05/02/2018

ELEMENTS
OF BIO203
ECOLOGY SCHEDULE
(MW)
Maureen B. Sabit, Ph.D.
Department of Biological Sciences
College of Science

Photo by Adert / CC BY-SA 4.0

Grading System
• Class Standing (60%)
BIO203 – Quiz (15%)
– Recitation and Assignments (5%)
SCHEDULE – Research Paper / Video Project (10%)
– Long Exams (30%)
(TTH) • Major Exam (40%)

Passing Mark is 60!!!

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Section 1.1 Ecology Is the Study of the Relationship
between Organisms and Their Environment
 Ecology is a science
 term means “the study of the household”
 how does this relate to “spaceship Earth”?
 Ecologists study the interactions between organisms and their
environment
Section 1.1 Ecology Is the Study of the Relationship
between Organisms and Their Environment
 What are the components of an organism’s environment?
 physical conditions
 chemical conditions
 other organisms, both the same and different species
 “Ecology is the study of all of those complex interrelationships referred
to by Darwin as the conditions of the struggle for existence.” (Haeckel)

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Section 1.2 Organisms Interact with the Environment in the Section 1.2 Organisms Interact with the Environment in the
Context of the Ecosystem Context of the Ecosystem
 Physical and chemical conditions include:  What is the environment in which an organism lives?
 temperature  It is a place
 moisture  a physical location in time and space
 concentration of gases (O2 and CO2)  can be large or small
 light intensity  can be aquatic or terrestrial
 Interactions with other organisms include:  can be stable or transient
 mating  Includes physical and chemical conditions and other organisms
 predator and prey

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

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Section 1.2 Organisms Interact with the Environment in the Section 1.2 Organisms Interact with the Environment in the
Context of the Ecosystem Context of the Ecosystem
 An ecosystem is a collection of parts that function as a unit  Abiotic – atmosphere, climate, soil, water
 biotic – living components  Biotic – other organisms in the forest
 abiotic – nonliving (physical and chemical) components
 A forest is an ecosystem
 What are the abiotic components?
 What are the biotic components?

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Figure 1.2

Section 1.3 Ecological Systems Form a Hierarchy

Precipitation (mm)

(c)
Temperature (°C)

350 35
300 30
250 25
200 20
150 15
100 10
50
0
5
0
 Ecologists study interactions at different levels of organization
J F MA MJ J A S O ND
Year  These levels can be arranged in a hierarchy
(a)
 All levels involve biotic and abiotic interactions
(d)
 The biosphere is the highest level of organization

(e)

(b)
(f)
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Figure 1.3 Step 7
Individual
What characteristics allow
the Echinacea to survive,
grow, and reproduce in the
environment of the prairie
grasslands of central North
America?
Population
Is the population of this species
increasing, decreasing, or
remaining relatively constant
from year to year?
Community
How does this species interact
with other species of plants
and animals in the prairie
community?
Ecosystem
How do yearly variations in
rainfall influence the productivity
of plants in this prairie grassland
ecosystem?
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Section 1.4 Ecologists Study Pattern and Process at Many
Levels
 The effects of birth and death can be studied at multiple levels
 Individual – birth and death are discrete events and happen only once
 Population – birth and death are continuous
 measured as rates, such as births/year
 Community – focus shifts to relative abundance of species within the
community
 How do interactions among species affect birth and death rates?
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
05/02/2018
Slide 7
Landscape
Section 1.4 Ecologists Study Pattern and Process at Many
How do variations in topography
and soils across the landscape Levels
influence patterns of species
composition and diversity in the
different prairie communities?  At each level in the ecosystem hierarchy, different patterns and
processes emerge
Biome
What features of geology and
regional climate determine the
 In order to study these different levels, different approaches may be
transition from forest to prairie
grassland ecosystems needed
in North America?
 What are some of the subdisciplines in Ecology?
Biosphere
What is the role of the grassland
biome in the global carbon cycle?
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
Section 1.4 Ecologists Study Pattern and Process at Many
Levels
 Ecosystem – emphasis shifts from species to the flows of energy and
nutrients through both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem.
Includes questions such as:
 At what rate are energy and nutrients converted into biomass, including
new individuals?
 At what rate are energy and nutrients in organisms broken down,
including decomposition after death?
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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Section 1.4 Ecologists Study Pattern and Process at Many
Levels
 Landscape – a patchwork of ecosystems in which spatial patterns are
important
 How are energy and nutrients exchanged between ecosystems?
 Global scale – focus on the distribution of different types of ecosystems
or biomes
 How do patterns of biological diversity vary in different biomes?
Section 1.4 Ecologists Study Pattern and Process at Many
Levels
 Biosphere – emphasis on the linkages between ecosystems and other
components of Earth, such as the atmosphere
 How are nutrients such as carbon exchanged between the atmosphere
and terrestrial ecosystems?
 Subdisciplines in ecology are organized based on these different levels
 identifying linkages to other levels is an important goal

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Section 1.8 Ecology Has Strong Ties to Other Disciplines Section 1.8 Ecology Has Strong Ties to Other Disciplines

 Ecologists must draw on information from other sciences  For example:

 Geology  plants take up water, influencing soil moisture and surface water flow
 Hydrology  plants lose water to the atmosphere, increasing water vapor and
 Meteorology influencing precipitation
 the geology of an area influences the available water and nutrients that
plants need

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

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Section 1.8 Ecology Has Strong Ties to Other Disciplines Section 1.8 Ecology Has Strong Ties to Other Disciplines

 Today, many ecologists are studying the dominant role that humans  The environmental problems caused by humans are ecological
are playing in earth’s ecosystems problems
 There are four main areas of impact:  Ecology allows us to understand the causes and identify ways to
 human population growth lessen their impacts
 biological diversity  Environmental science provides a broader, interdisciplinary approach
 sustainability that includes social, political and ethical dimensions to these problems
 global climate change

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Section 1.9 The Individual Is the Basic Unit of Ecology
 The individual organism senses and responds to its environment
 The individual reproduces, passing its genetic information to future
individuals that will be part of future populations, communities, and
ecosystems
Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 Ecology has its roots in plant geography and natural history from the
1800s
 Plant geographers traveled the world and noticed that similar climates
had similar vegetation, although the species were different
 Plant association: correlation of vegetation with environmental
characteristics
 realization that the form and function of plants reflects their physical
environment

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.


Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 New generation of scientists began to examine the relationship
between plant biology and plant geography
 Integration of plant morphology, physiology, taxonomy, and
biogeography had a strong influence on the development of ecology
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 Early plant ecologists focused on observing patterns of organisms in
nature, understanding how patterns formed and were maintained by
interactions with the physical environment
 initial ideas on succession and ecosystems
 Other early ecologists investigated the relationships between aquatic
plants, animals, and their environment
 initial ideas on nutrient cycles, energy flow, and feeding relationships
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.
05/02/2018
Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 Other areas of natural history also played important roles in the
development of ecology
 Charles Darwin: theory of the origin of species by means of natural
selection
 Gregor Mendel: principles of inheritance of genetic information from one
generation to the next
 Works by these scientists provided the mechanisms needed to
understand the link between organisms and their environment
Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 Energy flow and nutrient cycles stimulated further studies that became
a foundation or ecosystem ecology
 using radioactive tracers to measure the movements of energy and
nutrients through ecosystems
 using computers to analyze large amounts of data
 gave rise to systems ecology: the application of general systems theory
and methods to ecology
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Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History History
 Animal ecology was largely independent of early plant ecology and  Includes contributions from natural history’s observations on animal
developed later, in the early 1900s behavior; gave rise to ethology, a discipline within biology that focuses
 Emphasis on the interrelationship between plants and animals on behavior
 Focus on the science of communities  Behavioral ecology is an offshoot – focuses on intraspecific and
interspecific relationships

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 Study of the growth of natural populations also spawned:
 Population ecology: focuses on population growth, regulation, and
interactions, including competition and predation
 Evolutionary ecology: focuses on studying the role of natural selection in
adaptations and speciation
Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History
 Other areas within ecology include:
 Physiological ecology: concerned with the responses of individual
organisms to environmental conditions
 Community ecology: focuses on species interactions

© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. © 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd.

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Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich Ecological Issues & Applications: Ecology Has a Rich
History History
 Advances in the 20th century led to new areas of study  Restoration ecology: uses principles of ecosystem function to restore and
 Landscape ecology: explores spatial processes that linked adjacent manage disturbed areas
communities and ecosystems; uses remote sensing data  Global ecology: study of Earth as a system
 Conservation ecology: applies principles from different fields, including  Ecology is a multifaceted discipline
ecology, economics, and sociology to preserve biodiversity

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Call to Action

• Sustainable development - is an idea that has gained

popularity and momentum worldwide. It describes
planning and conducting human activities in a way
that
preserves the environment and the climate.
• There are four basic elements:
• Humans’ basic needs
“UNLESS someone like • Economic needs
you. cares a whole • Technological needs
awful lot, nothing is • Environmental needs
going to get better. It’s
not”.