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Hello our dear learners, we will be studying about Basis of ecology. So, let&#39;s dive deep and study.

The term ecology was coined and described by Ernst haeckel. The study of interactions or inter-relationships of organisms with their environment is called ecology.

<h2>Organisms and population</h2>

Organism: An organism is the smallest unit of ecological hierarchy and is the basic unit of ecological study.

Biomes: A large regional unit delimited by a specific climatic zone, having a particular major vegetation zone and its associated fauna, eg. tundra desert, temperate deciduous forest, tropical min forest, ocean etc.

On The basis of variation in mean temperature along latitude the main climatic regions are

<ol>
	<li>Tropical = 0° - 20° latitude</li>
	<li>Subtropical = 20° - 40° latitude</li>
	<li>Temperate = 40° - 60° latitude Arctic and Antarctic = 60° and above latitude.</li>
</ol>

<h2>Abiotic environmental factors</h2>

1) Temperature:

Average temperature on land varies seasonally, decreases progressively from the equator towards the poles and from plains to the mountain tops. There are, however, unique habitats such as thermal springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents where average temperatures exceed 1000 C. A few organisms can tolerate and thrive in a wide range of temperatures (they are called eurythermal, but a vast majority of them are restricted to a narrow range of Temperatures (such organisms are called stenothermal. The levels of thermal tolerance of different species determine to a large extent their geographical distribution.

2) Water:

Next to temperature, water is the most important factor influencing the life of organisms. Organisms living in lakes and rivers face many water-related problems. For aquatic organisms the quality chemical composition of water becomes important. The salt concentration (measured as salinity in parts per thousand), is less than 5 percent in inland waters, 30-35 per cent in the sea and more than 100 per cent in some hypenaire lagoons. Some organisms are tolerant of a wide range of salinities(euryhaline)but others are restricted to a narrow range (stenohaline). Many freshwater animals cannot live for long in seawater and vice versa because of the osmotic problems they would face.

Stratification in lake:

<img loading="lazy" alt="Stratification in lake Diagram Representation" src="https://study.kdcampus.live/admin/assets/uploads/ckeditor/Stratification in lake Diagram Representation.webp" style="height:150px; width:238px" />

In deep lake, zonation or stratification may be according to the need of light.

<h2>Responses to abiotic factors</h2>

On the basis of response to environmental factors organisms are of two types-Regulator and Conformers.

Regulators: Some organisms are able to maintain homeostasis by physiological (sometimes behavioural also) means which ensure constant body temperature, constant osmotic concentration, etc. All birds and mammals, and a very few lower vertebrate and invertebrate species are also capable of thermoregulation and osmoregulation.

Conformers: Organisms which cannot maintain a constant internal environment with the changing external environment are called conformers. 

<img loading="lazy" alt="Response to Abiotic Factors Diagram Representation" src="https://study.kdcampus.live/admin/assets/uploads/ckeditor/Response to Abiotic Factors Diagram Representation.webp" style="height:150px; width:220px" />

Population: A group of individuals (members) of the same species living in an area (geographical/political) constitute a population or local population or deme. eg. Humans inhabiting hills, plains etc.

Population Attributes:

<ol>
	<li>Birth rate or Biotic potential or Fertility or Natality:Biotic potential is the maximum natality or birth rate that can be achieved under ideal conditions of the environment.</li>
	<li>Mortality or Death Rate:In most countries, the death rate dropped almost continuously during the industrial revolution, mainly thue to improved health services.</li>
	<li>Migration: Migration is the movement of individuals into (immigration) or out of femigration) a place or country Immigration minus the emigration is called Net immigration.</li>
	<li>Age and Sex Structures: The age structure of a given population refers to the proportion of individuals of different ages. This is important aspect because many functional aspects like production of lividuals related to age</li>
	<li>Interspecific interactions: In a community different species interact with each other in different ways. </li>
</ol>

<table cellspacing="0" class="Table" style="border-collapse:collapse; border:none; margin-left:12px">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
			Species A
			</td>
			<td>
			Species B
			</td>
			<td>
			Name of interactions
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			+
			</td>
			<td>
			+
			</td>
			<td>
			Mutation
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			-
			</td>
			<td>
			-
			</td>
			<td>
			Competition
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			+
			</td>
			<td>
			-
			</td>
			<td>
			Predation
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			+
			</td>
			<td>
			-
			</td>
			<td>
			Parasitism
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			+
			</td>
			<td>
			0
			</td>
			<td>
			Commensalism
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			-
			</td>
			<td>
			0
			</td>
			<td>
			Ammensalism
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

Ecosystem:

A system produced by the interaction of abiotic and biotic components of an area is called ecosystem. • Ecosystem may be large or small.

<ul>
	<li>Single drop of water may be an ecosystem.</li>
	<li>It is a self-regulatory, self-sustaining and open unit.</li>
</ul>

Homeostasis:

Ecosystem is a dynamic (functional) system because continuous interaction is going on between abiotic or biotic components so the ecosystem remains in an equilibrium position. This feature of the system is known as homeostasis.

<h2>Function of ecosystem</h2>

<ol>
	<li>Productivity: The rate of synthesis of energy containing organic matter or biomass by any trophic level per unit area in unit time describes its productivity. NPP = GPP - R [where, NPP - net primary productivity GPP - gross primary productivity R- Respiratory rate]</li>
	<li>Decomposition: Decomposers break down complex organic matter into inorganic substances like carbon dioxide, water and nutrients and the process is called decomposition. Dead plant remains such as leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of animals, including fecal matter constitute detritus, which is the raw material for decomposition. The important steps in the process of decomposition are fragmentation, leaching, catabolism, humification and mineralisation.</li>
	<li>Mineral Cycling (Biogeochemical Cycles): All the types of materials required by the ecosystem in addition to energy, are available continuously to the system through recycling. Thus there is a constant exchange of materials between the living organism and their abiotic environment through the recycling of materials. These pathways are known as Biogeochemical cycles Note: Environmental factors, eg.. soil, moisture, pH. temperature etc., regulate the rate of release of nutrients into the atmosphere. </li>
</ol>

Hope you learned well. In our next blog we will discuss more about ecology.

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