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Ecology

Richard G. Castor
CBSUA Calabanga
Fundamentals of Ecology
Ecology
• Ecology is the study
of interactions of
living things with
each other and their
environments.

An ichneumon wasp
Levels of Organization

• Ecologists study organisms

and their environments at
different levels of
organization:
– Biosphere: consists of all
organisms on Earth
– Biome: group of ecosystems that have
the same climate and dominant
communities.
• Ecosystem: consists of living things
and their environment.
• Community: consists of populations of different
species that live in the same area and interact
together.
– Population: organisms of the same species
that live in the same area, interact with one
another, and produce fertile offspring.
– Organisms: are individual living things.

This is the lowest level of organization that

ecologists study. Biologists study organisms,
organ systems, organs, tissues, cells,
organelles, and molecules. Chemists study
atoms and subatomic particles.
 Organisms and the Environment
• Organisms: life form consisting of
one or more cells; has
characteristics of life.

• Environment includes both living

(biotic) and nonliving things
(abiotic).
 Biotic and Abiotic Factors
• Biotic living organisms

• Abiotic nonliving or physical factors

• Together determine productivity of the
ecosystem in which organisms’ live
 What Is a Population?
In biology, a population is a group of
organisms of the same species that live in the
same area. How large a population is and how
fast it is growing are often used as measures
of its health.
Population Growth Rate
• Population growth rate (r) is
how fast a population changes
in size over time. A positive
growth rate means a population
is increasing. A negative growth
rate means it is decreasing. The
two main factors affecting
population growth are the birth
rate (b) and death rate (d).
 Births and Deaths: Balancing Costs of
Reproduction and Survival
• growth rate = birth rate – death rate
r=b–d
 Other Factors Affecting Population
Growth Rate
Population growth may also be affected by
people coming into the population from
somewhere else (immigration, i) or leaving
the population for another area (emigration,
e). The formula for population growth takes
all these factors into account.
• r = (b + i) - (d + e)
r = population growth rate; b = birth rate; i = immigration
rate; d = death rate; and e = emigration rate
 Patterns of Population Growth

• At first, exponentially then logistically until

carrying capacity is reached
After 5 hours of exponential growth;
one bacteria yields…

32,768
 Limits to Population Growth
• limiting factor is a property of a
population’s environment – living or
nonliving – which controls the process of
population growth. Biologists have
identified two major types of limiting
factors:
– Density-dependent factors
– Density-independent factors.
 Limits to Population Growth
Density-dependent factors
-depend on population size and include
competition, predation, parasitism, and
disease
Density-independent factors
- affect all populations regardless of population
size and include unusual weather, natural
disasters, seasonal cycles, and certain human
activities, such as, damming rivers, and clear-
cutting forests
 What Is a Community?
Communities are made
up of populations of
different species. A
community is the biotic
part of an ecosystem. It
consists of all the
populations of all the
species in the same
area. It also includes
their interactions.
What Is an Ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a
unit of nature and the
focus of study in
ecology. It consists of
all the biotic and
abiotic factors in an
area and their
interactions.
Ecosystems can vary
in size.
• A lake could be
considered an
ecosystem. So could a
dead log on a forest
floor. Both the lake and
log contain a variety of
species that interact
with each other and
with abiotic factors.
 Ecosystem Components
• Niches
• Habitats
• Competitive Exclusion
Principle
 The Niche
Niche organism’s occupation (role), where it
lives, and way in which organism’s use
conditions they exist in
– Food it eats
– Place in food web
– How it gets food
– Range of temperatures
needed for survival
– When and how it
reproduces
 The Habitat

• Physical environment to which an

organisms has become adapted and
survives in.
 Competitive Exclusion Principle
• Two different species
cannot occupy the
same niche in the
same geographic area.
If they do they will compete
with one another for the
same food and other
resources.
Eventually, one species will
out compete the other.
 What Are Biomes?
A biome is a group of similar ecosystems
with the same general abiotic factors and
primary producers. Biomes may be
terrestrial or aquatic.
 Terrestrial Biomes
include all the land areas
on Earth where organisms
live
determined mainly by
climate (abiotic factor)
include tundras, temperate
forests and grasslands,
chaparral, temperate and
tropical deserts, and
tropical forests and
grasslands.
 Terrestrial Biomes and Climate
 Climate is the average weather in an area over a
long period of time. Weather refers to the
conditions of the atmosphere from day to day.
 In terms of moisture, climates can be classified
as arid (dry), semi-arid, humid (wet), or semi-
humid. The amount of moisture depends on both
precipitation and evaporation.
 Biomes are categorized based upon their
climate types.
 Climate and Biodiversity
Climate determines plant growth, it also
influences the number and variety of other
organisms in a terrestrial biome.
Biodiversity generally increases from the
poles to the equator. It is also usually
greater in more humid climates.
 Climate and Adaptations

Organisms evolve
adaptations that help them
survive in the climate of
the biome where they live.
 Survey of Terrestrial Biomes
Terrestrial biomes are classified by climatic factors
and types of primary producers.
 Aquatic Biomes
 Terrestrial organisms are generally
limited by temperature and moisture.
 Therefore, terrestrial biomes are
defined in terms of these abiotic
factors.
 Most aquatic organisms do not have
to deal with extremes of temperature
or moisture.
 Instead, their main limiting factors are
the availability of sunlight and the
concentration of dissolved oxygen and
nutrients in the water.
 Aquatic Biomes and Sunlight
In large bodies of standing water, including the ocean
and lakes, the water can be divided into zones based
on the amount of sunlight it receives:
 Aquatic Biomes and Sunlight
1. The photic zone extends to a maximum depth of
200 meters; enough sunlight penetrates for algae
and other photosynthetic organisms to
photosynthesize.
2. The aphotic zone is water deeper than 200
meters; too little sunlight penetrates for
photosynthesis to occur. As a result, food must be
made by chemosynthesis or else drift down from
the water above.
 Aquatic Organisms
Aquatic organisms generally fall into
three broad groups: plankton, nekton,
and benthos. They vary in how they
move and where they live.
1. Plankton are tiny aquatic organisms
that cannot move on their own. They
live in the photic zone. They include
phytoplankton and zooplankton.
Phytoplankton are bacteria and algae
that use sunlight to make food.
Zooplankton are tiny animals that feed
on phytoplankton.
 Aquatic Organisms
• 2. Nekton are aquatic
animals that can move on
their own by ‘‘swimming”
through the water. They
may live in the photic or
aphotic zone. They feed
on plankton or other
nekton. Examples of
nekton include fish and
shrimp.
 Aquatic Organisms
• 3. Benthos are aquatic organisms that
crawl in sediments at the bottom of a body
of water. Many are decomposers. Benthos
include sponges, clams, and anglerfish
which are adapted to a life in the dark.
 What Is the Biosphere?
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems; integrating
all living beings and their relationships, including their
interactions with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere,
and atmosphere.
 
 Lesson Summary
Ecology is the study of how living things
interact with each other and with their
environment. The environment includes
abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living)
factors.
• Organisms are dependent upon their
environments for energy and matter.
• Population growth rate is how fast a
population changes in size over time. It is
determined by rates of birth, death,
immigration, and emigration.
 Lesson Summary
• Under ideal conditions, populations can
grow exponentially. The growth rate
increases as the population gets larger.
Most populations do not live under ideal
conditions and grow logistically instead.
Density-dependent factors slow
population growth as population size nears
the carrying capacity.
 Lesson Summary
• A community is the biotic part of an
ecosystem. It consists of all the
populations of all the species that live in
the same area. It also includes their
interactions.
 Lesson Summary
• An ecosystem consists of all the biotic and
abiotic factors in an area and their interactions.
• A niche refers to the role of a species in its
ecosystem.
• A habitat is the physical environment in which a
species lives and to which it is adapted.
• Two different species cannot occupy the same
niche in the same place for very long.
 Lesson Summary
• Terrestrial biomes are determined mainly
by climate.
• Climate influences plant growth,
biodiversity, and adaptations of land
organisms.
• Terrestrial biomes include tundras,
temperate forests and grasslands,
chaparral, temperate and tropical deserts,
and tropical forests and grasslands.
 Lesson Summary
• Aquatic biomes are determined mainly by
sunlight and concentrations of dissolved
oxygen and nutrients in the water. Aquatic
organisms are plankton, nekton, or benthos.
• The biosphere is composed of all the
ecosystems on Earth.
Thank you 