Ecologyis the science that deals with the way organisms interact with one another and with

the
nonliving surroundings.  It studies how organisms adapt to their environment and how their
surroundings are utilized and altered by the presence and activities of these organisms.  In all these
interactions, energy and matter is involved and that living things require a constant flow of energy and
matter to ensure their survival.  If the flow of energy and matter ceases, it deprives the organism of it
means to survive and ultimately dies. 
 
The phrase 'no man is an island'by the metaphysical poet John Donne means that no one person can
survive on their own without help from others.  While the phrase was meant to describe the role of
Man in society, it is metaphorically applicable with all creations in Nature. Every species was created
to interact with each other and has been doing so from the moment it existed.  The survival of an
organism depends on other organisms in some way.  One organism may eat another and use it for
energy and raw materials.  Another organism may temporarily use another without harming it.  One
organism may provide a service for another, such as when birds or insects disperse plant pollen or
seeds or when microorganisms break down dead organic matter for reuse. All these interactions take
place in a unit of the environment called an ecosystem.  An ecosystemis a community of organisms
interacting with other organisms while at the same time interacting with the nonliving
environment.  The interaction results in a self-sustaining system which uses energy and cycled
materials. In any ecosystem, a continuous exchange of energy and materials take place between
living (biotic)and nonliving (abiotic)components.  While interactions among living organisms is likely to
occur even unintentionally, abiotic factors also affect one another.  Indubitably, there is
interdependence among the different components of an ecosystem.  

Environmental Components:  Abiotic Factors

 
Everything that affects an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as
its environment.  Environment is a multifaceted concept.  For example, during its lifetime, an animal
such as a dog is likely to interact with a wide range organisms such as bacteria that thrives on its
wastes, organisms that serve as its food, parasites that it harbors, mates, competitors and predators.
At the same time, it requires drinking copious amount of water, breathe huge quantities of air and
respond to daily changes in weather conditions.  We can just imagine how seemingly endless the
variety of factors that make up the dog’s environment.  Because of this complexity, it is logical to
subdivide the concept of environment into abiotic or nonliving factors and biotic or living factors.
 
 
A) Abiotic factorscomprise several broad yet interrelated categories: energy, nonliving matter, and
processes that involves the interactions of nonliving matter and energy.  All organisms require a
source of energy to in order to survive.  The sunis the primary source of energy where all organisms
can derive directly or indirectly.  For plants, the sun directly provides the energy in order to sustain
themselves. Animals acquire energy by eating plants or other animals that eat plants.  Ultimately, the
amount of living matter that can exists in an area is determined by the amount of energy plants, algae
and bacteria can collect.
 
In addition to the energy provided by the sun, other essential requirements for all forms of life
are atomsof elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and moleculessuch as water to maintain
and sustain themselves. Organisms continuously obtain these materials from their environment. The
atoms become an integral part of an organism’s body structure for a certain period, after which, they
are eventually returned to the environment through specific processes such as respiration, excretion
or death and decay.
 
Habitat whichrepresents the physical structure as well as the geographic and topographic location of
the space that an organism inhabit is also an important abiotic aspect of their environment.   Some
habitats are at sea level or beneath, while others are at high elevations.  Some spaces are
homogenous and flat while others are a jumble of rocks of different sizes.  Some habitats are close to
the equator while others are near the poles.  These habitats exist at various geographic scales and
form part of the  hierarchy of ecological structures as shown in the Table below.
 
Important ecological processes involving interactions of matter and energy are abiotic factors as
well.  The climate which reflects the prevailing weather patterns in an area covering a certain duration
of time is an ecological process involving solar energy interacting with matter that makes up the
Earth.  Climatic condition is determined by a variety of factors, which includes the amount of solar
radiation, proximity to the equator, prevailing wind patterns and closeness to water.  Daily and
seasonal changesare the products of temperature changes influenced by the intensity and duration of
sunlight in an area.  Windis an effect of temperature differences in an area.  Solar radiationis major
contributing factor in generating ocean currents, as well as the evaporation of water into the
atmosphere, its condensation into clouds and its subsequent precipitation as it falls back to
earth.  Precipitation is manifested in several forms, depending on the climate:  rain, snow, hail or
fog.  Soil quality and formation are also influenced by seasonal precipitation patterns, in addition to
the prevailing weather patterns, local topography and the geologic history of the region. These factors
interact to produce soils that range from sandy, dry and infertile to fertile and moist with fine particles.
 
 
 
Hierarchy of Ecological Structures
Unit Components
Also known as the ecosphere, it is the summation of all ecosystems
Biosphere worldwide. On a planetary scale, it only occupies the planet’s surface,
confined in a closed system that is self-regulating.
A distinct biological community of organisms with common characteristics in
Biome an environment with a shared climatic condition  covering a wide
geographical area.
The community of organisms and populations interacting with one another
Ecosytem
and with the chemical and physical factors making up their environment
Populations of different plants and animals living and interacting in an area
Community
at a particular time
Population Group of organisms of the same species living within a particular area
Organism Any form of life which includes plants and animals
Table 1.0 Hierarchy of Ecological Structures

Environmental Components:  Biotic Factors

 
The biotic factors of an organism’s environment include all forms of life with which it
interacts.  There are many ways to categorize biotic factors.  A general way of categorizing them
would include the following:
1. a) Producers- plants that carry out photosynthesis;
2. b) Consumers- animals that eat other organisms
3. c) Decomposers- bacteria and fungi that cause decay
4. d) Parasites- bacteria, viruses and other parasitic organisms that cause disease.
 
Ecologists when studying organisms, investigate how they interact with their surroundings and the
most important interactions are the ones that occur between organisms. There are several general
types of organism-to-organism interactions that are common in all ecosystems.  If we examine
how organisms interact up close, we will see that each organism possesses specific attributes that
make it suitable to its role.  It is very important to understand that the process of natural selection
influences how interactions between different species of organisms can result in species that are
finely tuned to a specific role and how each species developed special characteristics that evolved
to carry out its specific role or niche.  Because these interactions involve two kinds or organisms
interacting, we should expect coevolution to transpire between the two organisms after a long
period of interaction and a harmonious relationship has successfully struck a balance.
 
Predation.  Among the common kinds of interactions is called predation.  This occurs when one
organism known as a predator, kills and eats another organism known as the prey. The predator
benefited from this interaction as it harms the prey, consequently killing and eating it.  Many
examples of predator-prey relationships exist in nature: snakes and mice; chicken
and   earthworms; tigers and deers; frogs and insects.  Plants also exhibit predatory behavior
 
 
as observed in the Venus flytrap, where it has specially modified leaves that can entrap
unsuspecting insects before eventually digesting them. 
 
Competition.  Another type of interaction between species is competition, in which two organisms
every possible means to obtain the same limited resource.  Both organisms were assumed
harmed to some extent and have suffered to a certain degree.  However, one would eventually
prevail over the other. For example, if a large number of dipterocarp trees happen to grow close to
one another, they will compete for sunlight, water, and soil minerals.  None of the trees would
grow rapidly as it can since in cannot maximize its utilization of the resources because it is
restricted by the presence of the other trees.  Eventually, some of the trees which obtained a
greater share of the resources will grow faster. The trees which were unable to take catch up will
get less and less of the resources, eventually will wither and die.  Competition forced both
organisms to expend energy in fighting to survive, where one got more resources and the other
got less or nothing.  If competition occurred among members of the same species, it is
called intraspecific competition. 
 
Interspecific competitionoccurs between organisms of different species.  When several species
of predator prey on the same species as a food source, the prey population significantly declines,
making the food source scarce for the predators.  Intense competition for food will occur and
certain predator species will emerge more successful than the others. The offshoot of competition
whether intraspecific and interspecific is that the survivor with the larger number of successful
individuals evolves form the interaction better adapted to its environment than its less successful
rival.  This concept is often formally called competitive exclusion principle, which states that “no
two species can occupy the same ecological niche in the same place at the same time.” 
 
Symbiotic Relationships.  Symbiosis is a close, harmonious, physical relationship between two
different species having stabilized itself through a long period of interaction.  This occurs when two
species, usually in physical contact, at least one of them derives some sort of benefit from the
interaction.  There are three different categories of symbiotic relationships: parasitism,
commensalism and mutualism. 
 
Parasitism.  Parasitism is a relationship, where one organism, known as the parasite, lives in or
on another organism, known as the host, from which it derives sustenance.  Generally, the
parasite is much smaller than the host, otherwise it would have been a case of predation.   Even
though the host is harmed by the interaction, parasitism generally does not inflict immediate death
to the host.  Some hosts may even live a long time and the relationship can evolve into
commensalism if the host remains unaffected by their parasites indefinitely.
 
Commensalism.  If the relationship between organisms where one organism benefits while the
other is unaffected, it is called commensalism.  As described earlier, it is possible for a parasitic
relationship to evolve into a commensal one.  Since parasites generally evolve to do as little harm
to their host as possible in order to survive longer, the host on the other
 
 
hand is striving to overcome the negative effects of the parasite, the interaction   might eventually
evolve to the point where the host is not harmed at all. 
 
 
Mutualism.  This kind of symbiotic relationship involve both species benefiting from the
interaction. Generally, mutualistic relationship is obligatory, where, the species cannot live without
each other.  Although other mutual relationships allow the species to exist separately, but they
become more successful when they directly engage in a mutualistic relationship. 
 
Ambiguous Relationships.  There are relationships that are not as easy to categorize without
creating a shade of doubt about relationships that some organisms have with each other.  For
example, it is not always easy to say whether a relationship is a predator-prey relationship or a
host-parasite relationship.  How would you classify a mosquito or a tick? Both animals require
blood meals to live and reproduce. Some ecologists contend that these organisms search for food
the same way as grazing animals do.  However, mosquitoes and ticks don’t kill or eat their
prey. Neither do they live in or on a host for a long period of time.  This raises debate on the
issues and difficulties encountered when we try to place all kinds of organisms into a few
categories.  One alternative to settle the issue is to call them temporary parasites or blood
predators.  A summary of all possible interactions is shown in the Table below
 
Type of Species Species
Nature of Interaction
Interaction 1 2
1. Neutralism 0 0 Neither population is affected
2. Competition
Both species are directly inhibited by each
through Mutual - -
other
Inhibition
3. Competition for There is indirect inhibition due to scarce
- -
Resource Use resources
One species is affected while the other is
4. Amensalism - 0
not
The smaller species (parasite) gains at the
5. Parasitism + -
expense of the bigger species (host)
The bigger species (predator) gains at the
6. Predation + -
expense of the smaller species (prey)
Species 1 (commensal) benefits while
7. Commensalism + 0
species 2 (host) is not affected
Interaction is favorable to both but not
8. Protocooperation + +
obligatory
Interaction is obligatory for both species to
9.  Mutualism + +
benefit
Table 2.0 Classification and Description of Interspecific Interactions
Ecosystem Roles
Several categories of organisms may be found in any ecosystem.  Producers are organisms that
use sources of energy enabling them to make complex, organic molecules from the simple
inorganic substances in their environment.  In nearly all ecosystems, energy is supplied by the
sun, and organisms such as plants, algae and tiny aquatic organisms called phytoplankton use
light energy to carry on photosynthesis.  Since producers are the only
 
organisms in an ecosystem that can trap energy and make new organic material from inorganic
material, all other organisms rely on producers as a source of food, either directly or indirectly. 
These other organisms are called consumers because they utilize organic matter which they have
consumed in order to provide themselves with energy and the organic molecules necessary to
build their own bodies.  An important part of their role is the process of respiration in which they
break down organic matter to inorganic matter.
 
However, some consumers have significantly different roles from others.  Each role corresponds
to the organism’s niche in the ecosystem.  The niche of an organism is the functional role it has in
its surroundings.  A description of an organism’s niche includes all the ways it affects the
organisms with which it interacts as well as how it modifies its physical surroundings.  The Table
below summarizes each organism’s role in the ecosystem.
 
Category Ecosystem Role Examples
Converts simple organic
Producers molecules by through Grasses, plants, trees, mosses, algae
photosynthesis
Uses organic matter as a source
Consumers  
of food
      Grasshopper, ruminants, vegetarian
Directly eat plants
Herbivore human
     
Kills and eats animals Dragonfly, sharks, humans
Carnivore
     
Eats both plants and animals Rats, most humans
Omnivore
Eats meat but often gets it from
     
animals that died by accident or Blowflies, vultures, hyena
Scavenger
were killed by other animals
Lives in or on another organism
      Parasite Ascaris, many bacteria, some insects
and gets food from it
Returns organic material to
Bacteria, fungi, some insects and
Decomposer inorganic material where it
worms
completes the recycling of atoms
Table 3.0 Ecosystem Roles and Examples
 
 
Energy Flow
 
An ecosystem is a stable, self-regulating unit. Such stability is not static but  dynamic in nature through
a process called homeostasis.  The organisms within an ecosystem are growing and reproducing in
harmony while ultimately dying and decaying at the end of its lifespan.  In addition, an ecosystem
must have a continuous input of energy to maintain its stability.  While the only significant source of
energy for most ecosystems is sunlight, only producers are capable of trapping solar energy through
the process of photosynthesis and making the energy available to the ecosystem.  The energy is
stored in the form of chemical bonds in large molecules such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins. 
This stored energy is transferred to consumers when the producers are eaten.  Each step in the flow
of energy through an ecosystem is known as a trophic level.  Producers constitute the first trophic
level and herbivores that eat the producers
 
constitute the second trophic level.  Carnivores that eat herbivores are the third trophic level and
carnivores that eat other carnivores are the fourth trophic level.  Omnivores, parasites and
scavengers occupy different trophic levels, depending on what they happen to be eating at the time. 
If we eat a piece of beef steak, we are at the third trophic level but when we eat vegetables, we are at
the second trophic level. 
 
The second law of thermodynamics states that whenever energy is transformed from one form to
another, some of the energy is converted to a non-useful form which typically is low-quality heat.   The
more useful energy is utilized less following an energy conversion as what generally happens every
time energy passes from one trophic level to the next.  Thus, there is less useful energy left with each
successive trophic level.  The loss of low-quality heat is dissipated to the surroundings which warms
the air, water or soil.  In addition to this heat loss, organisms must expend energy to maintain their
own life processes.  It takes energy to chew food, defend its territory, walk to waterholes, evade
predators, reproduce and care for its offsprings.  Therefore, the amount of energy present in higher
trophic levels is
 
considerably less than at the lower trophic levels.  Approximately 90 percent of the useful energy is
lost with each transfer to the next higher trophic level.  So in any eosystem, the amount of energy
contained in the herbivore trophic level is only about 10 percent of the energy contained in the
producer trophic level.  Subsequently, the amount of energy at the third trophic level is approximately
1 percent of that found in the first trophic level.
 
Generally, it is difficult to actually measure the amount of energy contained in each trophic level,
ecologists often use other measures such as biomass determination to approximate the relationship
between the amounts of energy at each level.  The biomass is the weight of living material in a trophic
level.  While it is more possible in a simple ecosystem to collect and weigh all the producers,
herbivores and carnivores, the weights will similarly show the same 90 percent loss from one trophic
level to the next.

Food Chains and Food Webs

 
The passage of energy from one trophic level to the next resulting from one organism consuming
another is a food chain.  For example, when a plant growing well on moist soil, captures sunlight via
its leaves and converts carbon dioxide and water into sugars  and other organic molecules, the
leaves become a food source for insects.  Some of these insects are eaten by spiders, which in turn
can be captures and eaten by a frog. Furthermore, the frog can be eaten by a large fish and the large
fish can be caught by a human where the fish ends up as dinner on the table.  This chain of events
that began with the plant and end with the fish on the dinner table of a human consists of six trophic
levels. Each organism with its special abilities enable it to occupy a specific niche in the food chain
where it is involved in converting energy and matter from one form to another.
 
There are food chains that rely on a constant supply of dead organic material called detritus coming
from situations where photosynthesis is taking place.  When bottoms of deep lakes and seas are too
dark for photosynthesis to take place animals and decomposers rely on a steady rain of small bits of
organic matter from the upper layers where photosynthesis takes place.  Similar situation occur in the
forest floor and streams of high-canopy forests, where in the detritus food chain, a mixture of insects,
crustaceans, worms, bacteria and fungi cooperate  in the breakdown of large pieces of organic matter
while at the same time feeding on one another.  Even a sewage plant contains a food chain where
particle and dissolved organic matter are constantly supplied to a series of bacteria and protozoa that
use this material for food.
 
When several food chains overlap and intersect, they make up a food web.  Each organism is likely to
be a food source for several other kinds of organisms.  Even the simplest food webs are complex.