Ecology

The word ecology (oekologie), first proposed by a zoologist named H. Reiter in 1885, is
derived from Greek words, oikos meaning the dwelling place or home and logos meaning the
discourse or study; thus, the word ecology literally means the study of living organisms, both
plants and animals in their natural habitats or homes. It can also be defined as the study of life in
relation to environment, the environment being the aggregate of all external conditions and
influences which affect the life and development of organisms at a given spot. The most widely
accepted definition of ecology was proposed by a zoologist named Earnest Haeckel. According
to him, “ecology is the study of the reciprocal relationship between living organisms and their
environments”. Recently, Odum has defined ecology as the study of the structure and the
function of nature. This branch of science seeks to determine the effects of environmental factors
on the growth, distribution and migration of the organisms and also deals with some other
aspects of relationship between organisms and these factors. Ecology, like biology, has been
subdivided into plant ecology and animal ecology. Plant ecology deals with the relationship
between plants and their environments and animal ecology is concerned with the study of
relationship between animals and their environments.

The things of the world are classified into two major groups namely the living or biotic
component and the non-living or abiotic component. The biotic component includes all types of
living organisms, both plants and animals and the abiotic component includes the non-living
materials (soil, water, air, etc.) and the forces of nature (light, gravity and molecular energy).
Living organisms bring about changes in their environment through their activities. Similarly,
environment does influence the activities of organisms. An aspect of biology which deals with
the inter-relationship between biotic and abiotic components as well as the relationships among
the individuals of the biotic component is called ecology. Organisms form interacting systems or
communities, these communities are coupled to their environments by transfer of matter and
energy and the communities and environment are interrelated. A functional system formed by
communities and their environment is called ecosystem. Thus ecology is a science of ecosystems
or totality of reciprocal interactions between living organisms and their physical surroundings.

Ecology and its Divisions

Ecology may be divided into autecology and synecology.

Autecology

Autecology is concerned with the study of individual animal or plant species or its
population throughout its life history in relation to the habitat in which it grows or, in other
words, it is a study of inter-relationship between individual species or its population and its
environment.

Synecology
 Plant synecology is the study of the structure, development, composition and causes of
distribution of plant communities and their relationship to the environment. To understand the
ecology of plant communities, the ecological life cycles (autecology) of at least most important
plant species of the communities must first be studied. Thus, autecology forms a basis for the
study of synecology. The study of plant community structure is called phytosociology or plant
sociology. The study of plant ecology merges with plant geography or phytogeography. This is a
science which deals with the distribution of plants on or near the surface of earth and water and it
also deals with the migration of species. Actually speaking there is no sharp line of distinction
between plant ecology and plant geography.

Different Fields of Ecology

Different branches which are made to account for the various specific and detailed
aspects of ecology are as follows

Habitat Ecology

It deals with habitat as a central theme and plants and animals as only inhabitants. It
includes forest ecology, grassland ecology, fresh water ecology, marine ecology, desert ecology,
etc.

Paleoecology

It is concerned with the organisms and geological environments of the past.

Cytoecology

It deals with the cytological details of the species on populations in relation to different
environmental conditions.

Ecosystem ecology

It deals with the structure and working of ecological systems in relation to space and time
and also with the analysis of components of ecosystem. In this, special emphasis is laid on the
reciprocal relationship between living and non-living systems.

Conservation ecology or Resource ecology

It is concerned with the proper management of plant, animal, soil, water and mineral
resources for human welfare.

Ecological energetics and Production ecology

These modern branches of ecology are still in developing stage. These deal with the
mechanisms and quantıty of energy conversion and flow of energy through organisms. Energy
production processes, rate of increase in organic weights of organisms in relation to space and
time are also discussed in this branch of ecology.

Application of plant ecology

The study of plants in their environment has yielded a large body of knowledge which
provides aids to the science of conservation of natural resources. The knowledge of ecology is of
great help in controlling soil erosion, reforestation, restoration of wild animals as well as
grassland vegetation and flood control. Plant ecology is directly related to silvics and Silviculture
and other branches of forest biology. In British Commonwealth Forestry Terminology (1953)
silvics has been defined as the study of general characteristics and life history of forest trees and
crops with particular reference to environmental factors as the basis for practice of Silviculture
while the silviculture has been defined as the art and science of culturing forest trees and crops.
Every farmer or gardener is ecologıst, since by such practices as cultivation, irrigation, artificial
pollination and spraying, he affects the plant behavior.

Knowledge of ecology is being applied in agriculture, food production and horticulture.

The soil conservation practices are in use these days in agronomy. The modern ecology revolves
round the biological production processes and ecological energetics. The International Biological
Program (1BP) was launched since July 1, 1967 to study the biological basis of organic
productivity and conservation of natural resources in relation to human welfare.

Aims and Scope

Earlier ecology was considered to be a branch of biology that deals with the relation of
organisms or group of organisms to their environment. Later on, it was realized that ecology is
not only concerned with the organisms, plants and animals but also with the energy flows and
material cycles on the lands, in the oceans, in the air and in fresh waters. So keeping with the
modern emphasis, ecology is defined as the study of structure and function of nature. The study
of ecology starts with the understanding the interaction of various biological units with their
environment for the production of a series of living systems, i.e. Ecosystems. Now this concept
is changed to understand the flow of energy and exchange of materials between ecosystems.
Then movement of materials back and forth between organisms and environment is taken up.
This movement of materials is known as Bio-geochemical cycles.

The population ecology studies the interaction of organisms with organisms in the
maintenance of community structure and function. Here focus is on the role of great physical and
chemical forces in the nature. The most important object of ecology is the study and maintenance
of ecological balance and role of man in the degradation of the environment and to suggest
remedies for minimizing the effects of pollution, deforestation, population explosion, killing of
animals and many other problems.

Plant Ecology and other branches of Science

 Ecology is a synthetic branch of biological science which draws source materials from
many other sciences. It is fundamentally related to morphology, taxonomy, physiology,
biochemistry, cytology, genetics etc. Various other sciences, such as physics, mathematics, and
statistics are also being increasingly used in the study of ecological problems. Application of
radioactive isotopes, use of many modern and advanced instruments like spectrometer, infrared
gas analyzer, flame photometer, computers in the analysis of data, calorimeters, phytotrons for
culturing the plants in environment controlled chambers and many other equipment are common
in ecological researches. Besides botany, zoology, chemistry and physics, the knowledge of
climatology, geography, pedology and geology is also essential in the study of complicated
problems of plant ecology. Basic understanding of physics and chemistry is also necessary as it
would be helpful in interpretation of environmental factors. The basic knowledge of geology and
geography is helpful to correlate some of the casual factors responsible for distribution of plants
and animals. Knowledge of soil sciences is very much desirable, as plants are affected by its
water, aeration and nutrition. Meteorology is also required to correlate the effect of climatic
factors on the growth and development of plants and plant communities. Interest in quantitative
analysis of vegetation requires a sound knowledge of statistical methods.

Ecological Organization

The simple standard biological organization scheme, from the lowest level to the highest
level, is as follows
Explanation

Ecology can be considered on a wide scale, moving from individual molecule to the
entire global ecosystem. However, some identifiable scales are of much interest. These are

1. Organism
2. Population
3. Communities
4. Ecosystem
5. Biomes
6. Biosphere

1. Organism
Organism refers to any individual either unicellular or multicellular. Organism is
composed of different systems, which possess some characteristic features, on the basis of which
it can be distinguished from other individuals. Organisms respond to abiotic and biotic
environment on its own way. The branch of ecology which deals with the interaction of single
individual to their environment by adaptations in their morphology, physiology and behavior is
called individual or species ecology.

2. Population
Population is a group of organisms of the same species living to gather at the same time,
in the same area. A population is reproductively isolated from other such groups. A population
has characterized features such as size, density, dispersion and demography. This level has its
own attributions such as gene frequency, gene flow, age distribution, population density,
population pressure etc. The branch of ecology, which deals with the population growth,
regulation and interspecific and intraspecific competition, is called population ecology.

3. Community
Population of different species that live to gather in the same area is called community.
They have their own interaction with the abiotic and biotic factors of their environment i.e.
predator-prey relation, symbiosis etc. The ecological study of community in relation to their
environment is called community ecology.

4. Ecosystem
A community in certain area, where abiotic and biotic factors interact in such a way that
an integrated unit of sustainability is established is known as ecosystem. Ecosystem regulates the
flow of energy derived from the sun and the cycling of essential elements on which the lives of
its constituent plants, animals and other organisms depend. The ecosystem may be an ecosystem
of a single individual (habitat). The study of ecosystem is known as ecosystem ecology.
 5. Biome
A major life zone characterized by the dominant plant life having its own climatic and
soil condition is known as biome. It is largest ecological unit. Examples of biomes are grass land,
tundra, coniferous forest, temperate forests etc. Ecological study of biome is known as biome
ecology.

6. Biosphere
The part of the earth containing living organisms is known as biosphere. It is the sum of
communities and ecosystems found on the planet of the earth. The biosphere extend from the
bottom of the oceans to the upper atmosphere and amount to relatively narrow belt around the
earth.