1 / 5

Ecology

Ecology.

vic
Download Presentation

Ecology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Ecology Ecology is the study of relationships of living things, with each other and with their environment. The word ‘ecology’ is derived from the Greek word ‘oikos’ (= home), and thus in its broadest sense, ecology is the study of the area of the world which provides homes for living things, known as the biosphere.

  2. Ecosystem - All the living and non-living things that interact in an area. • Organisms - Any living thing • Levels of ecological organization - Groups of organisms at progressive levels • Communities - Different populations that live together in a defined area • Population - A group of organisms of the same species populating a given area • Niche - (ecology) the status/role of an organism within its environment and community

  3. Species - Taxonomic group whose members can interbreed • Habitats - Places where animals or plants naturally live and grow • Abiotic Factors - Non-living factors including temperature, water, sunlight, wind, rocks and soil • Biotic Factors - Living things in an ecosystem

  4. Symbiosis - The relation between two different species of organisms that are interdependent • Mutualism - A close relationship; both species benefit • Commensalism - One organism benefits and the other is not affected (e.g. epiphytic ferns and orchids on rainforest trees). • Parasitism - A close relationship; one species benefits, the other is harmed • Cooperation - Each species benefits from the association, but the presence of one is not essential to the survival of the other (e.g. sea anemones living on the shells of crabs). • Amensalism - One species inhibits the other (e.g. antibiotics produced by moulds inhibit the growth of bacteria, or the tannins in fallen eucalypt leaves inhibit the growth of plants).

  5. Predation - interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism • Competition - Competition is rivalry between individuals for a specific resource or resources, and can occur between members of the same species (intraspecific) or different ones (interspecific). • Camouflage - In the course of evolution some animals have come to bear a striking resemblance to parts of a plant, thereby making themselves virtually invisible to predators; stick insects are a striking example of this. • Mimicry - Some animals closely resemble another species of plant or animal that their predators have learnt to avoid. For example, some have the visual characteristics of a species which is unpalatable to the predator • Human Impact - The most powerful biotic factor is the impact of the human species on the environment.

More Related