ENVIRONMENTA

L SCIENCE
(ECOLOGY)

INTRODUCTION TO
ECOLOGY & THE
BIOSPHERE
PREPARED BY

JEFFREY M. VALDEZ
VOCABULARY
PRETEST
1.Discuss the Scope of Ecology.
2.Explain interactions between
organisms and the
environment that limits the
distribution of the species.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
PICTURE ANALYSIS
 ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS?
1. What environmental
factors limit the
geographic distribution of
Paedophryne amauensis?

2. How do variations in the

frogs’ food supply or
interactions with other
species, such as predators
and pathogens, affect the
size of their populations?
DEFINITION
 Ecology (from the
Greek “oikos”,
home, and “logos”,
study), the scientific
study of the
interactions
between organisms
and the
environment.
ECOLOGISTS WORK
AT DIFFERENT
LEVELS OF THE
BIOLOGICAL
HIERARCHY, FROM
INDIVIDUAL
ORGANISMS TO
THE PLANET
Organismal Ecology, which
includes the subdisciplines of
physiological, evolutionary, and
behavioral ecology, is concerned
with how an organism’s
structure, physiology, and
behavior meet the challenges
posed by its environment.
A population is a group of
individuals of the same species
living in an area.

Population Ecology analyzes

factors that affect population size
and how and why it changes
through time.
A community is a group of
populations of different species
in an area.

Community Ecology examines

how species interactions, such as
predation and competition,
affect community structure and
organization.
An ecosystem is the community
of organisms in an area and the
physical factors with which
those organisms interact.

Ecosystem Ecology emphasizes

energy flow and chemical
cycling between organisms and
the environment.
A landscape (or seascape) is a
mosaic of connected
ecosystems.

Research in Landscape
Ecology focuses on the factors
controlling exchanges of
energy, materials, and
organisms across multiple
ecosystems.
The biosphere is the global
ecosystem—the sum of all
the planet’s ecosystems and
landscapes.

Global Ecology examines

how the regional exchange of
energy and materials
influences the functioning
and distribution of organisms
across the biosphere.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ORGANISMS
AND THE ENVIRONMENT LIMIT THE
DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES
WHAT ECOLOGICAL FACTORS—BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC—DETERMINE THEIR DISTRIBUTION?
THE PREDICTED
RANGE IN EACH
SCENARIO IS
BASED ON
CLIMATE FACTORS
ALONE.

WHAT OTHER
FACTORS MIGHT
ALTER THE
DISTRIBUTION OF
THIS SPECIES?
THE STRUCTURE AND DISTRIBUTION OF
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES ARE CONTROLLED BY
CLIMATE AND DISTURBANCE

The role of climate in determining

the nature and location of Earth’s
biomes, major life zones
characterized by vegetation type in
terrestrial biomes or by the
physical environment in aquatic
biomes.
CLIMATE AND TERRESTRIAL BIOMES
 GENERAL FEATURES OF
TERRESTRIAL BIOMES

Some arctic tundra

ecosystems receive a little
rainfall as deserts but have
much more dense
vegetation. What climatic
factor could cause this
difference?
TERRESTRIAL BIOME

-DISTRIBUTION (LOCATION)
- PRECIPITATION
- TEMPERATURE
- ORGANISMS (PLANTS/
ANIMALS)
- HUMAN IMPACT
ZONATION IN
AQUATIC BIOMES

Many aquatic biomes

are physically and chemically
stratified (layered), vertically
and horizontally, as
illustrated for both a lake and
a marine environment in light
is absorbed by water and by
photosynthetic organisms, so
its intensity decreases rapidly
with depth.
ZONATION IN
AQUATIC BIOMES

Many aquatic biomes

are physically and chemically
stratified (layered), vertically
and horizontally, as
illustrated for both a lake and
a marine environment in light
is absorbed by water and by
photosynthetic organisms, so
its intensity decreases rapidly
with depth.
AQUATIC BIOMES

- PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
- CHEMICAL
ENVIRONMENT
- PHOTOSYNTHETIC
ORGANISMS
- GEOLOGIC FEATURES
- HUMAN IMPACT
INTERACTIONS
BETWEEN
ORGANISMS AND
THE
ENVIRONMENT
LIMIT THE
DISTRIBUTION OF
SPECIES
 BIOTIC FACTORS
 Biotic factors—other species—
limit the distribution of a
species. Often, the ability of a
species to survive and
reproduce is reduced by its
interactions with other species,
such as predators (organisms
that kill their prey) or
herbivores (organisms that eat
plants or algae).
ABIOTIC FACTORS
 Abiotic factors, such as temperature,
water, oxygen, salinity, sunlight, or soil,
might be limiting a species’ distribution.
If the physical conditions at a site do
not allow a species to survive and
reproduce, then the species will not be
found there.
 Example: This has enabled C. rodgersii
—whose larvae fail to develop properly
if temperatures drop below 12°C.
 Studies have shown that increasing
temperatures may significantly affect
the reproduction, development, and
excretion behaviors of sea urchins.
SUMMARY

 In ecology, ecosystems are composed of organisms, the communities they

comprise, and the non-living aspects of their environment.
 Ecologists work at different levels of the biological hierarchy, from
individual organisms to the planet. It includes organismal, population,
community, ecosystem, landscape ecology, and global ecology.
 Ecosystem processes are those that sustain and regulate the environment.
 Ecological areas of study include topics ranging from the interactions and
adaptations of organisms within an ecosystem to the abiotic processes
that drive the development of those ecosystems.