Introduction to Ecology

Ecology
The

study of organisms and their

interrelationships with their
environment (biotic and abiotic)
upon which determine distribution
and abundance of organisms.

Habitat
A

place where an organism lives or

can be found.

Ecosystem
An

interacting system that consists

of groups of organisms and their
non-living environment with in a
boundary.

Two parts of an Ecosystem

Biotic and Abiotic
Biotic

factors that are or were alive/living in

an ecosystem.
Examples:

animals, plants, insects,

bacteria, fungi, and dead organisms.

Abiotic
Factors

in an environment that are

not or never were alive.
Examples: rock island, gases, water,
sun, minerals and temperature.

Climate
The

overriding factor that determines

the general nature of an ecosystem.
If the climate is always hot and dry,
the soil will be sandy. The plants,
animals and other life will be
specially adapted for survival in a
desert.

 If

the climate is hot and moist, then

there will be many trees,
characteristic of a Rainforest. Some
animals and insects will be adapted
for living in trees. They are called
arboreal and include monkeys and
spiders.

Levels of Biological Organization

It is important to remember that all
parts of an ecosystem are interrelated.
Each part is affected by all other parts.

If we remove one species from an

ecosystem, there could be severe
consequences for that ecosystem.

 If

we remove all the spiders from a

given ecosystem, the insect
population will grow rapidly and
destroy forest and crops.

Who

do you think would benefit?

What would happen to their
population?
Who would be affected then?

Levels of Organization
Ecologists

tend to label groups of

organisms.
Lets look at a familiar setting for
example: Your house is part of a
town, this is part of a state, which is
part of a country, which is part of a
continent.

 No

individual organism lives

completely on its own. It may live
with other individuals of the same
species to form a population.
Several populations living together
make up a community.
Several communities in a given area
make up a biome.

Collectively, all the biomes of the planet earth

make up the biosphere.

Levels of organization

The boundary of a community is

determined by the
distribution of its members.
The boundary of one
community is not
necessarily the boundary
of another community.
We say these
communities overlap.

BIOME
A

biome is a large geographical area

with a similar climate.

Biosphere
The

biosphere is the region on Earth

where all life exists.

Habitat and Niche

Each

organism confronts the

challenge of survival in a different
way.
The niche an organism occupies is
the sum of all the ways it utilizes the
resources of its environment.
Part of this role may be played as the
predator and part may be played as
the prey.

Niche
Example:

Snakes eat mice and other

birds and rodents but snakes are
also eaten by birds of prey and mice
eat grasshoppers and other insects.

Niche
A

niche may be described in terms of

space utilization, food consumption,
temperature range and mating
requirements.
An organisms niche would also take
into account its behavior. You can
think of an organisms niche as its
job/role in the environment.

Niche

A beaver is an ecosystem engineer. It

cuts down trees and dams up a river
which will flood the forest with a pond.
Eventually the trees will dies, new species
of plants and wildlife will arrive to take
advantage of the new conditions.
Eventually, this forest will become a
meadow. The beavers NICHE is the role it
plays in shaping the environment. But it
is also a main prey species for predators.

Habitat
Niche is not synonymous with habitat.
Habitat is a place, niche is a pattern of
living. Habitat is the address and niche is
the job or occupation.
If two organisms have the same habitat
and similar niches, they will compete with
each other over the available resources.
(food- water -shelter)

Habitat
Competition is the struggle between two
organisms within their habitat.
If a species can avoid competing they may
co-exist. But if they compete, one will
eventually drive the other out of the
habitat, unless they have slightly different
niches.
Example: times of activity

Different Niches to avoid

competiton:
Nocturnal
Diurnal

active at night

- active during the day

Crepuscular

dusk

active at dawn and

Different Niches to avoid

competiton: cont
Migration

moving from one area to

another to use resources

Hibernation

reducing activity
severely for a period of time.