Ecology

Ecology: it is the study of the interrelationships existing between living organism and the physical environment.
Life of plants Aand animals.

Ecological terms

1. Biosphere: it refers to the part of the earth surface where life exists. This is made of :
- Lithosphere: that is the land, forming the terrestrial environment
- Hydrosphere: water bodies, forming the aquatic environment and the atmosphere that forms the arboreal
environment.
2. Ecosystem: it is the natural unit which is made up of living and non-living components that interacts with
each other to produce a stable unit capable of adjusting to changes within the environment. Its major
components are (1) terrestrial (deserts, grasslands and forest zones) and (2) aquatic (fresh water, marine
waters, lakes and rivers)
3. Population: it is the group of individual organisms of same species within the community.
4. Community: It refers to the group of different populations living together and interacting together within
the environment.
5. Environment: it is the total surroundings of an organisms e.g. Biotic and abiotic factors,
6. Habitat: it is the specific place within the environment where an organism can live successfully and
reproduce.
7. Ecological niche: it is the specific location and role of the organism within its environment.
8. Species: these are organisms that have the same genetic and morphological make up and can interbred to
produce fertile offspring’s
9. Biome. Group of ecosystems that show similar climates and typical organisms
Cell>Tissue>Organ>Organ system>Species>population>community>Ecosystem>Biome

Ecological factors

These are factors that influence the life of every living organism in its community. These factors affect the
development, distribution and behavior of the organisms.

Ecological.factor

Biotic fators Competition

Abiotic Factors
Predation

Climatic Factors Edaphic factors Human influence

Physiographic factors
Mimicr
Climatic factors
No Factor Influence Instrument
1 Temperature Increase in temperature cause an
A/T Increase in (a) the rate of sweating Thermometer
And transpiration (b) decay of
Organic matter © drying up of water Bodies (d) germination of
seeds

2. Light intensity -bring about photosynthesis Photometer

A/T -cause flowering in plants
-Source of Vitamin D
-Influence germination of seeds Hydro photometer
-Affect nocturnal organisms

3. Rainfall 1: It is a source of water for human use Rain gauge

A/T 2:it determine the vegetation type of an area
3:it cause flowering in plants
4: it cause flooding that destroy habitats
5:it increase turbidity in aquatic habitats
6: it spread water borne disease
4. Wind 1: It cause water current and waves Wind vane
2: It control rainfall e.g. clouds -Direction
3: Increase transpirations rate
4: Increase evaporation rate Anemometer
5: It disperse fruits and seeds Speed
6: It pollinate flowers
7. It causes erosion

5. Humidity 1. It affects transpiration and evaporation rates Hygrometer

T 2. It affects the distribution of plants animals
3. It affects the rate of decay of organic matter

It affect distribution of plants and animals

6. PH In their habitats PH meter
A/T
(1) It affect light penetration in the water (3)it affect vision
7. Turbidity or in aquatic habitats Seechi disc
(A) (2) Affect photosynthesis
Transparency

8. Salinity It affects the distribution of plants and animals in aquatic Salinometer

A habitats

9. Pressure Affects distribution of organisms Barometer

A/T

10. Water current Distribution of organisms in water Floating object

Edaphe factors
This refers to the nature of the soil particles, its nutrient levels, its water holding capacity and how soil affects plants
and animal life.

Physiographic factors: these refer to the structure and nature of the earth surface and how there affect life, e.g. hills,
mountains, Valleys, rivers, slope, at high attitudes oxygen, temperature and pressure decreases.

Biotic factors

These refer to living organism and how they affect the life of other living organism.

1. Human influence e.g. agric, hunting, Logging, Poaching, Fishing, pollution, bushfires.
2. Competition-it refers to the struggling among living organism for scarce resources in the community e.g.
food, space, water, light, shelter, mates. - Inter-specific competition-it refers to the competition between
individuals of different species. While intra-specific competition is the competition among individuals of
the same species
3. Antibiosis- releasing of chemicals to repel others
4. Predation, (5) pollination (6) mimicry
7. Spread of diseases (8) commensalism

Benefits of biotic factors

1. Insects and birds acts ac agents of pollination
2. Big trees provide shade, shelter to other organisms
3. Some animals disperse seeds and fruits
4. Micro-organisms e.g. bacteria, fungi decompose organic matter and recycle soil nutrients
5. Epiphytes gain support from bigger trees without any harm to the bigger trees.

Adaptations of animals to terrestrial habitat

1. Some animals have scaly skin or cuticles for protection against desiccation and mechanical injury
e.g. reptiles.
2. Some have hairs or fur on their bodies (mammals) or feathers (aves) for temperature regulation
3. Well develop Lungs or tracheal system for Respiration
4. They have limbs for locomotion

Forest habitats
It is characterized by tall trees, with shade, dumpy and humid soils. The tall trees form 3 layers
called canopies or storey.
- The upper canopy also called A-storey is above 30m high with their leaves forming the
emergent.
- The middle canopy or the B-storey is about 30m high it has 3 main characteristics (1) High
humidity (2) Low light intensity (3) Dumpy soils
- The lower canopy or c-storey is about 15m high

Adaptations of plants to forest habitat

1. Some trees have buttress roots or proof roots for extra-support
2. Climbers have hooks and tendrils for attachment and support.
3. Epiphytes have aerial roots for absorbing moisture from the air and for attachment
4. Large and abroad leaves for photosynthesis and transpiration
 Adaptations of animals to forest life
1. Some animals e.g. spiders construct webs to trap insects
2. The birds have wings for locomotion
3. Arboreal animals e.g. monkeys and chameleons have opposable fingers and prehensile tails
for locomotion.
4. Birds have air sacs for respiration
Adaptations of plants to savanna habitats
1. The grass posses tussocks for protection against bush-fires
2. Some plants have underground organs e.g. rhizomes, corns that can withstand fires.
3. Some trees e.g. the baobab tree, posses a huge water storing truck.
4. Plants have the ability to complete their life cycles during the short rainy season.]
5. Thick barks against fire (6) hairy and narrow leaves to avoid transpiration (7) thorns and
spines
8. They shed of their leaves

Adaptations of animals in savanna

1. The carnivorous once are fast moving
2. The preys move in groups to offer group defense against predator attack
3. Preys have strong legs to escape danger
4. The carnivores have good sight and sense of smell to locate prey

TROPICAL DESERTS
It has the most extreme temperatures; desert plants (Xerophytes) like cacti, Euphorbia’s, Opuntia must
adapt to these conditions.
Adaptations of deserts plants
1. They have narrow and small leaves to check water lost
2. They can complete their life cycles within a short time
3. The have thick cuticles and sunken stomata to check transpiration (4) thick bark to resist fire. (5)
The have deep roots system to reach water underground.
Adaptations of animals to deserts life
1. Animals are active only at night when the heat is not intense.
2. Some animals e.g. reptiles have scaly skin against water lost
3. Some animals excrete nitrogenous waste in a form of uric acid to conserve water
4. The mammals have little fat on their bodies to allow for heat lost
5. The kangaroo rat has a salt gland and can therefore take sea water
Aquatic habitats- please study this in the new book page191-196

Food chains and food webs

A food chain is a feeding relationship in an ecosystem in which energy is transfer from green
plants through a series of organism with repeated stages of eaten and being eaten e.g. grass
grasshopper lizard snake. Or Series of steps in which organism transfers energy by eaten
and being eaten. A food web is consist of several food chains interconnected together and in
 which several organisms occurs at each trophic level or network of feeding interactions
involving multiple producers and consumers { herbivores, carnivores and omnivores}
Methods of determining food chains and food webs
1. Gut/stomach Examination. The animal is dissected and the gut examined to find out the
organism fed on.
Limitations
- Partial digestion of the gut content will make it difficult to notice the organism eaten
- No all the organisms eaten can be found in the gut at a particular time.
2. Direct observation
3. Radioactive technique
Limitations
(i) It can contaminate the food chain
(ii) It can cause pollution
(iii) It increase the mutation rate of the habitat

Effects of food shortage in the ecosystem

It may cause
1. Low growth rate (2) low rate of reproduction
3. Migration of organism (4) high death rate
5. Increase competition (6) delay maturity
- Biomass- it refers to the total dry weight/living tissue/organic matter of a particular organism in
an area
- Pyramid of biomass-it is a graphical representation of total dry weight of organisms at each
trophic level in a food chain.
- Pyramid of numbers-it is a graphically representation of total number of organism at each
trophic level.
- Pyramid of energy- amount of energy at each trophic level
Tertiary consumer
0.01
2ndary consumer
0.1
0.2 Primary consumer
1.2
Producers
The lesson we learnt from food chains is that it is advisable to feed on plant diet than animal
diet.
-Autotrophs: they are organisms that are able to capture the sun energy or chemicals in the
environment to manufacture their own food, they are primary producers, and they either carry
out photosynthesis or chemosynthesis (using chemicals to manufacture food/carbohydrates in
dark conditions)
-Heterotrophs: organisms that cannot make their own food, they consumers.
-Energy flow in the ecosystem is one direction/ unidirectional, from producers to consumers

Biological associations
 - Symbiosis-it is a close and long-lasting association between 2 or more organism belonging to 2
different species. That is living together of 2 dissimilar organisms in a form of commensalism,
mutualism, Amensalism etc.
1. Commensalism: it is a close relationship between 2 organisms of different species in which one
partner, called the commensal benefits while the other partner called the Host neither gains non-
loss. That is a relationship that is benefial to only one partner without any effect on the other e.g.
(a) a bird that build its nest on the tree. (2) The remora fish and the shark.The remora benefits from
free transport from place to place, it gains protection from the shark and depend on food miss by
the shark but the shark is not affect.
2. Amensalism: it is a close relationship between 2 different species in which one partner is
completely harmed and the other is not affected. it is a lose and a win relationship e.g. a big tree
and other shrubs under it
3. Mutualism: a close relationship between 2 organism belonging to 2 different species in which
both partner benefits, that is a win and a win relationship e.g. (a) the sea anemone and the hermit
crab the sea anemone obtains scraps of food drop from the hermit crab, it also enjoy free transport
by the hermit crab while the hermit crab gains protection from the stinging cells in the sea
anemone
(b) The protozoa in the gut of termite , the protozoa gains it habitat and protection from the gut of
the termites while the termites gain from digestion of cellulose by the protozoa
(c) Leguminous plants and nitrogen fixing bacteria- the plants gains from the nitrogen fixed by the
bacteria while the bacteria benefits from using the root nodules of the plant as a habitat and
protection
(d) Lichens- a complete organism form from a fungus and green algae the fungus benefits from the
oxygen and Carbohydrates produce by the green algae while the green algae gets water, co2 and
minerals from the fungus.
4. Parasitism: it is a close relationship in which one partner called the parasite lives temporally or
permanently in or on the body of the other called the Host, deriving benefits from it and causing
harm to it. Endoparasites are those that established their homes inside the inner body of the Host
e.g. plasmodium, tapeworm but Ectoparasites are parasites that establish their homes outside the
body of the Host and causing harm to it e.g. lice, ticks and mosquito
Parasitic plants- these are plants that obtain their energy requirements at the expense of other
plants and causing harm to them. Examples are: 1. Dodder its host is the milk bush, 2. Mistletoe its
host is the cocoa tree or citrus plants
Insectivorous plants-these are plants that capture animals or insects for food using special traps
with which they capture, digest and absorb the nutrients
Characteristics of insectivorous plants
1. The special traps are brightly colored
2. The traps are sweet scented
3. They have sticky leaves and hairs
4. Some have sacs containing fluid with enzymes
5. Examples are; 1: pitcher plants 2: pinguicula plants

Adaptation of parasites
1. Some ectoparasites have specialized mouth parts e.g. proboscis for sucking
2. Endoparasites have thicker bodies to protect them from the digestive enzymes of the Host
 3. Some parasites have attachment device or hold fast like hooks and suckers use for anchorage on
the Host
4. Some plant parasites e.g. the dodder have special root like structure called Haustoria for
penetrating and absorbing nutrient from the Host plant. The Host is the milk bush. another plant
parasite is the mistletoe which develop special roots using for absorbing water and minerals salts
from the Host plant –Cocoa trees
Ecological succession
Ecological succession-it is a gradual and directional change in a community resulting in
replacement of one community with another until a climax community is established. A B
C D
-
A is the first seral community or pioneer community D is the climax community.
- Sere- is the path way of succession, that is the set of stages that a community passes through to
reach climax
- Climax community- it is the final community in ecological succession which is stable and self
sustaining
- Primary succession- it is a succession that begins from a place which has never been colonized
or occupied by another community before
- Secondary succession: it is a succession that occurs in a place previously colonized or occupied,
by a community that has been remove by natural means or human influence.
- Factors that can disturb a climax community are (1) human influence (2) climatic changes (3)
natural disasters e.g. flooding, bushfire.
- Pioneer community-is is the first community to be establish in a place that has never be
colonized.

Biological pest control

It is the method of using natural enemies to regulate the population of some organisms which
compete with man for his food or poses danger to his health and that of his livestock. The
predator-pre relation is usually use. Some examples are
1. A predatory snail called Marisa is use to control Biomphalaria and bulinus snails which are Host of
schistosoma sp. That causes Bilhazia in man.
2. using predatory fish-e.g tilapia to control anopheles mosquitoes
3. Using the domestic fowl to control the population of cotton strainers
4. Using a lady bird to control population of Aphids that destroy citrus fruits
5. Use pheromones-chemicals release to control the growth rate and reproductive rated of other
organisms.

Advantages of biological pest control

1. It is cheaper than the use of chemicals
2. It does not pollute the environment
3. It is pre-specific and destroy only the target sp.
4. When properly done it is efficient.

Disadvantages
1. It may be slow in action and may create a chance for some destruction to occur.
 2. It is not easy to identify the most appropriate predator or parasite for a particular pest.
3. It is time consuming since expert advice must be sort at times.
4. Some predators may later become pest and in turn pose danger to man

Capture Mark-Release-Recapture
1. 2 Assumptions for the use of the method- pls refer to the new book page- 206.
2. Precautions to be taken when using the C.M.R.R.
- The markings should not expose them to predators in the field
- The marking should be such that other members in the population will not avoid them
- The marking should not harm or weaken them
- The marking should not interfere with their movement
- The capturing should be done at random
- The marking should not be done in a way that will make it easy for you to identify and capture
them the 2nd time.
3. Limitations for the use of C.M.R.R
- It is difficult to apply lasting marks on them
- Migration, deaths and births during the interval may affect the study
- Some organisms one caught may be difficult to catch the 2 nd time
- Some animal may be kill in the process
4. Conditions for the use of the method
. When the organisms are fast moving
. When the sample area is large
How to use a quadrat-it is use to determine population of plant species
.first determine the area to be survey
.in using the quadrat, throw it over the shoulder randomly several times
.where ever the quadrate lands the number of species within the quadrate should be counted and
recorded
. Plants that are partially enclose are counted as half
. The population density is determined by dividing the no of times the sp has occurs within the
quadrat by the area of the quadrat
Precautions.
. The quadrat should be thrown at random
. The plants partially enclose in the quadrat should be counted as half
.the throws should be done several times and the average taken
.the size of the quadrat should not be more than 1m2

Qno2: Some students in Notre Dame SHS decided to sample 3 species of weeds in their school compound
and the following data was obtained and recorded.

Commelina sp NO of throws of the Tridax sp Sida sp

quadrat
23 1 13 6
20 2 15 10
21 3 16 8
19 4 8 8
14 5 17 9
 totals

The size of the quadrat use was 0.5m length by 0.25m width and the area of the school compound was
150m×200m
a) Calculate the population density of each of the species
b) Calculate the population size of each of the species

VITTNIG SENIOR HIGH/TECHNICAL SCHOOL- TAMALE

ELECTIVE BIOLOGY TEACHING NOTES FOR STUDENS
TOPICS.PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY 1$ 2
. MAMMALIAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

SUBJECT MASTER

MR ATIGAH JAMES