Unit 1: Introduction

• OEKOLOGIE

  • derived from “oikos” (Greek) + “logus” (Latin)
  • the study of nature’s household
  • concept coined by Ernst Haeckel – the study of plants, animals, microorganisms, their relationship with each other and with their physical environment
• Ecology

  • a study of nature
  • physical, chemical, and biological processes of our environment and how these processes operate as a system
  • study of the relationship of organisms with their environment
• Organisms

  • includes man as a biological species
  • utilize matter and energy from the natural world and use them to life
  • engage in biological processes to sustain life
• Biological processes

  • Metabolism (photosynthesis & cellular respiration), growth, reproduction, migration
• Environment

  • consists of all factors and phenomena outside of the organism that influences its survival and reproduction
• Physico-chemical environment

  • include temperature, moisture, soil, water, chemical elements
  • factors interact which influence life of organisms (e.g. water flow in a stream)
• Biotic environment

  • refers to the influence of one organism on another
• Relationships

  • include all interactions, positive & negative with the physical environment and the members of other species and individuals of the same species

  “organisms and their environment are strongly coupled” – operate as a SYSTEM
• SYSTEM - consists of interdependent parts that make up a whole.

  • The components plus their interactions and with the necessary input deliver the specific output which each part cannot do on its own.
  • The Earth is both a closed and open system.
• Rachel Carson

  • American nature writer whose books played a major role in shaping and popularizing the modern environmental movement.
  • Silent Sring
• Charles Darwin

  • theory of organic evolution by means of natural selection
  • Preservation of favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
• Charles Elton

  • concept of the pyramid of numbers and one of the inventors of the concepts of food chain, food we, and ecological niche.
• John Harper

  • revolutionized plant ecology
  • impact on its development as a modern science than any other ecologist in the 20th century
• G. Evelyn Hutchinson

  • advocated quantitative approaches
  • revamping an existing concept, the ecological niche, into a more robust and explicit idea in which species distribution is mapped into axes of environmental variation
• Aldo Leopold

  • A Sand Country Almanac
  • Sketches Here and There
• E. Lucy Braun

  • deciduous Forests of Eastern North America
• Eugene & Howard Odum

  • leading the figures in the developmental of ecosystem ecology after the second world war
• Arthur Tansley

  • key to the discipline's professionalization
  • introduced what would become one of his science's most fundamental and influential terms, the ecosystem
• Angel C. Alcala

  • first working no-take marine reserve in the country
  • national scientist champions coastal resource management
• Jurgenne Primavera

  • chief mangrove scientific advisor o the zoological society
• Scope of Ecology

  • An ecologist’s laboratory is the organism’s natural habitat
  • Focused on the increasing hierarchical levels of organization
  • Concept of a system - Interdependent parts functioning as a whole
• Hierarchical Levels of Organization

  individual > population > community > ecosystem > biome > biosphere
• Ecology is an interdisciplinary science.
• Autecology - the study of individuals or populations of a single species and their relationship to their environment
• Synecology - deals with the structure and development of entire ecological communities and the interrelationships of the plants and animals within them
• Behavioral Ecology - deals with how behavior contributes to the survivorship, reproduction and population growth of species
• Population Ecology – emphasis on factors that affect population growth and determine population size
• Community Ecology - focus on diversity and what influences the number of species in an area
• Ecosystem Ecology – examines nutrient availability and energy flow
• Carolus Linnaeus:

  • Development of the binomial nomenclature system for naming species.
  • Classification of organisms into a hierarchical structure, laying the foundation for modern taxonomy.
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek:

  • Invention of the microscope, enabling the discovery and observation of microorganisms.
  • Pioneering studies on microscopic life, advancing the understanding of the microbial world.
• Victor Hensen:

  • Introduction of the term "plankton" and foundational work on marine biology.
  • Investigations into the role of plankton in marine ecosystems, contributing to oceanography.
• Robert H. Whittaker:

  • Development of the Five Kingdoms classification system.
  • Contribution to the understanding of plant community ecology through the concept of biome classification.
• Eugenius Warming:

  • Formulation of the concept of plant ecology.
  • Pioneer in the study of plant communities and their interactions, influencing ecological research.
• Victor Shelford:

  • Formulation of the concept of ecological succession.
  • Introduction of the idea of the "biome" and pioneering research on animal ecology.
• Alexander von Humboldt:

  • Groundbreaking work in biogeography and ecosystem interactions.
  • Pioneer in the study of climate and vegetation zones, emphasizing the interconnectedness of nature.
• Henry Chandler Cowles:

  • Development of the concept of ecological succession in plant communities.
  • Studies on sand dune ecology, providing insights into primary ecological succession.
• Karl August Möbius:

  • Contributions to marine ecology and the study of marine communities.
  • Research on the ecological relationships between different species in marine ecosystems.
• Vladimir Vernadsky:

  • Formulation of the biosphere concept.
  • Contributions to the understanding of the Earth as a living system, bridging geology and biology.