Torres,Reyven L.

1.Explain Ecology
Ecology is a  branch of science, including human science, population, community, ecosystem
and biosphere. Ecology is the study of organisms, the environment and how the organisms
interact with each other and their environment. It is studied at various levels, such as organism,
population, community, biosphere and ecosystem
2. Explain the Different Factors of Ecology.
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
The main aim of ecology is to understand the distribution of biotic and abiotic factors of
living things in the environment. The biotic and abiotic factors include the living and non-living
factors and their interaction with the environment.
Biotic component

Biotic components are living factors of an ecosystem. A few examples of biotic

components include bacteria,  animals, birds,  fungi, plants, etc.
Abiotic component

Abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors of an ecosystem. These
components could be acquired from the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. A few
examples of abiotic components include sunlight, soil, air, moisture minerals and more.
Living organisms are grouped into biotic components, whereas non-living components like
sunlight, water, topography are listed under abiotic components.
3. What are the interactions in Ecology?
As explained since our elementary days, the different interactions in ecology includes
mutualism, commensalism, competition, and predation/parasitism/herbivory. To explain them:
Torres,Reyven L.

 Mutualism It is the interaction where both sides benefit. Pollination is a common

mutualistic interaction. The plant gains gamete transfer, the animal gets nectar (and also pollen)
.  Commensalism Commensalism happens when species interact and only one of them is
benefited and the other, neither benefited nor harmed.
 Competition This happens if species, as from the name itself, compete for either scarce
resources or areas in the environment. This becomes a negative interaction as they are both
harmed.
 Predation/Parasitism/Herbivory In predation, one organism kills and consumes
another. Predation provides energy to prolong the life and promote the reproduction of the
organism that does the killing, the predator, to the detriment of the organism being consumed,
the prey. For herbivory, it is the consumption of plant material by animals, and herbivores are
animals adapted to eat plants. Lastly, parasitism is when an individual organism, the parasite,
consumes nutrients from another organism, its host, resulting in a decrease in fitness to the host.
In extreme cases, parasites can cause disease in the host organism; in these situations, we refer to
them as pathogens.

type of interaction sign effects

mutualism +/+ both species benefit from interaction
commensalism +/0 one species benefits, one unaffected
competition  -/- each species affected negatively
predation, parasitism, herbivory +/- one species benefits, one is disadvantaged
4. Give the Classifications in Ecology
Classifications in  Ecology
Broadly speaking, the important sub-divisions of ecology are animal ecology and plant
ecology. It is also classified as autecology and synecology. Autecology deals with the ecological
study of one species of organism. Synecology deals with the ecological studies of communities
or entire eco-systems.
The classification of ecology into other disciplines allows a detailed and meticulous
approach to all the elements and interactions that can be registered between living beings and
their environment. There are some other branches, according to different environmental status,
habitat, taxonomy which are:
 Microbial ecology, refers to the branch of ecology that studies microorganisms in their
natural habitat.
 Mathematical ecology: applies the methodology of mathematical science to address the
problems arising from the relationship of living beings with their environment. It forms the basis
for the formulation of the theoretical statements of ecology.
 Ecology of recreation: It studies the ecological relations between the human being and
the nature in the recreational context. It is of great importance for sustainable tourism and the
proper management of natural protected areas for leisure purposes.
 Ecology of the Landscape: It is focused in the study of the impact that the human
groups can generate on the natural landscapes being the man a powerful enticing agent of the
physical-ecological dynamics of its surroundings.

However, we can classify ecology into following branches:

Habitat Ecology:
It deals with ecological study of different habitats on planet earth and their effects on the
organisms living there.

Community Ecology:
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It deals with the study of the local distribution of animals in various habitats. Also, it is
related with the recognition and composition of community units, and succession.

Population Ecology:
This is also known as demonology. It deals with the study of the pattern of growth,
structure and regulation of population organism. The population ecology also deals with
interactions between populations of different species in a community.

Evolutionary Ecology:
It is concerned with the problems of niche segregation, and speciation.

Taxonomic Ecology:
It is related with the ecology of different taxonomic groups of living organisms.

Human Ecology:
It is mainly related to population ecology. It studies the inter-relationship between man
and man along-with the environment. Effects of human beings on the biosphere and the
implications of these effects for mankind is the subject matter of human ecology.

Applied Ecology:
It is an important sub-division of ecology. It deals with the practical aspect of ecology.
Mainly the application of ecological concept to human needs is the field of this study. We find
wild-life management, forestry, conservation, insect control, animal husbandry, aqua-culture,
agriculture, horticulture, land use, population ecology etc. as the application of ecology in practi-
cal life.

Eco-system Dynamics:
It deals with the ecological study of the process of soil formation, energy flow, productiv-
ity etc.

Production Ecology:
It examines the gross and net production of different eco-systems like fresh water, sea
water, agriculture, horticulture etc. Production ecology attempts for the effective management of
the eco-systems so as to maximise the production.

Ecological Energetics:
It deals with energy conservation and its flow in the organisms within the eco-system.

Physiological Ecology (Eco-physiology):

The factors of environment have direct relation with the functional aspects of the
organism. The eco-physiology deals with the survival of the population as a result of functional
adjustment of organisms with different ecological conditions.

Chemical Ecology:
It is related with the adaptation of animals of preferences of particular organisms like in-
sects to particular chemical substances.

Ecological Genetics:
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An ecologist recognised the kind of genetic plasticity in the case of every organism. In
any environment only those organisms that are supported by the environment can survive. Thus,
genecology deals with the study of variations of species based on their genetic potentialities.

Palaeo Ecology:
It is the study of environmental conditions and life of the past ages.

Geographic Ecology (Eco-geography):

It focuses light on the study of geographical distribution of animals and plants.

Space Ecology:
It is concerned with the development of partially or wholly regenerating eco-systems for
supporting the life of man during long space flights.

Pedology:
It deals with the study of soil, especially their acidity, human contents, mineral contents,
soil types, etc. and their influence on their organism.

Radiation Ecology:
It studies the gross effect of radiation and radio-active substances over the environment and
living organisms.

Ethology:
It studies the animal behaviour under natural conditions.

Sociology:
It is the study of ecology and ethology of mankind.

System Ecology:
It deals with the analysis and understanding of the function and structure of eco-system
through the use of applied mathematics, advanced statistical techniques, mathematical models
etc.

5. Give the Levels of Ecology

Organism → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere

 
 
There are five Levels of Organization, and all levels are listed according to their size in
increasing order – from small to large.
Organism
It is the lowest level of organization, which includes both unicellular and multicellular
organisms. All the living species in this level exhibits all the characteristics required for the
existence of life.
Population
A population is a group of individuals of a single species living together within a
particular geographic area. They interbreed and compete with each other for resources.
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Community
It refers to the several populations that interact and inhabit a common environment and
are interdependent.
Ecosystem
It is a set of all living species and abiotic components existing and interacting in a given
area. There is an interaction with both living and nonliving components of the environment.
Biosphere
 It is the highest level of organization. It is the global ecological system which consists of
all the living organisms and other factors which supports life. Biosphere mainly refers to the part
of the earth’s crust.
6. Give the different Crisis in Ecology.
An ecological crisis occurs when changes to the environment of
a species or population destabilizes its continued survival.Some of the important causes include:

 Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increase of temperature,

less significant rainfalls)
 Increased pressures from predation
 Rise in the number of individuals especially in the urban areas (overpopulation)

Crises caused by abiotic factors

Climate change is starting to have major impacts on ecosystems. With global temperature
rising, there is a decrease in snow-fall, and sea levels are rising. Ecosystems will change or
evolve to cope with the increase in temperature. Consequently, many species are being driven
out of their habitats.
Biodiversity extinction
Due to increase in ecological crisis, vast numbers of species are being annihilated. Every
year between 17,000 and 100,000 species vanish from the planet. The speed in which species are
becoming extinct is much faster than in the past. The previous mass extinction was caused by a
meteor collision 66 million years ago.
Overpopulation (species)
In the wilderness, the problem of animal overpopulation is solved by predators. Predators
tend to look for signs of weakness in their prey, and therefore usually first eat the old or sick
animals. This has the side effects of ensuring a strong stock among the survivors and controlling
the population.

Examples of animal overpopulation caused by introduction of a foreign species abound.

 In the Argentine Patagonia, for example, European species such as the trout and

the deer were introduced into the local streams and forests, respectively, and quickly
became a plague, competing with and sometimes driving away the local species of
fish and ruminants.
 In Australia, when rabbits were introduced (unwillingly) by European immigrants,
they bred out of control and ate the plants that other native animals needed to survive.
Farmers hunted the rabbits to reduce their population and prevent the damage the
rabbits did to the crops. They also brought cats to guard against rabbits and rats.
These cats created another problem, since they became predators of local species.

More examples
Some common examples of ecological crises are:

 Deforestation and desertification, with disappearance of many species.

 Extinction events
o Permian-Triassic extinction event 250 million years ago
o Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago
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 The Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989

 Global warming related to the Greenhouse effect. Warming could involve flooding of
the Asian deltas (see also eco refugees), multiplication of extreme
weather phenomena and changes in the nature and quantity of the food resources
(see Global warming and agriculture). See also international Kyoto Protocol.
 The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986 caused the death of many people and
animals from cancer, and caused mutations in a large number of animals and people.
The area around the plant is now abandoned by humans because of the large amount
of radiation generated by the meltdown. Twenty years after the accident, the animals
have returned.[5]
 Ozone layer depletion.
 Volcanic eruptions such as Mount St. Helens and the Tunguska and other impact
events
 Coral reef depletion
 Acid rain
 Ground water depletion
 North Atlantic garbage patch

7. Give images of the Different Cycles on the Ecosystem.

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References:
https://byjus.com/biology/ecology/
Ecological Communities: Networks of Interacting Species
https://globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/ecol_com/ecol_com.html
Article shared by : Kumar
Ecology: Meaning, Objectives and Classification of Ecology
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ecology/186
Stevens, A. (2010) Predation, Herbivory, and Parasitism. Retrieved from
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/predation-herbivory-and-
parasitism13261134/
Torres,Reyven L.

Eco-Globe Team. (2018). Types of Ecology, Its Branches & Classification. https://eco-
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Khan Academy. (2021). Introduction to ecology review.
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ecology/a/hs-introduction-to-ecology-review
Hume, T. & Barry, J. (2015). Ecological Crisis. R
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/ecological-crisis
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2021). Biogeochemical cycle.
https://www.britannica.com/science/biogeochemical-cycle
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