The Scope of Ecology

Darwin had a theory that organisms that can adapt better to their environment are more likely to reproduce, obtain food, survive better, and pass on their traits to their offspring; this theory is called natural selection. Natural selection allows

Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the relationship between organisms and their environment. Ecology is a basic tool of environmental science.

As a naturalist, Darwin discovered how the type species interact differently from the species from other locations that were nearby. That discovery concluded to be the proposal of “natural selection,” which is a principle that explains that nature selects the

An invasive species is a species that comes out of its natural environment, and enters another. These animals are usually very bad for the ecosystem and may cause an unbalance. These animals usually come in with many competitive advantages and can easily dominate any competition. This will give them the ability to eat as much as they would like without being threatened in any way. This could possibly diminish many populations and end an entire ecosystem.

Adaptations in terrestrial environments involve the structural and functional qualities of the organism, to achieve the adequate intake of oxygen and other essential substances for the animal to survive, the evolution of more complex anatomical structures were required. Gravity is stronger on land than water, which means terrestrial organisms have to be more structural than aquatic organisms. Also, the balance of gas exchange with water loss is a key feature to survive in land. For example plants, when doing photosynthesis require carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen, at the end of this process a lot of water is lost and terrestrial plants have to compensate the water being lost and the water taken from soil. Furthermore, the dispersal of gametes by wind or other animals have helped plants reproduce in large amounts and create varieties of species of the same kind. Short-term weather patterns as well as long-term climate conditions based on precipitations, temperature, wind, humidity as well as other factors are survival obstacles that organisms in land have to adapt to live; endothermic organisms have to maintain a constant internal

Ecology: The study of the interactions between organisms and the other living and nonliving components of their environment.

6. It influences how much of the sun’s energy is absorbed and released, thereby affecting temperature. Plants release water vapor and influence regional precipitation patterns.

Evolution: Charles Darwin's theory was that species change over time, or evolve, in response to their environment. A good example of this is the evolution of the Kangaroo. Approximately 55 MYA the kangaroos looked quite similar to a possum and it was a tree dweller with a prehensile tail, but as Gondwana split up, the rainforests disappeared, the climate became hotter and the land dry and arid, the kangaroo evolved along the way and have come to look like what they do now.

Invasive species are a potential critical problem. They can influence the environment completely; anything from individual species to entire ecosystems. The brown tree snake was at first located in Indonesia and New Guinea, but the brown tree snake became an invasive species to Guam by coincidence (3). Because the Brown tree snake is very capable to hide in confined spaces it is believed that they were distributed to Guam by U.S military ships during their war against Japan (5). The brown tree snake can be easily distinguished by its brown, greenish colour, rear fangs and a large, almost disproportioned, head compared to its body (5).

Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the interactions of organisms with each other, and with their physical and chemical environments. Another main topic discussed in this chapter is ecosystems. Ecosystems are habitats or areas that consists of two basic components. Ecosystems include such things as biotic and abiotic components. Biotic components are living organisms within an ecosystem and abiotic components are things like sunlight, temperature, and rainfall. Within an ecosystem are producer and autotrophs. Producers and autotrophs consist of plants, algae, and bacteria. These two organisms obtain food from inorganic materials and light energy. As to where consumer and heterotrophs obtain energy by eating plants or the animals that eat the plants. An ecosystem is made up of several different parts. Each part of an ecosystem is different from the other. None of these parts within the ecosystem rely on the other. They are all interdependent being either predators or

Fluctuating light intensity. During winter, a layer of snow covers the ground, causing less light to reaches the plants. During summer, there is a large amount of sunlight reaching the plants.

Darwin wanted to further his studies in plant and animal life, and he also became interested in the similarities of plant and animal species to those of the human species. He noticed that humans too also had to develop new characteristics that would help them adapt to their environments. This made him want to look further into where humans came from and also question the idea of creationism. He argued that men are animals because they have to adapt to their surroundings just as animals do. He suggested that the stronger animals have a better survival chance and they produce offspring that carry this trait. A whole new population of species can derive from these offspring and traits that have evolved from older generations and species. This became known as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

‘Compare the nature and rate of change that affect the functioning of TWO different ecosystems at risk.’

Many scientists believe variations are caused by environmental factors, such as food availability, weather and more; and that species evolve when environmental conditions change to increase the species survival. Darwin censures this idea; he believed that the main cause of variation is due to reproduction (Chapter I). Darwin suggested that parents pass down specific characteristics to their offspring, and those variations are continued on in the following generations. The problem with Darwin’s theory of reproduction is that Darwin did not comprehend how or why some characteristics are perennial and how others are not. Darwin’s inferences on variations also conflict with the idea that God created species independently, which was widely understood by many people in a time where religion was prominent (Chapter II).

Ecology is the tool used to better understand the causes, effects, and potential mitigation of environmental problems.