2.1 What is Ecology?

Term
Species

Definition
A group of organisms that
interbreed and produce
fertile offspring.

Population

A group of organisms living

in the same area at the
same time and which are
capable of interbreeding.

Habitat

The environment in which a

species normally lives.

Niche

Where, when, and how an

organism lives.

Community

A group of populations living

and interacting with each
other in a common habitat.

Ecosystem

A community of
interdependent organisms
(biotic) and the physical
environment they inhabit
(abiotic).

2.1 Population Interactions

Explanation
This concept cannot
identify whether
geographically isolated
populations belong to the
same species, classify
species in extinct
populations, account for
asexually reproducing
organisms, or clearly define
species when barriers to
reproduction are
incomplete.
N/A

It is the natural
environment in which a
species or a population of a
species lives and includes
the physical (abiotic)
environment. It can be
shared by a community.
An organism's niche
depends not only on where
it lives (habitat) but also on
what it does. It includes
every relationship an
organism may have. No
two different species can
have the same niche
because the niche
completely defines a
species.
Contrasts with the term
"population" which refers to
just one species.

Coined in 1930 and

modified by Arthur Tansley,
a British ecologist, to
describe the complex
relationships between
organisms and their abiotic
environment.

Example
Koalas. Kangaroos, Tasmanian
Devils

Snails of one species in a pond

form a population but the snails
in another pond form a different
population. If there was no
barrier between them, they
could interbreed.
The habitat of wildebeest is the
savannah and temperate
grasslands of eastern and
south-eastern Africa.

The niche of a kangaroo

includes all the information
about what defines this
species: its habitat, courtship
displays, grooming, alertness at
water holes, when it is active,
interactions between predators
and similar activities.

The Great Barrier Reef in

Australia contain marine algae,
krill, sea horse, red bass, and
tiger shark. Communities
include all biotic parts of the
ecosystem, both plants and
animals.
Rainforest ecosystems have a
large biomass of trees with a
canopy of over 50 metre in
height. The have high
productivity despite often thin
and infertile soils.

Competition occurs when resources such as space, light, mates, food, or nutrients are finite (a fixed amount). If they are used there
is less available to others and they may become limiting factors. This is competition and it can intraspecific (within species) or
interspecific (between species). Interspecific competition exists when the niches of different species overlap. No two species can
occupy the same niche, so the degree to which niches overlap determines the degree of interspecific competition. In this relationship,
neither species benefit, although better competitors suffer less.
Example: Competition between red foxes and the Tasmanian devil. The foxes are better competitors and as a result the Tasmanian
devil decline in population.
Paratism is when species live closely together, but one of the species gains at the others expense. Parasites may consume body
parts or fluids, or capture the host organisms own nutrients from its gut.
Example: There are two types: endoparasites, which live inside their host (tapeworms) and ectoparasites, which live on the surface of
their host (ticks and mites).
Mutualisms are relationships between species where both benefit. Also known as symbiosis (paratism is a form of symbiosis where
one of the organisms is harmed).
Example: Coral reefs are symbiotic with the coral animal (polyp) and unicellular brown algae that live within the coral polyp.
Herbivory is the consumption of autotrophs by a primary consumer.
Example: Kangaroos feeding on grass.
Predation is the consumption of a primary consumer by a secondary consumer or higher. Eats animals (note not other organisms).
Complex feedbacks lock predator and prey into cycles.
Example: Tasmanian tiger eating wallabies.

2.1 Population Changes

Limiting factors are factors that limit the distribution or numbers of a particular population. They are environmental factors which slow
down population growth. Some limiting factors include temperature, water and nutrient availability. Each species has a tolerance
range, which is the concept that there are upper and lower levels of environmental factors beyond which a population cannot survive,
and that there is an optimum range within which species can thrive.
Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of organisms that an area or ecosystem can sustainably support over a long period
of time.

Sigmodal
curves are
population
growth
curves
which show an initial rapid growth (exponential growth) and then slow down as the carrying capacity is reached. In some cases, there
may be an overshoot, followed by die back. The three stages are:
Exponential growth stage population growth at increasingly rapid rate
Transitional phase population growth slows but still continues
Plateau phase the number of individuals stabilizes and population growth stabilises
(S)

In contrast, a J-curve is a population growth curve which shows only exponential growth. Growth is initially slow and becomes
increasingly rapid; it does not slow down.