Ecosystem Essay

Exclusively available on IvyPanda Available only on IvyPanda
Updated: Dec 3rd, 2023

Introduction

The sum of all living organisms residing in an ecological environment forms a community. In the community, the living and non-living factors interact in a manner that ensures balance in the environment.

We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Essay on Ecosystem
808 writers online

The aspect of the living organisms-both plants and animal, sharing an environment forms an ecosystem. An ecosystem is always in a dynamic state of evolution (Newman 2000).

The world consists of several ecosystems. These different ecosystems are defined according to their unique characteristics. Several factors are responsible for the different characteristics observed in the ecosystems. These factors are either weather and climate or the living organisms that occupy the specific environment.

An ecosystem should provide an environment that supports the complex relationships of all the life forms that reside within it (Newman 2000). This work seeks to exclusively describe the characteristics of the ecosystem of Melbourne area in Australia.

Methods

Melbourne occupies the South-Eastern part of Australia and borders the ocean. based on the Koppen climate classification model, the climate of the area is described as oceanic.

Topography

To the East, the area is situated in an intersection of magma and intermediate stones from the Precambrian period. It lies along Yarra River and boarders the Dandenong ranges to the East.

To the West, Melbourne borders Marybyrnong River that flows along the foothills of the Macedon ranges. These ranges have flat volcanic planes that proceed up to the beach front.

1 hour!
The minimum time our certified writers need to deliver a 100% original paper

The topography of the area map.

(Waterwatch Victoria 2012)

The map shows the topography of the area.

Vegetation types

The area has a diverse plant community courtesy of the favourable weather. The coast consists of scrub family, dominated by the coast banksias. In the inland foreshow regions, woodland dominates. On the contrary, plenty of manna gum dominates the eastern side. Finally, the grassy woodland dominates the basalt-North (Newman 2000).

Wetlands

One of the most outstanding ecosystems in the Melbourne area is the wetlands. The Ramsar convention on wetlands added Port Philip wetland and the Bellarine Peninsula to its list.

Remember! This is just a sample
You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers

Port Philip wetland is very significant in terms of the biodiversity it supports along the coastal region. It supports an approximated 580 species of plants. At the same time, the animal species occupying the ecosystem is estimated to be over 300.

Data collection

Use of quadrats

In the ecological research of the ecosystems in the Melbourne area, several data collection methods were employed. These methods included the following:

Quadrat method

A quadrat, made up of a metal square, of different sizes was randomly thrown in an identified area. The plant species within the quadrat were counted and recorded as indicated in the table below. A second area was systematically identified and the quadrat method used again to collect data on the species within the quadrat.

Eventually, a tally of the various identified species was conducted. The quadrats varied in terms of size. The four square quadrats used all had an area of 1, 2, 4 and 8 M2 respectively.

Observations

The various plant and animal species residing within each quadrat were observed and recorded based on their morphological characteristics. These characteristics were then described for each plant or animal.

We will write
a custom essay
specifically for you
Get your first paper with
15% OFF

Results and Discussions

A quadrat method helps describe a representative sample of a given ecosystem.

The table below depicts the results of the plant species observed.

Area 1Quadrant size (M)Area 2Quadrant size (M)
Species1*12*12*22*4species1*11*21*31*4
Coast banksias23453250
Manna gum01020044
scrub specie 120351124
Herb 111111134
Scrub specie 312142328
Grass specie 1479116999
Grass specie 20161524711
Herb 203443144
Scrub specie 211121222
Herb 200111445
Grass specie 4481415591217
Cumulative number of species1527436525365468

Biotic components

From the data, it is important to note that the number of most species increased depending on the size of the sample area. This is shown in the figure below.

Specie Richness graph.

Interaction between biotic and abiotic components

Both plants and animals in Melbourne have been adversely affected by the soil structure of the area. The Northern part, which is majorly rocky, has the least animal population compared to the other areas that contain rich soils. In fact, the area recorded very limited plant population.

The rocky surface in Northern part of Melbourne, prevents water from reaching the plant roots. The plants, on the other hand, develop deep roots that crack the large rocks to smaller pieces so that the underlying rocks are eventually weathered.

Energy flow

Primary producers:

Primary producers are organisms that make their own food using simple compounds; they are mainly plants (Newman 2000). From the data, the most common primary producer was the grass specie number 4. Some grass species were shorter with very green leaves resembling blades, while others were much taller. Specie number 3 was very short and had long reddish brown leaves.

Primary consumers:

Primary consumers directly feed on the plants for example the herbivores and browsers. The short brown hare and a possum were observed in this category. These consumers feed on the barks, roots, and the flowers of plants.

Secondary consumers:

Those animals that feed on plant materials directly form the trophic level of secondary consumers. Secondary consumers feed directly on herbivores or browsers. Several examples were observed as listed below:

  1. Red foxes that preyed on some bird species.
  2. Frog mouthed owls that fed on some species of birds and possums
  3. White’s skink that fed on small invertebrates.

Tertiary consumers

No tertiary consumers were observed. However, the presence of the vultures could not be ruled out especially in Northern Melbourne.

Food chain

Food chain.

Chemical cycling

Coastal areas have plenty of dead plant materials especially the leaves. The wetlands contain plenty of decaying plant roots and leaves in the water (Widdowson 2007). In the soil, the top layer where the leaves are rotting have thick humus as compared to inner layers.

Micro-organisms are involved in the saprophytic breakdown of the plant materials into smaller absorbable units. These microorganisms are likely to be the saprophytic bacteria. They break down the complex dead matter into smaller units absorbable by plants (Specht & Specht 1999).

Conclusion

This report gives detailed study of the ecosystem of Melbourne area in Australia. It describes the unique characteristics of the area as well as the species interactions.

Reference List

Newman, EI 2000, Applied ecology and environmental management, Blackwell Science, Oxford, Eng.

Specht, RL & Specht, A 1999, Australian plant communities: dynamics of structure, growth and biodiversity, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

Waterwatch Victoria 2012, Melbourne Region Waterwatch Program. Web.

Widdowson, M 2007, “Laterite and Ferricrete”, in D Nash & S McLaren (eds), Geochemical Sediments and Landscapes, Blackwell, Malden, MA, pp.46-94.

Print
Need an custom research paper on Ecosystem written from scratch by a professional specifically for you?
808 writers online
Cite This paper
Select a referencing style:

Reference

IvyPanda. (2023, December 3). Ecosystem. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-essay/

Work Cited

"Ecosystem." IvyPanda, 3 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-essay/.

References

IvyPanda. (2023) 'Ecosystem'. 3 December.

References

IvyPanda. 2023. "Ecosystem." December 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-essay/.

1. IvyPanda. "Ecosystem." December 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-essay/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Ecosystem." December 3, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ecosystem-essay/.

Powered by CiteTotal, citation service
If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Request the removal
More related papers
Cite
Print
1 / 1