Ecology: function of an ecosystem

The system resulting from the integration of all the living and non-living factors of the environment . The term Eco means environment & System implies the interacting interdependent complex.

-Tansley : 1935

An ecosystem is a natural functional unit of ecology comprising living organisms and their non-living environment that interact to form a stable system.
- Odum: 1963

Energy flow in an ecosystem

Energy in an ecosystem is unidirectional. The sun is the main source of energy. Only 3% of the suns energy is absorbed by the autotrophs to manufacture their food by photosynthesis so they are called producers. The solar energy of the sun is converted to chemical energy. This energy stored in the plants is transferred to the heterotrophs.
Producers >Herbivores>Carnivores >Decomposers

>>>direction of energy flow

Energy flow must accompany nutrient

cycling and vice-versa

At each transfer 80%-90% of the energy is dissipated or lost as heat produced during respiration & for metabolic activities. According to the 2nd law of thermodynamics whenever energy is transformed from one form into another there is a decrease in the amount of utilizable energy.

Primary consumers 10%

Producer 100%

Secondary consumers 1%
F o o d

Reducers

Tertiary consumers 0.1%

Trophic Levels
Top carnivores 4th trophic level

Carnivores 3rd trophic level

Herbivores 2nd trophic level

Trophic levels may be defined as the steps in a food chain at which transfer of food energy takes place. The number of steps in a food chain corresponds to the trophic levels. The first trophic level is generally designated as T1 and the successive ones as T2, T3, T4, T5 respectively. The amount of living material present in a trophic level is called the standing crop.

Producers 1st trophic level

Why does an ecosystem have limited number of trophic levels???

There is loss of food

energy at each transfer. Food is not completely utilized by the organisms of a trophic level, some part of the food goes waste. A large amount of energy is used in metabolism and also lost as heat energy.

Ecological Pyramids
Ecological pyramids represent the trophic structure as well as the trophic function of an ecosystem. It is a graphic representation of the relationship between individuals present in various trophic levels of a food chain. This concept was developed by Elton. There are 3 types of pyramids: Pyramid of number Pyramid of biomass Pyramid of energy

Pyramid of number
It shows the numerical relationship between different trophic levels of a food chain. In such a food chain the more abundant species form the base of the pyramid and the less abundant species remain near the top. NOTE: In a parasitic food chain the pyramid of numbers is reversed as parasites are more numerous than hosts.

Pyramid of biomass
The biomass is the living weight of the organisms of the food chain present at any time in an ecosystem. The pyramid of biomass indicates the decrease or the gradual reduction in biomass at each trophic level from base to apex. The biomass of the producers is the greatest. NOTE: It is inverted in case of pond ecosystem.

Pyramid of energy
It indicates the total energy at each trophic level. It also exhibits that at each trophic level loss of energy and material takes place as the processes of assimilation and growth are not 100% efficient. It decreases at each trophic level & only 10% chemical energy is retained at each trophic level.

The Ten Percent Law

After studying energy transfer in different food chains in a large number of ecosystem, Lindermann in 1942 gave a generalised law called the Ten Percent Law. According to this law only 10% of the energy entering a particular trophic level is available for transfer to the next higher trophic level.

Food Chain
It is the sequence of living organisms in an ecosystem in which one organism eats another organism and in turn is being eaten. The various components or levels of food chain can be defined as a group of organisms in which there is a transfer of food energy through a series of repeated eating and being eaten. Some characters of a food chain: Unidirectional flow of energy Shorter the food chain the more efficient it is The size of a food chain is determined by the number of trophic levels in a food chain. Grass Rabbit Snake

Types of Food Chains

Grazing food chain This food chain starts with plants which manufacture food by the influx of solar energy. This energy is then transferred to the consumers. Grass Deer Tiger

Detritus food chain This food chain goes from dead organic matter into microorganisms, then transferred to detritivores and finally to predators. This chain does not depend directly on solar energy. It depends on the influx organic matter produced in the grazing food chain.

FOOD WEB
Food web may be defined as the network of a number of food chains existing in an ecosystem. Unlike a food chain a food web has several alternative pathways for the flow of energy. Some of its main features are: In a food web no food chain is independent. Formed by the interlinking of 2 types of food chains It provides alternative pathways of food availability & thus provides stability.

productivity of an ecosystem
In ecology, productivity or production refers to the rate of generation 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 metre per day. The Productivity of autotrophs such as plants is called primary productivity, while that of heterotrophs such as animals is called secondary productivity.[1]

PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY
Primary production is the synthesis of new organic material from inorganic molecules such as H2O and CO2 (by the process of photosynthesis & sometimes by chemosynthesis). Organisms responsible for primary production include land plants, marine algae and some bacteria (including cyanobacteria). It is of 2 types: a. GPP: It refers to the total amount of organic matter produced by photosynthesis. b. NPP: It is the rate of storage of organic matter in plant tissues in excess of the respiratory utilization.

SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY
Secondary production is the generation of biomass of heterotrophic(consumer) organisms in a system. It represents the quantity of new tissue created through the use of assimilated food. Ecologists prefer to use the word assimilation instead of secondary productivity because there is no true production. Organisms responsible for secondary production include animals, protists, fungi and many bacteria. NOTE: Net Productivity(NP)= NPPConsumption by heterotrophs

respiration

PLANTS GPP=90% energy

90-5=85% NPP

metabolism

growth

Respiration

Circulation

HERBIVORES 85% from plants

85-5=80% NSP

Growth
Reproduction

Respiration

Circulation

CARNIVORES 80% from herbivores

Growth

Reproduction

GPP=Gross primary productivity NPP=Net primary productivity NSP=Net secondary productivity

Energy flow models

Single channel energy flow model 1. Lindemans model (suggested by Lindeman in 1942) 2. Box and pipe energy flow model (suggested by Odum in 1953) According to this energy model: Flow of energy is unidirectional The system proceeds towards randomness because there is a decrease in energy level at each trophic level.

Autotrophs GPP

NPP

Herbivores

NSP

Carnivores

Y-shaped or two channel energy flow model

Odum suggested this model in 1962. This model signifies that energy flows along two arms i.e. two food chains ; grazing and detritus food chains. This model is more practical because: i. It confirms the basic stratified structure of the ecosystem. ii. It separates the grazing and detritus food chains iii. It shows that the two food chains are not isolated from each other.
herbivores carniv -ores

Grazing food chain

plants
Detritus feeders

predators

Detritus food chain

conclusion
Energy is converted from one form to another. There is a continuous transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next. At each trophic level some energy is utilized for metabolism, some is passed on to the next trophic level & some is lost as heat. Amount of energy available at each trophic level is lesser than that at the previous level. The energy lost as heat at each trophic level is collectively called community heat.

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