The physical world is composed of living and non-living things. They are generally referred to as the biotic and the abiotic. The abiotic is the physical objects like rivers, mountains, volcanoes and water-bodies. The biotic is the world of flora and fauna.
Flora
The word “flora” is used to designate plant life. The word “flora” is derived from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers. In Roman mythology. Flora was a symbol of nature and flowers and fertility in Roman mythology.
Fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life. Fauna’s name derived from “to favour, nurture,” because it was believed by the ancient Roman religion that Fauna is the goddess who nurtures all that is useful to living creatures.
Flora and fauna mean plants and animals. These two forms of life along with other life forms constitute a biota.
Introduction to Characteristics
of the biosphere and separate
ecosystems
• What is Flora and
• The physical world is
Fauna?
composed of living and
non-living things. They
are generally referred to
as the biotic and the
abiotic. The abiotic is the
physical objects like
rivers, mountains,
volcanoes and water-
bodies. The biotic is the
world of flora and fauna.
• Flora
• The word “flora” is
used to designate
plant life. The word
“flora” is derived
from the Latin
name of Flora, the
goddess of plants,
flowers. In Roman
mythology. Flora
was a symbol of
nature and flowers
and fertility in
Roman mythology.
• Fauna
• Fauna is all of the
animal life. Fauna’s
name derived from “to
favour, nurture,”
because it was believed
by the ancient Roman
religion that Fauna is the
goddess who nurtures
all that is useful to living
creatures.
• Flora and fauna mean
plants and animals.
These two forms of life
along with other life
forms constitute a biota.
• Importance of Flora and Fauna
• The importance of flora or plants on the land or in the oceans
makes our life possible. Plants are the oxygen producing and
carbon dioxide absorbing natural apparatus without which
life would not be possible. Besides the plants are essential
resource for human well-being. The Amazon rainforests not
only supply oxygen but are the source of sustenance for the
region.
• The ecosystem is a consistent, harmonized holistic organisation
functioning according to its own laws. It sustains on its own laws
and maintains its own balance independent of outsiders. Human
intervention has posed a danger to the ecosystem and
endangered many species of plant and animal life.
• Rapid destruction of trees has affected bird habitat and
correspondingly many plant species.
• The biosphere, (from Greek bios = life, sphaira, sphere) is the layer of the
planet Earth where life exists. This layer ranges from heights of up to ten
kilometres above sea level, used by some birds in flight, to depths of the
ocean such as the Puerto Rico trench, at more than 8 kilometres deep. These
are the extremes; however, in general the layer of the Earth containing life is
thin: the upper atmosphere has little oxygen and very low temperatures, while
ocean depths greater than 1000 m are dark and cold. In fact, it has been said
that the biosphere is like the peel in relation to the size of an apple.
• The biosphere is unique. So
far there has been no
existence of life elsewhere
in the universe. Life on
Earth depends on the sun.
Energy, provided as sun
light, is captured by plants,
some bacteria and protists,
in the marvellous
phenomenon of
photosynthesis. The
captured energy transforms
carbon dioxide into organic
compounds such as sugars
and produces oxygen. The
vast majority of species of
animals, fungi, parasitic
plants and many bacteria
depend directly or indirectly
on photosynthesis.
• Competition & Predation
• Predation is when one organism eats another organism to obtain nutrients. The
organism that is eaten is called the prey. Examples of predation are owls that eat
mice, and lions that eat gazelles. Competition is when individuals or populations
compete for the same resource, and can occur within or between species. When
organisms compete for a resource (such as food or building materials) it is called
consumptive or exploitative competition. When they compete for territory, it is called
interference competition. When they compete for new territory by arriving there first,
it is called preemptive competition. An example is lions and hyenas that compete for
prey.
• Commensalism
• Commensalism is a
relationship in which one
organism benefits while the
other is neither helped nor
harmed. Examples are
barnacles that grow on
whales and other marine
animals. The whale gains no
benefit from the barnacle,
but the barnacles gain
mobility, which helps them
evade predators, and are
exposed to more diverse
feeding opportunities. There
are four basic types of
commensal relationships.
• Parasitism
• Parasitism is a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other
organism is harmed, but not always killed. The organism that benefits is
called the parasite, and the one that is harmed is the host. Parasites can
be ectoparasites -- such as ticks, fleas, and leeches -- that live on the
surface of the host. Parasites can also be endoparasites -- such as
intestinal worms – that live inside the host. Endoparasites can be further
categorized into intercellular parasites, that live in the space between
cells, or intracellular parasites, which live inside of cells.
• Mutualism
• Mutualism is a relationship in which both species benefit. Mutualistic interaction
patterns occur in three forms. Obligate mutualism is when one species cannot
survive apart from the other. Diffusive mutualism is when one organism can live
with more than one partner. Facultative mutualism is when one species can
survive on its own under certain conditions. On top of these, mutualistic
relationships have three general purposes. Trophic mutualism is exemplified in
lichens, which consist of fungi and either algae or cyanobacteria.
Introduction to сharacteristics of the biosphere and separate ecosystems .pptx
