ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS

By Er. MD. HEDAYATULLAH

M.Tech (G.E.T) Registration No.- 123070003 E-Mail:- hedayatinluv@gmail.com

Objectives
Define Ecosystem. Structure or Components of Ecosystem Abiotic Components Biotic Components Food Chain Food web Importance of tropic level

Introduction
Energy is required for the maintenance of life. According to the concept of 1st law of thermodynamics Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed. It is always transform & transferred from one system to another. Hence every body is interacting and interdepending on each other body in its surrounding.

Ecosystem The systematic interaction and interdependence between the living organisms (Plants, Animals, Microbes) and the non-living physical components(Air, water, light, soil, minerals) of environment is called Ecosystem.

Ecosystem
Ecosystem is the basic structural and functional unit of ecology. The term Ecosystem was coined by Tansley in 1935. An Ecosystem is self-regulating and selfsustaining group of biotic communities of species interacting with their non-living abiotic environment, exchanging energy and matter.

Structure of ecosystem

Any Ecosystem is composed of two components.

Ecosystem
Abiotic component. (NonLiving)
1. Light 2. Temperature 3. Soil 4. Water 5. Humidity

Biotic component

1. Producer 2. Consumer

Abiotic components.
The nonliving components within the ecosystem affecting the life of organisms.
A. Physical.
1.Light 2. Temperature 3. Soil 4. Water(Percipetation) 5. Humidity 6. wind

B. Chemical.

1.Inorganic substances N,P,S,B 2. Gases- CO2, O2 e.t.c 3.Organic substances carbohydrate, Protein, Lipid and other complex mollecules. 4. Toxic and organic substances

Biotic components
The living components of an ecosystem is called biotic component. The plants, animals and microorganism present in an ecosystem forms the biotic components. They can be divided in to two groups on the basis of energy acquisition.

A. Producers B. Consumers.

A. Producers

These are the organisms which produces their own food, they are self-nourishing. They are photo-autotrophs or chemoautotrophs. Photo-autotrophs fixes solar energy in to chemical energy of food. They are green plants, algae and some bacteria. Chemo-autotrophs are some bacteria that produces complex organic compounds from inorganic substances like sulfur, ammonia. These are also called Primary producer

B. Heterotrophs
Those are organisms that depends on other organisms for their food are called consumers or heterotrophs. Generally animals are consumers but some time plants may be heterotrophic e.g. cuscuta. There are FOUR types of consumers

1. Herbivores 2. carnivores 3. omnivores 4.Decomposers

Herbivores
Animals that eat only green plants are called herbivores. They have specialy modified digestive system. Their stomach contain a chamber called RUMEN for thispurpose. Some of these are cow, honeybees, deer, rabbits, grasshopper.

Carnivore s
Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. Examples- Lions, Tigers, Dogs , Wolves, Hawks e.t.c Carnivores generally eat herbivores sometimes omnivores. They keep the number of other species less.

Omnivores.
An omnivores are animals that eats both plants and animals. Some of them hunt other animals for there food. Some of them eat dead animals, these are called, scavenges. Examples:- Humans, Bears, Chickens, fly. Some Scavengers are Earthworms, ants, vultures.

Decomposers
These are micro-organisms that break down dead and decaying matters in to soil or nutrients. Examples- Bacteria and Fungi.

Tropic level

Tropic levels are the feeding position in a food chain such as primary producers, herbivore, primary carnivore, etc.

Food Chain
The flow of energy from one trophic level to another trophic level is called food chain. The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem is known as food chain. e.g. Grass grasshopper frog snake

Hawk Food chain is the representation of one path energy flow in an ecosystem. A food chain is always simple and unidirectional

continued.. Food chain involves only one organism at each trophic level.

Any food chain contains at least following trophic levels. 1. Producers(Autotrophs, produces food) 2. Primary consumers(Eat autotrophs) 3. Secondary consumers(Eat primary consumers) 4. Tertiary consumers(Eat secondary consumers) 5. Decomposers.

Food web
The complex inter conection of various food chains is called Food web. It is a more complex and realistic way to show the flow of the energy though the ecosystem. Food web is a network of food chain where different types of organism are connected at different trophic levels, so that there are a number of option of eating and being eaten at each trophic levels

Difference between Food chain & Food web.

Food chain.
It is linear chain. In this energy flow is unidirectional. Newmans 10% law is applicable in this.

Food web.
It is a complex network. Flow of energy is non linear. Newmans 10% law is not applicable.

Importance of tropic level

Each tropic level is the food for the higher level If the number of animal of any tropic level is decreases, then the availability of food for the next level is also decreased. There will be more competition for food or they may die due to starvation. Further more the number of lower level organism will be increased drastically, which will result in the extinction of their lower tropic level.