Biodiversity encompasses the variety and variability of life on Earth. It is a measure of the number of different species, genes, ecosystems or habitat types in an area. The greater the biodiversity, the more efficient the ecosystem in providing nutrients, decomposing wastes, regulating climatic conditions, etc. Biodiversity can be discussed at three levels (i) Genetic […]
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Biodiversity is the branch of biology that deals with the diversity within species, between species and in ecosystems. Biodiversity is essential to ecosystem functioning and human well-being. It provides food, fiber, medicines, clean water and fresh air. It helps regulate water cycles and climate patterns, including rainfall. The loss of biodiversity also creates the conditions
The organisms and habitat together form what we call an ecosystem. Ecosystems can vary greatly in size. From tiny microorganisms to large landscapes, ecosystems allow the earth’s living things to survive and thrive. Ecological balance is a state of dynamic equilibrium within a community of organisms in a habitat or ecosystem. Dynamic means that there
The biogeochemical cycles of the biosphere relate to essential processes that take place within and between the major cells and organisms that make up living systems and that alter and shape them. The word biogeochemical also implies the integration of the biological, geological, and chemical aspects of those cycles. Biogeochemical cycles involve both organic and
Food chains are essentially a process of energy transfer. Cells, at the base of the chain, convert light into chemical energy. During photosynthesis, plant cells produce glucose to use for energy and for the production of more complex compounds. Herbivores eat autotrophs, while carnivores eat herbivores. The detrital food chain begins with dead organic matter.
The ecosystem consists of living organisms and non-living elements in a particular environment. The ecosystem can be a terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem. The terrestrial ecosystem includes interaction between the species in the terrestrial region whereas the aquatic one includes species living in water bodies. The ecosystems are present everywhere in our surroundings though they are
An ecosystem is a complex community of living organisms with different relationships, functional interactions and dependency among them. If all the ecosystems on Earth were classified into two major categories or divisions, one based on their differences in physical forms and the other based on their function, both seem apt to reveal the nature of
Any physiological, behavioral or morphological attribute of an organism that enables it to survive and reproduce in its respective habitat is called as an ecological adaptation. Adaptations help the organisms to exist under the prevailing ecological habitat. Different types of ecosystems exist with varying ranges of environmental conditions where various plants and animal species have
Ecology is the study of the earth as a ‘household’, or ‘household’. It is supposed to include plants, animals and microorganisms. They all live together as interdependent components. Ecology can be described as one of the largest sciences that tries to understand complex nature of the world. Ecology is the study or” the earth as
The biosphere includes all the living components of the earth. It consists of all plants and animals, including all the micro-organisms that live on the planet earth and their interactions with the surrounding environment. The biosphere can be subdivided into a number of biogeochemical zones based on factors such as soil composition, atmospheric content, temperature,
