Basics of Ecology

BASICS OF ECOLOGYBy Omar Jimenez, Reggie Roberson , Aulani Johnson

WHAT IS ECOLOGY?• Ecology is the scientific study of interactions with

organisms and with the physical and chemical environment they inhabit.

HABITAT• A habitat is an environment that an organism

inhabits or lives in that provides all the necessary essentials for that organism’s survival.

• An example of habitat is the Borneo jungle which houses our animal the orangutan.

PREDATOR• Predators are considered to be animals that naturally

preys on others.• Ex) Lions are a major example as these big cats are

built by nature to hunt and they have no natural enemies.

NICHEA niche is basically the job or responsibility that an organism has in its given environment. (ROLE)Ex) The job/niche of the bee is to pollinate flowers

SYMBIOSIS• The interaction/relationship between individual

animals from two different species that live close together.

• Barnacles attach their selves to whales

MUTUALISM • Interaction between 2 types of animals in which both

benefit, it is a type of symbiosis• Ex) Plover Bird goes in Crocodile’s mouth and eats

bits of food in teeth, as crocodile’s teeth are cleaned.

COMMUNITY• All population of animals that live in one environment

and interact with one another.• The amazon is an example as all the animals live in

this area and depending on where they are they all interact with each other at one point.

COMMENSALISM• Interaction between 2 types of animals in which one

animal benefits without harming the other, a type of symbiosis

• Ex) Clownfish/Anemone: Clownfish live in the tentacles of the anemones which protects them from predators. Predators are poisoned by the nematocysts of the anemones.

COMPETITION• The struggle between two or more living things that

depend on the same limited resource.• Plants in the forest compete for sunlight in order for

them to undergo photosynthesis. And taller plants get more sunlight.

PREY• An animal that is naturally preyed upon.• A mouse is an example of a prey.

SUCCESSION• Succession is the process by which the structure of a

community of organisms evolves over time.

• An example of this term is when a new island is formed from volcanic activity in the ocean.

SPECIES POPULATION• The number of organisms that belong to one type of

species.• For example the species population for pandas is

2000 to 3000 left. (I think)

SYMBIOSIS• The living together of two completely

different organisms that share a mutual, parasitic, or commensal type of relationship.

• For example rhinos and OxpecKers share a mutual relationship because both organisms benefit. The Oxpecker eats the ticks and therefore gets food and therefore the rhino stays healthy because the ticks don’t get a chance to infect the rhino.

PARASITISM• When two different organisms living together have a

relationship in when only one of the organisms benefit.

• For example bedbugs feed of their host and only harms organisms while it benefits and stays alive.

CARRYING CAPACITY• The maximum amount of organisms an environment

may have without detoriating.• If somehow animals that consume grass

overpopulated and ate all the grass in a environment then there would be nothing to sustain the organisms and if they died off then animals that ate the animals would die off and a ripple effect would happen.

LIMITING FACTORS• Factors that may contribute to the stunted growth,

population, or process of an organism.• Bad weather, drought, flood, fire, and human

interactions can be limiting factors to the survival of a species.

PIONEER SPECIES• Species that start an entire ecosystem from

destroyed or uninhabited land. They are the very first animals to colonize.

• Most and probably all pioneer species are plants and our example is the lichen. It is a type of plant that can survive in hostile, harsh environments.