Ecology Concept PDF

Brief explanation of the concept of ecology ecological development, definition of ecological terms  Ecology Ecology is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment, such as the interactions organisms have w...

Brief explanation of the concept of ecology ecological development, definition of ecological terms  Ecology Ecology is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and with their abiotic environment. Ecology is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology and Earth science. The word "ecology" ("Ökologie") was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919). Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. Ecology as a discipline is focused on studying the interactions between an organism of some kind and its environment. The scope of ecology contains a wide array of interacting levels of organization spanning micro-level (e.g., cells) to planetary scale (e.g., biosphere) phenomena.  Ecology Ecology is defined scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment It is defined as scientific study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms Ecology is the study of the relationships of organisms with each other and the non-living or physical surroundings. It is a scientific field and it is a branch of biology The word 'Ecology' was coined from the Greek word 'oikos' meaning 'house' or ' a place to live' and ‘logos’ meaning to study  Ecology seeks to explain …. Why natural communities are composed of certain organisms and not others; How the various organisms interact with each other and with the physical environment; and How we can control and maintain these natural communities. The movement of materials and energy through living communities The successional development of ecosystems, and The abundance and distribution of organisms and biodiversity in the context of the environment. Facts on the interdependence between the natural world and people.  Objectives of Ecology A significant objective of ecology is to comprehend how biotic elements of an ecosystem interact and depend on one another. Ecology also discusses how the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem interact. The other objectives of ecology are to study: The connections between the various creatures in an ecosystem. The effects of temporal variations on an ecosystem’s biotic elements. Changes in an organism’s behavior that occur in the environment. Structural and functional adjustments are made by an organism in response to environmental changes. Biological productivity and energy flow in natural systems  Importance of ecology The study of ecology gives scientific foundations for our understanding of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. It helps to determine the distribution and abundance of organisms at a particular area and over the earth’s surface. It helps us to understand the consequences of massive environmental intervention, as in the construction of dams or diversion of rivers, and provides the rationale underpinning biological conservation. It also gives the basis for predicting, preventing and remedying pollution. A better understanding of ecological systems can help us understand the global and regional consequences of competition among humans for the scarce natural resources that support us  Two divisions of Ecology Autecology: this deals the ecology of an individual species and its population including the effect of other organisms and environmental conditions on every stage of its life cycle Synecology: deals with ecology of communities. It involves the study of the structure, nature, organization and development of communities  Basic terms in ecology Term Description Populati A population is defined as all organisms within an area on belonging to the same species. It is a group of organisms that can interbreed which exist in an area at a given time Commun A community consists of all the living organisms (the biota) in ity a given area and their interrelationships. A community is a group of interacting organisms or species population living together in a particular place. It represents the living part of an ecosystem. A community consists of all various populations interacting in an area and can be described as a collection of populations in an area Habitat The habitat of an organism is a place where the organism lives or where the organism can be found. It also defined as the address of an organism. It is usually a physical area, and some specific part of the earth's surface, air, soil or water. It can aquatic or terrestrial. It can also be described as the place occupied by entire community Ecosyste The ecosystem is the basic functional unit of ecology and is m described as a definable area containing a relatively self- sustained community of organisms interacting with their non- living surrounding. Ecosystem is made up of biotic and abiotic  Basic terms in Ecology Term Description Ecologica The ecological niche combines spatial habitat and functional l Niche: relationships of an organism. It describes the habitat and the role of an organism in a community or ecosystem. It also describes the status or role of organism in the community or ecosystem. Biospher The biosphere comprises all the ecosystems on earth and e: their interrelationships. The largest scale of ecological organization is the biosphere Biomes: Biomes are areas that can be recognized by the distinctive life forms of their dominant species. A biome is the largest biogeographical unit of the biosphere. It is a mix of plants and animals that are adapted to living under certain environmental conditions of which climate has overriding influence. In most cases, the key characteristic of a biome is its dominant type of vegetation Environm This includes the physical world, the social world of human ent relations and the built world of human creation. The environment is the sum of factors that affect the well being of organisms  Basic terms Term Description Biogeochemi Biogeochemical cycling is a cyclic movement of cal Cycles: materials/nutrients from the different points of the ecosystem. The non loss of energy in the ecosystem is achieved through recycling of materials via biogeochemical cycling. Ecological Deals with relationships existing between or among Interaction organism. It can be for shelter, food, reproduction and/or s: struggling for existence. It can be between plants (plant- plant), between animals (animal-animal), between plant and animal (plant –animal), between plants and microbes (plant-microbe), between animals and microbes (animal- microbe) or between microbes (microbe-microbe) Ecological This is the process by which organisms occupy a site and Succession gradually change environmental conditions so that other : species can replace the original inhabitants. Ecological succession is of two types; primary succession and secondary succession. Trophic Level A trophic level is also known as the feeding level and is described as the feeding position of an organism in an ecosystem. Autotrophs occupy the first trophic level  To structure the study of ecology into a conceptually manageable framework, the biological world is organized into a nested hierarchy, ranging in scale from genes, to cells, to tissues, to organs, to organisms, to species, to populations, to communities, to ecosystems, to biomes, and up to the level of the biosphere  Hierarchical Structure of Ecological Systems Organism= fundamental unit of ecology. No smaller unit in biology has an independent life in the environment. Population= a group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a specific area (c.f. all the individuals of a given species) Community= an association of interacting species living in a particular area. Ecosystem= a biological community plus all of the abiotic factors influencing that community. Biosphere= the aggregation of all ecosystems (the sum of all of the organisms of the earth Hierarchical Structure of Ecological Systems Hierarchical Structure of Ecological Systems Levels of Ecological Study  Levels of Ecological Study Global Ecology: It deals with interactions among earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere and oceans. It helps to understand the large-scale interactions and their influence on the planet. Landscape Ecology: It deals with the exchange of energy, materials, organisms and other products of ecosystems. Landscape ecology throws light on the role of human impacts on the landscape structures and functions. Ecosystem Ecology: It deals with the entire ecosystem, including the study of living and non-living components and their relationship with the environment. This science researches how ecosystems work, their interactions, etc. Community Ecology: It deals with how community structure is modified by interactions among living organisms. Ecology community is made up of two or more populations of different species living in a particular geographic area.  Population Ecology: It deals with factors that alter and impact the genetic composition and the size of the population of organisms. Ecologists are interested in fluctuations in the size of a population, the growth of a population and any other interactions with the population. It is concerned with the study of population structures and associated relationships instead of analyzing behavioural patterns of individuals. It studies factors affecting population size, density, growth and mortality rate etc. Organismal Ecology: Organismal ecology is the study of an individual organism’s behaviour, morphology, physiology, etc. in response to environmental challenges. It looks at how individual organisms interact with biotic and abiotic components. Ecologists research how organisms are adapted to these non-living and living components of their surroundings. Individual species are related to various adaptations like physiological adaptation, morphological adaptation, and behavioural adaptation. Molecular Ecology: The study of ecology focuses on the production of proteins and how these proteins affect the organisms and their environment. This happens at the molecular level. DNA forms the proteins that interact with each other and the environment. These interactions give rise to some complex organisms.  Ecological Developments Ecologist/ Contribution/Discovery Scientist Herodotus Described Early conceptions of ecology, such as a balance and (died c. 425 regulation in nature. He also described one of the earliest accounts BC), of mutualism in his observation of "natural dentistry Theophrastus Regarded as the first true ecologist (370-250BC) Antoine discovered Oxygen and Carbon and their importance to living things Lavoisier (late 1700s) Antoni van were the first to develop Ecological concepts such as food chains, Leeuwenhoek population regulation, and productivity (1700s) (1632–1723) and Richard Bradley (1688?–1732) Darwin proposed the theory of population growth, inevitable resource limitation, and “survival of the fittest” as a mechanism of natural selection and biological evolution. Louis Agassiz Initiated research in marine ecology (1807-1873) Buffon (1707- Described environmental induction which means that plants and 1788) animals develop adaptation that enable them respond favourably to  Ecological Developments Ecologist Contribution/Discovery /Scientist Ernst Haeckel Coins the term ecology (1869) Justus von Initiated the idea of carbon nitrogen cycles. His work in 1840 led to Leibig (1803- ecoclimatology and physiological ecology 1873) Eduard Seuss Defined the biosphere (1875) Karl Morbius Introduced biocoenosis used to describe a group of organisms as an ecological unit (1877) Schroter Introduced the terms Autecology and synecology (1896) Henry studies ecological succession (1900) Chandler Cowles Johannes Described the effects of temperature, moisture, soils on patterns of vegetation Warming (1841-1924) Edgar N. Published the first American ecology book presenting the idea of plant Transeau communities as a superorganism. proposed the concept of a biotic community (1875-1960) in which plants and animals have equally important roles (1905). introduced the concepts of energy budgets and net primary production by ecosystems. sought to improve crop yield efficiency by improving the energy trapping process of photosynthesis  Ecological Developments Ecologist Contribution/Discovery /Scientist August introduced the concept of trophic levels and nutrient cycling among populations Friedrich which he classified as producers, consumers, and decomposers (1920) Thienemann (1882-1960) Alfred J. Described population ecology, a quantitative approach to ecology that Lotka (USA emphasized the effects of interspecific competition and predation (1920s) and Vito Volterra (Italy) Vladimir found the concept of the biosphere (1920s) Vernadsky Arthur G. Coined the term ecosystem which he defined as all of the populations in a given Tansley environment (as components) and the physical environment included (1935) (1871-1955) Jan Christain Coined The term "holism" which is of the idea that natural systems (physical, Smuts biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties should be viewed as wholes, not as collections of parts. This often includes the view that systems somehow function as wholes and that their functioning cannot be fully understood solely in terms of their component parts (1926) Charles Elton made the concept of food chains and webs part of ecology (1927) Aldo Leopold wrote Game Management, beginning the discipline of wildlife management