ecosystem · 2018-02-01 · relationships between living organisms ... it does not depend on the...
TRANSCRIPT
Ecosystem:
Ecology
Abiotic
Biotic
Micro-organism
Producers
Consumers
Photosynthesis
Decomposers
herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Ectodermic
Endothermic
Transpiration
Terrestrial
Aquatic
Xerophytes
Mesophytes
Hydrophytes
An ecosystem is an area in which there exists
relationships between living organisms
themselves and the living organisms and
the non-living environment.
Some examples of ecosystems are: a river, a
grassland, a fallen rock.
The study of all the relationships in an
ecosystem is called ecology.
From it is clear that the ecosystem is made up of 2 components.
These 2 components are living and non-living components.
The living components are also called biotic components or factors.
Examples of the biotic factors are plants and animals.
The non-living components are also called abiotic components or factors.
Water, air, soil and temperature are some examples of abiotic factors.
The biotic components are the plants and
animals.
It also includes organisms such as the fungi
and lichens as well as the very small
organisms like bacteria.
The bacteria are so small that it can be
seen only with a microscope.
Such organisms that are invisible to the
naked eye are called micro-organisms.
Some algae and fungi are also examples of
micro-organisms.
Producers:
These are biotic factors that have the ability
to make their own food (autotrophic).
They are able to do this by absorbing energy
from the sun.
The process by which they are able to
manufacture their own food by using the
radiant energy is called photosynthesis.
Consumers:
These are organisms that are unable to
manufacture their own food
(heterotrophic).
Are you able to tell why?
There are 3 categories of consumers.
These 3 categories are:
Herbivores: these are organism
that obtain their food from plant
matter.
Can you list some examples?
These are organisms that feed on dead organic matter.
They are usually micro-organisms .
But some decomposers can be macroscopic e.g. worms.
Give some examples of decomposers.
As they break down the bodies of the dead organic matter they release important substances back into the environment.
These substances then can be used by green plants.
Water, carbon dioxide, mineral salts and energy in the form of heat are some of the substances that are released by decomposers.
They are important because they release
important nutrients e.g. carbon dioxide, heat
energy, water and mineral salts back into the
soil so that it can be used by other green
plants.
Abiotic factors can be placed into 3 groups.
These 3 groups are :
Climatic factors.
Edaphic factors (soil factors)
Physiographic factors (aspect, slope, altitude)
We shall look at all these factors.
Climatic factors include: light, temperature, water and atmospheric gases.
Temperature:
The temperature of an area can determine the plant life growing in that area.
Remember the places closer to the equator are warmer than those places near the poles.
Animals are also affected by the temperature.
Some animals like the exothermic animals become inactive in the cold winter months because the temperatures are so low.
Some of these animals hibernate to overcome the cold weather.
Some animals like the snail also become dormant when the weather is very dry.
aestivation hibernation
Animals become dormant during
very dry periods
Animals become dormant during
very cold periods
Some plants experience excessive water loss
as a result of the high temperature.
The process responsible for this high water loss
is called transpiration.
However plants have many adaptations to
reduce the water loss.
The picture alongside shows
some of these adaptations.
Can you explain these adaptations
in your book.
Adaptation of plants to reduce water loss
Leaves are long and thin to reduce the surface area to reduce water loss.
Leaves are covered with a thick cuticle to reduce water loss.
Leaves have more stomata on the lower surface to reduce water loss by transpiration and these stomata may be sunken.
Leaves may be covered by tiny white hairs to reflect the sunlight so that water loss can be reduced.
Some leaves maybe reduced to thorns to reduce the surface area exposed to the sunthereby reducing water loss.
Stems may be able to store water to survive the dry months.
Define the following terms:
1. Hibernation
2. Aestivation
3. Transpiration
4. Exothermic
5. Endothermic
Differentiate between the following terms
1. Hibernate and aestivate
2. Exothermic and endothermic
Explain how animals are able to overcome
adverse weather conditions.
Definitions:
1. An inactive state that enables animals survive
the cold winter months.
2. An inactive state that enables animals survive
the hot, dry months.
3. The loss of water in the form of water vapour
from the aerial parts of the plant especially
the stomata.
4. Animals whose body temperature changes
with the temperature of the environment.
5. Animals whose body temperature remains
constant.
Differences
Hibernation is an inactive state to survive the
cold winter months, while aestivation is and
inactive state to survive the hot, dry months.
Exothermic animals are animals whose body
temperature changes with that of the
surrounding while endothermic animals are
those whose body temperature remains
constant.
Adaptations to adverse conditions
Some animals e.g. dog curl up in cold weather
so that the long fur is exposed to the cold
wind keeping them warm.
Animals may aestivate to escape hot, dry
conditions, while others mat hibernate to
survive cold winter conditions.
Some animals go into the burrows to escape
the heat e.g. Ground squirrels.
Light
Light is needed by green plants for the process of photosynthesis and is provided by radiation from the sun.
Plants will always be in competition with each other for light.
Some plants prefer full sun where as others prefer shade. Length of daylight also varies in different countries.
Here are some examples:
When plants are crowded together they will grow thin and tall in the hopes of receiving light.
Some plants will climb on others in an attempt to reach the light. Example: vines
Still others will grow on larger trees to reach the sunlight. Example: epiphytes
This is an example of an epiphyte.It grows on the larger tree only to get to the sunlight.It does not depend on the tree for any nutrients.All nutrients and water comes from the rainwater.It only uses the tree for support.
Vines also only use the other
plant for support.
It is not dependent on the
tree for food, it only uses
the tree to reach the
sunlight.
Water is used by both plants and animals for
many different physiological processes.
Plants need water for photosynthesis.
While animals need water for digestion and
transport.
Therefore plants will adapted to absorb and
retain as much water as possible while
animals try to retain as much water as
possible.
Hydrophytes are plants that live in water or around large amounts of water.
These plants are adapted to live in water in the following ways:
They do not have root hairs because water is absorbed through the roots, stems and leaves.
They do not have conducting tissue because each organ is able to absorb water.
Supporting tissue is also absent because the plant is supported by the water.
Since water loss by transpiration is not a problem these plants lack some the adaptations of terrestrial plants, for example the leaves of these plants do not have cuticles.
Try this question:
Explain the value of the hydrophytes not having a cuticle
Here are two pictures of hydrophytes
As you can see some of them have
only their roots in water, while the
others have only their leaves and
flowers floating on the surface.
Some
Hydrophytes are also submerged in
the
water.
Terrestrial plants are plants that live on land.
The biggest problem facing these plants is the lack of water.
These plants have to be able to absorb water and keep the water they absorb.
Terrestrial plants can be grouped according to their water needs.
So these plants can be placed into 3 groups.
These 3 groups are the:
a. Hydrophytes: plants that need an abundance of water
b. Mesophytes: plants that need a moderate amount of water
c. Xerophytes.: plants that can live with very little water.
Xerophytes are adapted to live in extremely
dry conditions in the following way:
Some plants have leaves that are very close to
each other. These leaves overlap each other and
reduces the surface area exposed to the
sunlight.
This would reduce water loss.
In some xerophytes like the one
alongside these leaves have been
reduced to thorns. Can you explain
why this is an advantage for this
plant?
Some of these plants have very thick waxy
cuticles. Can you explain the purpose of this
cuticle.
They also have more stomata on the lower
surface than upper. Why?
The stomata may also be sunken. Can you
explain how this reduces water loss.
The xerophytes have thick cuticles to reduce
water loss by transpiration.
There are more stomata on the lower
surface to reduce water loss by
transpiration
Sunken stomata are present to reduce
transpiration and therefore water loss.
Animals also show adaptations to the
available water.
Animals are adapted to live in water and on
land.
Aquatic animals are those animals that live
in water.
Terrestrial animals are those animals that
live on land.
These animals have special features,
structures and behavior that enables them
to live in their particular habitat.
These animals are adapted to live in water.
They have gills that enable them to extract
oxygen from water.
They also have fins to enable them to swim
and maintain their balance in water.
Some aquatic animals are able
to breathe by means of lungs,
example dolphin, whales and
seals.
Some animals are able to live in dry areas.
Here are some examples:
Camels are able to live for long
periods without water
Insects have exoskeletons
that help to reduce water
loss by evapouration
The kangaroo rat is able to go long
periods without water. It obtains
its water from the food it eats.
Reptiles are able to reduce water loss because
they are covered by dry horny scales
Land that is transitional between terrestrial
and aquatic systems eg. Vlei, mangrove,
estuaries etc
Store water, reduce sediment in rivers,
improve water quality, provide habitats
About 50% of SA’s wetlands have been
destroyed
Water cannot be created or destroyed, but it
can be polluted
97% in the oceans (undrinkable), 2.97% in ice
and snow (unavailable), 0.03% for our use
We are using more and more water
Water cycle (hydrological cycle) pg 244
The atmosphere contains air.
Air is a mixture of gases.
Some of the more important gases that make up the air are: oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapour.
The composition of these gases are about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 0.03% carbon dioxide.
Oxygen is required by the both plants and animals for the process of cellular respiration.
During the process of photosynthesis plants absorb carbon dioxide, which is a requirement of photosynthesis.
Nitrogen is required by plants to manufacture proteins.
However plants cannot absorb nitrogen as the N2 gas as it occurs in the atmosphere.
Plants are only able to absorb nitrogen as a nitrate.
Therefore the nitrogen has to be first converted to nitrate before it can be absorbed.
Remember animals get their nitrogen from the plants they eat or other animals that may have eaten plants.
Wind can affect temperature and humidity
Winds are common in some parts of SA
Plants have adapted to prevent water loss
through excessive transpiration
Winds also carry seeds which is important in
pollination.
Young and green plants have stomata on their leaves and stems for gas exchange. Stomata are tiny openings that allow gases to enter
and leave.
Woody plants have tiny pores called lenticels on their stems for gaseous exchange.
Hydrophytes absorb gases through their
entire body surface because there is less
dissolved gases in water than in air.
They are able to do this because their
surface is not covered by cuticle.
Lenticels
Both the lenticels and stomata are used for
the exchange of gases in plants. But the
stomata are pores that are found in the
stems and leaves of herbaceous plants, while
lenticels are pores found on the stems of
plants that have undergone secondary
thickening.
Aquatic animals have many
different adaptations for
absorbing gases the most
common being the gills of
fish. These gills have a
large surface area therefore as much
oxygen can be absorbed.
Water beetles take air bubbles
under water for gaseous exchange
This is a diagram of the spotted water
beetle the blue bubble at the back is
a part of the air bubble taken under
water for gaseous exchange
There are 3 types of soil.
These 3 types are sand, loam and clay.
Plants grow best in loam soil because it has a good water holding capacity, and is well aerated. It also has a high humus content.
The loam soil has a good water holding capacity because it is made up of medium sized particles.
Plants cannot grow in sandy soil because the soil is very loose and does not offer enough anchorage.
The large particles of sandy soil provides it with a poor water holding capacity.
Clay is made up of very fine particles that become sticky when wet.
Therefore it has a poor water holding capacity.
It is not good for plants because the roots can become waterlogged.
Takes a very long time to form soil
SA has the largest per capita soil loss in the
world!
Soil is composed of sand, silt and clay
Humus (organic matter) gives topsoil its dark
colour
Soils rich in humus are fertile
The pH scale can be used to measure the
acidity or alkalinity of substances in
solution.
An example of a pH scale is shown below.
Different plants require soil with different
pH to survive.
Most plants prefer slightly acidic to neutral
soil while other plants require alkaline soil.
Physiographic factors are those factors that
deal with the physical nature of the area.
Example of such factors are slope of land,
altitude and, for our studies, position of
area in relation to sun.
The physiographic factors that we will
discuss are:
a) Aspect
b) Altitude
c) Slope
Aspect refers to the direction a slope faces (in relation to the sun).
In the southern hemisphere the suns rays come from the north therefore the north facing areas receive more light than the south facing slopes.
The north facing areas would be warmer and drier than south facing slopes.
The north facing areas are drier because of increased evaporation.
Therefore shade loving plants like ferns would be found on the south facing slopes and xerophyteswould be found on the drier, warmer slopes.
The south facing slopes would have more plant and animal life because more water is available.
The slope of a mountain affects the rate of
water run-off.
A steep slope may encourage erosion.
Soil is shallow and infertile with reduced
plant growth.
Plants that grow on slopes are usually
small.
Fewer animals
Altitude refers to the height of the land above sea level.
The climate of areas found at higher altitudes is very different from places at lower altitude due to precipitation, solar radiation, wind and shade.
The areas at higher altitude have lower temperatures, atmospheric pressure and are exposed to stronger winds and more rain.
While those areas at lower altitudes have warmer temperatures, higher atmospheric pressures and lighter winds.
These differences means that the plant and animal life in these areas are very different from each other.
Pine trees that grow on the slopes of mountains are cone shaped to allow the snow to fall off. They have very well developed roots to absorb whatever little water that may be available.
Green and black mambas are found in the warmer coastal areas while the Berg adder is found more commonly in the cooler mountainous areas.
Fish like the trout are found in rivers at high altitude because these waters are colder.
People living in the coastal areas have difficulty in breathing in the higher inland areas because of the lower pressure and therefore less oxygen at the higher altitudes.
Ecosystem: an area in which there are relationships between the living organisms themselves and their non-living environment.
Ecology: a study of all the relationships within an ecosystem.
Abiotic: non living factors of an ecosystem
Biotic: living factors of an ecosystem.
Micro-organism: organisms that are so small that they can only be seen under a microscope.
Producers: organisms that are able to manufacture their own food using the radiant energy of the sun.
Consumers: these are organisms that are unable to manufacture their on own food.
Photosynthesis: process during which green plants use the radiant energy of the sun to make their own food.
Decomposers: organisms that break down dead and decaying matter, releasing nutrients so that they, maybe re-used.
Herbivores: organisms that feed on plant matter only.
Carnivores: organisms that feed on animal matter only.
Omnivores: organisms that feed on both plant and animal matter.
Ectothermic: these are organisms whose body temperature changes with the temperature of the surroundings.
Endothermic: these are organisms whose body temperature remains constant.
Transpiration: process during which plants loose water in the form of water vapour from the stomata.
Terrestrial: these are plants and animals that live on land.
Aquatic: these are plants and animals that live in water.
Xerophytes: these are plants that live in areas with very little or no water.
Mesophytes: these are plants that live in areas of moderate water supply.
Hydrophytes: these are plants that live in areas that contain large amounts of water.
Acidity: substances with a pH less than 7.
Alkalinity: substances in solution that have a pH of more than 7.
Aspect: the direction a slope faces.
Altitude: height of the land above sea level.