TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES – MANILA

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
A.Y 2022 – 2023

ECOSYSTEMS AND
EVOLUTION
Group 1
Argarin, Princess Jascel
Biglain, Cristina V.
Camesa, Nikko M.
Cristobal, Nicole C.
Dacuno, Lance Peter I.
Ferrer, Jean Charlize
Porras, Patricia Jules G.
Prado, Kathereign M.
Ramos, Ryan Evans Derick F.
Reyes, John Elizar C.

BSCE 2D
 I. EARTH’S MAJOR BIOMES

• Biomes
• A biome is a vast, generally separate terrestrial region with particular
climate, soil, plants, and animals, independent of location. It contains
numerous interacting ecosystems. In temperate and tropical regions,
precipitation dominates biome distribution, whereas at the poles,
temperature does.

• Terrestrial Biomes
• Terrestrial biomes are defined primarily by the type of vegetation that
predominates in them, which is mostly influenced by temperature and
precipitation.
• Temperature and precipitation, and variations in both are the two climatic
factors and key abiotic elements that influence the composition of animal
and plant communities in terrestrial biomes

9 Types of Terrestrial Biomes:

• Tundra
- Is the treeless biome in the far north that consists of marshy plains covered by
lichens and tiny plants such as mosses; it has severe, very cold winters and
exceptionally short summers. The climate in this biome is highly extreme.

• Boreal forest
- Boreal forest A region of coniferous forest (such as pine, spruce, and fir) in the
Northern Hemisphere; located just south of the tundra. Also called taiga. The
Boreal Forest only gets about 50 cm (20 in) of rain per year, and its soil is usually
acidic and low in minerals, with a thick layer of partially decomposed pine and
spruce needles on the surface.
• Temperate rainforest
- A coniferous temperate rain forest occurs on the northwest coast of North
America. Similar vegetation exists in southeastern Australia and in southern South
America. Annual precipitation in this biome is high—more than 127 cm (50 in)—
and is augmented by condensation of water from dense coastal fogs.

• Temperate deciduous forest

- Hot summers and cold winters characterize the temperate deciduous forest, which
occurs in temperate areas where precipitation ranges from about 75 to 150 cm (30
to 60 in) annually. Typically, the soil of a temperate deciduous forest consists of a
topsoil rich in organic material and a deep, clay-rich lower layer.

• Temperate grassland
- Summers are hot, winters are cold, and rainfall is often uncertain in temperate
grassland. Average annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 75 cm (10 to 30 in).
Grassland soil has considerable organic material because the aboveground portions
of many grasses die off each winter and contribute to the organic content of the soil,
while the roots and rhizomes (underground stems) survive underground.

• Chaparral
- Some hilly temperate environments have mild winters with abundant rainfall
combined with hot, dry summers. Such Mediterranean climates, as they are called,
occur not only in the area around the Mediterranean Sea but also in the North
American Southwest, southwestern and southern Australia, central Chile, and
southwestern South Africa.

• Desert
- Desert consists of dry areas found in both temperate (cold deserts) and subtropical
or tropical regions (warm deserts). Deserts vary greatly depending on the amount
of precipitation they receive, which is generally less than 25 cm (10 in) per year.
 As a result of sparse vegetation, desert soil is low in organic material but is often
high in mineral content, particularly salts.

• Savanna
- Savanna, a tropical grassland, is found in areas of low rainfall or intense seasonal
rainfall with prolonged dry periods. Temperatures in savannas vary little
throughout the year. Precipitation is the overriding climate factor: Annual
precipitation is 85 to 150 cm (34 to 60 in). Savanna soil is somewhat low in essential
nutrient minerals, in part because it is heavily leached during rainy periods—that
is, nutrient minerals filter out of the topsoil.

• Tropical rainforest.
- Tropical rain forest occurs where temperatures are warm throughout the year and
precipitation occurs almost daily. The annual precipitation in a tropical rain forest
is typically between 200 and 450 cm (80 to 180 in).

II. AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast

to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. The most fundamental division in aquatic ecology is
probably between freshwater and saltwater environments.

• Aquatic and Ecosystem.

• In biological context, the term aquatic is used to relate to water, as in
aquatic animals, aquatic plants, aquatic environment, aquatic habitat, and
aquatic” locomotion.
• An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other
organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a
bubble of life.
 Aquatic Ecosystems contain three main ecological categories of organisms:
• Plankton are usually small or microscopic organisms. They tend to drift or swim
feebly, so, for the most part, they are carried about at the mercy of currents and
waves.
• Nektons are larger, more strongly swimming organisms such as fishes, turtles and
whales.
• Benthos are bottom-dwelling organisms that fix themselves to one spot (sponges
and oysters), burrow into the sand (worms and clams), or simply walk about on the
bottom (crawfish and aquatic insect larvae).

Freshwater Ecosystems
• Freshwater ecosystems include lakes and ponds (standing-water ecosystems), rivers and
streams (flowing-water ecosystems), and marshes and swamps (freshwater wetlands).

Zonation
• Is characteristic of standing-water ecosystems. A large lake has three zones: the littoral,
limnetic, and profundal zones (see What a Scientist Sees). The littoral zone is a productive,
shallow-water area along the shore of a lake or pond. Emergent vegetation,
such as cattails and bur reeds, as well as several deeper-dwelling aquatic plants and
algae, live in the lit-toral zone.

Human effects on lakes and ponds include eutrophication, which is nutrient enrichment
of a body of water with inorganic plant and algal nutrients like nitrates and Freshwater wetlands
include marshes, dominated by grass-like plants, and swamps, dominated by woody trees or shrubs
phosphates. Although eutrophication is a natural process, human activities often accelerate it, such
as the runoff of agricultural fertilizers and discharge of treated or untreated sewage.

Human activities such as pollution and dam construction have adverse impacts on rivers and
streams. These activities damage wildlife habitat and threaten water supplies and fisheries.
Freshwater wetlands include marshes, dominated by grass-like plants, and swamps, dominated
by woody trees or shrubs. Wetland soils are waterlogged for variable periods and are therefore
anaerobic (without oxygen). They are rich in accumulated organic materials, partly because
anaerobic conditions discourage decomposition

III. POPULATION RESPONSES TO CHANGING CONDITIONS OVER TIME:

EVOLUTION

Evolution
• The cumulative genetic changes in populations that occur during successive
generations.
• Consists of changes in the heritable traits of a population of organisms as successive
generations replace one another. It is populations of organisms that evolve, not
individual organisms.
• Evolution over time can follow several different patterns. Factors such as
environment and predation pressures can have different effects on the ways in
which species exposed to them evolve. shows the three main types of evolution:
divergent, convergent, and parallel evolution.

Charles Darwin (1809–1882), a 19thcentury naturalist, proposed the mechanism of

evolution that today’s scientific community still accepts. As you will see, the environment
plays a crucial role in Darwin’s theory of evolution

• It occurred to Darwin that in a population, features that were inherited that were
helpful for surviving in a particular environment tended to be kept over time, whilst
traits that were unhelpful were often eliminated. The end outcome is an adaptation,
an evolutionary change that raises a species' chances of surviving and reproducing
successfully in a particular environment. The accumulation of numerous adaptive
alterations could eventually give rise to a new species.
 Natural Selection
• The tendency of better-adapted individuals—those with a combination of genetic
traits best suited to environmental conditions—to survive and reproduce, increasing
their proportion in the population.

Four (4) conditions necessary for evolution by natural selection to occur:

1. High reproductive capacity - Each species produces more offspring than will survive to
maturity. Natural populations have the reproductive potential to increase their numbers
continuously over time.
2. Limits on population growth, or a struggle for existence - Only so much food, water,
light, growing space, and so on are available to a population, and organisms compete with
one another for the limited resources available to them.
3. Heritable variation - The individuals in a population exhibit variation. Each individual
has a unique combination of traits, such as size, color, and ability to tolerate harsh
environments.
4. Differential reproductive success - Individuals that possess the most favorable
combination of characteristics (those that make individuals better adapted to their
environment) are more likely than others to survive, reproduce, and pass their traits to the
next generation.

Various types of evidence that supports evolution:

a. The Fossil Record
• Fossils deposited in rock layers, which can be dated, show how organisms evolved
over time.

b. Comparative Anatomy
• Similarities among organisms demonstrate how they are related.

c. Molecular Biology
 • The organisms pictured here all share a particular enzyme, but in the course of
evolution, mutations have resulted in changes in the gene that codes for that
enzyme.

IV. COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO CHANGING CONDITIONS OVER TIME:

SUCCESSION

First, let us differentiate between succession and ecological succession. So, succession is the order
of colonization of species in an ecosystem from a barren or destroyed area of land to the one from
already inhabited lands. Ecological succession is the steady and gradual change in a species of a
given area of land. But because the main objective of this report is to define ecological succession
and differentiate its two types, which are primary succession and secondary succession, let's
proceed then.

• Ecological Succession
• In the field of ecology, community composition changes over time. The
study of succession addresses this change, which can be influenced by the
environment, biotic interactions, and dispersal. Over the course of several
years, you can return to any location, whether it be the local forest,
grassland, pond, abandoned farm (or urban lot), park, or even your
backyard, and you are likely to observe changes in the organisms found in
the community. New plants may appear, and other plants disappear, and
these changes may also be reflected in animal life.
• It is the process of community development overtime, which involves
species in one stage being replaced by different species.

Types of Ecological Succession

➢ An ecological succession is initiated either by the formation of new, unoccupied habitat,
such as from a lava flow or a severe landslide, or by some form of disturbance of a
community, such as from a wildfire, severe windthrow, or logging, which may wipe out
 the entire species. Thus, succession is of two types:

• Primary Succession
• Succession that begins in new habitats or lifeless areas that are uninfluenced
by pre-existing communities is called primary succession. Primary
succession starts from a barren land, such as open water, where the newly
formed rock is colonized for the first time, such as formation of a new
ecosystem after a volcanic eruption or glacier breakage. It can be a lengthy
process because of the time taken by the natural calamities to occur, which
in itself is a rare occasion. So the process is slightly longer and
unpredictable for the entire course of time.
• Secondary Succession
• The secondary is the second type of ecological succession that occurs when
the primary ecosystem gets destroyed. Thus, it is the type of succession in
which plants and animals recolonise a habitat after a major disturbance like
a landslide, lava flow, wildfire, etc. It occurs when a climax community gets
destroyed. Secondary succession takes place in an ecosystem where the
disturbance did not eliminate all life forms and nutrients from the
environment. Small plants emerge, followed by larger plants at the
beginning of the succession. They develop into tall trees that block the
sunlight and change the structure of the organisms below the canopy. By
the end of all this, the climax community arrives.
Mostly insects and weedy plants are the first organisms to recolonise in
secondary succession. Gradually, more complex and stable species of plants
and animals arrive. Stability in the ecological structure of a biological
community is established when the area remains undisturbed for a long
period.

The main difference between them is that primary succession is the change in species composition
overtime in an environment that was not previously inhabited by organisms; examples include bare
rock surfaces, such as recently formed volcanic lava and rock scraped clean by glaciers, while
secondary succession is the change in species composition that takes place after some disturbance
destroys the existing vegetation; soil is already present. Examples include abandoned farmland
and open areas caused by forest fires.