ecosystem essay

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Meteorology, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography

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An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants , animals , and other organisms , as well as weather and landscape , work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as a biotic factors , or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants , animals , and other organisms . A biotic factors include rocks , temperature , and humidity . Every factor in an ecosystem depends on every other factor, either directly or indirectly. A change in the temperature of an ecosystem will often affect what plants will grow there, for instance. Animals that depend on plants for food and shelter will have to adapt to the changes, move to another ecosystem , or perish . Ecosystems can be very large or very small. Tide pools , the ponds left by the ocean as the tide goes out, are complete, tiny ecosystems . Tide pools contain seaweed , a kind of algae , which uses photosynthesis to create food . Herbivores such as abalone eat the seaweed . Carnivores such as sea stars eat other animals in the tide pool , such as clams or mussels . Tide pools depend on the changing level of ocean water. Some organisms , such as seaweed , thrive in an aquatic environment, when the tide is in and the pool is full. Other organisms , such as hermit crabs , cannot live underwater and depend on the shallow pools left by low tides . In this way, the biotic parts of the ecosystem depend on a biotic factors . The whole surface of Earth is a series of connected ecosystems . Ecosystems are often connected in a larger biome . Biomes are large sections of land, sea, or atmosphere. Forests , ponds , reefs , and tundra are all types of biomes , for example. They're organized very generally, based on the types of plants and animals that live in them. Within each forest , each pond , each reef , or each section of tundra , you'll find many different ecosystems . The biome of the Sahara Desert , for instance, includes a wide variety of ecosystems . The arid climate and hot weather characterize the biome . Within the Sahara are oasis ecosystems , which have date palm trees, freshwater , and animals such as crocodiles . The Sahara also has dune ecosystems , with the changing landscape determined by the wind . Organisms in these ecosystems , such as snakes or scorpions , must be able to survive in sand dunes for long periods of time. The Sahara even includes a marine environment, where the Atlantic Ocean creates cool fogs on the Northwest African coast. Shrubs and animals that feed on small trees, such as goats , live in this Sahara ecosystem . Even similar-sounding biomes could have completely different ecosystems . The biome of the Sahara Desert , for instance, is very different from the biome of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China. The Gobi is a cold desert , with frequent snowfall and freezing temperatures . Unlike the Sahara, the Gobi has ecosystems based not in sand , but kilometers of bare rock . Some grasses are able to grow in the cold, dry climate . As a result, these Gobi ecosystems have grazing animals such as gazelles and even takhi , an endangered species of wild horse. Even the cold desert ecosystems of the Gobi are distinct from the freezing desert ecosystems of Antarctica. Antarcticas thick ice sheet covers a continent made almost entirely of dry, bare rock . Only a few mosses grow in this desert ecosystem , supporting only a few birds, such as skuas . Threats to Ecosystems For thou sands of years, people have interacted with ecosystems . Many cultures developed around nearby ecosystems . Many Native American tribes of North Americas Great Plains developed a complex lifestyle based on the native plants and animals of plains ecosystems , for instance. Bison , a large grazing animal native to the Great Plains , became the most important biotic factor in many Plains Indians cultures , such as the Lakota or Kiowa . Bison are sometimes mistakenly called buffalo. These tribes used buffalo hides for shelter and clothing, buffalo meat for food , and buffalo horn for tools. The tallgrass prairie of the Great Plains supported bison herds , which tribes followed throughout the year.

As human populations have grown, however, people have overtaken many ecosystems . The tall grass prairie of the Great Plains , for instance, became farmland . As the ecosystem shrunk, fewer bison could survive . Today, a few herds survive in protected ecosystems such as Yellowstone National Park. In the tropical rain forest ecosystems surrounding the Amazon River in South America, a similar situation is taking place. The Amazon rain forest includes hundreds of ecosystems , including canopies, understories, and forest floors. These ecosystems support vast food webs . Canopies are ecosystems at the top of the rainforest , where tall, thin trees such as figs grow in search of sunlight. Canopy ecosystems also include other plants , called epiphytes , which grow directly on branches. Understory ecosystems exist under the canopy . They are darker and more humid than canopies. Animals such as monkeys live in understory ecosystems , eating fruits from trees as well as smaller animals like beetles. Forest floor ecosystems support a wide variety of flowers , which are fed on by insects like butterflies. Butterflies, in turn, provide food for animals such as spiders in forest floor ecosystems . Human activity threatens all these rain forest ecosystems in the Amazon. Thou sands of acres of land are cleared for farmland , housing, and industry . Countries of the Amazon rain forest , such as Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador, are underdeveloped. Cutting down trees to make room for crops such as soy and corn benefits many poor farmers. These resources give them a reliable source of income and food . Children may be able to attend school, and families are able to afford better health care . However, the destruction of rain forest ecosystems has its costs. Many modern medicines have been developed from rain forest plants . Curare , a muscle relaxant, and quinine , used to treat malaria , are just two of these medicines . Many scientists worry that destroying the rain forest ecosystem may prevent more medicines from being developed. The rain forest ecosystems also make poor farmland . Unlike the rich soils of the Great Plains , where people destroyed the tall grass prairie ecosystem , Amazon rain forest soil is thin and has few nutrients . Only a few seasons of crops may grow before all the nutrients are absorbed. The farmer or agribusiness must move on to the next patch of land, leaving an empty ecosystem behind. Rebounding Ecosystems Ecosystems can recover from destruction , however. The delicate coral reef ecosystems in the South Pacific are at risk due to rising ocean temperatures and decreased salinity . Corals bleach, or lose their bright colors, in water that is too warm. They die in water that isnt salty enough. Without the reef structure, the ecosystem collapses. Organisms such as algae , plants such as seagrass , and animals such as fish, snakes , and shrimp disappear. Most coral reef ecosystems will bounce back from collapse. As ocean temperature cools and retains more salt, the brightly colored corals return. Slowly, they build reefs . Algae , plants , and animals also return. Individual people, cultures , and governments are working to preserve ecosystems that are important to them. The government of Ecuador, for instance, recognizes ecosystem rights in the countrys constitution . The so-called Rights of Nature says Nature or Pachamama [Earth], where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist , maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution . Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public bodies. Ecuador is home not only to rain forest ecosystems , but also river ecosystems and the remarkable ecosystems on the Galapagos Islands .

Bactrian and Dromedary Different desert ecosystems support different species of camels. The dromedary camel is tall and fast, with long legs. It is native to the hot, dry deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The Bactrian camel has a thicker coat, is shorter, and has more body fat than the dromedary. The Bactrian camel is native to the cold desert steppes of Central Asia. It is easy to tell the two types of camels apart: Dromedaries have one hump, Bactrians have two.

Coral Triangle The most diverse ecosystem in the world is the huge Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia. The Coral Triangle stretches from the Philippines in the north to the Solomon Islands in the east to the islands of Indonesia and Papua in the west.

Ecocide The destruction of entire ecosystems by human beings has been called ecocide, or murder of the environment.

Human Ecosystem "Human ecosystem" is the term scientists use to study the way people interact with their ecosystems. The study of human ecosystems considers geography, ecology, technology, economics, politics, and history. The study of urban ecosystems focuses on cities and suburbs.

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• Environment Essay

Essay on Understanding and Nurturing Our Environment

The environment is everything that surrounds us – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil beneath our feet, and the diverse flora and fauna that inhabit our planet. It's not just a backdrop to our lives; it's the very essence of our existence. In this essay, we'll explore the importance of our environment, the challenges it faces, and what we can do to ensure a sustainable and thriving world for generations to come.

Our environment is a complex and interconnected web of life. Every living organism, from the tiniest microbe to the largest mammal, plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems. This delicate balance ensures the survival of species, including humans. For instance, bees pollinate plants, which produce the oxygen we breathe. Nature is a masterpiece that has evolved over millions of years, and we are just one small part of this intricate tapestry.

Importance of Environment  

The environment is crucial for keeping living things healthy.

It helps balance ecosystems.

The environment provides everything necessary for humans, like food, shelter, and air.

It's also a source of natural beauty that is essential for our physical and mental health.

The Threats to Our Environment:

Unfortunately, our actions have disrupted this delicate balance. The rapid industrialization, deforestation, pollution, and over-exploitation of natural resources have led to severe environmental degradation. Climate change, driven by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, is altering weather patterns, causing extreme events like floods, droughts, and storms. The loss of biodiversity is another alarming concern – species are disappearing at an unprecedented rate due to habitat destruction and pollution.

Impact of Human Activities on the Environment

Human activities like pollution, deforestation, and waste disposal are causing environmental problems like acid rain, climate change, and global warming. The environment has living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. Biotic components include plants, animals, and microorganisms, while abiotic components include things like temperature, light, and soil.

In the living environment, there are producers (like plants), consumers (like animals), and decomposers (like bacteria). Producers use sunlight to make energy, forming the base of the food web. Consumers get their energy by eating other organisms, creating a chain of energy transfer. Decomposers break down waste and dead organisms, recycling nutrients in the soil.

The non-living environment includes climatic factors (like rain and temperature) and edaphic factors (like soil and minerals). Climatic factors affect the water cycle, while edaphic factors provide nutrients and a place for organisms to grow.

The environment includes everything from the air we breathe to the ecosystems we live in. It's crucial to keep it clean for a healthy life. All components of the environment are affected by its condition, so a clean environment is essential for a healthy ecosystem.

Sustainable Practices:

Adopting sustainable practices is a key step towards mitigating environmental degradation. This includes reducing our carbon footprint by using renewable energy, practicing responsible consumption, and minimizing waste. Conservation of natural resources, such as water and forests, is essential. Supporting local and global initiatives that aim to protect the environment, like reforestation projects and wildlife conservation efforts, can make a significant impact.

Education and Awareness:

Creating a sustainable future requires a collective effort, and education is a powerful tool in this regard. Raising awareness about environmental issues, the consequences of our actions, and the importance of conservation is crucial. Education empowers individuals to make informed choices and encourages sustainable practices at both personal and community levels.

Why is a Clean Environment Necessary?

To have a happy and thriving community and country, we really need a clean and safe environment. It's like the basic necessity for life on Earth. Let me break down why having a clean environment is so crucial.

First off, any living thing—whether it's plants, animals, or people—can't survive in a dirty environment. We all need a good and healthy place to live. When things get polluted, it messes up the balance of nature and can even cause diseases. If we keep using up our natural resources too quickly, life on Earth becomes a real struggle.

So, what's causing all this environmental trouble? Well, one big reason is that there are just so many people around, and we're using up a lot of stuff like land, food, water, air, and even fossil fuels and minerals. Cutting down a bunch of trees (we call it deforestation) is also a big problem because it messes up the whole ecosystem.

Then there's pollution—air, water, and soil pollution. It's like throwing a wrench into the gears of nature, making everything go wonky. And you've probably heard about things like the ozone layer getting thinner, global warming, weird weather, and glaciers melting. These are all signs that our environment is in trouble.

But don't worry, we can do things to make it better:

Plant more trees—they're like nature's superheroes, helping balance everything out.

Follow the 3 R's: Reuse stuff, reduce waste, and recycle. It's like giving our planet a high-five.

Ditch the plastic bags—they're not great for our landscapes.

Think about how many people there are and try to slow down the population growth.

By doing these things, we're basically giving our planet a little TLC (tender loving care), and that's how we can keep our environment clean and healthy for everyone.

Policy and Regulation:

Governments and institutions play a vital role in shaping environmental policies and regulations. Strong and enforceable laws are essential to curb activities that harm the environment. This includes regulations on emissions, waste disposal, and protection of natural habitats. International cooperation is also crucial to address global environmental challenges, as issues like climate change know no borders.

The Role of Technology:

Technology can be a double-edged sword in environmental conservation. While some technological advancements contribute to environmental degradation, others offer solutions. Innovative technologies in renewable energy, waste management, and sustainable agriculture can significantly reduce our impact on the environment. Embracing and investing in eco-friendly technologies is a step towards a greener and more sustainable future.

Conclusion:

Our environment is not just a collection of trees, rivers, and animals; it's the foundation of our existence. Understanding the interconnectedness of all living things and recognizing our responsibility as stewards of the Earth is essential. By adopting sustainable practices, fostering education and awareness, implementing effective policies, and embracing eco-friendly technologies, we can work towards healing our planet. The choices we make today will determine the world we leave for future generations – a world that can either flourish in its natural beauty or struggle under the weight of environmental degradation. It's our collective responsibility to ensure that it's the former.

FAQs on Environment Essay

1. What is the Environment?

The environment constitutes the entire ecosystem that includes plants, animals and microorganisms, sunlight, air, rain, temperature, humidity, and other climatic factors. It is basically the surroundings where we live. The environment regulates the life of all living beings on Earth.

2. What are the Three Kinds of Environments?

Biotic Environment: It includes all biotic factors or living forms like plants, animals, and microorganisms.

Abiotic Environment: It includes non-living factors like temperature, light, rainfall, soil, minerals, etc. It comprises the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.

Built Environment: It includes buildings, streets, houses, industries, etc. 

3. What are the Major Factors that Lead to the Degradation of the Environment?

The factors that lead to the degradation of the environment are:

The rapid increase in the population.

Growth of industrialization and urbanization.

Deforestation is making the soil infertile (soil that provides nutrients and home to millions of organisms).

Over-consumption of natural resources.

Ozone depletion, global warming, and the greenhouse effect.

4. How do we Save Our Environment?

We must save our environment by maintaining a balanced and healthy ecosystem. We should plant more trees. We should reduce our consumption and reuse and recycle stuff. We should check on the increase in population. We should scarcely use our natural and precious resources. Industries and factories should take precautionary measures before dumping their wastes into the water bodies.

5. How can we protect Mother Earth?

Ways to save Mother Earth include planting more and more trees, using renewable sources of energy, reducing the wastage of water, saving electricity, reducing the use of plastic, conservation of non-renewable resources, conserving the different flora and faunas, taking steps to reduce pollution, etc.

6. What are some ways that humans impact their environment?

Humans have influenced the physical environment in many ways like overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have generated climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water.  

7. Why is the environment of social importance?

Human beings are social animals by nature. They spend a good amount of time in social environments. Their responsibility towards the environment is certainly important because these social environments might support human beings in both personal development goals as well as career development goals.

Essay on Environment for Students and Children

500+ words essay on environment.

Essay on Environment – All living things that live on this earth comes under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet sage and sound.

Importance of Environment

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all the human needs whether big or small.

Moreover, the entire life support of humans depends wholly on the environmental factors. In addition, it also helps in maintaining various life cycles on earth.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits of the Environment

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay our entire life. As they are connected with the forest, trees, animals, water, and air. The forest and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flood maintain natural balance and many others.

Moreover, the environment keeps a close check on the environment and its functioning, It regulates the vital systems that are essential for the ecosystem. Besides, it maintains the culture and quality of life on earth.

The environment regulates various natural cycles that happen daily. These cycles help in maintaining the natural balance between living things and the environment. Disturbance of these things can ultimately affect the life cycle of humans and other living beings.

The environment has helped us and other living beings to flourish and grow from thousands of years. The environment provides us fertile land, water, air, livestock and many essential things for survival.

Cause of Environmental Degradation

Human activities are the major cause of environmental degradation because most of the activities humans do harm the environment in some way. The activities of humans that causes environmental degradation is pollution, defective environmental policies, chemicals, greenhouse gases, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.

All these affect the environment badly. Besides, these the overuse of natural resources will create a situation in the future there will be no resources for consumption. And the most basic necessity of living air will get so polluted that humans have to use bottled oxygen for breathing.

Above all, increasing human activity is exerting more pressure on the surface of the earth which is causing many disasters in an unnatural form. Also, we are using the natural resources at a pace that within a few years they will vanish from the earth. To conclude, we can say that it is the environment that is keeping us alive. Without the blanket of environment, we won’t be able to survive.

Moreover, the environment’s contribution to life cannot be repaid. Besides, still what the environment has done for us, in return we only have damaged and degraded it.

FAQs about Essay on Environment

Q.1 What is the true meaning of the environment?

A.1 The ecosystem that includes all the plants, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, water bodies, fishes, human beings, trees, microorganisms and many more are part of the environment. Besides, all these constitute the environment.

Q.2 What is the three types of the environment?

A.2 The three types of environment includes the physical, social, and cultural environment. Besides, various scientists have defined different types and numbers of environment.

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• Biology Article
• Importance Of Ecosystem

Why is the Ecosystem Important?

An ecosystem can be defined as the biological community of living beings, communicating with the physical environment and other nonliving components. It can also be defined as the chain of communication or interaction between the living organisms and their environment.

An ecosystem differs in their size, which can either be small as an oasis or vast as an ocean. The two main components of an ecosystem are:

• Abiotic components – All nonliving components of an ecosystem, including air, water, light, soil, rocks, minerals, and nutrients are examples of abiotic components.
• Biotic components – All living components of an ecosystem, including producers, consumers, and decomposers are examples of biotic components.

Also Read:   Biotic and Abiotic Factors

Importance of Ecosystem:

• It provides habitat to wild plants and animals.
• It promotes various food chains and food webs.
• It controls essential ecological processes and promotes lives.
• Involved in the recycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic components.
• It helps in maintaining the usual flow of energy in an ecosystem including- Carbon Cycle, Energy Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle,  Oxygen Cycle, and Water Cycle.

Apart from these importances, the ecosystem also plays an important role in controlling weeds, rotation of crop, management of grasslands, forests , biological surveys, conservation of soil, wildlife, etc.

Stay tuned with BYJU’S to know more in detail about the ecosystem, their types, components and their importance to human welfare.

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The Dynamics of Ecosystem Essay

Introduction, works cited.

The main sources of ecosystem changes are human activities, natural processes including climate changes, animal migrations, etc., political and economical processes in the society. In more detail, the role of human beings is crucial in the ecosystem dynamics. For example, the process of human migration, and the subsequent urbanization of the population, cause changes in the population of a region. This results in the change of the industries developed in the area, the ways of interaction with the environment, animal species extinction or introduction, and so on. Technology is another significant factor because human activities directed at obtaining natural resources like gas, oil, coal, electricity, etc. are inevitably harmful to the environment. That is why these activities change the ecosystem by either destroying the habitats of certain animal species or plant types or creating artificial areas where the members of the ecosystem can exist and develop, like national parks, zoos, etc (Barrameda, 2008).

Needless to say, technology and human migration are economically conditioned. Thus, the type of economic system affects the ecosystem greatly. The agricultural economy is aimed at defending the environment, while the industrial one pollutes air, water, forests, and soils. The processes mentioned tend to have cumulative effects. For example, partial destruction of a forest can be restored while the permanent and regular one results in the shift of the natural balance. Animals are left without their natural habitats, while plants and other biotic organisms become extinct. On the other hand, positive human activities, including environmental protection, nature preservation, etc. also have a cumulative effect as they give results only in case of systematic usage (Barrameda, 2008). So, the above-mentioned processes are positive and negative effects of ecosystem changes.

There are numerous definitions of ecologically sustainable development but the most precise one is that ecologically sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Australian Government, 2009) Moreover, the ecologically sustained development is aimed at finding, preserving, and enlarging the resources of mankind so that the environment could be protected and the quality of human life could be increased. Ecologically sustainable development is necessary for society because human beings are integral parts of the environment and their destructive activities damage nature substantially. So, we need ecologically sustainable development to save the environment we live in and at the same time reach progress in improving the quality of our life.

However, the usual practice nowadays is non-sustainable development which includes little attention to environmental issues and nature protection. The essence of non-sustainable development lies in getting profit from one’s activities without thinking of the future generations. For example, to increase production rates an industrial company can save money on environmental policies and protecting equipment, and emit the chemicals directly into a river or an ocean. Keeping in mind the importance of ecologically sustainable development, numerous case studies have been carried out on this topic. For example, the studies of the Colby College are dedicated to the use of pesticides in agriculture, the effects of the US Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 upon the current state of our ecosystem, and the question of creating a sustainable and ecologically safe city. These studies attract the attention of the public and make society think about the preservation of the ecosystem it exists within. The results of these case studies demonstrated that society is more aware of environmental issues, but much work is still to be done.

The role of the government, either a local or a national one, in the development of effective work on environmental protection is crucial. First of all, it is only the government that can implement laws directed at protecting our ecosystem. The legislative acts and laws prohibiting the use of the most dangerous chemicals in the industry and agriculture, limiting the gas emissions of industrial factories and plants, prohibiting and punishing for the killings of the rare animals all are the duties of the government. Accordingly, the recent activities and programs implemented by the government to protect our ecosystem include Habitat Partnership Program, ITG Project, The Pingree Forest Partnership, and many others. All these governmental initiatives are aimed at protecting and preserving such basic environmental areas as forests, water resources, air, etc (Government Innovations Network, 2009).

On the other hand, the role of large corporations in ecosystem change is rather controversial. Although corporations claim to care about the ecosystem and launch numerous propagandist programs for its protection, the actual environmental protection will cause losses to them. That is why corporations are major obstacles in the way of protection and revival of the ecosystem of our country. Together with governmental policies that are not always ecologically sustainable, the activities of corporations damage the ecosystem. However, ordinary people can influence both the government and corporations by expressing their opinions in public, carrying out protest demonstrations, strikes, and other social actions. Thus, people make the government and corporations implement more ecologically sustainable programs.

Barrameda. “ The Ecosystems. “ 2008. Web.

Australian Government. “Ecologically Sustainable Development.” 2009. Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Web.

Government Innovations Network. “Ecosystems”. 2009. Web.

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Essay on ecosystem | environment.

Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Ecosystem’ for class 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Ecosystem’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Ecosystem

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Essay Contents:

• Essay on the Ecological Habitat

1. Essay on the Meaning of Ecosystem:

The term an ecosystem is originally defined by Tansley (1935). An ecosystem is defined as the network of interactions among organisms, and between organisms and their environment they can come in any size but usually encompass specific, limited spaces although according to some scientists the entire planet is an ecosystem or an ecosystem is defined as a complex, dynamic community of organisms including plants, animals and micro-organisms that all interact among themselves as well as with the environment that they live in.

An ecosystem consists of the biological community that occurs in some locale, and the physical and chemical factors that make up its non-living or abiotic environment. All living organisms are a part of both a biotic community and an ecosystem.

Ecosystems are what sustain both humans and animals, providing them with energy, nutrients, oxygen, water and shelter, among other things. Ecosystems don’t have strict boundaries or sizes; they can range from something as small as a dead tree stump to something as large as the ocean.

2. Essay on the Concept of Ecosystem:

There are many examples of ecosystems a pond, a forest, and grassland. The study of ecosystems mainly consists of the study of certain processes that link the living, or biotic, components to the non-living, or abiotic, components. Energy transformations and bio-geochemical cycling are the main processes that comprise the field of ecosystem ecology. Ecology generally is defined as the interactions of organisms with one another and with the environment in which they occur.

Studies of individuals are concerned mostly about physiology, reproduction, development or behavior, and studies of populations usually focus on the habitat and resource needs of individual species, their group behaviors, population growth, and what limits their abundance or causes extinction. Studies of communities examine how populations of many species interact with one another, such as predators and their prey, or competitors that share common needs or resources.

These functional aspects include such things as the amount of energy that is produced by photosynthesis, how energy or materials flow along the many steps in a food chain, or what controls the rate of decomposition of materials or the rate at which nutrients are recycled in the system.

3. Essay on the Functions of an Ecosystem:

Ecosystem function is the capacity of natural processes and components to provide goods and services that fulfill human needs, either directly or indirectly. Ecosystem functions are conceived as a subset of ecological processes and ecosystem structures. Each function is the result of the natural processes of the total ecological sub­system of which it is a part.

Natural processes, in turn, are the result of complex interactions between biotic (living organisms) and abiotic (chemical and physical) components of ecosystems through the universal driving forces of matter and energy.

There are four primary groups of ecosystem functions:

(i) Regulatory functions,

(ii) Habitat functions,

(iii) Production functions and

(iv) Information functions

(i) 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).

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

(iv) Information Functions:

Since most of human evolution took place within the context of an undomesticated habitat, natural ecosystems provide an essential ‘reference function’ and contribute to the maintenance of human health by providing opportunities for reflection, spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreation and aesthetic experience.

4. Essay on the Components of an Ecosystem:

There are two types of components that make up an ecosystem’s characteristics:

(A) Abiotic and

(B) Biotic.

Biotic components are made up of living factors. Abiotic components are made up of all non-living factors.

Energy, water, nitrogen and soil minerals are other essential abiotic components of an ecosystem. The energy that flows through ecosystems is obtained primarily from the sun. It generally enters the system through photosynthesis, a process that also captures carbon from the atmosphere.

(A) Abiotic Components :

These factors are non-living like light, temperature, water, atmospheric gases, wind as well as soil (edaphic) and physiographic (nature of land surface).

Abiotic factors may be abbreviated as SWATS (Soil, Water, Air, Temperature, Sun light):

I.  Sunlight:

Sunlight is a major part of abiotic conditions in an ecosystem. The sun is the primary source of energy on our planet. Light energy (sunlight) is the primary source of energy in nearly all ecosystems. It is the energy that is used by green plants (which contain chlorophyll) during the process of photosynthesis; a process during which plants manufacture organic substances by combining inorganic substances.

Visible light is of the greatest importance to plants because it is necessary for photosynthesis. Factors such as quality of light, intensity of light and the length of the light period (day length) play an important part in an ecosystem.

(i) Quality of Light (Wavelength or Colour):

Plants absorb blue and red light during photosynthesis. In terrestrial ecosystems the quality of light does not change much. In aquatic ecosystems, the quality of light can be a limiting factor. Both blue and red light are absorbed and as a result do not penetrate deeply into the water. To compensate for this, some algae have additional pigments which are able to absorb other colours as well.

(ii) Light Intensity:

The intensity of the light that reaches the earth varies according to the latitude and season of the year. The southern hemisphere receives less than 12 hours of sunlight during the period between the 21st March and the 23rd of September, but receives more than 12 hours of sunlight during the following six months.

(iii) Phototropism:

Phototropism is the directional growth of plants in response to light where the direction of the stimulus determines the direction of movement; stems demonstrate positive phototropism i.e. they came towards the light when they grow.

II.  Temperature:

The distribution of plants and animals is greatly influenced by extremes in temperature for instance the warm season. The occurrence or non-occurrence of frost is a particularly important determinant of plant distribution since many plants cannot prevent their tissues from freezing or survive the freezing and thawing processes.

Temperature controls the rate of microbial respiration; the higher the temperature, the faster microbial decomposition occurs. It also affects soil moisture, which slows microbial growth and reduces leaching. Temperature also affect decomposition freezing temperatures kill a soil microorganism, which allows leaching to play a more important role in moving nutrients around.

Temperature also plays a key role in ecosystems with hot climates allowing rapid growth, high surface animals, and cold climates leading to more spherical, fatty animals as well as slower growth and reproduction. Habitats vary widely as a result of temperature too. Plants and bacteria also have to have particular features that allow for survival in extreme climates of temperatures.

III. Water:

In aquatic eco systems water perform many important environmental functions Water availability is an abiotic factor of ecosystems. Living things need water to survive and how plentiful or scarce water is affects the necessary water cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Oceans, rivers or streams are key components of an ecosystem and the many forms of life that live there.

The freshwater ecosystem itself is made up of biotic and abiotic elements and depends on them equally as well. Water quality is another factor, with important metabolic functions subject to water ingredients like zinc and iron that become poisonous with low- quality water.

IV. Weather:

Meteorology or weather conditions considered abiotic component are temperature, wind velocity, solar insulation, humidity and precipitation. The most important of these is climate. Climate determines the biome in which the ecosystem is embedded. Rainfall patterns and temperature seasonality determine the amount of water available to the ecosystem and the supply of energy available.

The statistical and seasonal variation of these factors influences the habitat. Weather directly controls the biotic component i.e. Vegetation as well as animals. Climate features such as rain, wind and temperature play a large part also in the way an ecosystem has to work. Rain provides necessary water for photosynthesis and so its quantity will determine just how many photosynthetic organisms can survive in an environment, the predators of those organisms, as well as the types.

Soil conditions that affect ecosystems are the granularity, chemistry and nutrient content and availability. These soil conditions interact with precipitation to cause change. Although animal remains dead organic material such as are considered abiotic.

Air levels define how strong and sturdy the organisms in an ecosystem are, and which habitats must be in existence for them to survive. Low wind levels allow for weaker more feeble organisms that reproduce rapidly to survive. In windy areas, many plants use it as an advantage and make countless spores that will be carried to other plants and pollinate.

Air quality plays an important part because pollution can contribute to carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide degrading circulatory or pulmonary function. Air pollution can also disrupt the process of photosynthesis.

VII. Topography:

Topography also controls ecosystem processes by affecting things like micro-climate, soil development and the movement of water through a system. This may be the difference between the ecosystem present in wetland situated in a small depression on the landscape, and one present on an adjacent steep hillside Micro-topographic elements mix with meteorology barriers to affect plant growth and selection in a given area.

Topography, soil type and precipitation shape surface run-off and limit the ability of animals to build burrows and nests and affects the way predators and prey are able to hunt and hide from each other.

(i) Altitude:

This has effects on climate and so has various effects according to what climate factors it affects.

(ii) Slope:

The organisms on a flat land compared to a hilly one will have different movement muscles to one another. This is because some muscles are say, evolved for forward propulsion (calf muscles) whilst others for lifting the leg (thigh muscles).

(iii) Aspect:

This is the direction that the land is facing (in relation to the sun) and so has its relevance to temperature, wherein for example, an environment that faces generally away from the sun will be cooler.

VIII. Tolerance Range:

Abiotic factors are particularly important to new or barren or unpopulated ecosystems. This is because the abiotic factors of the unpopulated system sets the stage for how well a given species will be able to live, thrive and reproduce there. Each organism’s ability to survive in a set of abiotic conditions is known as the tolerance range.

(B) Biotic Components :

Biotic components mean related to life. These are living factors. Plants, animals’, insects, fungi and bacteria are all biotic or living factors. Each biotic factor needs energy to do work and food for proper growth.

There are three types of organisms that live in a biotic community are producers, consumers and decomposers. The members of a biotic community are inter-dependent in that they all depend on one another in some way for their survival. This inter-dependence is essential for stability of biotic community.

They can be further sub-divided into autotrophs (producers) and heterotrophs (consumers) that include herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, detritivores (decomposers).The biotic characteristics are mainly determined by the organisms that occur. For example, wetland plants may produce dense canopies that cover large areas of sediment or geese may graze the vegetation leaving large mud flats.

Aquatic environments have relatively low oxygen levels, forcing adaptation by the organisms found there. For example, many wetland plants must produce aerenchyma to carry oxygen to roots.

Other biotic characteristics are more subtle and difficult to measure, such as the relative importance of competition, mutualism or predation. There are a growing number of cases where predation by coastal herbivores including snails, geese and mammals appears to be a dominant biotic factor.

(i) Autotrophic Organisms:

Autotrophic organisms are producers i.e. autotrophs. They convert the solar energy into food from photosynthesis (the transfer of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into energy).They generate organic compounds from inorganic material. Algae use solar energy to generate biomass from carbon dioxide and are possibly the most important autotrophic organisms in aquatic environments.

Of course, the more shallow the water, the greater the biomass contribution from rooted and floating vascular plants. These two sources combine to produce the extraordinary production of estuaries and wetlands, as this autotrophic, biomass are converted into fish, birds, amphibians and other aquatic species.

Chemosynthetic bacteria are also referred as autotrophs. They found in benthic marine ecosystems. These organisms are able to feed on hydrogen sulphide in water. Height concentrations of animals that feed on these bacteria are found around volcanic vents.

(ii) Heterotrophic Organisms:

Heterotrophic organisms consume autotrophic organisms and use the organic compounds in their bodies as energy sources and as raw materials to create their own biomass. Heterotrophs are further divided into herbivore, carnivore, omnivore and decomposer on the basis of source of nutrition.

Herbivores are also named as primary consumers. Caterpillars, rabbit, grasshopper etc. are plant eater. They withdraw their nutrition from green plants. Energy transferred from plants have occurred.

Carnivores are named as secondary consumer. Consumers, i.e. heterotrophs: e.g. animals, they depend upon producers (occasionally other consumers) for food. Animals that feed on primary consumers are (carnivores) secondary consumers. Blackbird, frogs, Meat eaters, feed upon the herbivores, fewer in number than primary consumers. Their energy transfers have occurred, more chance for energy to be lost via respiration, excretion etc.

Omnivores are named as tertiary consumer or deversivores hawks, fox, dog, humans etc. are omnivores. Animals that feed on secondary consumers are omnivores ortretiary consumers. They have two sources of food, because eat both plants and animals.

Decomposers, i.e. detritivores: e.g. fungi and bacteria, they break down chemicals from producers and consumers usually after death into simpler form .They convert macro molecules into micro molecules by enzymatic activity.

Each of these (Producer, Primary consumer, Secondary consumer, Tertiary consumer and Decomposer) constitutes a trophic level. The sequence of consumption of nutrition from plant to herbivore, herbivore to carnivore in the forms a food is called chain. Real systems are much more complex than these organisms will generally feed on more than one form of food, and may feed at more than one trophic level.

Carnivores may capture some prey which is part of a plant-based trophic system and others that are part of a detritus-based trophic system (a bird that feeds both on herbivorous grasshoppers and earthworms, which consume detritus). Euryhaline organisms are salt tolerant and can survive in marine ecosystems, while stenohaline or salt intolerant species can only live in freshwater environments.

5. Essay on the Ecological Pyramid:

The descriptive device used to explore the trophic structure of an ecosystem is called a trophic pyramid. The purpose of a trophic pyramid is to graphically represent the distribution of biomass or energy among the different trophic levels of the ecosystem. An ecological pyramid (also trophic pyramid) is a graphical representation designed to show the number of organisms, biomass or biomass productivity and energy transferred at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.

Charles Elton developed the concept of ecological pyramid. After his name these pyramids are also called as Eltonian pyramids. Ecological pyramids begin with producers on the bottom (such as plants) and proceed through the various trophic levels (such as herbivores that eat plants, then carnivores that eat herbivores, then carnivores that eat those carnivores, and so on). The highest level is the top of the food chain.

a. Pyramid of Biomass:

Biomass is the amount of living or organic matter present in an organism. Biomass pyramids show how much biomass is present in the organisms at each trophic level, while productivity pyramids show the production or turnover in biomass. The total amount of living or organic matter in an ecosystem at any time is called ‘Biomass’.

An ecological pyramid of biomass shows the relationship between biomass and trophic level by quantifying the amount of biomass present at each trophic level of an ecological community at a particular moment in time.

“Pyramid of biomass is the graphic representation of biomass (total amount of living or organic/ dry matter in an ecosystem) present per unit area of different trophic levels, with producers at the base and top carnivores at the tip”. Typical units for a biomass pyramid could be grams per meter, or calories per meter. The pyramid of biomass may be ‘inverted’ or upright.

b. Inverted Pyramid:

When smaller weight of producers supports larger weight of consumers an inverted pyramid of biomass is formed. In an aquatic habitat the pyramid of biomass is inverted or spindle shaped where the biomass of trophic level depends upon the reproductive potential and longevity of the member.

In a pond ecosystem, the phytoplanktons are the major producers, at any given point. This phytoplankton will be lower than the mass of the heterotrophs, such as fish and insects. This is explained as the phytoplanktons reproduce very quickly, but have much shorter individual lives.

c. Upright Pyramid :

When larger weight/biomass of producers support the smaller weight of consumers (primary, secondary and onwards) an upright pyramid of biomass is resulted. In forest or terrestrial ecosystem plants or producer have maximum dry weight while primary consumer depends upon them have low dry weight as compared to them. Secondary and tertiary consumer also show loss in dry weight successively. Thus, the pyramid of biomass in a terrestrial ecosystem is upright.

d. Pyramid of Number:

Ecosystem community may be represented in terms of number of organism. When the relationships among the number of producers, primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivore of order 1), tertiary consumers (carnivore of order 2) and so on in any ecosystem, it forms a pyramidal structure called the pyramid of number. “Pyramid of numbers is the graphic representation of number of individuals per unit area of various trophic levels stepwise with producers forming the base and top carnivores the tip”. The shape of this pyramid varies from ecosystem to ecosystem.

There are three types of pyramid of numbers :

e. Upright Pyramid :

In aquatic and grassland ecosystem numerous small autotrophs support lesser herbivores which support further smaller number of carnivores and hence the pyramidal structure is upright.

In forest ecosystem lesser number of producers support greater number of herbivores who in turn support a fewer number of carnivores. Thus number or organism producer to herbivore increase, while herbivore to carnivore and carnivore to successive trophic level number of organism decrease.

f. Inverted Pyramid :

In parasitic food chain, one primary producer support numerous parasites which support still more hyper parasites therefore number of organism at each trophic level increase. In a parasitic food chain, for e.g., an oak tree, the large tree provides food to several herbivorous birds. The birds support still larger population of ecto­parasites leading to the formation of an inverted pyramid.

g. Pyramid of Energy :

The pyramid of numbers and pyramid of biomass have their limitations because they provide information only on the quantity of organic matter available at a particular time but not on the productivity and turnover time.

The pyramid of energy is drawn after taking into consideration the total quantity of energy utilized by the trophic levels in an ecosystem over a period of time. As the quantity of energy available for utilization in successive trophic levels is always less because there is loss of energy in each transfer, the energy pyramid will always be upright.

“Pyramid of energy is a graphic representation of the amount of energy trapped per unit time and area in different trophic level of a food chain with producers forming the base and the top carnivores at the tip”.

Pyramid of energy is always upright. It is so because at each transfer about 80 – 90% of the energy available at lower trophic level is used up to overcome its entropy and to perform metabolic activities. Only 10% of the energy is available to next trophic level (as per Lindemann’s ten percent rule).

When a large tree support larger number of herbivorous birds which in turn are eaten by carnivorous birds like falcon and eagle, which are smaller in number, it forms a spindle shaped pyramid.

6. Essay on the Productivity of an Ecosystem:

In ecology, productivity or production is refers to the rate of synthesis or production of biomass in an ecosystem. It is usually expressed in units of mass per unit surface (or volume) per unit time, for instance grams per square meter per day (g m 2 d 1 ).

The mass unit may relate to dry matter or to the mass of carbon generated. Productivity of autotrophs such as plants is called primary productivity, while that of heterotrophs such as animals is called secondary productivity.

A. Primary Production:

Primary production is the synthesis of new organic material from inorganic molecules such as H 2 O and CO 2 . It is dominated by the process of photosynthesis which uses sunlight to synthesise organic molecules such as sugars, although chemosynthesis represents a small fraction of primary production.

Organisms responsible for primary production include land plants, marine algae and some bacteria (including cyanobacteria).The controlling factors of primary productivity are intensity of light, temperature, moisture, air and nutrients.

Ecosystem Productivity:

Tropical regions every day and temperate regions during the growing season receive some 8,000 to 10,000 kilocalories (kcal) of energy each day on each square meter (1 m 2 ) of surface. A kilocalorie is the amount of heat needed to warm 1 kg of water 1 degree Celsius (°C). Because all of the light trapped in photosynthesis is ultimately released as heat, it makes sense to follow the flow of energy through ecosystems in units of heat.

Primary production is the production of organic matter from inorganic carbon sources. Overwhelmingly, this occurs through photosynthesis. The energy incorporated through this process supports life on earth, while the carbon makes up much of the organic matter in living and dead biomass, soil carbon and fossil fuels.

It also drives the carbon cycle, which influences global climate via the greenhouse effect. The process of photosynthesis, plants capture energy from light and use it to combine carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen. The photosynthesis carried out by all the plants in an ecosystem is called the gross primary production (GPP).

About 48-60% of the GPP is consumed in plant respiration. The remainder, that portion of GPP that is not used up by respiration, is known as the net primary production (NPP). Total photosynthesis is limited by a range of environmental factors.

These include the amount of light available, the amount of leaf area a plant has to capture light (shading by other plants is a major limitation of photosynthesis), rate at which carbon dioxide can be supplied to the chloroplasts to support photosynthesis, the availability of water, and the availability of suitable temperatures for carrying out photosynthesis.

(a) Gross Productivity:

Gross productivity is the amount of energy trapped in organic matter during a specified interval at a given trophic level. The table shows the use of visible sunlight is a cattail marsh. The plants have trapped only 2.2% of the energy falling on them.

However, at least half of this (2.2%) is lost by cellular respiration as the plants run their own metabolism.

(b) Net Productivity:

Net productivity is the amount of energy trapped in organic matter during a specified interval at a given trophic level less that lost by the respiration of the organisms at that level.

The table shows representative values for the net productivity of a variety of ecosystems both natural and managed. These values are only representation and are show fluctuations because of variations in temperature, fertility, and availability of water.

The productivity of an ecosystem is defined as the rate at which radiant energy (solar energy) is stored by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic activity of green plants (autotrophs) in the form of organic substances which can be used as food materials. In other words, the productivity of an ecosystem refers to the rate of production i.e. the amount of organic matter accumulated in any unit time.

This Primary productivity is of two types:

1. Gross Primary Productivity:

Gross primary productivity is the total rate of photosynthesis including the living matter used up.

2. Net Primary Productivity:

Net primary productivity is the rate of storage of organic materials in plant bodies in excess of respiratory utilization by plants. In other words, the net photosynthesis for an entire community is its net primary productivity.

This is the amount of stored chemical energy (biomass) that the communities synthesize for the ecosystem. Biomass is the net dry weight of organic material; it is biomass that feeds the food chain.

B. Secondary Production:

Secondary production is the generation of biomass of heterotrophic (consumer) organisms in a system. This is driven by the transfer of organic material between trophic levels, and represents the quantity of new tissue created through the use of assimilated food.

Secondary production is sometimes defined to only include consumption of primary producers by herbivorous consumers. (With tertiary production referring to carnivorous consumers), but is more commonly defined to include all biomass generation by heterotrophs. Organisms responsible for secondary production include animals, protists, fungi and many bacteria.

Secondary production can be estimated through a number of different methods including increment summation, removal summation, the instantaneous growth method and the Allen curve method. Secondary productivity is the rate of energy storage at consumer level.

C. Net Productivity:

Means the rate of storage of organic matter not used by any consumer. Such organic matters are not consumed by any consumer it is utilized by decomposer. The carbon and nutrients in dead organic matter are broken down by a group of processes known as decomposition.

This releases nutrients that can then be re-used for plant and microbial production, and returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (or water) where it can be used for photosynthesis. In the absence of decomposition, dead organic matter would accumulate in an ecosystem and nutrients and atmospheric carbon dioxide would be depleted. Approximately 90% of terrestrial NPP goes directly from plant to decomposer.

Decomposition processes can be separated into three categories leaching, fragmentation and chemical alteration of dead material. As water moves through dead organic matter, it dissolves and carries with it the water-soluble components.

These are then taken up by organisms in the soil, react with mineral soil, or are transported beyond the confines of the ecosystem (and are considered “lost” to it). Newly shed leaves and newly dead animals have high concentrations of water- soluble components, and include sugars, amino acids and mineral nutrients. Leaching is more important in wet environments, and much less important in dry ones.

Fragmentation processes break organic material into smaller pieces, exposing new surfaces for colonization by microbes. Freshly shed leaf litter may be inaccessible due to an outer layer of cuticle or bark, and cell contents are protected by a cell wall. Newly dead animals may be covered by an exoskeleton.

Fragmentation processes, which break through these protective layers, accelerate the rate of microbial decomposition. Animals fragment detritus as they hunt for food, as does passage through the gut. Freeze-thaw cycles and cycles of wetting and drying also fragment dead material.

The chemical alteration of dead organic matter is primarily achieved through bacterial and fungal action. Fungal hyphae produce enzymes which can break through the tough outer structures surrounding dead plant material. They also produce enzymes which break down lignin, which allows to them access to both cell contents and to the nitrogen in the lignin. Fungi can transfer carbon and nitrogen through their hyphal networks and thus, unlike bacteria, are not dependent solely on locally available resources.

Decomposition rates vary among ecosystems. The rate of decomposition is governed by three sets of the physical factors environment (temperature, moisture and soil properties), the quantity and quality of the dead material available to decomposers, and the nature of the microbial community itself.

Temperature controls the rate of microbial respiration; the higher the temperature, the faster microbial decomposition occurs. It also affects soil moisture, which slows microbial growth and reduces leaching. This can be especially important as the soil thaws in die spring, creating a pulse of nutrients which become available.

According to Odum, there are three main levels of productivity on the earth’s surface:

(1) Regions of die highest fertility and productivity, which comprise shallow water areas, moist forest, alluvial plains and fertile cropped lands.

(2) Grasslands, shallow lakes and most agricultural lands.

(3) Areas of lowest productivity such as arctic lands, deserts and ocean deeps.

Pyramid of Productivity :

An ecological pyramid of productivity is often more useful, it show the production or turnover of biomass at each trophic level. Instead of showing a single snapshot in time, productivity pyramids show the flow of energy through the big-food chain. Typical units would be grams per meter per year or calories per meter per year. This graph begins with producers at the bottom and places higher trophic levels on top.

When an ecosystem is healthy, this graph produces a standard ecological pyramid. This is because in order for the ecosystem to sustain itself there must be more energy at lower trophic levels than there is at higher trophic levels.

This allows for organisms on the lower levels to not only maintain a stable population, but to also transfer energy up the pyramid. The exception to this generalization is when portions of a food web are supported by inputs of resources from outside of the local community.

When energy is transferred to the next trophic level, typically only 10% of it is used to build new biomass, becoming stored energy and most of them used in metabolic processes. As such, in a pyramid of productivity each step will be 10% the size of the previous step (100, 10, 1, 0.1, and 0.01).

The advantages of the pyramid of productivity are:

(i) It takes account of the rate of production over a period of time.

(ii) Two species of comparable biomass may have very different life spans.

Therefore their relative biomass is misleading, but their productivity is directly comparable.

An ecological pyramid of numbers shows graphically the population of each level in a food chain.

7. Essay on Energy Flow in an Ecosystem:

In an ecosystem Biotic components are connected to each other, Producer synthesize organic matter after using sun light, these organic matter also fulfill nutritional requirement of all types of consumer. Energy enters the biological system as light energy, or photons, is transformed into chemical energy in organic molecules by cellular processes including photosynthesis and respiration, and ultimately is converted to heat energy. This energy is dissipated, meaning it is lost to the system as heat; once it is lost it cannot be recycled.

Without the continued input of solar energy, biological systems would quickly shut down. Thus the earth is an open system with respect to energy. The organic matter transferred from producer to consumer in the form of food. Food is the source of energy and energy in the form of food transferred from producer to consumer. Such transfer is named as energy flow.

The carbon and energy incorporated into plant tissues (net primary production) is either consumed by animals while the plant is alive, or it remains uneaten when the plant tissue dies and becomes detritus. The transformations of energy in an ecosystem begin first with the input of energy from the sun.

Energy from the sun is captured by the process of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is combined with hydrogen (derived from the splitting of water molecules) to produce carbohydrates (CHO). Energy is stored in the high energy bonds of adenosine triphosphate or ATP. In terrestrial ecosystems, roughly 90% of the NPP ends up being broken down by decomposers.

The remainder is either consumed by animals while still alive and enters the plant-based trophic system, or it is consumed after it has died, and enters the detritus-based trophic system. In aquatic systems, the proportion of plant biomass that gets consumed by herbivores is much higher. In trophic systems photosynthetic organisms are the primary producers.

The organisms that consume their tissues are called primary consumers or secondary producers’ herbivores. Organisms which feed on microbes (bacteria and fungi) are termed microbivores. Animals that feed on primary consumers carnivores are secondary consumers.

Each of these constitutes a trophic level. The sequences of consumption of energy are from plant to herbivore, herbivore to carnivore that forms a food chain. Carnivores may capture some preys which are part of a plant-based trophic system and others that are part of a detritus-based trophic system (a bird that feeds both on herbivorous grasshoppers and earthworms, which consume detritus).

The frog represents a node in an extended food web. The energy ingested is utilized for metabolic processes and transformed into biomass. This energy flow diagram illustrates that energy is lost as it fuels the metabolic process that transforms the energy and nutrients into biomass.

An expanded three link energy food chain (1. plants, 2. herbivores, 3. carnivores) illustrating the relationship between food flow diagrams and energy transformity. The transformity of energy becomes degraded, dispersed, and diminished from higher quality to lesser quantity as the energy within a food chain flows from one trophic species into another.

It is so because at each transfer about 80 – 90% of the energy available at lower trophic level is used up to overcome its entropy and to perform metabolic activities. Only 10% of the energy is available to next trophic level (as per Lindemann’s ten percent rule).

Abbreviations: I = input, A=assimilation, R = respiration, NU = not utilized, P = production, B = biomass.

8. Essay on Food Chain and Food Web :

Food chains were first introduced by the African-Arab scientist and philosopher Al-Jahiz in the 9th century and later popularized in a book published in 1927 by Charles Elton, which also introduced the food web concept. A food chain is a linear sequence of links in a food web starting from a species that eats other species. A food chain shows you which animal eats which in a simple line. Most food chains have no more than four or five links.

There cannot be too many links in a single food chain because the animals at the end of the chain would not get enough food (and hence energy) to stay alive. Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food in order to meet their food and energy requirements.

These interconnected food chains form a food web. In a food chain, energy is passed from one link to another. When herbivore eats, only a fraction of the energy (that it gets from the plant food) becomes new body mass- the rest of the energy is lost as waste or used up by the herbivore to carry out its life processes.

Therefore, when the herbivore is eaten by a carnivore, it passes only a small amount of total energy (that it has received) to the carnivore. Of the energy transferred from the herbivore to the carnivore, some energy will be “wasted” or “used up” by the carnivore. The carnivore then has to eat many herbivores to get enough energy to grow.

A food chain differs from a food web, because the complex polyphagous network of feeding relations are aggregated into trophic species and the chain, only follows linear monophagous pathways. A common metric used to quantify food web trophic structure is food chain length.

In its simplest form, the length of a chain is the number of links between a trophic consumer and the base of the web and the mean chain length of an entire web is the arithmetic average of the lengths of all chains in a food web.

Food chains are directional paths of trophic energy or, equivalently, sequences of links that start with basal species, such as producers or fine organic matter and ends with consumer organisms.

The food chain length is a continuous variable that provides a measure of the passage of energy and an index of ecological structure that increases in value counting progressively through the linkages in a linear fashion from the lowest to the highest trophic (feeding) levels. Food chains are often used in ecological modeling.

Food chain varies in length from three to six or more levels. Ex:

1. A food chain consisting of a flower, a frog, a snake and an owl consists of four levels;

2. A food chain consisting of grass, a grasshopper, a rat, a snake and finally a hawk consists of five levels.

Producers, such as plants, are organisms that utilize solar energy or heat energy to synthesize starch. All food chains start with a producer. Consumers are organisms that eat other organisms. All organisms in a food chain, except the first organism, are consumers.

9. Essay on the Ecological Habitat :

Habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant, or other type of organism. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds (influences and is utilized by) a species population.

An area of land or water occupied by an organism, a group of a single species, a biocenosis, or a synousia and possessing all conditions required for its existence (climate, topography, soil, food).The habitat of a species is defined as the total area within the species’ range of distribution that satisfies the species’ ecological requirements. The habitat of a population is the part of the species’ habitat that will guarantee the existence of a population.

The habitat of an individual is the actual area occupied by a given individual in all phases of its development. The habitats of many species vary with the stage of development in the organism’s life cycle. The part of the habitat for a species occupies for a limited time only (a season, a part of a day) or for a particular purpose (feeding, reproduction) is called a station. The habitat of a biocenosis is called a biotope.

(i) Microhabitat :

The term microhabitat is often used to describe small-scale physical requirements of a particular organism or population.

(ii) Monotypic Habitat :

The monotypic habitat occurs in botanical and zoological contexts, and is a component of conservation biology. In restoration ecology of native plant communities or habitats, some invasive species create monotypic stands that replace and/or prevent other species, especially indigenous ones, from growing there.

A dominant colonization can occur from retardant chemicals exuded, nutrient monopolization, or from lack of natural controls such as herbivores or climate, that keep them in balance with their native habitats.

(iii) Ecological Niche:

The word literally means a specific place however the ecologist use it for the habitat along with the role a species or population plays in its ecosystem.

“Ecological niche means the total interaction of a species with in the environment or its functional position or status in an ecosystem.”

In ecology, a niche is a term describing the way of life of a species. Each species is thought to have a separate, unique niche. The ecological niche describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (e.g., by growing when resources are abundant, and when predators, parasites and pathogens are scarce) and how it in turn alters those same factors (e.g., limiting access to resources by other organisms, acting as a food source for predators and a consumer of prey).

The majority of species exist in a standard ecological niche. A premier example of a non-standard niche filling species is the flightless, ground-dwelling kiwi bird of New Zealand, which exists on worms, and other ground creatures, and lives its life in a mammal niche. Island biogeography can help explain island species and associated unfilled niches.

(iv) Grinnellian Niche:

The word “niche” is derived from the Middle French word nicher, meaning to nest. The term was coined by the naturalist Joseph Grinnell in 1917, in his paper “The niche relationships of the California Thrasher.” The Grinnellian niche concept embodies the idea that the niche of a species is determined by the habitat in which it lives. In other words, the niche is the sum of the habitat requirements that allow a species to persist and produce offspring.

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U.S. Plan to Protect Oceans Has a Problem, Some Say: Too Much Fishing

An effort to protect 30 percent of land and waters would count some commercial fishing zones as conserved areas.

By Catrin Einhorn

New details of the Biden administration’s signature conservation effort, made public this month amid a burst of other environmental announcements, have alarmed some scientists who study marine protected areas because the plan would count certain commercial fishing zones as conserved.

The decision could have ripple effects around the world as nations work toward fulfilling a broader global commitment to safeguard 30 percent of the entire planet’s land, inland waters and seas. That effort has been hailed as historic, but the critical question of what, exactly, counts as conserved is still being decided.

This early answer from the Biden administration is worrying, researchers say, because high-impact commercial fishing is incompatible with the goals of the efforts.

“Saying that these areas that are touted to be for biodiversity conservation should also do double duty for fishing as well, especially highly impactful gears that are for large-scale commercial take, there’s just a cognitive dissonance there,” said Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, a marine biologist at Oregon State University who led a group of scientists that in 2021 published a guide for evaluating marine protected areas .

The debate is unfolding amid a global biodiversity crisis that is speeding extinctions and eroding ecosystems, according to a landmark intergovernmental assessment . As the natural world degrades, its ability to give humans essentials like food and clean water also diminishes. The primary driver of biodiversity declines in the ocean, the assessment found, is overfishing. Climate change is an additional and ever-worsening threat.

Fish are an important source of nutrition for billions of people around the world. Research shows that effectively conserving key areas is an key tool to keep stocks healthy while also protecting other ocean life.

Nations are watching to see how the United States enacts its protections.

The American approach is specific because the broader plan falls under the United Nations biodiversity treaty, which the United States has never ratified. The effort in the United States is happening under a 2021 executive order by President Biden.

Still, the United States, a powerful donor country, exerts considerable influence on the sidelines of the U.N. talks. Both the American and international efforts are known as 30x30.

On April 19, federal officials launched a new website updating the public on their 30x30 efforts. They did not indicate how much land was currently conserved (beyond approximately 13 percent of permanently protected federal lands), stating that they needed to better understand what was happening at the state, tribal and private levels. But they announced a number for the ocean: about a third of U.S. marine areas are currently conserved, the website said.

The problem, according to scientists, is how the Biden administration arrived at that figure.

Everyone seems to agree that the highly protected areas classified as marine national monuments should count as conserved, and they did: four in the Pacific around Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa that were set up and expanded between 2006 and 2016; and one in the Atlantic southeast of Cape Cod, designated in 2016. A vast area of the Arctic where commercial fishing is banned was also included, with wide agreement.

But other places on the list should not be counted unless protections there are tightened, said Lance Morgan, a marine biologist and president of the Marine Conservation Institute, a nonprofit group that maintains a global map of the ocean’s protected areas.

For example, 15 National Marine Sanctuaries are included. While these areas typically restrict activities like oil and gas drilling, they do not require reduced quotas of commercial fishing. High-impact fishing techniques like bottom trawling, which damages seafloor habitat and captures vast amounts of fish, are prohibited in certain sanctuaries but permitted in others.

Also included on the list are “deep sea coral protection areas” that ban seafloor fishing like bottom trawling, but not some other commercial fishing methods.

“Much more effort should be focused on improving the National Marine Sanctuary program and ensuring that new areas being created provide conservation benefits and ban commercial fishing methods like bottom trawling and long-lining,” Dr. Morgan said.

Senior officials with the Biden administration emphasized that ocean work under 30x30 was far from over. Very little of the conserved marine area is near the continental United States, for example, and one of the administration’s priorities is adding places there to make the effort more geographically representative.

But they defended the decision to include areas that allow commercial fishing. Despite the high-impact gear, national marine sanctuaries have long been considered protected areas by the United Nations, they pointed out. More generally, they said, the administration weighed various approaches to defining what it would count.

For example, while an atlas of marine protected areas maintained by Dr. Morgan’s group considers 25 percent of American waters to be conserved, the U.S. Fishery Management Councils puts that number at more than 72 percent . Administration officials said their number reflected important conservation work by a variety of agencies and stakeholders.

“We do have very highly regulated fisheries in the U.S.,” said Matt Lee-Ashley, the chief of staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which is helping to coordinate the 30x30 effort. “And so, our domestic definition of conservation may be a little bit different, and other countries’ definitions may be a little bit different.”

Even though the United States has not ratified the biodiversity treaty, it will still submit a conservation total to be counted toward the global 30x30 commitment. Officials said they were still weighing which areas to submit.

In a statement, representatives of the Fishery Management Councils praised the inclusion of commercial fishing areas, noting that they are managed under “very stringent sustainability and conservation standards.”

But sustainably managed commercial fishing is what should be happening in the rest of the ocean, said Enric Sala, a marine biologist who studies and advocates for marine protected areas. Allowing commercial fishing in places conserved under 30x30, he said, is “padding the numbers.”

“People are looking up to the U.S.,” Dr. Sala, who is originally from Spain, said. “That sends a really bad signal.”

Catrin Einhorn covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times. More about Catrin Einhorn

More From Forbes

From chaos to collaboration: the rise of alliance ecosystems.

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CEO of Momentum ITSMA , helping firms develop, embed and enable Account-Based Marketing strategies, and author of The ABM Effect.

In the ever-changing world of enterprise buying, alliance ecosystems are reshaping how businesses thrive and outperform others. Dynamic networks of strategic partners are driving new solution innovation, co-creating value for clients, and developing joint revenue growth. As clients demand more integrated solutions from suppliers, embedding an effective alliance ecosystem can be a winning strategy.

Orchestrating Success Together

Gone are the days when working with partners just meant entertaining them at an annual event and equipping them with a few emails and brochures to help them generate lead volume. It’s now far more complex—and potentially valuable.

My own company has witnessed a rapid shift in the expectations of our global buyers. They now demand much greater collaboration between their suppliers to help them reduce the complexity they’re wrestling with. As a result, we have seen how the ability to effectively co-create and innovate with alliance partners can help grow strategic clients in the short and long term. A business’s success may hinge on how effectively they work with partners to develop more holistic solutions to meet individual client needs. For those that are successful, the result is a win-win-win, creating increased value for both partners and clients.

A Powerful Driver Of Growth

Research from Canalys shows that 70% of worldwide IT spend flows through partners, and my company’s research has found that a majority of B2B organizations are maintaining or increasing investments in partners and alliances . As organizations strive for growth, alliance ecosystems have emerged as powerful drivers of success. Here's why:

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• Enhanced Customer Experience And Satisfaction: Collaborative alliance ecosystems can enable businesses to deliver more seamless solutions that address customer needs holistically. The integrated nature of these offerings can help create a superior customer experience, which can, in turn, lead to higher satisfaction and long-term loyalty.

• A Hotbed Of Innovation: In the pursuit of new avenues for growth and competitive advantage, organizations are turning to their partnerships. By tapping into diverse expertise and perspectives, businesses can cultivate fresh ideas, drive product and service breakthroughs, and stay ahead of market trends.

• Unlocking Competitive Edge: Research from Crossbeam has found that deals are 53% more likely to close (and 46% faster) when a partner is involved. Alliance ecosystems can provide the agility needed to navigate an ever-changing business landscape. By leveraging the strengths and resources of partners, organizations can adapt more swiftly, seize opportunities and outperform the market.

Creating An Effective Alliance Ecosystem

The path to establishing a thriving alliance ecosystem is not without challenges. Divergent goals, misaligned resources, knowledge gaps, internal conflicts and cumbersome processes can all result in a poor customer experience, which can ultimately destroy the potential value of the partnership.

Marketing can play a pivotal role in helping an organization achieve alliance success. I recommend letting your marketing team take the lead in informing and guiding the development of your partner ecosystem strategies, programs and activities. Prioritizing the right partners as strategic alliances, aligning resources, understanding account mix, and mapping the journey are important steps in building a robust ecosystem that can deliver what clients need.

Based on the Partner Collaboration framework developed by my company, here are five steps to help you tap into the full potential of your partners and drive strategic client growth as you build your alliance ecosystem.

1. Prioritize the best partnerships. Prioritize the partnerships that best align with your strategic clients’ needs and your goals. Focus on those who can bring added value, extend your capabilities and open new doors.

2. Determine the best alignments. Take time to understand how you and your alliance partners’ account development processes align and where they differ. Leverage the organizational capabilities already in place to ensure you focus on the right accounts to create bigger opportunities.

3. Define your shared value proposition. Work with your partners to define your shared, client-centric value proposition, and ensure your respective teams are equipped to articulate it to clients throughout the buying cycle. Collaborate with your partners to share market and client insights, and brainstorm new ideas about how to create new client value and unlock new opportunities. I recommend utilizing shared tech platforms and AI capabilities, as I have found that this can result in sharper and more effective engagement.

4. Agree on goals and reporting metrics upfront. This helps ensure that every party involved sees the potential value that can be generated. Reporting can pose a challenge when two different organizations with distinct reporting methodologies collaborate, so I advise keeping your reporting straightforward and tied to agreed-upon objectives.

5. Harmonize internal teams. It’s no good trying to build collaborative relationships with partners if your own teams aren’t aligned on the purpose and objectives. So, it’s important to agree on shared goals and KPIs across your key stakeholder groups, including sales, marketing, ABM and alliance management. Alongside agreeing on your shared goals, build a common understanding among all stakeholders of what you’re doing and why. This may include delving into the company's alliances strategy, identifying partner types and specializations, and defining the roles and responsibilities of alliance teams.

Understanding the nuances of marketing to, with, and through partners is important. Educate your sales and marketing teams on the value that partners can bring and how to build successful partnerships based on a win-win mindset. Nurturing commercial acumen among your team members and familiarizing them with sales data can empower them to effectively collaborate within the ecosystem and drive business together.

In the dynamic world of B2B, where competition is intense and clients demand constant innovation, embracing the power of partner ecosystems can be an effective driver of growth, help your organization deliver exceptional value to customers, and help you and your partners outperform the competition.

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Will you please stop idling your car?

According to the Department of Energy, Americans waste 6 billion gallons of fuel each year to go nowhere. Credit: Newsday/Jim Peppler

This guest essay reflects the views of Tim Donahue, a high school English teacher who lives in Westchester County and writes about climate change and education.

By design, many environmentally degrading behaviors occur where you wouldn't really look — far away in the tar sands of northern Alberta, or seven miles beneath the ocean floor, acting like termites gnawing at your very foundation. Idling one's car is more like the stink bug, sitting out there in broad view. I don't know for a fact that the guy with the Denali keeps his whole house at 64° all summer long, but I can see him in the emergency lane at Foodtown, sharing his exhaust as he waits for the Popsicles — it's hot out, after all!

As with so much, the harm is not in the singular act, but in the accumulation. According to the Department of Energy, Americans waste 6 billion gallons of fuel each year to go nowhere. Engine exhaust irritates and inflames the respiratory tract and is particularly harmful to children, who breathe faster and inhale more air per pound of body weight. We grieve that, globally, seven million people have died from COVID-19, though as many as 10 million people die each year from air pollution.

Back at Foodtown, I've come to see this as an opportunity. When else can you find your intended audience just sitting there, unable to delete themselves? By now, I've approached more than 200 cars, often the ones lined up for school pickup. About 80%, upon gentle provocation, are willing to shut off their engines. Many of them don’t even know there’s a law against it.

Anti-idlers, like those in my local Clean Air Collective, have worked to pass a smattering of laws, but the fines are rarely enforced. Is it too petty? Is it too invasive? There have been a variety of reporting schemes, including New York City’s famous Citizens Air Complaint Program, which theoretically allows anyone with a camera to report offending trucks and recoup a quarter of the fine. We can debate whether idling is a collective problem or an individual problem. Or, we can act — simply by pressing a button or turning a key and shutting the motor off.

Here’s what happens when you do that: On a 50-degree day, your cabin temperature will plummet from 70° to 65° in 15 minutes. On an 80-degree day, if you find shade, it will rise about as much.

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Just like household climate control, car purchases, and hot sauce preference, idling is another purely elective behavior, another way to distance reality from what it is to what it is for me. So, it, too, relies on collective action. Toward this, I find writer Ezra Klein's words to be helpful: “Don’t think about consumption — even your consumption — as an individual. Think of yourself as a node for social, political and moral contagion.”

I struggle — as an educator, a father, and a consumer — between two truths: We desperately need to speed up our response to the climate issues that are making lives harder even now, yet we know that selling this as a bunch of sacrifices is not going to work. We need something more convincing, and we need to construct this response together. I can’t think of a more important use of a classroom or a town hall meeting.

But for the time being, as we welcome once again the miraculous procession of spring, the least we can do is turn off the engine, open up the window, and breathe the collective air.