The study of the relationships between biotic and

abiotic factors in environments

Examples of Biotic Factors

Plants

Animals

Microorganisms

Abiotic Factors
All non living components of the environment are
abiotic factors. They include air, water, soil,
temperature, rainfall, humidity, minerals, source of
energy.

Biome
A
A major
major regional
regional or
or global
global biotic
biotic community,
community, aa
super
super ecosystem,
ecosystem, defined
defined chiefly
chiefly by
by the
the dominant
dominant
forms
forms of
of plant
plant life
life and
and the
the prevailing
prevailing climate
climate

Major Biomes of the World

Desert
Desert
Grassland
Grassland
Tropical
Tropical rain
rain forest
forest
Deciduous
Deciduous forest
forest
Coniferous
Coniferous forest
forest
Tundra
Tundra
Ocean
Ocean

Tropical
Tropical rain
rain forest
forest

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Deciduous
Deciduous forest
forest

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Coniferous
Coniferous forest
forest

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Tundra
Tundra

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Life Organization

Levels of Organization

Levels of Organization
large
smallest
group
one
all
organisms
interacting
living
individual
region
of and
similar
different
organs
unit
nonliving
ofpopulations
of
living
living
cells
the
working
typical
kinds
thing
same
of
smallest
group
one
all
large
region
unitwith
with
typical
organized
tissues
together
kind
in
things
plants
an
ecosystem
interacting
and
working
in
to
animals
one
work
area
within
that aa
organized
tissues
together
kind
in
things
plants
anliving
living
interacting
working
in
onetogether
together
area
within
together
certain
includes
several
togetherarea
certain
includes
ecosystems
ecosystems

cell

Ecosystems:
Fundamental Characteristics
Structure:
Living (biotic)
Nonliving (abiotic)

Function:
Energy flow
Cycling of matter

Ecosyste
m
Structure

Bioti
c
Produc
ers
Consum
ers
Decompos
ers

Functions

Abiotic
Physic
al
Solar flux,
Temperature,

Chemic
al

Rainfall,

Carbon,
Nitrogen,
Phosphorus,

Wind,

Potassium,

Water

Hydrogen,

Latitude,

Oxygen, Salts,

Altitude,

Organic
substances in
the soil

Soil type etc

Food Chain,
Food web,
Ecological Pyramids,
Bio-geo
Cycles
Ecological
Succession

Chemical

In an ecosystem the biological cycling of materials is

maintained by three groups

Producers

Consumers

Decomposers / Recyclers

Producers, Consumers and Decomposers:

Producers:
Autotrophic organisms, largely green plants which are able
to manufacture the required food material from simple
inorganic substances.

Consumers:
Heterotrophic organisms, chiefly animals, which ingest
other organisms or particulate organic matter, are included
in this category
(i) Primary Consumers Herbivores
(ii) Secondary Consumers Carnivores
(iii) Tertiary Consumers Carnivores or Omnivores

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Examples of producers:

Photosynthetic Bacteria

Grasses

Trees

Shrubs

Herbivores:

Also

primary

consumers,

feed

directly on living plants or plant residues. They

have vegetarian diet.

Carnivores: Also secondary/ tertiary consumers, which feed on

consumers, i.e. they have non- vegetarian diet.
They are also called Predators

Omnivores: Consumers, which feed on producers as well as on

primary consumers, i.e. they have vegetarian as well as nonvegetarian diet.

 Micro-consumers: Also Saprotrophs/ Detritivores . They are

popularly known as decomposers, such as bacteria, fungi, flagellates
& actinomyctes.
They feed on organic compounds of dead or living protoplasm of
plants and animals for their food and energy
They absorb some of the decomposition or breakdown products &
release inorganic compounds (nutrients) in the ecosystem, making
them available again to producers.

Trophic Levels
A trophic level is the position occupied by an
organism in a food chain.
Producers
Primary consumer
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumer
Decomposers

Producers

Consumers

FLOW OF ENERGY
HERBIVORES
PRODUCERS
Carbohydrates,
fats, proteins,
nucleic acids etc.
CARNIVORES

DECOMPOSERS
NUTRIENT
POOL
material
energy

Law of 10%
Calories
Solar Energy

1,00,000

1%

10,000

Producers
10%

1,000

Herbivores
10%
Carnivores

Consumers

10%
Top Carnivore

Law of 10% proposed by Lindeman

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Food Chains
The transfer of food energy from the producers,
through a series of organisms (herbivores,
carnivores and decomposers) with repeated
eating and being eaten, is known as food chain.
1. Grazing food chain
2. Detritus food chain

Trophic
level

Feeding
strategy

Quaternary
consumer

Decomposer
food chain

Grazing
food chain

Coopers hawk

Tertiary
consumer
Robin

Coopers hawk

Earthworm

Robin

Bacteria, archaea

Cricket

Dead maple leaves

Maple tree leaves

Secondary
consumer

Primary
decomposer
or consumer

Primary
producer

Grazing Food Chain

This food chain starts from the living green plants and goes
to grazing herbivores and onto carnivores.
These chains are extremely important from energy
stand point.

Grass

Rabbit

Fox

Lion

Food Webs:
Food chains in natural conditions never operate as
isolated sequences, but are inter connected with each
other forming a sort of inter locking pattern, which is
referred to as food web.
The linear arrangement of food chains hardly occurs and
they are interconnected under natural conditions, thus
there are found alternatives in nature.
In a grazing food chain of grassland, in the absence of
rabbit, grass may also eaten by mouse. The mouse may
in turn be eaten directly by hawk or by snake first which
is then eaten by hawk.

1. Grass

3. Grass
4. Grass
5. Grass

Grasshopper

Rabbit

Hawk

Hawk (Vulture/Fox/Man)
Mouse

Mouse

Hawk
Snake

Hawk

A balanced ecosystem is essential for the survival of all

living organisms of the system.
Thus food chains and food webs form a natural
check to balance the ecosystem.

Ecological Pyramids
The graphical representation of the trophic structure and
trophic function is referred to as Ecological Pyramids
In this, producer level forms the base and
successive levels or tiers make up the apex. Ecological
pyramids may be of 3 general types:
1.
2.
3.
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The Pyramid of Numbers

The Pyramid of Biomass
The Pyramid of Energy
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37

Pyramid of Numbers
Gives the relationship between producers, herbivores and carnivores at
successive trophic levels in terms of their numbers.
Pyramid of Biomass: To produce a pyramid of biomass the dry weight of
each species present is calculated.
Pyramid of Energy: In this pyramid, the number and weight of organisms
at any trophic level depends on the rate at which food is being produced
but not on the amount of fixed energy at any level in a given time.

The pyramids of numbers and biomass may be upright (or)

inverted depending upon the nature of food chain in the
particular ecosystem but the pyramids of energy are always
upright.

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Cycling of Matter: by Biogeochemical cycles

Hydrological cycle
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Phosphorous cycle
Sulfur cycle

The Water Cycle (Hydrologic cycle)

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Carbon cycle

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Nitrogen cycle

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Types of
Ecosystem
Man-Made

Natural

Aquatic

Terrestrial

Forest

Grassland

Desert

Freshwat
er

Estuari
es

Lentic

Lotic

Eg:
Ponds,
Lakes

Eg:Rivers
canals,
streams

Marine

Types of Ecosystem

On the basis of particular type of habitat, they are further sub divided as:
Terrestrial Ecosystems (Biomes):
They are often defined by the vegetation types that dominate the community.
Terrestrial vegetation has a rapid exchange of oxygen, water & carbon
dioxide.
Moisture is the major limiting factor, faces the problem of dehydration.
Examples of terrestrial ecosystem are:
Forest ecosystem, Grassland ecosystem, Desert ecosystem.
Aquatic Ecosystems (Biomes):
Aquatic ecosystems deal with biotic community present in water bodies.
In terrestrial ecosystem, carbon dioxide and oxygen are present in gaseous
form, but in aquatic ecosystem these are made available in dissolved state.

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Aquatic ecosystems fall into two categories:

Freshwater Ecosystem and Marine Ecosystem.
Freshwater ecosystem may be:
Lotic (Running water)
Example: Streams, Rivers, Springs
Lentic (Standing water)
Examples: Lakes, ponds, swamps
Marine ecosystems includes
Deep sea and Oceans.

Ecological Succession
Ecological succession is the gradual process by which
ecosystems change and develop over a period of
time.
In the process of succession, the species present in
an area will gradually change.
There are two types of ecological succession:
1. Primary Succession
2. Secondary Succession
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