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The Earth sustains the living creatures through energy and material cycles. Ecology the branch of the biology that deals with the relationship between living individuals and environment. On the planet of Earth the plants and animals can not live in an isolated condition. As such they are organized in to groups like * Populations * Communities * Biomes and * Biosphere
ECOLOGY cont POPULATIONS. *Population is defined as an aggregation of individuals of a particular species in a definite territorial area.
*The study of species is known as Auto ecology The populations are featured by density, which again depends on birthrate, death rate, emigration and immigration.
POPULATIONS
The density of population depends on the availability of food, abundant the food more the density. The population density also depends on the space factor, as home range, territory and nest.
Home range refers to a large area in which the individuals restrict their activity in search of food and mate.
The territory is a smaller area in which defended activity against other members of the same species. While the nest is the ultimate dwelling or resting place.
COMMUNITIES
Ecologically the study of communities is known as synecology. The whole community containing several populations of different species is called as biota. The community is featured by the following features.
* Trophic organization *Stratification *Dominance * variety *Interaction and *Succession.
Relationship in community
* the following are the types of relationship in a community.
1. Predation: It is the relationship between the prey and predator. Ex. deer and lion and rat and snake ect.
2. Competition : this must for the survival of the species, which is of two types a).Intraspecific and b) Interspecific competition. 3. Mutualism :In this association two organisms live and obtain benefit from each other, however they can live separately also. Ex. Tick bird and Rhinoceros.
Food chains
There are 3 types of food chains.
1. Predator chain consisting of plants and animals. 2. Parasitic chain. Larger to smaller organisms.
3. Detritus chain. Dead matter by Micro organisms
Food webs
Many food chains existing in a community is called as food web. All these are interconnected forming a net work of species constitute the food web. Food Pyramid : Pyramid base is formed by producers (plants) and the apex is last order, the consumer.
Water cycle .
About 75% of earth is covered by water. Solar energy plays an important role in the evaporation of water in to clouds and as rain back to earth. Plants in the forests play an vital role in this cycle. Sedimentary cycles : Sulphur cycle : SO2 is gas, washed down by rain to become sulphuric acid, reacts with salts of soil forming sulphates. Phosphorous cycle : soil containing phosphate, will be source to plants animals
Habitats in ecosystem.
The ecosystem is the functional unit of ecosystem and there are 4 different types of ecosystems.
Terrestrial eco system (forest , desert and grasslands) Fresh ware ecosystem (river, pond and lake). Marine (ocean). Agricultural (Man made crop fields) Entire ecosystem is called Biosphere.
Environment bioremidiation.
Bioremidiation is a process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return to natural environment. Specific contaminants such as cholrinated hydrocarbons by bacteria cleaning up the oil spills facilitate the decomposition of crude oil by exogenon bacteria. This comes under phytoremidiation. Some heavy metals like cadbium and lead are not absorbed by plants. Transgenic plants can absorb them. Deinococcus radiolarian can digest touline and ionic mercury from radioactive nuclear wasts.