ACEE14 PRELIM REVIEWER SPECIES a group of animals or plants subordinate in classification to genus

and having members that can interbreed

ECOLOGY the study of living organisms like plants and animals in relation to
each other and the non-living environment in which they live. The term COMMUNITY a set of population living together in an environment is a
ecology was coined by Reiter. The word ecology has been derived from two community. A population of a single species cannot survive by itself because
Greek words ‘oikos’ meaning house habitat or place of living and ‘logos’ there is interdependence of one form of life on others. It may be further
meaning study. classified as major and minor community. A MAJOR COMMUNITY is a large
community that is self regulating, self sustaining and independent unit
FIELD OF ECOLOGY deals with the influence of different environmental
comprising of many minor communities. The MINOR COMMUNITY is a small
factors on all aspects of life like morphology, physiology, growth, behavior
community that depends on other communities for existence.
and survival of the organisms.
NICHE the role of each species in an ecosystem. Role means what it does,
The environment has been classified as :
what it eats, who it eats, where does it go.
 LIVING OR BIOTIC ENVIRONMENT it consists of plants, animals and
HABITAT the requirement of residence item. It is the abiotic environment
micro organisms
within a certain range of tolerance. It is the surroundings in which a species
 PHYSICAL OR ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENT it consists of external live.
physical factors like temperature, water, minerals, wind, gases, and
many types of radiations. ECOSYSTEM the community living with biotic and abiotic environment
function together as an ecological system. It is defined as a natural
CONSTITUENTS OR ENVIRONMENT referred to as the environmental factors functional ecological unit comprising of living organisms and their non-living
or ecological factors or just as factors. It is defined as an ecological condition environment that interact to form a stable self sustaining system.
which directly or indirectly affects the growth and development and hence
the life of an organism. BIOSPHERE the part of earth where ecosystems operate

OBJECTIVES OF ECOLOGICAL STUDY BIOME natural ecological groupings of plants and animals based on regional
climate and soil types interact and generate a characteristics land
 To study the interrelationship between organisms in population and community or aquatic community.
diverse communities
 To study local and geographic distribution of organisms POPULATION defined as a group of individuals of any on kind of organisms.
 To study the structural adaptations and functional adjustments of It is the total assemblage of interbreeding individuals of a given species
organisms to their physical environment found in any ecosystem under study.
 To observe the seasonal, annual, successional changes in the ENVIRONMENT comprises of the several interrelated and dynamic factors,
occurrence of organisms some of which become critical in the growth, development and
 To study eco-physiology multiplication of the organisms
 To study the productive ecology
 To develop mathematical models to relate interaction of parameters ORGANISMS the different types of organisms living in a particular
and to predict the effects environment are not only independent and mutually reactive but also react
 To apply knowledge gained by ecological study to safeguard against with the environment
the disaster happening due to human activities
SUCCESSION the changing environment leads to the exit of pre existing ECOLOGICAL ENERGETICS it is a recent branch dealing with energy
species when it does not suite them, and invasion of new and more vigorous conservation and energy flow in the organisms within the ecosystem
species, resulting in plant succession.
GENE ECOLOGY it is the genetic make up of species or populations in
AUTECOLOGY it is associated with the ecology of an individual species and relation to the environment. It gives a valuable and reliable data on the
its population. It is the study of a particular species and its behavior and origin and inheritance of adaptations in plants and animals
adaptation to the environmental condition at every stage of that individual’s
SYSTEM ECOLOGY it is the research of the community dynamics abstracted
life cycle. It is also called species ecology.
to a mathematical level, where one summarizes the complex formulations
SYNECOLOGY it is the study of communities, their composition, their and simulations and model the required dynamic systems under
behaviour and relation to the environment. It is also called as the ecology of examination
communities and further divided in three fields : Population ecology,
FUNCTIONAL CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY
Community ecology and Ecosystem ecology.
ECOSYSTEM the basic structural and functional units of nature are
CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF HABITAT
ecosystems. An ecosystem is a biotic assemblage of plants, animals, and
HABITAT ECOLOGY it includes freshwater ecology, desert ecology, forest microbes, taken together with their physico-chemical environment.
ecology, grassland ecology, marine ecology etc
ECOLOGICAL NICHE every biological community consists of a number of
POPULATION ECOLOGY it is the study of inter-relationships of different organisms or population, which occupies a specific volume of the habitat
groups of organisms. It also includes the study of number of organisms and circumscribed by the interaction of various factors and tropic levels of the
their distribution organisms.

CONSERVATION ECOLOGY it includes the proper management of natural POPULATION INTERACTIONS the degree of success of a particular
resources like water, land, forest, mines, oceans, etc for the benefit of population in a habitat is determined by the parameters of both biotic
mankind factors as well as interaction with other types of populations.

ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY it is the structural and functional analysis of FLOW OF ENERGY the flow of energy in the ecosystems is unidirectional or
ecosystems including the inter-relationship of biotic and abiotic components non-cyclic. Radiant energy is trapped by autotrophic plants or primary
producers that transfer it to the consumers and decomposers.
PRODUCTION ECOLOGY it is a comparatively new branch that deals with the
gross and net production of different ecosystems like fresh water, agriculture BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING the chemical components of the ecosystem
etc. for the proper management to get maximum yield move in defined cycles, which are regulated by the biological cycles
RADIATION ECOLOGY it is the study of radioactive substances, radiation and LIMITING FACTORS successful growth of the organisms is governed by
the environment. The development of nuclear energy and its impact on limiting factors. For this an organisms requires various essential factors from
environment has necessitated this branch of ecology its environment

PALAECOLOGY it deals with the organisms of past ecological environment CLIMAX the populations undergo succession under natural conditions.
and traces the gap in the evolutionary lines and place and times of various Ecosystems undergo an orderly process of change with time, passing from a
groups of plants and animals
less complex to a more complex state. This involve not only the changes in HUMAN IMPACT ON BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES human activities have
species but also changes in the physical environment of a community significantly altered biogeochemical cycles. The consequences are climate
change, pollution, eutrophication, and loss of biodiversity.
CLIMAX COMMUNITIES represent the stabilized state of an ecosystem after
a succession process. It is characterized by a complex, diverse structure. IMPORTANCE OF TREES :

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES pathways through which essential elements and  They consume the carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight and
compounds necessary for life circulate through ecosystems make oxygen
 They produce many useful products like fruits, wood, fiber, herbs
WATER CYCLE the continuous movement of water on above, and below the
and other eatables
surface of the Earth. The processes are evaporation, condensation,
 They absorb the subsoil moisture that is of no use and pump it to
precipitation, runoff, infiltration, and transpiration
the atmosphere by transpiration. This increases the relative
CARBON CYCLE the circulation of carbon among living organisms, humidity.
atmosphere, oceans and geological reserves. The processes are
RELATIVE HUMIDITY the ratio of available moisture present at any
photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion, and fossil fuel
temperature to the maximum moisture the air can contain at that
formation. The CO2 enters the living world through photosynthesis. Plant
temperature.
synthesize the organic compounds and the consumers use them. The plants,
animals release carbon back to the atmosphere in the form of CO2. The  Roots of the trees hold the soil firmly. Thus the trees stop
dead bodies of animals and rotten plants also releases CO2 by aerobic desertification.
decomposition.  At the time of rainfall the canopy of the trees hold the drops of the
NITROGEN CYCLE the process by which nitrogen is converted between its rainfall and reduce their momentum and thus reduce the erosion of
various chemical forms. The processes are nitrogen fixation, nitrification, soil. They also delay the rain from reaching to the earth and thus
assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification. Nitrogen of the reduce the flood intensity.
atmosphere can not be used by the plants directly. It has to be combined  They absorb the air polluting gases. The leaves of the trees get
with other elements and then used by the plants. The denitrifying bacteria damaged by these air pollutants but they clean the air and thus help
releases it to the air and it comes back through the action of lightening and us.
electrification.  They consume the sound waves and thus reduce the noise pollution
 The increased moisture due to transpiration reduces the
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE the movement of phosphorus through lithosphere, temperature substantially and thus gives relief to us in hot and dry
hydrosphere, and biosphere. The processes are weathering of rocks, uptake climatic conditions.
by plants, consumption by animals, and return to soil through  The trees provide smoothening effect to our eyes. It reduces the
decomposition. atmospheric glare and gives us a feeling of protection and comfort.
SULFUR CYCLE circulation of sulfur through the biosphere, lithosphere,  Trees provide shelter to every type of animal and bird particularly.
hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The processes are weathering,
decomposition, volcanic activity, sulfur assimilation, oxidation/ reduction,
and deposition.
CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANISMS  They are dynamic and variable environments that experience
natural or artificial changes and a constant flow of energy and
PRODUCERS they are autotrophic organisms, that is capable of generating
nutrients between the factors that constitute them
their own food from simple substances with the help of sunlight. They are
 They are complex systems due to interactions among their
the basis of the food chain.
members. The greater the biodiversity, the greater the complexity of
CONSUMERS these are heterotrophic organisms, which means that they do the ecosystem
not have the capacity to manufacture their own food, so they feed on other  They can be altered naturally (such as natural catastrophe) or by
beings. They can be classified as Primary consumers (herbivore), Secondary human action.
consumers (carnivores), tertiary and quarternary consumers (super
carnivores)
DECOMPOSERS these are organisms that feed on decomposing organic
matter from other living organisms. They are the recyclers of the biosphere

TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS

TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM they occur on the earth’s crust and out of water
in various types of relief : mountains, plains, valleys, and dessert. There are
important differences between them in temperature, oxygen concentration
and climate, so the biodiversity of these ecosystems is large and varied. For
example: Forests, deserts or jungles

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM they are characterized by the presence of water as

the main component and are the most abundant type of ecosystem. This
group includes the ecosystems of the oceans and those of fresh or salty
inland waters. For examples: rivers, lakes and lagoons
MIXED ECOSYSTEM these are ecosystems located in areas of “intersection”
of different types of terrain, for example, in which terrestrial and aquatic
environments are combined. Mixed ecosystems, also called hybrids, share
characteristics of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and are
considered transition zones between both types of ecosystems

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ECOSYSTEM

 They can vary in size and structure according to their type

 They can be terrestrial, aquatic or mixed
 They can be natural or artificial