Introduction
to Ecology
Learning
Outcomes
•
•
•
Explain the nature and scope
of ecology.
Describe examples of the ways
in which ecology requires
integration of different
scientific disciplines.
Define sustainable
development in the context of
ecological and environmental
perspectives.
What is
Ecology?

The study of
relationships
among
organisms and
between
organisms and
the physical
environment.
Importance of Ecology
Importance
of Ecology
Ecology and
Sustainability
Sustainability- focuses on
meeting the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their
needs.
• Sustainable development
connotes a process by which
human potential is improved and
the environment (the resource
base) is used and managed to
supply humanity on a long-term
basis.
•
Ecology as an Interdisciplinary Science
How does ecology relate to
other sciences?
Physiological
Ecology
Evolutionary
Ecology
Political Ecology
Behavioral
Ecology
Concerned with how the individual organism
meets the challenges of its physicochemical
environment and how the organism’s limits of
tolerance
for
environmental
stresses
determine where it can live.
Studies the evolutionary histories of species
and their interactions ex. distribution and
abundance of organisms are products of long
term evolutionary changes as well as ongoing
interactions with the environment.
Connects politics and economy to problems
of environmental control and ecological
change.
Examines the roles of behavior in enabling an
animal to adapt to its environment.
How does ecology relate to
other sciences?
Studies the extension of our modern knowledge
in molecular genetics to studies of viability,
gene expression and gene movements in
natural environments.
Ecological
Examines how ecosystems are affected by
Climatology
climate.
System ecology
Focuses on the study, development and
organization of ecological systems from a
holistic perspective.
Landscape ecology Concerned with spatial patterns in the
landscape and how they develop, with an
emphasis on the role of disturbance, including
human impacts. The goal is to predict the
responses of different organisms to changes in
landscape, to ultimately facilitate ecosystem
management.
Ecological
Genetics
Subdivisions of Ecology
Autecology is the study of
individual organisms in their
environment or simply the
ecology of the individual
organism.
Subdivisions
of Ecology
Synecology is the study of
interrelationships between
groups of organisms
(populations or
communities) and the
environment.
Hierarchy of Biological Organization
Individual Ecology
Focus
on
• physiology
• behavior
Population Ecology
Centered on the
factors influencing
population structure
and process
Community Ecology
Concentrates on
the organisms
inhabiting an area
Ecosystem Ecology
Includes physical
and chemical
factors influencing
the community
Landscape Ecology
Study the exchanges
between ecosystem
Vegetated corridors
Biome Ecology

Biome – a group of
ecosystems that
have the same
climate and similar
dominant
communities.
Global Ecology
Examples of questions asked
Ecophysiology – How does an organism
adapt to temperature extremes?
 Population – Is the population increasing or
decreasing, and why? What controls
population size?
 Community – Who eats whom? What
happens to the community when you remove
a top predator?

Examples of questions asked
Ecosystems – What controls the flow of energy
and nutrients through an ecosystem?
 Landscape – What happens to adjacent
communities as a forest becomes fragmented
into smaller patches?
 Global – How is the biosphere responding to
increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?

Emergent Property
Emergent
Property
Emergent Property

Synergy
An emergent property
is a characteristic an
entity gains when it
becomes part of a
bigger system.
Emergent properties
help living organisms
better adapt to their
environments and
increase their chances
of survival.
Emergent Property
When a certain algae and
cnidaria organisms evolve
together to produce a coral, an
efficient nutrient cycling
mechanism is created that
enables the combined system
to maintain a high rate of
productivity in waters with low
nutrient content.
Emergent Property
Transcending Functions

Basic functions
that operate at all
levels in the
hierarchy
Transcending Functions
Behavior
Develop
-ment
Diversity
Evolution
Regulation
Energetics
Integration
Transcending Functions

Positive and
negative feedback
controls are
universal
Ability of an organism to
maintain a stable internal
environment.
With set points
Homeostasis
ex. body temperature (36.5°C37.5°C)
ex. blood glucose level (75-110
mg/100 ml)
Homeostasis
Homeorhesis
property of a
dynamical system
to return to a
particular trajectory
after external
perturbation
 no set points
 ex. ecological
succession

Homeorhesis
End of
Presentation