1. Ecology is the study of the relationships between living things and their environment. It includes the relationships between species as well as their interactions with abiotic environmental factors. 2. There are several subfields of ecology including plant ecology, animal ecology, microbial ecology, and environmental science which focuses on environmental protection. 3. Ecology is applied in various medical fields to understand the genetic and environmental causes of diseases and their transmission. Key ecological concepts like populations, ecosystems, food webs, and interspecific relationships are important in medicine.

1. Ecology I. Introduction to ecology

2. Ecology The science of the study of the relationships between living things and their environment The environment could be : Biotic = other species Nonbiological (abiotic) = physical, chemical, geographical, geological factors

3. Ecological sciences General ecology Plant ecology, animal ecology, microbial ecology Environmental science Environmental protection and management Hydrobiology (water ecosystems) Limnology (freshwater ecosystems) Environmental geology and geography

4. Applications of ecology in medicine Medical ecology Preventive medicine (hygiene) Social medicine Epidemiology Toxicology Genotoxicology – deals with mutagenic effects of environmental factors Medical parasitology Medical microbiology Alergology Geographic medicine Medical geology

5. Genetic and environmental background of diseases INHERITANCE ENVIRONMENT (genetic factors) (environmental factors) Diabetes mellitus Tumor diseases Phenylketonuria Injuries Infections Cystic fibrosis Intoxications Color blindness Deafness

6. Basic ecological terms

7. Population A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area or interbreeding and sharing genetic information. Population of species A Population of species B

8. Ecosystem Ecological community + nonbiological factors The minimum system that includes and sustains life It must include: An autotroph A decomposer A source of energy All the chemical elements required by the autotroph and the decomposer

9. Ecosystem Abiotic factors Community Population of species A Population of species B Population of species C

10. Food web (trophic „chain“) Producers (green plants, algae, autotrophic bacteria) Primary consumers (herbivores) Secodary consumers (carnivores) Decomposers (heterotrophic bacteria, fungi) Decay of organic matter Release of inorganic nutrients Solar energy

11. Energy flow within food web Biomass of producers Biomass of primary consumers Loss of energy Loss of energy Biomass of secondary consumers

12. Interspecific relations – + Competition – + Predation – + Parasitism Species A produces compounds harmful for species B – 0 (+?) Allelopathy (inhibition) Closed relation + + Mutualism („symbiosis“) Free relation + + Protocooperation 0 + Commensalism No relation, neither effects the other 0 0 Neutralism Species B Species A Relation

13. Commensalism: One species benefits, the other doesn't but is not harmed .

14. Interspecific relations – + Competition – + Predation – + Parasitism Species A produces compounds harmful for species B – 0 (+?) Allelopathy (inhibition) Closed relation + + Mutualism („symbiosis“) Free relation + + Protocooperation 0 + Commensalism No relation, neither effects the other 0 0 Neutralism Species B Species A Relation

15. Protocooperation A hermit crab and the sea anemone

16. Interspecific relations – + Competition – + Predation – + Parasitism Species A produces compounds harmful for species B – 0 (+?) Allelopathy (inhibition) Closed relation + + Mutualism („symbiosis“) Free relation + + Protocooperation 0 + Commensalism No relation, neither effects the other 0 0 Neutralism Species B Species A Relation

17. Mutualism Giant Clam Tridacna squamosa The mantle (soft tissue) within the shell is brightly coloured brown, blue and/or green. This is due to the microscopic algae known as zooxanthellae living inside the tissues which photosynthesise (manufacture food) from sunlight and the waste metabolic products of the clam. They are then "harvested" by the clam as supplementary food. Despite being "farmed" this way, the algae are assured of a safe "residence" and a continued supply of nutrients.

18. Another example of mutualism - lichens

19. Interspecific relations – + Competition – + Predation – + Parasitism Species A produces compounds harmful for species B . „ antibiosis“ – 0 (+?) Allelopathy (inhibition) Closed relation + + Mutualism („symbiosis“) Free relation + + Protocooperation 0 + Commensalism No relation, neither effects the other 0 0 Neutralism Species B Species A Relation

20. Antibiosis Epicoccum nigrum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Antibiosis test of bacteria

21. Interspecific relations – + Competition – + Predation – + Parasitism Species A produces compounds harmful for species B . „ antibiosis“ – 0 (+?) Allelopathy (inhibition) Closed relation + + Mutualism („symbiosis“) Free relation + + Protocooperation 0 + Commensalism No relation, neither effects the other 0 0 Neutralism Species B Species A Relation

22. Parasites in humans Viruses Bacteria Fungi (e.g. some parasitic yeasts) Protozoa or Protista (e.g. Trypanosoma, Plasmodium, Toxoplasma) Flatworms (e.g. liver fluke) Roundworms (e.g. ascarid) Insects (e.g. mosquito) Arachnoids (e.g. tick)

23. Microbiology and parasitology Viruses Bacteria Fungi Protozoa Flatworms Roundworms Insects Arachnoids Medical microbiology Medical parasitolgy

24. Plasmodium – a typical parasite transmitted by mosquito

25. See you next week! Practicals – a short test in basic ecology is not excluded!