The document provides information about ecology and ecosystems. It defines ecology as the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. It then describes the key components of an ecosystem, including biotic components like producers, consumers, decomposers and abiotic components like climate, inorganic substances, and organic compounds. It explains the functions of ecosystems, including energy flow and nutrient cycling. It also discusses the various types of interactions between organisms in an ecosystem, such as positive interactions like mutualism and negative interactions like competition, predation, parasitism, and antibiosis.
The document discusses the key components of an ecosystem. It defines an ecosystem as a biological community that occurs in some locale, along with the physical and chemical factors that make up its non-living environment. The four main components of an ecosystem are identified as: 1) abiotic substances like carbon dioxide and water; 2) producers like plants that capture energy; 3) consumers like herbivores and carnivores that eat other organisms; and 4) decomposers like fungi and bacteria that break down dead matter and waste. An ecosystem is described as a network of interactions between living organisms and their environment, with energy and nutrients cycling between the different components.
An ecosystem is a self-regulating group of biotic communities interacting with their non-living environment. It has a biotic structure of producers, consumers, and decomposers and an abiotic structure of physical and chemical factors. Energy and nutrients cycle through the ecosystem via food chains and webs that are represented by ecological pyramids showing the trophic structure. Ecosystems are classified based on their organization patterns, including forest, grassland, desert, aquatic, and marine ecosystems.
This document provides an introduction to ecosystems. It defines an ecosystem as all the living and non-living things interacting in a given area, with organisms depending on each other and the physical environment. Ecosystems have biotic components like plants, animals and microbes, and abiotic components like air, soil, water and nutrients. The key interactions between living and non-living factors maintain balances like the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Ecosystems can be classified by their environment, such as aquatic ecosystems including wetlands, coral reefs and mangroves, and terrestrial ecosystems like forests and grasslands.
1. The document discusses different types of ecosystems including forest, grassland, desert, and aquatic ecosystems.
2. It provides details on the key components and functions of ecosystems, including producers, consumers, decomposers, energy flow, food chains, and food webs.
3. The document also defines important ecological terms and concepts such as ecology, habitat, community, population, evolution, and human ecology.
This document provides an overview of ecology and ecosystems. It defines ecology as the study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment. The key components of ecosystems discussed include producers, consumers, decomposers, trophic levels, food chains, food webs, and biogeochemical cycles. Specific cycles explained in detail are the water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles which describe how these essential elements move between living and nonliving parts of the environment.
This document discusses solid waste management. It defines solid waste and describes the different types of solid waste including municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, and hazardous waste. It outlines the various sources of solid waste such as residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. The document describes the characteristics of solid waste including moisture content, density, particle size, and chemical composition. It also discusses the factors that affect the generation rate of solid waste and the functional elements and methods for managing and disposing of solid waste.
This document introduces the key concepts of ecology, including:
1) Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment and each other.
2) Organisms are organized into levels ranging from cells to the biosphere.
3) The environment consists of biotic and abiotic factors that surround organisms.
4) All organisms are interdependent and interact through competition, predation, and nutrient recycling.
The document discusses the key components of an ecosystem. It defines an ecosystem as a biological community that occurs in some locale, along with the physical and chemical factors that make up its non-living environment. The four main components of an ecosystem are identified as: 1) abiotic substances like carbon dioxide and water; 2) producers like plants that capture energy; 3) consumers like herbivores and carnivores that eat other organisms; and 4) decomposers like fungi and bacteria that break down dead matter and waste. An ecosystem is described as a network of interactions between living organisms and their environment, with energy and nutrients cycling between the different components.
An ecosystem is a self-regulating group of biotic communities interacting with their non-living environment. It has a biotic structure of producers, consumers, and decomposers and an abiotic structure of physical and chemical factors. Energy and nutrients cycle through the ecosystem via food chains and webs that are represented by ecological pyramids showing the trophic structure. Ecosystems are classified based on their organization patterns, including forest, grassland, desert, aquatic, and marine ecosystems.
This document provides an introduction to ecosystems. It defines an ecosystem as all the living and non-living things interacting in a given area, with organisms depending on each other and the physical environment. Ecosystems have biotic components like plants, animals and microbes, and abiotic components like air, soil, water and nutrients. The key interactions between living and non-living factors maintain balances like the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Ecosystems can be classified by their environment, such as aquatic ecosystems including wetlands, coral reefs and mangroves, and terrestrial ecosystems like forests and grasslands.
1. The document discusses different types of ecosystems including forest, grassland, desert, and aquatic ecosystems.
2. It provides details on the key components and functions of ecosystems, including producers, consumers, decomposers, energy flow, food chains, and food webs.
3. The document also defines important ecological terms and concepts such as ecology, habitat, community, population, evolution, and human ecology.
This document provides an overview of ecology and ecosystems. It defines ecology as the study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment. The key components of ecosystems discussed include producers, consumers, decomposers, trophic levels, food chains, food webs, and biogeochemical cycles. Specific cycles explained in detail are the water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles which describe how these essential elements move between living and nonliving parts of the environment.
This document discusses solid waste management. It defines solid waste and describes the different types of solid waste including municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, and hazardous waste. It outlines the various sources of solid waste such as residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. The document describes the characteristics of solid waste including moisture content, density, particle size, and chemical composition. It also discusses the factors that affect the generation rate of solid waste and the functional elements and methods for managing and disposing of solid waste.
This document introduces the key concepts of ecology, including:
1) Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment and each other.
2) Organisms are organized into levels ranging from cells to the biosphere.
3) The environment consists of biotic and abiotic factors that surround organisms.
4) All organisms are interdependent and interact through competition, predation, and nutrient recycling.
The document introduces the concepts of energy flow through food chains and webs in ecosystems. It explains that the sun is the ultimate energy source and that plants convert the sun's energy to food through photosynthesis. This energy then flows to consumers as herbivores eat plants and carnivores eat herbivores or other carnivores. Detritivores and decomposers break down dead organic matter, recycling nutrients and energy back into the system. Food chains illustrate a single path of energy transfer, while food webs show the multiple feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
An ecosystem consists of biotic and abiotic components that interact with each other. Biotic factors include living organisms like plants, animals, and microbes, while abiotic factors refer to non-living physical and chemical elements like water, soil, sunlight, temperature, and minerals. Organisms depend on each other through food webs, with energy transferring between trophic levels from producers to primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Ecosystems also cycle nutrients through the actions of decomposers which break down organic matter. Examples of ecosystems include forests, grasslands, freshwater and marine environments.
Water has unique physical properties. It is transparent, colorless, odorless and tasteless in its pure form. At normal atmospheric pressure, water boils at 100°C. When water freezes at 0°C, it expands and forms hexagonal structures as ice, allowing ice to float on liquid water. Pure water is not a good conductor of electricity, but conductivity increases as the concentration of dissolved ions increases. Water is also a remarkable solvent that can dissolve many substances to form aqueous solutions because of its high dielectric constant.
Eutrophication is the excessive enrichment of a body of water with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which induces excessive plant and algae growth. It is commonly caused by human activities like agricultural runoff containing fertilizers, sewage, and urban and industrial waste. Consequences of eutrophication include decreased biodiversity, algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and formation of dead zones. The Baltic Sea is one of the most eutrophic seas in the world due to agricultural runoff from its large drainage basin. Responses to eutrophication focus on reducing nutrient inputs from fertilizers and creating buffer zones.
Biological treatment processes use microorganisms like bacteria and fungi to remove organic matter from wastewater. The most common type is activated sludge, which uses air bubbles in one basin to provide oxygen and mix wastewater and microbes, then a settling basin to remove microbial solids. Trickling filters and biological contactors grow microbial slime on solid surfaces that contact wastewater. Imhoff tanks separate wastewater into an upper settling chamber and lower anaerobic digestion chamber. Anaerobic lagoons treat manure wastewater through microbial breakdown that produces methane and other gases.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.)
This document provides information on topics related to ecology and evolution. It begins by defining key terms in ecology such as ecology, ecosystem, population, community, species, and habitat. It then describes autotrophs and heterotrophs, including consumers, detritivores, and saprotrophs. Food chains and food webs are explained. The document also covers trophic levels, energy flow through ecosystems, and shapes of pyramids of energy. Other topics include nutrient cycling, the enhanced greenhouse effect, population growth curves, limiting factors to population growth, and evidence for evolution such as the fossil record, selective breeding, and homologous structures.
The document defines key concepts in ecology, including that an ecosystem is the basic functional unit of ecology, consisting of biotic and abiotic components that interact through nutrient cycles and energy flows. It provides examples of different types of ecosystems like forests, rivers, and coral reefs that can be impacted by human activities like pollution, overexploitation of resources, and destructive practices like dynamite fishing. Food chains and webs are described as the trophic structure of ecosystems that regulate energy and material transfers between species from producers to various consumer levels.
The document discusses key concepts in ecology including biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, individual species, abiotic and biotic factors, energy flow, nutrient cycles, and organism interactions. It explains that for an ecosystem to be stable, there must be a constant supply of energy, recycling of materials, and biodiversity. Energy and nutrients are transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers through food chains, food webs, and nutrient cycles like carbon, water, and nitrogen. Organisms interact through relationships like competition, commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and niche occupation.
The Ecosystem - Its Structure and function plays a key role in the sustenance of Life on this Earth. Be it land, air, water .... the ecosystem decides the survival ...
An ecosystem consists of all the living organisms in a given area along with the abiotic components they interact with, like air, water, soil and sunlight. The structure of an ecosystem includes the biological communities and distribution of organisms, as well as the quantity and distribution of non-living resources. The functions of an ecosystem include nutrient cycling through food chains and webs, energy flow, and processes like primary production and decomposition that allow the ecosystem to function as a self-sustaining unit.
The document discusses key concepts in ecology and ecosystems. It defines ecology as the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment. An ecosystem is composed of organisms interacting with each other and their non-living environment. Ecologists study ecosystems at different levels from organisms to populations to communities and landscapes. Key ecosystem processes include nutrient cycling, energy flow, and food webs between organisms.
Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients that induce excessive growth of algae. This process can be caused by human activities like agricultural runoff containing fertilizers or sewage effluent entering waterways. It leads to negative environmental effects like hypoxia where low oxygen levels harm fish and other wildlife populations. Prevention efforts aim to minimize nonpoint sources of pollution through measures like riparian buffer zones and policies regulating fertilizer and waste management.
The document outlines the key stages and institutions involved in environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Pakistan. The stages include screening to determine if an initial environmental examination or full EIA is required, scoping to identify key issues and boundaries, conducting baseline surveys and assessments, reporting with submission of the environmental impact statement, and evaluating impacts. Environmental courts and tribunals have been established to handle environmental cases. Institutionally, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council is the supreme body, while the Federal EPA and provincial EPAs regulate EIAs and enforce environmental laws.
The document summarizes key concepts in community ecology:
1. Community structure is described by physical appearance, species diversity, and niche structure.
2. Species diversity is influenced by factors like latitude and pollution.
3. The number of species on an island is determined by immigration and extinction rates, island size, and distance from mainland.
4. Species play roles like native, non-native, indicator, keystone, and foundation species that impact community ecology.
Session is part of a forum exploring how invasive species impact the environment, what policy solutions are needed to prevent new invaders, and how science-based stewardship can be used for targeted management.
Presenter: Gary Lovett, Forest Ecologist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Ecology is the study of organisms and their interactions with their environment. There are several key components and cycles in an ecosystem. Producers, like plants, capture energy through photosynthesis. Consumers, like herbivores and carnivores, consume other organisms for food. Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, break down dead organic matter and release nutrients. Energy and nutrients cycle through the ecosystem - energy flows from producers to consumers in a one-way path, while nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycle continuously between organisms and the environment.
The document introduces the concepts of energy flow through food chains and webs in ecosystems. It explains that the sun is the ultimate energy source and that plants convert the sun's energy to food through photosynthesis. This energy then flows to consumers as herbivores eat plants and carnivores eat herbivores or other carnivores. Detritivores and decomposers break down dead organic matter, recycling nutrients and energy back into the system. Food chains illustrate a single path of energy transfer, while food webs show the multiple feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
An ecosystem consists of biotic and abiotic components that interact with each other. Biotic factors include living organisms like plants, animals, and microbes, while abiotic factors refer to non-living physical and chemical elements like water, soil, sunlight, temperature, and minerals. Organisms depend on each other through food webs, with energy transferring between trophic levels from producers to primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Ecosystems also cycle nutrients through the actions of decomposers which break down organic matter. Examples of ecosystems include forests, grasslands, freshwater and marine environments.
Water has unique physical properties. It is transparent, colorless, odorless and tasteless in its pure form. At normal atmospheric pressure, water boils at 100°C. When water freezes at 0°C, it expands and forms hexagonal structures as ice, allowing ice to float on liquid water. Pure water is not a good conductor of electricity, but conductivity increases as the concentration of dissolved ions increases. Water is also a remarkable solvent that can dissolve many substances to form aqueous solutions because of its high dielectric constant.
Eutrophication is the excessive enrichment of a body of water with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which induces excessive plant and algae growth. It is commonly caused by human activities like agricultural runoff containing fertilizers, sewage, and urban and industrial waste. Consequences of eutrophication include decreased biodiversity, algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and formation of dead zones. The Baltic Sea is one of the most eutrophic seas in the world due to agricultural runoff from its large drainage basin. Responses to eutrophication focus on reducing nutrient inputs from fertilizers and creating buffer zones.
Biological treatment processes use microorganisms like bacteria and fungi to remove organic matter from wastewater. The most common type is activated sludge, which uses air bubbles in one basin to provide oxygen and mix wastewater and microbes, then a settling basin to remove microbial solids. Trickling filters and biological contactors grow microbial slime on solid surfaces that contact wastewater. Imhoff tanks separate wastewater into an upper settling chamber and lower anaerobic digestion chamber. Anaerobic lagoons treat manure wastewater through microbial breakdown that produces methane and other gases.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.)
This document provides information on topics related to ecology and evolution. It begins by defining key terms in ecology such as ecology, ecosystem, population, community, species, and habitat. It then describes autotrophs and heterotrophs, including consumers, detritivores, and saprotrophs. Food chains and food webs are explained. The document also covers trophic levels, energy flow through ecosystems, and shapes of pyramids of energy. Other topics include nutrient cycling, the enhanced greenhouse effect, population growth curves, limiting factors to population growth, and evidence for evolution such as the fossil record, selective breeding, and homologous structures.
The document defines key concepts in ecology, including that an ecosystem is the basic functional unit of ecology, consisting of biotic and abiotic components that interact through nutrient cycles and energy flows. It provides examples of different types of ecosystems like forests, rivers, and coral reefs that can be impacted by human activities like pollution, overexploitation of resources, and destructive practices like dynamite fishing. Food chains and webs are described as the trophic structure of ecosystems that regulate energy and material transfers between species from producers to various consumer levels.
The document discusses key concepts in ecology including biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, individual species, abiotic and biotic factors, energy flow, nutrient cycles, and organism interactions. It explains that for an ecosystem to be stable, there must be a constant supply of energy, recycling of materials, and biodiversity. Energy and nutrients are transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers through food chains, food webs, and nutrient cycles like carbon, water, and nitrogen. Organisms interact through relationships like competition, commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and niche occupation.
The Ecosystem - Its Structure and function plays a key role in the sustenance of Life on this Earth. Be it land, air, water .... the ecosystem decides the survival ...
An ecosystem consists of all the living organisms in a given area along with the abiotic components they interact with, like air, water, soil and sunlight. The structure of an ecosystem includes the biological communities and distribution of organisms, as well as the quantity and distribution of non-living resources. The functions of an ecosystem include nutrient cycling through food chains and webs, energy flow, and processes like primary production and decomposition that allow the ecosystem to function as a self-sustaining unit.
The document discusses key concepts in ecology and ecosystems. It defines ecology as the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment. An ecosystem is composed of organisms interacting with each other and their non-living environment. Ecologists study ecosystems at different levels from organisms to populations to communities and landscapes. Key ecosystem processes include nutrient cycling, energy flow, and food webs between organisms.
Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients that induce excessive growth of algae. This process can be caused by human activities like agricultural runoff containing fertilizers or sewage effluent entering waterways. It leads to negative environmental effects like hypoxia where low oxygen levels harm fish and other wildlife populations. Prevention efforts aim to minimize nonpoint sources of pollution through measures like riparian buffer zones and policies regulating fertilizer and waste management.
The document outlines the key stages and institutions involved in environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Pakistan. The stages include screening to determine if an initial environmental examination or full EIA is required, scoping to identify key issues and boundaries, conducting baseline surveys and assessments, reporting with submission of the environmental impact statement, and evaluating impacts. Environmental courts and tribunals have been established to handle environmental cases. Institutionally, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council is the supreme body, while the Federal EPA and provincial EPAs regulate EIAs and enforce environmental laws.
The document summarizes key concepts in community ecology:
1. Community structure is described by physical appearance, species diversity, and niche structure.
2. Species diversity is influenced by factors like latitude and pollution.
3. The number of species on an island is determined by immigration and extinction rates, island size, and distance from mainland.
4. Species play roles like native, non-native, indicator, keystone, and foundation species that impact community ecology.
Session is part of a forum exploring how invasive species impact the environment, what policy solutions are needed to prevent new invaders, and how science-based stewardship can be used for targeted management.
Presenter: Gary Lovett, Forest Ecologist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Ecology is the study of organisms and their interactions with their environment. There are several key components and cycles in an ecosystem. Producers, like plants, capture energy through photosynthesis. Consumers, like herbivores and carnivores, consume other organisms for food. Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, break down dead organic matter and release nutrients. Energy and nutrients cycle through the ecosystem - energy flows from producers to consumers in a one-way path, while nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycle continuously between organisms and the environment.
This document discusses the structure and functions of ecosystems. It defines an ecosystem as a group of interacting species and their environment. The structure of an ecosystem includes abiotic components like climate, soil and water as well as biotic components like producers, consumers and decomposers. Energy from the sun powers ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling between these living and non-living parts. Different types of ecosystems are classified by whether they are natural or artificial, terrestrial or aquatic.
This document provides an introduction to the key concepts of ecology, including:
- Ecology is defined as the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. It was coined by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1869 from Greek roots meaning "house" and "study."
- Ecology examines the interrelationships between living things and non-living components at different organizational levels from individual species to entire biomes. Key areas of study include autecology, synecology, aquatic ecology, terrestrial ecology, and classifications based on the environment.
- Ecosystems are the functional units of ecology, containing all the living and non-living components that interact within a defined space. Major ecosystem types include
An ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting with each other and their environment. It includes biotic components like plants, animals and biotic abiotic components like weather, soil and climate. Energy and matter are exchanged within the ecosystem. Producers like plants use solar energy to produce food through photosynthesis. Consumers eat producers or other organisms. Decomposers break down dead organisms, recycling nutrients for producers. Energy flows through the ecosystem via food chains and webs from producers to different trophic levels of consumers and decomposers.
An ecosystem is defined as a community of living organisms (biotic) interacting with each other and their non-living (abiotic) environment. It includes producers, consumers, decomposers and their interactions within the physical environment. Producers like plants convert solar energy to food via photosynthesis while consumers feed on producers or other consumers. Decomposers break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients. Ecosystems function by transferring energy from producers to consumers and recycling matter through decomposition. Habitat destruction like deforestation can threaten organisms by reducing food, shelter and resources, potentially driving some to extinction.
The document discusses environmental studies and components of the natural environment. It defines the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as domains that make up the natural environment. It then discusses ecosystems, defining them as systems comprising interdependent populations and their physical environment that form a self-sustaining unit. Ecosystems have both biotic and abiotic components and examples of different types of ecosystems are provided, including natural and man-made ecosystems. Food chains and food webs are described as arrangements showing the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.
An ecosystem consists of all the living organisms (biotic factors) in an area as well as non-living components (abiotic factors) interacting together. Key abiotic components include climate, soil, sun, water and air. Key biotic components include producers, consumers, and decomposers. Energy enters the ecosystem primarily from the sun and passes through food chains and food webs as organisms consume, and are consumed by, others. Decomposers break down dead organic matter and cycle nutrients back into the soil.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their non-living environment. A food web shows how energy and nutrients flow between organisms in an ecosystem through trophic levels. It consists of interconnected food chains with producers like plants at the bottom providing energy, a variety of consumers at higher trophic levels that eat other organisms, and decomposers that break down waste and dead organisms.
This document discusses applied crop ecology and ecosystems. It defines ecology and describes types of ecology like plant and animal ecology. It then discusses the history of ecology from Aristotle to Von Humboldt and their studies of plants and environments. The document outlines components of ecosystems like producers, consumers, and decomposers. It provides examples of ecosystems like ponds and grasslands. It also defines key terms like primary and secondary productivity and adaptations.
ecosystem of environment.
An ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of
nature, where living organisms interact among themselves
and also with the surrounding physical environment.
Ecosystem varies greatly in size from a small pond to a
large forest or a sea. Many ecologists regard the entire
biosphere as a global ecosystem, as a composite of all
local ecosystems on Earth. Since this system is too much
big and complex to be studied at one time, it is convenient
to divide it into two basic categories, namely the
terrestrial and the aquatic. Forest, grassland and desert
are some examples of terrestrial ecosystems; pond, lake,
wetland, river and estuary are some examples of aquatic
ecosystems. Crop fields and an aquarium may also be
considered as man-made ecosystems.An ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of
nature, where living organisms interact among themselves
and also with the surrounding physical environment.
Ecosystem varies greatly in size from a small pond to a
large forest or a sea. Many ecologists regard the entire
biosphere as a global ecosystem, as a composite of all
local ecosystems on Earth. Since this system is too much
big and complex to be studied at one time, it is convenient
to divide it into two basic categories, namely the
terrestrial and the aquatic. Forest, grassland and desert
are some examples of terrestrial ecosystems; pond, lake,
wetland, river and estuary are some examples of aquatic
ecosystems. Crop fields and an aquarium may also be
considered as man-made ecosystems.An ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of
nature, where living organisms interact among themselves
and also with the surrounding physical environment.
Ecosystem varies greatly in size from a small pond to a
large forest or a sea. Many ecologists regard the entire
biosphere as a global ecosystem, as a composite of all
local ecosystems on Earth. Since this system is too much
big and complex to be studied at one time, it is convenient
to divide it into two basic categories, namely the
terrestrial and the aquatic. Forest, grassland and desert
are some examples of terrestrial ecosystems; pond, lake,
wetland, river and estuary are some examples of aquatic
ecosystems. Crop fields and an aquarium may also be
considered as man-made ecosystems.An ecosystem can be visualised as a functional unit of
nature, where living organisms interact among themselves
and also with the surrounding physical environment.
Ecosystem varies greatly in size from a small pond to a
large forest or a sea. Many ecologists regard the entire
biosphere as a global ecosystem, as a composite of all
local ecosystems on Earth. Since this system is too much
big and complex to be studied at one time, it is convenient
to divide it into two basic categories, namely the
terrestrial and the aquatic. Forest, grassland and desert
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The document provides information about ecology, including:
1) Ecology is defined as the study of interrelationships between organisms and their environment. It examines how organisms interact with each other and their habitat.
2) Ecology can be studied at different levels, including the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biome. Key components of ecosystems include biotic factors like producers, consumers, and decomposers, as well as abiotic factors such as climate, soil, and sunlight.
3) Natural ecosystems include terrestrial ecosystems like forests and grasslands, as well as aquatic ecosystems such as freshwater and marine systems. Artificial ecosystems are influenced by human activity like agriculture.
The document provides an introduction to ecology, including definitions of key terms like ecology, organism, environment, and ecosystem. It describes the objectives and types of ecological studies, including classifications based on environment or habitat and advancements in the field. Components of ecosystems like abiotic and biotic factors are explained. Energy flow within ecosystems is depicted through trophic structure, ecological pyramids, food chains, and food webs. Biogeochemical cycles like the hydrologic cycle and carbon cycle are also summarized.
Ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment. Key points from the document include:
- Ecology provides the scientific foundations for fields like agriculture and helps predict environmental impacts.
- Ecosystems consist of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components that interact. Energy from the sun flows through food chains/webs between organisms, while nutrients are recycled through biochemical cycles.
- Pyramids of numbers, biomass, and energy are used to quantify energy and nutrient transfer between trophic levels in an ecosystem. The pyramids typically decrease at higher trophic levels due to inefficiencies in energy transfer between levels.
Ecology is the study of ecosystems, which consist of biological communities interacting with their physical environments. An ecosystem includes all the living things in a given area, like plants and animals, along with non-living factors, connected through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems provide services like food, water filtration, climate regulation, and cultural benefits. Ecosystems can be small, like a pond, or large, like a forest. They are classified as natural or artificial/human-made and include biomes defined by factors such as plant life and climate. Biomes include terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments.
Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment. There are several layers of ecological organization, including the biosphere, ecosystems, communities, populations, and habitats. An ecosystem consists of all the living and non-living things interacting in a defined area. Energy flows through an ecosystem via primary producers, consumers, and decomposers. Organisms within an ecosystem engage in various interactions such as competition, predation, and symbiosis.
The document describes the structure of an equatorial rainforest ecosystem. It consists of four main layers - the forest floor/shrub layer, understory layer, canopy layer, and emergent layer. Each layer contains different plant and animal species adapted to the specific light and moisture conditions in that stratum, with the densest vegetation and most biodiversity found in the canopy layer that supports most wildlife. Together these interacting layers form a rich and complex rainforest ecosystem.
In this lengthy document, George Bernard Shaw discusses the complexities of the English language and proper speech. He argues that there is no single correct way of speaking English, as even educated native speakers from different regions pronounce words differently. Shaw also notes differences between one's formal and informal speech. He advises foreign English learners to embrace an accent and speak broken English to be better understood by locals. Overall, the document explores the fluid nature of language and emphasizes being intelligible over perfect pronunciation.
- The document discusses the dilemma faced by science after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- Laymen are confused and troubled by the immense destructive power that science has placed in human hands without providing guidance on its ethical use.
- Scientists claim to pursue truth alone without responsibility for how discoveries may be used, but the author argues this is an irresponsible view given science's life-threatening capabilities.
- Ultimately, the author believes stopping war is more important than curbing science, and that responsibility lies with society and international cooperation, not scientists alone.
George Orwell argues in his essay "War Minus Shooting" that competitive sports often stir up strong nationalist passions and feelings of rivalry between nations, rather than promoting goodwill as is often claimed. He believes that international sporting events typically lead to outbursts of hatred between competing countries and their fans. Orwell also views many popular sports like football and boxing as mimicking warfare, with aggressive and violent tendencies aroused in players and spectators alike due to issues of national prestige and pride.
George Orwell argues in his essay "War Minus Shooting" that competitive sports often stir up strong nationalist passions and feelings of rivalry between nations, countries, and groups that can lead to hatred. He believes that international sporting events are essentially "mimic warfare" that arouse aggressive tendencies in audiences and participants alike. Nearly all modern sports are competitive in nature, and as soon as issues of national or group prestige are involved, people forget notions of fair play and want to see their side victorious at any cost.
This document provides information about the ICAR-JRF examination for admission to master's degree programs in agriculture and allied sciences in India. Some key details include:
- The exam is conducted by NTA and is the sole method of admission to programs at ICAR institutes as well as 25% of programs at agricultural universities.
- Important dates for the 2020 exam include online application from February to March, the exam in April, and result declaration in May.
- The exam will be a 2-hour computer-based test consisting of 120 multiple choice questions covering the ICAR syllabus.
- Candidates must have a bachelor's degree in agriculture and meet certain OGPA/percentage cutoffs based on their
1. The document discusses ecological concepts such as energy flow in ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, and ecological succession. It explains that solar energy is captured by producers like plants and flows through consumers and decomposers in an ecosystem.
2. Major biogeochemical cycles discussed include the water, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycles. These cycles describe how essential elements move between living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
3. Ecological succession is the process of community change over time in an area. Primary succession occurs in new areas like from lava, while secondary succession follows a disturbance in an existing ecosystem, like after a fire. Succession progresses from simple to more complex communities.
The document discusses land resources and degradation issues in India. It notes that land area makes up 1/5 of the Earth's surface and efficient land management will be critical to meet food, fiber and fuel demands. Major land degradation problems include soil erosion, salinity, waterlogging, and shifting cultivation. Causes of degradation include deforestation, overgrazing, agriculture practices like over-irrigation, and industrialization. Specific issues discussed in detail include soil erosion, salinization, landslides, waterlogging, desertification, and shifting cultivation. The role of individuals in conserving natural resources like water is also highlighted.
The document discusses various energy resources and their use in India. It covers renewable resources like solar, wind, hydro, and biomass as well as non-renewable resources like coal, oil and gas. India's energy needs are growing rapidly with development, and it relies heavily on non-renewable sources that import. There is a need to shift towards more renewable resources and implement new technologies to sustainably meet India's energy demands.
This document discusses environmental issues related to food production and agriculture. It covers topics like unsustainable modern agriculture practices that pollute the environment, food insecurity issues globally, malnutrition problems in many countries, and the effects of agriculture and overgrazing on the environment. Key impacts of modern agriculture discussed are soil erosion, loss of genetic diversity, and problems from excessive fertilizer and pesticide use like contamination of water sources and development of pest resistance.
This document provides information about environmental studies and disaster management. It begins with definitions of key terms related to mining such as mine, mineral, rock, ore, gangue, waste, and the mining process. It then discusses different types of minerals including metallic ores, nonmetallic minerals, and fossil fuels. The document outlines India's significant mineral resources and the environmental effects of mining. It describes the five stages of mining operations and techniques for mineral conservation and site reclamation after mining is complete.
The document discusses various aspects of water resources in India. It notes that while India receives adequate average rainfall, it is unevenly distributed both seasonally and geographically. Nearly three-quarters of rainfall occurs in 120 days of the monsoon season. It also discusses India's surface and groundwater resources as well as the major issues around water scarcity, floods, droughts, and pollution facing the country. Sustainable management of water resources is important for India's development.
This document discusses different classifications and types of natural resources. It begins by defining resources as anything available in the environment that can satisfy human needs if technologically accessible, economically feasible, and culturally acceptable. Resources are then classified as biotic, abiotic, renewable, non-renewable, actual, potential, and more. Forest resources in India are also examined, including the percentage of land covered by forests in different states. The document provides classifications of forests according to origin, species composition, and national forest policies. Issues related to consumption and management of natural resources are also summarized.
Lecture 1ppt Multidisciplinary nature of Environmental studiesSomanath Sarvade
The document discusses environmental studies and disaster management. It provides an overview of the scope of environmental studies, including creating awareness of resources, understanding ecological systems, and learning about causes and consequences of natural and human-induced disasters. It also discusses the multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies and some major environmental issues like global warming, water pollution, pesticide pollution, hazardous waste, and loss of biodiversity. Government organizations and non-government organizations involved in environment are also outlined.
Evolving Lifecycles with High Resolution Site Characterization (HRSC) and 3-D...Joshua Orris
The incorporation of a 3DCSM and completion of HRSC provided a tool for enhanced, data-driven, decisions to support a change in remediation closure strategies. Currently, an approved pilot study has been obtained to shut-down the remediation systems (ISCO, P&T) and conduct a hydraulic study under non-pumping conditions. A separate micro-biological bench scale treatability study was competed that yielded positive results for an emerging innovative technology. As a result, a field pilot study has commenced with results expected in nine-twelve months. With the results of the hydraulic study, field pilot studies and an updated risk assessment leading site monitoring optimization cost lifecycle savings upwards of $15MM towards an alternatively evolved best available technology remediation closure strategy.
Improving the viability of probiotics by encapsulation methods for developmen...Open Access Research Paper
The popularity of functional foods among scientists and common people has been increasing day by day. Awareness and modernization make the consumer think better regarding food and nutrition. Now a day’s individual knows very well about the relation between food consumption and disease prevalence. Humans have a diversity of microbes in the gut that together form the gut microflora. Probiotics are the health-promoting live microbial cells improve host health through gut and brain connection and fighting against harmful bacteria. Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are the two bacterial genera which are considered to be probiotic. These good bacteria are facing challenges of viability. There are so many factors such as sensitivity to heat, pH, acidity, osmotic effect, mechanical shear, chemical components, freezing and storage time as well which affects the viability of probiotics in the dairy food matrix as well as in the gut. Multiple efforts have been done in the past and ongoing in present for these beneficial microbial population stability until their destination in the gut. One of a useful technique known as microencapsulation makes the probiotic effective in the diversified conditions and maintain these microbe’s community to the optimum level for achieving targeted benefits. Dairy products are found to be an ideal vehicle for probiotic incorporation. It has been seen that the encapsulated microbial cells show higher viability than the free cells in different processing and storage conditions as well as against bile salts in the gut. They make the food functional when incorporated, without affecting the product sensory characteristics.
Kinetic studies on malachite green dye adsorption from aqueous solutions by A...Open Access Research Paper
Water polluted by dyestuffs compounds is a global threat to health and the environment; accordingly, we prepared a green novel sorbent chemical and Physical system from an algae, chitosan and chitosan nanoparticle and impregnated with algae with chitosan nanocomposite for the sorption of Malachite green dye from water. The algae with chitosan nanocomposite by a simple method and used as a recyclable and effective adsorbent for the removal of malachite green dye from aqueous solutions. Algae, chitosan, chitosan nanoparticle and algae with chitosan nanocomposite were characterized using different physicochemical methods. The functional groups and chemical compounds found in algae, chitosan, chitosan algae, chitosan nanoparticle, and chitosan nanoparticle with algae were identified using FTIR, SEM, and TGADTA/DTG techniques. The optimal adsorption conditions, different dosages, pH and Temperature the amount of algae with chitosan nanocomposite were determined. At optimized conditions and the batch equilibrium studies more than 99% of the dye was removed. The adsorption process data matched well kinetics showed that the reaction order for dye varied with pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order. Furthermore, the maximum adsorption capacity of the algae with chitosan nanocomposite toward malachite green dye reached as high as 15.5mg/g, respectively. Finally, multiple times reusing of algae with chitosan nanocomposite and removing dye from a real wastewater has made it a promising and attractive option for further practical applications.
Optimizing Post Remediation Groundwater Performance with Enhanced Microbiolog...Joshua Orris
Results of geophysics and pneumatic injection pilot tests during 2003 – 2007 yielded significant positive results for injection delivery design and contaminant mass treatment, resulting in permanent shut-down of an existing groundwater Pump & Treat system.
Accessible source areas were subsequently removed (2011) by soil excavation and treated with the placement of Emulsified Vegetable Oil EVO and zero-valent iron ZVI to accelerate treatment of impacted groundwater in overburden and weathered fractured bedrock. Post pilot test and post remediation groundwater monitoring has included analyses of CVOCs, organic fatty acids, dissolved gases and QuantArray® -Chlor to quantify key microorganisms (e.g., Dehalococcoides, Dehalobacter, etc.) and functional genes (e.g., vinyl chloride reductase, methane monooxygenase, etc.) to assess potential for reductive dechlorination and aerobic cometabolism of CVOCs.
In 2022, the first commercial application of MetaArray™ was performed at the site. MetaArray™ utilizes statistical analysis, such as principal component analysis and multivariate analysis to provide evidence that reductive dechlorination is active or even that it is slowing. This creates actionable data allowing users to save money by making important site management decisions earlier.
The results of the MetaArray™ analysis’ support vector machine (SVM) identified groundwater monitoring wells with a 80% confidence that were characterized as either Limited for Reductive Decholorination or had a High Reductive Reduction Dechlorination potential. The results of MetaArray™ will be used to further optimize the site’s post remediation monitoring program for monitored natural attenuation.
RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances, which is also known as t...vijaykumar292010
RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances, which is also known as the Directive 2002/95/EC. It includes the restrictions for the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. RoHS is a WEEE (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment).
2. Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between
organisms and their environment.
• It is the science that seeks to describe and explain the
relationship between living organisms and their environment.
• Ecology is describing the
relationships between living
organisms and their environment.
• Ecology comes from the Greek
words Oîkos= House -λογία, -logia=
Study of Life
• Study of the “house/environment” in
which we live.
3. Ernst Haeckel, a German zoologist coined
the term Ecology in 1866.
Danish botanist, Eugenius Warming
elaborate the idea of Ecology.
Ramdeo Misra is known as the Father of
ecology in India.
4. For the study of ecology it is often convenient to divide the
environment into four broad categories.
1. Terrestrial environment - The terrestrial environment is based on land
and consists of biomes, such as grasslands, one of several kinds of forests,
savannas, or deserts.
2. Freshwater environment - The freshwater environment can be further
subdivided between standing-water habitats (lakes, reservoirs) and running-
water habitats (streams, rivers).
3. Oceanic marine environment - The oceanic marine environment is
characterized by saltwater and may be divided broadly into the shallow waters
of the continental shelf composing the neritic zone
4. Oceanic region - The deeper waters of the ocean that constitute the
oceanic region.
5. Two major subdivisions of modern ecology are
• Ecosystem ecology - which views ecosystems as large units,
and
• Population ecology - which attempts to explain ecosystem
behavior from the properties of individual units.
6. Levels of Organization
• Species (smallest)
• Populations
• Communities
• Ecosystems
• Biomes
• The Biosphere (largest)
7. ECOSYSTEM
• The term ecosystem was coined in 1935 by the Oxford ecologist A.G.
Tensely to encompass the interactions among biotic and abiotic
components of the environment at a given site.
• Ecosystem was defined in its presently accepted form by Eugene Odum,
“an unit that includes all the organisms, i.e., the community in a given area
interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to
clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity and material cycles, i.e.,
exchange of materials between living and non-living, within the system”.
8. • However, the term ecosystem is most preferred, where eco refers the
environment, and system implies an interacting and interdependent
complex.
• The organisms of any community besides interacting among
themselves always have functional relationship with the environment.
• This structural and functional system of communities and environment
is called ecological system or ecosystem.
• It is the basic functional unit in ecology, since it includes both biotic
and abiotic environment, influencing each other for maintenance of
life.
9. • An ecosystem may, in its simplest form, be defined as a self-sustained
community of plants and animals existing in its own environment.
• An ecosystem may be as small as a drop of pond water (micro-
ecosystem) or as large as ocean.
• It can be of temporary nature, e.g., a fresh pool or a field of cultivated
crops, or permanent e.g., a forest or an ocean.
• A balanced aquarium may be thought of as
an artificially established self-sustained
ecosystem.
10. Characteristics of Ecosystem
According to Smith (1966), the ecosystem has the
following general characteristics:
• It is a major structural and functional unit of ecology.
• Its structure is related to its species diversity; the
more complex ecosystems have high species diversity
and vice versa.
• Its function is related to energy flow and material
cycling through and within the system.
• The relative amount of energy needed to maintain an
ecosystem depends on its structure.
• The more complex the structure, the lesser the energy
it needs to maintain itself.
11. • It matures by passing from fewer complexes to more complex states.
• Early stages of each succession have an excess of potential energy and a
relatively high energy flow per unit biomass. Later (mature) stages have less
energy accumulation and its flow through more diverse components.
• Both the environment and the energy fixation in any given ecosystem are
limited and cannot be exceeded without causing serious undesirable effects.
• Alternations in the environment represent selective pressures upon the
population to which it must adjust.
• Organisms which are unable to adjust to the changed environment must
necessarily vanish.
12. Kinds of Ecosystems
1. Natural ecosystems
These operate under natural conditions without any major interference by man.
On the basis of the type of habitat these may be further divided as:
a) Terrestrial
Forest, grassland, desert, etc.
b) Aquatic
Fresh water - which may be lotic (e.g., running water as spring, stream or
rivers) or lentic (e.g., standing water as lake, pond, pools, puddles, ditch,
swamp, etc.).
Marine - such deep bodies as ocean or shallow ones as seas or an estuary, etc.
13. Artificial (Man - engineered) ecosystems
These are maintained artificially by man whereby addition of energy and
planned manipulation, natural balance is disturbed regularly, e.g. cropland
ecosystem.
In addition to above types, some other types such as spacecraft and micro-
ecosystem have also been recognized.
14.
15.
16. Structure or components of an Ecosystem
• The term structure refers to the various
components.
• So the structure of an ecosystem explains
the relationship between the abiotic (non –
living) and the biotic (living) components.
An ecosystem has two major components
•Biotic (living) components
•Abiotic (non living) components
17.
18. Biotic components
The living organisms (or) living members in an ecosystem
collectively form its community called biotic components (or)
biotic community.
Examples
• Plants (producers),
• Animals (consumers),
• Transformers
• Microorganisms (decomposers).
19. Members of components of an ecosystem (or)
Classification biotic components
The members of biotic components of an ecosystem are
grouped in to three based on how they get food.
• Producer (plants)
• Consumer (Animals)
• Transformers
• Decomposers (Micro-organisms)
20. 1.Procedures (Autotrophs)
Procedures synthesize their food themselves through
photosynthesis
Example : All green plants, trees.
Photosynthesis
The green pigments called chlorophyll, present in the leaves of
plants, converts CO2 and H2O in the presence of sunlight into
carbohydrates.
6CO2 + 12H2O ----> C6H12O6 + 6O2+6H2O
This process is called photosynthesis
21.
22. Consumers (heterotrophs)
Examples
Plant eating species Insects, rabbit, goat, deer, cow, etc.,
Classification of consumers
Consumers are further classified as
(i) Primary consumers (Herbivores) (Plant eaters)
Primary consumers are also called herbivores, they directly depend on the
plants for their food. So they are called plant eaters.
Examples :
Insects, rat, goat, deer, cow, horse, etc.,
23. (ii) Secondary consumers (primary
carnivores) (meat eater)
Secondary consumers are primary carnivores,
they feed on primary consumers. They directly
depend on the herbivores for their food.
Example: Frog, cat, snakes, foxes, etc.,
Omnivores (Biophages ) - eat both
vegetables and flesh (cockroaches, fox,
humans).
(iii) Tertiary consumers (Secondary
carnivores) (Meat-eaters) Tertiary
consumers are secondary carnivores, they
feed on secondary consumers. They depend
on the primary carnivores for their food.
Examples: Tigers, lions, etc.,
24. TRANSFORMERS
• Transformers are certain types of bacteria.
• They attack on materials excreted by other living organisms (even
dead plants and animals).
• They transform the above into either organic or inorganic
substances.
• These substances are suitable for the nutrition of green plants.
• Transformers help in recycling the nutrients which came as waste
already.
25. DECOMPOSERS
• They are also called as micro-consumers.
• They depend on dead organic matter for their food.
• They are chiefly micro organisms like bacteria and fungi.
• They break the complex organic matter found in plant and animal bodies,
and release simple substances.
• These substances will be used by autotrophs once again.
• Some invertebrate animals like protozoa and earthworms use these dead
organic matter for their food.
• They are called as secondary decomposers.
26. • Scavengers consume the soft tissues of dead animals.
Examples of scavengers include vultures, raccoons, and
blowflies.
• Detritivores consume detritus-the dead leaves, animal feces,
and other organic debris that collects on the soil or at the
bottom of a body of water. On land, detritivores include
earthworms, millipedes, and dung beetles (see Figure 9.17). In
water, detritivores include ‘‘bottom feeders” such as sea
cucumbers and catfish.
• Saprotrophs are the final step in decomposition. They feed on
any remaining organic matter that is left after other
decomposers do their work. Saprotrophs include fungi and
single-celled protozoa. Fungi are the only organisms that can
decompose wood.
27. Abiotic components
Structurally abiotic components include –
• Climate regime: Precipitation, temperature, light, and other physical
factors.
• Inorganic substances: Elements such as C, N, H, O, P, S, etc., involved
in material cycles.
• Organic Compounds: Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and humic
substances that link the abiotic components with the biotic components
(for details see any elementary book on ecology).
28. • The minerals and atmospheric gases keep on cycling.
• They enter into biotic systems and after the death and decay of organisms
return to the soil and atmosphere.
• This is known as biogeochemical cycle.
• This circulation of materials involves trapping of the solar energy by the
green plants which are ultimately lost by the organisms in several ways.
• The amount of abiotic materials present in an ecosystem is called standing
stage.
29. Functions
• The function of the ecosystem is to allow flow of energy and cycling of
materials which ensures stability of the system and continuity of life.
• These two ecological processes including interaction between the abiotic
environment and the communities.
• For the sake of convenience, the ecosystem dynamics may be analyzed in terms
of the following: (i) food chains, (ii) food pyramids, (iii) energy flow, (iv)
nutrient cycles, (v) development and evolution of ecosystem, and (vi)
homeostasis and stability of ecosystem.
30. There are four primary groups of ecosystem functions
(1) regulatory functions,
(2) habitat functions,
(3) production functions and
(4) information functions.
31. (1) Regulatory functions: this group of
functions relates to the capacity of natural
and semi-natural ecosystems to regulate
essential ecological processes and life
support systems through bio-geochemical
cycles and other biospheric processes.
• In addition to maintaining the ecosystem
(and biosphere health), these regulatory
functions provide many services that have
direct and indirect benefits to humans (i.e.,
clean air, water and soil, and biological
control services).
32. (2) Habitat functions: natural ecosystems
provide refuge and a reproduction habitat
to wild plants and animals and thereby
contribute to the (in situ) conservation of
biological and genetic diversity and the
evolutionary process.
33. (3) Production functions: Photosynthesis and
nutrient uptake by autotrophs converts energy,
carbon dioxide, water and nutrients into a wide
variety of carbohydrate structures which are
then used by secondary producers to create an
even larger variety of living biomass. This broad
diversity in carbohydrate structures provides
many ecosystem goods for human
consumption, ranging from food and raw
materials to energy resources and genetic
material.
34. (4) Information functions: Since most of
human evolution took place within the
context of an undomesticated habitat,
natural ecosystems contribute to the
maintenance of human health by providing
opportunities for reflection, spiritual
enrichment, cognitive development,
recreation and aesthetic experience.
35. Productivity in the Environment
The productivity of an ecosystem is the rate at which solar energy is
fixed by the vegetation of the ecosystem; it is further classified into
primary productivity, secondary productivity and net productivity.
• Primary productivity refers to the rate at which radiant energy is
stored by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic activity of
producers; it is further distinguished as gross primary productivity
(GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP).
• It is expressed in terms of weight (g/m2/yr) or energy (kcal/m2).
• Secondary productivity refers to the rates of energy storage at
consumer levels.
36. Interactions among living organisms are grouped into two major
groups viz.,
I. Positive interactions
Here the populations help one another, the interaction being either one way or
reciprocal. These include (i) Commensalism, (ii) Proto co-operation and (iii)
mutualism.
1. Commensalism
In this one species derives the benefits while the other is unaffected.
Eg. (i) Cellulolytic fungi produce a number of organic acids from cellulose
which serve as carbon sources for non-cellulolytic bacteria and fungi.
(ii) Growth factors are synthesized by certain microorganisms and their
excretion permits the proliferation of nutritionally complex soil inhabitants.
37. 2. Proto-cooperation
It is also called as non-obligatory mutualism. It is an association
of mutual benefit to the two species but without the co-operation
being obligatory for their existence or for their performance of
reactions.
Eg. N2 can be fixed by Azotobacter with cellulose as energy
source provided that a cellulose decomposer is present to convert
the cellulose to simple sugars or organic acids.
38. 3. Mutualism
Mutually beneficial interspecific interactions are more common among
organisms. Here both the species derive benefit. In such association
there occurs a close and often permanent and obligatory contact more
or less essential for survival of each.
Eg. (i) Pollination by animals. Bees, moths, butterflies etc. derive food
from hectar, or other plant product and in turn bring about pollination.
(ii) Symbiotic nitrogen fixation:
Legume - Rhizobium symbiosis. Bacteria obtain food from legume and
in turn fix gaseous nitrogen, making it available to plant.
39. II. Negative interactions
Member of one population may eat members of the other population,
compete for foods, excrete harmful wastes or otherwise interfere with the
other population. It includes (i) Competition, (ii) Predation, (iii) Parasitism
and (iv) antibiosis.
(i) Competition
It is a condition in which there is a suppression of one organism as the two
species struggle for limiting quantities of nutrients O2 space or other
requirements.
Eg. Competition between Fusarium oxysporum and Agrobacterium
radiobacter.
40. (ii) Predation
A predator is free living which catches and kills another species for
food. Most of the predatory organisms are animals but there are
some plants (carnivorous) also, especially fungi, which feed upon
other animals.
Eg. (i) Grazing and browsing by animals on plants.
(ii) Carnivorous plants such as Nepenthes, Darligtoria, Drosera
etc. consume insects and other small animals for food.
(iii) Protozoans feeding on bacteria.
41. (iii.) Parasitism
A parasite is the organism living on or in the body of another
organisms and deriving its food more or less permanently from its
tissues. A typical parasite lives in its host without killing it, whereas
the predator kills its upon which it feeds.
Eg. Species of Cuscuta (total stem parasite) grow on other plants on
which they depend for nourishment.
Parasitism may occur even with in the species. Hyper parasites which
are chiefly fungi growing parasitically on other parasites, (ie) Parasite
on a parasite.
Eg. Cicinnobolus cesatii is found as hyper parasite on a number of
powdery mildew fungi.
42. (iv) Antibiosis
The phenomenon of the production
of antibiotic is called as antibiosis.
Antibiotic is an organic substance
produced by one organism which in
low concentration inhibits the growth
of other organism.
Eg. Streptomycin - S. griseus,
Penicillin - P. notatum, Trichoderma
harzianum inhibits the growth of
Rhizoctonia sp.