For the following ecological systems;

1) Describe the physical and chemical characteristics.

2) Describe the microbial communities formed or found.
3) Describe the physiological or metabolic activities that enable these organisms survive
in such an environment.
The ecological systems and their subsystems to consider are; Aquatic
Terrestrial
An ecological system is a habitable environment either created artificially or occurring
naturally such as the environment on Earth, in which organisms live in mutual
relationship with each other as well as the abiotic factors and the physical components of
the environment with which the organisms interact with such as air, soil, water, and
sunlight The main natural ecological systems are the terrestrial ecosystem and the aquatic
ecosystem
Aquatic ecosystem
This is any underwater environment that is capable of supporting life and contains plants
and animals that predominantly depend on a significant amount of water to be present for
at least part of the year. It has the following subsystems; Fresh water subsystem and
Marine or Ocean subsystem. The main differences between these two subsystems lie in
salinity, average temperature, depth and nutrient status.
Fresh water subsystem
Only 3% of the world's water is fresh, the environments under here include:
Lentic: slow-moving water like pools, ponds, and lakes.
Lotic: rapidly-moving water such as streams and rivers.
Wetlands: areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least part of the time.
They differ considerably in their chemical and physical properties and this is responsible
for the differences in the microbial diversity. The chemical and physical properties
include the following;
Oxygen has limited solubility in water and in a large mass its exchange with the
atmosphere is very low. In fresh water lakes once the oxygen is consumed the deep layers
become anoxic and thus strict aerobic or higher organisms cannot survive in the bottom
layers.
Presence of strong currents or turbulence that cause wind mixing and consequently
oxygen being transferred to the deeper layers which leads to even aeration. The river and
streams are usually more oxygenated of rapid water flow, currents and turbulence.
Stratification of lakes found in temperate climate regions. During summer the warmer and less
dense surface layers (epilimnion) of the water mass are separated from the colder and denser
bottom layers (hypolimnion), when stratification sets in the bottom layers become anoxic which
triggers blooms of algae and cyanobacteria that increase organic content of the lake. In the early
winter the surface waters become colder and thus denser than the bottom waters causing water to
turn over leading to aeration of the bottom layers. The transition from the epilimnion to
hypolimnion is called thermocline.
Usually surface waters have enough light when compared to the bottom waters. Light affects
habitation of micro-organisms in the water bodies, phototrophic organisms can only survive in
habitants with enough light as they use energy from light in the initial production of organic
matter.
Organic matter in form of sewage, agriculture and industrial pollution or produced by the
phototrophic organisms. The high organic matter levels trigger massive blooms of algae and
cyanobacteria which can lead to a marked reduction in oxygen due to bacteria respiration.
Oxygen depletion causes many aquatic organisms to die even under temporary anoxic
conditions.
Conversion to anoxia conditions results in production of odoriferious compounds like amines
and Hydrogen Sulphide by the anaerobic compounds which can be toxic to some organisms.
The fresh water environments have higher inorganic content like phosphorous, iron and nitrogen
as compared to the marine environments which boosts the activity of the primary producers
found in the aquatic environment thus increasing the nutrient composition of the water body.
The pH is most fresh water bodies is usually between 6 to 8.
The aerated surface water layers are inhabited by the photosynthetic microbes that need
light energy for organic matter production like phytoplankton (the floating algae), benthic
algae e.t.c. Aquatic environment with high organic matter content (eutrophic bodies) have
massive populations of algae, cyanobacteria, Actinomycetes like Nocardia, Streptomyces
and Micromonospora but those with sparse organic matter present have oligotrophs; an
organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients.
Bottom layers are inhabited by anaerobic prokaryotes, a few anaerobic eukaryotes like
the protozoa and facultative microbes that decompose organic matter that sinks to the
bottom. Anoxic waters are inhabited by aerobes and methanogens, and those with high
level of ammonia from pollution have nitrogen fixing bacteria present
The physiological and metabolic activities that enable organisms to survive in such
environment include;
The ability of organisms to convert from respiratory to fermentive and methanogenic
metabolisms has enabled them to survive anoxic periods of the water body.
The adaptation of micro-organisms (the oligotrophs) to grow under very dilute conditions
like in the pristine lakes where there is low nutrient content.
Some organisms (phototrophic) use energy from light to produce organic matter which
contributes oxygen through photosynthesis to the water mass has enabled them to survive
in the top water layers that have light.

Marine or Ocean waters

This includes; the open ocean, deep sea and the hydrothermal vents. The hydrothermal
vents are deep sea hot springs where volcanic activity generates fluids containing large
inorganic energy sources. The physical and chemical characteristics of the marine
environment include;
Visible light penetrates only 300m in the open ocean region known as the photic zone
and beyond 1000m is the deep sea region which is biologically inactive.
Nutritional levels are very low when compared to the fresh water bodies as they lack
critical elements like iron that limit activity of primary producers. Inshore oceans are
nutritionally richer than the open ocean waters.
The marine environment has low temperatures, beyond 100m the waters stay constantly
at 2-30C. Additionally there is high pressure associated with great depth, pressure
increases with 1 atm for every 10m depth.
The hydrothermal vents have reduced inorganic materials like H2S, Mn2+, H2 and CO but
have high levels of NH4, organic matter is not present. There is fixation of carbon dioxide
and oxidation of hydrogen Sulphide and S2O3 2- by the natural populations of bacteria.
The number of organisms present decrease with depth, bacteria predominate the upper
waters while the Archaea are present in lower waters e.g. the Crenarchaeota species. The
bacteria include; the tiny oxygenic prokaryotes that contain chlorophylls a and b, in
tropical and subtropical oceans the planktonic filamentous marine cyanobacteria
Trichodesmium is wide spread which is a nitrogen fixing bacteria. Chemolithotrophs are
the main microbes found at the hydrothermal vents like the Thiobacillus, Beggiatoa, e.t.c.
Some vents contain nitrifying, hydrogen-oxidizing, iron and manganese-oxidizing
bacteria or methylotropic bacteria.
The ability of some organisms like the aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs to carry out
anoxygenic photosynthesis under aerobic conditions like the Erythrobacter and
Roseobacter that carry out photosynthesis and use the ATP for their growth and
metabolism has enabled them to survive in the marine environment.
Some prokaryotes in the ocean’s photic zone contain rhodopsin (a visual pigment) that is
used to convert light energy into ATP.
Most aquatic organisms are cold blooded thus can withstand the cold extremities of the
environment. Organisms in this environment tolerate salinity and are known as
extremophiles.
Different microbes have been able to withstand enormous hydrostatic pressures and have
acquired different responses like the barotorelant that simply tolerate pressure and the
barophilic that grow best under pressure.
The chemolithotrophs at the hydrothermal vents fix the Carbon dioxide present as CO3-2
and HCO3- into organic carbon which is used to feed the vent animals.
The tube worms present contain unusual hemoglobins that bind hydrogen Sulphide as
well as oxygen

Terrestrial ecosystem
A community of organisms and their environment that occurs on the land masses of
continents and islands. It is distinguished from aquatic ecosystems by the low availability
of water.
This includes environments like; Atmosphere
Soil
Forests and grasslands
Dry rocks
Soil environment
Soil refers to the loose outer material of Earth’s surface with numerous micro-
environments and niches. In vertical sequence the soil has the following layers; A and B
soil horizons, C horizon, Capillary fringe and the water table. It is an excellent natural
culture media for growth of many types of microbes.
The deep soil surface that extends several hundred meters below is not a biological
wasteland although it has fewer microbes when compared to the top layer.
The amount of water present varies depending on soil composition, rainfall, drainage and
plant cover. Water is present in two ways as free water in thin sheets between soil
particles or adsorbed onto surfaces.
In well drained soils; air penetrates readily and the oxygen content of the soil is usually
high while for the water logged soil the only oxygen present is that dissolved in the
water.
The nutrient levels of the soil decline when moving down from A and B soil horizons to
C horizons. There are three color categories of topsoil which relate to the amount of
organic matter i.e. dark soils which is rich in organic content and usually very fertile.
Moderately dark soils that have moderate amounts of organic matter and are of medium
fertility and the Light colored soils with low in organic matter and are sometimes poorly
aerated.
In some soils carbon is not the limiting factor but the availability of inorganic nutrients
like iron, phosphorus and nitrogen.
There is vertical fluctuation of the water table and the horizontal saturated flow which
lead to mixing of oxygen and nutrients in this region.
The majority of micro-organism populations are found in the top soil (upper six to twelve
inches), there is a proportional decline in bacterial abundance with soil depth but the
number does not continue to diminish as there is an increase with the bacterial numbers
as you reach the capillary fringe zone and at the water table.
The micro-organisms present include; bacteria like the nitrogen fixing bacteria
fungi, algae, Protozoa and viruses
The metabolic rates of microbes found in the deep surface layers are low because of the
low nutrient content of the deep soil layers. They presumably have access to nutrients
from underground water flows.
The chemoorganotrophic survive by slow catabolism of organic carbon.
The organisms have acquired adaptations that enable them to obtain water, means of
transporting it from acquisition sites to rest of the body and means of preventing
evaporation from the body surfaces.

Atmosphere
Air is the simplest environment with relative quantities of gases that include; carbon
dioxide that serves as a substrate for photosynthesis, oxygen that serves as a substrate in
aerobic respiration, and nitrogen that serves as a substrate for nitrogen fixation and other
gases in trace amounts in addition to condensed vapour and dust.
Air is mainly a transport or dispersal medium of microbes though a substantial number
inhabit the lower atmosphere. The atmosphere has various layers with the nearest being
the troposphere which is about 16km in tropics and 11km for the temperate region.
This environment is characterized by greater temperature fluctuations on both a diurnal
and seasonal basis and less moisture content. High temperatures and low moisture
content are due to repeated exposure to sunlight. The availability of light is also great
because the atmosphere is more transparent than water.
There is low amount of organic matter and a scarcity of water.
The microbes found in the atmosphere include; vegetative cells and spores of bacteria,
fungi, algae, viruses and protozoan cysts.
Size of the organisms enables their survival in the atmosphere. Generally small microbes
are easily liberated into air and remain there for long. For example fragments of mycelia
will be present in air than fungi since they are smaller. They have traits that provide body
support in the atmosphere, a much less buoyant medium than water,
Spores are more abundant because of their dormant state which enables them to survive
unfavorable conditions like desiccation, lack of enough nutrients and ultra violet
radiation.
Usually the microbes are attached to dust particles and condensed vapour which enables
them to settle out rapidly.
Organisms like poliomyelitis have acquired mechanisms of survival in environments with
high humidity and temperatures.

Forests and grassland subsystem

A forest is plant community consisting predominantly of trees and other woody
vegetation, growing closely together. The trees can be large and densely packed or they
can be relatively small and sparsely scattered.
Woody trees and shrubs are unique in their ability to extend their branches and foliage
skyward to capture carbon dioxide and most of the incoming photosynthetically active
solar radiation. Some light is reflected back to the atmosphere and some passes through
leaves to the ground (infrared light).
Many woody plants have deep and extensive root systems that tap stored ground water
between rain storms as high rates of photosynthesis require lots of water.
Root systems of most plants are greatly extended through a relation between plants and
fungi, called mycorrhizal symbiosis.
There are high levels of methanogenesis though the habitat is considered oxic. It occurs
in anoxic microenvironments like the midst of soil crumbs.
Forested ecosystems have great effect on the cycling of carbon, water, and nutrients, and
these effects are important in understanding long-term productivity. Nitrogen is the most
common gas in the atmosphere.
Grassland is a biological community that contains few trees or shrubs, is characterized by
mixed herbaceous (nonwoody) vegetation cover, and is dominated by grasses or grasslike
plants. The climate of grasslands is one of daily and seasonal extremes
Soils of mesic temperate grasslands are usually deep about 3 ft (1 m), are neutral to basic
pH with have high amounts of organic matter and contain large amounts of exchangeable
bases. The soils are rich because rainfall is inadequate for excessive leaching of minerals
and because plant roots produce large amounts of organic material.
On comparison of grasslands with forest soils, grassland soils are generally subjected to
higher temperatures, greater evaporation, periodic drought, and more transpiration per
unit of total plant biomass.
Microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and protists, are the most numerous and the most
diverse, saprophytic decomposers which gain carbon from the dead remains of other
plants or animals, in nature free-living N2-fixing microbes.. Bacteria that convert
ammonium ion (NH+4) to NO-3 (nitrifiers) and bacteria that convert NO-3 back to N2
(denitrifiers) are numerous in the forests. Lichens and mosses are also present.
Within the grassland ecosystem are enormous numbers of very small organisms,
including bacteria, fungi, algae, and viruses.
Hundreds of species of bacteria and fungi present are able to decompose organic material,
releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere and making nutrients..
Bacteria and some algae also capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it into forms
available to plants
Certain bacteria can form a special enzyme (nitrogenase) which breaks apart N2 and
combines with photosynthates to form amino acids and proteins.
Some bacteria and many fungi are plant pathogens thus obtain their nutrients from living
plants. Some are opportunists, successful as saprophytes but capable of killing weakened
or wounded plant tissues. Others require a living host and often prefer the most vigorous
trees in the forest.

Deep underground rocks

The Basalts are iron rich volcanic rocks.
The rocks contain very little organic matter.
There is presence of lichens, algae and mosses. Chemolithotropic prokaryotes are present
and actually dominate the microbial populations including the sulfate reducing bacteria,
methanogens and homoacetous.
The organisms get energy and make biomass by combining the hydrogen with dissolved
carbon dioxide, and giving off methane as a waste product.
The methanogens are metabolically active by carbon-stable isotope analyses of methane
present in the rock or that which is produced by others.
Many of them are thermophiles or hyperthermophiles, because the Earth's crust gets
progressively hotter with depth.
There is utilization of hydrogen as an electron donor for their yielding metabolisms.
The buried chemoorganotrophic survive by slow catabolism of organic carbon deposited
within the sediments.

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