A science deals with interaction b/w org. And their envt.

A heart & soul of Envt. Science.

Hilaire in 1859 gave term ethology study of relation of org. With their
family, society and community.

George Jackson in 1894 gave term Hexicology- study of relation of org. To

their envt. With regard to their nature.

Term ecology composed of two Greek words- oikos means house or dwelling
place & logos means to study. Literally means study of org. At home.

Haekels- Concept of interrelationship of org. & envt.

Charles Elton- Scientific natural history concerned with sociology &

economics of materials.

karl Friederich- Science of envt.

E. P. Odum- the studyn of structure & function of ecosystem.

In 1935, A.G. Tansely proposed the term ecosystem .

It is a set of organism interacting with each other and their surrounding

physical & chemical factors extent in a given space.

Prof. R. Misra put forward a triangle of nature as ecology is interaction of

forms of form, function & factors.

These three integrate to form triangle of nature.

Linnaeus & Buffon made contributions in ecology in their book Natural

History in 1756.

Indian Ecology-

Dudgeon first noticed the process of succession in gangetic plains.

Other ecologist are Agarkar, Champion, Misra, Bharucha others.

IBP (International Biosphere Programme) by ICSU ( international council of

scientific Union)

Strong school of Ecology (1960)- Banaras.

National instute of Oceanography (1966)- HQ Dona Paula (Goa).

From 1960-64, an International Indian Ocean Expedition was established.

Vessels were INS Kistna, R.V.Varuna, R.V.Couch & F.V.Bangada

1. Species- A uniform interbreeding population spread over time.

2. Vegetation- The collective and continuous growth of plants in space.
3. Flora- species content of region irrespective of numerical strength of each sp.
4. Population- Group of individual organism of same sp. In a given area.
5. Community- group of population of different species in given area.
6. Factor- External force, substance or condition that affects organism in any
way .
7. Habitat- The place where organism lives .
8. Adaptation- Any feature of organism which allows it to survive in any
condition of its habitat.
9. Ecad- population of individuals which have same genes but different
environmental conditions. (Inheritable)
10.Ecotypes- Genetically different but interfertile.
11.Biological clocks- Plant showing different physiological mechanism at
particular seasons of year. Thus plants are known as biological clocks.
12.Ecotone- A region where two ecosystems blend each other .
13.Life form- is the sum of the adaptation of the plant to climate

14.Biological spectrum- Percentage distribution of sp. Along various life forms of

a flora

Succession- A natural process by which different groups colonize the same

area over a period of time in definite sequence.

Primary s.- Starts from primitive substratum with out any earlier inhabitant.
(Barren)

Secondary s.- starts from prevailing existing living matter.

Autogenic s.- when existing community replace itself on reaction with envt.

Allogenic s.- when existing community is replaced by external force.

Climax communiy- Final community that maintain itself in equilibrium .

Monoclimax- According to one theory, only one community controls

community by the climate.

Polyclimax theory- when more than one climax community remains there.

Biome- more communities at different stages together constitute Biome of

that area.

Ecosystem- When plants, animals interacts with each other and also with
their physical envt.

Biosphere- The planet earth along with atmosphere (air, land, water) that
sustains life.

Standing rate / standing quality- The amount of inorganic substances

(P,S,C,N,H) present at any given time in an ecosystem.

Ecological pyramids- Graphical representation of each trophic level of an

ecosystem in terms of biomass, no. or energy.

Food chain- The transfer of food energy through a series of org. with repeated
eating & being eaten.

Food web- The interlocking pattern of no. of food chains.

Productivity- Rate of production or amount of organic matter accumulated in

the living component of an ecosystem in unit time.

Primary productivity- The rate at which radiant energy of sun is stored by

photosynthetic & chemosynthetic activity of producers in form of food.

Secondary productivity- The rate of energy storage at consumer level .

Gross primary productivity/total photosynthesis/total assimilation-The total

rate of photosynthesis plus organic matter used in respiration at the time of
measurement.

Net productivity- Rate of storage of organic matter not used by heterotrophs

i.e.
NPP-Hetrerotrophic consumption=NP

Biogeochemical cycles- Circulation of elements of protoplasm b/w envir. And

org.

Ecological Niche- includes physical space and its functional role in community
i.e., trophic position , its position in envt. Gradients of temp., pH, moisture &
condition of existence.

Ecological equivalents- Org. that occupy similar ecological niche in diff.

geographical conditions.

Conservation- To ensure the presentation of a quality of envt. In terms of

nutrition, recreation, a continuous yield of plant, animals by maintaining a
balanced cycle.

Pollution- Undesirable change in physical, chemical or biological

characteristics of air, water, soil, land that affect harmfully to human life.

Diversity- Combination of no. of species & no. of individuals of each species in

a community.

includes four basic concepts-

1. Holism
2. Ecosystem
3. Succession
4. Conservation
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Holism- Greek word Holon means entity coined by Jan Christian Smuts in
his book Holism & Evolution in 1926.

Whole> sum of its parts as new.

Ex: blood + muscle+ connective tissue Heart

These tissues must interact in particular way to form organ.

Community= Pop.1+pop.2+pop.3+---------+interaction b/w them.

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Use of ecological concepts to describe human activities & way in which

people can get best from their ecosystems. Two types of ecosystems-

1. Managed eco.- Altered by human activities.

2. Natural eco.- Free from human disturbance.

Species diversity increases the production efficiency of the system whereas

dominance makes the system stable.

Ex: carbon sequestration.

Ecology of individuals

Individuals interaction with their environment

Individual are the unit of study.

It includes-

1. Geographic distribution
2. Morphology
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B
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3. Taxonomic position
4. Life cycle

Unit of study is a group of individuals or community.

No. of population.

Population ecology: the unit of study is pure strand of individuals of a single

species k/as population.

It includes-

1. Size, growth and interdependence b/w them.

2. Competition and prey-predator relationships.

Community ecology-

1. Why community found in particular region?

2. Why some species are constant?
3. How communities interact with each other and environment?

Biome ecology- study of interaction b/w diff. communities of area.

Ecosystem ecology- Biotic & Abiotic interactions are concerned.

1. Complicated approach as unit of study is whole system.

2. Similarities & differences b/w food relationship & forms of energy.
3. Movement of energy & nutrients among biotic & abiotic component of
ecosystem.
4. How much & rate of energy transfer organized into biomass?

Environment includes air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans
and their interrelations.

Interaction of climate, soil topography, other plants, animals in given area.

Any external force, substance or condition , surrounds & affects the org. k/as
environmental factors/ecological factors/factors.
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Two types of factors-

1. Direct factors.
2. Indirect factors.

Four categories of ecological factors-

1. Climatic or aerial
2. Topographic or physiographic
3. Edaphic
4. Biotic

It chiefly includes meteorological factors1. Light

2. Temperature
3. Rainfall
4. Humidity
5. Atmosphere (gases & winds)

Includes temperature of both terrestrial & aquatic org. Its effects on org. Is as
follows:
1. Effects on metabolism- controls activity like enzymatic, transpiration,
photosynthesis, seed germination also
2. Effect on Reproduction-Thermoperiodism, phenology in plants. Maturation of
gonads &liberation of gametes.
ex. Calliphora sericate. It also affects fecundity .
3. Effect on growth & development- dessiccation, chilling injury, freezing injury,
cold resistance, heat injury in plants. In animals like oysters, at 10-20 degree
cel.,body length becomes 1.5-10.3mm. Below 21 de.c., corals cant flourish.
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4. Effect on crossing over- in fruit fly, co affects somatic expressions of gene

characters. Long wings at high temp. & vice-versa.
5. Effect on sex ratio-in daphnia, parthenogenetic eggs posses female while
sexual eggs have m/f.
6. 6. Effect on coloration-Gloger rule.
7. 7. Effect on morphology- Bergmans rule- temp. Affects body size and its part
size. In Allens rule , size of ears, leg, shorter in winter than in colder.ex:
Arctic fox, red fox, desert fox.
8. 8. Effect of temp. On distribution of plants-based on latitude and altitude.

At higher altitudes-

Temperature lowers & rainfall increases .

So, organic matter of soil also increases.

With increase in soil nitrogen , pH decreases.

Thus, xerophytes are common at lower altitudes.

And chamaephytes are at higher altitudes.

Some have divided , worlds vegetation into various classes-

1. Megatherms-high temp. whole year & tropical rain forest found.

2. Mesotherms-low temp. & deciduous forest type.
3. Hekistotherms-very low temp. & alpine vegetation.

In large water bodies, temp. does not affect much due to its high latent heat.
Wind effects and water currents balances it.

But in body like small ponds, diurnal variations accounts.

In deep ponds, thermal stratification occurs as bottom temp. is low as 5 oc

while upper layers about 22-23oC .
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A range shows three diff. zones of vegetation-

1. Homoiothermic or Endothermic animals (Warm blooded)Maintains their body temp. irrespective of envt.
Ex. Birds & mammals
2. Poikilotherms or Ectothermic animals ( Cold blooded)Body temp. fluctuates with envt.
Ex. Reptiles, Fishes & Amphibians.

Response to cold-

1. Subcutaneous fat acts as insulator.

2. Hair raised by contraction of erector-pili muscles. Traps air in hair spaces
which acts as insulator . In birds, same done by feathers.
3. Superficial blood vessels constricts to reduce heat loss.
4. Extra heat produced by increased metabolic rate of liver & muscles.

Response to heat-

1. Little subcutaneous fat as in camel in hump & in neck of buffalo & bison.
2. Hair relaxation by erector-pili muscles.
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3. Superficial muscles dilated to loss heat to atm. Surface.

4. Sweating.
5. MBR falls.(Basically hypothalamus act as thermostat for our body).

Coral reefs found at 210 c. hence, they are absent at colder regions.

Speckled trout fish found at 140 c -190c . Thus absent in colder regions.

Intertidal barnacles- some occur at 00c while some below at 7.20c .

1. Production of spores, cysts, eggs, pupae, seeds- if amoeba is encysted than it

can tolerate temp. below 00c .
2. Increase in osmotic concentration prevents freezing at 0 0c , leaves & stems
are flexible & not brittle.
3. Removal of water from tissues- exist in dried seeds, spores & cysts (No water
no freezing).
4. Dormancy

Hibernation i.e. winter sleep in Bats, Hedgehogs, ground squirrels. In this

heartbeat and metabolic body rate decreases.

Aestivation i.e. Summer sleep in lungfishes, insects (coccinella

septempunchtata lady bug) etc.

5. Homoiothermy- found in birds & mammals as sweating in summer while

insulation by fur, feathers, fat in winter.

Thermal migration- It is the escape from extreme hot or cold. Generally found
in animals. Desert animals, amphibians, deer, bear, birds and fishes.

Phenotypic Changes-

1. Drosophila- temp. affects eye size and no. of legs.

2. Daphnia- cyclomorphosis takes place i.e. body shape changes with
temperature.

In winter-head is round

In spring- helmet like projection on head.

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In summer- projection grows maximum to its size

In next winter- head becomes round again.

Light basically affects physiological functions in plants like photosynthesis,

transpiration, seed germination , flowering etc.

Light intensity affects by such factors-

1. Atmosphere- gases like nitrogen & oxygen absorbs and disperse small
fractions of wavelength.
2. Suspended particles- solid in air. ex: dust, smoke or solid in water like clay.
Plankton , silt have screening effect.
3. Water layers
4. Layers of vegetation
5. Direction & slope of land surfaces.
6. Affected by atmospheric temperature & relative humidity.

At higher altitudes, the amount of light is more than at sea-level due to

thinner air layers.

On a cloudy day-4% decrease in normal light intensity.

The amount of light reaching the forest floor depends-

1. Height of canopy
2. Crown division of trees
3. Age of trees
4. Phenological characters of constituent species.

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1. Chlorophyll Production: light is directly proportional to chlorophyll content.

Thus, responsible for green colour of plants. Exception: seeds of conifers,
ferns, mosses & algae., they are green without light.
2. Heating Action: if light falls than temperature increases.
3. Effect on transpiration: if intensity of light increases then rate of transpiration
increases causing dry habitat.
4. Stomatal movement: if light amount increases then stomata opens causes
increase in transpiration.
5. Distribution of plants: amount of vegetation increased at equator while low at
poles.
6. Overall vegetative development of plant parts:

Heliophytes- sunlight loving

Sciophytes- shade loving

Facultative sciophytes- grow best in sun & can grow well in shade also.

Facultative Heliophytes: The plants which although grow best at lower light
intensities but can also grow well in full sunlight are called facultative
heliophytes.

Adaptations of heliophytes:

1. Thick stems with well developed conducting system & mechanical tissue
2. Short internodes' & much branching
3. Small chloroplast & long, branched roots.
4. Low photosynthetic rate per unit surface.
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5. High transpiration rate, high osmotic pressure & low water content.
6. Temperature resistant methods increases.

Total length of the daily light period to which plants are exposed.

It affects vegetative growth & flowering of plants.

Light affects stem elongation, flowering, fruit development, etc.

Change in day length

Photoperiod mechanism in the leaves

Flower buds

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 2010 Paul Billiet ODWS

Some plants flower only after a CRITICAL DAY LENGTH

Some plants only flower after a CRITICAL NIGHT LENGTH

Metabolism

Reproduction

Development

Growth

Vision

Pigmentation

Locomotion

photoperiodism

Metabolism-low light causes low metabolic rate due to low enzyme activity.
helpful for animals living in caves.
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Reproduction- light results in initiating breeding activities. In birds, gonads

become active in summer.

1. Short day animals-sheep, deer, goats

2. Long day animals- spring breeding birds, freest, turkey
3. Day neutral animals- Ground squirrels, guinea pigs.

Development- salmon, larvae dies due to insufficient light.

Pigmentation-

1. In development of skin colour

2. In protective colouration- get mix with the colour of background as in kallima
paralecta butterfly.
3. Colour changes- camouflage in reptiles, fishes helps in protection &
thermoregulation

Locomotion: speed to locomotion in lower animals rgulated by light ,

phenomena k/as Photokinesis. Eg. Mussel crab blind larva.

1. Phenomena of movement of animals in response to light k/as phototaxis &

such movements k/as phototactic.
2. Euglena- positively phototactic, earthworms negatively pho.
3. When part of body shows movement in response k/as phototropism.
polyps

PHOTOPERIODISM

Migration in birds due to photoperiodism. Migration towards north in summer

& vice-versa.

In some animals- development of fur & feathers.

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C i r c a nd ni a u n a rl h r hy ty h t hm m s s

The moisture in the atmosphere in invisible vapour form k/as Humidity.

Generally expressed as relative humidity.

RH measured by instrument-psychrometer or by paper strip hygrometer or a

thermo-hydrograph.

Affected by intensity of solar radiation, temperature, altitude, wind, exposer,

cover & water status of soil.

1. High temperature- high moisture retention in air- low RH.

2. Low temperature- low moisture retention in air- high RH.

Process like transpiration, absorption of water are affected by humidity.

Saturation deficit, temperature & wind velocity affects evaporation

rates.

SD- the difference b/w the pressure of water vapour at a given time & the
maximum pressure it can hold at same temp.

Change in SD causes change in evaporation rate.

Similarly temp. variations causes change in evap. Rates.

Dry winds decrease moisture & humidity & increases transpiration.

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Some plants like orchids, lichens etc. Directly uses atmospheric moisture
while in fungi it helps in germination of spores.

These are the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the soil that
influence the community.
Soil- Any part of earths crust in which plants root. Soil complex is composed
of five components1. Mineral matter- particles made from weathering of parent material rock.
2. Soil organic matter-materials of plants, animals & microbes.
3. Soil water-water held by capillary & absorptive forces in spaces.
4. Soil atmosphere- pore space b/w soil particles normally contain low oxygen &
high carbondioxide.
5. Biological system- distinct flora & fauna like bacteria, fungi, algae etc.

Two process-

1. Weathering- breakdown of bigger rocks into fine small particles.

2. Soil development or pedogenesis-modification of mineral matter through
interaction b/w biological, topographic & climatic effects.

Rocks on the Earths surface are broken down by two types of weathering:
Physical and chemical.

1. Physical weathering- When the forces of weathering break rocks into smaller
pieces but do not change the chemical makeup of the rocks, the process is
called mechanical weathering. During mechanical weathering, rocks are
broken into different shapes and smaller pieces. At the beginning the edges
are jagged, as weathering continues, they become round

There are several causes of physical weathering.

Temperature
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Frost action

Organic activity

Gravity

Abrasion

When the chemical makeup of the rocks is changed it is called chemical

weathering. During chemical weathering, changes occur in the mineral
composition of rocks. Minerals can be added, removed or broken down
(decomposed).Many substances react chemically with rocks to break them
down.

There are several causes of chemical weathering.

Water

Oxidation

Carbonation

Sulfuric acid

Plant acids

1. Wetting- Dryingon wetting of mineral layers it swells & disrupts.

2. Heating-cooling in dry climates, due to thermal expansion boulders flakes at
surfaces.
3. Freezing- water of porous rocks shatters due to freezing.
4. Glaciation- large snow & ice sheets physically grinds the rocks.
5. Solution- when water removes calcium chloride, sulphates components of
rocks.
6. Sand blast- In arid, rocks disturbed by physical action of winds.

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1. Hydration- rock swells due to absorption of water causes weathering.

2. Hydrolysis- alumino-silicates breaks down in presence of water.
3. Oxidation-reduction- fe(+3) oxidises to fe (+2) as fe(+2) is more soluble.
4. Carbonation- reversiblechange of calcium carbonate to calcium hydrogen
carbonate as it is more soluble.
5. Chelation- lichens & bacteria dissolves mineral components of rocks. Metals
dissolved with organic products of microbial activity k/as chelates.

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chemical weathering (Hydration; hydrolysis;

oxidation-reduction; carbonation; chelation)

1. Parent material
2. Topography & time
3. Climate
4. Organism
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22

On the basis of mode of their formation-

a) Residual soil- whole process of soil formation i.e., weathering & pedogenesis
occurs at one place.
b) Transported soil- weathered material taken at another place. On the basis of
carrying agent soils of such type are there

Colluvial-by gravity

Alluvial- by running water

Glacial- large masses of snow

Eolian- by wind

There are five main principal pedogenic processes acting on soils. These
processes are laterization, podzolization, calcification, salinization, and
gleization.

Laterization is a pedogenic process common to soils found in tropical and

subtropical environments. High temperatures and heavy precipitation result
in the rapid weathering of rocks and minerals. Movements of large amounts
of water through the soil cause eluviation and leaching to occur. Almost all
of the by products of weathering, very simple small compounds or
nutrient ions, are translocated out of the soil profile by leaching if not taken
up by plants for nutrition. The two exceptions to this process are iron and
aluminum compounds. Iron oxides give tropical soils their unique reddish
coloring. Heavy leaching also causes these soils to have an acidic
pH because of the net loss of base cations.

Podzolization is associated with humid cold mid-latitude climates

and coniferous vegetation. Decomposition of coniferous litter and heavy
summer precipitation create a soil solution that is strongly acidic. This acidic
soil solution enhances the processes of eluviation and leaching causing
the removal of soluble base cations and aluminum and iron compounds
from the A horizon. This process creates a sub-layer in the A horizon that is
white to gray in color and composed of silica sand.
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Calcification occurs when evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation causing the

upward movement of dissolved alkaline salts from the groundwater. At the same
time, the movement of rain water causes a downward movement of the salts. The
net result is the deposition of the translocated cations in the B horizon. In some
cases, these deposits can form a hard layer called caliche. The most common
substance involved in this process is calcium carbonate. Calcification is common
in the prairie grasslands.

Salinization is a process that functions in the similar way to calcification. It

differs from calcification in that the salt deposits occur at or very near the soil
surface. Salinization also takes place in much drier climates.

Gleization is a pedogenic process associated with poor drainage. This

process involves the accumulations of organic matter in the upper layers of
the soil. In lower horizons, mineral layers are stained blue-gray because of
the chemical reduction of iron.

Soils are made of four components mineral matter, organic matter, air and water.
Air and water occupy pore spaces in the soil. The example above is fairly typical.

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What are biotic factors?

These are the living features of an ecosystem that affect the other members
of the community

Give examples of biotic factors.

Plants for food and shelter

Predators and Prey

Parasites and Pathogens

Decomposers, Competitors, Pollinators

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