Ecology Primer: Laws of

Ecology An Optional
Graphic
can go here
Nicklaus Kruger
NISL
nicklaus@webmail.co.za

Available at http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Eco_people/Presentations/
What is a scientific law?1,2
 A scientific law is a regularity that applies to all members of a broad
class of phenomena
 Laws are NOT theories that have been confirmed to a very high
degree
 Laws are statements of patterns observed in nature
 Theories are explanatory frameworks for those patterns
 Hypotheses have the potential to develop into either theories or
laws, depending on their nature
Liebig’s Law9
 Originally formulated by Justus von Liebig in
1840
 The modern version of this rule holds that, of
all the biotic or abiotic factors that affect a
population, one or two have to be limiting
 That means that a change in these factors
produces a change in the average or
equilibrium density of the population
 These factors could be biotic or abiotic
Liebig’s Law
 That means that a change in these factors produces a change
in the average or equilibrium density of the population
 These factors could be biotic or abiotic
 For example, Nitrogen limitation is a common problem for
oceanic phytoplankton
Lotka-Volterra Law10,11
 Originally proposed, independently, by Alfred James Lotka (1925)
and Vito Volterra (1926)

 This principle holds that when populations are involved in negative

feedback interactions with other components of their environments,
cyclical dynamics are likely to be seen
Lotka-Volterra Law10,11
 The classic example of such a cyclical dynamic is found in
predator/prey relations
 When prey population density increases, predator population
density may also increase, which in turn leads to a drop in prey
populations density
Malthusian Law12
 Originally proposed by Thomas
Malthus in 1798
 This law holds that, when birth and
death rates are constant, a
population will grow (or decline) at
an exponential rate
 This law is a fundamental principle
of both ecology and evolution
 Both Charles Darwin and Alfred
Russel Wallace were inspired by
Malthus to create their principle of
Natural Selection
Laws of Thermodynamics
 First Law of Thermodynamics
 Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can
change from one form to another
 Ex: organisms cannot create energy they need to
survive- they must capture it from another source
 Focus is on quantity
 Second Law of Thermodynamics
 When energy is converted form one form to
another, some of it is degraded to heat
 Heat is highly entropic (disorganized)
 Focus is on quality
SHELFORD’S LAW OF
TOLERANCE
 the absence or poor performance of a
species may be controlled by the
qualitative or quantitative deficiency or
excess of any factor that approaches the
limit of tolerance

 much more general

 just an ‘extension’ of Liebig’s ideas ???

 lower limit, optimum, upper limit

Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem7
 Originally proposed by Ronald Fisher in 1930

 This theorem shows that “the rate of increase in fitness of any

organism at any time is equal to its genetic variance at that time”
Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem
 According to FFT, adaptation is a function of genetic variation

 Fisher thought this was fundamental because his equations

showed that natural selection will always act to ensure that
offspring are better adapted to the parent generation’s environment
than their parents were
 NOTE: other factors, such as genetic drift, can still negatively affect
the fitness of the filial generation
 THE COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION
PRINCIPLE
G.F. Gause (1934)
If two species, with the same niche, coexist in
the same ecosystem, then one will be excluded
from the community due to intense competition

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Niche

The niche of a species consists of:

 Its role in the ecosystem (herbivore,
carnivore, producer etc)
 Its tolerance limits (e.g. soil pH, humidity)

 Its requirements for shelter, nesting sites etc

etc, all varying through time

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

 The niche as a two-dimensional
shape

Species A

Niche represented
by a 2-dimensional
area
© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS
 Separate niches

Species A Species B

No overlap of
niches.
So coexistence is
possible

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Overlapping niches

Species B Species C

Interspecific
competition
occurs where the
niches overlap

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Specialisation avoids competition

Species B Species C

Evolution by
natural selection
towards
separate niches

Species B’ Species C’

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS Specialisation into two separate niches

 This niche is not big enough for
the both of us!
Species A Species D

Very heavy competition leads to

competitive exclusion
One species must go

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Total exclusion

Species A has a
bigger niche it is
more generalist

Species E has a smaller

niche it is more specialist
Specialists, however, do
tend to avoid competition
Here it is total swamped
by Species A

© 2008 Paul Billiet ODWS

References
1. Krebs R.E. (2001) Scientific laws, principles and theories. Greenwood Press,
Westport, Connecticut
2. Colyvan, M. and Ginzburg, L.R. (2003) Laws of nature and laws of ecology. Oikos 101:
649-653
3. Newton, I. (1687) Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
4. Turchin P. (2001) Does population ecology have general laws? Oikos 94: 17-26
5. Allen, J.A. (1877) The influence of Physical conditions in the genesis of species.
Radical Review 1: 108-140.
6. Bergmann, C. (1847) Über die Verhältnisse der wärmeökonomie der Thiere zu ihrer
Grösse. Göttinger Studien, Göttingen 3(1): 595-708.
7. Fisher, R.A. (1930) The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Oxford. Clarendon
Press
8. Gloger, C.L. (1833) Das Abändern der Vögel durch Einfluss des Klimas. August Schulz,
Breslau.
9. Liebig J. (1840) Chemistry and its application to agriculture and physiology. Taylor
and Walton, London
10. Lotka A.J. (1925) Elements of Physical Biology. Williams & Wilkens, Baltimore, USA
11. Volterra, V. (1926) Variazioni e fluttuazioni del numero d'individui in specie animali
conviventi. Mem. R. Accad. Naz. dei Lincei 2: 31–113.
12. Malthus T.R. (1798) An Essay on the Principle of Population. J Johnson, London