Ecology

Mohammed Alshamlih Ph.D.

Text book and Syllabus

Elements of Ecology Ninth Edition:
Authors: Smith and Smith
Publisher: Pearson

Syllabus : hard copies are available

Expectations
1. Buy your text book, pre and post lecture reading is
required to follow the course content.
2. I have an open door policy; dont hesitate to ask for
further explanation of the course content. Be
reasonable.
3. Labs are VERY VERY important in integrating field
work with theory. Plz attend lab session and field
trips.
4. High level of commitment to lectures and labs.
Try not to miss any, however, I consider logical excuses.

Objectives
To Improve Your Ecological Literacy About How the
Natural World Works.
To Improve Your Scientific Literacy About How Ecological
Knowledge is Constructed Using the Scientific Method.
To Improve Your Human Environmental Literacy.
Promise you will enjoy it

Why Ecology

David W. Orr :
"If today is a typical day on planet earth, we will lose 116 square miles of
rainforest, or about an acre a second. We will lose another 72 square miles to
encroaching deserts, the results of human mismanagement and over-population.
We will lose 40 to 250 species, and no one knows whether the number is 40 or
250. Today the human population will increase by 250,000. And today we will add
2,700 tons of chlorofluoro-carbons and 15 million tons of carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere. Tonight the earth will be a little hotter, its waters more acidic, and
the fabric of life more threadbare.
Your developing an understanding of ecological processes and ecological
inquiry will equip you with the skills to read global environmental signposts
(climate change, ozone depletion, and biodiversity loss), and identify
ecological flaws in the social, economic, and political systems we have
devised to interact with the natural world that have created these
signposts.

Ecology
From the Greek root OIKOS, at home, and OLOGY, the study of
Haeckle (1870): By ecology we mean the body of knowledge concerning
the economy of Nature - the investigation of the total relations of the
animal to its inorganic and organic environment.
Burdon-Sanderson (1890s): Elevated Ecology to one of the three natural
divisions of Biology: Physiology - Morphology - Ecology
Elton (1927): Scientific natural history
Andrewartha (1961): The scientific study of the distribution and
abundance of organisms
Odum (1963): The structure and function of Nature
Our Definition: Ecology is the scientific study of the processes regulating
the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions among
them, and the study of how these organisms in turn mediate the transport
and transformation of energy and matter in the biosphere (i.e., the study
of the design of ecosystem structure and function).

Beyond Ecology ?

Applied Ecology:
Using ecological principles to maintain conditions necessary for the continuation of
present day life on earth.

Industrial Ecology:
The design of the industrial infrastructure such that it consists of a series of
interlocking "technological ecosystems" interfacing with global natural ecosystems.
Industrial ecology takes the pattern
and processes of natural ecosystems as a
design for sustainability. It represents a shift in paradigm from conquering nature to
becoming nature.

Ecological Engineering:
Unlike industrial ecology, the focus of Ecological Engineering is on the manipulation
of natural ecosystems by humans for our purposes, using small amounts of supplemental
energy to control systems in which the main energy drives are still coming from nonhuman sources. It is the design of new ecosystems for human purposes, using the selforganizing principles of natural ecosystems.

Beyond Ecology ?

Conservation Biology:
The application of diverse fields and disciplines to the conservation of biological
diversity.

Restoration Biology:
Application of ecosystem ecology to the restoration of deteriorated landscapes in
an attempt to bring it back to its original state as much as possible. Example, prairie grass.

Landscape Ecology:
Landscape ecology is concerned with spatial patterns in the landscape and how
they develop, with an emphasis on the role of disturbance, including human impacts (Smith
and Smith). It is a relatively new branch of ecology, that employs Global Information Systems.
The goal is to predict the responses of different organisms to changes in landscape, to
ultimately facilitate ecosystem
management.

Beyond Ecology ?

Ecological Economics:
Integrating ecology and economics in such a way that economic and environmental
policies are reinforcing rather than mutually destructive.

Urban ecology:
For ecologists, urban ecology is the study of ecology in urban areas, specifically the
relationships, interactions, types and numbers of species found in urban habitats. Also, the
design of sustainable cities, urban design programs that incorporate political, infrastructure
and economic considerations.

Ecology vs. Environmentalism

Environmentalist:
Save the world!
An emotion, a cause

Ecologist:
Understand the world!
How does it work uses scientific method
Poses specific questions in the form of hypothesis
Involves

Levels of studying ecology

Levels of Studying Ecology

Biosphere: The earths ecosystem interacting with the physical environment as a whole to maintain a steady state
system intermediate in the flow of energy between the high energy input of the sun and the thermal sink of space
(merges with atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere).

Biome: Large scale areas of similar vegetation and climatic characteristics.

Landscape: area of land ( or water) composed of several communities and ecosystems.

Ecosystem: Set of organisms and abiotic components connected by the exchange of matter and energy (forest, lake,
coastal ocean). Or, the smallest units that can sustain life in isolation from all but atmospheric surroundings.

Community : Interacting populations which significantly affect each others distributions and abundance (intertidal,
hot spring, wetland).

Population: Group of interacting and interbreeding organisms

Individual: single organism

Observation: Hydrangeas of the same variety but

growing in different parts of the garden have
different colors.

Hypothesis: Something about the soil is different;

perhaps acidity (pH).

 Set up experiment to test hypothesis:

Grow one group of Hydrangeas in acid pH

Grow second group of hydrangeas in soil with basic pH
Keep everything else the same
Observe:

Acid pH
Alkaline pH

Scientific Theory

Hypotheses are tentative explanations

phenomenon in a particular situation

Theories are widely accepted explanations

Support from many lines of evidence

Basis of understanding
May be revised or modified
Theory of Evolution

Observation Studies in Ecology

Investigates questions concerning (for example)

Species distribution
What species are present
Populations, reproductive success
How species interact
Changes in species make-up of a habitat
Migratory patterns and routes

Answers may
lead to more questions
Management decisions

 Thanks