Branches of Ecology & Ecological Factors

Branches of Ecology & Ecological Factors

The ecological studies are based on three main aspects— levels of organization, taxonomic affinities, & types of habitat.

The Branches of Ecology

1. On the Basis of Levels of Organization:

There are two branches of ecology on the basis of levels of organization—autsynecologySynecology.

Autecology:

• Auto (on itself) + Ecology = Autecology.

• Autecology is the study of the relationship of an individual species to its environment. For example: organism ecology.

Synecology:

• Syn (together) + Ecology = Synecology.

• Synecology is the sthe relationshiptionship of a group of organisms and their environment. 

• Synecology is subdivided into 'population Ecology,' 'Community Ecology,' 'Ecosystem ecology,' etc.

2. On the Basis of Taxonomic Affinities:

Taxonomy is concerned with the classification of things, especially organisms (plants & animals).

For example, plant ecology & animal ecology.

3. Onhabitatsis of Habitat:

Habitat is the place where organisms live. On the basis of habitat, ecology is divided into two categories—

• Terrestrial Ecology: For example, Forest ecology, Grassland ecology, Desert ecology, etc.

• Aquatic Ecology: For example, marine ecology. Freshwater ecology, etc.

Ecological Factors

The factors that affect flora and fauna directly or indirectly are called ecological or environmental factors. In short,ecologicall factors are known as eco factors.

There are two kinds of ecological factors—abiotic & biotic factors.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living factors are called abiotic factors.

For example: Light, temperature, humidity (water), wind, topographic (physical features of an area viz., river, mountain, etc.), edaphic (soil), etc.

1. Light:

• Light is a key climatic factor essential for plant photosynthesis, which in turn supports animal life.

• Ecologically, only infrared and ultraviolet light are significant.

• Light helps animals move and perform vital activities.

• UV light aids in vitamin D synthesis, but excessive exposure can cause skin cancer.

Plants are divided into three types on the basis of photoperiod:

• Long-day plants: Wheat, barley, oats, henbane, etc.

• Short-day plants: Rice, Soyabean, cotton, sorghum/jowar etc.

• Day-neutral plants: Rose, almost flowers of winter season, sunflower, tomato, chilli, tobacco etc.

Plants are divided into two types on the basis of sunlight:

• Photophilous/Heliophilous (Sunlight loving} plants: e.g. Birch, cactus, sugercane, maize etc.

• Sciophilous/Heliophobus (Shade loving /Sun fearing) plants: e.g. Fern, several herbaceous plants etc.

2. Temperature:

• Temperature refers to the degree of hotness or coldness and is essential for the movement and reproduction of organisms.

• The total heat received by plants is called thermoperiod, which differs from photoperiod (light duration).

• Most biological activities occur between 10°C to 45°C, and plant respiration increases with rising temperature.

• Based on temperature, plants are classified into four categories.

3. Humdity:

• Atmospheric moisture in the form of invisible vapair is called humidity.

• Humdity plays an important role in life of plants and animals.

• Proccess such as transpiration, absorption of water etc. are much influenced by humidity.

4. Wind:

• Wind is an important abiotic eco factor.

• Wind affects soil erosion, pollination, seeds dispersal etc.

• According to speed, winds are classified as follows :

  • Breeze-5-50 km/h

  • Gale-50-100 km/h

  • Storm-100-125 km/h

  • Hurricane More than 125 km/h.

5. Topographic:

• Topographic factors are concerned with the physical geography of the earth in the area.

• Height, slope, expose etc. of topography affects plants and animals in many ways.

6. Edaphic (Soil):

• Man depends on plants and plants grows in soil.

• Thus soil plays an important role in the life of plants and animals.

• The constituent parts of the soil are—Soil water (25%), Soil air (25%), Mineral matter (40%), Organic matter or Humus (10%).

Biotic Factors

Biotic factors also affects the life of plants and animals. Under natural conditions, organism live together influencing each other's life and establish relationship. The common examples of such relationship are given below—

1. Symbiosis:

• A relationship between two different living being close to one another and depending on each other benefiting from each other in particular ways is known as symbiosis,

  • Example: Algae and fungus live together and form Lichen (Pronounced as Liken) etc.

2. Parasittism:

• The relationship between two organism in which one benefits at the expense of the other is called parasitism.

  • Example: Bacteria, Virus, Cuckoo (Hindi name Koyal, as we know that cuckoos do not build nest their own, but deposit their eggs in the nests of crows) etc.

3. Commensalism:

• An association between two organism in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefits nor harm is called commensalism.

  • Example: Remora & Shark (Remora rides under the shark and feeds the leftovers of their host shark's meals), Tree frog and plants (Tree frog uses plants as their protection), Heron (Bagula) and cattle (cattle egrets eat the insects strirred up by cattle when they are grazing) etc.

4. Predation:

• Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, the prey.

  • Example: Grass (prey) & Grass hopper (predator), Small fish (prey)k Large fish (predator) etc.

5. Seprophytism:

• Sapro is equal to decompose, Saprophytism is a mode of nutrition in which organism obtain food from dead organism (non-living organic matter— detritus, organism that feed on dead organism— detritivore/decomposer/saprotroph).

• Example: Bacteria, Fungi, Mushroom etc.

Glossary (Ecology)

Deep Ecology:

• The term 'deep ecology' was first coined by Norwagian activist and philospherArniesNaess in 1972.

• This term is a related to environmentalism.

• It is considered as a movement or a concept that pleads radical measures to protect the natural environment irrespective of their effects on human welfare.

• Thus, deep ecology is an ecocentric philosophy or view point of radical environmental movement that considers humans as equal to other organism within the global ecosystem.

• The reverse philosophy / view point of deep ecology is 'Shallow Ecology',

• It is anthropocentric i.e. human-centric.

Ecosophy:

• The term 'ecosophy' was introduced by Amies Naess.

• He defined 'ecosophy' as a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium in the global natural ecosystem or environmental system.

Ecotone:

• A boundary and/or transition area (zone) between two or more communities or biomes.

  • Example: Estuary (where fresh water and sea water confluent and exchange their water) etc.

Footprint:

• The ecological foot print is a method to measure human demand on natural capital.

• It is expressed as the minimum area of land required to completes sustain the life of a person is called his ecological footprint.

• It is measured in global hectare (gha). Huminity's ecological footprint is more than 1.5 that is we require 50% more than the Earth's are to sustain our consumption of natural resources.

Habitat:

• The place where an organism lives is called its habitat.

  • Example: The habitat of a whale—Ocean, the habitat of a tiger—forest etc. Habitat also refer to the place occupied by an entire biological community. 

Niche:

• The word Niche is derived from Latin word nidus meaning nest and the word nidus is further converted into French word nicher meaning make a nest.

• The term Niche was coined by American biologist Joseph Grinnel in 1917.

• In ecology, Niche means the place of an organism within its community or ecosystem.

• An ecossytem consists of a number of overlapping and ineracting niches.

• A niche is unique for species that means no two species have exact identical niches.

• Each specie makes or arranges its own distinct nest.

Overshoot:

• Overshoot means pass swiftly beyond or cross the limit.

• We are consuming resources faster than they can regenerate and creating waste faster than it can be obsorbed.

• This is called ecological overshoot. While this can be done for a short while, overshoot ultimately leads to the drastic depletion of resources on which our well-being depends.

Sere:

• The entire sequence of communities that successively change in a particular area is called 'sere'.

Succession:

• The successive replacement of communities in an area over a period of time is called ecological succession.

• Both abiotic and biotic components are involved in such changes.

• There are two types of succession—Primary and Secondary succession.

Primary Succession:

• Succession occuring on previously unoccupied sites is called primary succession.

  • Example: Rock out crop, Glacial moraine etc.

Secondary Succession:

• The reappearance and establishment of communities in the area where once ecological communities existed, but destroyed due to some reasons.

  • Example: Reappearance of forest community in the place of fire-destroyed forest community etc.

Note:

• The secondary succession starts with the growth of grasses & weeds.

• Next small plants begin to grow and there after the sequence is similar to that of primary succession.

Transition:

• The concept of ecological transition was first introduced by American anthropologist John W.Bennatt (1915-76) in 1976

Final Thoughts

Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment, shaped by levels of organization, taxonomic categories, and types of habitat. It explores how biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors influence life systems.

Understanding concepts like autecology, synecology, ecological factors, and relationships such as symbiosis or predation helps us appreciate the balance of nature.

Terms like niche, habitat, succession, and ecological footprint highlight the dynamic and interconnected nature of ecosystems. In an age of environmental challenges, ecological knowledge is vital for sustainable living and environmental conservation.