Chapter I: Introduction to Environmental Science

The environment impacts our way of life in many aspects (e.g., food
and fiber production, resources for building shelter and infrastructure,
water supplies, etc.). Adverse impacts to this environment affect the well
being of humans and other living organisms. It is therefore essential in
educating the people for preserving the quality of the environment.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
1. define environment and environmental science;
2. discuss the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science;
3. explain the importance of environmental science;
4. deepen your understanding in reducing ecological footprint; and
5. express your awareness on environmental sustainability.
As we look around at the area in
which we live, we see that our
surroundings were originally a natural
landscape such as a forest, a river, a
mountain, a desert, or a combination of
these elements. Most of us live in
landscapes that have been heavily
modified by human beings, in villages,
towns or cities. But even those of us
who live in cities get our food supply
from surrounding villages and these in
turn are dependent on natural
landscapes such as forests, grasslands,
rivers, seashores, for resources such as
water for agriculture, fuel, wood, and
fish. Thus our daily lives are linked with
our surroundings and inevitably affect
them. Everything around us forms our
environment and our lives depend on
keeping its vital systems as intact as
possible.
Therefore, despite our many
scientific and technological advances, we are utterly dependent on the
environment for air, water, food, shelter, energy, and everything else we need
to stay alive and healthy. As a result, we are part of and not apart from the
rest of nature. Our dependence on nature is so great that we cannot
continue to live without protecting the earth’s environmental resources.
Environmental science is the field that studies how nature works,
how the environment affects us, how we affect the environment, and how to
deal with environmental problems and live more sustainably. It is an
interdisciplinary field, as it is related with various areas, such as chemistry,
1
engineering, medical science, life science, agriculture, sanitary engineering,
public health, etc.
Types of Environment
Since the environment is a combination of physical and biological
factors, it contains both living or biotic and non-living or abiotic
components. On the basis of this basic structure, the environment can be
divided into physical or abiotic and living or biotic environments.
● Physical or Abiotic Environment
Physical environment is made up of the following states - solid, liquid,
and gas. These three elements signify lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere respectively. On the basis of spatial distribution, smaller
units are termed as coastal environment, plateau environment,
mountain environment, lake environment, river environment,
maritime environment, etc.
● Living or Biotic Environment
Biotic environment consists of plants (flora) and animals (fauna)
including human beings as a significant factor. Thus, the biotic
environment can be of two types such as floral environment and
faunal environment.
● Social and Cultural Environment
This type of environment includes the varied aspects of socio cultural
interactions along with its outcomes such as beliefs, attitudes,
stereotypes etc. The tangible and intangible aspects of the
environment are included in it.
● Psychological Environment
Psychological environment deals with the perception and experiences
related to any environmental setting. Some environments may be
stimulating and exciting for us, while others may be dull and boring.
Psychological environment is more often used in the organizational
context.
Our Ecological Footprints Are Growing
Supplying people with renewable resources and dealing with the
resulting wastes and pollution can have a large environmental impact. We
can think of it as an ecological footprint—the amount of biologically
productive land and water needed to supply the people in a particular
country or area with renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the
wastes and pollution produced by resource use. The per capita ecological
footprint is the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given
country or area.
If a country’s, or the world’s, total ecological footprint is larger than its
biological capacity to replenish its renewable resources and absorb the
2
resulting waste products and pollution, it is said to have an ecological
deficit. In 2006, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Global Footprint
Network estimated that humanity’s global ecological footprint exceeded the
earth’s biological capacity by about 25%. That figure was about 88% in the
world’s high-income countries, with the United States having the world’s
largest total ecological footprint.
If the current exponential growth in the use of renewable resources
continues, the Global Footprint Network estimates that by 2050 humanity
will be trying to use twice as many renewable resources as the planet can
supply (see Figure 1-2).

Figure 1-2
Natural Capital Use and Degradation
Source:
Miller, G. T. 1., & Spoolman, S. (2008). Environmental science: problems, concepts, and
solutions. 12th ed. / Belmont, CA: Brooks Cole.
Total and per capita ecological footprints of selected countries (top). In
2003, humanity’s total or global ecological footprint was about 25% higher
than the earth’s ecological capacity (bottom) and is projected to be twice the
planet’s ecological capacity by 2050. Question: If we are living beyond the
earth’s ecological capacity, why do you think the human population and per
capita resource consumption are still growing exponentially? (Data from
Worldwide Fund for Nature, Global Footprint Network.
The Importance of Environmental Science
Environment sustains life. As a conscious and rational being, man
needs to know the importance of the environment and help keep the
environment as healthy and productive as it can be. It is the environment
that has made this beautiful world possible for him. Hence, there is an ever
demanding need for environmental science.
3
 The natural environment that mankind had before, the onset of
industrialization, urbanization, and exponential growth in population was
expectedly healthy and resilient. Nature was able to replenish the loss of its
resources, which was very limited. However, after the onset of modern
civilization, the overall health and efficiency of the natural environment
started deteriorating gradually and went on to such an extent that nature
has virtually lost its natural ability to replenish the loss of resources caused
by man.
Environmentalists, geographers, and biologists all over the world are
constantly endeavoring for a sustainable solution to restore a sustainable
environment. There is a need to focus on environmental management, laws
governing environment protection, pollution and recycling of non
biodegradable material, etc. There is also a need for careful and cautious
use of natural resources in the present time to establish sustainability in
every aspect of nature. There is a need to clarify modern environmental
concepts such as how to conserve biodiversity and maintain an ecological
balance.
Current Trends, Issues and Plans for Sustainability
The amazing world in which we live has huge variety and richness.
However, humans are increasingly damaging what God has created. Our
actions as a result of technological development, industrial pollution and
increasing consumption are causing environmental degradation and climate
change. These problems have a great impact on environmental
sustainability.
Environmental sustainability is the ability to maintain the qualities
that are valued in the physical environment.
For example, most people want to sustain (maintain):
● human life;
● the capabilities that the natural environment has to maintain
the living conditions for people and other species (eg. clean
water and air, a suitable climate);
● the aspects of the environment that produce renewable
resources such as water, timber, fish, solar energy;
● the functioning of society, despite non-renewable resource
depletion
● the quality of life for all people, the livability and beauty of the
environment
Threats to these aspects of the environment mean that there is a risk
that these things will not be maintained. For example, the large-scale
extraction of non-renewable resources (such as minerals, coal and oil) or
damage done to the natural environment can create threats of serious
decline in quality or destruction or extinction.

4
Scientific Principles of
Sustainability
How can we live more
sustainably? According to
environmental scientists, we
should study how life on the earth
has survived and adapted to major
changes in environmental
conditions for billions of years. We
could make the transition to more
sustainable societies by applying
these lessons from nature to our
lifestyles and economies, as
summarized below and in Figure
1-3:
These four interconnected
principles of sustainability are derived from learning how nature has
sustained a variety of life on the earth for about 3.7 billion years. The top
left oval shows sunlight stimulating the production of vegetation in the
Arctic tundra during its brief summer (solar energy) and the top right oval
shows some of the diversity of species found there during the summer
(biodiversity). The bottom right oval shows Arctic gray wolves stalking a
caribou during the long cold winter (population control). The bottom left oval
shows Arctic gray wolves feeding on their kill. This, plus huge numbers of
tiny decomposers that convert dead matter to soil nutrients, recycle all
materials needed to support the plant growth.
● Reliance on Solar Energy: the
sun warms the planet and supports
photosynthesis used by plants to
provide food for themselves and for us
and other animals.
● Biodiversity (short for biological
diversity): the astounding variety of life
forms, the genes they contain, the
ecosystems in which they exist, and the
natural services they provide have
yielded countless ways for life to adapt
to changing environmental conditions
throughout the earth’s history.
● Population Control: competition
for limited resources among different
life forms places a limit on how much
their populations can grow.
● Nutrient Cycling: natural
processes recycle chemicals that plants
and animals need to stay alive and
reproduce
5
Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Development Goals
In September 2015, leaders from 193 countries of the world came
together to face the future. And what they saw was daunting famines,
drought, wars, plagues and poverty. Not just in some faraway place, but in
their own cities and towns
and villages. So leaders
from these countries
created a plan called the
Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs). The SDGs
present a bold
commitment to finish
what has been started
through the Millennium
Development Goals
(MDGs) in 2015.
This set of 17 goals
imagines a future of just
15 years off that would be
rid of poverty and hunger,
and safe from the worst
effects of climate change.
It’s an ambitious plan. The
United Nations
Development Programme
(UNDP) is one of the
leading organizations
working to fulfill the SDGs
by the year 2030.
One of the more
notable features of the
SDGs and their 169
targets, compared with the
Millennium Development
Goals, is their integrated
approach, placing equal
emphasis on the
economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable
development. Studies have shown that 86 of the 169 targets seek to directly
or indirectly reduce environmental damage or emphasize the critical role of
natural resources and ecosystem services in human well-being and
prosperity.
In practice, this means that the environmental dimensions are not to
be regarded as mere add-ons; rather, they are to be thoroughly interwoven
with the socio-economic dimensions of development plans. The SDGs
represent a milestone in the global effort to recognize the central role of the
6
environment in socioeconomic development, and vice versa. But their
achievement will rest on whether countries have enough capacity to take the
integrated approach forward at the national level.
The SDGs were formulated as an indivisible set of goals and targets,
with the environmental dimensions integrated into socioeconomic
development plans. According to UN Environment, the "environmental
dimensions" could refer to a total of 86 out of 169 targets that directly or
indirectly seek to reduce environmental damage or emphasize the critical
role of natural resources and ecosystem services in ensuring human well
being and prosperity.

7
Chapter II: Ecosystem and Living Organisms
Living organisms have a high degree of organization from cellular to
ecological level. You are taught that the level of organization in ecological
studies includes individual, population, biological community, ecosystem,
biome, and biosphere. Each community on the Earth has a unique
characteristic defined by the organisms found and the physical factors
governing the area. How do living and nonliving things are interrelated and
interdependent with each other?
Learning Outcomes:
In this chapter, you will be able to:
● Describe what is ecosystem and its key components;
● Discuss the function of biotic and abiotic factors in the
environment; Analyze the flow of matter and energy through
different tropic levels and between organisms and the physical
environment
● Show awareness of how some community practice sustainable
living to help in the balance of ecosystem
Concept of ecosystem
The Earth is composed of diverse plants and animals. These living
organisms need different resources in the environment in order to survive.
The study of the interaction between living and nonliving things in the
ecosystem is called ecology. This interaction in the ecosystem is essential
to maintain life on Earth. Ecosystem refers to the community of living
organisms that interact with the physical factors in its environment.
Interaction between and among
organisms allows the flow of energy and
matter. For example, in Figure 1.1, plants
such as grass need the energy coming
from the sun and carbon dioxide produced
by animals to undergo photosynthesis. In
return, plants produce glucose and oxygen
that is utilized by animals. At the same
time, plants and animals cannot survive
without water which is found in the
environment. Can you give other examples
on how living organisms interact with its
environment?
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
The ecosystem is divided into two components: biotic (living things)
and abiotic (nonliving things). Biotic components adapt in the abiotic
condition present in their natural environment to survive. Abiotic
components include temperature, air currents, water currents, amount of
1
sunlight, type of soil, amount of rainfall, and the nutrients available. How
does the unequal distribution of sunlight influence the distribution of
organisms?
Climate is one of the significant influences on the distribution of
organisms on land and in the ocean. The climate patterns are affected by
different factors such as seasonal
variation, bodies of water, and
mountain ranges. How do you think the
changes in climate affect living
organisms?
Coral reefs are one of the most
biologically diverse ecosystems on the
planet. Yet, it is also one of the most
vulnerable ecosystems to climate
change. Corals are sensitive to changes
in temperatures that cause its
mortality. The increase in the sea
temperature causes coral bleaching as
shown in Figure 2.2. The other factors
that may cause coral loss are ocean
acidification, severe tropical storms,
crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak, and anthropogenic disturbance. The
effects of coral loss could lead to population decline of organisms dependent
on corals. In effect, the population of about a quarter of marine species will
be at risk. This could also result in economic losses, decreased food sources,
and increased poverty.
The Philippines is part of the coral triangle that serves a home for
about 37% of the world's coral reef fish species. These reefs provide fishing,
tourism, and storm protection to Filipinos. Some of the well-known tourist
destinations for coral reefs are Apo Reef in Puerto Galera, Anilao in
Batangas, Cabilao in Bohol, Bacalicasag Island in Bohol, Apo Island in
Negros Oriental, Malapascua Island in Cebu, and Tubbataha Reef.
Want to learn more about coral reefs in the Philippines? Search the
link: https://unicoconservationfoundation.org.au/saving philippines-reefs/
Food Chain, Food Web and Energy
The species inhabiting the same community interact with each other
along with the resources found in its environment. With this interaction,
organisms can transfer matter and energy within the environment. The
variety of species living in a community contributes to its diversity and
productivity. How does the presence of diverse species benefit an ecosystem?
The Sun is the main source of energy used by plants and other
photosynthetic organisms. Plants undergo photosynthesis to utilize light
energy to produce glucose and oxygen. Plants are considered as autotrophs
or primary producers as they can produce energy for their own metabolic
2
processes. In contrast to heterotrophs or consumers that derive its nutrition
from other organic matter such as plants or animals. Can you give a specific
example of autotrophs and heterotrophs in our surroundings?
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of
the carbon cycle. It refers to the movement and exchange of carbon in the
biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical,
geological, and biological processes. Based on figure 2.3, how is carbon
transferred from land, air, and water? How do living organisms help in the
carbon cycle?

As shown in figure 2.3, carbon cycle is driven by geologic processes,

photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. Carbon approximates the flow of
energy around the Earth. Plants transform solar energy and take up carbon
dioxide to form chemical energy, sugar (organic matter), through
photosynthesis. These organic matter are consumed by animals and
metabolize to convert into energy and produce carbon dioxide through
cellular respiration.
3
 In this view, photosynthesis and cellular respiration provide most of
the energy for life processes. This energy is being transferred from one
organism to another in the form of food. The transfer of food energy from
producers to consumers up to decomposers is referred to as the food chain.
When the food chains are interlinked with each other, it is referred to as
food web. This implies the transfer of food energy from its source in plants
through herbivores to carnivores. The feeding relationship of organisms
within the community is shown through trophic level. How many food
chains are present in Figure 2.4? What is the trophic structure in figure 2.4?

Figure 2.4 An Example of Savanna Food

Web Image by Siyavula Education (2012) from Flickr
Every organism is interconnected and interrelated with each other and
with its environment. Food webs can be used to:
● Describe the relationship among species in the ecosystem. It can
distinguish basal species, intermediate species, and top predators.
● Show indirect interaction among species. It can show that one
species may be influenced by another species in many ways.
● Examine the bottom-up or top-down control of community structure.
This suggests the abundance of population and productivity at a
given trophic level.
● Reveal the patterns of energy transfer in different ecosystems.

4
 It is essential to understand how organisms acquire energy and how
that energy is passed from one organism to another through food webs. The
percentage of energy that enters the ecosystem into biomass at a particular
tropic level is referred to as productivity. Biomass is the total mass of all
living things within a specific area.
The productivity of primary producers is important in any ecosystem
as it brings energy to other living organisms. This energy flows from
producers to consumers and decomposers in various trophic levels. Large
amounts of energy are lost from the ecosystem through metabolic heat and
incomplete ingestion of food. Incomplete ingestion refers to the fact that
consumers only eat a part of their food. For instance, predators would eat
every part of the prey except for its bone and hide. Then, the predator
misses the energy-rich bone marrow inside the bone and hence does not
make use of all the calories of its prey.
Ecological pyramids illustrate the structure of ecosystems by
showing the various parameters (number of organisms, energy, and
biomass) across trophic levels. It can be used as a model to show energy
flow through tropic levels and to characterize ecosystem structure. The
following are the types of ecological pyramids:
1. Pyramid of Energy is the energy that enters a food chain and is
used as each organism carries out its life functions.
2. Pyramid of Numbers is the population density relationship within
and between the trophic levels.
3. Pyramid of Biomass is the amount of energy converted into living
tissue at different trophic levels.
Pyramids of energy are always upright as it shows the energy lost at
each trophic level. Pyramids of numbers and biomass can be either upright
or inverted depending on the ecosystem. When toxic substances are
introduced into the environment, organisms at the higher trophic level
suffer the most damage through biomagnification. Can you show the
energy pyramid you have illustrated in your food web?
The tropical relationships vary in each ecosystem. Some connections
are more influential on species population change. In nature, the top
predator has the potential to be extinct if the food chain is longer. This is
because during environmental shocks, the food supply may be reduced, and
the top predators take slowly to recover from environmental setbacks.
There are certain species that can influence the trophic structure of
the community. These are the dominant species, species that are most
abundant and have the highest biomass in the community. The dominant
species compete on limited resources and are most successful in avoiding
predation. Another is the keystone species, which are not common in the
community. Keystone species exert control on communities by their pivotal
ecological control. An example is the predator sea star, Pisaster ochraceus.
They keep the populations of mussels and barnacles in check to ensure the
5
healthy population of seaweed and the marine species that feed on them
such as sea urchins, sea snails, and bivalves. What do you think will happen
to keystone species becoming extinct?
Interrelationship of Organisms
You can differentiate biotic from abiotic components of an ecosystem
as well as the interaction of organisms through the food web and food chain.
The organisms depend on their environment for food, air, water, and other
resources to survive. The group of the same species living in the same area
is termed as population. The population of species can change over time
which is influenced by many factors. Each environment has carrying
capacities which limit the number of organisms and populations it can
support.
Species can interact with different species living close to them and
within the same community. The interaction between and among species
living within the environment may have positive (+), negative (-), or neutral
(0) effects on them. These species interactions are described as ecological
relationships. There are three main classifications of ecological relationships
– symbiosis, predation, and competition.
a. Symbiosis.
This type of interaction occurs when organisms live in direct
and intimate contact with each other. The interaction may be
beneficial, harmful, or neutral. The organisms rely on each other as a
major part of their life cycle. The host organism serves as the provider
of resources while the symbionts are the consumers of such resources
which may or may not provide services in return. Symbiosis is one of
the most widespread forms of species interaction. It is divided into
three categories based on its effect on the host. The following are the
types of symbiotic relationship - mutualism, commensalism, and
parasitism.
a.1. Mutualism
(+/+) is when both species
benefit in their interaction. There are
several benefits that may be gained
in mutualistic relationships such as
protection from predators, enhanced
survivorship, increased reproduction
rate, and niche expansion. One
common example would be the
mutualistic relationship between
leafcutter ants and fungi as shown
in Figure 2.5. The leafcutter ants cut
the leaves into smaller pieces and
carefully manure the fungal
cultivator in the plant substrate.
6
 The substrate is used by fungus to grow, and it serves as
nutrient recycle as it converts plants into nutrients available for ants.
The fungi can also serve as food for the leafcutter ants. In return, the
leafcutter ants protect the fungi from fungal parasites. Can you give
other types of mutualistic relationships?
a.2. Commensalism
(+/0) is when one
species (commensal) benefits
and the other species (host)
is unaffected in the
interaction. An example is
when remora fish attach
themselves to sharks, rays,
sea turtles and other floating
objects. The remora has a
suction disk on the top of
their head which they use to
so that they can “free load”
on other organisms without
affecting them. This is an
advantage to remora for
transportation, protection
from predators, and expands feeding opportunities.
Ecologist experts group commensal relationships into four
types.
● Chemical commensalism
This involves an organism that feeds on the chemicals produced
by other organisms as waste. An example is when bacteria feeds
on the chemicals produced or the waste products that are not
used by other bacteria.
● Inquilinism
It occurs when an organism uses the body or body cavity of
another organism as living space without affecting the other
organism such as when epiphytes such as orchids, ferns,
lichens, and moss grow on trees and when birds live in tree
holes.
● Metabiosis
It happens when an organism unintentionally creates home for
another species through its normal life activities. It is when
hermit crabs use the shell of a dead gastropod for protection
and when maggots live on dead organisms.
● Phoresy
It is when an organism attaches to another organism to gain
transportation. An example is when sea anemone attach to
hermit crab shells, and millipedes traveling on birds. What are
7
 the examples of commensal relationships? The commensal
interactions are sometimes difficult to distinguish since it is in
the middle spectrum of mutualistic and parasitic relationship.
● Amensalism (-/0)
Is a relationship in which one organism is harmed while the
other is not affected. An example would be when large animals
crush grass and small terrestrial invertebrates.
a.3 Parasitism
(+/-) is when one organism benefits (parasite) and the other
organism is harmed (host). Parasites can live within the host
(endoparasite) or on the external surface of the host (ectoparasite).
There are several parasites in the world which have complex life cycles
involving multiple hosts. Parasites may affect the host in terms of its
physiological being, reproductive success, and morphological
modifications. The diversity of the parasites is higher in tropical and
subtropical areas brought by the conducive environmental conditions
to transmit it.
There are several kinds of parasites.
1. Macroparasite: are large and can be viewed without a
microscope such as nematodes, cestodes, arthropods;
2. Microparasites: are microscopic such as protozoans;
3. Obligate parasites: parasitic as adults;
4. Facultative parasites: adults are free living but when an
opportunity is presented, they may become parasitic.
The human roundworm is one of the most common parasites in
the world via the fecal-oral route. Once the infective eggs are ingested,
the roundworm larvae hatch in the host tissue which can be humans
and pigs. Humans with acute and chronic symptoms tend to
experience acute lung inflammation, difficulty in breathing, fever,
abdominal distention, and diarrhea. Though, most of the hosts with
roundworm infection have no
symptoms.
Animals are not the only
host and parasites. There are
also plants that become hosts
for parasites and can be
parasitic. The Rafflesia species
are parasitic plants as they
depend on their host plants,
Tetrastigma Planch, for water
and nutrients. Rafflesia species
live inside the roots and stems
of their host plants and only
their flowers emerge as shown
in Figure 2.6.
8
b. Predation
(+/-) is an interaction where one species, the predator, kills and
eats the other species, the prey. Most of the time predation is related to
carnivorous animals who kill other animals as food sources such as
eagles hunting for snakes and mouse, lions attacking smaller animals.
These predators are highly adapted for hunting with acute senses and
have sharp claws and teeth. How can the prey protect themselves from
predators?
Predator-prey interaction can play a major role in determining
the structure and function of communities. Predation can regulate the
dynamics of prey population by reducing survival or by altering prey
behavior, distribution, habitat choice, foraging, or growth. The prey can
also influence predators in terms of prey quantity and quality feeding
rates, growth, and reproductive success of predators.
Predators can be found in a broad range of taxa from insects to
mammals and even some plants. Predators can search for prey by
sit-and-wait to actively foraging. Predators have evolved physically for
detecting, catching, killing, and digesting prey. These include speed,
agility, sharp senses, and suitable digestive systems. Humans are also
very efficient predators that can have large direct and indirect effects in
altering ecosystem function. Plants can also become carnivorous.
Pitcher plants contain digestive enzymes that can catch their prey and
absorb its nutrients.
Most of the time predators are linked to carnivores. But there are
also animals that feed on grains, grass, fruits, leafs, nectar, and pollen.
There are herbivores that have specific food habits such as koalas that
exclusively eat eucalyptus leaves. Herbivore animals also have
specialized structures and feeding mechanisms to consume plants.
They have chemical sensors that enable them to detect plants with
chemical defense compounds. Herbivory has several positive impacts
on the ecosystem as it increases nutrient uptake and productivity of
plants, controls plant population, increases plant protection, and
increases the quality of soil.
How do plants adapt to protect themselves from herbivores? This
is an evolutionary response due to high availability of food that other
animals are not eating and the herbivores developed a special process
to digest the food.
c. Competition
(+/-) is when organisms compete for limited resources such as
food, water, space, light, mates, or any other resources that are needed
for survival or reproduction. Intraspecific competition happens when
members of the same species compete for limited resources. This can
regulate population dynamics since population increase makes the
resources become more limited. Hence, it may reduce population size
9
and slow population growth. While interspecific competition occurs
when members of different species compete for shared resources. This
could result in altering the size of different species populations at the
same time. Why is competition essential in the ecosystem?
Competition is important in organizing the structure of the
community. Organisms may be eliminated by competition and are
severest on organisms with similar needs and habits which tend to
have closer taxonomic relationships. There are three types of
competition:
1. Exploitation: occurs when individuals interact indirectly as they
compete for common resources like territory, prey or food
2. Apparent: occurs when two individuals that do not directly
compete for resources affects each other by being prey for the
same predator such as a hawk that prey for both squirrels and
mice
3. Interference: occurs directly between individuals when an
individual alters the resource-attaining behavior of other
individuals such as a male gorilla prohibiting other males from
accessing a mate by showing physical aggression
Competition is directly influenced by density-dependent factors.
If organisms continue to reproduce regardless of the resources
available, competition will occur and individuals either in juvenile or
adult stage will be eliminated. Organisms should control their
reproductive rate in response to population density. But if
environmental resources decline, the competition will occur. Hence,
increase in resources or decline in ratio of population and resources
may reduce competition.
Competitive
exclusion principle
states that two
species competing for
the same resources
cannot exist together.
One species that has
a slight or more
advantageous
character will
dominate and occupy
much space such as
shown in Figure 2.7.
Thus, species should
slightly change their
niche to coexist in a
community, which
refers to resource partitioning. What are the examples of resource
partitioning?
10