Module 2
Basic ecological concept and principles
ECOLOGY
 Ecology is the scientific study of the
interactions between organisms
and the environment.
 These interactions determine
distribution of organisms and their
abundance.
 Ecologists work at levels ranging
from individual organisms to the
planet / biosphere.
 Ecology integrates all areas of
biological research and informs
environmental decision making.
ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
 Ecological Concepts Ecological
concepts are general
understandings about ecosystems
and ecosystem management.
 Ecosystem concepts provide a
foundation for developing
ecological principles and
applications.
POPULATION ECOLOGY
 Basic level of ecological concept
 A community of individuals of the
same species in a particular place is
called a population. Pine trees in a
forest, people in a city are examples
of populations. The individuals who
make up the population are
affected by similar environmental
conditions and they use the food
sources of the environment in
which they live.
COMMUNITY
 The community of all populations
occupying a particular place is
the community. While a population
consists of a single species, the
community consists of many
species and populations. A
community can contain thousands
of populations of plant, animal and
microorganism species.
Communities can be plant and
animal communities or mixed.
HABITAT
 A habitat is a place where an
organism makes its home.
A habitat meets all the
environmental conditions an
organism needs to survive. For an
animal, that means everything it
needs to find and gather food,
select a mate, and successfully
reproduce. For a plant, a
good habitat must provide the right
combination of light, air, water, and
soil
Predators
- main role of predation is to keep the
population under control.
- organism that primarily obtains
food by the killing and consuming of
other organisms
Prey
- that falls victim to another or an
animal that lives off of other
animals.
Module 2
Basic ecological concept and principles
Decomposers
- Decomposers are organisms that
break down dead or decaying
organisms
- ✓ TUNDRA
ECOSYSTEM
 All the biotic and abiotic factors in
the area.
 emphasizes energy flow and
chemical cycling among the various
biotic and abiotic components.
BIOME
 Group of ecosystems that have the
same climate and dominant
communities
✓ Taiga
- Referred to in North America and
Canada as a boreal forest or snow
forest, is a biome characterized by
coniferous forests consisting
mostly of pines, spruces, and
larches. The taiga or boreal forest
has been called the world's largest
land biome.
- Animals: Foxes, Siberian tigers,
wolves, bears
- where the tree growth is hindered
by low temperatures and short
growing seasons.
- Examples: large stretches of bare
ground and rock and for patchy
mantles of low vegetation such as
mosses, herbs, and small shrubs.
Animals like snowy owls, fox,
mountain goats, etc.
BIOSPHERE
 All of the air, soil and water layers
that enable living in the world are
called biospheres. This area
extends from the deepest part of
the oceans to 16 km of the
atmosphere. If the autotrophic,
heterotrophic organisms in the
biosphere did not interact, the
world would become uninhabitable
due to the excessive accumulation
of matter. As a result of this
interaction, the transfer of matter in
nature continues regularly.
ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
Ecological principles are basic assumptions
(or beliefs) about ecosystems and how they
function and are informed by the ecological
concepts. Ecological principles build on
ecological concepts (which are understood
to be true) to draw key conclusions that can
Module 2
Basic ecological concept and principles

then guide human applications aimed at including their size, shape and spatial
conserving biodiversity. relationships

1. Protection of species and species’ 6. Climate influences terrestrial,

subdivisions will conserve genetic
diversity.
At the population level, the important
processes are ultimately genetic and
evolutionary because these maintain the
potential for continued existence of species
and their adaptation to changing conditions.
2. Maintaining habitat is fundamental to
conserving species.
freshwater and marine ecosystems.
Climate is usually defined as all of the states
of the atmosphere seen at a place over
many years. Climate has a dominant effect
on biodiversity as it influences
meteorological variables like temperature,
precipitation and wind with consequences
for many ecological and physical processes,
such as photosynthesis and fire behaviour.

A species habitat is the ecosystem

conditions that support its life
requirements.

3. Large areas usually contain more species

than smaller areas with similar habitat.

A basic principle that large areas usually

contain more species than smaller areas
with similar habitat because they can
support larger and more viable populations

4. All things are connected but the nature

and strength of those connections vary.

Species play many different roles in

communities and ecosystems and are
connected by those roles to other species in
different ways and with varying degrees of
strength.

5. Disturbances shape the characteristics of

populations, communities, and
ecosystems.

The type, intensity, frequency and duration

of disturbances shape the characteristics of
populations, communities and ecosystems