BBA 2106: Basics in Natural Science

Ecology and Ecosystem

What is Ecology?
origin of word: oikos = the family household, logy = the study of interesting parallel to economy = management of the household many principles in common resources allocation, costbenefit ratios definitions: Haeckel (German zoologist) 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 Andrewartha (1961): The scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms. Odum (1963): The structure and function of Nature. Definition we will use (Krebs 1972): 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). The goal of ecology is to understand the principles of operation of natural systems and to predict their responses to change.

Ecology and Environment Ecology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific studies of how living things (organisms) interact with each other and their environment. Anything that impacts on an organism during its lifetime in known as environment. Environmental influences can be divided into two different categories- biotic factors (the living influences) and abiotic factors (the nonliving influences)

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BBA 2106: Basics in Natural Science

NONLIVING (ABIOTIC)

Wind Sunlight Rainfall Temperature Soil type

Organisms environment

Food supply Predators Diseases Mates Parasites

LIVING (BIOTIC)

Figure: Biotic abd Abiotic Environmental Factors What is an Ecosystem? An ecosystem is an interacting collection of organisms and the abiotic factors that affect them. Ecosystems encompass all the parts of a certain environment, including the living (biotic) plants and animals, and the nonliving (abiotic) components, such as soil, water, air and the suns energy. Organization of an ecosystem All living things require a continuous supply of energy to maintain life. Within an ecosystem, several different kinds of organisms can be identified. Organisms that trap sunlight for photosynthesis, resulting in the production of organic material from inorganic material, are called produers. There is a flow of energy from the sun into the living matter of plants. The energy that plants trap can be transferred through a number of other organisms in the ecosystem, these organisms are called consumers. If an organism dies, the energy contained within the organic compounds of its body is finally released to the environment as heat by organisms that decompose the dead body into carbon dioxide, water, ammonia and other simple inorganic molecules. These organisms of decay are called decomposers. Decomposers are things such as bacteria, fungi and other organisms that use the dead organism as a source of energy.

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BBA 2106: Basics in Natural Science

Carnivore Carnivore

Herbivore Consumer s Producer

Figure: Energy Flow through an Ecosystem Every ecosystem contains species of plants and animals. Each species occupies its own ecological niche or functional role that it fulfills in the environment.
Table: Roles in an Ecosystem
Classification Producers Description Plants that convert simple inorganic compounds into complex organic compounds by photosynthesis. Organism that rely on other organisms as food. Animal that eat plants and other animals. Eat plants directly. Eats meat. Eats plants and meat. Eats food left by others. Lives in or on another organism, using it for food Organism that returns organic compounds to inorganic compounds. Important component in recycling. Examples Trees, flowers, grasses, ferns, mosses, algae

Consumers

Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Scavenger Parasites Decomposer

Deer, duck, cricket, vegeterian human Wolf, pike, dragonfly Rats, most humans Coyotes, skunks, vultures, crayfish Tick, tapeworm, many insects Bacteria, fungi

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BBA 2106: Basics in Natural Science

Cycling of Materials in Ecosystems The earth is a closed ecosystem, since no significant amount of new matter comes to the earth from space. Only sunlight energy comes to the earth that drives all biological processes. Living systems have evolved ways of using this energy to continue life through growth and reproduction. Although some new atoms are being added to the earth from cosmic dust and meteorites, this amount is not significant to the entire biomass of the earth. Therfore, living things must reuse the existing atoms again and again. Some examples of recycling processes are discussed below: (a) Carbon cycle. Carbon atoms are cycled through ecosystems. Plants can incorporate carbon atoms from carbon dioxide into organic molecules when they carry on photosynthesis. These carbon containing organic molecules are passed to animals when they eat plants or other animals. Organic wastes or dead organism are consumed by decay organisms. All organisms (plant, animal and decomposers) return carbon atoms to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when they carry on respiration. Oxygen atoms are being cycled at the same time that carbon is; oxygen is released to the atmosphere during photosynthesis and taken up during respiration.

(b) The Hydrologic Cycle. The cycling of water through the environment follows a simple pattern. Moisture in the atmosphere condenses into the droplets that fall to the earth as rain or snow where it supplies all living things with its life sustaining properties. After flowing over the earth as surface water or through the soil as ground water, water return to the oceans where it evaporates back into the atmosphere to begin the cycle again. AIUB
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BBA 2106: Basics in Natural Science

(c) Nitrogen Cycle. Atmospheric nitrogen is converted by nitrogen-fixing bacteria to nitrogen-containing compounds that plants can use to make proteins and other compounds. Proteins are passed to other organisms when one organism is eaten by another. Dead organisms and their waste products are acted upon by decay organisms to form ammonia, which may be reused by plants or converted to other nitrogen compounds by nitrifying bacteria. Denitrifying bacteria return nitrogen gas to the atmosphere.

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BBA 2106: Basics in Natural Science

AIUB
24/10/2010

Last updated: