1.What is Environment?
-The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or
operates.
-All the things (living and non-living) around us is part of our environment.
There are two types:
1. Natural environment: encompasses all living and non-living things occurring
naturally on Earth
- Includes all biotic factors i.e. plants, animals, microorganisms; and abiotic factors
i.e. minerals, rocks and magma, water bodies, and atmosphere layers
2. Built environment: part of the physical environment which is built by humans
through science, technology, culture etc.
-Includes places and spaces created or modified by people i.e. buildings, parks,
transportation systems etc.
2.What is Environmental Science?
-Environment comes from the French word ‘Envirormer’ meaning to encircle or
surround
-Includes everything that affects living organisms
Definitions of Environment:
-the circumstances and conditions that surround an organism or a group of
organisms
-the social and cultural conditions that affect an individual or a community
Definition of Science:
A systematically organized body of knowledge on a particular subject
Hence, Environmental Science can simply be defined as the systematic study of
our surroundings and how they affect living organisms
3.Value of Environment
Direct Use Value: Product that can be used directly and there is tangible benefits
that we get from bio diversity.Example- Wood, Fodder. Fuel etc
Indirect Use Value:Intangible benefit or service that we get from
biodiversity.Example- Flood control
4.Ecosystem services
-Provisioning
Goods produced or provided by ecosystems
-Regulating
Benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes
-Cultural
Non- material benefits from ecosystems
5.Key themes of Environmental Science
-Human population growth: Major contributor to environmental problems
-Sustainability: Unsustainable use of resources must be replaced with sustainable
practices
-A global perspective: Local changes can have global effects
-An urbanizing world: Have serious environmental consequences
-People and nature: Changes in one lead to changes in the other.
-Science and values: Environmental issues involve scientific understandings as
well as values and attitude
6.Consequences of Deforestation
Environmental effect
-Deforestation is a contributor to global warming and loss of vital carbon store
-The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. When part of a forest is
removed, the trees no longer transpire this water, resulting in a much drier climate.
-The rate of soil erosion occurs increases
-Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity
Health effect
Zoonotic (infectious) diseases [According to CDC,, 75% of emerging diseases in
humans came from animals. The rising number of outbreaks is probably linked
to habitat and biodiversity loss. According to the World Economic Forum, 31% of
emerging diseases are linked to deforestation. Ex. HIV, Malaria, COVID 2019
Economic effect
- Loss of livelihood and income
- Loss of agriculture
7.Consequences of water stress & drought
Economic Impact:
-Farmers may lose money if a drought destroys their crops
-If a farmer's water supply is too low, the farmer may have to spend more money
on irrigation or to drill new wells.
-Businesses that depend on farming, like companies that make tractors and food,
may lose business when drought damages crops or livestock.
- Power companies that normally rely on hydroelectric power (electricity that's
created from the energy of running water) may have to spend more money .
-Water companies may have to spend money on new or additional water supplies.
-Barges and ships may have difficulty navigating streams, rivers, and canals
because of low water levels, which would also affect businesses that depend on
water transportation for receiving or sending goods and materials.
-People might have to pay more for food.
Environmental Impact:
-Losses of fish and wildlife habitat
-Lack of food and drinking water for wild animals
-Migration of wildlife
-Lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes, and ponds
-Loss of wetlands
-More wildfires
-Wind and water erosion of soils
-Poor soil quality
Social Impact:
-Anxiety or depression about economic losses caused by drought
-Health problems related to low water flows and poor water quality
-Health problems related to dust
-Loss of human life
-Reduced incomes
-Fewer recreational activities
8.Climate Change Impact on Biodiversity
As a result of climate change, species and ecosystems are experiencing changes in:
-ranges
-timing of biological activity
-growth rates relative abundance of species
-cycling of water and nutrients
-the risk of disturbance from fire, insects, and invasive species
9.Sustainable Development
The World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable
development as “Development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
Sustainable Development typically means that a society can continue to develop its
economy and society and also maintain its environment for an indefinite time.
10.Carrying Capacity
-Tied in with the concept of Sustainability
-Maximum number of individuals of a species that can be sustained by an
environment without decreasing the capacity of the environment to sustain that
same amount in the future
-Number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural
resource limits, and without degrading the natural social, cultural and economic
environment for present and future generations
-As the environment is degraded, carrying capacity actually shrinks, leaving the
environment no longer able to support it.
The carrying capacity of an environment is the amount of organism within a region
that the environment can support sustainably. [given the food, habitat, water, and
other resources available]
11.Overshoot
When a population surpasses its carrying capacity it enters a condition known
as overshoot.
12.Gaya Hypothesis
-The Gaia hypothesis (proposed by Dr. James Lovelock) is an ecological
hypothesis that proposes that living and nonliving parts of the earth are a complex
interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.
-The Gaia theory suggests that the abiotic and biotic environment is made up of
many complex interrelationships.
-Many of these complex interrelationships are quite delicate and may be altered by
human activity to a breaking point.
-The Gaia considers the earth as one giant living organism
13.Define Ecology
-The word ‘ecology’ was first used by Ernest Haeckel in 1869. The word is derived
from the Greek “Oikos”, meaning ‘home’. Ecology might therefore be thought of
as the study of the ‘home life’ of living organisms.
-Haeckel Definition (1869): Ecology as the scientific study of the interactions
between organisms and their environment (abiotic).
Hierarchical Structure of Ecology
-Organism/Individual Ecology: Studies how individuals interact with and are
affected by their environment.
-Population Ecology: Focuses on groups of the same species in a specific area,
their abundance, rarity, and population trends.
-Community Ecology: Examines interactions among different species within an
area and their ecological organization.
-Ecosystem Ecology: Studies how different species interact with each other and
their nonliving environment, ranging from small to large ecosystems.
14.Biome
A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which
are adapted to that particular environment. Climate and geography of a region
determines what type of biome exist in that region. A biome is a kind of ecosystem,
such as a desert, tropical rain forest, aquatic or grassland. There is strong
relationship between climate and biome.
Aquatic Biomes: These include water-based ecosystems like oceans, rivers, lakes,
and wetlands. Example: The Bay of Bengal, home to diverse marine life like Hilsa
fish and dolphins.
Terrestrial Biomes: These are land-based ecosystems such as forests, deserts, and
grasslands. Example: The Sundarbans, a mangrove forest in Bangladesh, home to
the Royal Bengal tiger.
15.Basic Characteristics of Ecosystems
Structure: An ecosystem has both living (communities of interacting species) and
nonliving (e.g. rocks, water, air, nutrients) parts
Process: Two basic kinds of processes must occur in the ecosystem:
-A flow of energy (Food web)
-A cycling of chemical elements
(e.g. nitrogen, oxygen, carbon)
Change: An ecosystem changes over time and can undergo development through a
process called succession
16.Process: Energy flow in Ecosystem.
-The sequence of organisms, each of which is a source of food for the next, is
called a Food chain.
-It determines how energy and nutrients move from one organism to another
through an ecosystem.
17.Classification of Consumers
Herbivores: plant eaters or primary consumers, which feed directly on producers
Carnivores: meat eaters which feed on other consumers
-Those feeding only on primary consumers are called secondary consumers
-those feeding on other carnivores are called tertiary (higher-level) consumers
Omnivores: eat both plants and animals e.g. humans
Scavengers: which feed on dead organisms e.g. vultures, flies, hyenas etc.
Detritivores:2 types, detritus feeders and decomposers
-Eat parts of dead organisms and cast-off fragments and wastes
(1) Detritus feeders: extract nutrients from partly decomposed organic matter in
leaf litter, plant debris, and animal dung e.g. crabs, carpenter ants, termites and
earthworms
(2) Decomposers: mostly certain types of bacteria and fungi recycle organic
matter in ecosystems by
-breaking down (biodegrading) dead organic material to get nutrients and
-releasing the resulting simpler inorganic compounds
18.Ecological Efficiency
-Ecological Efficiency: The transfer of energy between trophic levels is inefficient,
typically around 10%.
-Energy Loss: 80–95% of energy is lost at each level.
-Example: If plants capture 10,000 units of solar energy, only 1,000 units support
herbivores, and 100 units support carnivores.
-Impact: More trophic levels lead to greater cumulative energy loss.
19.Biomass: The total organic matter in an ecosystem at a given time.
2types- 1.Phytomass: Plant matter
2. Zoomass: Animal matter
-Biomass is most often given in terms of the dry weight of organisms at a
particular trophic level in a system
-Biomass decreases from the bottom to the top of the food chain.
20.Ecological Pyramid
-Ecological Pyramid: A diagram quantitatively representing biomass, energy flow
or number of organisms at different trophic levels
-A typical pyramid has a broad base
-Moving up the pyramid, the quantity of biomass, amount of stored energy and
number of individuals all decrease with each successive step
-The decrease is dramatic
E.g. 99 percent of Earth's total biomass occurs in the form of phytomass
(producers), with only about 1 percent in the form of zoomass (consumers)
21.Ecological Succession
The gradual change in species composition within a community over time.
Environmental changes or disturbances lead to shifts in species abundance.
Organisms modify their surroundings, allowing new species to colonize.
2 Types:
Primary Succession: The formation of a new ecosystem on lifeless ground.
Occurs in lifeless areas (e.g., volcanic lava).Pioneer species (e.g., lichens, hardy
plants) colonize bare rock, gradually forming soil.
Example: A forest developing on new lava flows.
Secondary Succession: Occurs in areas previously occupied by living organisms,
which are disturbed and then re-colonized.
The final, stable community that forms over time, assuming no further
disturbances.
-Causes of Disturbance: Natural (e.g., fire, flooding) and Human activities (e.g.,
deforestation, plowing, mining)
-Examples of Secondary Succession:
Abandoned farmlands, Burned or cut forests, Heavily polluted streams, Land that
has been dammed or flooded
22.Community Structure in EcoSystem
-Some species, such as foundation species and keystone species, play particularly
important roles in determining their communities' structure.
-A keystone species is one that has a disproportionate impact on its ecosystem
when compared to its abundance e.g sea otter, tiger etc. A foundation species is
usually a primary producer that dominates an ecosystem in abundance and
influence e.g. corals, algae, mangrove etc.
23.Signs of Diversity
Alpha Diversity (α): Species richness within a single ecosystem or habitat.
Beta Diversity (β): Difference in species composition between two or more
ecosystems or habitats.
Gamma Diversity (γ): Overall diversity across a larger region, considering both
alpha and beta diversity.
24.Ecological Niches and Competition
The Niche Concept
-A species' niche is its ecological role or "way of life," which is defined by the full
set of conditions, resources, and interactions it needs.
-Each species fits into an ecological community in its own special way and has its
own tolerable ranges for many environmental factors.
-Two organisms with exactly the same niche can't survive in the same habitat.
-species whose niches only partly overlap may be able to co-exist.
25.Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity
-Ecological Footprint (EF): Measures the environmental impact of a person or
community by calculating the land and water needed to sustain their resource use
and absorb waste.
-Biological Capacity (Biocapacity): The ability of ecosystems to regenerate
resources and support life.
-Example: Earth's biocapacity is about 1.7 global hectares per person.
26.Resource Partitioning
-Three possibilities:
1.Temporal resource partitioning – use the same resource but at different times.
2.Spatial resource partitioning – use different locations (plants with shallow roots
vs. deep roots)
3.Morphological resource partitioning – evolution of different body plans to use
different parts of the resource
27.What is Bio-Diversity?
Bio = Life
Diversity=Variety
-The diversity, or variety, of plants and animals and other living things in a
particular area or region.
28. Species Diversity: The number or variety of species in a given area.
-Species Richness: The count of different species in an ecosystem; higher richness
indicates greater diversity.
-Species Evenness: The uniformity in the distribution of individuals among
species, reflecting relative abundance.
29. Types of Species:
-Native Species: Naturally found and thriving in a specific ecosystem (e.g., camels
in deserts).
-Endemic Species: Restricted to a particular area, often endangered (e.g., Asiatic
Lion in Gir Forest, India).
-Paleoendemic Species: Ancient species now limited to a smaller area (e.g., Kiwi
in New Zealand).
-Exotic Species: Introduced by humans, often harming biodiversity (e.g., Acacia,
Eucalyptus in Bangladesh).
-Ubiquitous Species: Found almost everywhere, adaptable to various
environments (e.g., cockroaches).
-Cosmopolitan Species: Have a very wide geographic distribution (e.g., Blue
whale).
30.Bio-diversity Hotspot
Biodiversity hotspots are home to unique flora and fauna and these regions have
been identified as some of the world’s most important ecosystems
To be considered as biodiversity hotspot, it must fulfill two criteria:
-Habitat should contain at least 1500 species of plants that are specific to that area.
-More than 70% of the original habitat has been lost.
31. 5 Ecological importance of biodiversity:
-Insects, bats, birds and other animals serve as pollinators
-Parasites and predators act as natural population controls
-Green plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and replenish it with
oxygen
-Trees provide habitat and food for birds, insects, plants and animals, fungi and
microorganisms
-The interaction of all these natural processes forms a complex web of life. If any
part of this web suffers or breaks downs, the future of the other parts is threatened
32. Economic Importance of Biodiversity:
-Food: Species are hunted, fished, gathered, and cultivated; though 80,000 edible
plants exist, humans rely on less than 30 for 90% of food needs.
-Fuel: Natural resources like timber and coal are key energy sources.
-Shelter & Warmth: Timber (e.g., oak, beech, pine) is used for construction;
fibers like wool and cotton provide clothing.
-Medicines: Both traditional and modern drugs originate from biodiversity (e.g.,
penicillin from fungi, quinine from cinchona bark).
-Other Goods: Paper, pencils, and other materials are derived from biodiversity.
33. Biological evolution
It refers to the change in inherited characteristics of a population from
generation to generation.
34. 2 key process of biological evolution
1.Genetic Drift
-Diversity due to random changes in the frequency of gene variants in a population
-Frequency of genes in a population changes because of the possibility of non-
proportional inheritance
-It's a random shift in the occurrence of this specific gene variation that isn’t
caused by environmental factors.
Brown-Eyed Children Example
The father of a family has brown eyes, which is a dominant allele. The mother of
the family has blue eyes, which is a recessive allele. The four children all have
brown eyes by chance.
2.Geographic Isolation and Migration
-Sometimes populations of the same species become geographically isolated from
each other for a long time
-During that time they may change so much that they can no longer reproduce
together even when they are brought back together, thus, two new species occur
-Migration has been an important evolutionary process over geologic time.
-A pretty common example of geographic isolation is a population migrating to an
island and becoming separated from the mainland population. This stops the gene
flow between the groups of organisms. Over time, the two populations become
isolated and they evolve separately.
35. Speciation:
-Process of generating a new species
-Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise
-Under certain circumstances, can lead to an entirely new species. In this process,
two species arise from one
36. Extinction:
-End of an organism or of a group of organisms, normally a species
-Biologists estimate that 99.9% of all the species that have ever existed are now
extinct
-When environmental conditions change, a species must:
– evolve (become better adapted)
– move to a more favorable area (if possible)
37. Interaction between species
Categories of Species Interaction:
-Competition: A negative relationship where organisms compete for the same
resources (e.g., food, land). One species may outcompete the other. Example:
Cheetahs and lions competing for prey. This drives natural selection and
adaptation.
-Symbiosis: A mutually beneficial relationship between two species, increasing
their survival chances. Example: Honeybees and flowers—bees get food, and
flowers get pollinated.
-Predation: One organism (predator) feeds on another (prey), usually from a
different species. Example: Lion and zebra, bear and fish, fox and rabbit.
-Parasitism: One organism (parasite) lives on or inside another (host), harming it
without providing benefits. Example: Ticks, lice, and fleas.
38. Factors that tend to increase diversity:
-A physically diverse habitat
-Moderate amounts of disturbance
-Middle stages of succession
-Evolution
39. Protected Areas(PAS): Geographical locations safeguarded for their natural,
ecological, or cultural importance. They are legally or effectively managed to
ensure long-term conservation of nature.
For example- National Park like Bhawal National Park, Madhupur National Park,
Ramsagar National Park
40. Ecologically Critical Area (ECA)
An Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in Bangladesh refers to a zone where the
ecosystem is at risk of reaching a critical condition due to human activities. In
1995, the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act empowered the
government to declare areas with unique biodiversity or significant environmental
value as ECAs to protect them from destructive activities. These areas are crucial
for conservation efforts.
41.Hydrological Cycle
-The hydrologic cycle is the transfer of water from the oceans to the atmosphere to
the land and back to the oceans.
-Of the total 1.3 billion km3 of water on Earth, about 97% is in oceans and about
2% is in glaciers and ice caps; 0.76% is shallow groundwater: 0.013% is in lakes
and rivers; and only 0.001% is in the atmosphere.
Components of Hydrological Cycle:
-Surface run-off
-Infiltration
-Percolation
-Groundwater
-Evaporation
-Evapotranspiration
-Condensation:
42. Nitrogen Cycle
-Approximately 80% of the air in atmosphere is made of Nitrogen (N)
-Our body gets the N it needs from food
-Organisms cannot use or absorb N directly; some use N in an organic form and
others (plants, algae, bacteria) can take up N either as nitrate ions or the
ammonium ion
Major steps of the N cycle
-Nitrogen fixation
-Nitrification
-Ammonification
-Assimilation
-Denitrification
Human Activities Affecting the Nitrogen Cycle:
-Mining N-containing mineral deposits- removes N from the earth’s crust
-Removing N from topsoil by burning grasslands and clearing forests before
planting crops
-Agricultural runoff and discharge of municipal sewage- adds N compounds to
aquatic ecosystems
MCQ
1. Major international conventions take place to address environmental issues
e.g. 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, 1992 UN
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and 2012 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro
(Rio+20)
2.In-Situ Conservation: It is the methods of conserving all the living species,
especially the wild and endangered species in their natural habitats and
environment.
3.Ex-Situ Conservation: Ex situ conservation is the technique of conservation of
all levels of biological diversity outside their natural habitats through different
techniques e.g. zoo, aquarium, botanical garden etc.
4.Protected areas of BD for conservation
-In Bangladesh, the concept of protect area is quite new. Until today, there are 50
PAs in Bangladesh that includes Marine reserve, Marine Park, National Park,
wildlife sanctuary, Dolphin Sanctuary, Safari Park, Eco-Park and National Botanic
Garden.
- At present, there are 37forest protected areas out of 50 PA’s in Bangladesh
covering nearly 0.27 million hectares of forests land managed.
-These forest PAs represents 1.8% of total land masses of the country, 10% of total
forest land and 17% of forest land managed by Forest Department (Ahsan et al.
2016).
