ECOLOGY

Definitions
of Ecology
“oikos”-house or living relations
▹ Ecology is the study of the relationship
of organisms with their environment
(Ernst Haekel, 1860).
▹ Ecology is consider to be the study of
the distribution and abundance of
organisms (Andrewartha and Birch
1954).

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Definitions
of Ecology
▹ Ecology focuses on the study of
ecosystem (Odum 1971).

Ecology includes the study of plant and

animal populations, plant and animal
communities and ecosystem.

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SCOPE OF ECOLOGY

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 SCOPE OF ECOLOGY

Organism – the
individual living thing
“ Species – groups of
similar individuals
that can breed

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 SCOPE OF ECOLOGY

“
Population – a distinct
group of individuals of
the same species that
live and interact in the
same geographic area

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 SCOPE OF ECOLOGY

“
Community – an assemblage
of different populations that
live and interact with one
another in a given area or a
given time. Interactions vary
in nature such as competition,
predation, mutualism, etc.

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 HABITAT
place where communities live.

NICHE
Role or function of an organism
within an ecosystem or habitat

PRODUCERS CONSUMERS PREDATORS

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 Components of an ecosystem
Abiotic and
biotic
ABIOTIC
components
life Support System-chemical &
physical factors

BIOTIC
classified as producers, consumers
and decomposers

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 Producers-autotrophs (self-feeders)
PRODUCERS green plants etc. & other organisms that
manufacture organic compounds.

feed on producers also called

CONSUMERS heterotrophs or other feeders;

feed on dead organic matter, detritus

DETRIVORES feeders and decomposers

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 Functions of an ecosystem

Production
function
Food chain
• The sequence of repeated eating and being
eaten.
• Transfer of energy where one organism
consumes another, rarely more than four
or five. Human is top consumer

Carbon dioxide 11
 Functions of an ecosystem

Production
function
Food web
• Intricate and
interconnected
network of food
chains because
most organisms
have one or more
consumers

Carbon dioxide 12
 Functions of an ecosystem

Consumption
function
Food pyramid
-an ecological hierarchy of
food relationships in which
a chief predator is at the
top, each level preys on
the next lower level, and
usually green plants are at
the bottom.

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Biogeochemical Cycle

WATER Cycle
CARBON Cycle
ROCK Cycle
OXYGEN Cycle
NITROGEN Cycle

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 1. ILLUSTRATE THROUGH A DIAGRAM THE
GROUP
ACTIVITY PROCESSES THAT HAPPENS IN ________
CYCLE.
2. DISCUSS THE _______ CYCLE. GIVE
DETAILS FOR EACH STAGE OF CYCLE.
3. DISCUSS IN WHAT WAYS HUMAN
LIFESTYLE AFFECTS __________ CYCLE.
DISCUSS YOUR ANSWERS.

Present this on class after 20 mins.

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 ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

PROVISIONING SUPPORTING
Food, freshwater, Soil formation, nutrient
fuelwood, fiber cycling, primary
biochemicals, genetic production
resources

CULTURAL REGULATING
Recreation or Climate regulation,
ecotourism, aesthetic, disease regulation, water
educational, cultural regulation, water
heritage purification, pollination

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ECOSYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS
maximum number of individuals of a given
CARRYING CAPACITY species that a particular habitat can support
without depleting its resources

To maintain ecological balance, the following should be observed:

a. Maximum sustainable yields

b. Waste assimilative capacity
c. Natural enemies
 Behavioral
Ecology
(Animal Behavior)

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What is behavioral ecology?
Behavioral ecology is a scientific
field of study that looks at how
behavior is controlled and how it
contributes to survival and
reproductive success.
 The goal of behavioral ecology is to
understand how a plant or animal’s behavior
is adapted to its environment.
ETHOLOGY
The study of animal behavior.
CAUSES OF BEHAVIOR
1. Proximate Cause- The trigger for the
behavior
2. Ultimate Cause- The evolutionary reason behind
the behavior
Proximate causes of behavior focus on:
 Environmental stimuli that trigger a
behavior (nurture).
 Genetic and sensory motor mechanisms
underlying a behavior (nature).
Ultimate causes of behavior focus on:
 The evolutionary significance of a behavior
 ALTRUISM (Altruistic behavior)
• Typically, we assume that behaviors are selfishthat
is, they benefit the individual at the expenses of
others, specifically competitors.
• In discussing selflessness, we will use the term
altruism to describe a behavior that reduces an
animal’s individual fitness but increases the fitness
of other individuals in the population.
• Altruism - behavior that decreases the individual
fitness of the practitioner and increases the fitness
of the recipient.
 ALTRUISTIC BEHAVIOR occurs in honeybee societies, in which the workers are
sterile. The workers themselves never reproduce, but they labor on behalf of a single
fertile queen. Furthermore, the workers sting intruders, a behavior that helps defend
the hive but results in the death of those workers.
TWO KINDS OF BEHAVIOR

INSTINCTIVE behavior that is inherited,

automatic and inflexible.

LEARNED behavior that changes as a

result of experience.
 TWO KINDS OF BEHAVIOR

INSTINCTIVE makes up the most of the

behavior in animals that have
short life cycles
Instinctive behaviors occur as a result of a specific
response to a particular stimulus. A stimulus is a change
in the organism’s internal or external environment that an
animal is able to detect. A response is an organism’s
reaction to a stimulus.
 TWO KINDS OF BEHAVIOR

LEARNED Learning is a change in

behavior as a result of
experience.
Learning is very significant in long-lived animals that care
for their young. Animals that live many years are highly
likely to benefit from an ability to recognize previously
encountered situations and to modify their behavior
accordingly.
KINDS OF LEARNING

HABITUATION
a change in behavior in which an animal
ignores an insignificant stimulus after repeated
exposure to it.
ASSOCIATION
occurs when an animal makes a connection
between a stimulus and an outcome.
KINDS OF LEARNING

IMPRINTING
a special kind of
irreversible learning in
which a very short
period during a
specific time in its life.
KINDS OF LEARNING

INSIGHT/SPATIAL LEARNING
• learning in which past experiences are
recognized to solve new problems.
• the modification of behavior based on
experience
COMMUNICATION
Communication comes
from Latin word
communicare “to share”.

Animal Communication is
the transfer of information
from one or a group of
animals (sender or senders)
to one or more other animals
(receiver or receivers) which
affects either the current or
future behavior.
 COMMUNICATION
the use of signals
to convey
information from
one animal to
another
Pheromones are chemicals produced by
animals and released into the
environment that trigger behavioral or
developmental changes in other animals
of the same species
 FUNCTIONS OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
 Communication during contests
 Mating rituals
 Ownership/Territorial
 Food-related signals
 Alarm Calls
 Meta-communication
 SOLITARY FORAGING
FORAGING BEHAVIOR
Food-obtaining behavior,
or foraging, includes not
only eating but also any
GROUP FORAGING
activities an animal uses
to search for, recognize
and capture food items.
 MATING BEHAVIOR AND MATE CHOICE
 Just as foraging is crucial for individual survival,
mating behavior and mate choice play a major
role in determining reproductive success.
 These behaviors include seeking or attracting
mates, choosing among potential
mates, competition for mates and caring for
offspring
 Although we tend to think of mating simply as
the union of male and female, the mating
relationship between males and females varies
greatly from species to species, defining
number of distinct mating systems.
 MATING SYSTEM
 Mating systems vary with regard to both the
lengths and number of relationships.
 In many animal species, mating is promiscuous,
with no strong pair-bonds.
 In species in which the mates remain together
for a longer period, the relationship may be
monogamous (one male mating with one
female) or polygamous (an individual of one
sex mating with several of the other).
 Polygamous relationships most often involve a
single male and many females, a system called
polygyny, through some species exhibit
polyandry, in which a single female mate with
several males.
SEXUAL DIMOSRPHISM
 The extent to which males and females differ in
appearance, a characteristic known as sexual
dimorphism, typically varies the type of mating
system.
 Among monogamous species, males and females
are often so much alike morphologically that they may
be difficult or impossible to distinguish based on
external characteristics.
 In contrast, polygynous species are generally
dimorphic, with males being showier and often larger
than females. In monogamous species, such as these
 Polyandrous species are also dimorphic, but the wester gulls, males and females ae difficult
to distinguish using external characteristics
females are generally more ornamented and larger only.
than the males.
ANY QUESTIONS?