Profcor 9 - Prelim Lesson 3

Ecology Terminologies

• Ecology: the study of relationships between living organisms and their natural environment, including life processes, and the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem

• Formed by the interactions between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things.
• Consists of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the non-living, physical components of the environment.
• Ecosystem Ecology: the integrated study of living and non-living components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework.
• Categories of ecosystems: Terrestrial, Freshwater, Atmospheric, Marine, and Technoecosystems (affected by or primarily the result of human activity).

Community Ecology

• Interactions among species in the same geographic area.
• Example: plants and decomposers (fungi and bacteria).

Human Ecology

• Study of the ecology of human species.
• Fields:
  • Bio-ecological: human as the ecological dominant in plant and animal communities.
  • Bio-logical standpoint: human as another animal affecting and being affected by the physical environment.
  • Human standpoint: human interacts and affects ecological environments in a distinctive and creative way.

Population Ecology

• Study of the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment.
• Metapopulation: study of the movement of populations.

Molecular Ecology

• Study of the relationship between ecology and genetic inheritance.

Behavioral Ecology

• Study of an organism's behavior in its environment and its ecological and environmental implications.

Holism

• School of thought that emphasizes that an ecosystem cannot be predicted or understood by a simple summation of the parts.

Biomes

• Major regional groupings of plants and animals discernible at a global scale.
• Composed of climax vegetation, associated successional communities, subclimax communities, fauna, and soils.

Abiotic Nature

• Sunlight: the primary input of energy into the ecosystem, generates chemical reactions of life.
• The Earth's Environment: includes the physical world, the social world of human relations, and the built world of human creations.

Environment

• Physical environment: abiotic factors such as temperature, radiation, light, chemistry, climate, and geology.
• Biotic environment: includes genes, cells, organisms, members of the same species, and other species that share a habitat.

Water

• Key to life.
• Hydrologic cycle: transformation of water from one state to another.

Gravity

• Influences the shape and movement of tectonic plates (earthquakes), affects plant and fungal growth (gravitroprism), animal migrations, and the biomechanics and size of animals.

Pressure

• Climatic and osmotic pressure places physiological constraints on organisms.
• Affects those that fly and respire on high altitudes or dive to deep ocean depths.

Wind and Turbulence

• Influence heat, nutrient, and biochemical profiles of ecosystems.
• Affects how fish, algae, and other parts of the aquatic ecology are structured.
• Affects evapotranspiration rates.

Fire

• A natural or man-made disturbance that consumes oxygen, releases CO2, and affects living organisms in a catastrophic way.

Soils

• Top layer of mineral and organic dirt.
• Important to agricultural science and ecology.
• Dead organic matter provides minerals and nutrients for plants.

Pedosphere

• The whole of the planet's soil ecosystems.
• Where a large biomass of the Earth's biodiversity organizes into trophic levels.

Biogeochemistry

• Study of how six major elements relate to biological cycles, processes, and climate.
• The six major elements: Hydrogen (H), Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), Oxygen (O), Sulfur (S), and Phosphorus (P).

Effect of Human

• Disturbance, biodiversity loss, and modifications to the planet's ecosystem.
• Causes: rising atmospheric greenhouse gas levels, melting glaciers, ice caps, rising sea levels, higher planet temperature, extreme fluctuations in weather, and increased extinction rates.

Life Species

• Categorized as:
  • Autotrophs (Primary producers): produce their own food by photosynthesis.
  • Heterotrophs (consumers): feed on others.
  • Detritivores (decomposers): organisms that decompose organic matter, such as fungi and bacteria.

Keystone Species

• A specific species connected to a large number of other species in the food web, thus needed to sustain other communities.

Biosphere

• The place on Earth's surface where life dwells.
• Coined by geologist Eduard Suessin 1875.

Biodiversity

• Varieties of species in ecosystems and their ecological interactions.
• Plays an important role in ecological health.
• Preventing species extinction is one way to preserve biodiversity.

Biome

• A large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region.

Ecology Terminologies

• Ecology: study of relationships between living organisms and their natural environment, including life processes
• Ecosystem: formed by interactions between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things
• Ecosystem Ecology: integrated study of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of ecosystems and their interactions

Community Ecology

• Interactions among species in the same geographic area
• Example: plants and decomposers (fungi and bacteria)

Human Ecology

• Study into the ecology of species
• Fields:
  • Bio-ecological – with man as the ecological dominant in plant and animal communities
  • The major regional groupings of plants and animals discernible at a global scale composed not only of the climax vegetation, but also of associated successional communities, subclimax communities, fauna and soils

Biomes and Environment

• Biomes: large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region
• Abiotic Environment: non-living elements and physical components of the environment
• Environment of Ecosystems: acts as a catalyst for genetic mutation
• BIOSPHERE: “the place on Earth’s surface where life dwells”

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

• Biotic Environment: includes genes, cells, organisms, members of the same species and other species that share a habitat
• Abiotic Environment: physical environment – abiotic factors such as temperature, radiation, light, chemistry, climate and geology
• Water: key to life, hydrolologic cycle, transformation of water from one state to another
• Gravity: influences the shape and movement of tectonic plates, affects plants and fungal growth, animal migrations, and the biomechanics and size of animals
• Pressure: climatic and osmotic pressure places physiological constraints on organisms
• Wind and Turbulence: influences heat, nutrient, and biochemical profiles of ecosystems
• Fire: a natural or man-made disturbance which consumes oxygen, releases CO2, and affects living organisms in a catastrophic way
• Soils: top layer of mineral and organic dirt, important to agricultural science and ecology

Biogeochemistry and Human Impact

• Biogeochemistry: study of how six major elements relate to biological cycles, processes, and climate
• 6 major elements: Hydrogen (H), Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), Oxygen (O), Sulfur (S), and Phosphorus (P)
• Human Disturbance: biodiversity loss, modifications to agriculture, urbanization, industrialization – cause of ecosystem disruptions
• Effects of Human Activities:
  • Rising atmospheric greenhouse gas levels
  • Melting glaciers, ice caps, and sea levels
  • Higher planet temperature, extreme fluctuations in weather
  • Alteration of species distributions, and increased extinction rates

Life and Species

• Autotrophs (Primary producers): produce their own food by photosynthesis
• Heterotrophs (consumers): feed on others
• Detritivores (decomposers): organisms that decompose organic matter
• Omnivores: eat both plant and animal tissues
• Keystone Species: a specific species connected to a large number of other species in the food web
• Biodiversity: varieties of species in ecosystems and their ecological interactions
• Niche: the preferred habitat or environment of a species
• Ecotope: the habitat plus the niche
• Gaia Hypothesis: a feedback loop generated by living organisms maintains the temperature of the Earth and atmospheric conditions

Ecology Terminologies

• Ecology is the study of relationships between living organisms and their natural environment.
• It involves the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem

• An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things.
• It includes all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the non-living, physical components of the environment.
• Categories of ecosystems include Terrestrial, Freshwater, Atmospheric, Marine, and Technoecosystems (affected by human activity).

Community Ecology

• It involves the interactions among species in the same geographic area.
• Example: plants and decomposers (fungi and bacteria) in an ecosystem.

Human Ecology

• It is the study of the ecology of species, with humans as the ecological dominant in plant and animal communities.
• Fields of study include bio-ecological, bio-logical, and human standpoint.

Population Ecology

• It is the study of the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment.
• It involves the study of movement of populations, including emigrants, immigrants, sites, sources, and sinks.

Molecular Ecology

• It is the study of the relationship between ecology and genetic inheritance.

Behavioral Ecology

• It is the study of an organism's behavior in its environment and its ecological and environmental implications.

Holism

• It is a school of thought that emphasizes that an ecosystem cannot be predicted or understood by a simple summation of the parts.

Biomes

• A biome is a large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region.
• Examples of biomes include terrestrial biomes (e.g. tropical rainforest, desert, ice caps) and microbiomes (e.g. human body).

Biotic and Abiotic

• Biotic refers to living organisms or their interactions.
• Abiotic refers to non-living elements or physical components of the environment.

Habitat and Niche

• Habitat refers to the environment over which a species occurs.
• Niche refers to the preferred habitat or environment of a species.
• Ecotope refers to the habitat plus the niche of a species.

Gaia Hypothesis

• It proposes that a feedback loop generated by living organisms maintains the temperature of the Earth and atmospheric conditions.

Malthusian Growth Model

• It is a model that predicts a population will grow or decline exponentially as long as the environment experienced by all individuals in the population remains constant.

Food Chain and Food Web

• A food chain is a simplified linear feeding path from a basic species to a top consumer.
• A food web is a network in an ecosystem pertaining to the movement to sustain life.

Trophic Levels and Biomass

• Organisms are organized into trophic levels or the position they occupy in a food chain.
• Biomass refers to the estimated total dry weight in a trophic level.
• Plants have the greatest biomass in an ecosystem.

Ecology Terminologies

• Ecology is the study of relationships between living organisms and their natural environment.
• It involves the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their environment.

Ecosystem

• An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things.
• It includes all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the non-living, physical components of the environment.
• Categories of ecosystems include Terrestrial, Freshwater, Atmospheric, Marine, and Technoecosystems (affected by human activity).

Community Ecology

• It involves the interactions among species in the same geographic area.
• Example: plants and decomposers (fungi and bacteria) in an ecosystem.

Human Ecology

• It is the study of the ecology of species, with humans as the ecological dominant in plant and animal communities.
• Fields of study include bio-ecological, bio-logical, and human standpoint.

Population Ecology

• It is the study of the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment.
• It involves the study of movement of populations, including emigrants, immigrants, sites, sources, and sinks.

Molecular Ecology

• It is the study of the relationship between ecology and genetic inheritance.

Behavioral Ecology

• It is the study of an organism's behavior in its environment and its ecological and environmental implications.

Holism

• It is a school of thought that emphasizes that an ecosystem cannot be predicted or understood by a simple summation of the parts.

Biomes

• A biome is a large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region.
• Examples of biomes include terrestrial biomes (e.g. tropical rainforest, desert, ice caps) and microbiomes (e.g. human body).

Biotic and Abiotic

• Biotic refers to living organisms or their interactions.
• Abiotic refers to non-living elements or physical components of the environment.

Habitat and Niche

• Habitat refers to the environment over which a species occurs.
• Niche refers to the preferred habitat or environment of a species.
• Ecotope refers to the habitat plus the niche of a species.

Gaia Hypothesis

• It proposes that a feedback loop generated by living organisms maintains the temperature of the Earth and atmospheric conditions.

Malthusian Growth Model

• It is a model that predicts a population will grow or decline exponentially as long as the environment experienced by all individuals in the population remains constant.

Food Chain and Food Web

• A food chain is a simplified linear feeding path from a basic species to a top consumer.
• A food web is a network in an ecosystem pertaining to the movement to sustain life.

Trophic Levels and Biomass

• Organisms are organized into trophic levels or the position they occupy in a food chain.
• Biomass refers to the estimated total dry weight in a trophic level.
• Plants have the greatest biomass in an ecosystem.

Test your knowledge of ecology terminology, including ecosystem concepts and interactions between living organisms and their environment.