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1. Herbivores acts as primary consumers of producers (Plants).

2. Micro consumers decomposes the dead remains and excreta of plants and animals.

1. Productivity 

2. Energy flow 

3. Decomposition 

4. Nutrient cycling

The amount of energy stored in the tissues of heterotrophs or consumers is called secondary productivity.

1. Gross secondary productivity: It is equivalent to the total amount of plant material ingested by the herbivores minus the materials lost as faces.

2. Net secondary productivity : Storage of energy or biomass by consumers per unit area per unit time, after respiratory loss is called net secondary productivity.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is the total amount of food energy or organic matter or biomass produced in an ecosystem by autotrophs through the process of photosynthesis is called gross primary productivity.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is derived by the difference between Gross primary productivity (GPP) and respiration.

NPP = GPP – Respiration

Gross primary productivity: 

1. It refers to the total amount of food energy or organic matter produced in an ecosystem by autotrophs.

2. GPP = NPP + Respiration

Net primary productivity:

1. It refers to the amount of energy that remain in autotrophs after respiration loss. 

2. NPP = GPP – Respiration

(c) Grassland ecosystem

(d) all of the above

The egrets always forage close to where the cattle are grazing close because the cattle as they move stir up and flush out insects from vegetation otherwise might be difficult for egrets to find and catch.In this interaction egrets are benefitted . Values interest towards nature and ecosystem interactions.

• Interaction of biotic and abiotic components results in a physical structure that is characteristic of each type of ecosystem. 
• Identification and description of plant and animal species of an ecosystem gives its species composition.
• Vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels is called stratification. 

The components of the ecosystem are seen to function as a unit: 

• Productivity. 
• Decomposition.
• Energy flow and 
• Nutrient cycle.

Description of pond as an ecosystem:

• The abiotic components include all dissolved inorganic and organic substances and the rich soil deposit at the bottom of the pond. 
• The solar input, cycle of temperature, day length, regulates the rater of function of the entire pond.
• The producer (autotrophic) includes phytoplankton, some algae and the floating, submerged and marginal plants found in edge of pond.
• The consumers are represented by zooplankton, free swimming and bottom dwelling animals.
• The decomposers are the fungi, bacteria especially abundant at the bottom of the pond.

Basic events (in terms of function) in an ecosystem: 

• Conversion of inorganic into organic material (photosynthesis) by producers.
• Consumption of the autotrophs by heterotrophs. 
• Decomposition and mineralization of the dead organic matter to release them back for reuse by the autotrophs.
• There is unidirectional flow of energy towards the higher trophic levels and its dissipation and loss as heat to the environment.

1. Climatic factors: Light and Air. 

2. Edaphic factors: Soilwaer and pH of soil.

Assimilation of organic compounds at consumer level is called Secondary production.

A.G. Tansley (1935), who defined ecosystem as ‘the system resulting from the integration of all the living and non-living factors of the environment.

Term “Ecosystem” was first used by tansley.

Two parts viz. Lotic and Lentic

Ecosystem function is the technical term used to define the biological, geochemical and physical processes and components that takes place within an ecosystem. In other words. it relates to the structural components of an eco system and how they interact with each other within ecosystem. The ecosystem functions can be explained with the help of –

(A) Ecological Pyramids
(B) Food Chains and Food Webs
(C) Energy Flow
(D) Cycling of Minerals.