Biology

ECOLOGY

PREPARED BY: MUHAMAD NABEEL UDDIN

Ecology
It is the scientific study of ecosystems

Can you define the following words?

Species Habitat Population Community Ecosystem : it is a biological community of

interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems.

Ecosystem
Is made up of two components A. Biotic factors: all the living organisms

Abiotic factors: The physical or non-living part of the ecosystem. Examples of abiotic factors includes:
Water Sunlight Soil: structure Humidity/moisture Atmospheric gases Pressure and sound (for marine habitats) Can you add to this list?

Abiotic factor- Light

Photosynthesis Light intensity affects photosynthesis rate Plants living on forest floor prefer shade, other prefer

greater light intensity

Abiotic factors-light
Length of day/night affects flowering and fruiting of

plants in seasonal regions of Earth

Abiotic Factors-soil
Importance of Soil
Anchorage Provision of nutrients/minerals Provision of water Air to plants and soil organisms

Soil Formation-Weathering of rocks

There are three main methods Physical: e.g. action of water waves Chemical: e.g. acid rain Biological : action of microorganisms or plant roots

Components of soil
Four components of soil

Mineral matter Organic matter Water content Air content

How will the above affect plants and animal lives?

Types of Soil
Clay
Lots of clay, little sand and little humus Many small clay particles Water drains poorly (high retentivity) Small air spaces, little air Heavy to dig Can be waterlogged easily High water holding capacity

Loam
1/2 sand, 1/3 clay and 1/6 load Mixture of large and small particles Water drains well Intermediate size air space Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate

Sand
Lots of sand, little clay and humus Many large particles of sand Water drains too easily (low retentivity) so soil is dry Large air space Light and easy to dig Minerals are leached out of soil more quickly Low water holding capacity

Biotic Factors

Symbiosis- Revision
Symbiosis: is a close and often long-term interaction

between two or more different biological species

Three main types: Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism

Mutualism
Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species

exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits. Explain how the organisms benefit from each other

Mutualism

Mutualism: Clown fish and Sea anemones

Sea anemones capture their prey by paralyzing them with

discharged cnidoblasts. But Clownfish are not affected Suggest what the sea anemone gains from this relationship

Image source: http://facstaff.cbu.edu/~seisen/ExamplesOfMutualism.htm

Mutualism in leguminous Plants

Commensalism
In ecology, commensalism is a class of relationship

between two organisms where one organism benefits without affecting the other.

Commensalism: leopard shark and remora

Parasitism
Parasitism is a non-mutual symbiotic relationship

between species, where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host.

Ecological Study Techniques

A sample study is done , i.e. a small portion of an

area is studied Why? It is impossible to count all the number of plants of animals in an area

Precausion
Avoid degrading the habitat/environment Avoid removing organism from their natural habitat

Ecological Study Techniques

1. Quadrats

It is a square metal or wood frame of known area It is used to estimate the number of species in an ecosystem

E.g. to estimate # of weeds in an area A sample area is studied, then, the information is used to estimate the number of species in the entire area

E.g. 1m2 Quadrats are thrown 10 times at random in a 300 m2 area. The average per throw is calculated. That number is then multiplied by 300 to estimate the total number in the area

Example showing how the number of weeds in an area can be estimated

Quadrat (Throws) Organisms

10

10

10

11

10

13

10

Total #

=90 Average per throw = 90/10 =9 (density) Estimated number in 300 m2 = 9 * 300 =2700 species

Quadrats

Quadrat frames, constructed from wood or metal, are used to investigate the distribution of species

Square quadrat frame for determining population densities

Subdivided quadrat frame for determining % cover of species

Ecological study using Quadrat

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xSCznJPd_ak/TckwoD5nAQI/AAAAAAAAAIw/24m4xT5wYi0/s1600/quadrat.jpg

Ecological Study Technique

2. Nets

Nets are used for sampling small moving animals such as insects. They can also be used to estimate the number of species in pond.

http://wiki.bugwood.org/uploads/Fig27_bugnet.jpg

Nets

Using sweep nets for ecological studies

Ecological Study Technique

3. Transects

Line transects are used in habitats where there is a clear change in conditions and the distribution of the vegetation or sessile (immobile) animal from one point to another. E.g. of area that can be studied : river banks and swampy areas A line transect is one in which all individual organisms touching the tape/string are recorded

Ecological Study Technique

Jars/bottles and pitfall traps
Bottles can be used to set pitfall traps, so that they cannot escape easily Jars/bottles can be used to study aquatic organisms, e.g. a person may collect a few sample of water from a stream, river, trench, then take the sample to a lab, and then identify microorganism using a microscope, or by culture technique (using agar plates)

Line Transect

http://teacheratsea.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/julia-harvey-determining-population-sizeaday-in-my-life-cruising-july-27-2013/

Pitfall trap

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/standard/biology/biosphere/investigating_an_ecosystem/revision/3 /

Transects
Belt transect involves laying a tape through the area of

study and sampling the population with Quadrats positioned at regular intervals alongside the tape

Species Frequency
The percentage frequency of a species is the

percentage of sample units (usually Quadrats) in which the species occurs.

E.g. If a species X occurs in 10 out of 25 Quadrats

thrown randomly, what is its frequency?

Solution:

= 10/25 * 100 = 40 %

Density
Density of a population is the number of organisms

in 1m2 found using a quadrat of sides 1m.

Average number of organisms inside the quadrat on

ten throws is the density.

Check slide 22

ANY QUESTIONS?

Lab # 20
Aim: Introduction