The document discusses the functional components of an ecosystem, highlighting the sun as the primary energy source and examining diversity, evolution, and ecological succession. It outlines concepts like climax and primary succession, as well as secondary succession in response to disturbances. Additionally, it addresses community interactions, particularly competition, detailing intraspecific and interspecific competition and the Gause competitive exclusion principle.

1. Functional Components
of an Ecosystem
By Prof. Liwayway Memije-Cruz

2. The Sun as the ultimate source of energy.

4. Diversity
number of
species of
animals
and plants
in a given
community

5. Evolution
 A process of change in
biological systems due
to forces in the
environment.
 populations of living
things can change
genetically over time
and that this change
can lead to a
population that is very
well adapted to its
environment. – Theory
of Evolution

6. Ecological Succession
 progressive changes in community structure through time
 orderly process of community development that involves
changes in species structure and community process with
time

7. Climax community
 an ecological
community in the
final stable
community or final
stage of succession,
in which the species
composition remains
relatively stable until
a disturbance such as
fire occurs.

8. Primary succession
 colonization of new sites by communities of
organisms. It often occurs after a devastating event
has wiped out the organisms that lived in the area, or
with the creation of a new habitat.

9. Secondary succession
 process of regrowth that an ecosystem undergoes after
a destructive event such as a fire, avalanche,
agricultural clearing, deforestation, or disease

10. Cybernetics
 Science of control
 Community interactions

11. Competition
 results when a needed resource is in short supply
relative to the number of organism seeking it.

12. Intraspecific competition
 the conflict over resources
between members of the
same species.
 may result to decreased
retarded growth of
individuals, decreased
density, increased biomass
in individual plants, delayed
reproduction and density-
dependent mortality in
animals brought about by
malnutrition and decline in
immunity to diseases and
parasites.

13. Interspecific competition
 occurs between members of two, or more, different species.
 seeking of the resource in short supply by the individuals of
two or more species, reducing the fitness of both.

14. Exploitative competition
 the one that depletes the resource to the level where it is
of little value to each population.

15. Interference competition
 involves direct aggressive interactions between
competitors.

16. Gause Competitive Exclusion Principle
 similar species cannot coexist for long in the same
ecological niche