1/31/2020

ECOLOGICAL
MANAGEMENT

Dr. Muhammad Arshad

COURSE CONTENTS (HEC)

Ecology Basic concept

Structure of ecosystem

Energy & material flow; succession 

Ecosystem productivity; Food web & food chain

Types of ecosystem & management

Ecological Biodiversity and ecological sustainability
sustainability
Sustainable development
Nutrient cycles: N & P cycles
Eutrophication & its ecological significance
Populations / communities and their dynamics and interaction
Species and extinction 2
Human as keystone species; effects of human activities on 
environment

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OBJECTIVE
 What can ecological science contribute
to the sustainable development /
management and conservation of the
natural systems that underpin human
well-being?

 Methods & techniques for economic

analysis of the natural resources and
the environment.
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RECOMMENDED BOOKS

 Ecology: theories and applications, 4th

edition by Peter Stiling. Published by Prentice
Hall of India (Pvt) Limited, New Delhi

 Environmental Management for Sustainable

Development, 2nd Edition by C.J. Barrow.
Published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Group, USA.

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Basic Concepts In
Ecology

ECOLOGY
Scientific study of the relation of living organisms
with each other and their surroundings

Zoology & Botany Geology & Meteorology

 Living things  Non-living things

Ecology
takes a little from each of these sciences and looks at the
interactions among organisms in a community and
between the community and the environment. Ecology 6
explains biodiversity, the distribution of species, and the
way ecosystems function

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HISTORY OF ECOLOGY (4TH BC -1979)

Aristotle and his supporter Theophrastus
produce the first writings about the
relationships between organisms.

Humboldt describes the relationship between

living organisms and climate for the first
time.

Möbius proposed the term biocenosis to refer

to the concept that the various species in a
community are not independent of one
another.

Darwin publishes his theory of evolution in

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On the Origin of Species.

HISTORY OF ECOLOGY

Warming lays the foundation for a new

discipline when he includes a consideration
of abiotic (nonliving) factors in the study of
communities.

Ernst Haeckel coins the term “ecology”

(oekologie, in German) and consequently
lends recognition to the new discipline.

Vladimir Vernadsky publishes The

Biosphere. In this book he describes the
concept of the biosphere and discusses the
principal biogeochemical cycles.
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HISTORY OF ECOLOGY

Arthur Tansley coins the term “ecosystem”

to refer to the interaction between biocenosis
(a group of living beings) and the biotope
(the environment in which they live).

James Lovelock publishes Gaia: A New

Vision About Life on Earth. The author argues
that the living and nonliving elements of the
planet interact to form a unique organism
that regulates itself to maintain conditions
that are favorable to life.

WHAT DO ECOLOGISTS STUDY?

 Life processes and adaptations

 Distribution and abundance of organisms

 The movement of materials and energy

through living communities

 The successional development of

ecosystems

 The abundance and distribution of 10

biodiversity in context of the environment

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ECOSYSTEM

Coupling of the biological

and physical-chemical
processes to form a single
system
 Includes all the different
organism living in a
certain area, along with
their physical
environment
Ecologists often regards
ecosystem as an isolated
unit, usually do not have 11

clear boundaries

ECOSYSTEM

Ecosystems create a
biophysical feedback
between living (biotic)
and nonliving (abiotic)
components of an
environment that
generates and
regulates the
biogeochemical cycles
of the planet.
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Components of ecosystem Plants

Biotic Animals

Microorganisms

Ecosystem
Temperature

Water

Abiotic

Soil

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Mineral
nutrients

ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONAL GROUPS

Functional Definition and examples
group

Producers or Usually plants or cyanobacteria that are capable of

autotrophs photosynthesis but could be other organisms such
as the bacteria near ocean vents that are capable
of chemosynthesis.

Consumers or Animals, which can be primary consumers

heterotrophs (herbivorous), or secondary or tertiary consumers
(carnivorous and omnivores).

Decomposers or Bacteria, fungi, and insects which degrade organic

detritivores matter of all types and restore nutrients to the
environment. The producers will then consume the
nutrients, completing the cycle.
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LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION

Ecosystems

Ecology
Communities
Populations

Physiology
Organisms
Organs

biology
Tissues

Cell
Cells

Biochemistry
Molecules
Atoms
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Sub-atomic particles

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION

?
SPECIES

? POPULATION

? COMMUNITY

? ECOSYSTEM 16

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Species
 Group of similar individuals which
can interbreed to produce fertile
offspring
 Able to reproduce together
and that share common
genes and therefore
resemble each other
 Examples

 Humans are member of the

species Homo sapiens
 Gorillas belong to species 17

Gorilla gorilla

POPULATION
A group of individuals of the same
species in a given location constitutes
a population
 Examples
 Bacterium population on petri dish

 Population of deer

 Population of lions

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COMMUNITY

 The populations of different organisms

that share an area and occupy it at the
same time make up a community
 Examples
 Pond community
 Population of different plants, fishes, insects,
amphibians, microorganisms

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ECOSYSTEM

 The community, in contact with the nonliving

parts of the environment, forms an
ecosystem
 Examples

 Forest ecosystem

 Desert ecosystem

 Pond ecosystem

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BIOSPHERE
 Biosphere is the global ecological system
integrating all living beings and their
relationships, including their interaction with
the elements of the lithosphere, geosphere,
hydrosphere, and atmosphere
 All ecosystems taken together comprise the
biosphere
 It can also be termed as Zone of Life on
Earth
 Bio means “living” and sphere means
“region”

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RELATIONSHIPS
Ecology places a special emphasis on the
complex relationships that living things
establish within their own species
(intraspecific relationships) and between
different species in a community
(interspecific relationships).
The ants in the photograph
hunt together (an intraspecific
relationship) and can therefore
capture prey that are much
larger than any one of the
ants. The relationship between
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the ants and the worm
(predation) is interspecific.

HOW SPECIES INTERACT WITH EACH

OTHER
Predation
Species interaction

Parasitism

Competition

Mutualism

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Commensalism

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Predator
Predation
Prey

Host
Species interaction

Parasitism
Parasite

Limited
Competition
resources

Cooperative
Mutualism
partnership

Host-
unaffected
Commensalism 25

Commensal

BIODIVERSITY
Bio means life: diversity means variety

Biological diversity or biodiversity is the

variety of life on Earth

 The total number of species of living things that

inhabit the planet is unknown.

 40,000  The number of plant species known in

the 19th century. About 500,000 are known today.

 The variety of ways in which they live, however,

never ceases to amaze. This diversity can play an
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important role in the stability of ecosystems.

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RECYCLING
Like energy, nutrients and other substances
pass through the living organisms in an
ecosystem. In this case, substances are
used over and over, creating a cycle.

Earthworms, roundworms, bacteria, and

fungi make up a group of organisms
known as decomposers. They feed on
waste products and on the remains of
dead plants and animals. They return
nutrients back to the soil, where they
are reused by plants.
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HABITAT

 A habitat is an ecological or environmental area

that is inhabited by organisms

 Regions in environmental space that are

composed of multiple dimensions, each
representing a biotic or abiotic environmental
variable; that is, any component or characteristic
of the environment related;
 Directly (e.g. forage biomass and quality) or

 Indirectly (e.g. elevation) to the use of a location

by the animal
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HABITATS

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NICHE
 The niche is the set of biotic and abiotic
conditions in which a species is able to persist
and maintain stable population sizes
(Hutchinson GE, 1957).

 Ecological niche is divided into two types:

a) The fundamental niche is the set of

environmental conditions under which a
species is able to persist.

b) The realized niche is the set of

environmental plus ecological conditions under
which a species persists. 30

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NICHE CONSTRUCTION
 Ecosystem engineering: The regulatory feedback
between organisms and their environment can
modify conditions from local to global scales over
time and even after death, such as decaying logs or
silica skeleton deposits from marine organisms.

 The process and concept of ecosystem engineering

has also been called niche construction

 Ecosystem engineers: “organisms that directly or

indirectly modulate the availability of resources to
other species, by causing physical state changes in
biotic or abiotic materials. In so doing they modify,
maintain and create habitats. 31

EXAMPLES

Termite mounds with varied

heights of chimneys
regulate gas exchange,
temperature and other
environmental parameters
that are needed to sustain
the internal physiology of
the entire colony.

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EXAMPLES

Biodiversity of a coral
reef. Corals adapt
and modify their
environment by
forming calcium
carbonate skeletons
that provide growing
conditions for future
generations and
form habitat for
many other species.

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POPULATION ECOLOGY

 Thepopulation is the unit of analysis in

population ecology

A primary law of population ecology is

the Malthusian growth model

 "apopulation will grow (or decline)

exponentially as long as the environment
experienced by all individuals in the
population remains constant" 34

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POPULATION MODELS
 Simplified population models usually start
with four variables including death, birth,
immigration, and emigration.

 Mathematical models are used to

calculate changes in population
demographics using a null model. A null
model is used as a null hypothesis for
statistical testing.

 The null hypothesis states that random

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processes create observed patterns.

N = total number of individuals in the population,

B = number of births,
D = number of deaths,
b and d = per capita rates of birth and death respectively, and
r = per capita rate of population change.

Using these modelling techniques, Malthus’ population

principle of growth was later transformed into a model
known as the logistic equation:

N = number of individuals measured as biomass density,

a = the maximum per-capita rate of change, and
K = the carrying capacity of the population.
The formula can be read as follows: the rate of
change in the population (dN/dT) is equal to 36
growth (aN) that is limited by carrying capacity
(1 – N/K).

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TERMS DEFINING VARIOUS TYPES OF NATURAL

GROUPINGS USED IN POPULATION STUDIES

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COMMUNITY ECOLOGY

 Community ecology is the study of the interactions

among a collection of interdependent species that
cohabitate the same geographic area.

 An example of a study in community ecology

might measure of primary production in a wetland
in relation to decomposition and consumption
rates. This requires an understanding of the
community connections between plants (i.e.,
primary producers) and the decomposers (e.g.,
fungi and bacteria) or the analysis of predator-
prey dynamics affecting amphibian biomass.
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FRESHWATER AQUATIC AND

TERRESTRIAL FOOD-WEBS

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TROPHIC DYNAMICS
 Word troph, or trophē, means food or feeding.

 Links in food-webs primarily connect feeding

relations or trophism among species.

 Biodiversity within ecosystems can be organized

into vertical and horizontal dimensions.

 The vertical dimension represents feeding

relations that become further removed from the
base of the food chain up toward top predators.

 The horizontal dimension represents the 40

abundance or biomass at each level.

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FOOD CHAIN AND FOOD WEB

3rd Secondary
Trophic Consumers
Level

2nd
Primary
Trophic
Consumers
Level

Ist
Trophic Producers
Level
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PYRAMID SHOWING TROPHIC LEVELS

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ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY
 These ecosystems, as we may call them, are of
the most various kinds and sizes. They form one
category of the incalculable physical systems of
the universe, which range from the universe as a
whole down to the atom.

 Ecosystems are complex adaptive systems where

the interaction of life processes form self-
organizing patterns across different scales of time
and space

 Biomes
 Biosphere
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