ESL 330: Energy, Ecology and Environment

Dr. Satyananda Kar

Centre for Energy Studies

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
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 Syllabus
Concepts of ecosystems and environment, Characteristics and
types of ecosystems, Autecology and synecology, Energy flow in
ecosystems, Feedback loops, Trophic webs, Eco-technology and
Eco-development, Energy-environment interaction, Impact of
energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, solar, wind, biomass, hydro,
geothermal, tidal, wave, ocean thermal and nuclear) on
environment, local regional and global implications, Approaches to
mitigate environmental emissions from energy sector, Global
initiatives Kyoto Protocol, Clean development mechanism, Case
studies 2
 Suggested Books
• Edward H. Thorndike, Energy and Environment: A Primer for Scientist and
Engineers, Addison – Wesley Publishing Co. (1978).
• Gilbert M. Masters, Introduction to Environmental Engineering and
Science, Prentice Hall of India (1994).
• Richard Wilson and William J. Jones, Energy Ecology and the Environment,
Academic Press Inc. (1974).
• David Coley: Energy and Climate Change, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd (2008).
• J. L. Chapman and M. J. Reiss, Ecology: Principles and Applications,
Cambridge University Press (1999).
• Robert A. Ristinen and Jack J. Kraushaav, Energy and the Environment, John
Wiley and Sons Inc. (1999).

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Course Structure
3–1-0
Minor Test – I = 20%
Minor Test- II = 20%
Major Test = 45%
Class Quizzes = 5%
Tutorial = 10%
Attendance = 100%

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 Environment

“the sum total of water, air and

land and the inter-relationships
that exist among them and with
the human beings, other living
organisms and materials.”
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 Importance of Environmental Study

 Ecology and biodiversity

 Human population and environment
 Environmental pollution and control
 Natural resources—their conservation and management
 Social issues in relation to development and environment

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 Scope of Environmental Study
1. Research & Development (R & D) in environment: Skilled environmental scientists have an
important role to play in examining various environmental problems in a scientific manner
and carry out R & D activities for developing cleaner technologies and promoting
sustainable development.
2. Green advocacy: With increasing emphasis on implementing various Acts and Laws related
to environment, need for environmental lawyers has emerged, who should be able to
plead the cases related to water and air pollution, forest, wildlife etc.
3. Green marketing: While ensuring the quality of products with ISO mark, now there is an
increasing emphasis on marketing goods that are environment friendly. Such products
have ecomark or ISO 14000 certification. Environmental auditors and environmental
managers would be in great demand in the coming years.
4. Environment consultancy: Many non-government organisations (NGOs), industries and
government bodies are engaging environmental consultants for systematically studying
and tackling environment related problems.
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Global Importance of Environment
Issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer, dwindling forests and energy
resources, loss of global biodiversity etc. which are going to affect the mankind as a whole
are global in nature and for that we have to think and plan globally.
Local Importance of Environment
Impact of mining or hydroelectric project in an area, problems of disposal and management
of solid waste, river or lake pollution, soil erosion, water logging and salinization of soil,
fluorosis problem in local population, arsenic pollution of groundwater etc., we have to
think and act locally.
Individualistic Importance of Environment (Public awareness)
Like dealing with safe and clean drinking water, hygienic living conditions, clean and fresh
air, fertile land, healthy food and sustainable development.

If we want to live in a clean, healthy, aesthetically beautiful, safe and secure environment
for a long time and wish to hand over a clean and safe earth to our children, grandchildren
and great grandchildren, it is most essential to understand the basics of environment.
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Lecture - II

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 Introduction of Ecology
Oikos – House + logos - study
Old Definition of Ecology

Study of animals and plants interacting

with their habits and habitats.

Fungi, Bacteria, New Definition of Ecology

Protoctists, Human
beings, plants,
animals, etc
Study of organisms interacting with
their surroundings in which they live.
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 Autecology

Study of an individual organism or species with

the environment

Synecology

If all the species living together are studied

as a community with the environment.

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 Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a self-regulating group of biotic communities of species
interacting with one another and with their non-living environment exchanging
energy and matter. Now ecology is often defined as ‘‘the study of ecosystems’’.

The ecosystem is the functional unit in ecology as it consists of both the biotic
community (living organisms) and the abiotic environment.

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(Habitat)

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 Life of an
Interlocking Jigsaw organism can be
affected by
these factors
also:
Predator Prey
1.Time of year
2. Quality of
nesting
Disease
3. Climate
4. Soil
Organism
Offspring

Weather

Mate
Living place
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 Nature of Ecology

How any organism survives, reproduces and interacts

with other organisms?

1) Observe and record the organism in its natural environment (or field)
2) Experiment in the field, how the organism reacts to certain changes in its
surroundings
3) Experiments in a controlled environment in laboratory

Check the experiments and analysis are correct.

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 Study of Ecology

Why should we study Ecology and Environment?

1) It provides information how the world works

2) Provides facts on the interdependence between the natural world and people
3) Provides information about the natural resources, which would be helpful to
humans
4) Environmental pollution and control

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 Study of Ecology

then

1) Why does this organism live or grow here and not there?
2) How does the organism obtain its food?
3) Is a particular nutrient limiting its growth or numbers?
4) Is something else limiting its growth or number?
5) Does it reproduce in this site and if so how?
6) Is it absent from parts of the site due to some factor?
7) How and when do the young disperse?
8) What cause the death of the organism?
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 Types of Ecology

1) Behavioral Ecology (how organisms react with biotic or abiotic factors in their
environment)
2) Population Ecology (structure and dynamics of population)
3) Community Ecology (interaction between organisms, like who’s feeding, who
helps whom, who competes with whom)
4) Ecosystem Ecology (living of different species (plants, animals, microbes) with
abiotic factors in their surrounding)
5) Habitat Ecology
A. Aquatic Ecology
B. Terrestrial Ecology

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 Characteristics of a Community ecology

1)Trophic structure (flow of energy and material from plants to

herbivores to carnivores)
2)Dominance (one or more species which occur in large
number)
3)Structure (determining the density, frequency and abundance
of species)
4)Diversity (different size but growing in a uniform
environment)
5)Periodicity (growth, reproduction, etc in various seasons)
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Lecture - III

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 Every ecosystem performs the following important functions:

(i) It has different food chains and food webs. Food chain is the sequence of
eating and being eaten. e.g.,
Grass → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk
Phytoplanktons (water-algae) → water fleas → small fish → large fish (Tuna)
These are known as grazing food chain—which start with green plants and
culminate with carnivores.
Another type is detritus food chain—which starts with dead organic matter.
e.g.,
Leaf litter in a forest → Fungi → bacteria

Food chains are generally found to be interlinked and inter-woven as a network

and known as Food Web. There are several options of eating and being eaten
in a food web. Hence these are more stable. 21
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(ii) There is uni-directional flow of energy in an ecosystem. It flows from sun and then
after being captured by primary producers (green plants), flows through the food chain or
food web, following the laws of thermodynamics. At every successive step in the food-
chain, there is huge loss of about 90% of the energy in different processes (respiration,
excretion, locomotion etc.) and only 10% moves to next level (Ten per cent law of energy
flow).

(iii) Nutrients (Materials) in an ecosystem move in a cyclic manner. The cycling of

nutrients takes place between the biotic and abiotic components, hence known as
biogeochemical cycles (bio = living, geo = earth, chemical = nutrients).

(iv) Every ecosystem functions to produce and sustain some primary production (plant
biomass) and secondary production (animal biomass).

(v) Every ecosystem regulates and maintains itself and resists any stresses or
disturbances up to a certain limit. This self regulation or control system is known as
cybernetic system. 23
 Energy flows in Ecosystems
Survival of an organism requires Energy and nutrients.

According to food

Autotrophs Heterotrophs

Photo Chemo
autotrophs autotrophs
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Heterotrophic Nutrition

Ingest

Egest

Digest

Absorption

Assimilation Excrete
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 Ingestion by Heterotrophs
According to food
Holozoic nutrition Saprotrophic
Parasitic nutrition
nutrition
Feed on relatively large
pieces of dead organic Feeds from live organism (host)
materials. Lives on a dead organic matter
and takes food from it, e.g., fungi
Carnivores Endoparasites (live inside
Herbivores their host, e.g., tapeworms)
Ectoparacites (live outside,
Omnivores e.g., flees) Both liquid (bacteria) and solid
(earthworms) forms

Granivores = grain or seed (by birds) Liquid forms

Frugivores = fruit
Folivores = leaves of trees
Grazers = grasses or herbs
Browsers = leaves, young shoots, fruits 26
 Metabolism or aerobic
Metabolic Rate respiration = the
chemical processes
occurring in a living cell
The organism needs the amount of energy per unit time. for converting of
nutrients into useful
Unit = number of Joules (or kcal) of energy uses per day energy.

So oxygen consumption α energy requirements

Energy
required
for

 Growth (repair or make new tissues)

 Reproduction (population)

 Activity (locomotion, etc,)

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 Basal Metabolic Rate
The organism needs the minimum amount energy for respiration to maintain life when
the body is at rest.

Three conditions to be fulfilled for basal metabolic rate:

Not
practical
I. Organism must be at rest.
II. Organism needs to be in a I. No activity
II. Temp. may very.
thermoneutral environment. III. What about before
III. Organism must be in a post- eating?
absorptive state.

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 Daily Energy Expenditure

Ecologist are more interested in organism’s real life energy expenditure.

Daily energy expenditure includes Energy spent

on
1. Locomotion
2. Thermoregulation
3. Growth and
4. Reproduction

Always the daily energy expenditure is more than the basal

metabolic rate depending on size and life style. 29