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Ecological Concepts
Ecology is the study of the relationships between
organisms and the environment.
is the scientific study of the distributions, abundance,
share affects, and relations of organisms and their
interactions with each other in a common
environment.
An ecosystem is the unique network of animal and
plant species who depends on the other to sustain life.
The interactions between and among organisms at
every stage of life and death can impact the system. An
ecosystem can be a small area or big as the ocean.
Ecological Concepts
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms living in a
particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical
components of the environment with which the
organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and
sunlight.
A fundamental classification of biomes (similar
climatic conditions) is:
Terrestrial (land) biomes
Freshwater biomes
Marine biomes
Ecological Concepts
Different Ecosystems
Tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by
low temperatures and short growing seasons.
Taiga also known as the boreal forest, is a biome
characterized by coniferous forests.
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an
extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough
to support growth of most plants. Deserts are defined as
areas with an average annual precipitation of less than
250 ml (10 in) per year, or as areas where more water is
lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation
Ecological Concepts
Different Ecosystems
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with
definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between
17502000 mm (68-78 inches). The monsoon trough, alternately
known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant
role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium
carbonate secreted by corals. Corals are colonies of tiny living
animals found in marine waters containing few nutrients.
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized
by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the
canopy does not close.
Ecological Concepts
Different Ecosystems
A forest (also called a wood, woodland, wold, weald, wellard or holt)
is an area with a high density of trees.
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem located in a body of water.
Marine ecosystems are among the largest of Earth's aquatic
ecosystems. They include oceans, salt marsh and intertidal ecology,
estuaries and lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs, the deep sea and the
sea floor. They can be contrasted with freshwater ecosystems, which
have a lower salt content.
Urban ecosystems are the cities, towns, and urban strips constructed by
humans.
Human ecosystems are complex cybernetic systems that are
increasingly being used by ecological anthropologists and other scholars
to examine the ecological aspects of human communities in a way that
integrates multiple factors as economics, socio-political organization,
psychological factors, and physical factors related to the environment.
Ecological Concepts
A population is a group of organisms of the same species that
Ecological Concepts
The flow of sunlight energy is therefore passed from producers
Ecological Concepts
Parasitism- it is a kind of relationship where one organism benefits while
the other is badly affected.
Commensalism- a kind of relationship where one organism is benefited
while the other is unaffected.
Predation -a kind of relationship where small organisms are hunted and
of the fittest"
Mutualism- "the give and take relationship" where the two organisms
benefit each other
Saprophytism-a kind of relationship wherein living things depend on dead
materials for food and existence (ex. Mushrooms growing on a dead tree)
Networks
All living things in an ecosystem are interconnected through networks of relationship. They depend on this web of life to survive.
For example: In a garden, a network of pollinators promotes genetic diversity; plants, in turn, provide nectar and pollen to the
pollinators.
Nested Systems
Nature is made up of systems that are nested within systems. Each individual system is an integrated whole and at the same
time part of larger systems. Changes within a system can affect the sustainability of the systems that are nested within it as well
as the larger systems in which it exists. For example: Cells are nested within organs within organisms within ecosystems.
Cycles
Members of an ecological community depend on the exchange of resources in continual cycles. Cycles within an ecosystem
intersect with larger regional and global cycles. For example: Water cycles through a garden and is also part of the global water
cycle.
Flows
Each organism needs a continual flow of energy to stay alive. The constant flow of energy from the sun to Earth sustains life and
drives most ecological cycles. For example: Energy flows through a food web when a plant converts the sun's energy through
photosynthesis, a mouse eats the plant, a snake eats the mouse, and a hawk eats the snake. In each transfer, some energy is lost
as heat, requiring an ongoing energy flow into the system.
Development
All life from individual organisms to species to ecosystems changes over time. Individuals develop and learn, species adapt
and evolve, and organisms in ecosystems coevolve. For example: Hummingbirds and honeysuckle flowers have developed in ways
that benefit each other; the hummingbird's color vision and slender bill coincide with the colors and shapes of the flowers.
Dynamic Balance
Ecological communities act as feedback loops, so that the community maintains a relatively steady state that also has continual
fluctuations. This dynamic balance provides resiliency in the face of ecosystem change. For example: Ladybugs in a garden eat
aphids. When the aphid population falls, some ladybugs die off, which permits the aphid population to rise again, which
supports more ladybugs. The populations of the individual species rise and fall, but balance within the system allows them to
thrive together.
Environmental Engineering
Is manifest by sound engineering thought and practice in the
Objectives in Learning
Environmental Engineering
supplies.
2. Proper disposal of or recycling of wastewater and solid
wastes.
3. Control of water, soil, and atmospheric pollution
Biogeochemical Cycles
In ecology and Earth science, a biogeochemical
Biogeochemical Cycles
Carbon Cycle (15 min)
Nitrogen Cycle (15 min)
Oxygen Cycle (15 min)
Water Cycle
Assignment
1. Enumerate the Different Ecosystems and