This document provides an overview of key concepts in ecology, including the levels of biological organization, types of cells, trophic levels, energy flow through ecosystems, and nutrient cycling. It defines important terms like population, community, ecosystem, biosphere, producers, consumers, decomposers, food chains, and food webs. It also explains how energy is lost at each trophic level and illustrates this through energy and pyramid diagrams.
Environmental Science and Engineering (BE), This subject is common for all Engineer's and its based on Anna University Syllabus.
If ur a tech loving person, do visit http://insmartworld.blogspot.in/
Environment literally means surrounding and everything that affect an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as its environment. In another words “Environment is sum total of water, air and land interrelationships among themselves and also with the human being, other living organisms and property”. It includes all the physical and biological surrounding and their interactions.
Environmental studies provide an approach towards understanding the environment of our planet and the impact of human life upon the environment.
Thus environment is actually global in nature, it is a multidisciplinary subject including physics, geology, geography, history, economics, physiology, biotechnology, remote sensing, geophysics, soil science and hydrology etc. Scope of Environmental Science Environmental science is a multidisciplinary science whose basic aspects have a direct relevance to every section of the society.
Its main aspects are:
• Conservation of nature and natural resources.
• Conservation of biological diversity.
• Control of environmental pollution.
• Stabilization of human population and environment.
• Social issues in relation to development and environment.
• Development of non-polluting renewable energy system and providing new dimension to nation’s security. Importance of Environmental Science Environment belongs to all the living beings and thus is, important for all.
Each and every body of whatever occupation he or she may have, is affected by environmental issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer, dwindling forest, energy resources, loss of global biodiversity etc.
Environment study deals with the analysis of the processes in water, air, land, soil and organisms which leads to pollute or degrade environment. It helps us for establishing standard,Environment and Ecology for safe, clean and healthy natural ecosystem.
It also deals with important issues like safe and clean drinking water, hygienic living conditions and clean and fresh air, fertility of land, healthy food and development. Sustainable environmental law, business administration, environmental protection, management and environmental engineering are immerging as new career opportunities for environment protection and managements.
Need for Public Awareness With the ever increasing development by modern man, large scale degradation of natural resources have been occurred, the public has to be educated about the fact that if we are degrading our environment we are actually harming ourselves.
To encourage meaningful public participation and environment, it is necessary to create awareness about environment pollution and related adverse effects. The United Nations conference on Environment and Development held in Rio-de-Janeiro, followed by Earth summit on sustainable Development have high-lighted the key issues of global environmental concern and have attracted the general public towards the...
Education is a process of development which includes the three major
activities, teaching, training and instruction. Teaching is social as well as
a professional activity. It is science as well as art. Modern education is not
in a sphere but it has a long and large area of study. Now a days most part
of the world population is facing different problems related with the nature
and they are studying the solutions to save the nature and global problems,
but on the second hand we even today do not try to understand our local
problems related to the nature. So for the awareness of the problems of
nature and pollution the higher education commission has suggested to
add the Environmental Science in the course of different levels.
Environmental Science is also well known as Environmental Studies in
the Indian Colleges and Universities. Before that it was the part of the
science but now a days it is a very common subject and higher education
commission has suggested including it as a general paper in all the courses.
In this persentation I give a short description about ecology and the history of it. I also show the ecological crisis as well as environmental situation for ethical and social awareness.
Environmental Science and Engineering (BE), This subject is common for all Engineer's and its based on Anna University Syllabus.
If ur a tech loving person, do visit http://insmartworld.blogspot.in/
Environment literally means surrounding and everything that affect an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as its environment. In another words “Environment is sum total of water, air and land interrelationships among themselves and also with the human being, other living organisms and property”. It includes all the physical and biological surrounding and their interactions.
Environmental studies provide an approach towards understanding the environment of our planet and the impact of human life upon the environment.
Thus environment is actually global in nature, it is a multidisciplinary subject including physics, geology, geography, history, economics, physiology, biotechnology, remote sensing, geophysics, soil science and hydrology etc. Scope of Environmental Science Environmental science is a multidisciplinary science whose basic aspects have a direct relevance to every section of the society.
Its main aspects are:
• Conservation of nature and natural resources.
• Conservation of biological diversity.
• Control of environmental pollution.
• Stabilization of human population and environment.
• Social issues in relation to development and environment.
• Development of non-polluting renewable energy system and providing new dimension to nation’s security. Importance of Environmental Science Environment belongs to all the living beings and thus is, important for all.
Each and every body of whatever occupation he or she may have, is affected by environmental issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer, dwindling forest, energy resources, loss of global biodiversity etc.
Environment study deals with the analysis of the processes in water, air, land, soil and organisms which leads to pollute or degrade environment. It helps us for establishing standard,Environment and Ecology for safe, clean and healthy natural ecosystem.
It also deals with important issues like safe and clean drinking water, hygienic living conditions and clean and fresh air, fertility of land, healthy food and development. Sustainable environmental law, business administration, environmental protection, management and environmental engineering are immerging as new career opportunities for environment protection and managements.
Need for Public Awareness With the ever increasing development by modern man, large scale degradation of natural resources have been occurred, the public has to be educated about the fact that if we are degrading our environment we are actually harming ourselves.
To encourage meaningful public participation and environment, it is necessary to create awareness about environment pollution and related adverse effects. The United Nations conference on Environment and Development held in Rio-de-Janeiro, followed by Earth summit on sustainable Development have high-lighted the key issues of global environmental concern and have attracted the general public towards the...
Education is a process of development which includes the three major
activities, teaching, training and instruction. Teaching is social as well as
a professional activity. It is science as well as art. Modern education is not
in a sphere but it has a long and large area of study. Now a days most part
of the world population is facing different problems related with the nature
and they are studying the solutions to save the nature and global problems,
but on the second hand we even today do not try to understand our local
problems related to the nature. So for the awareness of the problems of
nature and pollution the higher education commission has suggested to
add the Environmental Science in the course of different levels.
Environmental Science is also well known as Environmental Studies in
the Indian Colleges and Universities. Before that it was the part of the
science but now a days it is a very common subject and higher education
commission has suggested including it as a general paper in all the courses.
In this persentation I give a short description about ecology and the history of it. I also show the ecological crisis as well as environmental situation for ethical and social awareness.
Environmental Sciences Second Semester B.pharm RTMNU
An ecosystem is a grouping of organisms that interact with each other and their environment in such a way as to preserve the grouping.
Content:-
What is an ecosystem
Three major principles of ecosystem
Components of an ecosystem
Abiotic components
Biotic components
Movement of energy and nutrients
Food chain
Food webs
Trophic levels, biomass and biome
Linkages and interactions in an ecosystem
Carbon cycle and oxygen cycle
Model of nutrient cycle
Environmental Limitation in ecosystem development.
Nutrient cycling:
Movement of chemical elements from the environment into living organisms and from them back into the environment through organisms live, grow, die and decompose.
Energy flow:
Energy is required to transform inorganic nutrients into organic tissues of an organism.
Energy is the driving force to the work of ecosystem.
Structure
It refers to the particular pattern of inter-relationships that exists between organisms in an ecosystem.
Energy and Nutrients passed through the ecosystem by food chains and webs from lower trophic level to the higher trophic level.
However, only 5% to 20% energy and nutrients are transferred into higher trophic level successfully.
For this reason, first trophic level has the largest number of organisms, and second trophic level is less than first one; the third level is less than second level, and so on.
Nitrogen cycle can be affected by man in five major ways:
Fertilizer production (mainly nitrates and ammonium salts) to grow more food by increasing yields, and replenishing lost nitrogen from the soil.
Burning of fossil fuels in cars, power plants, and heating which puts nitrogen dioxide into the atmosphere.
Increasing animals wastes (nitrates) from more people and from livestock and poultry grown in ranches.
Increased sewage flows from industry and urbanization.
Increased erosion of and runoff nearby streams, lakes and rivers from cultivation, irrigation, agricultural wastes, mining, urbanization and poor land use.
Nutrients (chemicals, minerals or elements) are circulated around the ecosystem and recycled continually.
Gersmehl identified three storage compartments.
Litter: the surface layer of vegetation which may eventually become humus.
Biomass: the total mass of living organisms, per unit area.
Soil: the nutrients store in soil (weathered material) and semi-weathered material.Quality of light:
Red and blue light: green plants (photosynthesis)
Green light: plants in woods or deep water
Ultraviolet light: retards plant growth
Duration of light
Affect the behaviour of plants and animals (flowering, migration, mating….)
Intensity of light:
Controlling factor for rate of photosynthesis
Net productivity is the function of photosynthesis and respiration.
Wind can act as an environmental factor
Directly by causing mechanical damage to plants
Indirectly affecting relative humidity and evaporation rates.
High wind speed increases the rate of transpiration.
J
Ecology is the scientific study of the intricate relationships between living organisms and their environment. It seeks to understand how organisms interact with one another and their surroundings, from the smallest microorganisms to the largest ecosystems. One fundamental aspect of ecology is the examination of biogeochemical cycles, which are essential processes that govern the flow of elements and compounds through the Earth's ecosystems. These cycles encompass the movement of essential elements like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water between the living and non-living components of the environment. For example, the carbon cycle involves the exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere, plants, and animals, regulating the levels of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and influencing climate. The nitrogen cycle is another vital process, as it controls the availability of nitrogen for plants and, subsequently, for all organisms in a given ecosystem. Biogeochemical cycles are critical to maintaining the delicate balance of nutrients and elements necessary for life on Earth, and any disruptions to these cycles can have profound ecological consequences. Understanding these cycles is crucial for environmental conservation and for addressing global challenges like climate change and nutrient pollution. In sum, ecology and biogeochemical cycles are intimately linked, providing the foundation for understanding how life and the environment are intricately interconnected and interdependent.
5. Organization of
Life
A population is members
of the same species, that
live in a particular place
at a particular time
Who, where, when
The variation among
members of a population
is due to its genetic
diversity (DNA)
6. Organization of
Life
A community is all
the populations in an
area
Populations in a
community interact
with each other
Feeding
relationships,
competition, nutrient
cycles, etc
7. Organization of
Life
An ecosystem is the
community plus all
the abiotic factors in
the area
Biotic - living or
recently living
Abiotic - nonliving
11. Prokaryotic Cells
Most simple
BACTERIA & Archaea
Protein construction and energy
conversion occur without specialized
internal structures
DNA (no nucleus)
No nucleus
No organelles
DNA, ribosomes,
cell wall, cell
membrane
VERY DIVERSE &
SUCCESSFUL
FOUND
EVERYWHERE
12. Eukaryotic Cells
Larger
More complex
Nucleus for DNA
Nucleus
(DNA)
Protein
construction
Energy
conversion
Specialized organelles
Plants, animals, fungi,
protists
Animals and some
protists do not have cell
walls
13. Summary Check
What are the biological levels of
organization? (say it)
Venn diagram: prokaryotic vs.
eukaryotic cells (put it in your notes)
14. Big Idea # 2
Life is sustained
by 3 things:
The flow of
energy from the
sun through the
biosphere
The cycling of
nutrients within
the biosphere
gravity
15. 4 Spheres of
Life
All 4 spheres
interact with
each other
We need all
four to keep us
alive
1.
3.
4.
2.
16. Sphere 1 - the atmosphere
Atmosphere = Thin
layer surrounding the
earth’s surface
Closest to land is the
troposphere (ground
level to 4-11 miles
up)
Has most of our air
Air is:
78% N2
21% O2
1% methane, CO2,
H2O - greenhouse
17. The Atmosphere, cont’d
Next layer up is
the stratosphere
(11-31 miles)
Has ozone
layer - filters
out most UV
radiation
18. Sphere 2 - the hydrosphere
Hydrosphere = all the
water on earth
Liquid (on surface and
underground)
Solid (ice)
Water vapor (in
atmosphere)
Most in oceans - covers
~ 71% of the planet
19. Sphere 3 - the geosphere
Geosphere =
super hot core,
thick, fluid mantle,
thin outer crust
Contains our fossil
fuels and minerals
(nonrenewable)
and soil nutrients
(renewable)
20. Sphere 4 - the biosphere
All the living things on earth
Life exists from ~ 6 miles above the
earth’s surface to the bottom of the
ocean
21. Biomes
Large regions of
land that have
characteristic
climate and
species adapted
to them
23. Terrestrial Biomes
Vertical stratification important
Plants provide the stratification
Canopy
Low trees
Shrubs
Litter layer (forest floor)
Many organisms
adapted to a particular
layer
24. Terrestrial Biomes
Don’t have clear, defined boundaries
Ecotone - area where one biome
grades into another
Find different organisms here
26. Biomes
Also aquatic life zones
Freshwater - lakes, rivers, streams
Marine - oceans, coral reefs, estuaries
27. The environment limits the
distribution of species
– or – not everyone can live everywhere
Dispersal – movement
out of a high density area
Natural range expansions
Species transplants –
intentional or accidental
introduction of a species to
a new area
Actual range vs. potential
range
28. Climate
Major components:
Temperature
Water
Sunlight
Wind
Macroclimate – global/regional
Microclimate – very small
(like under a fallen log)
29. Macroclimate
Affected by
Water
Large bodies
of water
have a
moderating
effect
Currents
carry warm
or cold air
31. Climate
Affected by
Seasonality
Due to changing angle of sun
Causes turnover in lakes that mixes water - essential for
life
32. Summary Check
How might climate affect the evolution
of species over time?
33. The Flow of Energy
It all starts with
the sun
Ozone layer
absorbs 95% of
incoming solar
radiation
34. The Flow of Energy
Sunlight that
does reach
the surface
warms the
planet, drives
the water
cycle,
generates
wind
35. The Flow of Energy
Less than 0.1% of
incoming solar
radiation used by
plants and protists
for photosynthesis
36. The Greenhouse Effect
Heat radiated up off
the surface of the
earth makes the
greenhouse effect
Yay! Makes life
possible on earth
The heat increases
the kinetic energy of
the greenhouse
gases, thus raising
their temperature
37. Big Idea # 3
Ecosystems are
made up of both
biotic and abiotic
components
including producers,
consumers, and
decomposers
38. Populations thrive under
different conditions
Every
population has
a range of
tolerance -
variations within
the preferred
chemical and
physical
environment
39. Populations are affected by
limiting factors
Limiting factors affect the number of
organisms in a population
Too much or too little of any abiotic
factor can be a limiting factor
1.1. What are some abiotic factors?What are some abiotic factors?
2.2. Use one abiotic factor to explain aUse one abiotic factor to explain a
situation in which too much or too littlesituation in which too much or too little
of it limits population growth, even if allof it limits population growth, even if all
other factors are in the range ofother factors are in the range of
tolerancetolerance
45. Producers
Producers - aka autotrophs
Self- feeders
Mostly plants
Also algae (protists) and plankton
in water
Make their own food through
photosynthesis (use CO2 and
sunlight)
Some do chemosynthesis -
bacteria in deep ocean (use H2S
& heat)
START ALL FOOD WEBS
6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy C6H12O6 + 6O2
47. Levels of Consumers
Primary Consumers
(herbivores) - the
first consumers in a
food web - they eat
producers
Examples: rabbits,
cows, horses, some
birds, grasshoppers,
etc
48. Levels of Consumers
Secondary
Consumers -
omnivores (eat
both plants and
animals) and
carnivores (only
eat other animals
They eat the
primary
consumers
49. Levels of Consumers
Tertiary (and
beyond)
consumers -
omnivores and
carnivores
They eat the
secondary
consumers
50. Levels of
Consumers
Decomposers - 99% are
bacteria and fungi
Consumer dead organisms
to get their energy
Feed by secreting enzymes
RETURN NUTRIENTS IN
THE ORGANISMS TO THE
EARTH!
51. Levels of Consumers
Detritivores - aka detritus feeders or
scavengers
Feed on wastes or dead organisms
52. Summary Check
So what’s the difference between
decomposers and detritivores?
54. How we harvest that energy
Both producers and consumers go
through respiration to harvest the
energy from their food
Aerobic - uses oxygen, needs
mitochondria
Anaerobic - does not need oxygen
or mitochondria
We store the energy from our food
as ATP molecules
55. Summary Check
What does a food web diagram show?
What is the ultimate source of energy
for most ecosystems?
What is the exception to the second
question?
56. Big Idea # 4
Energy flows through ecosystems in
food webs
Energy is lost as it flows from one
tropic level to the next
57. Plants, animals, and
decomposers make up food
chains
A food chain is a pathway that tells us
what eats what
Food chains are over-simplified models of
nature
58. Food webs
A food web
is more
realistic
It shows us
how several
food chains
overlap and
connect to
each other
59. Limits on Food Webs
A food web can
only go so far
It usually does
not go beyond
the level of
tertiary or
quaternary
consumer
60. Energy
Why?
It’s all about energy!
Every time energy is
passed from one
organism to another,
some of that energy is
lost
The amount of energy
transferred from one
level to the next is
called ecological
efficiency
61. Ecological efficiency
varies, but a good rule of
thumb is 10%
This means 90% of the
energy is lost and only
10% makes it to the next
level
62. Why only 10%?
1. Not everything gets eaten
There may be 1000 pounds of clover in a
field, but the rabbit does not eat it all
Good thing, too, or else there would be no
clover left to make new clover
63. 2. Not everything
that is eaten gets
digested
In other words,
some of what you
eat is lost as waste
(poo).
Some animals
actually eat their
own poo to get
some more
nutrition out of it!
Ew.
64. 3. The most important reason: energy is always
being lost as HEAT
Whenever something does WORK, it creates
HEAT
Your body is always working (heart beat,
breathing, etc)
65. New energy must
constantly enter the
system
Since energy is always being lost,
new energy is always needed.
This energy comes from the sun
(which feeds the grass, which feeds
the cow, which feeds the person,
etc.)
66. Energy Pyramids
We can show
how energy is
lost at each
stage of a
food web in
an energy
pyramid.
67. In an energy
pyramid:
Producers
are at the
bottom,
because
they have
the most
available
energy.
(They got it
right from
the source)
68. The next level is the primary consumers.
They got 10% of the energy in the plants.
69. Since only 10% of the energy moves
on, it takes a lot of producers to
support the primary consumers.
70. The next level is the secondary
consumers. They got 10% of the energy
in the primary consumers.
71. It takes a lot of primary consumers
to support a secondary consumer
72. Energy Pyramid Practice
If there is 10,000
kcal of energy
available in the
plants at the bottom
of the pyramid, how
much energy will
make it to the
zebras, and how
much will make it to
the lion?
10,000
1000
100
73. An energy Pyramid
Gets smaller as it
goes up since there
is less and less
energy as you go up
74. Pyramid ofPyramid of
numbersnumbers
How many
organisms are at
each level
Usually mostly
producers, then
primary
consumers, then
secondary and
so on
100,000 plants
1000
voles
1 owl
75. Pyramid ofPyramid of
numbersnumbers
Could look like
this:
1 oak tree
supports lots of
primary
consumers,
which support
fewer secondary
consumers, then
even fewer
tertiary, etc.
1 oak tree
1000
caterpillars
50 bluetits
1 sparrow
hawk
77. Interdependence
All living things are
connected to other
living things, both
directly and indirectly.
Living things eat and/or
get eaten
Living things obtain
chemicals that came from
other living things
The actions of living
things affect other
organisms
78. GPP and NPP
Gross Primary Productivity – all the
light energy that is converted to
chemical energy in an ecosystem
Not all of this is available to
consumers though, because the
plants need some for themselves
Net Primary Productivity – the
chemical energy available to
consumers
79. NPP
Expressed as:
Energy per unit area
per unit time (J/m2
/yr)
Biomass of
vegetation added to
the ecosystem per
unit area per unit
time (g/m2
/yr)
Not the total biomass
– the amount added
Total biomass called
standing crop
Forests have high
total biomass, but
relatively low NPP
80. Ecosystems with high NPP
Tropical rain forests
Estuaries
Coral reefs
Open ocean (just because so much of the
planet is covered in it)
81. Aquatic Ecosystems and NPP
Light is important but…
Nutrients are more important
Nitrogen and phosphorus
Tend to be low in photic zones and high
in aphotic zones
Upwelling brings
these nutrients up
and increases NPP
82. Fertilizers and sewage runoff bring
nutrients in to aquatic ecosystems
Too much nitrogen and phosphorus
leads to algal blooms and high
numbers of cyanobacteria
This leads to eutrophication
Depletes water of oxygen and thus most
life
83. Summary Check
Choose 1 word to represent what this
chapter is about.
Explain why you chose that word. Be
thorough in your explanation.