Scribd
Upload
4 views

EAT101 Lecture 1

The document provides an introduction to ecology, defining key concepts such as ecosystems, energy flow, and the relationships between organisms and their environment. It explains the distinction between biotic and abiotic components, as well as the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in energy transfer through food chains and food webs. Additionally, it outlines the ecological hierarchy from species to biosphere and emphasizes the importance of studying ecology.

Uploaded by

luqman jamil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
4 views

EAT101 Lecture 1

The document provides an introduction to ecology, defining key concepts such as ecosystems, energy flow, and the relationships between organisms and their environment. It explains the distinction between biotic and abiotic components, as well as the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in energy transfer through food chains and food webs. Additionally, it outlines the ecological hierarchy from species to biosphere and emphasizes the importance of studying ecology.

Uploaded by

luqman jamil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 27

BASIC ECOLOGY

EAT 101
INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY

• Definition of Ecology, Ecosystem and


Component of Basic Ecology
• Energy Flow in Ecosystems
• Organism and Food Chain.
THE WORD ‘ECOLOGY’ COMES
FROM…?
• ECOLOGY, comes from Greek words,
OIKOS
Meaning ‘the family household’
• LOGY = the study of
• Literally, ecology is the study of the
household, or management of the
household.
• ECOLOGY = the study of the relationship
between organisms and the environment
DEFINITION OF ECOLOGY

any living system


(such as animal,
organisms
fungus, micro-
organism, or plant).
Study of
relationship
between
Physical, chemical
and biological
conditions or
environment
living components
of an organism’s
surrounding
ECOSYSTEM
Interaction between the organism and their
environment.

ECOSYSTEM

Biotic Abiotic
(living) (non-living)
Example: Plants ,animal,fungi &
microorganisms. Example: Atmosphere, soil,
They may be producers, climate, water, air, sunlight, pH,
temperature
. consumers, or decomposers
Biotic or abiotic?
• Soil
• Fungi
• Dried leaves
• Atmosphere
• Water
• Sunlight
Examples of an Ecosystem
A pond
Plants, animal and microorganism not only live in the
pond but they also modify the chemical nature of the
water, soil, air that compose the physical
environment.

• Abiotic substances
• Inorganic and organic compound
• Water, CO2, oxygen, calcium, humic acid
•So what is the difference
between ecology and
ecosystem?
The abiotic Atmosphere,
EXAMPLE 1 : component of climate, soil,
forest water

The biotic Organisms :


component of plants, animals,
forest microbes
FOREST
The trees in a
canopy of forest
intercept the
sunlight and use
as an energy for
photosynthesis

The relationship Birds foraging on


insects in the
litter layer of
fallen leaves
Simple ecosystem model
Perlis wild life
Energy flow within an ecosystem

• All energy that comes to earth, comes from the sun.

• Plants (producers) get energy from sunlight for to produce food


(carbs) through photosynthesis.

• Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat herbivores.

• It’s a simple interaction that passes energy up the food chain.


Omnomnom..
• Herbivores – eat plants
• Carnivores – eat meat.
• Omnivores – eat both.
• Detrivores – eat plant and animal remains and other dead materials
(earthworms, snails, crab etc.) or we call them decomposers.
Energy flow in ecosystem

• Food chain
Shows one interaction that
passes energy from one
organism to the next in an
ecosystem.
Energy flow in ecosystem

• Food web
A food web links all of the food
chains in an ecosystem together,
showing a more holistic view of
energy transfer in the ecosystem.
So what’s the difference?
Energy flow in
ecosystem
• Trophic levels
Each step in a food chain
or food web is a trophic
level. As you increase
trophic level, the amount
of energy decreases.

Why do you think that is?


When energy is transferred
to the next trophic level,
typically only 10% of it is
used to build new biomass,
becoming stored energy
(the rest going to
metabolic processes).
Energy flow in ecosystem
• Ecological pyramids
• Pyramids can come in a pyramid of energy, biomass
pyramid, or a pyramid of numbers.
• Pyramid of energy, showing the rate of energy
flow/successive trophic level, are always upright. The
number decrease as you go upwards.
• Whilst the pyramid of numbers and biomass maybe
upright or inverted depending upon the nature of the
food chain in the particular ecosystem.
Levels of organisation (Ecological
Hierarchy)
• Species – a group of individual that can interbreed in nature.
• Population – a group of organisms of the same species living in
a particular habitat.
• Community – all the population of organisms living in a
particular habitat.
• Ecosystem – is made up of a community and its
physical/abiotic environment.
• Biomes – distinct ecological communities of plants and animals
living together in a particular climate.
• Biosphere – worldwide sum of all ecosystems.
Biomes
Why do I need to study ecology?

You might also like