ECOSYSTEM STUCTURE.

An ecosystem is the basic functional unit in ecology, as it includes both organisms

and their abiotic environment. No organism can exist without the environment.
Ecosystem represents the highest level of ecological integration which is energy
based. A pond, a lake, a coral reef, part of any field and a laboratory culture can be
some of the examples of ecosystems. Thus an ecosystem is defined as a specific
unit of all the organisms occupying a given area which interacts with the physical
environment producing distinct trophic structure, biotic diversity and material
cycling. The term ecosystem was first proposed by the British ecologist A.G.
Tansley.

Most of earth’s surface is oceanic, and the deepest part of these oceans is deeper
than the highest peaks of the mountains. The marine environment is extensive and
complex, containing a vast array of communities and is divided into two major
provinces-estuaries and deep ocean. Oceans are the ultimate sinks for all water
soluble minerals, and are saline. Apart from these, mangroves also form part of the
marine ecosystem which is a rich source of biotic and abiotic elements.

There are two basic processes in an ecosystem. One of the processes involves a
cycle of exchange of materials between living things and the environment. The
plants synthesis complex organic materials from the raw materials. The organic
matter ultimately releases the raw material which are returned to the environment.
This mechanism is called cycling of materials. The other basic requirement of an
ecosystem is the constant input of energy. The ultimate source of energy is the sun
whose solar energy is captured by green plants. Other organisms derive their
nutrition and energy from the plants. The energy taken by these organisms is
passed on to other organisms.

In this way energy is transferred from one organism to another. This is called
flow of energy. The major aspects of an ecosystem are its structure and function.
Structure
involves:

composition of biological community including species, numbers, biomass, life

history and distribution in space, etc.

quantity and distribution of non-living materials, such as nutrients, water, etc.

range, or gradient of conditions of existence, such as temperature, light, etc.

Functions of an ecosystem involves:

1. rates of biological energy flow, i.e. the production and respiration rates of the
community.
2. rates of materials or nutrient cycles.
3. biological or ecological regulation including both regulation of organisms by
environment and regulation of environment by the organisms. Thus in any
ecosystem, structure and function are studied together.

Odum (1959) classified the abiotic components of an ecosystem into three

parts:
i. inorganic nutrients like C, N, H, etc.
ii. organic compounds constituting the organism.
iii. climatic factors

The term abiotic means without life or nonliving. Many substances such as water,
oxygen, sodium chloride, nitrogen and carbon dioxide are abiotic when they are
physically outside living organisms, such as in air or water, but once within living
organisms they become part of the biotic world. Many elements may be tightly
bound in inorganic compounds as silicon in sandstone or aluminum in feldspar, and
are unavailable to living organisms, Elements such as oxygen which are normally
very active in biological processes may be in an abiotic form readily available to
living organisms such as free O2, CO2, etc., or they may be in an inaccessible form
as silicon dioxide in quartz, a major component of granite. One of the most
important aspects of an ecosystem is the rate of release of nutrients from solids, as
this regulates the rate of function of the entire system.

The abiotic components can be classified into three groups:

1. Climatic regime-includes temperature, light and other physical factors which
directly influence the organisms in a given area.
2. Nutrients (material cycling)-includes inorganic substances (C, CO2, H2O, H2, P,
etc.) and organic substances
3. Energy circuits-includes grazing circuits and organic detritus circuits.

The amount of abiotic materials present in any ecosystem is called standing state.
ECOSYSTEMS: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION.

The characteristic structure of an ecosystem is obtained by the systematic physical

organisation of the abiotic and biotic components of that particular ecosystem.

The two main structural features of any ecosystem are its 'species composition' and
'stratification'.

An ecosystem can be represented by depicting the producers - consumers

relationship in the given ecosystem.

This is also called the 'Trophic structure' of an ecosystem, wherein each animal
population forms the various trophic levels.

The producers (green plants) always form the first trophic level. Herbivores, which
feed on producers, are at the second trophic level followed by secondary
consumers, tertiary consumers and so on.

Trophic structure of an ecosystem can be described in terms of its total amount of

nutrients or the amount of living material.

The amount of nutrients in the soil at any given time is referred as 'standing state'
whereas the amount of living material is referred as 'standing crop'.

Function

The functional attributes of an ecosystem helps to keep its component parts

running together.
Few important functional aspects of an ecosystem are:

Biological diversity and maintenance of stability

The numerical strength and biomass of organisms affect the functioning of

ecosystem.

In ecosystems, the biotic communities usually contain a few common species

represented by a large number of individuals or by a large biomass and a
comparatively large number of individual species occurring in small numbers.

Under stress conditions, the number of rare species is usually reduced, and only a
few species may survive and their frequency of occurrence may be very high.

As a rule, the total number of species in any ecosystem is reduced under conditions
of extreme stress, as found in arctic, antarctic and desert region and so on.

A system is considered stable in the ecological sense if its structure and functions
remain more or less the same from year to year.

A system with high species diversity and low dominance is less productive but
stable. On the other hand, a system with a community with low species diversity
and high dominance is more productive but unstable.

DEFINITION

An ecosystem can be defined as 'a structural and functional unit of biosphere or

segment of nature consisting of community of living beings and the physical
environment, both interacting and exchanging materials between them'.

E. P. Odum, an American ecologist, defined ecology as, 'the study of the structure
and function of nature, which includes the living world'. He referred ecosystem as
the basic fundamental unit of ecology

Charles Elton, a British ecologist, defines ecology as, 'the study of scientific natural
history'

Andrewartha, an Australian ecologist, defined ecology as, 'the study concerned with
the distribution of organisms'

According to S. Mathavan, 'an ecosystem is a sum total of living organisms, the

environment and the process of interaction between the various components of the
ecosystem'

Besides a mechanical system or a living body, the ecosystem usually has a

boundary within which the component parts function together as one unit.

An ecosystem may be natural (like forest, lake, ocean etc) or man-made (such as an
aquarium, a crop field etc), temporary (like a rainfed pond) or permanent (like a
lake, forest, etc), aquatic (such as pond, ocean etc) or terrestrial (like grassland,
forest, etc).

Classification of Ecosystem

An ecosystem may be as small as a drop of pond water and as large as an ocean.

Ecosystems can be recognised as self - regulating and self - sustaining units.

COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEMS

(Organisation or Structural aspect of an ecosystem)

An ecosystem comprises of two basic components

• Abiotic components
• Biotic components

The relationship between the biotic components and abiotic components of an

ecosystem is called 'holocoenosis'.

Abiotic Components

These include the non-living, physico - chemical factors such as air, water, soil and
the basic elements and compounds of the environment.

Abiotic factors are broadly classified under three categories.

Climatic factors which include the climatic regime and physical factors of the
environment like light, humidity, atmospheric temperature, wind, etc.

Edaphic factors which are related to the structure and composition of soil including
its physical and chemical properties, like soil and its types, soil profile, minerals,
organic matter, soil water, soil organisms.

Inorganic substances like water, carbon, sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus and so on.
Organic substances like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, humic substances etc.

Biotic Components

It comprises the living part of the environment, which includes the association of a
number of interrelated populations belonging to different species in a common
environment.

The populations are that of animal community, plant community and microbial
community.
Biotic community is distinguished into autotrophs, heterotrophs and
saprotrophs.

Autotrophs (Gr: auto - self, trophos - feeder) are also called producers, convertors
or transducers.

These are photosynthetic plants, generally chlorophyll bearing, which synthesize

high-energy complex organic compounds (food) from inorganic raw materials with
the help of sunlight, and the process is referred as photosynthesis.

Autortophs form the basis of any biotic system. In terrestrial ecosystems, the
autotrophs are mainly the rooted plants. In aquatic ecosystems, floating plants
called phytoplankton and shallow water rooted plants called macrophytes are the
dominant producers.

Heterotrophs (Gr: heteros - other; trophs - feeder) are called consumers, which
are generally animals feeding on other organisms.

Consumer's also referred as phagotrophs (phago - to ingest or swallow) or

macroconsumers are mainly herbivores and carnivores. Herbivores are referred as
First order consumers or primary consumers, as they feed directly on plants. For
e.g., Terrestrial ecosystem consumers like cattle, deer, rabbit, grass hopper, etc.
Aquatic ecosystem consumers like protozoans, crustaceans, etc. Carnivores are
animals, which feed or prey upon other animals. Primary carnivores or Second order
consumers include the animals which feed on the herbivorous animals. For e.g., fox,
frog, predatory birds, smaller fishes, snakes, etc. Secondary carnivores or Third
order consumers include the animals, which feed on the primary carnivores. For
e.g., wolf, peacock, owl, etc. Secondary carnivores are preyed upon by some larger
carnivores. Tertiary carnivores or Quaternary consumers include the animals, which
feed on the secondary carnivores. For e.g., lion, tiger, etc. These are not eaten by
any other animals.The larger carnivores, which cannot be preyed upon further are
called top carnivores.

Saprotrophs (Gr: sapros - rotten; trophos - feeder) are also called decomposers or
reducers. They break down the complex organic compounds of dead matter (of
plants and animals).

Decomposers do not ingest their food. Instead they secrete digestive enzymes into
the dead and decaying plant and animal remains to digest the organic material.
Enzymes act upon the complex organic compounds of the dead matter.

Decomposers absorb a part of the decomposition products for their own

nourishment. The remaining substances are added as minerals to the substratum
(mineralisation).
Released minerals are reused (utilised) as nutrients by the plants (producers).