ECOLOGY Ecology is concerned with the study of organisms and their habitats.

This includes the interdependence of various populations, their impact on each other and their surroundings, the effect of the surroundings on their behaviour, as well as the ways in which the organisms and the environment change in response to each other. A pond and its inhabitants provide a good example of these interrelationships. A pond contains: a. b. c. d. e. soil consisting of rock, minerals and dead remains of organisms water with minerals aquatic plants including algae aquatic animals like snails and tadpoles bacteria and other microorganisms such as protozoans

All these components interact to produce a system called an ecosystem which is constantly changing. An ecosystem may be divided into physical or abiotic factors and living or biotic components. Abiotic factors may be climatic, physical and chemical. A number of ecological factors are common to both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Most of these factors are climatic - that is having to do with heat, cold, amount of rainfall or sunshine and so on. Some ecological factors like edaphic (those relating to soil like pH of soil, water content, drainage and porosity) and topographic ( shape of the land, whether it is mountainous or flat) only relate to terrestrial environments. Other like salinity ( freshness or saltiness of the water) and tidal action ( ebb and flow if the tides)only apply to aquatic habitats.

ECOLOGICAL FACTORS COMMON TO ALL HABITATS Factors like temperature, rainfall, light, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), wind and pressure are common to all habitats. Temperature

Temperature is one of the main climatic factors. It affects terrestrial habitats more than aquatic ones as the range in temperature is much wider in terrestrial habitats. Temperature variations result in both hot and cold climates. The temperatures of temperate terrestrial habitats have markedly seasonal variations with temperatures below 00C in winter and above 200C in summer. Aquatic habitats experience a vertical variation in temperature with a drop in temperature as the depth increases. In tropical marine waters, the temperature at the surface is about 300C while at a depth of 1500 m the temperature is 40C. Organisms differ in their ability to tolerate variations in temperature. Generally, each organism has its optimum temperature at which it can maintain itself. Poikilothermic animals (cold-blooded) become inactive when the temperature falls to about 60C or rises above 400C. If unfavourable temperatures are seasonal or persist for ling periods, these animals tend to aestivate. Homoiothermic animals (warm-blooded) are able to adapt to temperature changes by maintaining a constant body temperature. In plants, the rate of photosynthesis and transpiration are affected by temperature. Rainfall Rainfall is another climatic factor that affects mainly terrestrial habitats. Droughts and floods are determined by the amount of rainfall and these can cause the destruction of vegetation covers and as a consequence, community. Rainfall affects the distribution of any kind of vegetation. An annual rainfall of 1600 mm yields an equatorial forest. Rainfall is essential to maintaining the life of freshwater habitats. Lack of rainfall causes drying up of ponds, lakes and streams and consequently death to organisms living there. Plants found living in areas that are aquatic are known as hydrophytes and have adaptations for living in these areas e.g. water lily. Plants found in dry, arid areas are called xerophytes and possess certain adaptations for living there such as stems modified to store water, leaves reduced to spines, sunken stomata and hairy leaves, e.g cactus. Light Light is needed for photosynthesis to take place. It also affects animals in various ways. Some animals like the earthworm, woodlice and bats shy away from light while others are active by day. Exposure to ultraviolet rays enables man to make Vitamin D. Migration of birds is as a result of seasonal shortening of daylight. Hibernation of mammals and changing of coat colour is also

regulated by light. Aquatic animals prefer darker waters during the day and ascend to the surface when light intensity is reduced. Flowering of plants also depends on light. pH This determines the acidity or alkalinity of the water in aquatic habitats or the soil in terrestrial habitats. The pH tends to be neutral at a value of 7 and increases if alkaline contents are abundant. Organisms are affected by the pH of their environment. Fresh water mollusks tend to be deficient on waters with a pH less than 6.

Wind Winds carry water currents and waves and also rain-bearing clouds. Wind also helps in the dispersal of fruits and seeds and causes pollination in some plants. The drying effect of strong air currents can cause a high rate of transpiration. The fauna and flora of mountains differ due to winds. The windward side of mountains has luscious vegetation while the leeward side is sparsely vegetated. Pressure Pressure varies from the depths of the ocean to the higher altitudes of atmosphere. Atmospheric pressure reduces when one ascends from sea level. Mountainous areas have lower atmospheric pressure than lowlands. AQUATIC ECOLOGICAL FACTORS Salinity is the concentration of dissolved salts in the surrounding environment. Aquatic organisms have to maintain osmotic balance between their body fluids and their aquatic habitats. The concentration of salts in the body of marine animals is close to that in surrounding water. They are therefore able to maintain osmotic balance without difficulty. The bodies of freshwater animals are higher in salt concentration than in the habitat. Water, therefore, tends to pass into the organisms. Fresh-water organisms therefore have developed organs that regulate osmotic movements of water. These organs get rid of excess water and maintain the salt concentration of body fluids. In

estuarine or brackish water the salinity changes rapidly with the tides. Organisms in this habitat have body tissues capable of tolerating large fluctuations in salt concentration in their body fluids. The amount of dissolved oxygen is also important in all aquatic habitats, since oxygen is needed for respiration. This amount is affected by temperature, wind and the presence of organic matter and dissolved salts. The surface waters contain more dissolved oxygen than the waters below. Tidal movements aerate and mix water up to a certain depth. TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGICAL FACTORS Topographic and edaphic factors only operate in a terrestrial habitat. Topographic factors are associated with the structure of the Earths surface, such as mountains, hills and valleys. Edaphic factors are related to the nature of soil particles, humus and mineral content of soil and the depth of the water table below the soil surface. Topographic factors bring about local variation in vegetation and fauna. Thus a mountain on the tropics may have lush vegetation at its base while at its peak the vegetation is sparse with stunted trees and bushes. A limestone region and a sandy soil region will have different types of vegetation; the type of vegetation in turn affects the type of animals found in the habitat. Relative humidity also affects terrestrial habitats. Humidity is the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. This affects the distribution of plants and animals. Some terrestrial invertebrates die if they are unable to retain water during low humidity conditions. In flowering plants, high humidity causes cells to be too turgid while low humidity causes cells to plasmolyse. BIOTIC FACTORS The effect of one kind of organism on another, the competition for food and space between species and the interrelationship between plants and animals with reference to pollination, seed dispersal and nutrition are some biotic factors which operate in any habitat. Many different apparatus are used to sample biotic factors. Sweeping nets are used to skim the surface of the water for collecting surface specimen. (A). The hand net is seen in B; it is used to scoop up specimens from rivers. C is the plankton net; it is conical and made of fine cloth. Plankton accumulates at the tip as the water is slowly filtered. D shows the wicker fish trap and has a large opening which tapers to a closed end. Fish that get into the mouth swim inwards and are

trapped. E shows a fish trap that has two large openings which taper towards the centre. Fish that get in, swim towards the centre and are trapped. F is a pooter and is used to collect small insects and other invertebrates from leaf litter, tree trunks and crevices from rocks and walls. G is a butterfly net which is usually made from mosquito netting or fine cloth and attached to a handle.

It is not possible or practical to obtain a population estimate of a habitat by counting the number if each type of plant or animal in the habitat. The method employed to study the populations in a habitat is known as sampling. Sampling is measuring in several random small areas of the habitat, the relative proportions and characteristics of the population or populatins which occupy the whole habitat. If a population survey of certain terrestrial plants is to be taken and the commonest of them to be determined, a technique called quadrat sampling is used. A quadrat is a rectangle or square made of wood, metal or wire. It is randomly thrown several times and on each throw, the area it covers is observed. They type and number of each species is recorded. The average number of times each species appears is calculated and the most frequent or common species is determined. The plant population of an area can also be studied using the transect method. Here a tape marked at intervals is stretched across the area. The plants encountered at interval marks are recorded. This is repeated several times to achieve an estimate of the numbers and types of plants in an area. To study the flora and fauna of an ecological habitat, one has to know the frequency, density and percentage cover. These are known as population characteristics.

Frequency
The frequency of an organism is how often the species occurs at different sites of a habitat. Number of throws in which Species A occurred Total number of throws Frequency percentage = = = = 25 75

25/75 x 100 33.33 %

Species density
This is the average number of individual species per quadrat area. Frequency of Species b Number of tosses = = 100 53/100 0.53 = = = 1m2 53

Average number of species B = = Area of quadrat Density of species B

0.53/1m2 0.53 individuals per m2

Population size
This is the size of the population in the sample area. It is calculated using the following formula: species density x sample area If in the example above for example the sample area was 100 m2 then the population size would be: 0.53 x 100 m2 =53 individuals

Capture-Recapture
In this technique organisms are captured marked and released, then recaptured the following day and the marked ones and the total number counted. Estimated population = # in Sample 1 x total # in Sample 2

Total # marked individuals