2. Ecology – The meaning
• Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living
organisms have with respect to each other and their natural
environment.
• Ecology is defined as 'the interdisciplinary scientific study of
the distribution and wealth of organisms and their
interactions with their environment.'
• Ecology can be defined as the study of the relationships of
organisms with their living and nonliving environment.
• Ecology is how living and non-living things affect each other in
their environment.
3. Objective of Ecology
• General ecological principles, including population dynamics,
speciation, the importance of hybridization and co evolution,
and mechanisms of speciation
• Community structure, energy flow in ecosystems,
biogeochemical cycles, and ecological succession
• Biomes and the factors that differentiate one biome from
another (e.g., overall productivity, climate, etc.)
• The global ecological and environmental problems associated
with man’s impact on the biosphere (past, present, and
future) relative to man’s role as steward of God’s creation
4. Ecosystem
• Ecosystems are dynamic interrelated collections of living and
non-living components organized in self-regulating units.
• Ecosystems are dynamic interactions between plants, animals,
and microorganisms and their environment working together
as a functional unit.
• An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between all living
and non-living things
5. Major parts of Ecosystem
The major parts of an ecosystem are:
• Soil
• Atmosphere
• Heat and Light from the Sun,
• Water
• Living organisms
6. Type of Ecosystem
Natural Ecosystems
• The Forest Ecosystem
• The Desert Ecosystem
• The Grassland Ecosystem
• The Mountain Ecosystem
• The Water Ecosystems
• The Marine Ecosystem
• The Freshwater Ecosystem
7. Artificial Ecosystems
They are also called man-made or man-
engineered ecosystems. They are maintained
artificially by man where, by addition of
energy and planned manipulation, natural
balance is distrurbed regularly, e.g. croplands
such as sugarcane, wheat, rice-fields; gardens,
villages, cities, dams, aquarium etc…
8. Classification and Function of
Ecosystem
Regulatory functions:
• This group of functions relates to the capacity of natural and semi-
natural ecosystems to regulate essential ecological processes and
life support systems through bio-geochemical cycles and other
biosphere processes. In addition to maintaining the ecosystem (and
biosphere health), these regulatory functions provide many services
that have direct and indirect benefits to humans (i.e., clean air,
water and soil, and biological control services).
9. Habitat(home) functions:
• Natural ecosystems provide protection and a reproduction
habitat to wild plants and animals and thereby contribute to
the (in situ) conservation of biological and genetic diversity
and the evolutionary process.
10. Production functions:
• Photosynthesis and nutrient uptake by autotrophy
converts energy, carbon dioxide, water and nutrients into
a wide variety of carbohydrate structures which are then
used by secondary producers to create an even larger
variety of living biomass.
• This broad diversity in carbohydrate structures provides
many ecosystem goods for human consumption, ranging
from food and raw materials to energy resources and
genetic material.
11. Information functions:
• Since most of human evolution took place within the
context of an undomesticated habitat, natural ecosystems
provide an essential 'reference function' and contribute to
the maintenance of human health by providing
opportunities for reflection, spiritual enrichment, cognitive
development, recreation and aesthetic experience.
12. 2.1. Regulation functions and related ecosystem
services
2.1.1. Gas regulation
2.1.2. Climate regulation
2.1.3. Disturbance prevention
2.1.4. Water regulation
2.1.5. Water supply
2.1.6. Soil retention
2.1.7. Soil formation
2.1.8. Nutrient cycling
2.1.9. Waste treatment
2.1.10. Pollination
2.1.11. Biological control
2.2. Habitat functions and related ecosystem
services
2.2.1. Refugium function
2.2.2. Nursery function
2.3. Production functions and related ecosystem
goods and services
2.3.1. Food
2.3.2. Raw materials
2.3.3. Genetic resources
2.3.4. Medicinal resources
2.3.5. Ornamental resources
2.4. Information functions and related ecosystem
goods and services
2.4.1. Aesthetic information
2.4.2. Recreation and (eco)tourism
2.4.3. Cultural and artistic inspiration
2.4.4. Spiritual and historic information
2.4.5. Scientific and educational information
13. Components of ecosystem-Producers,
Consumers, Decomposers
• Producers are organisms, like green plants, that produce organic
compounds from inorganic compounds. These are also a type of
autotroph. Then green plants, for example, are eaten by consumers in this
case, grazing animals like the zebra.
• An autotroph is an organism that makes its own food from inorganic
substances. It is then eaten by a consumer if it is a plant for example.
• A consumer is the organisms that obtain nutrients from other organisms.
This is also a heterotroph.
• A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce their own food and
must obtain it ready made.
• A decomposer is an organism of decay. These are also called saprobes.
They break down the remains of dead animals and plants, releasing the
substances that can be used by other members of the ecosystem.
