Introduction

to Ecology

1.1 INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPECIES

DETERMINE
WHERE ORGANISMS LIVE AND HOW MANY LIVE THERE

Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions

that determine the distribution and abundance
of organisms.
Interactions:
between species (predatorprey interactions);
between organisms and the physical
environment (temperature and precipitation).

Ecological System
o

Ecology is the science that examines the

relationships between all the animals,
plants, fungi and microbes on Earth.
These organisms interact in ecological
systems, which include all the organisms in
an area as well as their non-living (abiotic)
environment.

Ecological System
The

essential message of ecology is that

changing one component in an
ecological system usually changes others.

The

science of ecology can be thought of

as finding out the details.

Examples of questions ask by Ecologists about

species Abundant and Distribution

Distribution (where organisms are found);

Abundance (how many organisms live in a

given place).

The distribution and abundance of many

species vary in space. For example, the red
kangaroo is common in north-eastern New
South Wales, but they are rare in Western
Australia and absent altogether from most of
northern Australia (Figure 1.1).

Distribution (where organisms are found);

Abundance (how many organisms live in a

given place).

The distribution and abundance of many

species vary in space. For example, the red
kangaroo is common in north-eastern New
South Wales, but they are rare in Western
Australia and absent altogether from most of
northern Australia (Figure 1.1).

Examples of questions ask by Ecologists about

species Abundant and Distribution
What

accounts for this pattern of

abundance?
Why is this species less abundant toward
the edges of its geographic range?
What limits the western and northern
extension of its range?
Will red kangaroos change in distribution
as the climate warms?

Assignment 1 (Group)
Find

the same case (can be plant or

animal species) in Indonesia.

Group

Presentation

Ecology and Environmentalism

The word ecology was first used by the

German zoologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866.

Ecology was not widely recognized as an

important science until the 1960s, when
ecologists expressed concern about the
continuing increase in the human
population and the associated destruction
of natural environments by pesticides and
pollutants.

Ecology and Environmental Study

Ecology deals with the interrelations of all

organisms. While it includes humans as a
very significant species by virtue of their
impacts, ecology is not solely concerned
with humans.

Environmental study is the analysis of human

impacts on the physical, chemical and
biological environment of Earth.

1.2 ECOLOGYS FOUNDATION IN

NATURAL HISTORY GOES BACK MORE THAN
2000 YEARS

The Balance of Nature

-

Pest outbreaks!

Wereng batang coklat (Nylaparvata lugens)

1.2 ECOLOGYS FOUNDATION IN

NATURAL HISTORY GOES BACK MORE THAN
2000 YEARS
The Balance of Nature
- Pest outbreaks!

Each species had a special place in nature, and

extinction did not occur because it would disrupt the
balance and harmony in nature.

Today, in the midst of a major extinction crisis, the

balance of nature idea seems naive, and the question
of how modern extinctions will affect the functioning of
natural ecological systems is an important topic of
study for ecologists.

Applied Ecology. Ecology developed from the applied fields of

agriculture and fisheries, long before the word ecology was
coined.

For example, Insect pests

control with introduced
predators. In 1762, the
mynah bird was brought
from India to the island of
Mauritius to control the red
locust, and by 1770 locusts
were a negligible problem
on the island.

 Predatory

ants were introduced from

the mountains of south-western Arabia
into datepalm orchards to control
other species of ants.

An

increasing knowledge of insect

parasitism and predation led to many
such introductions all over the world in
efforts to fight agricultural pestsa
branch of applied ecology we now
call biological control.

Applied Ecology
Fisheries

have been an important source

of food for centuries, but over-fishing has
led to declines in many freshwater and
marine fish species.

 John

Cabot returned to England from

the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and
wrote about the extraordinary
abundance of northern cod in these
waters:
the sea is covered with fish which are
caught not merely with nets but with
baskets, a stone being attached to
make the baskets sink with the water

1.3 ECOLOGISTS STUDY BIOLOGICAL

INTERACTIONS FROM THE LEVEL OF THE
INDIVIDUAL TO THE ENTIRE BIOSPHERE
Biological

systems can be analysed at

different levels, ranging from molecules to
ecosystems, defined largely by size.

Level of Integration

Populations are groups of individuals of a single species,

such as the emperor penguins of Adelie Land.

Communities are groups of species that live in the same

area, so they include many populations.

Ecosystems consist of communities and their physical

environmentLake Michigan is a large aquatic ecosystem,
but even a small pond can be considered an ecosystem.

Landscapes are groups of ecosystems typically at a larger

spatial scale, such as the Everglades of Florida.

Landscapes can be aggregated to include the wholeEarth ecosystem, or biosphere, which is sometimes called
the ecosphere.

Each level of integration involves a separate

and distinct set of attributes and problems.

A population has a density (the number of

individuals per unit area or volume)a
property that cannot be attributed to a
single individual.

A community has biodiversity (the number

of species)an attribute without meaning
at the population level.

 In

general, a scientist who deals with one level of

integration seeks explanations from the lower
levels of integration.

For example, to understand why emperor

penguin populations have decreased in Adelie
Land during the last 50 years, an ecologist would
study the numbers of births and the causes of
death of individual penguins.

This approach to science is said to be

reductionist, because it reduces a problem at
one level of integration to a series of problems at
lower levels.

Alternative approach to science is holistic,

encompassing higher levels.

An ecologist employing the holistic

approach to study the decline of emperor
penguin populations might analyze the
consequences of this decline on the
community in which the penguins live,
including the fish on which the penguins
feed and the predators that feed on the
penguins.

Which approach is better?

The example of dealing with AIDS (acquired

immunodeficiency syndrome) shows why
both approaches are important and should
be embraced. To develop a vaccine, we
must understand the action of the virus
responsible for AIDS (reductionism); to stop
the spread of AIDS, we must understand the
social and behavioral factors that affect
transmission of the virus (holism).

Much of modern biology is highly

reductionist, trying to work out the chemical
basis of life.
We know an enormous amount about the
molecular and cellular levels of organisms,
and we know very much about organs,
organ systems, and whole organisms.
However, we know relatively little about
populations and even less about
communities and ecosystems.

good example of this disparity is the

Human Genome Project. This expensive
and highly targeted research program
has sequenced all the genes on human
chromosomes, yet we do not know how
many species of beetles live on Earth or
how many species of trees there are in
the Amazon basin.

1.4 LIKE OTHER SCIENTISTS, ECOLOGISTS

MAKE OBSERVATIONS, FORM HYPOTHESES,
AND TEST PREDICTIONS
The

essential features of the scientific

method are the same in ecology as in
other sciences

1.5 LYME DISEASE ILLUSTRATES THE

COMPLEX INTERACTIONS IN ECOSYSTEMS
Lyme

disease. First described in 1977 in

Connecticut, Lyme disease is now
spreading from east to west across North
America.
The disease is caused by the transmission
of bacteria, called spirochetes, from ticks
to humans.

Acaridae