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Human ecology : a theoretical essay

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Human Ecology

A theoretical essay.

Amos H. Hawley

176 pages | 5.5 x 8.5 | © 1986

Sociology: General Sociology

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Biology library

Course: biology library   >   unit 28.

• Ecology introduction

What is ecology?

• Ecological levels: from individuals to ecosystems
• Intro to ecology

• Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment.
• The distribution and abundance of organisms on Earth is shaped by both biotic , living-organism-related, and abiotic , nonliving or physical, factors.
• Ecology is studied at many levels, including organism, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere.

Welcome to ecology!

Biotic and abiotic factors.

• Maybe the mold needs a certain amount of water to grow, and this amount of water is found only in the shower. Water availability is an example of an abiotic , or nonliving, factor that can affect distribution of organisms.
• Maybe mold feeds off of dead skin cells found in the shower, but not in the dresser. Availability of nutrients provided by other organisms is an example of a biotic , living-organism-related, factor that can influence distribution.

Case study: the red panda

How do ecologists ask questions, ecology at many scales.

• Organism: Organismal ecologists study adaptations , beneficial features arising by natural selection, that allow organisms to live in specific habitats. These adaptations can be morphological, physiological, or behavioral.
• Population: A population is a group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area at the same time. Population ecologists study the size, density, and structure of populations and how they change over time.
• Community: A biological community consists of all the populations of different species that live in a given area. Community ecologists focus on interactions between populations and how these interactions shape the community.
• Ecosystem: An ecosystem consists of all the organisms in an area, the community, and the abiotic factors that influence that community. Ecosystem ecologists often focus on flow of energy and recycling of nutrients.
• Biosphere: The biosphere is planet Earth, viewed as an ecological system. Ecologists working at the biosphere level may study global patterns—for example, climate or species distribution—interactions among ecosystems, and phenomena that affect the entire globe, such as climate change.

Attribution

Works cited.

• "Red panda." World Wildlife Fund. Accessed June 7, 2016. http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/red-panda .
• A. Glatston, F. Wei, Than Zaw, and A. Sherpa, " Ailurus fulgens ." In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2015): e.T714A45195924. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T714A45195924.en .
• Sean Breslin. "The Red Panda Could Become the Cutest Victim of Climate Change." The Weather Channel. August 19, 2015. https://weather.com/science/environment/news/red-panda-climate-change-fears .

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An Expository Essay on Ecology and Environmental Planning

Nature as it provides resources to satisfy human needs put in place mechanisms to ensure adequate resources are provided to support the existence of organisms for the complete function of the ecosystem. The growth of human population exerts strains on natural resources. New technologies and development strategies have led to the depletion of previously reserved resources (Didem et al, 2009). Growth of human societies has led to surplus resource being converted into economic and infrastructural fortune. Ruttan (1993) in Didem et al, (2009) notes that concerns on environment and resources has progressed through three waves. There was the initial concern of quantitative interactions between resource availability and economic development. This resulted in technical advancement to increase production in the 1940s and 1950s. This transited to the period of where there was awareness on how natural resources led to limits in growth and the concern about the capacity of the environment to recycle elements in the 1960s and 1970s. There was a serious struggle of interests in the demand for services of the environment. There was also concern about ability of the ecosystem to process pollution created by commodity production and consumption. Rapid growth in per capita income also increased consumer demand for environmental services (Didem et al, 2009). As time goes by, human populations keep growing with concentrations in cities and urban areas. Growing cities impact on their surrounding sensitive ecosystems such as wetlands, forests, and mountain ecosystems. This is driven by increasing amounts of resources demand which could result in environmental degradation (UNEP, 2013). Given that ecosystems are closely connected to their environment, any environmental change may have detrimental ecological repercussions (Michaelides, 2012). The significant quantities of natural resources being consumed by cities have a major impact on the environment. The demands for environmental resources are unsustainable. Unsustainable demand need to be significantly reduced and eventually reversed (Newman and Jennings, 2008: 80). Humans interactions with the environment are naturally designed to complement one another, however, possibilities for conflict and imbalance can arise at many levels. Some environmental observers fear that the present commitment to industrial growth and technological advancements will lead to increasing environmental destruction and depletion of resource. This could eventually result in the collapse of society (Meadows, et al., 1972: 2004; Goldsmith et al., 1972). Considering how human population is growing and its consequent effect on the environment and ecosystem, there is the need to effectively manage it. This therefore calls for effective integration of environmental and ecological factors into everyday planning. Environmental and ecological planning has therefore become important to manage the effect of man’s interaction with his environment. In its broadest sense environmental planning is an attempt to balance and harmonize the activities and interactions for which man in his interest of satisfaction, has superimposed on natural environments. In a resource-constrained world, environmental and ecological planning are cornerstones of our ability to enhance and sustain the world’s environments. With growing interaction between man and the ecosystem, ecological and environmental planning has gained widespread attention in recent years. This paper therefore examines this concept in its entirety to understand what goes into it. The paper seeks to review existing works in ecology and environmental planning. This will help understand the academic and professional discourses in the field. It will also help understand and possibly contribute to current debates in the field.

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a report which reviews the definitions of ecology, environment and ecological and environmental planning from various disciplines and perspectives.

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Briitta Koskiaho

IN T H E YEAR 1800 50 mil l ion people, or 5.5% of the world's population, lived in cities. By 1990 two milliard, or 45 % of the population, lived in cities; in Europe, however, the figure in 1990 represented already 80% of the population. Similarly, one could say, the emphasis in environmental issues has moved gradually from the protection of fens and woodlands and the like, to solving the problems of the city. A t the same time, environmental problems are more and more entwined wi th the general problems of society and urban centres. As the project of industrial society changes into the project o f post-industrial society the social aims are no longer resting directly on the modern cultural project. Society appears as a difficult to manage complex entity, full o f hidden risks. There has been an enthusiasm in industrial culture for developing models o f the "ecological" or "sustainable" city, combining ecological issues w i t h societal requirements ever si...

Ecological Economics

Manfred Max-neef

F Stuart Chapin III

The Routledge Comnaion to Environmental Planning

Feyisade C Adeyemi , Olusegun Falola

Introduction Our physical environment comprises of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components that exhibit complex interactions with one another. In the natural environment, a series of inter-dependent bio-geo-chemical processes are deployed to ensure sustainability into an indefinite future. Since the advent of the industrial revolution, however, human activities have constituted an unprecedented threat to this delicate balance of nature. The negative impacts of human’s activities in adapting natural resources to his/her needs and wants are becoming ever more alarming. On November 5, 2015, a mining dam in Brazil exploded, tons of toxic waste was released, flowing into streams, rivers and ultimately reaching the Atlantic Ocean. At least 13 people died immediately from direct impacts, many more were displaced, the devastation of local water supply and other complications is likely to lead to many more deaths, 150,000 people are now deprived of their usual source of water supply; thousands of aquatic species were reported dead in the early days of this incident, while stock taking continues (The Guardian, 2015; Aljazeera, 2015). This is a classic example of a human disaster with immediately visible effects that are well documented. However, there are much more damages being done quietly, with negative impacts visibly emerging only in the long term. The diversity of life on Earth shapes and nourishes every facet of human existence but, because these connections are seldom obvious, humans do not always know how their actions affect the environment. Many times humans pursue short-term interests with limited regard for the well-being of other species and the places they live. At the same time, social and economic inequities have forced some people to overexploit resources to meet their basic needs (Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund-US, 1999). Consequently, biodiversity is rapidly declining. If we want to ensure the long-term health of the planet, we need to develop an informed and motivated citizenry that understands what biodiversity is and why it is important. This can only be achieved through education, learning and relearning. Fortunately, efforts have been made and steps are been taken to achieve this goal. The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted the 17 point agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015 for the fifteen-year period between 2015 and 2030. The all-embracing goals are focused on sustainable use of earth resources such as reducing the threat to biological diversity of the planet while leading to prosperity. Across the world, most countries are developing and updating their national biodiversity reports and action plans such as to generate local solutions to the global challenge of biodiversity loss. Since man is totally dependent on biological resources for his basic physiological needs, the effort to halt biodiversity loss is a battle for human survival on the planet earth and as such it cuts across all fields of human endeavour. Indeed, physical planning in the modern world is responsible for a lot of the changes that directly impact the earth and biodiversity. Therefore, there is need for physical planners to be involved in the development and implementation of a comprehensive Biodiversity Action Plan for any given country, state or local community. The aim of the chapter is to elaborate the concept of biodiversity theoretically in all its dimensions and to establish how the concept, given a core definition, is put into urban and regional planning training and practice.

Woźniak G., Sierka E., Wheeler A. (2018). Urban and Industrial Habitats: How Important They Are for Ecosystem Services. Ecosystem Services and Global Ecology, http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.75723.

Edyta Sierka

The sustainable management of natural resources can make human survival possible. Sustainable management is based on a deep understanding of the complex mechanisms of the Earth's natural ecosystems and of how those resources can be managed without compromising future benefits and availability. The sustainable management of natural

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The Importance of Studying Ecology

• Published 2017
• Environmental Science, Biology

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• Biology Article

Table of Contents

What Is Ecology

Biotic And Abiotic Factors

Types Of Ecology

Importance Of Ecology

Examples Of Ecology

What is Ecology?

Ecology is a  branch of science, including human science, population, community, ecosystem and biosphere. Ecology is the study of organisms, the environment and how the organisms interact with each other and their environment. It is studied at various levels, such as organism, population, community, biosphere and ecosystem.

An ecologist’s primary goal is to improve their understanding of life processes, adaptations and habitats , interactions and biodiversity of organisms.

Let us have a detailed look at the ecology notes provided here and explore the concept of ecology.

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

The main aim of ecology is to understand the distribution of biotic and abiotic factors of living things in the environment. The biotic and abiotic factors include the living and non-living factors and their interaction with the environment.

Biotic components

Biotic components are living factors of an ecosystem. A few examples of biotic components include bacteria,  animals, birds,  fungi, plants, etc.

Abiotic components

Abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors of an ecosystem. These components could be acquired from the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. A few examples of abiotic components include sunlight, soil, air, moisture minerals and more.

Living organisms are grouped into biotic components, whereas non-living components like sunlight, water, topography are listed under abiotic components.

Types of Ecology

The diagram showing different Types of Ecology

Ecology can be classified into different types. The different types of ecology are given below:

Global Ecology

It deals with interactions among earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere and oceans. It helps to understand the large-scale interactions and their influence on the planet.

Landscape Ecology

It deals with the exchange of energy, materials, organisms and other products of ecosystems. Landscape ecology throws light on the role of human impacts on the landscape structures and functions.

Ecosystem Ecology

It deals with the entire ecosystem, including the study of living and non-living components and their relationship with the environment. This science researches how ecosystems work, their interactions, etc.

Community Ecology

It deals with how community structure is modified by interactions among living organisms. Ecology community is made up of two or more populations of different species living in a particular geographic area.

Population Ecology

It deals with factors that alter and impact the genetic composition and the size of the population of organisms. Ecologists are interested in fluctuations in the size of a population, the growth of a population and any other interactions with the population.

In biology, a population can be defined as a set of individuals of the same species living in a given place at a given time. Births and immigration are the main factors that increase the population and death and emigration are the main factors that decrease the population.

Population ecology examines the population distribution and density. Population density is the number of individuals in a given volume or area. This helps in determining whether a particular species is in endanger or its number is to be controlled and resources to be replenished.

Organismal Ecology

Organismal ecology is the study of an individual organism’s behaviour, morphology, physiology, etc. in response to environmental challenges. It looks at how individual organisms interact with biotic and abiotic components. Ecologists research how organisms are adapted to these non-living and living components of their surroundings.

Individual species are related to various adaptations like physiological adaptation,  morphological adaptation, and behavioural adaptation.

Molecular Ecology

The study of ecology focuses on the production of proteins and how these proteins affect the organisms and their environment. This happens at the molecular level.

DNA forms the proteins that interact with each other and the environment. These interactions give rise to some complex organisms.

Importance of Ecology

The following reasons explain the importance of ecology:

Conservation of Environment

Ecology helps us to understand how our actions affect the environment. It shows the individuals the extent of damage we cause to the environment.

Lack of understanding of ecology has led to the degradation of land and the environment. It has also led to the extinction and endangerment of certain species. For eg., dinosaurs, white shark, mammoths, etc. Thus, the study of the environment and organisms helps us to protect them from any damage and danger.

Resource Allocation

With the knowledge of ecology, we are able to know which resources are necessary for the survival of different organisms. Lack of ecological knowledge has led to scarcity and deprivation of these resources, leading to competition.

Energy Conservation

All organisms require energy for their growth and development. Lack of ecological understanding leads to the over-exploitation of energy resources such as light, nutrition and radiation, leading to its depletion.

Proper knowledge of ecological requirements prevents the unnecessary wastage of energy resources, thereby, conserving energy for future purposes.

Eco-Friendliness

Ecology encourages harmonious living within the species and the adoption of a lifestyle that protects the ecology of life.

Examples of Ecology

Following are a few examples of ecology:

Human Ecology

It focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment. It emphasizes the impact human beings have on the environment and gives knowledge on how we can improve ourselves for the betterment of humans and the environment.

Niche Construction

It deals with the study of how organisms alter the environment for the benefit of themselves and other living beings. For eg, termites create a 6 feet tall mound and at the same time feed and protect their entire population.

Also Read: Biodiversity

To explore more about what is ecology, importance and types of ecology, keep visiting the BYJU’S website or download the BYJU’S app for further reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ecology.

Ecology is the branch of science that deals with the relationship of organisms with one another and with their physical surroundings.

What are the different levels of ecology?

The different levels of ecology include- organisms, communities, population and ecosystem.

What are the different types of ecology?

The different types of ecology include- molecular ecology, organismal ecology, population ecology, community ecology, global ecology, landscape ecology and ecosystem ecology.

How are ecology and evolution related?

Ecology plays a significant role in forming new species and modifying the existing ones. Natural selection is one of the many factors that influences evolutionary change.

Who devised the word ecology?

Ecology was first devised by Ernst Haeckel, a German Zoologist. However, ecology has its origins in other sciences such as geology, biology, and evolution among others.

What is habitat ecology?

Habitat ecology is the type of natural environment in which a particular species of an organism live, characterized by both physical and biological features.

What is a niche?

An organism free from the interference of other species and can use a full range of biotic and abiotic resources in which it can survive and reproduce is known as its fundamental niche.

Register at BYJU’S for more ecology notes. Go through these notes for reference.

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THANK FOR YOUR GOOD EXPLANATION OF ECOLOGY

very good explanation for ecology.

what is tolerance

Tolerance is defined as an organism’s capacity to survive variation in environmental conditions. For example, a polar bear can thrive in the sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic, but it cannot survive in warmer climates such as the tropics.

Nice and lovely answer dear

Thanks so much

tank you for good explain

the interaction of living and non living things in the community

thank you for giving details

thank you for good expression

Thanks for such a explanation

Thanks for the explanation

Thanks for such explanation

thankyou so mach for your explanation

Wow I enjoyed the explanations thanks

ecology and its relevance to man , natural resources, their sustainable management and conservation?

Thanks for the Info. Crystal clear and simple. Helped me a lot.

CAN I KNOW ABOUT THE SIGMOID GROWTH GRAPH?

Please refer to this link https://byjus.com/biology/an-introduction-to-population-growth/

This is very helpful because my half-yearly exam is coming, and easy to learn about ecology, thanks

Thanks so much for the well clear answers it helps so much

Thank you so much! This explanation has helped me a lot.

Thank you for the information about ecological system

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Why the New Human Case of Bird Flu Is So Alarming

By Rick Bright

Dr. Bright is a virologist and the former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

The third human case of H5N1, reported on Thursday in a farmworker in Michigan who was experiencing respiratory symptoms, tells us that the current bird flu situation is at a dangerous inflection point.

The virus is adapting in predictable ways that increase its risk to humans, reflecting our failure to contain it early on. The solutions to this brewing crisis — such as comprehensive testing — have been there all along, and they’re becoming only more important. If we keep ignoring the warning signs we have only ourselves to blame.

H5N1 has long been more than a bird problem. The virus has found its way into dairy cattle across nine states , affecting 69 herds that we know about. Of the three human cases of H5N1 that have been identified, all involve farmworkers who were in direct contact with infected cows or milk. The first two cases were relatively mild, involving symptoms like eye irritation, or conjunctivitis. However, the most recent case has shown more concerning signs, including coughing.

The emergence of respiratory symptoms is disconcerting because it indicates a potential shift in how the virus affects humans. Coughing can spread viruses more easily than eye irritation can.

New symptoms should be expected as the virus continues to spread and adapt to humans. Yet our response to this looming danger has been woefully inadequate, particularly in the area of testing.

Testing is our first line of defense in identifying and controlling infectious diseases. It allows health responders to understand the extent of an outbreak, identify who is infected and take measures to prevent further spread.

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