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Unit VI

LIFE ON THE EARTH

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CHAPTER
O
rganically, biosphere is the most active
sphere of the earth in comparison to
the lithosphere, atmosphere and
hydrosphere. It is a shallow zone at the earth
surface, both on land and in water. All living
organisms together with the environment with
which they interact for m the biosphere.
Whether they belong to the plant or animal
kingdom, they all interact with each other. The
study of these interactions between life forms
and the environment is called ecology. All the
components which enter into interactions with
a group of organisms is called ecosystem.
The earth is full of diversities. There is
diversity in soils and minerals, diversity in
plants and animals, and diversity in cultures
and civilisations. Charaka, the father of
Ayurveda, who lived in the first century A.D.,
listed over 200 kinds of animals and about 340
kinds of plants in his book of Indian medicine
titled Charaka Samhita. Carolus Linnaeus, the
eighteenth century Swedish naturalist,
identified about 5,900 species of plants and
4,200 species of animals. Since then some 1.7
million species have been given scientific
names; of these, over a million are animal
species and the rest plant species. According
to an estimate, over 5 million species of living
organisms exist in the world today, and over
half of these are believed to be found in the
unexplored tropical rain forests of the world.
The rain forests constitute less than 8 per cent
of the total land area of the world but support
a very rich diversity of life.
CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANISMS
Scientists can identify many kinds of
organisms with scientific names because they
DIVERSITY OF LIFE
have been described and ordered by a system
of classification which has been internatio-
nally accepted. The science of classification of
organisms is called taxonomy. Earlier, all
organisms used to be broadly grouped into two
categories — the plant kingdom and the
animal kingdom. Under each category there
used to be several species. Whittaker, in 1969,
divided dif ferent organisms into five
kingdoms, namely:
(i) Monera (single cell microscopic
organisms);
(ii) Protista (unicellular, primarily aquatic
organisms);
(iii) Plantae (multicellular photosynthetic
plants);
(iv) Fungi (multicellular decomposers) and;
(v) Animalia (multicellular animal consumers).
The above classification into five kingdoms
is made on the following criteria: complexity
of cell structure, complexity of organism’s
body, and mode of obtaining nutrition.
Bacteria belong to the monera kingdom. Its
cells are microscopic and do not contain a
nucleus. It prepares its own food by reducing
carbondioxide and using light energy or energy
derived from chemical reactions.
Protistan organisms are mostly unicellu-
lar. Many are photosynthetic autotrophs and
chief producers in oceans and fresh water
environments. They are collectively called
phytoplankton, microscopic, floating photo-
synthetic organisms.
Plantae includes all the coloured,
multicellular, photosynthetic plants which we
all see on land, on sea shores, in lakes and in
streams. Main groups are the sea weeds
consisting of algae, mosses, ferns, and seed
plants with or without flowers.
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Fungi includes diverse kinds of multi-
cellular heterotrophic organisms. There are over
100,000 species of fungi. Some are unicellular
like yeasts, others complex like mushrooms. The
fungi are the major decomposers and their
activity is essential for the recycling of inorganic
resources in the biosphere.
Members of the animal kingdom are
multicellular. This includes sponges, snails,
insects, star fishes, amphibians, birds,
mammals etc. Under each kingdom, there are
several species.
Human beings belong to one of the species
of the animal kingdom. But because of their
unique characteristics, they are called Homo
sapiens (homo= man; sapiens = wise). At the
biological level, the human beings are not unique
for strength, ability, speed or endurance. They
have a poorer sense of hearing, smell and vision
than many other animals, but their brains are
large and highly developed, and they have skilled
hands. They can change themselves according
to environment and need and hence, more
powerful than other animals.
ORGANISATION OF AN ECOSYSTEM
The biotic community along with the physical
environment forms an interacting system
called the ecosystem. An ecosystem can be
natural or artificial, temporary or permanent.
A large grassland or a forest, a small tract in a
forest or a single log, an edge of pond, a village,
an aquarium or a manned spaceship can all
be regarded as ecosystems. Thus, any
structural and functional unit of the
environment that can be identified and studied
is called ecosystem.
The study of an ecosystem is not merely a
description of the biotic community and its
abiotic environment. It involves the
understanding of a whole network of
relationships comprising the various
exchanges and interactions between the living
and the non-living. Various structural
components of an ecosystem are classified
into two main groups: (i) biotic or living; and
(ii) abiotic or non-living.
The biotic component of an ecosytem
comprises the kinds, numbers and
FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
distribution of living organisms. The abiotic
component consists of the kinds, quantity and
distribution of physical and chemical factors
such as light, temperature, water, oxygen,
carbon, nitrogen and minerals. The study of
the functional aspect of an ecosystem involves
the volume and the rate at which various
materials circulate and the rate at which
energy flows through it. The study also
includes the processes by which living
organisms change the abiotic environment,
the processes by which non-living
environment affect living organisms and the
events by which population levels of organisms
are regulated.
Biotic Components
All organisms require energy for their life
processes and materials for the formation and
maintenance of body structures. Food
supplies both energy and materials for the
sustenance of life. Green plants produce
carbohydrates by photosynthesis and also
synthesise proteins and fats. The green
plants, therefore, are called producers. The
animals that consume this energy as food are
called consumers. The non-green organisms
like the fungi and some bacteria, which do not
produce their own food, live on the dead
and decaying plants or animals and are
consumers of a special type, called
decomposers (Fig. 16.1).
The herbivores like cattle, deer and goat
derive their food (or energy) directly from
plants (the producers) and are called the first
order consumers. The carnivorous organisms
like the tiger and the lion are the second order
consumers. The food relation in its simplest
form — grass-deer-tiger-microorganisms —
representing a producer, a primary consumer,
a secondary consumer and a decomposer is
called a food chain (Fig.16.2). Each step in the
food chain represents a trophic level.
Energy Flow in the Biosphere
Energy from the sun enters the living world
through photosynthetic organisms and passes
on from one organism to another in the form
DIVERSITY OF LIFE 131

Fig.16.1 : Cycle of Energy and Nutrient Flow in an Ecosystem

Note the direction of flow of energy and that of the nutrients.

of food. The organisms which trap solar energy their own life processes. Only a portion of the
and act as producers also use some energy for energy trapped is taken up by the primary

Fig.16.2 : Food Chain

Note how energy received from the sun is transferred to other organisms.
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consumers. Animals being more active than
plants use much of the energy acquired before
they are consumed by the next trophic level.
At each stage of energy transfer, some amount
of energy is lost from the food chain. The
amount of energy transferred to the next
higher level thus, gradually decreases. The
decomposition of dead organisms also releases
chemical energy. Eventually, all the solar
energy that entered the living system through
the producers goes back into the non-living
world, not as light but as heat.
In nature the food relationships cannot be
explained only in terms of a single food chain.
A herbivore consumes many types of plant or
plant products. Many kinds of animals other
than the tiger derive food from herbivorous
animals. Ticks and mites, leeches and blood-
sucking insects are dependent on herbivores
and even on carnivores. Thus, food chains are
not isolated linear chains of trophic levels.
Depending upon the availability and choice of
food, different organisms at each level have
food relationship with more than one organism
at the lower levels. A rat, for example, feeds
on various kinds of stems, roots, fruits and
grains. In turn, it is consumed by a snake
which is eaten by a falcon. The snakes feed on
both frogs and rats. Thus, a network of food
Fig.16.3 : Food Pyramid (Pyramid of Numbers)
Note the organism who is at the top level and why is it so.
FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
chains exists, which is called a food web. The
food web becomes more complicated when
taste and preference, availability and
compulsion are involved. In the Sunderbans,
tigers are forced to feed on fish or crabs.
In a food chain the members at the
successive higher levels become smaller in
number. In a forest, the small herbivorous
insects are more abundant than the
insectivorous birds. The preying birds like
hawks are fewer than insectivorous birds.
Thus. the number of organisms in one trophic
level is higher than that at the next higher
level. When the number at successive levels
are plotted, they assume the shape of a
pyramid. (Fig.16.3). This is called a pyramid of
numbers.
The number of organisms at any trophic
level depends upon the availability of
organisms which serve as food at the lower
level. Thus, the number of a particular
herbivorous insect would increase if more
plant food was available to them.
Consequently, plenty of food would be
available not only to its prey, but also to other
animals like a bird which feeds on that insect
even as a second choice leading to an increase
in their number. As a result of this increased
predation the number of herbivorous insects
DIVERSITY OF LIFE
is decreased and this in turn would lead to a
reduction in the number of their predators.
Thus, availability of food is the main factor
which maintains the grand balance of nature.
This balance is dynamic and fluctuates within
certain limits.
No organism exists in isolation but in
company with others of similar or differing
type, and its actual or ecological range will
depend on the suitability of the biotic
environment. The biotic environment is a
product of the interactions between organisms
and their abiotic habitat vis-à-vis interactions
between organisms of the same or different
species living together. Competition is a
negative interaction in which both competing
species suffer. It is the struggle of two or more
organisms to exploit the same resources. For
example, green plants compete each other for
sunlight. The creation of shade and the
consequent reduction in light intensity is the
most common way in which one type of plant
may suppress or prevent the growth of other
plants. The process of intra and inter-specific
competition between animals is more complex
than that between plants. Competition among
animals is primarily for living space, food and
breeding partners.
In contrast to the preceding negative biotic
interactions, mutualism and communalism are
the two positive biotic interactions. Mutualism
or symbiosis is the mutually beneficial
association of two dissimilar organisms.
Communalism occurs when one of the two
species benefits from an association while the
other is unaffected as in the case of plants or
animals growing on shells of marine animals.
Abiotic Components
Among the abiotic factors the most important
are climatic and edaphic factors. The climatic
factors include temperature, humidity, rain
and snowfall. The edaphic factors comprise
the soil and substratum. The ability of
organisms to utilise, tolerate or combat the
various abotic factors are different and it may
limit their distribution, behaviour and
relationship with other organisms. Some of
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the most important abiotic factors are
described below :
Temperature: Living organisms can
survive only in a narrow range of temperature
which allows their metabolism. Wherever they
live the organisms must develop physiological
and behavioural adaptations to withstand
extremes of temperature. The polar bear can
live in very cold regions and hibernate during
winter. Some birds and mammals migrate to
warmer places in winter to avoid extreme cold.
Some desert animals live inside burrows to
avoid the intense heat of the desert. Water is
an essential requirement of life. A large
number of organisms live only in water. The
requirement of water varies from organism to
organism. The distribution of organisms
depends upon the extent of the need and
special adaptations for conserving water. Light
is essential for photosynthetic organisms for
the preparation of food, on which the rest of
the living world depends. Plants show various
adaptations for obtaining optimum light. Most
animals are sensitive to light. Many animals
have special photoreceptors.
Humidity : The atmospheric humidity
directly regulates the rate at which water
evaporates from the earth’s surface, and the
body of organisms by transpiration,
perspiration and other means. Plants and
animals have different levels of adaptations to
withstand dry conditions. Wind determines
the rate of transpiration where wind velocity
is very high, the plants with strong root system
and tough stems only survive. Most organisms
thrive in an optimal pH range. Some plants
and aquatic animals require acidic conditions,
others need neutral or alkaline conditions. The
pH of the soil and water has a strong influence
on the distribution of organisms.
Mineral elements: Availability and
concentration of essential mineral elements
control the distribution of microbes and plants
and animals. Plants living in soil deficient in
nitrogen have developed special adaptations
for obtaining it, such as, harbouring nitrogen-
fixing bacteria and the carnivorous habit.
Salinity in soil or in water greatly affects the
distribution of organisms. Fresh water species
134 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

usually, cannot survive in a marine habitat.
Animals inhabiting an estuary have special
physiological or behavioural adaptations to
withstand fluctuations in salinity caused by
tidal rhythms. Topography or sur face
configuration of an area influences distribution
of organisms as much as wide geographic
separation. Topographical effect may be direct
as well as indirect. Indirectly, it affects other
factors like wind, water current, light or wave
action. The background of the habitat also
determines the distribution of animals by
enabling them to camouflage against the colour,
general texture and pattern. Desert animals
like the lion and the camel are sand-coloured.
Most of the jelly fishes, sea cucumbers are
glassy. The chameleon changes its colour
according to its background.

EXERCISES

Review Questions
1. Answer the following questions:
(i) Define biosphere.
(ii) How does humidity affect plant life?
(iii) Mention five kingdoms into which different organisms are divided.
(iv) What are the functions of fungi?
(v) What is an ecosystem?
(vi) What is a food chain?
2. Distinguish between:
(i) First order consumers and second order consumers;
(ii) Biotic and abiotic factors;
(iii) Food chain and food web;
(iv) Mutualism and competition.
3. Write short notes on the following:
(i) Taxonomy of organism;
(ii) Pyramid of numbers;
(iii) Balance of nature;
(iv) Energy flow in biosphere.
4. Describe the importance of abiotic factors in biosphere.
5. Mention various kinds of diversities which you observe in the world today.

Project Work
Divide organisms into five kingdoms. Write about their characteristics, types and functions. Also
draw their sketches.