STF 1023

INTRODUCTION
TO ECOLOGY

Learning Unit 1:
Introduction of basic
concepts on environment,
habitat, niche,
population, community,
ecosystem, biome, and
biosphere.
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, student should be able to;

 Define ecology, basic terminology of ecology:

species, population, habitat, niche, ecosystem, biome

 Identify different types of biomes and their key features

 Classify plant and animal adaptations that inhabit different

biomes

 Identify factors that affect the distribution of biomes

 What is ecology?
Ecology derived from the Greek words oikos, “house” or “place to
live” and logos, “study of”).
Ecology terminology and basic concepts

Biosphere Biological components of earth systems.

Biome Climatically and geographically defined

areas of ecologically similar climatic
conditions such as communities of
plants, animals, and soil organisms.
Ecosystems Community of different species
interacting with one another and with
their nonliving environment of matter
and energy.
Communities Populations of all the different species
occupying a particular place.
Populations Group of individuals of the same species
occupying a given area at the same time.
Organisms Any form of life.
 SPECIES
 SPECIES is a group of organisms that resemble one
another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic
structure (Townsend et al., 2003).
 Each species can breed with one another to produce
fertile offspring under natural conditions.

POPULATION
 POPULATION - certain number of individuals of the
same species in a specific given area that makes up a
reproducing group.
 HABITAT
 The word HABITAT means "inhabits, or dwells in."
 As a biological term, habitat is the area or kind of
environment where an organism normally occurs.
 Otherwise, it is the place where a person or thing is
most likely to be found.
 NICHE
• The term "ecological niche" refers to the organism's
functional role in the community.
• It could be the species' status in terms of its activities, its
rate of metabolism and growth,
• its affect on other organisms with which it has contact,
or its ability to modify important operations in the
ecosystem (Hanks, 1996).
 NICHE

Source: Molles & Cahill, 2008

What would happen if two of the warbler species

attempted to occupy the same niche?
 NICHE
How an organism makes a living?

The ecological niche describes how an organism or

population responds to the distribution of resources and
competitors (e.g., by growing when resources are
abundant, and when predators, parasites and pathogens
are scarce) and how it in turn alters those same factors
(e.g., limiting access to resources by other organisms,
acting as a food source for predators and a consumer of
prey).
 ECOSYSTEM
• Central in the study of ecology.

• Ecosystem encompasses a community and its

environment.

• An ecosystem therefore includes interactions among the

organisms of the community as well as interactions
between organisms and their physical environment.

• An ecosystem ecologist may for example study the

relationship between soil salinity and species distribution
in a swamp. Thus the SWAMP is the ecosystem.
 How big is an ecosystem ?

• An ecosystem could be of variable

size, for example a forest could be
studied as one ecosystem but also a
decomposing log in the forest could
also be studied as an ecosystem.
Natural Ecosystem:

 High diversity of plants, animals,

microorganisms or other living
organisms.
 Naturally sustainable.
 Examples: Decomposing log, termite
mound, lake, puddle, etc.
Termite mound ecosystem
-Africa, Australia, South America.

Social caste: workers, soldiers, reproductive

(king/queen)
Artificial Ecosystem:

 Low diversity of living organisms.

 Unsustainable.
 Examples: crop plant (monoculture),
aquarium, man-made pond, dam,
garden, etc.
What we have discussed so far ???
 What is ecology?
 Ecology terminology & concepts

 Species, habitat versus niches

 How big is an ecosystem? Natural versus

artificial ecosystems.
 BIOME
A BIOME is a large, distinctive complex
of plant, animals, and soil organism
communities created and maintained
by climate.

The geographic distribution of

terrestrial biomes corresponds to
variation in climate, especially
prevailing temperature and
percipitation.
TYPES OF BIOMES & THEIR KEY FEATURES
1. Tundra
2. Taiga
3. Temperate forests (coniferous or deciduous)
4. Shrub forests
5. Temperate grasslands
6. Tropical grasslands (savanna)
7. Alpine grasslands
8. Desert
9. Temperate rain forests
10. Tropical rain forests
Major circles of latitude:
 Biome 1: TUNDRA

Geography:
 Covering most of the lands north of the
Artic Circle.

Climate:
 Typically cold and dry.
 It is exposed to long harsh winters (-28
°C to -50 °C.
 Very short and soggy summers
[approximately one month with
temperature high enough to melt snow
(0°C or 32°F)].
 Precipitation ~ 150 mm – 250 mm.
 Biome 1: TUNDRA

Soils:
 The soil there is frozen from 25–90 cm
down.
 Slow decomposition with organic matter
accumulates in deposits of peat and
humus.
 It is dominated by mosses, lichens,
grasses and sedges. Woody vegetation
includes dwarf willows and birches.
 Biome 2: TAIGA (Boreal Forest)

Geography:
 The world's largest land biome.
 Can be found between 50⁰ and 65⁰ N
latitude (Northern hemisphere).
 From Scandinavia, through European
Russia, across Siberia, to central Alaska
and across central Canada.

Climate:
 Mean annual temperature generally
varies from -5 °C to 5 °C.
 Extremely cold temperatures (e.g. −20
to −40 °C).
 Winters are too long (> 6 months),
summers are too short.
 Annual precipitation is moderate (200 –
600 mm).
 Biome 2: TAIGA (Boreal Forest)
Soils:
 Soils are of low fertility, thin and acidic.
 Low temperatures and low pH slow down
the decomposition of plant litter and the
rate of soil building. Thus, nutrients are tied
up in a thick layer of plant litter. Most trees
have a dense network of shallow roots.
 The topsoil is thin. In an extreme climate,
the subsoil is permanently frozen that may
be several meters thick.
 Dominated by evergreen conifers such as
spruce, fir and pines.
 All trees are wind pollinated, and none
produce fleshy fruits. Spruce cones
Biome 3: TEMPERATE FORESTS (coniferous or deciduous)

Geography:
 Can be found between 30⁰ and 55⁰
latitude.
 Eastern North America, Europe, Asia
(Japan, eastern China, Korea and
eastern Siberia), southern Australia,
New Zealand and southern Chile.

Climate:
 Summers are hot.
 Winters are pronounced.
 Annual precipitation is 650-1500 mm.
 It is dominated by a dense canopy of
broad leaved trees with an
undergrowth of saplings and shrubs.
Biome 3: TEMPERATE FORESTS (coniferous or deciduous)

Soils:
 Usually fertile.
 Soils are generally neutral or slightly
acidic and rich in both organic matter
and inorganic nutrients.
 The lowest layer of vegetation is the
herb layer, followed by shrubs, then
shade-tolerant understory trees, and
finally the canopy.
 Biome 4: SHRUB FORESTS
Geography:
 This typically called the Mediterranean
climate but also occurs in other parts of
the world.
 Occur between 30⁰ and 40⁰ latitude.
 It is called chaparral in western North
America; matoral in Spain, garrigue in
the Mediterranean basin, fynbos in
South Africa, and mallee in Australia.

Climate:
 Temperate environment.
 Cool and moist during fall, winter and
spring; hot and dry during summers.
 Dry summers with dense vegetation,
rich in essential oils, creates ideal
conditions for frequent and intense
fires.
 Biome 4: SHRUB FORESTS
Soils:
 Soils are low to moderate fertility and are
considered fragile. Soil erosion can be severe.
 It is characterised by thickets of evergreen
shrubs and small trees.
 Many plants show adaptations to drought and
fire-resistant.
 Most herbaceous plants grow during cool,
moist season, and die back in summer.
 Biome 5: TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS

Geography:
 North America: the prairies extend from
southern Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico.
 In Eurasia: from eastern Europe to
eastern China.
 Southern Hemisphere: Argentina,
Uruguay, southern Brazil, and New
Zealand.

Climate:
 Precipitation is moderate.
 Annual rainfall ~ 300 – 1,000 mm.
 Wetter than deserts with occasional
drought. Drought and high summer
temperatures encourage fire.
 Winters are generally cold and summers
are hots (growing season). Known commonly as steppe in central Asia,
prairie in North America, and pampas in
South America.
 Biome 5: TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS

Soils:
 The best temperate grassland soils
are deep, dark in colour, basic or
neutral, fertile and contain large
quantities of organic matter.
 Ideal soils for farming but prone to
wind erosion if ecosystem balance
is not maintained.
 Thoroughly dominated by
herbaceous vegetation.
 Biome 6: SAVANNA (tropical grassland)

Geography:
 Mostly occur north and south of
tropical dry forests within 10⁰ to 20⁰ of
the equator.
 Major region: Africa has the world’s
largest savanna.
 Also found in South America (e.g.
Brazil), northern Australia, eastern
Pakistan and northwestern India.

Climate:
 Savannas have warm temperature year
round. There are actually two very
different seasons in a savanna; a very
long dry season (winter), and a very
wet season (summer).
 Biome 6: SAVANNA (tropical grassland)

Soils:
 Soil layers with low permeability
to water, thus keeping the
surface soils waterlogged during
the wet season.

During summer, rains come and accompanied by intense lightning. This lightning
often starts fires. Can you explain why these fires are important to maintain the
landscapes of a savanna?

Answer: Fires kill young trees while the grasses survive and quickly re-sprout.
Fires thus help to maintain the tropical savanna as a landscape of grassland with
scattered trees.
 Biome 7: ALPINE GRASSLANDS
Geography:
 Mountains are built by geological
processes, such as volcanism &
movements of the earth’s crust that
elevate and fold the earth’s surface.
 They occur in the western sides of
both North & South America, New
Guinea and East Africa, steppes of
the Tibetan plateaus and other
similar subalpine habitats.

Climate:
 Climates change from low to high
altitude. The climate here is
challenging to plant life as result of
low temperatures, high incoming
shortwave radiation among other
factors.
 Biome 8: DESERT

Geography:
 Occupy ~ 20% of the land surface of the
earth.
 All the continents mostly along the
Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of
Cancer.
 The worlds largest is the Sahara Desert
while the Atacama Desert in Chile is the
driest.

Climate:
 Drought conditions prevail during all
months; some months average
temperature exceed 30⁰C.
 Shade temperatures > 56 ⁰C have been
recorded in the deserts of North Africa
& western North America.
 Biome 8: DESERT
Soils:
 Generally very low in organic matter
that they are sometimes classified as
lithosols (stone or mineral soil).
 However, the soils under desert shrubs
often contain good amounts of organic
matter.
 Poorly drained valleys and lowlands
soils may contain high concentrations
of salts. As desert soils age, they tend
to form a calcium carbonate-rich
hardpan horizon called caliche.
 Biome 9: TEMPERATE RAIN FORESTS
Geography:
 Mostly occur in oceanic moist climates
in western North America,
southwestern South America,
Northwestern Europe, Southeastern
Australia, and South Island’s west coast
of New Zealand.

Climate:
 Annual precipitation with rainfall ~
1500mm.
 Mean annual temperature is between
4 and 12°C.
 40 millions years ago.
 Biome 10: TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS

Geography:
 Mostly occur within 10⁰ of latitude
north or south of the equator.
 3 major regions: Southeast Asia, West
Africa, & South and Central America.
 200 millions years ago with exceptional
biological diversity.

Climate:
 Warm and wet throughout the year.
 Average temperature ~ 25⁰-27 ⁰C.
 Precipitation is high (annual rainfall
~ 2,000 – 4,000 mm).
 Biome 10: TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS

Soils:
Mostly low quality of soils [i.e.
nutrient-poor, acidic, thin, low in
organic matter]. Why?
a) heavy rains that gradually leach
nutrients from soils.
b) rapid decomposition in the
warm, moist climate.

Where do you find high quality of

soils then?
a) At young volcanic soils.
b) Along rivers where nutrient is
constantly supplied with each
flood.

38
(Taiga)
What are the factors that affect the
distribution of biomes? Discuss.
• Temperature and sunlight (angle of the sun and
how the sun's rays hit the earth affect heating of
the planet).
• Water and precipitation - ranges from dry to wet
areas.
• Wind patterns - affects temperature and water
loss.
• Rocks and soil (pH, mineral content, salinity, etc.).
• Length of the growing season.
 BIOSPHERE
• The biosphere consists all communities of the earth
that includes all organisms.
• The biosphere interacts with atmosphere,
hydrosphere which is earth’s water supply and
lithosphere which is the soil and rock.
What we have discussed so far ???
 What is ecology?
 Ecology terminology & concepts

 Species, habitat versus niches

 How big is an ecosystem?

10 types of biomes and factors affecting their

distributions.