ECOLOGY

WHAT IS ECOLOGY?
A branch of biology
The study of the interactions among organisms and the interaction of organisms with their
environment

Ecology is a broad discipline comprised of many sub-disciplines. A common, broad

classification, moving from lowest to highest complexity, where complexity is defined as
the number of entities and processes in the system under study, is:

 Physiological Ecology (or ecophysiology) and Behavioral ecology examine

adaptations of the individual to its environment.

 Population ecology (or autecology) studies the dynamics of populations of a

single species.
 Community ecology (or synecology) focuses on the interactions between species
within an ecological community.
 Ecosystem ecology studies the flows of energy and matter through the biotic and
abiotic components of ecosystems.
 Landscape ecology examines processes and relationship across multiple
ecosystems or very large geographic areas.

REALM OF INTEREST OF ECOLOGY

Organism-----Population----Community-----Ecosystem

Population: A group of organisms of the same species

Community: A group of populations of different species
Ecosystem: A community of organisms interacting with their environment

COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM
Atmosphere: the gaseous portion of the ecosystem
Hydrosphere: The liquid portion of the ecosystem
Lithosphere: the solid portion of the ecosystem
Ecosphere or Biosphere: The part of planet where life exists. It is the sum of the entire
ecosystem put together

BIOTIC COMPONENT OF ECOSYSTEM:

It is the living portion of an ecosystem
It is composed of
 Producers: food produced from inorganic matter and sunlight energy- green plants
 Consumers: food from consuming other organisms- animals
 Decomposers: food from decomposition of dead organisms- bacteria and fungi

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ABIOTIC COMPONENT OF ECOSYSTEM:
It is the non-living portion of the ecosystem. The non- living characteristics include such
factors as
 Temperature
 Salinity
 Moisture
 Sunlight
 pH
 Substrate texture and composition
 Chemical make up
The abiotic characteristics of an ecosystem determine the biotic members of the
ecosystem.
Range of Tolerance: the upper and lower limit of an abiotic variable under which a
species can live.
Limiting factors: key abiotic variables that limit the distribution of a species. For most
terrestrial species, temperature and moisture are the primary limiting factors determining
species distribution

THE ELEMENTS OF LIFE

The six elements which make up the mass of all organisms are sulphur, phosphorus,
carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen
The movement of these elements through ecosystems have been extensively studied by
biologists and geologists through Elemental cycles or nutrient cycles or biogeochemical
cycles namely
 Hydrological cycle
 Carbon cycle
 Nitrogen cycle
 Sulphur cycle
 Phosphorus cycle

BIOMASS is the total mass/ weight of organisms in a population, community or

ecosystems

TROPHIC LEVELS IN ECOSYSTEM

Top carnivores Fourth Tertiary consumers

trophic level
Carnivores Secondary consumers
Third Trophic level
Herbivores Primary Consumers
Second Trophic Level

Plants First Trophic Level Producers

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ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID

BOTH
BIOMASS AND
ENERGY DECLINE
WITH INCREASING TROPHIC LEVEL

WHY?
 Second Law of Thermodynamics: whenever energy changes from one form to
another, some of the energy is converted to waste heat
 Not all of the lower trophic level is consumed
 Some mass and energy is used at each trophic level for metabolism
 Some mass and energy not assimilated and is eliminated as wastes

CARRYING CAPACITY
A concept from ecology that has importance for environmental issues
It is defined as the maximum number of organisms the ecosystem can support without
any damage to the ecosystem
Exceeding carrying capacity will severely damage the ecosystem of earth and have tragic
consequences for human and other species

LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY
 It is the study of reciprocal effects of spatial pattern on ecological process.
 Reciprocal effects refer to the fact that complex spatial patterns shape and are in
turn shaped by the ecological processes that occur in them.

Landscape in the context of ecology can be defined as a heterogeneous land area

composed of clusters of interacting ecosystems.

Definitions in Landscape ecology:

PATCH: Surface that is spatially heterogeneous in at least one factor of interest
MATRIX: Background cover type in a landscape characterized by extensive cover and
high connectivity. Not all landscapes have a definable matrix.
CORRIDOR: Relatively narrow strip of a particular type that differs from the area
adjacent on both sides
FRAGMENTATION: Breaking up of a habitat or cover type into smaller, disconnected
patches
CONNECTIVITY: Spatial continuity of a habitat or cover type across a landscape
EDGE: Portion of an ecosystem or cover type near its perimeter and within which
environmental conditions may differ from interior locations
ECOTOPE: The smallest holistic land unit, homogeneous regarding at least one of the
following: water, atmosphere, rock, vegetation, soil

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METRIC FOR QUANTIFYING LANDSCAPE PATTERNS:
 PROPORTION or fraction occupied by different patches (cover types)
 RICHNESS- Number of patches
 CONTAGION: detect clumping and dispersion of patches
 PATCH AREA AND PERIMETER
 CONNECTIVITY: relative size of largest patch or average distance between
patches
 FRACTAL DIMENSION

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT: is a relatively new discipline in environmental

science that attempts to integrate ecological, economic and social goals in a unified
systems approach to make environmental management decisions

PRINCIPLES OF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

 Managing across whole landscapes, watersheds, or regions over an ecological
time scale
 Considering human needs and promoting sustainable development and
communities
 Maintaining biological diversity and essential ecological processes
 Integrating science and management
 Accommodate human use and occupancy within these constraints