Learning with fundition: Introduction to Ecology #1

This post is in response to one of the activities of fundition. The activity is such that participants are to take one of the online courses on alison.com and then make a post about what they have learned in the course. The original post about the activity can be found here. This is a post on a lesson titled introduction to ecology

What exactly is ecology?

All living organisms live in a particular place, be it in air, water or land. During the course of their lifespan, these organisms interact with the spaces they live. If the definition of biology as the study of living organisms is indeed true (of course, it is !), then the portion of biology that specializes in the study of interaction of living organisms with the physical space they live is referred to as ecology.

^{By Travelplanner, contains artwork from Wikimedia Commons - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link}

Hence, depending on the kind of organism being studied, appellation can be attached as appriopriate. For example, we can have microbial ecology if it involves the study of interaction of microorganisms with their physical environment, plant ecology for the interaction of plants with environment and so on and so forth. It is however pertinent to understand that the physical space that organisms lives (which technically is the environment) is made up of both living and non-living components. The living components are referred to as biotic factors while the non-living components are referred to as abiotic factors respectively.

Generally, organisms tend to interact with other organisms that constitute the biotic components of the environment. These interactions can take different forms; while some are beneficial to the organisms, some could be harmful while a host of others could be neutral. Similarly, organisms interact with non-living components of the environment such as climate, soil etc.

Levels of Ecological studies

When it comes to the study of organisms in relation to their physical environment, there are different levels available for them to be studied. Organisms can be studied singly or in groups. The lowest level of ecological study is when organisms are studied individually in relation to their environment, a process that is generally termed autecology. Beyond this, ecological studies can be carried out at the population level.

a population is a group of organisms of the same species with inherent capacity to interbreed and occupying the same geographical area.

Ecology study can also be carried out at the community or ecosystem level. The study of ecology at community level is otherwise known as synecology

An ecological community is a combination of different population of organisms that keeps interacting with one another in a particular habitat.

An ecosystem is a community of different organisms interacting with one another and the non-living component of the environment.

Of what use is Ecological study?

The study of organisms in relation to their environments is carried out largely to understand the abundance, distribution, adaptation and several other processes behind the existence of organisms in different environment. Detailed understanding of distribution and abundance will help ecological managers to make policies that could lead to sustainable use of naturally available resources in the environment.

Ecological studies would also help scientists to understand biodiversity and the best way to exploit their usefulness. Understanding of biodiversity is quite important for the continuous existence of man. The biological resources the planet has to offer have and would continue to serve important purposes such as food, drugs, industrial materials and so on. Through careful studies, the best way to conserve endangered species of important organisms can be reached.

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What are the aims of ecological studies?

Depending on the level of study, the aim of ecological study varies. At individual level, an ecologist might be all out to determine or understand the different characteristics and attributes that enable an individual to be well suited to a particular habitat or environment. These characteristics may be morphological, physiological or even behavioural.

At population level, the focus of ecologists is to estimate the number of organisms in an area as well as the various factors that interacts together to induce a flux in the population size as well as population density. A study of the birth rate, the death rate as well as migration might give an idea of the direction at which the population is growing.

Community ecologists often aims to study and identify the processes that drives interactions within and between populations. Understanding of the interactions would give the ecologist an idea of how the community is structured. Interactions within/among organisms of the same or different populations could be beneficial as well as harmful. These interactions can take different forms including competition for same resources, predation, mutualism, commensalism among many others.

The aim of ecosystem ecology is a combination and extension on the aims of individual, population and community ecology. The study focuses on the interaction of biotic and abiotic component of the environment, energy relationship among organism and its transfer within the communities and cycling of essential nutrients within the environment.

Summary

Ecology is a branch of biology that deals with the study of interaction of living organisms in relation to their environment. The study can be carried out at individual, population, community or ecosystem levels. The main goal is to understand the principles guiding the distribution and abundance of living organisms in the environment.

Thank you all for reading.