An ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment interacting together. Environment involves both living organisms and the non-living physical conditions. These two are inseparable but inter-related. The living and physical components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. The organisms in an ecosystem are usually well balanced with each other and with their environment. An ecosystem may be natural or artificial, land-based or water-based. Artificial systems may include a cropland, a garden, a park or an aquarium. Introduction of new environmental factors or new species can have disastrous results, eventually leading to the collapse of an ecosystem and the death of many of its native species. Some of the major non-living factors of an ecosystem are: Sunlight Water Temperature Oxygen Soil Air How big is an ecosystem?Ecosystems can be of any size, but usually they are places. An ecosystem may be of very different size. It may be a whole forest, as well as a small pond. An ecosystem may be as large as the Great Barrier Reef or as small as the back of a spider crab's shell, which provides a home for plants and other animals, such as sponges, algae and worms. Ecosystem boundaries are not marked (separated) by rigid lines. Ecosystems are often separated by geographical barriers such as deserts, mountains, oceans, lakes and rivers. As these borders are never rigid, ecosystems tend to blend into each other. Therefore, a lake can have many small ecosystems with their own unique characteristics. As a result, the whole earth can be seen as a single ecosystem, or a lake can be divided into several ecosystems, depending on the used scale. Scientists call this blending “ecotone” Ecosystem diversityEcosystem diversity is the variety of ecosystems in a given place. An ecosystem is a community of organisms and their physical environment interacting together. For food, shelter, growth and development, all life systems interact with the environment. This is why it is necessary to preserve the ecosystems. Scales of EcosystemsEcosystems come in indefinite sizes. It can exist in a small area such as underneath a rock, a decaying tree trunk, or a pond in your village, or it can exist in large forms such
as an entire rain forest. Technically, the Earth can be called a huge ecosystem. Ecosystems can be classified into three main scales. ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOMES Definition of Concepts Ecology:The study of the interrelationships between living organisms and the living and non-living components and processes in an environment Biome: A major ecological region within which plant and animal communities are similar in general characteristics and in their relationships to the physical environment. Eg. vegetation zones such as the Tundra, Desert & Rainforests. Ecosystem:The collection of all living organisms in a geographic area, together with all the living and non-living things with which they interact. � Acquatic Ecosystems (water-based) ecosystems � Terrestral Ecosystems (land-based) ecosystems. Population:A group of organisms of the same kind living in a given area Natural Community: Populations of different plant and animal species interacting among themselves in an area. Habitat: The specific physical location where a particular organism lives or is adapted to live in a community. Ecological Niche: An organism�s role or occupation within a community. Bio-geography: A study of the distribution of plants and animals, the diverse spatial patterns they create, and the physical and biological processes (past & present) that produce this distribution. STRUCTURE OF ECOSYSTEMS 1. Boitic and Abiotic Every ecosystem is composed of two basic units: a) Biota: the living organisms - all plant & animal species b) Abiotic: the non-living physical and chemical component consisting of wind, temperature, water, soil, precipitation etc. The single abiotic factor most lacking in a particular environment is termed a Limiting Factor. e.g. water � in a desert and temperature - Tundra. The variation in physical factors that a population can withstand and continue to thrive in an environment is termed Range of Tolerance. CATEGORIES OF ORGANISMS 1. PRODUCERS: Green plants that carry on photosynthesis. Producers are termed auto-trophs because they are self-nourished � they do not depend on other species to feed. During photosynthesis, plants capture light energy with their chlorophyll and use it to convert carbon dioxide and moisture (absorbed from air) into sugar (chemical energy). Oxygen is released as a by-product Every major ecosystem has its particular green plants that carry on photosynthesis and release chemical energy (carbohydrates, protein etc.) on which non-producers feed. (algae & plankton in aquatic systems, plants in terrestrial systems) 2. CONSUMERS: a) Consumers are heterotrophs (other-nourished) for they rely on chlorophyll-containing plants or the products of such plants for nourishment. b) Consumers are subdivided into groups according to their food source. Primary consumers: Species that feed directly on producers (plant-eating species). They are also called Herbivores. E.g. elephants, goats, cattle Secondary Consumers: Species that feed on primary consumers. Secondary and higher order consumers are called Carnivores. E.g. fox, cat. Tertiary and higher level Consumers: Species that obtain their nourishment by eating other meat-eating species. E.g. tiger Multiple level Consumers:Species that obtain their nourishment from eating both plants and animal species. Also called Omnivores 3. DECOMPOSERS: They are the final link in the food chain. Comprise of organisms that feed on dead matter and break it down to release chemical energy back into the soil for plants to re-use them. E.g. fungi, bacteria, insects, worms and others. Detritivores: feed on detritus matter (dead plants and animals) e.g. crab, vulture, termites, wood beetle and crayfish. Also called scavengers. FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SPECIES The Food Chain. A food chain or food web comprises a sequence of organisms through which energy and nutrients are taken in and used up. A food chain in a wet meadow could be: Grass--> Grasshopper--> Snake--> Hyena. Food chains begin from producers to consumers and the major feeding levels are called Trophic Levels. Producers belong to the First Trophic Level. Primary consumers, whether feeding on living or dead producers feed from the Second Trophic Level. Organisms that feed on other consumers belong to the Third Tropic Level. Only about 10% of the calories in plant matter survive from First to the Second trophic level. NON-FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS 1. Mutual relationships: Relations between organisms can be (a) mutually beneficial to both species, For example, relationship between flowers and insects is a mutually supportive relationship, or � (b) Parasitic, in that such a relationship benefits only one party. Examples include ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, mistletoe plants and fungi. Mutually beneficial relationships are also termed Symbiotic (sym = together, bio = living) and can be described as a) Commensalism is a mutual interaction between two different species in which one organism benefits but the other is neither harmed nor helped in any way, or� b) Mutualism is a type of species interaction in which both participating species benefit. 2. Competitive Relationships: Plant and animal species compete over food, water, territorial space and mating with the opposite sex. The Principle of Competitive Exclusion:explains that no two species can occupy the same niche (food or space) successfully in a stable community. Closely related species therefore live far from one another. This is because plants and animals must compete for water, nutrients, light and space. The outcome of this competition determines the character of an ecosystem. BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Processes through which elements that sustain life (water, carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen) are continuously made available to living organisms. Well known chemical cycles include: a) Nitrogen Cycle, b) Hydrological cycle, c) Carbon cycle, and � d) Phosphorus cycle THE NATURAL BOIMES 1. Equatorial and Tropical Rain Forest a) evergreen broadleaf forest 2. Tropical Seasonal Forest and Scrub a) Tropical monsoon forest b) Tropical deciduous forest 3. Tropical Savanna a) Tropical grasslandb) Savanna woodland 4. Mid-latitude Broadleaf and Mixed Forest a) Temperate broadleaf b) Midlatitude deciduous forest 5. Needleleaf Forest & Montane Forest a) Taiga,b) Boreal forest,Montane forest 6. Temperate Rain Forest a) West coast Forest,b) Coast redwoods 7. Meditarranean Shrubland a) Sclerophyllous shrubs b) Australian eucalyptus forest 8. Warm Desert and Semi-Desert a) Subtropical desert and scrubland 9. Cold Desert and Semi-Desert a) Midlatitude desert, scrubland and steppe 10. Arctic and Alpine a) Tundra What is called the interaction between living and non living?An ecosystem is a community made up of living and nonliving things interacting with each other.
What is the interaction between living organisms and their environment?Ecology is the study of the interaction of organisms in an area with the surrounding environment. This interaction constitutes an overall adaptation of the organisms to their environment which also includes the continuity of species.
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