ECOLOGY

By Sam

What is Ecology?
Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their
environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and
with their abiotic environment. Topics of interest to ecologists include the
diversity, distribution, amount (biomass), number (population) of organisms,
as well as competition between them within and among ecosystems.
Ecosystems are composed of dynamically interacting parts including
organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living components of
their environment.
Ecology is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology and Earth science.
Evolutionary concepts on adaptation and natural selection became
cornerstones of modern ecological theory. Ecology is not synonymous with
environment, environmentalism, natural history, or environmental science. It
is closely related to evolutionary biology, genetics, and ethology. An
understanding of how biodiversity affects ecological function is an important
focus area in ecological studies. Ecologists seek to explain:
o Life processes, interactions and adaptations
o The movement of materials and energy through living communities
o The successional development of ecosystems, and
o The abundance and distribution of organisms and biodiversity in the context
of the environment.

Basic Definitions
Food chain: a chart showing the flow of energy (food) from one organism to the next
beginning with a producer (e.g. mahogany tree caterpillar song bird hawk)
Food web: a network of interconnected food chains showing the energy flow through
part of an ecosystem
Producer: an organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually using energy from
sunlight, through photosynthesis
Consumer: an organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms
Herbivore: an animal that gets its energy by eating plants
Carnivore: an animal that gets its energy by eating other animals
Decomposer: an organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic matter
Ecosystem: a unit containing all of the organisms and their environment, interacting
together, in a given area e.g. decomposing log or a lake
Trophic level: the position of an organism in a food chain, food web or pyramid of
biomass, numbers or energy

Energy Flow in an Ecosystem

Ecosystems maintain themselves by cycling energy and nutrients obtained from external sources. At the
first trophic level, primary producers (plants, algae, and some bacteria) use solar energy to produce
organic plant material through photosynthesis. Herbivoresanimals that feed solely on plantsmake up
the second trophic level. Predators that eat herbivores comprise the third trophic level; if larger predators
are present, they represent still higher trophic levels. Organisms that feed at several trophic levels (for
example, grizzly bears that eat berries and salmon) are classified at the highest of the trophic levels at
which they feed. Decomposers, which include bacteria, fungi, molds, worms, and insects, break down
wastes and dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil.
On average about 10 percent of net energy production at one trophic level is passed on to the next level.
Processes that reduce the energy transferred between trophic levels include respiration, growth and
reproduction, defecation, and non-predatory death (organisms that die but are not eaten by consumers).
The nutritional quality of material that is consumed also influences how efficiently energy is transferred,
because consumers can convert high-quality food sources into new living tissue more efficiently than
low-quality food sources.

The Carbon Cycle

The movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the biosphere,
atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere is described by the carbon cycle,
illustrated in the adjacent diagram. The carbon cycle is one of the
biogeochemical cycles. In the cycle there are various sinks, or stores, of
carbon (represented by the boxes) and processes by which the various
sinks exchange carbon (the arrows).
We are all familiar with how the atmosphere and vegetation exchange
carbon. Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during
photosynthesis, also called primary production, and release CO2 back
in to the atmosphere during respiration. Another major exchange of
CO2 occurs between the oceans and the atmosphere. The dissolved
CO2 in the oceans is used by marine biota in photosynthesis.
Two other important processes are fossil fuel burning and changing
land use. In fossil fuel burning, coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline are
consumed by industry, power plants, and automobiles. Notice that the
arrow goes only one way: from industry to the atmosphere. Changing
land use is a broad term which encompasses a host of essentially
human activities. They include agriculture, deforestation, and
reforestation.

 The diagram on the previous slide shows the carbon cycle with the mass of carbon, in
gig tons of carbon (Gt C), in each sink and for each process, if known. The amount of
carbon being exchanged in each process determines whether the specific sink is
growing or shrinking. For instance, the ocean absorbs 2.5 Gt C more from the
atmosphere than it gives off to the atmosphere. All other things being equal, the ocean
sink is growing at a rate of 2.5 Gt C per year and the atmospheric sink is decreasing at
an equal rate. But other things are not equal. Fossil fuel burning is increasing the
atmosphere's store of carbon by 6.1 Gt C each year, and the atmosphere is also
interacting with vegetation and soil. Furthermore, there is changing land use.
The carbon cycle is obviously very complex, and each process has an impact on the
other processes. If primary production drops, then decay to the soil drops. But does this
mean that decay from the soil to the atmosphere will also drop and thus balance out the
cycle so that the store of carbon in the atmosphere will remain constant? Not
necessarily; it could continue at its current rate for a number of years, and thus the
atmosphere would have to absorb the excess carbon being released from the soil. But
this increase of atmospheric carbon (in the form of CO2) may stimulate the ocean to
increase its uptake of CO2 . What is known is that the carbon cycle must be a closed
system; in other words, there is a fixed amount of carbon in the world and it must be
somewhere. Scientists are actively investigating the carbon cycle to see if their data
does indeed indicate a balancing of the cycle.

The Water Cycle

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the H2O cycle, describes the
continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The mass
water on Earth remains fairly constant over time but the partitioning of the water into
the major reservoirs of ice, fresh water, saline water and atmospheric water is variable
depending on a wide range of climatic variables. The water moves from one reservoir
to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to the atmosphere, by the
physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and
subsurface flow. In so doing, the water goes through different phases: liquid, solid
(ice), and gas (vapor).
The water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes.
For instance, when water evaporates, it takes up energy from its surroundings and
cools the environment. When it condenses, it releases energy and warms the
environment. These heat exchanges influence climate. The evaporative phase of the
cycle purifies water which then replenishes the land with freshwater. The flow of
liquid water and ice transports minerals across the globe. It is also involved in
reshaping the geological features of the Earth, through processes including erosion and
sedimentation. The water cycle is also essential for the maintenance of most life and
ecosystems on the planet.

Population Size
Population is defined as a group of organisms of one species, living in the same area at the same time.
Animal population control is the practice of intentionally altering the size of any animal population besides
humans. It may involve culling, translocation, or manipulation of the reproductive capability. The growth
of animal population may be limited by environmental factors such as food supply or predation. The main
biotic factors that affect population growth include:

Food- both the quantity and the quality of food are important. Snails, for example, cannot reproduce
successfully in an environment low in calcium, no matter how much food there is, because they need
this mineral for shell growth.

Predators- as a prey population becomes larger, it becomes easier for predators to find prey. If the
number of predators suddenly falls, the prey species might increase in number extremely quickly.

Competitors- other organisms may require the same resources from the environment, and so reduce
growth of a population. For example all plants compete for light. Competition for territory and for
mates can drastically reduce the growth of individual organisms.

Parasites- These may cause disease, and slow down the growth and reproductive rate of organisms
within a population.

Important Abiotic factors affecting population growth include:

Temperature- Higher temperatures speed up enzyme-catalyzed reactions and increase growth.

Oxygen availability- affects the rate of energy production by respiration.

Light availability- for photosynthesis. light may also control breeding cycles in animals and plants.

Toxins and pollutants- tissue growth can be reduced by the presence of, for example, sulphur dioxide,
and reproductive success may be affected by pollutants such as estrogen like substances.

S-shaped Graph
S-shaped growth curve (sigmoid growth curve) A
pattern of growth in which, in a new environment,
the population density of an organism increases
slowly initially, in a positive acceleration phase;
then increases rapidly approaching an exponential
growth rate as in the J-shaped curve; but then
declines in a negative acceleration phase until at zero
growth rate the population stabilizes. This slowing
of the rate of growth reflects increasing
environmental resistance which becomes
proportionately more important at higher population
densities. This type of population growth is termed
density dependent since growth rate depends on the
numbers present in the population. The point of
stabilization, or zero growth rate, is termed the
saturation value (symbolized by K) or carrying
capacity of the environment for that organism. K
represents the point at which the upward curve
begins to level, produced when changing population
numbers are plotted over time. It is usually
summarized mathematically by the logistic equation.

Human Impact on the Ecosystem

o Pollution and the ecosystem
Pollution is the process by which harmful substances are added to the
environment
Air pollution from: forest fires, volcanic eruptions, biological
decomposition, human activities
Caused by:
burning of fossil fuel
exhaust fumes from motor vehicles
burning of garbage

Water pollution from: human activities

Caused by:
discharge of untreated sewage
discharge of inorganic waste
excessive use of chemical fertilizers
use of pesticides

oDeforestation and the ecosystem

Consequences
soil erosion
flooding
loss of habitat

loss of valuable species

climatic changes
upsets oxygen and carbon dioxide balance

Reasons for clearing forests/ deforestation

To provide:
land for cultivation, urban development, grazing
timber for construction and making paper
firewood

oConservation and the ecosystem

Conservation is necessary for the protection of plant and animal

species to maintain a stable and balanced ecosystem.
Conservation measures:

reducing or eliminating pollution through education and legislation

controlling growth of human population

conserving natural resources. Recycling important for conservation which

conserves non-renewable natural resources but also:

reduced the problem of waste disposal and environmental pollution

is economical as it saves energy and money

recovering wildlife, especially those species that are in danger of extinction

Reference
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/project_ideas/e
nergy_cons/
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/project_ideas/p
ollution/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology
http://www.esajournals.org/loi/ecol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_impact_on_the_environment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/project_ideas/p
ollution/
https://sites.google.com/site/urbangeekclassroomsg/5-googleconversation-element/effects-of-human-activity-on-the-ecosystem
http://www.shmoop.com/ecology/ecosystem-energy-flow.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_flow_(ecology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_population_control