Environment

 Environment is the natural component in which biotic (living) and

abiotic (nonliving) factors interact with each other. These interactions
shape the habitat and ecosystem of an organism.
 In biological sense, environment constitute the physical (nutrients, water, air
etc.) and biological factors (biomolecules, organisms) along with their
chemical interactions (chemical cycles – carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle etc.) that
affect an organism or a group of organisms.
 All organisms are dependent on the environment to carry out their natural
life processes (birth to death) and to meet their physical requirements (food,
energy, water, oxygen, shelter etc.).
 The environment is not static. Both biotic and abiotic factors are in a constant
flux and keep changing continuously.
HABITAT

 Habitat is the physical environment in which an organism lives (it corresponds

to address of an organism).
 It is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by particular species of
plants, animals, fungi, etc. Many habitats make up the environment.
 A single habitat may be common for more than one organism which have
similar requirements.
 For example, a single aquatic habitat may support a fish, frog, crab,
phytoplankton and many other kinds of organisms.
 The various species sharing a habitat thus have the same ‘address’. Forest,
river etc. are other examples of habitat.
 All habitats are environments but all environments are not habitats.
A biome is the term used to describe organisms that occupy a certain area.
Biomes are determined by the primary vegetation type, the climate of the area,
and the geographic location. The plants and animals in a biome share common
traits that are specific to the individual biome those plants and animals inhabit.

A biosphere is the term used to describe the combination of every ecosystem on

the planet. Our biosphere is Earth. The biosphere includes all living beings and
their relationships.
Limiting factor

 Lot of factors determine the survival of an organism. One single factor can
limit the range of an organism. This single factor is called as a limiting factor.
 For example, seeds don’t germinate quickly in evergreen rain forests in spite
of good rains and vegetation as the surface soil is heavily leached (nutrients
washed away by running water). Here, poor soil is the limiting factor.
 Likewise, germinated saplings may not survive due to lack of light because of
the dense canopy. Here, light [shade of the forest] is the limiting factor.

Q1. If a tropical rain forest is removed, it does not regenerate quickly as

compared to a tropical deciduous forest. This is because [Prelims
Question]

1. the soil of rain forest is deficient in nutrients

2. propagules of the trees in a rain forest have poor viability
3. the rain forest species are slow-growing
4. exotic species invade the fertile soil of rain forest.
Interaction among species
Mutualism – Ex – Lichens, Symbiotic Nitrogen fixation
(Rhizobium)
 Ecotone
 Transitional area between two biomes or diverse ecosystems (where two
communities meet & integrate)
 Examples : between a field and forest, between forest and grassland
 may appear as a gradual blending of the two communities across a broad
area, or may manifest itself as a sharp boundary line
 May contains some organisms which are entirely different from that of
adjoining communities
 Sometimes the number of species & population density of some of the
species is much greater in this zone than either community, Known as edge
effect
 Organisms which occur primarily or most abundantly in this zone are known
as edge species
 Niche
 Description of all the biological, physical & chemical factors that a species
needs – to survive, stay healthy & reproduce
 Niche is unique for every species which means no 2 species can have exact
identical niche
 Niche describes address and occupation of a living organism. In the
African Savannah- lions, zebra, giraffe, elephants etc. all live on same
grassland but they play different roles in the ecosystem.
 Explanation:
 No two organisms ever occupy the same niche in an ecosystem.

Competition occurs when organisms occupy the same or similar niches.

 Environment → Can be Almost Everything or a Small region.

 Habitat → Area where an organism lives.
 Biosphere → The region on earth that supports life.
 Ecosystem → Producers, Consumers, Decomposers and their
relationships (tiny environment). It is the functional unit of the
environment.

Which one of the following is the best description of the term “ecosystem”?

1. A community of organisms interacting with one another

2. That part of the Earth which is inhabited by living organisms
3. A community of organisms together with the environment in which they live.
4. The flora and fauna of a geographical area.

Answer: c)

Explanation

1. A community of organisms interacting with one another – no specific term.

2. That part of the Earth which is inhabited by living organisms – biosphere.
3. A community of organisms together with the environment in which they live
– ecosystem.
4. The flora and fauna of a geographical area – biodiversity.
Food Chain
A food chain describes the feeding relationships of different organisms in a
linear fashion. This is the simplest way of showing feeding relationships

.
Food web :
A food web shows multiple food chains, multiple relationships and
connections. This a more complicated but more realistic way of showing feeding
relationships, as most organisms consume more than one species and are consumed
by more than one species.
Example:
Food pyramid :
More commonly known as an energy pyramid, a food pyramid takes the food chain but
uses it to show how energy moves through a community.
Example:

http://programs.clarendoncollege.edu/programs/NatSci/Biology/Zoology/zoo%20online%20outlines/ANIMAL%20ECOL
OGY%20online.htm
Because each organism uses some of the energy it received from the previous level for
growth and other processes, the energy available to the next level is less (because
some of that energy has been used). This is why we have more primary producers than
carnivores.
 Bio-accumulation
 Refers how pollutant enters a food chain means concentration of pollutant
from the environment to the first organism in a food chain.
 Occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that
at which he can digest
Bio-magnification
 Increase of toxic chemicals conc. up the food chain
 a man-induced process
 occurs with mobile & non-degradable chemicals / fat soluble pollutants only
 DDT concentration

Ecological pyramids
Ecological pyramids are graphical representations of relationship between the
different trophic levels of food chains on the basis of energy, number and biomass
productivity.
Ecological pyramids represent the trophic structure or trophic function of the
ecosystem and and is mainly of 3 types:
Pyramid of Number
 Depicts the number of individual organisms at different trophic levels of food
chain
 May be inverted or upright or spindle shaped

 Inverted – Parasitic food chain

 Upright – Aquatic & Grass land
 

Pyramid of Biomass
 Depicts total dry weight of all organisms at each tropic level at a particular
time, measured in g/m2
 May be upright or inverted
Pyramid of Energy
 a graphic representation of the amount of energy trapped per unit time and
area in different trophic level of a food chain with producers forming the base
and the top carnivores at the tip
 Always upright