Lesson 1.

Ecology and Ecosystems

Ecology is the branch of biological science concerned with the distribution,

abundance, and productivity of living organisms and their physical
environment.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

Ecology has been given various definitions

• Scientific natural history – Elton, 1927

• The study of the structure and function of nature – Odum, 1921

• The scientific study of the interactions that determine the distribution and
abundance of organisms – Krebs, 1978
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

The choice of definition is not critical as long as one remembers that the focus
of ecology is on the interrelationships between living organisms and their
environment.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

The term organism includes man as a biological species.

• Relationships include all interactions, be it positive or negative, with

the physical environment and the members of other species and
individuals of the same species.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

The environment includes all the physical factors and biological conditions
under which an organism lives.

• Physical factors include temperature, moisture, soil and soil acidity,

wind speed, and others.

• Biological conditions, are any influences on an organism that are exerted

by other organism such as competition, predation, parasitism, and
cooperation.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
 Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
• The relationship of organisms with their environment is interactive. The
organism get their needs from the environment.

• Environment is the life support system of the organism

• Organisms release the products to the environment which could alter it while
the environment determines the organism that will live on it.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

“By ecology we mean the body of knowledge concerning the economy of nature –
the investigation of the total relations of the animal both to its inorganic and to its
organic environment; including the above, its friendly and inimical relations with
those animals and plants with which it comes directly or directly in contact”
- Ernst Haeckel, 1866

The word ecology was first used by Ernst Heackel in 1866, which was coined from
the Greek word “oikos” meaning house and the Latin word “logus” meaning
“study of”. It literally means “study of nature’s household”.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

There are different levels or spheres of interest in ecology.

• Individuals of the same kind make up a species.

• The same species living together in the same area at a given time
comprise a population.

• Populations of all plants, animals, and microorganism living and

interacting together in one area at a particular time make up a
community.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

• The various communities interacting with each other and with the
physical environment and exchanging matter and energy make up the
ecosystem.

Ecosystems are either terrestrial (land-based) or aquatic (water as the

community’s habitat).

• Terrestrial ecosystems present in large geographical area having

similar vegetation types make up the biome.

• Biomes together with the aquatic ecosystems comprise the biosphere.

 Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
• The biosphere consists of the outer layer of the earth’s crust, the bodies of water, and the layer of the
atmosphere where the elements of weather and climate are – the layers where life exists of where factors
that influence life happen.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
The term ecosystem was suggested by Tansley, an English ecologist in 1935. He
defined it as “not only the organism-complex, but the whole complex of physical
factors forming what we call the environment.”

Other definitions:

• “An ecosystem is any system composed of physical, chemical and biological

processes active within any space-time unit” – Lindeman, 1942
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
• “Any unit that includes all of the organisms in a given community (i.e. the
community) in a given area interacting with the physical environment so
that a flow of energy leads to a clearly defined trophic structure, biotic
diversity, and material cycles (i.e. exchange of materials between living and
non-living parts within the system) in an ecological systems or ecosystem” –
Odum, 1971

• “An ecosystem is a functional system that includes an assemblage of

interacting organisms (plants, animals and saprobes) and their
environment, which acts on them and on which they act” – Whittaker, 1975
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems
Ecosystem have 5 major attributes

1. Structure
Ecosystems are made up of biotic and abiotic components.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

2. Function
This is about the constant exchange of matter and energy between the
physical environment and the living community (to maintain its various parts
working together). It is a natural process of a transfer of energy in different
biotic and abiotic elements of the world. Ecosystems maintain all the important
ecological processes, including nutrient cycling.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

3. Complexity
An ecosystem is complex due to the high level of inherent biological
integration. The tropical rainforest is the most complex ecosystem in the world
as it consists of a large number of plant and animal species that vary among
each other.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

4. Interaction and interdependence

Due to the complete interconnectedness of the various living and nonliving

components of an ecosystem, a change in one will result to a subsequent change in
almost all the other components. For example, one kind of interdependent
relationship would be the bees and butterflies that help pollinate many kinds of
flowers or the bats and birds that carry pollen to other areas so that new plants can
grow. Even a predator-prey relationship is a form of interdependence.
Lesson 1. Ecology and Ecosystems

5. Temporal change

Ecosystems are not static or unchanging systems, thus the structure and
function of an ecosystem changes over time. Changing temperature extremes,
wildfire patterns, sea level rise, hurricanes, floods, droughts, and warming ocean
temperatures