LECTURE1 AN INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY cology = oikos (house) + logos (study of) 1 It is defined as a scientific study of interactions between organisms

and their environment . I. HISTORY AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER SCIENCES2 Throughout history, humans have demonstrated innate curiosity, desire to learn, and the rational capacity to understand our relationship with other creatures and with our physical surroundings. Ecology is both a biological and an environmental science. Theoprastus (320BC) o He classified over 500 plants into major growth forms trees, shrubs, herbs; and further organized them according to morphology. Theophrastus is also regarded by some as the founder of ecology. He conducted seed germination experiments and discussed the influence of abiotic habitat factors on plants. In particular, he studied the spatial and temporal variations in the vegetation of flood plains along rivers. Renaissance scientists (16th and 17th centuries) o Aristotle o Antoni van Leeuwenhoeke firstly developed food chain. Carl Linnaeus is an Influential naturalist and an inventor of science on the economy of nature (Natural Economy). Alexander Humboldt is The Father of Ecology o Proposed that plant species are distributed in associations that are predictable when one characterizes the environmental conditions of the geographic location. Charles Darwin is the founder of ecological studies of soils. He also proposed his theory of population growth, inevitable resource limitation, and survival of the fittest as a mechanism of natural selection and biological evolution. Ernst Haeckel invented the term ecology, popularized research links between ecology and evolution.

II. SUBDIVISIONS OF ECOLOGY 2 Types of Ecology (1) Autecology It is the study of individual species or individuals in relation to the environment. There are two approaches to autecological studies: (a) autecology of species where individual species are studied. (b) population ecology where individuals of the same species are studied. (2) Synecology It is the study of the community of living organisms as a unit. Synecological studies can be of two types: a) community ecology is concerned with the study of biotic (living) community comprising of interdependent plants and animals in a particular area

b) ecosystem ecology which is a recent development in ecology. It deals with the community of living organisms and their environment as an integrated unit of nature. Ecological Levels of Study Organismal concerned with the behavioral, physiological and morphological ways in which individual organisms meet the challenges posed by their abiotic environment. Population a group of individuals in a particular geographic area that belong to the same species. Community consists of all organisms that habit a particular area. It is an assemblage of populations of different species. Ecosystem includes all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact. It is also described as a community and its physical environment. Branches of Ecology3 Ecology is a broad biological science and can be divided into many sub-disciplines using various criteria such as: Primary kinds of organism under study (animal ecology, plant ecology, insect ecology) Biomes principally studied (forest ecology, grassland ecology, desert ecology, marine ecology) Geographic or climatic area (arctic ecology, tropical ecology) Spatial scale under consideration (macroecology, landscape ecology) Philosophical approach (systems ecology which adopts a holistic approach) Methods used (molecular ecology) Specialized branches: Science disciplines (conservation, microbial, quantitative) Inter-disciplinary fields (festive ecology) Non-biological disciplines (software, industrial, media) Philosophies and Ideologies (deep, social) III. EFFECTS OF SCALE In spatial ecology, scale refers to the spatial extent of ecological processes and the spatial interpretation of the data4. The response of an organism or a species to the environment is particular to a specific scale, and may respond differently at a larger or smaller scale. IV. EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY Evolution and ecology are tightly linked. It was the geographical distribution of organisms and their exquisite adaptations to specific environments provided Charles Darwin with evidence for evolution and principle of Natural Selection. One of the most important causes of evolutionary change is the response of organisms to both biotic and abiotic features of their environment. How do abiotic factors influence organisms? 1. Light Sunlight provides the energy that drives nearly all ecosystems. It is also important to the development and behavior of many plants and animals that are sensitive to photoperiod. 2. Water The availability of water often determines what kind of community can develop in a given area.

3. Temperature Temperature of the environment affects the organisms biological processes. Thus the actual internal temperature of an organism is affected by the heart exchange with its environment. 4. Oxygen Availability Most of the organisms require oxygen as final acceptor in electron transport but some organisms considered oxygen as a toxin. This is the reason why some organisms prefer to live without oxygen (anaerobic, areotolerant, facultative anaerobic). 5. Periodic Disturbance Certain areas are periodically disturbed and organisms have to deal with ecological disturbances like fire, flood, or windstorm. 3 Types of Organisms Response to Environmental Variability. (1) Physiological response Physiological (functional function of the body) adjustment is reversible. Acclimation is the reversible adjustment that occurs in response to an environmental change. ex. skin goose bumps

(2) Anatomical response Some anatomical (body structure) changes are reversible and some are irreversible over the lifetime of an individual. ex. Arctic fox summer and winter coat (reversible)

(3) Behavioral response Most animals can respond to an unfavorable change in the environment by migration ex. Migratory birds

REFFERENCES 1 Simon, E.J., Reece, J.B., Dickey, J.L. 2010. Campbell Essential Biology, 4th ed. Pearson Education Inc 2 Silvius, J.E. 2007. Brief History of Ecology. Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH 3 Wikipedia. 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org 4 Fortin, M.J., Dale, M.R.T. 2005. Spatial Analysis: A Guide for Ecologists. Cambridge University Press. Prepared by Ms. Shela B. Lebasnon Ecology I Instructor