Unit 6: Ecology
What is Ecology?
The branch of biology that deals with the study of the interactions among organisms
and with their environment is known as ecology.
Scientists who study ecology are called ecologists.
An ecosystem consists of the physical
environment (abiotic factors) and all the living things (biotic factors) within it.
6.1.2. Biotic and abiotic components
Abiotic Factors
Abiotic factors are non-living components of the ecosystem that
influence the distributions of organisms in their environment.
Examples of abiotic factors include: energy, light, temperature, water,
nutrients, salinity, etc.
All organisms require a usable source of energy to live.
Solar energy from sunlight, captured by chlorophyll during the process of
photosynthesis, powers most ecosystems.
Temperature is an important abiotic factor because of its effect on metabolism. Few
organisms can maintain a sufficiently active metabolism at temperatures close to 0°C
(32°F), and temperatures above 45°C (113°F) destroy the enzymes of most organisms.
Most organisms function best within a specific range of environmental
Continued….
Water is essential to all life. Aquatic organisms are surrounded by water, but they face problems of
water balance if their own solute concentration does not match that of their surroundings.
For terrestrial organisms, the primary problem is drying out in the air.
Many land animals have water tight coverings that reduce water loss, such as reptilian scales.
Most plants have waxy coatings on their leaves and other aerial parts.
The distribution and abundance of photosynthetic organisms, including plants, algae, and photosynthetic
bacteria, depend on the availability of inorganic nutrients such as compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Plants obtain these nutrients from the soil.
Soil structure, pH, and nutrient content often play major roles in determining the distribution of plants.
In many aquatic ecosystems, low levels of nitrogen and phosphorus limit the growth of algae and
photosynthetic bacteria.
Several abiotic factors are important in aquatic, but not terrestrial, ecosystems.
While terrestrial organisms have a plentiful supply of oxygen from the air, aquatic organisms must
depend on oxygen dissolvedin water.
This is a critical factor for many species of fish.
Cold, fast-moving water has higher oxygen content than warm or stagnant water.
Salinity (saltiness), currents, and tides also play a role in many aquatic ecosystems.
Some abiotic factors affect terrestrial, but not aquatic, ecosystems.
For example, wind is often an important factor on land.
Biotic factors are the living components of the
ecosystem that influence the distributions of
organisms in their environment.
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)
pollinators
food resources
parasites
6.1.3.Ecological levels
Ecological level refers how the living world is organized in
nested hierarchy and providing a specific frame of
references in studding ecology.
An individual organism is a member of a species.
A population is a group of interbreeding organisms that
are members of the same species living in the same area
at the same time.
A biological community consists of the different
species within an area, typically a three-dimensional
space, and the interactions within and among these
species.
The community of organisms in a habitat, plus the non-
living part of the environment (e.g., air, water, soil,
A biome is a major terrestrial or aquatic life
zone characterized by vegetation type in terrestrial biomes and the physical environment
in
aquatic biomes.
A biosphere is a life supporting zone of the earth that including the hydrosphere, the
lithosphere, and the atmosphere.
Terrestrial Biomes
Terrestrial biomes are found on the land environment and vary greatly.
What are the tropical rain forest/
is found between latitudes 10° north and south in equatorial Africa, the East Indies,
Southeast Asia, South America, and Central America.
Has the annual rain fall is 130 to 200 cm or 1300 to 2000mm.
An average temperature of 25°C (77°F).
Broad-leaf evergreen trees are dominant in tropical rain forests.
Tropical forests are home to millions of animal species.
In fact, animal diversity is higher in tropical forests than in any other terrestrial biome.
The animal species includes amphibians, birds and reptiles, mammals and arthropods.
It covers 2% of the earth’s surface and account 50% of the plant and animal species on the
earth.
Therefore it is the richest biome of all terrestrial biomes.
What is a desert?
It has a little precipitation (not more than 10 centimetres of rain per year).
Maximum air temperature in hot deserts may exceed 50°C while in cold deserts air
temperature may fall below –30°C.
They cover about one-fifth of Earth’s land surface.
are located at about 30°north and south latitude.
Examples of desert biome include Chile’s Atacama Desert and China’s Gobi desert.
It has sparse population.
The plants include succulents such as cacti or deeply rooted shrubs, and herbs that grow
during the infrequent moist Periods.
Plant in desert are tolerance of heat and desiccation, water storage, and reduced leaf surface
area.
The desert fauna include snakes, lizards, scorpions, ants, beetles, Migratory, resident birds,
and seed-eating rodents.
Many species are nocturnal.
What is a savanna?
The Savanna biome occurs in equatorial and sub-equatorial regions.
Savannas lie between the tropical forests and hot deserts of Africa, India, and Australia.
Africa’s savannas are famous for their abundant wildlife.
The precipitation averages 30–50 cm per year while the dry season can last up to eight or nine
months.
The temperature is warm year-round, averaging 24–29°C.
Continued….
Plant species are fire-adapted and tolerant of seasonal drought.
Grasses and small non-woody plants make are common.
Animals found in this ecosystem are herbivores and carnivores.
What is a temperate grassland?
Temperate grasslands are warm in summer, but cold in winter.
Annual rainfall is 25 to100 centimeters, with rains throughout the
year.
It is found in North America.
It has the short grass and tall grass prairies..
What is a boreal forest?
The boreal forest, also known as taiga or coniferous forest.
Is found around the north pole, just south of the Arctic
Circle and across most of Canada, Alaska, Russia, and
northern Europe.
This biome has cold, dry winters and short, cool, wet
summers.
The annual precipitation is from 40 cm to 100 cm.
Plants are cold-tolerant cone-bearing (coniferous)
plants.
These are evergreen coniferous trees like pines and
spruce which retain their needle-shaped leaves year-
What is the temperate broad-leaf forest?
Temperate broad-leaf forest is found mainly at mid-latitudes in the
Northern Hemisphere, with smaller areas in Chile, South Africa,
Australia, and New Zealand.
The precipitation can average from about 70 to over 200 cm annually.
In winter temperatures average 0°C while in summers, with temperatures up to 35°C, are hot
and humid.
The dominant plants are deciduous trees, which drop their leaves before winter, when low
temperatures would reduce photosynthesis and make water uptake from frozen soil difficult.
Many mammals hibernate in winter, while many bird species migrate to warmer climates.
Temperate broad-leaf forest has been heavily settled on all continents.
What are tundra?
Cover expansive areas of the Arctic, amounting to 20% of Earth’s land surface.
The precipitation averages from 20 to 60 cm annually in arctic tundra but may exceed 100 cm
in alpine tundra.
Winters are cold, with averages in some areas below –30°C while summer temperatures
generally average less than 10°C.
High winds and low temperatures produce similar plant communities, called alpine tundra,
on very high mountaintops at all latitudes, including the tropics.
The vegetation of tundra is mostly herbaceous, consisting of a mixture of mosses, grasses, and
forbs, along with some dwarf shrubs and trees and lichens.
