Can a wall containing a spider ( in its web) lizards and other insects which are attracted towards the light be called an ecosystem?
Diwakar Soni
An ecosystem by definition includes communities of organisms living in a particular space and their interactions with the environment in which they live by maintaining a balance amongst themselves and the environmental components. Thus ecosystem is the harmonious existence of balance between the living and non-living components. Ecosystems can be natural like forest, land, pond and artificial or man made such as aquaria, dams, sanctuaries, zoos.
Plants, the primary producers, trap the sun's energy and synthesize food through photosynthesis. The consumers including insects, humans and other animals are dependent on the producers for their food (energy) directly or indirectly. Finally, all the components of biota in due course of time perish and their bodies will be decomposed by microbes and the carbon and nitrogen they contain will be recycled into the environment.
In the case of the wall, light attracts insects, and they get trapped in the spider’s web forming the food for the spider as well as the lizards. There is no trapping of energy by the producers. The insects feed on the plants existing in the environment external to the wall and there is no recycling of the nutrients from the excreta or other things to the wall as it happens in other ecosystems. Hence such a wall cannot be called an ecosystem by itself. But the different organisms definitely form the links of food chain and form a part of a bigger ecosystem.
Dr. T. Bhavani, Bengaluru
This week’s questions
Does one have to drink water after donating blood and if so why?
M. Selvakumaran, Chennai
Do all humans see colours the same way or differently?
M. Sudhakar, Bobbili, Andhra Pradesh
What does the ocean do for the planet?
T.S. Karthik, Chennai
Why does the top layer of a liquid appear like a thick sheet when you look at it sideways?
Neerad Thanvi, Rajasthan
