UNIT 3: ECOLOGY

I. TEXT

Biosphere and biodiversity

Ecology, or ecological science, is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living
organisms and how these properties are affected by interactions between the organisms and their environment.
The environment of an organism includes both the physical properties, which can be described as the sum of
local abiotic factors like climate and geology, as well as the other organisms that share its habitat.

For modern ecologists, ecology can be studied at several levels: population level (individuals of the
same species), biocoenosis level (or community of species), ecosystem level, and biosphere level.

The outer layer of the planet Earth can be divided into several compartments: the hydrosphere (or
sphere of water), the lithosphere (or sphere of soils and rocks), and the atmosphere (or sphere of the air). The
biosphere (or sphere of life), sometimes described as "the fourth envelope", is all living matter on the planet or
that portion of the planet occupied by life. It reaches well into the other three spheres, although there are no
permanent inhabitants of the atmosphere. Relative to the volume of the Earth, the biosphere is only the very
thin surface layer which extends from 11,000 meters below sea level to 15,000 meters above.

Classically it was thought that life first developed in the hydrosphere, at shallow depths, in the photic
zone. Multicellular organisms then appeared and colonized benthic zones. Terrestrial life developed later, after
the ozone layer protecting living beings from UV rays formed. Diversification of terrestrial species is thought
to be increased by the continents drifting apart, or alternately, colliding. Biodiversity is expressed at the
ecological level (ecosystem), population level (intraspecific diversity), species level (specific diversity), and
genetic level. Recently technology has allowed the discovery of the deep ocean vent communities. This
remarkable ecological system is not dependant on sunlight but bacteria, utilising the chemistry of the hot
volcanic vents, are at the base of it's food chain.

The biosphere contains great quantities of elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Other
elements, such as phosphorus, calcium, and potassium, are also essential to life, yet are present in smaller
amounts. At the ecosystem and biosphere levels, there is a continual recycling of all these elements, which
alternate between the mineral and organic states.

The ecosystem concept

The first principle of ecology is that each living organism has an ongoing and continual relationship with
every other element that makes up its environment. An ecosystem can be defined as any situation where there is
interaction between organisms and their environment.

The ecosystem is composed of two entities, the entirety of life (called the biocoenosis) and the medium
that life exists in (the biotope). Within the ecosystem, species are connected and dependent upon one another in
the food chain, and exchange energy and matter between themselves and with their environment.
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 The concept of an ecosystem can apply to units of variable size, such as a pond, a field, or a piece of
deadwood. A unit of smaller size is called a microecosystem. For example, an ecosystem can be a stone and all
the life under it. A mesoecosystem could be a forest, and a macroecosystem a whole ecoregion, with its
watershed.

Ecosystems are often classified by reference to the biotopes concerned. The following ecosystems may be
defined:

 as continental ecosystems (or terrestrial), such as forest ecosystems, meadow ecosystems (meadows,
steppes, savannas), or agro-ecosystems (agricultural systems).
 as ecosystems of inland waters, such as lentic ecosystems (lakes, ponds) or lotic ecosystems (rivers)
 as oceanic ecosystems (seas, oceans).

Another classification can be done by reference to its communities (for example a human ecosystem).

Dynamics and stability

Ecological factors which can affect dynamic change in a population or species in a given ecology or
environment are usually divided into two groups: abiotic and biotic.

Abiotic factors are geological, geographical, hydrological and climatological parameters. A biotope is an
environmentally uniform region characterized by a particular set of abiotic ecological factors. Specific abiotic
factors include: water, air, soil, temperature, light, natural disasters

Biocenose, or community, is a group of populations of plants, animals, micro-organisms. Each

population is the result of procreations between individuals of same species and cohabitation in a given place
and for a given time. When a population consists of an insufficient number of individuals, that population is
threatened with extinction; the extinction of a species can approach when all biocenoses composed of
individuals of the species are in decline. In small populations, consanguinity (inbreeding) can result in reduced
genetic diversity that can further weaken the biocenose.

Biotic ecological factors also influence biocenose viability; these factors are considered as either
intraspecific or interspecific relations.

Intraspecific relations are those which are established between individuals of the same species,
forming a population. They are relations of co-operation or competition, with division of the territory, and
sometimes organization in hierarchical societies.

Interspecific relations—interactions between different species—are numerous, and usually described

according to their beneficial, detrimental or neutral effect (for example, mutualism or competition ). The most
significant relation is the relation of predation (to eat or to be eaten), which leads to the essential concepts in
ecology of food chains (for example, the grass is consumed by the herbivore, itself consumed by a carnivore,
itself consumed by a carnivore of larger size). A high predator to prey ratio can have a negative influence on
both the predator and prey biocenoses in that low availability of food and high death rate prior to sexual
maturity can decrease (or prevent the increase of) populations of each, respectively. Selective hunting of species

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by humans which leads to population decline is one example of a high predator to prey ratio in action. Other
interspecific relations include parasitism, infectious disease and competition for limiting resources, which can
occur when two species share the same ecological niche.

The existing interactions between the various living beings go along with a permanent mixing of mineral
and organic substances, absorbed by organisms for their growth, their maintenance and their reproduction, to be
finally rejected as waste. These permanent recyclings of the elements (in particular carbon, oxygen and
nitrogen) as well as the water are called biogeochemical cycles. They guarantee a durable stability of the
biosphere (at least when unchecked human influence and extreme weather or geological phenomena are left
aside). This self-regulation, supported by negative feedback controls, ensures the perenniality of the
ecosystems. It is shown by the very stable concentrations of most elements of each compartment. This is
referred to as homeostasis. The ecosystem also tends to evolve to a state of ideal balance, reached after a
succession of events, the climax (for example a pond can become a peat bog).

Spatial relationships and subdivisions of land

Ecosystems are not isolated from each other, but are interrelated. For example, water may circulate
between ecosystems by the means of a river or ocean current. Water itself, as a liquid medium, even defines
ecosystems. Some species, such as salmon or freshwater eels move between marine systems and fresh-water
systems. These relationships between the ecosystems lead to the concept of a biome.

A biome is a homogeneous ecological formation that exists over a vast region, such as tundra or
steppes. The biosphere comprises all of the Earth's biomes -- the entirety of places where life is possible --
from the highest mountains to the depths of the oceans.

Biomes correspond rather well to subdivisions distributed along the latitudes, from the equator towards
the poles, with differences based on to the physical environment (for example, oceans or mountain ranges) and
to the climate. Their variation is generally related to the distribution of species according to their ability to
tolerate temperature and/or dryness. For example, one may find photosynthetic algae only in the photic part of
the ocean (where light penetrates), while conifers are mostly found in mountains.

Though this is a simplification of more complicated scheme, latitude and altitude approximate a good
representation of the distribution of biodiversity within the biosphere. Very generally, the richness of
biodiversity (as well for animal than plant species) is decreasing most rapidly near the equator (as in Brazil) and
less rapidly as one approaches the poles.

The biosphere may also be divided into ecozone, which are very well defined today and primarily follow
the continental borders. The ecozones are themselves divided into ecoregions, though there is not agreement on
their limits.

Ecosystem productivity

In an ecosystem, the connections between species are generally related chain. There are three categories of
organisms:

 producers -- plants which are capable of photosynthesis

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  consumers


 -- animals, which can be primary consumers (herbivorous), or secondary or tertiary consumers

(carnivorous).
 decomposers -- bacteria, mushrooms which degrade organic matter of all categories, and restore
minerals to the environment.

These relations form sequences, in which each individual consumes the preceding one and is consumed by
the one following, in what are called food chains or food network. In a food network, there will be fewer
organisms at each level as one follows the links of the network up the chain.

These concepts lead to the idea of biomass (the total living matter in a given place), of primary productivity
(the increase in the mass of plants during a given time) and of secondary productivity (the living matter
produced by consumers and the decomposers in a given time).

These two last ideas are key, since they make it possible to evaluate the load capacity -- the number of
organisms which can be supported by a given ecosystem. In any food network, the energy contained in the level
of the producers is not completely transferred to the consumers. Thus, from an energy point of view, it is more
efficient for humans to be primary consumers (to get nourishment from grains and vegetables) than as
secondary consumers (from herbivores such as beef and veal), and more still than as a tertiary consumer (from
eating carnivores).

The productivity of ecosystems is sometimes estimated by comparing three types of land-based ecosystems
and the total of aquatic ecosystems:

 the forests (1/3 of the Earth's land area) contain dense biomasses and are very productive. The total
production of the world's forests corresponds to half of the primary production.
 savannas, meadows, and marshes (1/3 of the Earth's land area) contain less dense biomasses, but are
productive. These ecosystems represent the major part of what humans depend on for food.
 extreme ecosystems in the areas with more extreme climates -- deserts and semi-deserts, tundra, alpine
meadows, and steppes -- (1/3 of the Earth's surface) have very sparse biomasses and low productivity
 finally, the marine and fresh water ecosystems (3/4 of Earth's surface) contain very sparse biomasses
(apart from the coastal zones).

Humanity's actions over the last few centuries have seriously reduced the amount of the Earth covered by
forests (deforestation), and have increased agro-ecosystems (agriculture). In recent decades, an increase in the
areas occupied by extreme ecosystems has occurred (desertification).

Ecological crisis

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 Generally, an ecological crisis is what occurs when the environment of life of a species or a population
evolves in an unfavourable way to its survival.

It may be that the environment quality degrades compared to the species needs, after a change of abiotic
ecological factor (for example, an increase of temperature, less significant rainfalls).

It may be that the environment becomes unfavourable for the survival of a species (or a population) due
to an increase pressure of predation (for example overfishing).

Lastly, it may be that the situation becomes unfavourable to the quality of life of the species (or the
population) due to rise in the number of individuals (overpopulation).

Ecological crises may be more or less brutal (occurring between a few months to a few million years).
They can also be of natural or anthropic origin. They may relate to one unique species or on the contrary, to a
high number of species.

Lastly, an ecological crisis may be local (as an oil spill) or global (a rise in the sea level related to global
warming).

According to its degree of endemism, a local crisis will have more or less significant consequences,
from the death of many individuals to the total extinction of a species. Whatever its origin, disappearance of one
or several species often will involve a rupture in the food chain, further impacting the survival of other species.

In the case of a global crisis, the consequences can be much more significant; some extinction events
showed the disappearance of more than 90% of existing species at that time. However, it should be noted that
the disappearance of certain species, such as the dinosaurs, by freeing an ecological niche, allowed the
development and the diversification of the mammals. An ecological crisis thus paradoxically favored
biodiversity.

Sometimes, an ecological crisis can be a specific and reversible phenomenon at the ecosystem scale. But
more generally, the crises impact will last. Indeed, it rather is a connected series of events, which occur till a
final point. From this stage, no return to the previous stable state is possible, and a new stable state will be set
up gradually.

Lastly, if an ecological crisis can cause extinction, it can also more simply reduce the quality of life of
the remaining individuals. Thus, even if the diversity of the human population is sometimes considered
threatened (see in particular indigenous people), few people envision human disappearance at short span.
However, epidemic diseases, famines, impact on health of reduction of air quality, food crises, reduction of
living space, accumulation of toxic or non degradable wastes, threats on keystone species (great apes, panda,
whales) are also factors influencing the well-being of people.

During the past decades, this increasing responsibility of humanity in some ecological crises has been
clearly observed. Due to the increases in technology and a rapidly increasing population, humans have more
influence on their own environment than any other ecosystem engineer.

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II. VOCABULARY

1. Altitude ['æltitju:d] n độ cao so với mặt biển

2. Atmosphere ['ætməsfiə]; n Khí quyển
3. Benthic zone, ['benθik] [zoun] Vùng đáy
4. Biocoenosis, [,baioui'knɔsis]; n Quần xã sinh vật, quần xã sinh thái
= Ecological community
5. Biome, ['bai,oum]; n Khu vực sinh học
6. Biosphere, ['baiəsfiə(r)]; n Sinh quyển
7. Biotope, [bai'outəp]; n Khu sinh vật
8. Consumer, [kən'sju:mə]; n Sinh vật tiêu thụ
9. Conifer, ['kounifə]; n cây có quả hình nón
10. Consanguinity, quan hệ dòng máu, huyết thống
[,kɔnsæη'gwiniti]; n
11. Decomposer, Sinh vật phân giải/phân huỷ
[,di:kəm'pouzə]; n
12. Ecological niche, [nit∫]; n Ổ sinh thái
13. Epidemic, [,epi'demik]; adj or Lan như bệnh dịch (adj); bệnh dịch (n)
14. Equator, [i'kweitə]; n Xích đạo
15. Famine, ['fæmin]; n Nạn đói
16. Starvation
17. Food chain, ['fu:dt∫ein] n. Chuỗi thức ăn
18. Geology, [dʒi'ɔlədʒi]; n Địa chất học
19.Habitat, ['hæbitæt] Môi trường sống, nơi sống (của cây cối động vật)
nhà, chỗ ở (người)
20. Herbivore, [hə:'bivərə]; n động vật ăn cỏ
21. Homeostasis, Sự tự cân bằng, khả năng hoặc xu hướng duy trì sự cân bằng nội bộ/ nội tại
[['houmjə'steisis] n.
22. Hydrosphere, ['haidrousfiə]; n thủy quyển
23. Indigenous , [in'didʒinəs]; adj Thuộc bản địa, bản xứ
24. Latitude, ['lætitju:d]; n Vĩ độ
25. Omnivore ['ɔmnivɔ:] n. Sinh vật ăn tạp
26. Lentic ecosystem ['lentik] n. Hệ sinh thái nước tù
27. Lithosphere, ['liθousfiə]; n. Thạch quyển
28. Lotic ecosystem ['loutik] n. Hệ sinh thái nước chảy
29. Parasitism, ['pærəsaitizm]; n Sự ăn bám; sự ký sinh
30. Photic zone , ['foutik] [zoun] Vùng có ánh sáng
31. Pole, [poul]; n Cực
32. Procreation, [,proukri'ei∫n]; n sự sinh sản, sự sinh sôi nẩy nở, sự sinh đẻ
33. Producer, [prə'dju:sə]; n Sinh vật sản xuất
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34. Watershed, ['wɔ:tə∫ed]; n Lưu vực sông, đường phân nước
III. COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS

1, What are four levels that ecologist use in studying ecology?

2, Which state does the ecosystem finally reach after its evolvement?
3. How do plants (producers) and animals (consumers) depend on one another?
4. List three biotic components and three abiotic components of an ecosystem.
5. What are usually the most and least abundant parts of an ecosystem?
6. How can the species extinction occur?
7. What might be the consequences of an ecological crisis?
8. Match the words with the correct definitions by placing the letter of the definition in front of the word:
1. _E_ ___ecology A. All animals, including birds, reptiles, insects, fish, mammals, and
2. _ D___abiotic amphibians
3. __H___producers B. Continuous reusing of our natural resources
4 __A___consumers C. The production of sugars by plants, using sunlight as the source of
5. __G___decomposers energy
6. __C___photosynthesis D. The non-living parts of the ecosystem
7. __J___herbivore E. The study of relationships between living things and their environment
8. __I___carnivore F. The re-organization and reuse of living and nonliving materials within
9. __K___omnivore the environment
10. __B___cycling G. Organisms that cause dead animals to decay
11. __L___ecosystem H. An organism that produces its own food
12. __F___natural I. An animal that eats meat
balance J. An animal that eats plants
K. An animal that eats both plants and animals
13. #__lithosphere L. It has four parts: abiotic, producers, consumers, decomposers
14. __O___biosphere M. The largest land community region recognized by ecologist, e.g.
15. __N___Atmosphere grassland, desert, mountain, tropical forest
16. ___M__biome N. The mixture of gases that surrounds the earth
O. The entire zone of air, land and water at the surface of the earth that
is occupied by living things