Ecology

• Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and

their environment, such as the interactions organisms have with
each other and with their abiotic environment.

• Abiotic: Physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem.

Examples include rocks, climate, pressure and humidity.

• Biotic: Living factors such as plants, animals, fungi, protist and

bacteria are all biotic or living factors.

• Habitat: the area where an organism lives, including the biotic and
abiotic factors that affect it.

• Niche: describes the relational position of a population or species

in an ecosystem. The niche describes how population reacts to the
abundance of its natural resources and enemies.
Organization of ecosystem
Individual:
An individual is any living thing or organism. Individuals do not breed with
individuals from other groups.
Population:
A group of individuals of a given species that live in a specific geographic
area at a given time. Populations include individuals of the same species,
but may have different genetic makeup.
Community:
This includes all the populations of organisms of different species in a
specific area at a given time.
Ecosystem:
Ecosystems include more than a community of living organisms (biotic)
interacting with the environment (abiotic eg rocks, water, air and
temperature).
Biome:
A biome is a set of ecosystems in a geographic area. Eg grasslands, tropical
forests, deserts etc.
Biosphere:
A biosphere is the sum of all the ecosystems established on Earth.
Trophic levels of Food Chain
 Some more Definitions…
• Trophic level: Step in flow of energy through an ecosystem:
– Plants (First trophic level)
– Herbivores (Primary consumers)
– Carnivores (Secondary consumers)
– Omnivores
– Decomposers

Producers: trap sunlight for photosynthesis to conert inorganic

matter into organic matter.
Consumers: obtain energy in the form of organic matter.

• Food Chain: Sequence of organisms feeding on one another.

• Food web: Interaction of many food chains
 Pyramids for characterizing Ecosystems
Pyramid of Energy
• There is about 90% loss of energy as we proceed
from one trophic level to the next higher level.
 Pyramid of Numbers
• Can lead to inverted pyramids: Eg. A large
number of insects feeding on leaves of single
tree.
Pyramid of Biomass
90% loss at each trophic level
 Community Interactions
• Predation: occurs when one organism captures, kills and eats other
organisms for food. This is a positive-negative (+ -) interaction in
that the predator species benefits while the prey species is harmed.

• Parasitism: Interaction in which one organism is harmed (Host)

while other is benefitted (Parasite). Parasite generally derives
nourishment and shelter from host. Example: tapeworm is a
parasite in humans.

• Mutualism: Mutualism is a symbiotic interaction between species

in which both benefit. Examples include Rhizobium bacteria
growing in nodules on the roots of legumes and insects pollinating
the flowers of plants.
• Commensalism: is a type of relationship among organisms in which
one organism benefits while the other organism is neither
benefited nor harmed. The organism that benefited is called
the commensal while the other organism that is neither benefited
nor harmed is called the host. For example, an epiphytic orchid
attached to the tree for support benefits the orchid but neither
harms nor benefits the tree.

• Amensalism: an interspecific relationship in which a product of one

organism has a negative effect on another organism. Example
antibiotics production by bacteria and fungi.

• Competition: Interaction in which both organisms are harmed to

some extent. Competition can be for food, shelter, nesting sites,
water or mates. Eg. Competition of crop plants with weeds.
 Cycling of Matter in Ecosystem
• Biogeochemical cycle or substance turnover or cycling
of substances is a pathway by which a chemical
substance moves through both biotic (biosphere) and
abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere)
compartments of Earth.

• It tells us about the biological, geological and chemical

factors which are involved in recycling of matter.

• The circulation of chemical nutrients like carbon,

oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and water etc.
through the biological and physical world are known as
biogeochemical cycles.
Hydrological/Water cycle
Carbon Cycle
 Nitrogen Cycle
• http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_share/vis_sim/em05_pg20_nitrogen/em05_p
g20_nitrogen.swf