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An ecosystem is
a place where
group of living
and non-living
things interact
with each other.
 Abiotic & Biotic Factors
 Abiotic Factors  Biotic Factors
(nonliving) (living)

- water - shelter - grass

- sunlight - soil
-
- trees
rocks - nutrients
- - animals, insects,
oxygen/air, nitrogen
- temperature/climate - plants
- space, salinity, pH - bacteria, fungi
A dead tree is
not alive but not
considered
abiotic….why?
It was
once
living!
Biotic
Compo
nents
of an
Ecosys
tem
PRODUCERS
 Producers are
autotrophic organisms
that make their own
food.
 Phototrophic organisms
use photosynthesis
and contain
chlorophyll
(Carbon Dioxide +
Water + Sunlight
=Sugar + Oxygen)
 Chemotrophic
organisms use
PRODUCERS!!!
CONSUMERS
 Consumers are heterotrophic organisms
that cannot make their own food. They must
ingest (eat) other organisms.
-Herbivores feed on vegetation (producers).
-Carnivores feed on herbivores or on other
carnivores.
 Secondary carnivores feed on herbivores,
 Tertiary consumers feed on other carnivores
-Omnivores feed on both producers and
consumers
-Scavengers feed on dead or decaying
organisms
CONSUMERS!!!
DECOMPOSERS are heterotrophs that recycle small,
often microscopic bits of dead organic matter into
inorganic nutrients availbe for plants to take up from the
soil. Decomposers RECYCLE nutrients!

BACTERIA and FUNGI are decomposers…most worms

are plant scavengers!
Scavengers feed on CARRION (dead or injured
animal corpses) and dead plant biomass.
Scavengers reduce the size of dead organic
matter…Decomposers will finish the job!
 Worms, termites,
fungi (mold, mushrooms, etc.)

In the diagram,
1. What are the decomposers? Producers? Consumers?
2. What organisms are competing for the same abiotic resources?
3. What is the source of energy that drives or sustains the ecosystem?
RELATIONSHIPS IN THE ECOSYSTEM
 Predation: One organism (predator) will
actively hunt and consume another
(prey).

 Competition: two or more organisms of

same or different species compete to
use the same limited resources or basic
2 TYPES OF COMPETITON

1. Intraspecific competition – competition

between or among organisms within
the same species.

2. Interspecific competition – is
competition between or among
organisms from two different species.
W

 What is the relationship between the hare population and the lynx
population?
 What role does competition play in this predator/prey relationship?
 Why is competition important in an ecosystem?
 Symbiotic Relationships
 Parasitism: an organism
(parasite) lives in or on
another (host) and feeds on it
without immediately killing it

 Mutualism: a cooperative
partnership between two
species (both benefit)
 Commensalism: a
relationship where one
species benefits and
the other remains unaffected
(The greatest
amount of energy
is available at the
producer level.)

(With producers and consumers, 90 % of the energy available at each level is

consumed/lost to the environment. Only 10% move up to the next trophic level.
Food Chains
A Food CHAIN is a
series of organisms
that transfer food
between the
trophic levels of an
ecosystem using
only one species at
each level…a
simple chain.
 The arrows
represent the flow
of energy from one
organism to the
next.
 The arrow points
toward the
Food Webs
Ecosystems are not as
simple as shown and
not often explained by
a single food chain…
Food WEBS more
accurately show the
network of food chains
representing the
feeding relationships
among organisms in
an ecosystem.
 Most organisms feed
on more than one type
of organism at
different trophic
levels.
 The sun provides energy
To sustain producers
which are the foundation
of all ecosystems.

Consumers

Only 10% of the energy moves

Produce food through up to the next trophic level.
photosynthesis

[Link] “Food Chain Game”

 TROPHIC LEVELS
 Trophic levels are the different
feeding levels of organisms in an
ecosystem. Producers are the first
trophic level and consumers
make up several more.
 These relationships can be seen
in an ecological pyramid.
 Biomass: the total amount of
organic matter present in a
trophic level. The biomass in
each trophic level is the amount
of energy- in the form of food-
The Ten Percent Law
 Most of the energy that enters
through organisms in a trophic
level does not become biomass.
Only energy used to make
biomass remains available to the
next level.

 When all of the energy losses are

added together, only about
10% of the energy entering
one trophic level forms
biomass in the next trophic
level. This is known as the 10
percent law.
 MORE Ten Percent Law
 The 10 percent law is the main reason
that most food chains have five or less
links. Because 90 percent of the food
chain’s energy is lost at each level, the
amount of available energy decreases
quickly.
10 PERCENT
LAW!!
If removed from the food web, which organism (s) would have the greatest impact on the overall food web? Explain.
Can you think of a situation where an organism
could be both a primary and secondary
consumer? (not shown on this food web)

1. What are the producers? primary consumers? secondary consumers? tertiary consumer?
2. What organisms are competing for the same biotic resources?
3. If removed from the food web, which organism would have the greatest impact on the overall food web?
1. What are the producers? primary consumers? secondary
consumers? tertiary consumer?
2. What organisms are competing for the same abiotic and
biotic resources?
3. If removed from the food web, which organism would have
the greatest impact on the overall food web? Explain.
Food Web Analysis Use the diagram to respond to each of
the following.

1. Identify the decomposer. What are the

benefits of decomposers?

2. What other decomposers may be in

every ecosystem but are not shown
on this diagram?

3. Identify the primary consumers.

Show what is being consumed.

4. Identify the tertiary consumer for

each food chain. What does this
consumer eat?
Some worms are primary
consumers and others (in soil)
are decomposers.)
 Use the diagram to respond to each of
the following.

5. Is this a terrestrial or aquatic food

web? Explain.

6. What happens when two or more

organisms coexist in the same niche?

[Link] an overlapping terrestrial/aquatic

food chain using at least one of the
organisms shown on the diagram. Add
an organism not on this food web.

Some worms are primary

consumers and others (in soil)
are decomposers.)
Some worms are primary
consumers and others (in soil)
are decomposers.)
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID
Remember
scavengers and
decomposers can
enter at any level!

Tertiary Consumers= CARNIVORE

EATING OTHER CARNIVORES

Secondary Consumers= CARNIVORES

EATING HERBIVORES

Primary Consumers= HERBIVORES

PRODUCERS = Autotrophic Plants

Ecological Pyramid: Energy

Shows the relative transfer of energy (joules) from one

trophic level to the next.
Disruptions to Ecosystems: The Human Factor
DISRUPTIONS TO PHYSICAL (NONLIVING/ABIOTIC) COMPONENTS

*Volcanic eruptions * Pollution

*Hurricanes * Clear cutting
*Fires * Floods
*Drought * Nuclear Bomb
*Habitat depletion (human and natural)
- i.e. urban sprawl
How could these events change
nutrients,
water, light, salinity, shelter, soil,
temperature,
 IMPACT OF CLEAR CUTTING
WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS ON BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS?
 IMPACT OF INTRODUCING EXOTIC SPECIES

 Invasive species are capable of causing the extinction

of native plants and animals, reducing biodiversity,
competing with native organisms for limited
resources, and altering habitats.
 Invasive species threaten biodiversity, cause

environmental degradation and reduce the

diversity and abundance of native species
 Exotic species introduced into foreign ecosystems can

threaten native species through competition for

resources, predation, and disease.
 BIOCONSERVATION
 The task of protecting all life forms, their habitats,
and their ecosystem from the events and activities
that can harm them and lead to their extinction.
 SOME OF THE AGENCIES THAT ACTIVELY PROMOTE THE SURVIVAL OF
ANIMALS AND ECOSYSTEM

 DENR – Department of Environment and Natural

Resources
 PAWB – Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau
 BFAR – Bureau of Fisheries and aquatic Resources
 HF – Haribon Foundation
 TK – Tanggol Kalikasan
 ELAC – Environmental Legal Assistance Center
 WWF – World Wildlife Fund