ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

HUMANS AND NATURE:

AN OVERVIEW
JEFFREY A. TOLEDO
Department of Biology
Bicol University, College of Science

Environment and Environmental

Science
Environment
Broad term that includes all external conditions
and factors, biotic and abiotic (chemical and
energy) that affect humans and other forms of life
The circumstances or conditions that surround an
organism or group of organisms
Environmental Science
Study of how we and other species interact with
each other and with the nonliving environment of

Environment
Science
Multidisciplinary and
somehow complex
Includes concepts and
ideas from other field of
studies

Why study Environmental

Science?
Awareness and appreciation of the natural and built
environment
Knowledge of natural systems and ecological concepts
Understanding of current environmental issues
Ability to use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills
on environmental issues

Basic History of Humans and the

Environment
Hunter- Gatherers (10,000 BC)
Obtain food by collecting plants and hunting wild
animals
Effects on the environment were limited
Hunting of some animal species
Picked up and spread plants/seeds to new areas

Basic History of Humans and the

Environment
(cont)
Agricultural Revolution (7000- 6000 BC)
Humans first developed the process of breeding,
growing and harvesting plants for food as well as
animal domestication
Effects on the environment
Human population grew more quickly
Natural habitat (grassland, forests) replaced by farmland
and villages
New breeds of animals and plants were created

Emergence of Agriculture-based
Urban Societies
Using domesticated animals to haul loads and do
other tasks increased average energy use per
person
Population increased, mostly because of a larger,
more reliable supply of food
People controlled and shaped more of Earths
surface to meet their needs by clearing increasing
larger areas of land and by building irrigation
systems to transfer water from one place to another

Emergence of Agriculture-based
Urban Societies
People began accumulating goods. By necessity,
nomadic hunter-gatherers had to travel with few
possessions, but farmers living in one place can
accumulate as much as thy could afford
Urbanization- formation of villages, towns and cities
Specialized occupations and long-distances trade
developed

Emergence of Agriculture-based
Urban Societies
Conflict increased as ownership of land and water
became a valuable economic resources and as
human numbers grew and societies confronted one
another
Competitions between people for land, water and
power led male-dominated societies still in
existence today
The war against the rest of nature began

Basic History of Humans and the

Environment
(cont)
Industrial Revolution (1800s)
Shift in the source of energy to fossil fuel
Effects on the environment:

Mere efficient farming

Faster human population growth
Increased in burning
Introduced synthetic plastics, fertilizers, pesticides
Higher amount of pollution

Advanced Industrial Societies

After World War I (1914- 1918)
Greatly increased production and consumption of
goods, stimulated by mass advertising to create
artificial wants (consumer society) and encourage
economic growth and the creation of more jobs
Greatly dependent on the nonrenewable resources
(oil, natural gas. etc)
Shift from natural materials to synthetic materials
Sharp amount of energy used per capital for
transportation, manufacturing. Agriculture. Lighting
and heating and cooling

Why do we have Environmental

Problems
Human population is growing exponentially at a rapid
rate
Poverty has harmful environment and health effects
Affluence has harmful and beneficial environmental
effect
Prices do not include the value of natural capital

Human Population Growth

Linear Growth
A quantity increases by some fixed amount during
each unit of time
Exponential Growth
A quantity increases by a fixed percentage of the
whole in a given time period

Population and Economic

Growth
Economic Growth
Increases in the capacity of the economy to
provide goods and services for final use
Measured I terms of gross national product (GNP)
Market value in current dollars of all goods and services
produced by an economy for final use during a year

United Nations has divided countries into

More developed countries (MDCs)
Less developed countries (LDCs)

Widening Gap between the Rich

and the Poor
MDCs, with 1.2 billion people (22% of the worlds
population), command about 80% of the worlds
mineral and energy resources, an generate the most
of the worlds pollution and wastes
LDCs, with more than 5 billion people (78% of the
worlds population), but have only about 20% of the
worlds wealth and use only 20% of the worlds
mineral and energy resources.

Widening Gap between the Rich

and the Poor
One out of five persons, including one out of three
children under age of five, is hungry or
malnourished
More than half of humanity lacks sanitary toilets
One of out three persons has poor health care and
not enough fuel to keep warm and cook food

Resources and Environmental

Degradation
Resources
Anything we get from the living and nonliving
environment to meet our needs and wants
Can either be tangible (material) or intangible
(non-material)
Tangible- quantity can be measured and whose
supply is limited
Nonmaterial- quantity cannot be measured
Solitude, security, knowledge, joy, etc.

Resource Scarcity
Absolute
Supplies of a resource are insufficient or too
expensive to meet present or future demands
Relative
Occurs when enough of a resource is still
available to meet the demand, but its distribution
is unbalanced

Pollution
Any undesirable change in the characteristics of the
air, water, soil or food that can adversely affect the
health, survival or activities of humans or other
living organisms
Can come from:
Point source
Come from a single, identifiable sources

Nonpoint source
Come from dispersed and often hard-to-identify sources

Effects of Pollution
Nuisance and aesthetic insult
Unpleasant smells and tastes, reduced atmospheric visibility
and soiling of monuments

Property damage
Damage to plant and nonhuman animal life
Damage to health
Disruption of natural life-support systems at local,
regional and global levels

Types of Pollution
Air pollution
Water pollution
Soil pollution

Cause of Pollution
Ocean litter
Pesticides and fertilizers
Air pollution
Noise and light pollution

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
Is one measurement of a
persons resource use
Includes amount of space
needed to support each person
in a nation, including forests,
farms, cities, etc.

As a general rule, as one

increases consumption, one
increases ecological
footprint

Relationship among Population

Resources Use, Technology,
Environmental Degradation and Pollution
One model suggest that environmental impact of
populations- in a given area depends on three factors:
The number of people
The average number of units of resources each person
uses
Amount of environmental degradation and pollution
generated

Relationship among Population

Resources Use, Technology,
Environmental Degradation and Pollution
Overpopulation- people exceeding carrying capacity
of an area
Carrying capacity- number of people that can be
supported in an area given its physical resources
are used
People overpopulation
More people than supplies

Consumption overpopulation
Few people consume resources at high rate resulting in high level of

BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
Nutrients- any element an organism needs to live,
grow, and reproduce
Macronutrients- elements required in large quantities
Micronutrients- elements required in small amounts (Fe, Zn, Cl
and I)

The biosphere

Realms of Ecology
Concerned about the
interactions among five of
the levels of organizations
of matter

Ecosystems

Communities

Organisms

Populations

Abiotic Components of the

Ecosystem
Physical and chemical factors in the environment

Sunlight and shade

Average temperature
Wind
Soil and its nature
Fire
Water current
Salinity of water
Toxic substances
Others

Biotic Components of the

Ecosystem
Living organisms
Producers
(Autotrophs)
Plats and some
bacteria
Photosynthetic
Chemosynthetic
Consumers
Primary
Secondary

Major Roles of Organisms in

Ecosystem

Tolerance Ranges of Species

Certain reactions of organisms to different chemical
and physical components of an ecosystem
Includes an optimum range- populations tend to
thrive and operate most efficiently

Law of Tolerance
The existence, abundance and distribution of a
species in an ecosystem are determined by whether
the levels of one or more physical or chemical
factors fall within the range tolerated by the species
Some species may vary:
Some can have a wide range of tolerance
Some can have a narrow range of tolerance
Some can adjust if exposed gradually- acclimatization

Limiting Factor Principle

Too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit
or prevent growth of a population of a species in an
ecosystem even if all other factors are at or near the
optimum range of tolerance for that species
Example: water salinity, temperature, nutrient
available

Energy Flow in Ecosystem

There is no waste in functioning natural ecosystem
All organisms, dead or alive, are potential sources of
food for other organisms
Food chain
Food web

Each organism is assigned to trophic level or feeding

level

Food Pyramid
Shows the amount of energy transferred from one
trophic level to the next
Biomass- organic matter produced by plants and
other photosynthetic producers
The more trophic levels, the greater the cumulative
loss of usable high-quality energy

Roles and Interaction in the

Ecosystem
Types of Species
Native species- normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem
Immigrant or alien species- migrate into an ecosystem or which are
deliberately or by accident introduced into an ecosystem by humans
Indicator species- serves as early warnings that a community or an
ecosystem is being degraded
Amphibians, birds, aquatic mammals, plants, insects

Keystone species- plays role affecting many other organisms. The

loss of keystone species can lead to sharp population drops or
extinctions or rise of other species
Mangrove forest

Interactions
Predation
Competitions
Interspecific
Intraspecific

Symbiosis: Two kinds of organisms live together in an

intimate association
Parasitism
Mutualism
Commensalism

Kinds of organism interaction

(cont)
Predation
Occurs when one organism
kills and eats another
Predator and prey
interaction
Predator benefits from
killing and eating the prey
and the prey is harmed

Kinds of organism interaction

(cont)
Competition
Two organisms strive to obtain the same limited
resources
Two (2) kinds:
1. Intraspecific competition competition between
members of the same species
2. Interspecific competition competition between
members of different species

Competition and natural

selection
Competitive exclusion
principle

A concept that no two

species can occupy the
same ecological niche in
the same place at the
same time

Kinds of organism interaction

(cont)
Symbiotic relationship
Symbiosis
1. Long-lasting, physical relationship between two
different species
.Three (3) categories:
1. Parasitism
2. Commensalism
3. Mutualism

Kinds of organism interaction

(cont)
Parasitism
A relationship in which one organism, known as the
parasite, lives in or on another organism known as
host, from which it derives nourishment
Parasite is much smaller than its host
Vector : carry the parasites from one host to another
Ectoparasite : parasites that live on the surface of its
host
Endoparasite : parasite that live inside the body of their
host

Kinds of organism interaction

(cont)
Commensalism
A relationship between
organisms in which one
organism benefits while
the other is not affected

Kinds of organism interaction

(cont)
Mutualism
A relationship between
organisms in which both
benefits from each other

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
HUMANS AND NATURE:
AN OVERVIEW
JEFFREY A. TOLEDO
Department of Biology
Bicol University, College of Science