ENVR101 Ecology Introduction

What is Ecology?

Ecology is the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment. It examines interactions at individual, population, and community levels and is crucial for understanding environmental issues like pollution, climate change, and species extinction.

Subdisciplines of Ecology

  • Evolutionary Ecology: How ecological interactions influence species evolution, demonstrated by acacia-ant mutualism where ants protect acacias from herbivory.

  • Physiological Ecology: Connects an organism's biology to its environment, such as studies on coral bleaching showing reduced growth and increased mortality in bleached corals.

  • Behavioral Ecology: Explores how behaviors increase an organism's fitness, illustrated by wombats shifting to day foraging to avoid Tasmanian devils.

  • Conservation and Restoration: Addresses habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species to maintain ecological balance and rehabilitate habitats.

Ecological Hierarchies

Ecological scales are organized into hierarchies:

  • Individual: A single organism.

  • Population: A group of the same species in an area.

  • Community: Multiple populations of different species in an area.

  • Ecosystem: A community interacting with its physical environment.

  • Biome: Large ecological areas with distinct climate, flora, and fauna.

  • Biosphere: Parts of the Earth that allow life to exist.

Components of an Ecosystem

  • Biotic Factors: Living organisms, including producers (autotrophs), consumers (heterotrophs), and decomposers.

  • Abiotic Factors: Non-living elements like climate, soil, water, nutrients, and sunlight, determining species distribution.

Factors Influencing Species Distribution

Species distribution is influenced by factors such as:

  • Forest types and climate impact species. For example, warming temperatures are heavily impacting the gray headed flying fox.

  • Vegetation, rainfall, and temperature. These are following the north and west part of the contry. It's really dry in the center, and temperatures are the same way. Cooler in the south and warmer in the North and that Coast.

  • Threats. These also abiotic factors and vegetation, can limit species distributions.

Niche Partitioning

Competing species divide resources to reduce direct competition, allowing coexistence. This occurs through:

  • Spatial Partitioning: Occupying different areas.

  • Temporal Partitioning: Using resources at different times.

  • Dietary Partitioning: Exploiting different food sources.

  • Morphological/Behavioral Partitioning: Evolving unique traits or behaviors.

Community Assembly

Community assembly is determined by environmental and biotic filters. Species must pass through environmental filters (e.g., forest type, climate) and biotic filters (niche overlaps) to survive and thrive in a community.
Niche breath should be broader and niche overlap should be lesser in order for these species to thrive.