ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS

What is Ecology?
 Ecology is the study of how living things interact with each other and with
their environment.
 Ecology is the study of the environment, and helps us understand how organisms live
with each other in unique physical environments.
 It is a major branch of biology but has areas of overlap with geography, geology,
climatology, and other sciences.

Each of you will learn the various concepts and principles of ecology as we explore the world
of ecology. The first is ecological organization.
1. Species- Group of organisms similar to another that they can breed and produce
fertile offspring.
 In biology, a species is a classification of related organisms that share
common characteristics and are capable of interbreeding.
2. 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.
 Same species and live in same area
3. Community- Different populations that live together in a defined area.
 An ecological community is a group of interacting or potentially interacting
species that live in the same area. A shared environment and a network of
influence that each species has on the others bind communities together. A
biological community, for example, is a forest of trees and undergrowth plants
inhabited by animals and rooted in soil containing bacteria and fungi.
4. Ecosystem- A collection of all organisms that live in a particular place together
with their nonliving environment.
 An ecosystem is a geographical area in which plants, animals, and other
organisms, as well as weather and landscape, coexist to form a life bubble.
Ecosystems contain both biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) components.
Plants, animals, and other organisms are examples of biotic factors.
5. Biome- A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant
communities.
 A biome is simply a large environment that is characterized by various abiotic
(e.g., temperature, precipitation amounts, pH, light intensity, and so on) and
biotic factors.
 Biomes can be classified in a variety of ways. One of them is based on the
weather—whether it is hot, dry, cold, rainy, or humid. Biomes form as a result
of physical climates, which affect soil, precipitation, and wildlife.
6. Biosphere- The portion of earth that supports life is called the biosphere. The
biosphere extends several km up in the atmosphere to the deepest parts of the
oceans.
  The biosphere is comprised of all ecosystems that exist on Earth. The
biosphere encompasses everything from deep tree root systems to the dark
environments of ocean trenches, lush rain forests, high mountaintops, and
transition zones like this one, where ocean and terrestrial ecosystems collide.
What is Ecosystem?
1. The simplest definition of an ecosystem is that it is a community or group of living
organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment
(Ecosystem: Definition, Importance, Examples, Human Causes and Effects, 2020)
 An ecosystem is a natural unit that is the focus of ecology research. It includes
all of the biotic and abiotic factors in a given area, as well as their interactions.
 The size of ecosystems can vary. A lake could be thought of as an ecosystem.
A dead log on the forest floor could do the same. Both the lake and the log are
home to a diverse range of species that interact with one another and with
abiotic factors.
Natural Ecosystem- Totally dependent on solar radiation e.g. forests, grasslands, oceans,
lakes, rivers, and deserts. They provide food, fuel, fodder, and medicines.
 Solar radiation and energy subsidies (alternative sources) such as wind, rain, and tides
are critical to natural ecosystems. Tropical rain forests, tidal estuaries, and coral reefs
are examples.
Manmade Ecosystem- Dependent on solar energy-e.g. agricultural fields and aquaculture
ponds.

 Dependent on fossil fuel e.g. urban and industrial ecosystems.

Ecosystem services are the multitude of benefits that nature provides to society. 

Ecosystem services make human life possible by, for example, providing nutritious food and
clean water, regulating disease and climate, supporting the pollination of crops and soil
formation, and providing recreational, cultural and spiritual benefits. 

Types of Ecosystem Services

 Provisioning services- goods that directly benefit people.

- When people are asked to identify a service provided by nature, most think of
food. Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish, and livestock are available to us as direct
products of ecosystems.
- A provisioning service is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from
nature. Along with food, other types of provisioning services include drinking
water, timber, wood fuel, natural gas, oils, plants that can be made into clothes
and other materials, and medicinal benefits.

 Regulating services- processes that moderate natural phenomena

 - A regulating service is the benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate
natural phenomena. Regulating services include pollination, decomposition, water
purification, erosion and flood control, and carbon storage and climate regulation.
- Ecosystems provide many of the basic services that make life possible for people.
Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, bees pollinate
flowers, and tree roots hold soil in place to prevent erosion. All these processes
work together to make ecosystems clean, sustainable, functional, and resilient to
change. 

 Cultural Services- a non- material benefit that contributes to people’s

intellectual, cultural and social development.

- A cultural service is a non-material benefit that contributes to the development

and cultural advancement of people, including how ecosystems play a role in
local, national, and global cultures; the building of knowledge and the spreading
of ideas; creativity born from interactions with nature (music, art, architecture);
and recreation.

 Supporting services- indirect or very long-term impacts on people, but underlie

other ecosystem services, particularly provisioning services.

- The natural world provides so many services, sometimes we overlook the most
fundamental. Ecosystems themselves couldn't be sustained without the
consistency of underlying natural processes, such as photosynthesis, nutrient
cycling, the creation of soils, and the water cycle. These processes allow the Earth
to sustain basic life forms, let alone whole ecosystems and people. Without
supporting services, provisional, regulating, and cultural services wouldn't exist.

What shapes an Ecosystem?

 There are two types of environmental factors that shapes our ecosystem: abiotic and
biotic. The nonliving aspects of the environment are referred to as abiotic factors.
They include elements like sunlight, soil, temperature, and water. The living aspects
of the environment are referred to as biotic factors.

(a) Abiotic components (Nonliving):

The abiotic component can be grouped into the following three categories:

1. Physical factors: Sunlight, temperature, rainfall, humidity, and pressure. They sustain

and limit the growth of organisms in an ecosystem.
2. Inorganic substances: Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, Sulphur,
water, rock, soil, and other minerals.
3. Organic compounds: Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and humic substances. They
are the building blocks of living systems and therefore, make a link between the biotic
and abiotic components.

(b) Biotic components (Living)

1. Producers: The green plants manufacture food for the entire ecosystem through the
process of photosynthesis. Green plants are called autotrophs, as they absorb water
and nutrients from the soil, carbon dioxide from the air, and capture solar energy for
this process.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS
The process by which green plants and certain other organisms convert light energy
into chemical energy is known as photosynthesis. Light energy is captured and used
by green plants during photosynthesis to convert water, carbon dioxide, and
minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.
2.
CHEMOSYNTHESIS

Chemosynthesis occurs in bacteria and other organisms and involves the use of

energy released by inorganic chemical reactions to produce food. All
chemosynthetic organisms use energy released by chemical reactions to make a
sugar, but different species use different pathways.

Consumers: They are called heterotrophs and they consume food synthesized by the
autotrophs. Based on food preferences they can be grouped into three broad
categories. Herbivores (e.g. cow, deer, and rabbit, etc.) feed directly on plants,
carnivores are animals which eat other animals (e.g. lion, cat, dog, etc.) and
omnivore’s organisms feeding upon plants and animals e.g. human, pigs, and sparrow.
3. Decomposers: Also called saprotrophs. These are mostly bacteria and fungi that feed
on dead decomposed and the dead organic matter of plants and animals by secreting
enzymes outside their body on the decaying matter. They play a very important role in
recycling nutrients. They are also called detrivores or detritus feeders.

Feeding Interactions

Energy flows through an ecosystem in one direction—from the sun or inorganic compounds
to autotrophs (producers) and then to heterotrophs (consumers)
 - Energy is transferred from producers to consumers by organisms in food webs.
Organisms use energy to carry out complex tasks. The vast majority of energy in
food webs comes from the sun and is converted (transformed) into chemical
energy by the photosynthesis process in plants.

Food chain- It is a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being
eaten

1. Arrows go in the direction of how energy is transferred

2. Start with producer and end with top consumer or carnivore

- A food chain is the transfer of food energy from green plants (producers) through
a series of organisms with repeated eating and being eaten. A trophic level is the
name given to each step in the food chain.

Two Types of Food Chain

1. Grazing food chains: This starts from the green plants that make food for herbivores and
herbivores in turn for the carnivores.

2. Detritus food chains: start from the dead organic matter to the detrivores organisms which
in turn make food for protozoan to carnivores, etc.

Food Web

A food web is a detailed interconnecting diagram that shows the overall food
relationships between organisms in a particular environment. It can be described as a
"who eats whom" diagram that shows the complex feeding relationships for a
particular ecosystem.

- Trophic levels in an ecosystem are not linear rather they are interconnected and
make a food web. Thus food web is a network of interconnected food chains
existing in an ecosystem. One animal may be a member of several different
food chains. Food webs are more realistic models of energy flow through an
ecosystem.

Energy Pyramid

 An energy pyramid, also known as a trophic or ecological pyramid, is a graphical

representation of the energy found within the trophic levels of an ecosystem. 

Energy Pyramid shows relative amount of energy available at each trophic level.

 Organisms in a trophic level use the available energy for life processes (such as
growth, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, metabolism, etc.) and release some
energy as heat.
Remember: Every chemical process that happens in your body releases heat as a byproduct
(ex: burning calories).

 Rule of 10—only about 10% of the available energy within a trophic level is
transferred to the next higher trophic level.

- According to the ten percent rule, each trophic level can only give 10% of its
energy to the next level. The remaining 90% is used to live, grow, and reproduce
before being lost to the environment as heat. All energy pyramids begin with Sun
energy that is transferred to the first trophic level of producers.

Biomass Pyramid

 A biomass pyramid shows the flow of energy between various levels. Producers and
consumers make up the biomass pyramid, which displays all their comparative masses
at the same time. To create the biomass pyramid, the approximate masses are stacked
up according to a well-established hierarchy (What Is a Biomass Pyramid? |
TheEarthProject.com, 2016)

- A biomass pyramid depicts the population at each level of a food chain. The
pyramid's bottom level depicts producers, the next level depicts primary
consumers, the third level depicts secondary consumers, and so on. A biomass
pyramid is useful for quantifying the biomass produced by organisms at each
trophic level. This pyramid starts with the producer, which is usually the plants at
the bottom of the pyramid. Primary consumers come after the producers.

Relationship of Pyramid of Biomass and Pyramid of Energy

Because matter and energy are directly proportional (as the amount of energy increases, so
does the amount of matter/biomass), the producer level has the most biomass and the tertiary
consumers have the least.

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

 The movement of nutrient elements through the various components of an

ecosystem is called nutrient cycling. Another name of nutrient cycling is
biogeochemical cycles (bio: living organism, geo: rocks, air, and water)
- These cycles transport the elements required for life to survive throughout the
ecosystem. They are essential because they recycle and store elements, as well as
regulate vital elements through physical facets.

Carbon Cycles

 The carbon cycle describes the process in which carbon atoms continually travel from
the atmosphere to the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. 
 The global carbon cycle consists of following steps:
 Photosynthesis
 Respiration
  Decomposition
 Combustion
- Of all the biogeochemical cycles, the carbon cycle is the most important. All life
is composed of carbon compounds of one form or another. That is why it is of
such grave concern today that human activities since the Industrial Revolution
have modified the carbon cycle in significant ways.

The global carbon cycle consists of following steps-

Photosynthesis:

- Green plants in the presence of sunlight utilize CO2 in the process of

photosynthesis and convert the inorganic carbon into organic matter (food)
and release oxygen. Annually 4-9 x 10 13 kg of CO2 is fixed by green plants of
the entire biosphere. Forests acts as reservoirs of CO2 as carbon fixed by the
trees remain stored in them for a long due to their long life cycles. Avery large
amount of CO2 is released through forest fires.

Respiration:

- Respiration is carried out by all living organisms. It is a metabolic process where

food is oxidized to liberate energy, CO2, and water. The energy released from
respiration is used for carrying out life processes by living organisms (plants,
animals, decomposers, etc.). Thus CO2 is released into the atmosphere through
this process.

Decomposition:

All the food assimilated by animals or synthesized by plants is not metabolized by

them completely. A major part is retained by them as their own biomass which
becomes available to decomposers on their death. The dead organic matter is
decomposed by microorganisms and CO2 is released into the atmosphere by
decomposers.

Combustion:

- The burning of biomass releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Nitrogen Cycle

The nitrogen cycle refers to the cycle of nitrogen atoms through the living and non-living
systems of Earth. The nitrogen cycle is vital for life on Earth. Through the cycle, atmospheric
nitrogen is converted to a form which plants can incorporate into new proteins.

Five main process in Nitrogen Cycling:

 Nitrogen Fixation
 Nitrification
  Assimilation
 Ammonification
 Denitrification

- Nitrogen is an essential component of protein and required by all living

organisms including human beings.

- Our atmosphere contains nearly 79% of nitrogen but it cannot be used

directly by the majority of living organisms.

There are five main processes which essential for nitrogen cycle are elaborated below.

- (a) Nitrogen fixation: This process involves the conversion of gaseous nitrogen

into Ammonia, a form in which it can be used by plants. 

- (b) Nitrification: It is a process by which ammonia is converted into nitrates or

nitrites by Nitrosomonas and Nitrococcus bacteria respectively. Another soil
bacterium Nitrobacter can convert nitrate into nitrite.

- (c) Assimilation: In this process nitrogen fixed by plants is converted into

organic molecules such as proteins, DNA, RNA, etc. These molecules make the
plant and animal tissue.

- (d) Ammonification: Living organisms produce nitrogenous waste products

such as urea and uric acid. These waste products as well as dead remains of
organisms are converted back into inorganic ammonia by the bacteria. This
process is called ammonification. Ammonifying bacteria help in this process.

- (e) Denitrification: Conversion of nitrates back into gaseous nitrogen is called

denitrification. Denitrifying bacteria live deep in the soil near the water table as
they like to live in the oxygen-free medium. Denitrification is the reverse of
nitrogen fixation.

Water Cycle

The water cycle describes how water is exchanged (cycled) through Earth's land, ocean,
and atmosphere. 

Process in Water Cycling:

 Evaporation

 Condensation

 Precipitation

- Water is essential for life. No organism can survive without water. 

- Liquid water evaporates into water vapor, condenses to form clouds, and
precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow. 
Phosphorus Cycle

Phosphorus cycle is the circulation of phosphorus in various forms through nature. Of all the
elements recycled in the biosphere, phosphorus is the scarcest and therefore the one most
limiting in any given ecological system.

- Phosphorus is a major constituent of biological membranes, nucleic acids,

and cellular energy transfer systems. Many animals also need large quantities of
this element to make shells, bones, and teeth. The natural reservoir of
phosphorus is rock, which contains phosphorus in the form of phosphates.

- When rocks are weathered, minute amounts of these phosphates dissolve in soil

solution and are absorbed by the roots of the plants. Herbivores and other
animals obtain this element from plants. The waste products and the dead
organisms are decomposed by phosphate solubilizing bacteria releasing
phosphorus. Unlike the carbon cycle, there is no respiratory release of
phosphorus into the atmosphere.

Ecological succession

- Ecological Succession is a series of progressive changes in the composition of an

ecological community over time.

Primary succession
- Primary succession takes place over bare or unoccupied areas such as rock
outcrop, newly formed deltas, and sand dunes, emerging Volcano Islands and
lava flows as well as glacial moraines (muddy area exposed by a retreating
glacier) where no community has existed previously.
- The plants that invade first bare land, where the soil is initially absent are
called pioneer species. The assemblage of pioneer plants is collectively called the
pioneer community. A pioneer species generally show a high growth rate but a
short life span.

Secondary succession
- Secondary succession is the development of a community which forms after
the existing natural vegetation that constitutes a community is removed,
disturbed, or destroyed by a natural event like a hurricane or forest fire or by
human-related events like tilling or harvesting the land.

- Secondary succession is relatively fast as the soil has the necessary nutrients as
well as a large pool of seeds and other dormant stages of organisms.

Ecological exclusion principle

  The competitive exclusion principle says that two species can't coexist if they
occupy exactly the same niche (competing for identical resources).

Niche

 A species' niche is basically its ecological role, which is defined by the set of

conditions, resources, and interactions it needs (or can make use of).
 Example: The ecological niche of a sunflower growing in the backyard includes
absorbing light, water and nutrients (for photosynthesis), providing shelter and food
for other organisms (e.g. bees, ants, etc.), and giving off oxygen into the atmosphere.