Ecology and Ecosystems

• Ecology is the field of science which studies living organisms and the non-living environment around them.
• An Ecosystem is a system of living and non-living things in specific area. A sea, lake, river, mountain, forest and desert are types of ecosystems.
• A Biome is a major ecosystem with similar species and similar environment conditions. example: Grassland, savanna, desert and tropical forest.
• The Biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists.
• An Ecotone is a transition area between two ecosystems. Swamps between a forest and a river is an ecotone.
• An ecosystem contains a lot of species of animals, plants and microorganisms. All individuals in an ecosystem make up the community.
• Total number of individuals of one species is the Population. Example: Spotted hyenas in Amboseli Nation Park
• Habitat is the place an organisms makes its home.
• Specialized habitats such as grasslands and forests with uniform environmental conditions are called Biotopes
• Ecosystems are made up of Biotic and Abiotic factors
• Biotic factors are living things that are classified into Autotrophs(producers) and Heterotrophs(consumers)
• Autothrops produce their own food and heterothrops eat other organisms
• Sunlight is an important non-living factor and It affects the ability of the photosynthetic plants and microorganisms to produce organic material.
• Plants rely on sunlight to grow, reproduce,blossom and shedding leaves.
• Animals also rely on sunlight to reproduce, hunt and migrate
• Temperature affects growth, reproduction, and migration of animals
• Cold weather induces Hibernation of some animals
• Climate is the long-lasting weather conditions of an area. Humidity, precipitation, wind speed and temperature are all features of the climate.
• Macroclimate is the large scale climate, whereas microclimate defines climate of an small local areas.