FINALS: MODULE 3 ✓ Decomposers (saprotrophs) - bacteria and fungi which cause rotting.

ECOLOGY B. ABIOTIC COMPONENTS

- branch of biology that deals with relations of organisms to one another & their physical surroundings 1. Inorganic substances - nitrogen, carbon, carbon dioxide, water, etc.
- study of the relationships between plants, animals, people & environment & balances between them 2. Organic compounds - carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids
- branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environment 3. Climate regime - rainfall, temperature, humidity and other physical factors.
(2) SUBDIVISION OF ECOLOGY HUMAN IN THE ECOSYSTEM
✓ Autecology: study of the interaction of ✓ Synecology: study of a group of community of THE ROLE OF HUMAN IN THE ECOSYSTEM
an individual organism or a single species organisms and their relationships to each ✓ Humans: most important organisms in the biosphere.
with living & non-living factors of environment. other and to their common environment. - they have great direct and indirect effects in all the ecosystems.
(6) BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY HUMANS AS THE ECOLOGICAL DOMINANT
1. Everything is related to everything else. 1. Humans have the mental and emotional characteristics to which they are allowed to compete more
2. Everything in nature has a purpose. successfully for what they want.
3. Consumption must not exceed production. 2. Humans are distinct species of animals
4. There is strength and quantity in the unity of differences. 3. They can interbreed but cannot crossbreed with other species.
5. Nature is more concerned in improving quality than increasing quantity. 4. They share many anatomical and physiological features in common with all other animals
6. The tendency is towards ecosystem more efficient and effective in its resources. particularly with the other primate animals but possess certain ecological significant features which a
LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION distinguish them from other primates
1. Individual: the simplest level of organization. 5. Have a complete upright posture combined with bipedal locomotion.
- a single species or organisms that resembles one another in appearance, 6. Have hands with large, particularly well-developed thumbs, which can be brought into easy contact
behavior, chemical makeup and processes, and genetic structure with any of the fingers. Capable of grasping, clinging and holding Humans are both predatory and
2. Population: group of organisms of same species living in one place at a time herbivorous.
3. Community: group of populations living and interacting with each other in 7. They can be called omnivore organisms because they are capable of eating plants and animals.
an area. 8. Human brains is exceptionally large in proportion to the size of the body so they are considered the
4. Ecosystem: community of different species interacting with one another most intelligent among the living organisms on earth.
and with their non-living environment. BIODIVERSITY
5. Biome: major regional or global biotic community, like grassland or desert. BIODIVERSITY
THE ECOSYSTEM AND ITS COMPONENTS - measure of the number of species on the planet or in specific area.
ECOSYSTEM - variety of life on earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems and the ecological and evolutionary
- group of organisms and their interaction or interrelationships with the non-living environment. processes that sustain it.
- the interaction of living organisms and non-living organisms. 3 KINDS OF BIODIVERSITY
COMPONENTS OF ECOSYSTEM 1. Genetic biodiversity: measure of the variety of versions of the same genes within individual species.
A. BIOTIC COMPONENTS 2. Species biodiversity: describes the number of different kinds of organisms within individual
BASIC CATEGORIES OF ORGANISMS communities or ecosystem
✓ Producers (autotrophs) - mostly green plants that manufacture food from simple inorganic 3. Ecological biodiversity: specifies the number of niches, trophic levels, and ecological processes that
substances and light energy. capture, sustain food webs and recycle materials within this system.
✓ Consumers (heterotrophs) - chiefly animals which ingest other organisms, particulate organic MAIN DIRECT THREATS TO CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
matter, plants or other animals. 1. Residential & commercial development
DIVISION OF CONSUMERS ACCORDING TO FOOD SOURCE: - housing & urban areas: urban areas, villages, vacation homes, shopping areas, offices, schools
1. Primary consumers/herbivores - animals that feed directly on producers. - commercial & industrial areas: manufacturing plants, shopping centers, office parks, power plants,
a. herbivores - animals that eat only plants. train & shipyards, airports
b. carnivores - consumers that feed on animals. - tourism & recreational areas: skiing, golf courses, sports fields, parks, campgrounds
c. omnivores - consumers that feed on both plants and animals. 2. Farming activities
2. Secondary consumers/ carnivores - animals that feed primary consumers. - agriculture: crop farms, orchards, vineyards, plantations, ranches
3. Higher order of consumers - animals that feed on other carnivores. - aquaculture: shrimp or finfish aquaculture, fish ponds on farms, hatchery salmon
3. Energy production & mining
- renewable energy: geothermal, solar, wind, tidal farms - mining: fuel and minerals
- non-renewable energy production: oil and gas drilling
4. Transportation & service corridors
- service corridors: electrical & phone wires, aqueducts, oil & gas pipelines
- transport corridors: roads, railroads, shipping lanes, and flight paths
5. Biological resource usages
- plant destruction or removal - persecution: predator control and pest
- hunting, over fishing, logging or wood harvesting control, superstitions
6. Human intrusions & activities that alter, destroy, simply disturb habitats and species from exhibiting
natural behaviors
- recreational activities: off-road vehicles, motorboats, - war, civil unrest, & military exercises:
jet-skis, snowmobiles, ultralight planes, dive boats, predator control and pest control, superstitions
whale watching, mountain bikes, hikers, birdwatchers, - illegal activities: smuggling, immigration,
skiers, pets in recreational areas, temporary campsites vandalism
7. Natural system modifications
- fire suppression or creation: controlled burns, inappropriate fire management, arson
- water management: dam construction & operation, wetland filling, surface water diversion
- other modifications: reclamation projects, shoreline rip-rap, lawn cultivation, beach construction and
maintenance, tree-thinning in parks
- removing/reducing human maintenance: mowing meadows, reduction in controlled burns, lack of
indigenous management of key ecosystems, ceasing supplemental feeding of condors
8. Invasive & problematic species, pathogens & genes
- invasive species: feral horses & household pets - introduced genetic material: pesticide-
(zebra mussels, Miconia tree, kudzu) resistant crops, genetically modified insects
- problematic native species: overabundant native for biocontrol, genetically modified trees or
deer or kangaroo, overabundant algae due to loss of salmon, escaped hatchery salmon,
native grazing fish, locust-type plagues restoration projects using non-local seed
- pathogens & microbes: plague affecting rodents or stock
Rabbits (Dutch elm disease or chestnut blight)
9. Pollution
- household sewage & urban wastewater: discharge from municipal waste treatment plants, leaking
septic systems, untreated sewage, outhouses, oil or sediment from roads, fertilizers and pesticides from
lawns and golf-courses, road salt
- industrial & military effluents: toxic chemicals from factories, illegal dumping of chemicals, mine
tailings, arsenic from gold mining, leakage from fuel tanks, PCBs in river sediments
- agricultural & forestry effluents: nutrient loading from fertilizer run-off, herbicide run-off, manure from
feedlots, nutrients from aquaculture, soil erosion
- garbage & solid waste: municipal waste, litter & dumped possessions, flotsam & jetsam
10. Catastrophic geological events
- earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches, landslides, & volcanic eruptions and gas emissions
11. Climate changes: refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
- affects the environment in many different ways, including rising temperatures, sea level rise, drought,
flooding, and more.