Introduction to Ecology

Ecology defined
Gk. oikos household; logos study Study of relationships between living organisms and their environment; interaction of organisms with one another Environment all factors (living and non-living) that actually affect an individual organism or population at any point in the life cycle

Human-Environment Interaction
All organisms on earth including humans are influenced by the environment.
Organisms in turn modify the environment.

Human well-being is entirely dependent on nature.

Primary industries utilize natural resources directly

Ecological Levels of Organization

Biosphere
Biome Ecosystem Community Population Organism

Areas of Interest in Ecology

Behavioral Ecology Population Ecology Community Ecology Ecosystem Ecology

Behavioral Ecology
Focuses on the ecology of individual organisms Concerns how behavior contributes to the survivorship, reproduction, and population growth of species

Population Ecology
Focuses on how physical factors affect populations growth and population size Competition, predation, and herbivory

Community Ecology
Focuses on biodiversity and what influences the number of species in an area Conservation biology

Ecosystem Ecology
Concerned with the passage of energy and nutrients through communities and what effects energy and nutrients have on those communities

Basic Ecological Concepts and Principles

Components of an Ecosystem Basic Laws in the Ecosystem Energy Flow in the Ecosystem

What is an ecosystem?
System - a set of components or parts that function together to act as a whole - parts are interconnected, interdependent, and interrelated to make up a whole - each component can be isolated and studied separately Ecosystem - ecological system - term was proposed by Arthur G. Tansley (1935) - any unit that includes all the organisms in a given area interacting with the physical environment

Ecosystem Services
The human economy depends upon the services performed for free by ecosystems. The ecosystem services supplied annually are worth many trillions of dollars. Economic development that destroys habitats and impairs services can create costs to humanity over the long term that may greatly exceed the short-term economic benefits of the development. These costs are generally hidden from traditional economic accounting, but are nonetheless real and are usually borne by society at large.

Partial list of the worlds ecosystem services

SERVICE INDIRECT EXAMPLE

Atmospheric gas regulation

Climate regulation Disturbance regulation

Maintenance of carbon dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide levels

Maintenance of carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, methane, and CFC levels Storm protection, flood control

Waste treatment
Soil erosion control Nutrient recycling

Sewage purification
Retention topsoil, reduction in siltation of lakes Maintenance of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and other elemental cycles Irrigation, provision of water for industry Pollination of crops Regulation of pest control Maintenance of habitats for wildlife Production of crops, maintenance of livestock Provision of renewable fuels and timber Maintenance of plants and animals for medicines and provision of genes for plant resistance Ecotourism Aesthetic value

DIRECT
Water supply Pollination Biological control Refuges Food production Raw materials Genetic resources Recreation Cultural

Components of an Ecosystem
Biotic components
can be classified according to their mode of energy acquisition autotrophs and heterotrophs

Abiotic components
form the environment and determine the type / structure of ecosystem provides practically all the energy for an ecosystem

Components of an Ecosystem
Biotic components
Autotrophs: producers self-nourishing; called primary
Photoautotrophs: fix energy from the sun and store it in complex organic compounds
green plants, algae, some bacteria

Chemoautotrophs (chemosynthesizers): are bacteria that oxidize reduced inorganic substances (typically sulfur and ammonia compounds) and produce complex organic compounds
nitrifying bacteria and those that live in hydrothermal vents

Components of an Ecosystem
Biotic components
Heterotrophs: other-nourishing; cannot produce their own food directly from sunlight + inorganic compounds; require energy previously stored in complex molecules
Phagotrophs: to eat; ingest other organisms or particulate organic matter
herbivore, carnivores, omnivores

Saprotrophs: decomposers; obtain energy either by breaking down dead tissues or by absorbing dissolved organic matter; nutrient cycling
bacteria and fungi

Saprophages / detritivores: feed on dead organic matter

Components of an Ecosystem
Abiotic components
Solar energy, air, water, substrate Inorganic substances (e.g., sulfur, boron, tend to cycle through ecosystems) Organic compounds (such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and other complex molecules) form a link between biotic and abiotic components of the system.

Ecosystem Model
INPUT ENVIRONMENT
Other energy

OUTPUT ENVIRONMENT

Sun

SYSTEM

Processed energy and materials; emigration of organisms

=
Input of materials; immigration of organisms

Basic Laws in the Ecosystem

Law of the Minimum
Justus von Liebig (1840); Liebigs Law states that the growth of a plant will be limited by whichever requisite factor is the most deficient in the local environment; only by increasing the amount of the limiting nutrient (the one most scarce in relation to "need") was the growth of a plant or crop can improve

Law of Tolerance
Victor Ernest Shelford (1913) states that the distribution of a species will be limited by its range of tolerance for local environmental factors

Law of the Limiting Factors

states that too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a population of a species in an ecosystem

Energy Flow in an Ecosystem

Energy
- ability to do work - heat, light, chemical, electrical - Law of Thermodynamics

Law of Thermodynamics
1. Law of Conservation of Energy
energy must be transformed from one form into another but is neither created nor destroyed

2. Law of Entropy
measure of the unavailable energy resulting from transformations
transformations of energy always result in some loss or dissipation of energy organisms, ecosystems, and the entire biosphere can create a high state of internal order or a condition of low entropy if there is a continuous dissipation of energy of high utility into energy of low utility

index of disorder

Source of materials (nutrients)

Source of organic matter

EXPORT
Immigration and emigration of organisms

S Nutrients S Organics
Nutrient cycling

H SUN

A H
H

A = autotrophs; H= heterotrophs; S = storage

HEAT

Climatic factors
Climatic factors are abiotic factors like temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, movement of air and water, precipitation and evaporation of water Climate is a general pattern of weather for a particular area for over a period of time
dictated by the amount of solar energy reaching the Earths surface uneven heating of Earth produces various types of climates (conditions) controls the species distribution and composition of an ecosystem

Activity 1: Climatic factors in the ecosystem

Objectives: 1. Identify the various climatological factors and observe possible relationship that exists among factors. 2. Measure climatic elements using simple field instruments. 3. Compare climatic elements from various environmental conditions.

Activity 1: Climatic factors in the ecosystem

Described and present a clear illustration of the location assigned to your group. Assign five (5) random points within the assigned area and measure the following parameters:
Temperature Relative humidity Air pressure Precipitation Rate of evaporation

Area designation
Group 1 and 2 3 and 4 5 and 6 Open Area Oval Freedom Plaza Lagoon Inside Main building Charlie del Rosario NALLRC Shaded area -

7 and 8
9 and 10

Open Court
Linear Park

PE Building
Gym