Ecology

Have you ever stepped into your garden and noticed the incredible display of nature, from ladybirds crawling on leaves to worms burrowing in the soil to bees buzzing around flowers? Or have you been to the beach and seen the variety of marine organisms that are washed ashore, like crabs, barnacles, or seaweed? If yes, then you have witnessed ecology in action!

• First, we'll discuss the definition of ecology and what it seeks to explain.
• Then, we'll have a look at the different components of an ecosystem.
• Finally, we will tackle ecological concepts you might encounter: ecological niche, population ecology, and ecological succession.
• As a bonus, we will also touch on the concept of human ecology, a concept that was inspired by the biological concept of ecology and is popularly used in the social sciences.

Ecology Definition

It helps us understand how these organisms interact with each other and the surrounding environment.

A major part of ecology is to understand how and why living organisms live in the places they do or why their populations increase or decrease. Biotic factors and abiotic factors influence these patterns.

• Biotic and abiotic factors both play crucial roles in the functioning of an ecosystem. Any changes in an area's biotic or abiotic factors will impact the ecosystem's dynamic.

To understand what biotic and abiotic factors are, let’s take the example of woodlice.

Ecological Niche

When talking about the ecological niche of an organism, we have to consider factors such as:

• The abiotic factors that an organism can tolerate, such as weather conditions, humidity, and more.

• The resources that these organisms require. This could include water required by the organism, and food.

• How this organism interacts with other organisms. This includes whether it competes with other organisms for resources, whether it acts as a pest or whether it is involved in a predator-prey or mutualistic relationship.

Competition can be interspecific or intraspecific. Interspecific competition refers to a situation where organisms have to compete with organisms of another species for resources. Intraspecific competition refers to a situation where organisms have to compete with organisms from their own species for resources.

There are many types of relationships behind organisms that we have to consider when thinking about an ecological niche. +/- relationships involve relationships where one organism benefits, whilst the other suffers. We call such relationships parasitic.

Another type of relationship is a +/+ relationship, which is a relationship where both organisms benefit. Such relationships are called mutualistic.

The third type of relationship, +/O is where one organism benefits from one organism while neither benefitting nor harming the organism. Such relationships are called commensal relationships.

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is the process by which biotic and abiotic factors change over time in an ecosystem. There are two main types of ecological succession:

Primary Succession

In primary succession, a newly formed rock is colonized by living organisms for the first time. The first species that colonize the region is called the pioneer species. These species are specially adapted to living in very hostile environments with little soil depth, water availability, or other resources.

Secondary Succession

In secondary succession, an area that was previously already colonized is recolonized. An example of when secondary succession occurs is after a wildfire. Secondary succession happens much faster than primary succession, as the area used to be colonized before the new species appeared.

As succession progresses, the following trends happen:

• Soil depth increases

• Water availability increases

• Biodiversity increases

• Soil quality improves

The following trends happen up until a climax community is reached.

There are two types of climax communities, a climatic climax, and a biotic climax.

• A climatic climax is reached when abiotic factors determine the climax of the community

• A biotic climax is the climax community reached when biotic factors determine the climax.

Human Ecology

So far, we have talked about important ecological concepts in Biology, but ecology is a concept that is not exclusive to this subject. Scientists from other disciplines have also taken inspiration from how biologists study the interactions between organisms and their environment. An example of this is human ecology.