Ecology – Principles and Organizations

• The term ecology was derived from two Greek words ‘Oikos’ meaning
home (not the house or building or residential complex where you live, but
what your exact location or position amongst nature, i.e. the ecosystem)
and ‘logos’ meaning study. The word "ecology" ("Ökologie") was coined
in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel.
• is the branch of biology concerned with the relations of organisms to one
another (energy flow and mineral cycling) and to their physical
surroundings (environment).
• is the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between
organisms and their environment, including other organisms.
• is the set of relationships existing between organisms and their
environment:
• the set of relationships existing between any complex system and its
surroundings or environment:
Levels of Organizations in Ecology
• Ecology encompasses the study of individual, organisms, population,
community, ecosystem, biome and biosphere which form the various
levels of ecological organisation.

What is a species?
It is a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of
exchanging genes or interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic
unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g. Homo sapiens.
Species is the structural and functional unit of an ecosystem. A species is the
basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit
of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in
which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types
can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of
defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour
or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of
the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined.
Individual
• Organism is an individual living being that has the ability to act or function
independently.
• Species are a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals
capable of exchanging genes or of interbreeding.
• They are considered as the basic unit of taxonomy and are denoted by a
Latin binomial, e.g. Homo sapiens.
• Eg. 1 tiger
Population
• Population is a community of interbreeding organisms (same species),
occupying a defined area during a specific time.
• Population growth rate can be positive due to birth and/or immigration or
negative due to death and/or emigration.

• In the case of large, mobile animals like tigers, leopards, lions, deer etc.,
the population density may be determined by counting
the pugmarks (foot imprints) left by the animals in a defined area.
• Study of pug marks can provide the following information reliably:
• Presence of different species in the area of study.
• Identification of individual animals.
• Population of large cats (tigers, lions etc.).
• Sex ratio and age (young or adult) of large cats. (sex of tigers can be
determined from pugmarks)

• Eg. 20 cows form a population of the species tiger.

Community
• Communities in most instances are named after the dominant plant form.
 • For example, a grassland community is dominated by grasses, though it
may contain herbs, trees, etc.
• Eg. 20 tigers and 30000 deers.
Major Communities
• These are large sized and relatively independent.
• They depend only on the sun’s energy from outside. E.g. Tropical
evergreen forests.
Minor Communities
• These are dependent on neighbouring communities and are often
called societies.
• They are secondary aggregations within a major community. E.g. A mat of
lichen on a cow dung pad.
Ecosystem
• An ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting with each other and
with their environment such that energy is exchanged and system-level
processes, such as the cycling of elements, emerge.
• The term "ecosystem" was first used in 1935 in a publication by British
ecologist Sir Arthur George Tansley. Tansley devised the concept to
draw attention to the importance of transfers of materials between
organisms and their environment. He later refined the term, describing it
as "The whole system, ... including not only the organism-complex, but
also the whole complex of physical factors forming what we call the
environment". Tansley regarded ecosystems not simply as natural units,
but as "mental isolates". Tansley later defined the spatial extent of
ecosystems using the term "ecotope".
Biome
• A biome is a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna
occupying a major habitat. E.g. Rainforest biome or tundra biome.
• Plants and animals in a biome have common characteristics due to similar
climates and can be found over a range of continents.
• Biomes are distinct from habitats because any biome can comprise a
variety of habitats.
Biosphere
 • The biosphere includes all living organisms on earth, together with the
dead organic matter produced by them.
Importance of studying ecology
We depend on our surrounding ecosystem for two most important factors
responsible for our survival:
1. Fuel for energy
2. An oxidising agent to burn that fuel – We are aerobic organisms and use
the atmospheric O2 as an oxidising agent to burn the fuel. Anaerobic
organisms do not require O2. For example, sulphur reducing bacteria use S
as an oxidising agent, and produce H2S gas. This is why we get a foul odour
around highly polluted anaerobic waterbodies or sewage canals.

Principles of Ecology
Adaptation
• An adaptation is, “the appearance or behaviour or structure or mode of life
of an organism that allows it to survive in a particular environment”.
Adaptation may be:
• Morphological – when trees grew higher, the giraffe’s neck got longer;
• Physiological – in the absence of an external source of water, the kangaroo
rat in North American deserts is capable of meeting all its water
requirements through its internal fat oxidation (in which water is a by-
product). It also has the ability to concentrate its urine so that minimal
volume of water is used to remove excretory products;
• Behavioural – animals migrating temporarily to a less stressful habitat.
Examples of Adaptation
• Many desert plants have a thick cuticle on their leaf surfaces and have
their stomata arranged in deep pits to minimise water loss through
transpiration.
• Some desert plants like Opuntia, have no leaves – they are reduced
to spines, and the photosynthetic function is taken over by the flattened
stems (few leaves mean less area is available for transpiration).
 • Mammals from colder climates generally have shorter ears and limbs to
minimise heat loss. (This is called Allen’s Rule.) Guess why an elephant
has huge ears?
• We need to breathe faster when we are on high mountains. After some
days, our body adjusts to the changed conditions on the high mountain.
• Such small changes that take place in the body of a single organism over
short periods, to overcome small problems due to changes in the
surroundings, are called acclimatisation.
• The body compensates low oxygen availability by increasing red blood
cell production, decreasing the binding capacity of haemoglobin and
by increasing breathing rate.
• A hyperthermophile is an organism that thrives in extremely hot
environments — from 60 °C. E.g. Archaebacteria flourish in hot springs
and deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
• Desert lizards lack the physiological ability that mammals have. They bask
in the sun and absorb heat when their body temperature drops but move
into the shade when the ambient temperature starts increasing.
• Some species are capable of burrowing into the soil to hide and escape
from the above-ground heat.
Variation
• Variations are induced by changes in genetic makeup due to addition or
deletion of certain genes.
• Mutations, change in climate, geographical barriers etc. induce
variations over a period of time.
• The difference in the colour of skin, type of hair; curly or straight, eye
colour, blood type among different ethnic groups represents variation
within human species.
Adaptive radiation
• Adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify from an
ancestral species into a multitude of new forms when the environment
creates new challenges or opens new environmental niches.

Speciation
• Speciation is the process by which new species are formed, and evolution
is the mechanism by which speciation is brought about.
• A species comprises of many populations. Often different populations of a
species remain isolated due to some geographic barrier such as mountain,
ocean, river, etc.
• Geographic isolation leads to speciation (allopatric speciation or
geographic speciation).
 • After a long period of time, the sub-populations become very different
(genetic drift) and get isolated, reproductively, i.e. they no longer
interbreed.
• Later even when the barrier is removed, the sub-populations are unable to
interbreed, and thus subsequently the sub-populations become two
different species.
Mutation
• Mutation (a change in genetic material that results from an error in
replication of DNA) causes new genes to arise in a population.
• Further, in a sexually reproducing population, meiosis and fertilisation
produce a new combination of genes every generation, which is
termed recombination.
• Thus, members of the same species show ‘variation’ and are not identical.
Natural Selection
• Natural Selection is the mechanism proposed by Darwin and Wallace.
• Natural selection is the process by which species adapt to their
environment.
• It is an evolutionary force that selects among variations, i.e. genes that
help the organism to better adapt to its environment. Such genes are
reproduced more in a population due to natural selection.
 • Those offsprings which are suited to their immediate environment have a
better chance of surviving, reaching reproductive age and passing on the
suitable adaptations to their progeny.
Evolution
• Evolution is the change which gives rise to new species.
• It happens in order to make the organism better suitable to the present
environment.

• Evolution involves the processes of natural selection, adaptation, variation

etc.
• A valid theory of evolution was propounded by Charles Darwin and Alfred
Wallace in 1859.
• This theory has been extended in the light of progress in genetics and is
known as Neo-Darwinism.
Extinction
• The primary reason behind extinctions is environmental change or
biological competition.
• Extinction occurs when species cannot evolve fast enough to cope with the
changing environment.
 • At present, the 6th Mass Extinction (Anthropogenic Extinction – human
induced) is in progress.
Q. The term “sixth mass extinction/sixth extinction” is often mentioned in
the news in the context of the discussion of (2018)
a. Widespread monoculture practices in agriculture and large-scale
commercial farming with indiscriminate use of chemicals in many parts of
the world that may result in the loss of good native ecosystems.
b. Fears of a possible collision of a meteorite with the Earth in the near future
in the manner it happened 65 million years ago that caused the mass
extinction of many species including those of dinosaurs. .
c. Large scale cultivation of genetically modified crops in many parts of the
world and promoting their cultivation in other parts of the world which
may cause the disappearance of good native crop plants and the loss of
food biodiversity.
d. Mankind’s over-exploitation/misuse of natural resources,
fragmentation/loss of natural habitats, destruction of ecosystems, pollution
and global climate change.
Answer: d)
Q. Which of the following are true?
1. The presence of specific features or certain habits, which enable a plant or
an animal to live in its surroundings, is called evolution.
2. The surroundings where an organism lives is called its habitat.
3. Small changes that take place in the body of a single organism over short
periods, to overcome small problems due to changes in the surroundings,
is called acclimatization
4. Gradual changes in an organism to survive in an environment is call
adaptation
Codes:
a. All
b. 2,3 only
c. 1,2,4 only
d. 1,2,3 only
Explanation:
• The presence of specific features or certain habits, which enable a plant or
an animal to live in its surroundings, is called adaptation and not evolution.
E.g. Hibernation.
• The surroundings where an organism lives is called its habitat. (True)
• Small changes that take place in the body of a single organism over short
periods, to overcome small problems due to changes in the surroundings,
is called acclimatization (True). E.g. Soldiers undergo rigorous
acclimatization training before they can serve in harsh climatic regions like
Siachen Glacier.
• Gradual changes in an organism to survive in an environment is call
evolution and not Adaptation. E.g. The evolution of Giraffes neck over a
period of time.
Answer: b) 2,3 only