definition of ecology essay

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Ecology: Definition, Types, Importance & Examples

Understanding these interactions between organisms and the natural world around them is crucial for understanding the organisms themselves as well as how ecosystems form.

The study of all of this is called ecology .

Definition and Importance of Ecology

Ecology is the study of relationships between organisms and their physical surroundings. This includes how organisms interact with each other (beetle eats grass, bird eats beetle, beavers cut down trees, worms decompose dead plants) and how organisms interact with their physical environment (meerkats create tunnels in the ground, fish live in certain types of water, plants grow towards the sunlight).

Why is this so important? Well, the study of ecology and ecological systems can teach us about how organisms interact with each other and with the natural world. It can teach us why organisms live in certain areas; it can teach us how changes to a physical environment (such as climate change, newly introduced organisms, natural disasters, human interference) will affect organisms and the natural world in an ecosystem.

In short, ecology is the study of the relationships between everything in the biosphere . It teaches us how all organisms on Earth interact with each other and the Earth around them, which reveals:

• How ecosystems form.
• How and why organisms act/behave/distribute as they do.
• How we as humans are affecting the world around us. 

It can help us understand conservation biology, invasive species, climate change and more.

Key Ecology Terms to Know

Within the scientific study of ecology, there are a few important terms to know:

Biotic factors and abiotic factors. Biotic factors refer to living (or things that once were living) organisms in a particular environment. These could be things like:

Abiotic factors , on the other hand, refer to non-living or physical factors in the environment. These could be things like:

• Availability of water.
• Soil composition.
• Temperature.
• Air quality.

Both biotic and abiotic factors are important components of ecology as they can affect what organisms live in certain environments, the distribution of those organisms and the number of organisms the area can support.

Biosphere. The biosphere, first coined by geologist Eduard Suess, refers to all life on Earth. This includes the lithosphere (rock), the atmosphere (air) and the hydrosphere (water).

Population. A population is a group of individual organisms within the same single species living in the same general area. An example of a population would be all of the clownfish living in a particular coral reef, all of the daisies in a field or all of the E. coli found in a puddle of water.

Community. A community refers to all of the populations of different species that live in a particular environment or habitat in the same area. A forest community, for example, would include all of the deer, trees, bees, ticks, foxes, wolves, moose, squirrels, moss, mold, mushrooms and flowers that exist in that forest.

Ecosystem. This includes the community of organisms and their physical environment, as well as both biotic and abiotic factors.

Ecological niche . Within an ecosystem, different organisms will fill a certain role or job that's referred to as their "niche." It categorizes each individual and single species or organism in a community in a specific role that allows the ecosystem (and that single species) to exist.

This can depend on their role in the food chain or food web, the conditions they need to survive (sunlight, water type, shelter, nutrients) and necessary interactions with other organisms (such as parasites or mutualism).

Types of Ecological Science and Ecological Studies

For each of the above key ecology terms, you'll find a specific subset of ecological science that focuses on the study of that term. "Ecology" refers to the general study of the relationships of organisms and their interactions with each other and the environment. Each of the following ecological studies look at particular and specific aspects.

Molecular ecology. Molecular ecology is the smallest scale of ecological studies. Molecular ecologists mainly focus on DNA and proteins that organisms produce, how they affect the environment they live in and how the environment affects that DNA and protein production. These ecologists may also look at factors such as gene flow, genetic drift in populations, co-evolution and genetic diversity within populations.

Organismal Ecology. Organismal ecological studies focus on specific, individual organisms. Scientists will examine very particular organisms and all of their specific interactions with their physical environment and other organisms.

Zoologists, for example, are organismal ecologists that study animals. Many will pick a single species of animals, like scientists who study killer whales specifically, for example, or some may look at groups of species, like scientists who study sharks in general. They may study animal behavior, animal interactions with biotic and abiotic factors and how these factors change or affect those behaviors.

However, it isn't just the study of animals. Any organism can be studied within organismal biology including bacteria, fungi and plants.

Population ecology. Population ecology is the study of how both biotic and abiotic factors affect population size, population growth, population density and dispersion of populations of organisms. Scientists often will study populations and how these specifics of the population change over time and are affected by changes in:

• Atmosphere.
• Other populations.

For example, scientists studied deer and wolf populations in Yellowstone National Park after wolves were reintroduced into the area. They saw how the wolf population increased over time and the deer population was controlled (and decreased) over time.

Another example would be scientists studying the population of certain algae species in coral reefs. Many species have seen a huge decrease in population size and density in coral reef communities as time goes on, which many attribute to climate change.

Community ecology. Very similar to population ecology, community ecology looks at the overall structure and organization of various communities including both biotic and abiotic factors .

This often results in the construction of food webs and food chains to relate various organism populations to each other. Scientists will also look at species richness, species diversity and different species interactions, and these categories help specify each species' ecological niche within the community.

Community ecological research may also examine how changes to the environment and other species affect the community structure, including invasive species, ecological succession events, natural disasters, climate change and more.

Ecosystem ecology. As you might have noticed, each of these subsets of ecology are getting broader with each one we go over. Ecosystem ecology looks at the broadest and largest scale of interactions between communities, populations and species in their ecosystem.

Often, scientists will examine complex cycles and systems and how they affect communities and populations. For example, ecosystem ecological research can examine:

• Nutrient cycles  of carbon and carbon dioxide.
• The nitrogen cycle.
• The water cycle.
• Weather patterns.

These studies and practices are applied all around the world from the United States to Canada to all of North America to Asia, etc.

Human ecology. You also might have noticed that "climate change" has come up quite a few times. That's because human activity and our effect on the Earth and the ecosystems within it has a lot to do with our impact on climate and climate change.

There's a subset of ecology called "human ecology" that looks more in depth at how humans and human activity in particular affect the ecosystems, communities and populations around us. This could be through:

• Our land-use.
• Our use of natural resources.
• Deforestation.
• Burning of fossil fuels.
• Introduction of invasive species.

Human ecological research can also refer to the study of how humans evolved, how human behavior evolved and how those two things affect and were affected by our environments.

Article Related to Ecology:

Ecological Studies and Experiments

Energy Flow and Chemical Cycle Through Ecosystem

How to Read Food Webs

Types of Population Size Growth Models

Distribution of Organisms in Ecosystems by Category

Animals and Plants in Central American Rainforest Environments

Related Articles

• ScienceDaily: How Many Species on Earth? About 8.7 Million, New Estimate Says
• My Yellowstone Park: Wolf Reintroduction Changes Ecosystem in Yellowstone
• Mexican Biodiversity: What Is the Biosphere?
• National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis: What Are Abiotic and Biotic Factors That Effect Populations?

About the Author

Elliot Walsh holds a B.S in Cell and Developmental Biology and a B.A in English Literature from the University of Rochester. He's worked in multiple academic research labs, at a pharmaceutical company, as a TA for chemistry, and as a tutor in STEM subjects. He's currently working full-time as a content writer and editor.

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Ecology Definition

Ecology is the branch of biology that studies how organisms interact with their environment and other organisms. Every organism experiences complex relationships with other organisms of its species, and organisms of different species. These complex interactions lead to different selective pressures on organisms. The pressures together lead to natural selection , which causes populations of species to evolve. Ecology is the study of these forces, what produces them, and the complex relationships between organisms and each other, and organisms and their non-living environment.

Scientist can view ecology through a variety of different lenses, from the microscopic molecular level all the way to the planet as a whole. These different types of ecology will be discussed further on. At every level of ecology, the focus is on the selective pressures that cause evolutionary change. These pressures arise from a variety of different sources, and there are numerous methods for observing and quantifying this data.

The field of ecology has a huge variety of sub-disciples. Although the types of ecology below are divided by the level of organization being viewed, some ecologist specialize in specific aspects of each field. For example, cognitive ecology is a branch of organismal ecology that studies the mental processes of animals. Other ecologist study only the interactions between humans and the rest of the biome, a field known as human ecology or environmental science. Still other ecologists focus on the interactions between organisms and the abiotic factors that affect their evolution, such as nutrients and toxins in the environment. Ecology is a vast field, a the following are only a sampling of the variety of things scientist study in ecology.

Types of Ecology

Type #1: molecular ecology.

At the molecular level, the study of ecology focuses on the production of proteins, how those proteins affect the organism and the environment, and how the environment in turn affects the production of various proteins. In all known organisms, DNA gives rise to various proteins, which interact with each other and the environment to replicate the DNA. These interactions lead to some very complex organisms. Molecular ecologist study how these proteins are created, how they affect the organism and environment, and how the environment in turn affects them.

Type #2: Organismal Ecology

Taking a step back, the study of organismal ecology deals with individual organisms and their interactions with other organisms and the environment. While organismal biology is a division of ecology, it is still a huge field. Each organism experiences a huge variety of interactions in its lifetime, and to study all of them is impossible. Many scientist studying organismal ecology focus on one aspect of the organism, such as its behavior or how it processes the nutrients of the enviorment.

The field of ethology, or the study of behavior, can also be studied as ecology. Instead of just analyzing certain behaviors in animals, behavioral ecologists study how those behaviors affect the organism evolutionarily, and how the environment puts pressures on certain behaviors. For example, a behavioral ecologist might study the way that an eagle hunts for prey, noting which behaviors lead to success and which to failure. In this way, the scientist can hypothesize the forces that cause eagles to behave the way they do. This information can be very important when trying to develop conservation plans to protect animals in the wild.

Type #3: Population Ecology

The next level of organism organization, populations, are groups of organisms of the same species. Due to the wide variety of life on Earth, different species have developed many different strategies for dealing with their conspecifics , or organisms of the same species. Some species directly compete with conspecifics, while other organisms form close social bonds and work cooperatively to secure resources. A branch of ecology, social ecology, studies organisms like bees and wolves, which work together to provide for the colony or pack. The complex interactions between these organisms and there environment leads to different selective forces than in animals that compete with conspecifics. In fact, scientist hypothesize that the increased success found in human society may have been what lead humans to be so communicative. Population ecologist study populations of organism and the complex interactions they have with the environment and other populations.

Type #4: Community Ecology

Different populations that live in the same environment create communities of organisms. These communities create niches, or various spaces, for organisms to occupy. For instance, several niches can be found in a wheat field. The wheat exists on the sun’s rays and the nutrients in the soils. Various insects live off of the nutrients collected by the wheat. Certain bacteria occupy a niche in the roots, where they convert nitrogen for the plant. Community ecologist study these complex interactions and the selective pressures they produce. Sometimes, organisms in communities will begin to experience coevolution where to or more species both evolve in response to each other. This can be seen in many species, from bees and the flowers they pollinate to predators and the prey they eat.

Ecosystem Ecology

The largest scale of organismal organization is the ecosystem. An ecosystem is network of interconnected biological communities. The largest ecosystem, the biosphere, encompasses all ecosystems inside of it. Ecosystem ecologist study the complex patterns produced by interacting ecosystems and the abiotic factors of the environment. They may study water, nutrients, or other chemical that cycle through the ecosystem. Ecosystem ecology is a very complex and large-scale science that includes many disciplines.

Examples of Ecology

Human ecology.

Some ecologists studies humans, their effect on each other and other organisms, and their effects on the environment. Humans create an enormous impact on the globe, and some constructions can be seen from space. Some ecologist study this phenomenon, and the possible effects it could have on the biome. Other ecologist study human behavior, where it came from, and the evolutionary pressures that lead to it. Also a discipline needed in anthropology, human ecology is a giant field that analyses human evolution and our interaction with nature.

Niche Construction in Termites

Ecologists of many different specialties study niche construction, or process by which organisms alter their environment. An example of this is niche construction in termites. Termites build mound that stand over 6 feet tall, and can go much deeper underground. To get oxygen to the inner parts of the next, termites form the nest the keep air flowing deep underground. This behavior can be studied in many ways. In evolutionary ecology, they would look at the proteins that cause the termite to build nests, and how they change over time in response to different environments. In community ecology, scientist might study how termite mounds affect the surroundings, and how they change in response to the environment. In ecosystem ecology, the focus might be on the nutrients the termites recycle underground to support the nearby trees. Although the scope is huge, all of the different aspects are considered the ecology of termites.

Related Biology Terms

• Primary Production – The process of converting inorganic energy, such as sunlight, into biological energy, usually glucose.
• Niche – A role or position that a creature can role within an ecosystem.
• Nutrient cycling – The process through which different elements pass from organism to organism, and are used in different ways or returned to the environment.
• Biosphere – The sum of all ecosystems on the planet, acting as one ecosystem.

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Ecology: meaning, objectives and classification of ecology.

Ecology: Meaning, Objectives and Classification of Ecology!

Ecology is a branch of science which deals with the study of inter­relationship between biotic and abiotic components of nature as well as relationship among the individuals of the biotic compo­nents. Ecology has been defined in a number of ways by different scientists and ecologists.

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Ernest Haeckel (1866), a German biologist, for the first time defined ecology as “the body of knowledge is concerning the economy of the nature the investigation of the total relation of animal to its inorganic and organic environment including above all its friendly and animal relations with those animals and plants with which it comes directly or indirectly into contact.” The term Ecology’ was derived from two Greek words, OIKOS (means house) and LOGUS (means study of) to denote the relationship between the organisms and their environment.

According to Woodbury (1954), “Ecology is a science which investigates organisms in relation to their environment’. E.P. Odum (1969) defined ecology as “the study of structure and function of nature”. R Margalef (1968) treated ecology as “study of ecosystems”.

In 1985, Charles Krebs proposed the most accepted definition of ecology which may be defined as follows: “Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions that determine the dis­tribution and abundance of organisms”.

Thus, modern ecologists have broaden the definition of ecology considering all the fundamental aspects in the subject. Anyway, ecology is primarily a biological science in as much as it deals with the inter-relationships of organisms with their environ­ment.

Ecology plays a significant role in our day to day life. It is con­cerned with agriculture, horticulture, conservation of soil, wild­life, forest, water resources, etc. Its domain is so vast that it can­not be confined with limited discussion. However the study of ecological principles provides background knowledge for un­derstanding the problems of forests, soil, surface water etc.

Objectives of Ecology :

The importance of ecology lies in the comprehensive under­standing of its objectives.

The important concepts discussed below throw light on various aspects of ecology:

(i) The local and geographical distribution and abundance of organisms (habitat niche, community, bio-geography).

(ii) Temporal changes in the occurrence, abundance and ac­tivities of organisms (seasonal, annual, successional, geo­logical).

(iii) The inter-relationship between organism in population and communities (population ecology).

(iv) The structural adaptations and functional adjustment of organisms to their physical environment.

(v) The behaviour of organism under natural conditions (ethology).

(vi) The evolutionary development of all these inter-relations (evolutionary ecology).

(vii) The biological productivity of nature and its relations with mankind.

(viii) The development of mathematical models to relate in­teraction of parameters and predict effects (systems analysis).

(ix) The conservation and management of natural resources and pollution (applied ecology).

Classification of Ecology :

Broadly speaking, the important sub-divisions of ecology are animal ecology and plant ecology. It is also classified as autecology and synecology. Autecology deals with the ecological study of one species of organism. Synecology deals with the ecological stud­ies of communities or entire eco-systems.

However, we can classify ecology into following branches:

(i) Habitat Ecology:

It deals with ecological study of differ­ent habitats on planet earth and their effects on the or­ganisms living there.

(ii) Community Ecology:

It deals with the study of the local distribution of animals in various habitats. Also, it is re­lated with the recognition and composition of commu­nity units, and succession.

(iii) Population Ecology:

This is also known as demonology. It deals with the study of the pattern of growth, structure and regulation of population organism. The population ecology also deals with interactions between populations of different species in a community.

(iv) Evolutionary Ecology:

It is concerned with the prob­lems of niche segregation, and speciation.

(v) Taxonomic Ecology:

It is related with the ecology of different taxonomic groups of living organisms.

(vi) Human Ecology:

It is mainly related to population ecol­ogy. It studies the inter-relationship between man and man along-with the environment. Effects of human be­ings on the biosphere and the implications of these ef­fects for mankind is the subject matter of human ecol­ogy.

(vii) Applied Ecology:

It is an important sub-division of ecol­ogy. It deals with the practical aspect of ecology. Mainly the application of ecological concept to human needs is the field of this study. We find wild-life management, forestry, conservation, insect control, animal husbandry, aqua-culture, agriculture, horticulture, land use, popula­tion ecology etc. as the application of ecology in practi­cal life.

(viii) Eco-system Dynamics:

It deals with the ecological study of the process of soil formation, energy flow, productiv­ity etc.

(ix) Production Ecology:

It examines the gross and net pro­duction of different eco-systems like fresh water, sea water, agriculture, horticulture etc. Production ecology attempts for the effective management of the eco-sys­tems so as to maximise the production.

(x) Ecological Energetics:

It deals with energy conserva­tion and its flow in the organisms within the eco-system.

(xi) Physiological Ecology (Eco-physiology):

The factors of environment have direct relation with the functional as­pects of the organism. The eco-physiology deals with the survival of the population as a result of functional ad­justment of organisms with different ecological condi­tions.

(xii) Chemical Ecology:

It is related with the adaptation of animals of preferences of particular organisms like in­sects to particular chemical substances.

(xiii) Ecological Genetics:

An ecologist recognised the kind of genetic plasticity in the case of every organism. In any environment only those organisms that are supported by the environment can survive. Thus, genecology deals with the study of variations of species based on their genetic potentialities.

(xiv) Palaeo Ecology:

It is the study of environmental condi­tions and life of the past ages.

(xv) Geographic Ecology (Eco-geography):

It focuses light on the study of geographical distribution of animals and plants.

(xvi) Space Ecology:

It is concerned with the development of partially or wholly regenerating eco-systems for sup­porting the life of man during long space flights.

(xvii) Pedology:

It deals with the study of soil, especially their acidity, human contents, mineral contents, soil types, etc. and their influence on their organism.

(xviii) Radiation Ecology:

It studies the gross effect of radia­tion and radio-active substances over the environment and living organisms.

(xix) Ethology:

It studies the animal behaviour under natu­ral conditions.

(xx) Sociology:

It is the study of ecology and ethology of mankind.

(xxi) System Ecology:

It deals with the analysis and under­standing of the function and structure of eco-system through the use of applied mathematics, advanced sta­tistical techniques, mathematical models etc.

Related Articles:

• Essay on Ecology
• Community Ecology: 6 Characteristics of a Community Ecology

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• What is ecology?

Ecology is the study of interactions among living things and their environment. It provides new understanding of these vital systems as they are now, and how they may change in the future.

Why is ecology important?

Ecology enriches our world and is crucial for human wellbeing and prosperity. It provides new knowledge of the interdependence between people and nature that is vital for food production, maintaining clean air and water, and sustaining biodiversity in a changing climate.

Can we conserve a habitat and its biodiversity?

Yes. Ecology provides the essential basis for nature conservation. Maintaining a mosaic of habitats ensures the survival of a rich variety of species. For instance, heathland is a valued landscape that is fast disappearing throughout much of Western Europe, but studies have helped identify how to preserve its ecological characteristic.

Can we predict the ecological effects of pollution and climate change?

Governments and citizens around the world are increasingly aware of the consequences of atmospheric pollution and climate change. In large-scale experiments, plants and animals are exposed to carefully controlled atmospheres and different ecological conditions. Scientists use this information to understand how they respond to pollution levels, and make predictions about future climate change.

Can we fish the ocean without depleting its riches?

It is possible, but does depend on where we are in the world. In the Antarctic, the marine ecosystem is currently managed as a whole under an international agreement to conserve living resources. This makes it easier to understand marine communities and their interactions, as well as help monitor threatened species more closely.

How does forest destruction affect bird populations?

About one third of forest bird species cannot live in small remnants of forests. The smaller birds such as the forest robin will use patches as small as 10 ha and the largest species, such as the brown-cheeked hornbill, need patches bigger than 10 square km. Forests across the world today continue to be cleared and converted into different land uses. For example, by 2005, over 80% of the high-forest in Ghana had been cleared in just 100 years. Fortunately, researchers have used ecological studies to advise on the effects land-conversion has on native species.

Should mangroves be protected?

Mangroves play a number of ecological roles from fixing sediments to acting as nursery site for young fish. Mangrove forests are also a source of food, medicine and firewood for local populations. Mangrove forest is thus a multipurpose ecosystem, and ecologists’ understanding of this unique ecosystem has shown they are very sensitive to change and require sustainable management to preserve their biodiversity.

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Biology archive

Course: biology archive   >   unit 26.

• Ecosystems and biomes

What is an ecosystem?

• Flow of energy and matter through ecosystems
• Food chains & food webs
• Energy flow & primary productivity
• Food chains and food webs

• An ecosystem consists of a community of organisms together with their physical environment.
• Ecosystems can be of different sizes and can be marine, aquatic, or terrestrial. Broad categories of terrestrial ecosystems are called biomes .
• In ecosystems, both matter and energy are conserved . Energy flows through the system—usually from light to heat—while matter is recycled.
• Ecosystems with higher biodiversity tend to be more stable with greater resistance and resilience in the face of disturbances , or disruptive events.

Introduction

What are ecosystems like, energy and matter in ecosystems.

• Matter is recycled; the same atoms are reused over and over.
• Energy flows through the ecosystem, usually entering as light and exiting as heat.

Matter is recycled.

Energy flow is unidirectional, or one-way., stability and dynamics of ecosystems, equilibrium and disturbance, resistance and resilience, attribution.

• " Ecology of ecosystems " by Robert Bear, David Rintoul, Bruce Snyder, Martha Smith-Caldas, Christopher Herren, and Eva Horne, CC BY 4.0 ; download the original article for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]
• " Energy flow through ecosystems " by OpenStax College, Concepts of Biology, CC BY 4.0 ; download the original article for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected]

Works cited

• Jane B. Reece, Lisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, and Robert B. Jackson, "Physical Laws Govern Energy Flow and Chemical Cycling in Ecosystems," in Campbell Biology , 10th ed. (San Francisco: Pearson, 2011), 1234.
• Jan A. Nilsson, "Energy Flow Through Ecosystems," General Biology Hub, accessed June 11, 2016, http://www.desertbruchid.net/4_GB2_LearnRes_fa11_f/4_GB2_LearnRes_Web_10Ecol.html .
• GeeJo, "How Likely Is It That an Atom That Was Part of a Dinosaur Is Part of My Body? [Answer]," Reddit, accessed June 11, 2016, https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/3e7qtz/how_likely_is_it_that_an_atom_that_was_part_of_a/ .
• Brian Walker, C. S. Holling, Stephen R. Carpenter, and Ann Kinzig, "Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social–Ecological Systems," Ecology and Society 9, no. 2 (2004): 5, http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss2/art5/ .
• "Resistance (Ecology)," Wikipedia, last modified September 5, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_%28ecology%29 .
• Elsa E. Cleland, "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability," Nature Education Knowledge 3, no. 10 (2011): 14, http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/biodiversity-and-ecosystem-stability-17059965 .

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Definition of ecology

Examples of ecology in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ecology.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

German Ökologie , from öko- eco- + -logie -logy

1875, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ecology

• deep ecology
• human ecology

Dictionary Entries Near ecology

ecological subspecies

Cite this Entry

“Ecology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecology. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Meteorology, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography

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An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants , animals , and other organisms , as well as weather and landscape , work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as a biotic factors , or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants , animals , and other organisms . A biotic factors include rocks , temperature , and humidity . Every factor in an ecosystem depends on every other factor, either directly or indirectly. A change in the temperature of an ecosystem will often affect what plants will grow there, for instance. Animals that depend on plants for food and shelter will have to adapt to the changes, move to another ecosystem , or perish . Ecosystems can be very large or very small. Tide pools , the ponds left by the ocean as the tide goes out, are complete, tiny ecosystems . Tide pools contain seaweed , a kind of algae , which uses photosynthesis to create food . Herbivores such as abalone eat the seaweed . Carnivores such as sea stars eat other animals in the tide pool , such as clams or mussels . Tide pools depend on the changing level of ocean water. Some organisms , such as seaweed , thrive in an aquatic environment, when the tide is in and the pool is full. Other organisms , such as hermit crabs , cannot live underwater and depend on the shallow pools left by low tides . In this way, the biotic parts of the ecosystem depend on a biotic factors . The whole surface of Earth is a series of connected ecosystems . Ecosystems are often connected in a larger biome . Biomes are large sections of land, sea, or atmosphere. Forests , ponds , reefs , and tundra are all types of biomes , for example. They're organized very generally, based on the types of plants and animals that live in them. Within each forest , each pond , each reef , or each section of tundra , you'll find many different ecosystems . The biome of the Sahara Desert , for instance, includes a wide variety of ecosystems . The arid climate and hot weather characterize the biome . Within the Sahara are oasis ecosystems , which have date palm trees, freshwater , and animals such as crocodiles . The Sahara also has dune ecosystems , with the changing landscape determined by the wind . Organisms in these ecosystems , such as snakes or scorpions , must be able to survive in sand dunes for long periods of time. The Sahara even includes a marine environment, where the Atlantic Ocean creates cool fogs on the Northwest African coast. Shrubs and animals that feed on small trees, such as goats , live in this Sahara ecosystem . Even similar-sounding biomes could have completely different ecosystems . The biome of the Sahara Desert , for instance, is very different from the biome of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China. The Gobi is a cold desert , with frequent snowfall and freezing temperatures . Unlike the Sahara, the Gobi has ecosystems based not in sand , but kilometers of bare rock . Some grasses are able to grow in the cold, dry climate . As a result, these Gobi ecosystems have grazing animals such as gazelles and even takhi , an endangered species of wild horse. Even the cold desert ecosystems of the Gobi are distinct from the freezing desert ecosystems of Antarctica. Antarcticas thick ice sheet covers a continent made almost entirely of dry, bare rock . Only a few mosses grow in this desert ecosystem , supporting only a few birds, such as skuas . Threats to Ecosystems For thou sands of years, people have interacted with ecosystems . Many cultures developed around nearby ecosystems . Many Native American tribes of North Americas Great Plains developed a complex lifestyle based on the native plants and animals of plains ecosystems , for instance. Bison , a large grazing animal native to the Great Plains , became the most important biotic factor in many Plains Indians cultures , such as the Lakota or Kiowa . Bison are sometimes mistakenly called buffalo. These tribes used buffalo hides for shelter and clothing, buffalo meat for food , and buffalo horn for tools. The tallgrass prairie of the Great Plains supported bison herds , which tribes followed throughout the year.

As human populations have grown, however, people have overtaken many ecosystems . The tall grass prairie of the Great Plains , for instance, became farmland . As the ecosystem shrunk, fewer bison could survive . Today, a few herds survive in protected ecosystems such as Yellowstone National Park. In the tropical rain forest ecosystems surrounding the Amazon River in South America, a similar situation is taking place. The Amazon rain forest includes hundreds of ecosystems , including canopies, understories, and forest floors. These ecosystems support vast food webs . Canopies are ecosystems at the top of the rainforest , where tall, thin trees such as figs grow in search of sunlight. Canopy ecosystems also include other plants , called epiphytes , which grow directly on branches. Understory ecosystems exist under the canopy . They are darker and more humid than canopies. Animals such as monkeys live in understory ecosystems , eating fruits from trees as well as smaller animals like beetles. Forest floor ecosystems support a wide variety of flowers , which are fed on by insects like butterflies. Butterflies, in turn, provide food for animals such as spiders in forest floor ecosystems . Human activity threatens all these rain forest ecosystems in the Amazon. Thou sands of acres of land are cleared for farmland , housing, and industry . Countries of the Amazon rain forest , such as Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador, are underdeveloped. Cutting down trees to make room for crops such as soy and corn benefits many poor farmers. These resources give them a reliable source of income and food . Children may be able to attend school, and families are able to afford better health care . However, the destruction of rain forest ecosystems has its costs. Many modern medicines have been developed from rain forest plants . Curare , a muscle relaxant, and quinine , used to treat malaria , are just two of these medicines . Many scientists worry that destroying the rain forest ecosystem may prevent more medicines from being developed. The rain forest ecosystems also make poor farmland . Unlike the rich soils of the Great Plains , where people destroyed the tall grass prairie ecosystem , Amazon rain forest soil is thin and has few nutrients . Only a few seasons of crops may grow before all the nutrients are absorbed. The farmer or agribusiness must move on to the next patch of land, leaving an empty ecosystem behind. Rebounding Ecosystems Ecosystems can recover from destruction , however. The delicate coral reef ecosystems in the South Pacific are at risk due to rising ocean temperatures and decreased salinity . Corals bleach, or lose their bright colors, in water that is too warm. They die in water that isnt salty enough. Without the reef structure, the ecosystem collapses. Organisms such as algae , plants such as seagrass , and animals such as fish, snakes , and shrimp disappear. Most coral reef ecosystems will bounce back from collapse. As ocean temperature cools and retains more salt, the brightly colored corals return. Slowly, they build reefs . Algae , plants , and animals also return. Individual people, cultures , and governments are working to preserve ecosystems that are important to them. The government of Ecuador, for instance, recognizes ecosystem rights in the countrys constitution . The so-called Rights of Nature says Nature or Pachamama [Earth], where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist , maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution . Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public bodies. Ecuador is home not only to rain forest ecosystems , but also river ecosystems and the remarkable ecosystems on the Galapagos Islands .

Bactrian and Dromedary Different desert ecosystems support different species of camels. The dromedary camel is tall and fast, with long legs. It is native to the hot, dry deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The Bactrian camel has a thicker coat, is shorter, and has more body fat than the dromedary. The Bactrian camel is native to the cold desert steppes of Central Asia. It is easy to tell the two types of camels apart: Dromedaries have one hump, Bactrians have two.

Coral Triangle The most diverse ecosystem in the world is the huge Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia. The Coral Triangle stretches from the Philippines in the north to the Solomon Islands in the east to the islands of Indonesia and Papua in the west.

Ecocide The destruction of entire ecosystems by human beings has been called ecocide, or murder of the environment.

Human Ecosystem "Human ecosystem" is the term scientists use to study the way people interact with their ecosystems. The study of human ecosystems considers geography, ecology, technology, economics, politics, and history. The study of urban ecosystems focuses on cities and suburbs.

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Eco Criticism › Ecocriticism: An Essay

Ecocriticism: An Essay

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on November 27, 2016 • ( 3 )

Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation. Ecocriticism was officially heralded by the publication of two seminal works, both published in the mid-1990s: The Ecocriticism Reader , edited by Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm , and The Environmental Imagination, by Lawrence Buell.

Ecocriticism investigates the relation between humans and the natural world in literature. It deals with how environmental issues, cultural issues concerning the environment and attitudes towards nature are presented and analyzed. One of the main goals in ecocriticism is to study how individuals in society behave and react in relation to nature and ecological aspects. This form of criticism has gained a lot of attention during recent years due to higher social emphasis on environmental destruction and increased technology. It is hence a fresh way of analyzing and interpreting literary texts, which brings new dimensions to the field of literary and theoritical studies. Ecocriticism is an intentionally broad approach that is known by a number of other designations, including “green (cultural) studies”, “ecopoetics”, and “environmental literary criticism.”

Western thought has often held a more or less utilitarian attitude to nature —nature is for serving human needs. However, after the eighteenth century, there emerged many voices that demanded a revaluation of the relationship between man and environment, and man’s view of nature. Arne Naess , a Norwegian philosopher, developed the notion of “Deep Ecology” which emphasizes the basic interconnectedness of all life forms and natural features, and presents a symbiotic and holistic world-view rather than an anthropocentric one.

Earlier theories in literary and cultural studies focussed on issue of class, race, gender, region are criteria and “subjects”of critical analysis. The late twentieth century has woken up to a new threat: ecological disaster. The most important environmental problems that humankind faces as a whole are: nuclear war, depletion of valuable natural resources, population explosion, proliferation of exploitative technologies, conquest of space preliminary to using it as a garbage dump, pollution, extinction of species (though not a human problem) among others. In such a context, literary and cultural theory has begun to address the issue as a part of academic discourse. Numerous green movements have sprung up all over the world, and some have even gained representations in the governments.

Large scale debates over “dumping,” North versus South environmentalism (the necessary differences between the en-vironmentalism of the developed and technologically advanced richer nations—the North, and the poorer, subsistence environmentalism of the developing or “Third World”—the South). Donald Worster ‘s Nature’s Economy (1977) became a textbook for the study of ecological thought down the ages. The historian Arnold Toynbee recorded the effect of human civilisation upon the land and nature in his monumental, Mankind and Mother Earth (1976). Environmental issues and landscape use were also the concern of the Annales School of historians , especially Braudel and Febvre. The work of environmental historians has been pathbreaking too. Rich-ard Grove et al’s massive Nature and the Orient (1998), David Arnold and Ramachandra Guha’s Nature, Culture, Imperialism (1995) have been significant work in the environmental history of India and Southeast Asia. Ramachandra Guha is of course the most important environmental historian writing from India today.

Various versions of environmentalism developed.Deep ecology and ecofeminism were two important developments. These new ideas questioned the notion of “development” and “modernity,” and argued that all Western notions in science, philosophy, politics were “anthropocentric” (human-centred) and “androcentric”(Man/male-centred). Technology, medical science with its animal testing, the cosmetic and fashion industry all came in for scrutiny from environmentalists. Deep ecology, for instance, stressed on a “biocentric” view (as seen in the name of the environmentalist group, “ Earth First! !”).

Ecocriticism is the result of this new consciousness: that very soon, there will be nothing beautiful (or safe) in nature to discourse about, unless we are very careful.

Ecocritics ask questions such as: (1) How is nature represented in the novel/poem/play ? (2) What role does the physical-geographical setting play in the structure of the novel? (3) How do our metaphors of the land influence the way we treat it? That is, what is the link between pedagogic or creative practice and actual political, sociocultural and ethical behaviour towards the land and other non-human life forms? (4) How is science —in the form of genetic engineering, technologies of reproduction, sexualities—open to critical scrutiny terms of the effects of science upon the land?

The essential assumptions, ideas and methods of ecocritics may be summed up as follows. (1) Ecocritics believe that human culture is related to the physical world. (2) Ecocriticism assumes that all life forms are interlinked. Ecocriticism expands the notion of “the world” to include the entire ecosphere. (3) Moreover, there is a definite link between nature and culture, where the literary treatment, representation and “thematisation” of land and nature influence actions on the land. (4) Joseph Meeker in an early work, The Comedy of Survival: Studies in Literary Ecology (1972) used the term “literary ecology” to refer to “the study of biological themes and relationships which appear in literary works. It is simultaneously an attempt to discover what roles have been played by literature in the ecology of the human species.” (5) William Rueckert is believed to have coined the term “ecocriticism” in 1978, which he defines as “the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature.”

Source: Literary Theory Today,Pramod K Nair

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Categories: Eco Criticism

Tags: Annales School , Arne Naess , Arnold Toynbee , Cheryll Glotfelty , Deep Ecology , Earth First! , Ecocriticism , green studies , Harold Fromm , Literary Theory , Mankind and Mother Earth , Nature and the Orient , Nature's Economy , The Comedy of Survival: Studies in Literary Ecology , The Ecocriticism Reader , The Environmental Imagination

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• Biology Article

Ecosystem Definition

“An ecosystem is defined as a community of lifeforms in concurrence with non-living components, interacting with each other.”

What is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of ecology where the living organisms interact with each other and the surrounding environment. In other words, an ecosystem is a chain of interactions between organisms and their environment. The term “Ecosystem” was first coined by A.G.Tansley, an English botanist, in 1935.

Read on to explore the structure, components, types and functions of the ecosystem in the notes provided below.

Structure of the Ecosystem

The structure of an ecosystem is characterised by the organisation of both biotic and abiotic components. This includes the distribution of energy in our environment . It also includes the climatic conditions prevailing in that particular environment. 

The structure of an ecosystem can be split into two main components, namely: 

Biotic Components

Abiotic components.

The biotic and abiotic components are interrelated in an ecosystem. It is an open system where the energy and components can flow throughout the boundaries.

Biotic components refer to all living components in an ecosystem.  Based on nutrition, biotic components can be categorised into autotrophs, heterotrophs and saprotrophs (or decomposers).

• Producers include all autotrophs such as plants. They are called autotrophs as they can produce food through the process of photosynthesis. Consequently, all other organisms higher up on the food chain rely on producers for food.
• Primary consumers are always herbivores as they rely on producers for food.
• Secondary consumers depend on primary consumers for energy. They can either be carnivores or omnivores.
• Tertiary consumers are organisms that depend on secondary consumers for food.  Tertiary consumers can also be carnivores or omnivores.
• Quaternary consumers are present in some food chains . These organisms prey on tertiary consumers for energy. Furthermore, they are usually at the top of a food chain as they have no natural predators.
• Decomposers include saprophytes such as fungi and bacteria. They directly thrive on the dead and decaying organic matter.  Decomposers are essential for the ecosystem as they help in recycling nutrients to be reused by plants.

Abiotic components are the non-living component of an ecosystem.  It includes air, water, soil, minerals, sunlight, temperature, nutrients, wind, altitude, turbidity, etc. 

Functions of Ecosystem

The functions of the ecosystem are as follows:

It regulates the essential ecological processes, supports life systems and renders stability.

It is also responsible for the cycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic components.

It maintains a balance among the various trophic levels in the ecosystem.

It cycles the minerals through the biosphere.

The abiotic components help in the synthesis of organic components that involve the exchange of energy.

So the functional units of an ecosystem or functional components that work together in an ecosystem are:

• Productivity –  It refers to the rate of biomass production.
• Energy flow – It is the sequential process through which energy flows from one trophic level to another. The energy captured from the sun flows from producers to consumers and then to decomposers and finally back to the environment.
• Decomposition – It is the process of breakdown of dead organic material. The top-soil is the major site for decomposition.
• Nutrient cycling –  In an ecosystem nutrients are consumed and recycled back in various forms for the utilisation by various organisms.

Types of Ecosystem

An ecosystem can be as small as an oasis in a desert, or as big as an ocean, spanning thousands of miles. There are two types of ecosystem:

Terrestrial Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystem.

Terrestrial ecosystems are exclusively land-based ecosystems. There are different types of terrestrial ecosystems distributed around various geological zones. They are as follows:

Forest Ecosystem

Grassland ecosystem, tundra ecosystem, desert ecosystem.

A forest ecosystem consists of several plants, particularly trees, animals and microorganisms that live in coordination with the abiotic factors of the environment. Forests help in maintaining the temperature of the earth and are the major carbon sink.

In a grassland ecosystem, the vegetation is dominated by grasses and herbs. Temperate grasslands and tropical or savanna grasslands are examples of grassland ecosystems.

Tundra ecosystems are devoid of trees and are found in cold climates or where rainfall is scarce. These are covered with snow for most of the year. Tundra type of ecosystem is found in the Arctic or mountain tops.

Deserts are found throughout the world. These are regions with little rainfall and scarce vegetation. The days are hot, and the nights are cold.

Aquatic ecosystems are ecosystems present in a body of water. These can be further divided into two types, namely:

Freshwater Ecosystem

Marine ecosystem.

The freshwater ecosystem is an aquatic ecosystem that includes lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and wetlands. These have no salt content in contrast with the marine ecosystem.

The marine ecosystem includes seas and oceans. These have a more substantial salt content and greater biodiversity in comparison to the freshwater ecosystem.

Also check: Habitat Diversity

Important Ecological Concepts

1. food chain.

The sun is the ultimate source of energy on earth. It provides the energy required for all plant life. The plants utilise this energy for the process of photosynthesis, which is used to synthesise their food.

During this biological process, light energy is converted into chemical energy and is passed on through successive trophic levels. The flow of energy from a producer, to a consumer and eventually, to an apex predator or a detritivore is called the food chain.

Dead and decaying matter, along with organic debris, is broken down into its constituents by scavengers. The reducers then absorb these constituents. After gaining the energy, the reducers liberate molecules to the environment, which can be utilised again by the producers.

2. Ecological Pyramids

An ecological pyramid is the graphical representation of the number, energy, and biomass of the successive trophic levels of an ecosystem. Charles Elton was the first ecologist to describe the ecological pyramid and its principals in 1927.

The biomass, number, and energy of organisms ranging from the producer level to the consumer level are represented in the form of a pyramid; hence, it is known as the ecological pyramid.

The base of the ecological pyramid comprises the producers, followed by primary and secondary consumers. The tertiary consumers hold the apex. In some food chains, the quaternary consumers are at the very apex of the food chain.

The producers generally outnumber the primary consumers and similarly, the primary consumers outnumber the secondary consumers. And lastly, apex predators also follow the same trend as the other consumers; wherein, their numbers are considerably lower than the secondary consumers.

For example, Grasshoppers feed on crops such as cotton and wheat, which are plentiful. These grasshoppers are then preyed upon by common mouse, which are comparatively less in number. The mice are preyed upon by snakes such as cobras. Snakes are ultimately preyed on by apex predators such as the brown snake eagle.

In essence:

3. Food Web

Food web is a network of interconnected food chains. It comprises all the food chains within a single ecosystem. It helps in understanding that plants lay the foundation of all the food chains. In a marine environment, phytoplankton forms the primary producer.

Main article:   Food web

To learn more about what is an ecosystem, its structure, types, components, and functions, register at BYJU’S website or download the BYJU’S app.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is the ecosystem.

The ecosystem is the community of living organisms in conjunction with non-living components of their environment, interacting as a system.

2. What are the different types of ecosystems?

The different types of the ecosystem include:

• Forest ecosystem
• Grassland ecosystem
• Desert ecosystem
• Tundra ecosystem
• Freshwater ecosystem
• Marine ecosystem

3. What are the functional components of an ecosystem?

The four main components of an ecosystem are: (i) Productivity (ii) Decomposition (iii) Energy flow (iv) Nutrient cycling

4. Which ecosystem do we live in?

We live in a terrestrial ecosystem. This is the ecosystem where organisms interact on landforms. Examples of terrestrial ecosystems include tundra, taigas, and tropical rainforests. Deserts, grasslands and temperate deciduous forests also constitute terrestrial ecosystems.

5. What is the structure of the ecosystem?

The structure of the ecosystem includes the organisms and physical features of the environment, including the amount and distribution of nutrients in a particular habitat. It also provides information regarding the climatic conditions of that area.

6. Which is the largest ecosystem in the world?

The largest ecosystem in the world is the aquatic ecosystem. It comprises freshwater and marine ecosystems. It constitutes 70% of the surface of the earth.

7. What is the major function of an ecosystem?

The ecosystem is the functional unit of the environment system. The abiotic components provide the matrix for the synthesis of organic components. This process involves the exchange of energy.

8. What makes a good ecosystem?

A good ecosystem consists of native plants and animal species interacting with each other and the environment. A healthy ecosystem has an energy source and the decomposers that break down dead plants and animal matter, returning essential nutrients to the soil.

9. What all include the non-living things in an ecosystem?

The non-living things in an ecosystem include air, wind, water, rocks, soil, temperature and sunlight. These are known as the abiotic factors of an ecosystem.

Register at BYJU’S for ecosystem notes or other important study resources.

Further Reading:

• Our Environment
• Energy Flow In Ecosystem
• What Is A Natural Ecosystem?
• Why Is The Ecosystem Important?
• What Are The Five Levels Of Ecology?
• What Are The Different Fields Of Ecology?
• What Are The Three Environmental Issues?
• Difference Between Food Chain And Food Web
• How Many Types Of The Ecosystem Are There?
• How Can We Improve Our Environmental Health?

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• Introduction

Autotrophs and heterotrophs

The pyramid structure of communities, food chains and food webs.

• Keystone species
• Guilds and interaction webs
• Types of succession
• The process of succession
• Stratification and gradation
• Ecological niches
• Community equilibrium and species diversity
• Biogeographic aspects of diversity
• The pervasiveness of mutualism
• The evolution of mutualism
• Mutualism and cheaters
• Community structure and the spread of mutualism
• Types of parasites
• Specialization in parasites
• Alternation among hosts
• The strategy of grazing
• Specialization in grazing
• Specialization in predation
• Effect on community structure
• Types of competition
• The effects of competition
• Commensalism and other types of interaction
• The study of coevolution
• Predator-prey interactions
• Parasite-host interactions
• The importance of interspecific interactions
• Human disruption
• Gene-for-gene coevolution
• Coevolution of one species with several species
• Convergence
• Mimicry complexes
• Coevolution among many species

• Why is biology important?

community ecology

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• Khan Academy - Community ecology review
• Table Of Contents

community ecology , study of the organization and functioning of communities , which are assemblages of interacting populations of the species living within a particular area or habitat .

As populations of species interact with one another, they form biological communities . The number of interacting species in these communities and the complexity of their relationships exemplify what is meant by the term “ biodiversity .” Structures arise within communities as species interact, and food chains, food webs , guilds, and other interactive webs are created. These relationships change over evolutionary time as species reciprocally adapt to one another through the process of coevolution. The overall structure of biological communities, the organization of interspecific interactions, and the effects the coevolutionary process has on the biological community are described below.

Biotic elements of communities

Trophic pyramids and the flow of energy.

All biological communities have a basic structure of interaction that forms a trophic pyramid. The trophic pyramid is made up of trophic levels , and food energy is passed from one level to the next along the food chain ( see below Food chains and food webs ). The base of the pyramid is composed of species called autotrophs, the primary producers of the ecosystem . They do not obtain energy and nutrients by eating other organisms. Instead, they harness solar energy by photosynthesis (photoautotrophs) or, more rarely, chemical energy by oxidation (chemoautotrophs) to make organic substances from inorganic ones. All other organisms in the ecosystem are consumers called heterotrophs, which either directly or indirectly depend on the producers for food energy.

Within all biological communities, energy at each trophic level is lost in the form of heat (as much as 80 to 90 percent), as organisms expend energy for metabolic processes such as staying warm and digesting food ( see biosphere: The flow of energy ). The higher the organism is on the trophic pyramid, the less energy is available to it; herbivores and detritivores (primary consumers) have less available energy than plants, and the carnivores that feed on herbivores and detritivores (secondary consumers) and those that eat other carnivores (tertiary consumers) have the least amount of available energy.

The organisms that make up the base level of the pyramid vary from community to community. In terrestrial communities, multicellular plants generally form the base of the pyramid, whereas in freshwater lakes a combination of multicellular plants and single-celled algae constitute the first trophic level. The trophic structure of the ocean is built on the plankton known as krill. There are some exceptions to this general plan. Many freshwater streams have detritus rather than living plants as their energy base. Detritus is composed of leaves and other plant parts that fall into the water from surrounding terrestrial communities. It is broken down by microorganisms, and the microorganism-rich detritus is eaten by aquatic invertebrates, which are in turn eaten by vertebrates.

The most unusual biological communities of all are those surrounding hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. These vents result from volcanic activity and the movement of continental plates that create cracks in the seafloor. Water seeps into the cracks, is heated by magma within Earth’s mantle, becomes laden with hydrogen sulfide , and then rises back to the ocean floor. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (chemoautotrophs) thrive in the warm, sulfur-rich water surrounding these cracks. The bacteria use reduced sulfur as an energy source for the fixation of carbon dioxide . Unlike all other known biological communities on Earth, the energy that forms the base of these deep-sea communities comes from chemosynthesis rather than from photosynthesis; the ecosystem is thus supported by geothermal rather than solar energy.

Some species surrounding these vents feed on these bacteria, but other species have formed long-term, reciprocally beneficial relationships ( mutualistic symbioses ) with sulfur bacteria . These species harbour the chemoautotrophic bacteria within their bodies and derive nutrition directly from them. The biological communities surrounding these vents are so different from those in the rest of the ocean that since the 1980s, when biological research of these vents began, about 200 new species have been described, and there are many more that remain undescribed—i.e., not formally described and given scientific names. Among the described species there are at least 75 new genera, 15 new families, one new order, one new class, and even one new phylum.

Because all species are specialized in their diets, each trophic pyramid is made up of a series of interconnected feeding relationships called food chains. Most food chains consist of three or four trophic levels. A typical sequence may be plant, herbivore , carnivore , top carnivore; another sequence is plant, herbivore, parasite of the herbivore, and parasite of the parasite. Many herbivores, detritivores, carnivores, and parasites, however, eat more than one species, and a large number of animal species eat different foods at different stages of their life histories. In addition, many species eat both plants and animals and therefore feed at more than one trophic level. Consequently, food chains combine into highly complex food webs. Even a simplified food web can show a complicated network of trophic relationships.

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• Published: 15 August 2024
• Biodiversity

Atolls are vital for seabirds and vice versa

• Ruth E. Dunn   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0927-2734 1 , 2  

Nature Ecology & Evolution ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Predictive modelling based on a global dataset reveals that atolls sustain 31.2 million breeding tropical seabirds. This vast assemblage of birds probably acts as a major nutrient pump, which highlights the need to conserve atoll ecosystems into the future.

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Ruth E. Dunn

Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

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Dunn, R.E. Atolls are vital for seabirds and vice versa. Nat Ecol Evol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02518-1

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Published : 15 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02518-1

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