Ecology Biology Notes

ECOLOGY Ecology is a branch of biology and geography that studies the interactions of living organisms with their environment. Every animal or plant lives in a certain environment. Ecologists investigate how organisms interact with each other and with the environment, and they trace the complex structure of life on Earth. Ecology is also called environmental biology. Individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems are studied in this subject. The term ecology was first used in 1866 by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in his book "Generale Morphologie der Organismen". At the beginning of the 20th century, the study of the relationship between man and his environment began, and attention was paid to several subjects simultaneously. As a result came the concept of human ecology. The natural environment is very complex, so researchers mostly study a single species of animal or plant. For example, mankind builds on the earth and also affects the vegetation. Humans consume some parts of the vegetation and leave some parts completely unusable. Those plants continue to spread themselves. In the 20th century, it became known that the impact of human activities on the earth and nature is not always positive. Then humans became aware of the serious impact they have on the environment. The discharge of toxic industrial waste into rivers is polluting them, in the same way cutting down forests is destroying the habitat of animals. Each ecosystem on Earth contains a variety of plant and animal species, studying which ecologists trace the history and formation of a particular ecosystem. Apart from this, study of ecology can also be done in urban environment. By the way, the study of ecology is not limited to the surface of the earth, this study is also done on marine life and water bodies etc. Marine life has been little studied until the 20th century, when new information about the sea floor dispelled many old myths and revealed organisms living at great depths with high pressure and low oxygen. There are mainly two types of components of the ecosystem B iological factors A biotic factors Biological factors A nimal community : Animals are a main group of multicellular, animal-like nutrition, and eukaryotic organisms of the Animalia or Metazoan kingdom. After birth, an animal's body plan develops in a set way as it grows, although some animals go through a process of metamorphosis later in life. P lant community M icroorganisms : Those organisms which humans cannot see with naked eyes and for which a microscope is required to see them, they are called microorganisms. Microorganisms are studied in microbiology. Human : Homo sapiens / modern human / person, a species of mammal omnivorous prime animals, which is able to talk, think abstractly, walk vertically and make tools of labor. Abiotic factors Light : Light is an electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength lies within the visible range. In technical or scientific terms, radiation of any wavelength is called light. The fundamental particle of light is the photon. H eat : Temperature is the measure of the heat of an object. That is, temperature tells whether an object is cold or hot. H umidity : The amount of invisible water vapor present in the atmosphere is called humidity. This moisture reaches the atmosphere through various forms of evaporation from the earth. Humidity is of paramount importance in climatology, because it is on this that rainfall, and various forms of precipitation, such as atmospheric storms and disturbances, are based. Air : The space in which air surrounds the earth is called atmosphere. Apart from the atmosphere, the lithosphere of the earth is made of solid materials and the hydrosphere is made of water. We do not know exactly how far the atmosphere extends, but it is certain that it extends for several hundred miles around the earth. T opography : Topography is a branch of planetary science in which the shape and size of the surface of the Earth or any other planet, satellite or asteroid is studied. Topography has special importance in the making of maps S oil : Coarse , medium and fine organic and inorganic mixed particles on the upper surface of the earth are called 'soil' soil. The layer which is often obtained after removing the soil from the upper surface of the soil is called rock [rock]. Sometimes the rock is found only at a little depth. 'Soil Science' ( Pedology ) is a major branch of physical geography in which the scientific study of soil formation, its characteristics and its distribution on the surface is done. Only the particles of the upper surface of the earth (small or large) are called soil Level of ecological studies Ecology studies the relationship between living organisms and their non-living environment at different levels or scales. From a single living cell to an organ, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere, interactions between organisms and their environment take different forms and evolutions. Therefore, the major levels of ecological study are: O rganism The term organism is used in biology for all life-embodied beings, such as: vertebrate animals, insects, plants or bacteria. An organism consists of one or more cells. In which one cell is found, it is called a unicellular organism; When there is more than one cell, that organism is called a multicellular organism. E nvironment: The word environment is made up of two words. " Pari " that surrounds us, "cover" that surrounds us, ie environment literally means surrounded. Environment is a collective unit of all those physical, chemical and biological factors that affect any living organism or ecological population and determine their form, life and survival. Environment is that which is associated with every living being, it is always present around us. Population Ecology - Study of species and its environment : A single organism is the fundamental functional unit of the ecosystem, which is directly related to the environment. The study of the number and distribution of these organisms is called "Population Ecology". C ommunity ecology : In the context of ecology, a community refers to a group of two or more different species that live in the same geographic area/conditions. E cosystem ecology : An ecosystem or ecological system is a natural unit that includes all the living organisms of a particular area, namely plants, animals and micro-organisms, which interact with their abiotic environment to form a complete biological unit. Thus ecosystem is a unit of interdependent components that share the same habitat. Many in an ecosystem usually form food webs that show the interdependence of these organisms and the flow of energy within the ecosystem. In which they depend on each other for their habitat, food and other biological activities. L andscape ecology : Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving the relationships between the environment and ecological processes in particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, spatial patterns of development, and organizational levels of research and policy. In short, landscape ecology can be described as the science of landscape diversity as a synergistic result of biodiversity and geodiversity. B iome ecology : A biosphere or biome refers to a large area of land or sea in which all parts have the same climate, geography and resident organisms (especially plants and animals). There is only one type of ecosystem in a biome, whose plants adopt similar methods to thrive in the same type of conditions. Because the determination of marine biosphere is difficult. However, efforts have been made by the researchers in this direction. Although both plants and animals are included in the biosphere, yet green plants dominate because their total biomass is much higher than that of animals. Ecological thinking in Hindu Philosophy Like other ancient religions, Vedic philosophy also has the same belief that nature pulsates with the life force. The stream of divinity flows in the entire living world i.e. earth, sky, heaven, fire, air, water, plants and animals. This point of view is known from the fact that when Kalidas's Shakuntala, brought up in an ashram situated in the lap of nature, started going to the city to meet her husband Dushyant, the plants and flowers irrigated by her, the deer nurtured by her were extremely sad due to her separation. Happened. Even the vines started crying by shedding their yellow leaves. In that era there was complete identity and direct contact between man and nature. Man's needs were limited and satisfaction was so much that he could not even dream of exploiting nature. Close relationship with nature was the heart of all religions. Over time, due to urbanization and industrialization, man lost contact with nature and in the blind race of socalled development, he lost his realization that nature is also a living force. The Vedic ethos refers to a holistic life in which the needs of the body, intellect, mind and soul are taken care of. The basic needs of the body are food, clothing, shelter and then medical care and all other material comforts. The mind is the center of desires, which wants the desires to be fulfilled. But wisdom guides to limit needs and control desires in such a way that the recycling process of nature and the finer fabric of civilized society are not disturbed. According to a research paper presented by Mr. Gulab Kothari in Melbourne, only the so-called educated people are responsible for the destruction of ecology and environmental harmony. They consider nature to be an inert object, as if made for human use and "exploitation". According to the report of the Independent Commission on Population and Quality of Life, published by Oxford University in the year 1995[3] The natural environment is very important for the existence of human beings, it is necessary to nurture and care for the future generations, which is being neglected.