ECOLOGY

Definition:
Ecology:
According to the Royal Academy of the Spanish
Language (2009)(On eco- 1y -logy ). f. Science that
studies the relationships of living beings among
themselves and with their environment.
Nahle (2009) points out that ecology is the branch of
biological sciences that deals with the interactions
between organisms and their environment (chemical
substances and physical factors).
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Introduction:

Living organisms are grouped as biotic factors of the

ecosystem; for example, bacteria, fungi, protozoans,
plants, animals, etc. In short, biotic factors are all living
beings in an ecosystem or, more universally, in the
biosphere.
 ECOLOGY
Introduction:

On the other hand, chemical and physical factors are

grouped as abiotic factors of the ecosystem. This
includes the entire inert environment; for example,
light, water, nitrogen, salts, food, heat, climate, etc. So,
abiotic factors are the non-living elements in an
ecosystem or in the biosphere.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH
OTHER SCIENCES.

The ecology is a science

multidisciplinary that includes Biology, Physics,
Climatology, Meteorology, Chemistry, Geology,
Mechanics, Geography, Mathematics, Ethics,
etc.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH OTHERS
SCIENCES.

Ecology uses Physics because all biotic processes

have to do with the transfer of energy, from producers,
who take advantage of light energy to produce
complex organic compounds, to bacteria, which obtain
chemical energy by disintegrating the molecular
structures of other organisms.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH
OTHER SCIENCES.

Chemistry is used in Ecology because all

metabolic and physiological processes of
biosystems depend on chemical reactions. In
addition, living beings make use of the chemical
substances they find in their environment.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH OTHERS
SCIENCES.

Ecology is related to Geology because the structure of

biomes depends on the geological structure of the
environment. Living beings can also modify the
geology of a region.
For Ecology, Geography is a very important discipline
because of the specific distribution of living beings on
Earth.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH OTHER SCIENCES.

Mathematics is essential for Ecology, for example for

calculation, statistics, projections and extrapolations
when Ecologists deal with specific information about
the number and distribution of species, the evaluation
of biomass, population growth, the extent of
communities and biodiversity, and to quantify
environmental pressures in a given biome.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH OTHER SCIENCES.

Climatology and Meteorology are significant disciplines that

help Ecologists understand how variations in climate conditions
in a given region influence biodiversity. Climatology and
Meteorology help Ecologists understand how regional or global
changes in climate increase or reduce the probability of survival
of individuals, populations and communities in a given region,
and to relate regional climate to the distribution of organisms on
the planet.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIP OF ECOLOGY WITH
OTHER SCIENCES.

Ethics promotes the values contained in

scientific environmentalism.
There are many more disciplines related to
Ecology. However, the disciplines that are most
closely related to Ecology have been
mentioned.
 ECOLOGY
DIVISION OF ECOLOGY.
AUTOECOLOGY.
Autoecology.-Refers to studies of individual organisms, or
populations of isolated species, and their relationships
with the environment (Villee, 1981).

Arellano (2005) indicates that the central object of

Autoecology is the individual and pays attention to the
concepts of habitat, adaptation and niche.
All organisms live in a specific physical environment: such
as water, land, and air.
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DIVISION OF ECOLOGY.
SYNECOLOGY.
Synecology.-Refers to studies of groups of associated
organisms forming a functional unit of the environment
(Villee, 1981).
Another definition of synecology is that it studies the
numerous relationships between communities and
ecosystems.

Groups of organisms can be associated at three levels of

organization: populations,
communities and ecosystems.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
Association of groups of organisms, they have three levels
of organization: populations, communities and ecosystems
.

Population.-It is a group of organisms of the same species.

It is also defined as a group of individuals of any kind of
organism.
Community or biotic community.-It integrates all the
populations that occupy a defined physical area. It is also
defined as a group of individuals of any kind of organism.

Ecosystem.-Includes the community along with the living

physical environment.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
Habitat.-The specific place where an organism (individual)
lives is called.

Ecological niche.-It is the state or role of an organism in

the community or ecosystem. It depends on the structural
adaptations of the organism, its physiological responses
and its behavior. The ecological niche includes all the
physical, chemical, physiological and biotic factors that an
organism needs to live. Generally two species cannot
occupy the same ecological niche.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE
ECOLOGY.
Environment, set of abiotic elements (solar
energy, soil, water and air) and biotic
elements (living organisms) that make up
the thin layer of the Earth called the
biosphere, which is the sustenance and
home of living beings.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY. The physical
environment includes, among others: Light, heat,
solar radiation, humidity, wind, oxygen, carbon
dioxide, soil nutrients, water, and the atmosphere.
The biological environment:
Made up of living organisms, mainly plants and
animals.
 ECOLOGY
BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY. The physical
environment includes, among others: Light, heat,
solar radiation, humidity, wind, oxygen, carbon
dioxide, soil nutrients, water, and the atmosphere.
The biological environment:
Made up of living organisms, mainly plants and
animals.
 ECOLOGY
BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
Biosphere.- It is the relatively thin layer of air, land
and water capable of supporting life, ranging from
about 10 km of altitude in the atmosphere to the
deepest of the ocean floors. In this area, life
depends on the energy of the Sun and the
circulation of heat and essential nutrients .
The terrestrial BIOSPHERE contains numerous
complex ecosystems that integrate, as a whole, all the
living organisms on the planet.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
Biomes. -Very large terrestrial regions. They cover
large geographic areas. Biomes include large plant
groups and the animal communities associated
with them and are influenced by many factors
such as: latitude, altitude, humidity and
temperature .
The main terrestrial Biomes are: Forests, grasslands,
deserts. Together, all Biomes constitute the Biosphere.
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
ECOSYSTEM - It is the basic functional unit because it
includes both organisms (biotic components) and an
abiotic environment, each of which influences the
properties of the other, both being necessary for the
conservation of life as it exists on earth.
LIFE in Ecosystem =C.biotics+C.Abiotics
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
Planet Earth constitutes an ecosystem , of
enormous complexity and richness. However, it has
been chosen to divide it, thus speaking of the aquatic
ecosystem and the terrestrial ecosystem.
The aquatic ecosystem.-It can be freshwater (rivers,
lakes) or saltwater (seas, oceans).
Terrestrial ecosystems.- Ecosystems of various types
of environments are found: the desert, the prairie, the
forest. Thus, within the forest, a tree can be
considered as a restricted system , and in turn, a pond
that houses tiny organisms, forms a tiny ecosystem. .
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BASIC CONCEPTS OF ECOLOGY.
Biocenosis. -It is the set of living organisms of an ecosystem.
Biotope.- The environment in which the biocenosis lives is
called.

Biota.- Designates the set of species of plants, animals and

other organisms that occupy an area. For example, European
biota refers to the list of species that inhabit that territory. Biota
can be broken down into flora and fauna.
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COMPONENT ECOSYSTEMS.
In ecosystems there are circuits of:
INPUTS .-Such as solar energy, water, oxygen,
carbon dioxide, nitrogen, among other elements
and compounds.
OUTPUTS .-Like the heat produced by
breathing, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide,
nutrients.
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COMPONENT ECOSYSTEMS.
THE ELEMENTS OF THE ELECOSYSTEM ARE: BIOTIC
(LIVING THINGS ) AND ABIOTIC (WHICH ARE INERT ).

BIOTICAL BEINGS GOVERN THE FEEDING CYCLES WHICH

ARE:

1st level PRODUCERS (Autotrophs) are plants or plankton and

produce organic matter from light, CO2, water and energy.
2nd level CONSUMERS (Heterotrophs) are herbivores,
carnivores and omnivores, they consume organic compounds
3rd level DEGRADERERS These are decomposers such as
fungi and bacteria, which transform organic and integral matter
in the soil.
 ECOLOGY
COMPONENT ECOSYSTEMS.
The Elements of the Ecosystem Are: Biotics (Living Beings) and
Abiotics (Which Are Inert ).
Biotic Beings Rule Feeding Cycles Which Are:
BIOTIC COMPONENTS
1 .- Producers: autotrophic organisms. Green plants capable of
making food from inorganic substances.
2.-Consumers: Heterotrophic organisms (phagotrophs), which
ingest other organisms or organic matter made up of particles.
3.-Disintegrators: Heterotrophic organisms (saprotrophs),
disintegrate the complex compounds of dead protoplasm,
absorb some of the decomposition products and release simple
substances.
 ECOLOGY
COMPONENT ECOSYSTEMS.
THE ELEMENTS OF THE ECOSYSTEM ARE:
THE BIOTICS (LIVING THINGS) AND THE
ABIOTICS (CHEESY INERTS).

THE ABIOTIC ELEMENTS (non-living components)

are made up, among other elements, of:
Nutrients present in soil and water, as well as dead
organic matter.
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COMPONENT ECOSYSTEMS.
SABIOTIC COMPONENTS (lifeless, inert) are divided into:
1.-Inorganic substances – carbon: organic matter, a
fundamental element from the moment man is born until he
dies. – nitrogen: it is an essential component of life,
necessary to form amino acids or proteins. – water: –
carbon dioxide: it is poisonous for man, but necessary for
plants to carry out photosynthesis.
2 .-Organic compounds: they constitute proteins,
carbohydrates, lipids, humic substances. Composed of
C,H,O,S,N.
3 .-Climatic regime:-temperature,-physical factor-rain, air,
fire, wind.
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COMPONENT ECOSYSTEMS.
SABIOTIC COMPONENTS (lifeless, inert) are divided into:
ENERGY.-Plants use light energy, transforming it, through a
process called photosynthesis, into chemical energy in the
form of carbohydrates and other compounds.

Energy cycle: Solar energy > Producer > Herbivore >

Carnivore > Decomposers > Source of Nutrients.
 QUESTIONS AND
DISCUSSION
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND
AGRONOMY.
Agriculture - It is considered the art, science and
industry that deals with the exploitation of
plants and animals for human use. In a broad
sense, agriculture includes the cultivation of the
soil, the development and harvesting of crops,
the breeding and development of livestock, the
exploitation of milk and forestry.
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND
AGRONOMY.
Modern agriculture depends largely on
engineering, technology and biological and
physical sciences. Irrigation design, drainage
and soil conservation are important aspects to
take into account to ensure success in
agriculture, specialized knowledge of
agricultural engineering is required for the
management of modern agriculture.
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND AGRONOMY.
Agricultural chemistry is an important component of
agriculture, which deals with other vital problems of
agriculture, such as the use of fertilizers, insecticides and
fungicides, soil structure, analysis of agricultural products
and the nutritional needs of farm animals.
Plant breeding and genetics represent an incalculable
contribution to agricultural productivity. Genetics, in addition,
has introduced a scientific basis in animal husbandry.
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND AGRONOMY.
Hydroponic crops are a method in which plants thrive without
soil thanks to the use of nutrient solutions (chemical
compounds), which can solve other additional agricultural
problems such as nutritional deficiencies and limited crop
yields.
Packaging, processing and marketing are closely related
activities and also influenced by the development of science.
Rapid freezing and dehydration methods (food processing
and preservation) have expanded the markets for agricultural
products.
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND
AGRONOMY.
Mechanization, the most prominent feature of
late 19th and 20th century agriculture, has
greatly alleviated the backbreaking work of
the farmer. Even more significant: the
mechanization ha
multiplied the efficiency and productivity of
 ECOLOGY
agricultural holdings.
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND
AGRONOMY.
Airplanes and helicopters are used in agriculture for
purposes such as planting, transporting perishables
and fighting forest fires, as well as spraying
pesticides on crops to control insect pests and
diseases. Radio and television sets transmit vital
weather data as well as other information of interest
to farmers.
 ECOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND AGRONOMY.
Agronomy. ( Agronomist ). f. Set of knowledge applicable to land
cultivation, derived from exact, physical and economic sciences.
Agronomy. -It is the agricultural science that deals with methods of soil
conditioning and crop production. Agronomists study the life of plants and
soils, and their complex interrelationship, and attempt to develop
techniques capable of increasing crop yields, improving their quality and
increasing the efficiency and profitability of production, while preserving
soil fertility. Agronomic research has led to the development of important
new varieties of disease-resistant plants and practices such as selective
plant breeding and the use of chemical fertilizers.
ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
Agricultural production systems integrate all
factors of production, such as resources and
factors: biological, physical, social, economic,
institutional, technological and crop practices.
Agricultural systems differ according to
environmental conditions, available resources, the
level of technology and the types of production
obtained (Arnon, 1987).
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
The intensity and seasonal distribution of rainfall,
temperature, sunshine, soil characteristics, the type of pests and
diseases determine the possibility of introducing a crop in a given
area. However, the actual choice of crops (its intensity and form)
to be established in a region or property depends largely on the
environment or the economic and cultural factors of the society
that deals with agricultural activity. Thus the cultural heritage of
society (population), markets and the level of technology play as
important a role as physical factors and biological factors.
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
In the analysis of agricultural systems, social factors
cannot be isolated, because agriculture and the rest of the
social system evolve together. The selection and mastery of
a crop in an agricultural production system results from the
integration of the various factors described above, for
example from the economic point of view, producers can
select their crops to sow based on an economic subsistence
farmers and other producers can select what to plant based
on a market economy.
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.

The basic components of the systems of

agricultural production are:

A) Biological factors.- Biological factors are essentially

plants (for example, production of annual and perennial
crops) and animals (for example, production of cattle, cattle,
horses, pigs to obtain offspring and/or dual-purpose meat),
including their waste that is part of the agricultural production
system of the farm or production unit.
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.

B) Abiotic factors.-Abiotic factors include:

---Environmental factors.-Which make up the average temperature, the

average annual rainfall, the percentage of relative humidity, the average
atmospheric pressure value, the intensity of sunlight, and in general the
record of the predominant climate in the corresponding region of the
property. Also included within the environmental factors are the presence
or interaction of other organisms (for example, pest insects and, on the
other hand, beneficial insects). ) that affect agricultural production (mainly
those products generated by crops and/or livestock) .
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
B) Abiotic factors.-Abiotic factors include: ---Continuation of
environmental factors.
Environmental factors include the presence of
diseases, the adequate availability of water, air
(oxygen), mineral nutrients (soil fertility and/or
fertilization), environmental pollution and interaction
with organisms of the same species exploited by the
producer in its system .
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.

B) Abiotic factors.-Abiotic factors include:

---Physical factors.-Relief and/or slope, among

others, are considered, generally physiographic
features that make up the orography of the terrain,
the distribution and abundance of stoniness, rocks
and other artifacts or objects foreign to the usual
production system. It also includes the type and
class of minerals present in the soil.
ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
C) Socioeconomic factors.-Social factors (among
others we can mention the availability of
employment, health, housing, security, availability of
public services, education, poverty, etc.) are as
important as the biological and abiotic factors, since
all of these must evolve integrally. in the agricultural
production system.
ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
C) Socioeconomic factors (continued).- The
economic and cultural environment of the society
that deals with the agricultural production system,
determines or chooses which type(s) of crop(s) will
be introduced into its production system, thus
distinguishing the predominance or intensity
(importance) of the product that will be consumed
and/or marketed on its property.
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
D) Technological factors. - It integrates all the procedures and/or
methodology, equipment, materials and infrastructure that are used for
production in an agricultural system. This methodology must consider
that producers select their vegetative material and/or type of seed
(variety and/or hybrid) to establish, the breed and purpose of the
livestock, the preparation of the land that involves the use of tractors,
subsoilers, plows, harrows, seeder-fertilizers, the irrigation system to be
used (among others by gravity, central pivot, sprinkling, drip, etc.),
cultivators, sprinklers (to apply pesticides and control pests, diseases and
weeds), threshers (to harvest their products), warehouses, silos (to store
grain and forage), milking machines, management pens, among others.
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
D) Technological factors (continued). - The technological tools
used to produce depend on the productive system established on
the property. A protected intensive production system will require
the use of greenhouses, drip irrigation systems, environmental
control and use of seeds and fertilizers (very soluble reactive-
technical grade) specific for those systems. Likewise, an intensive
field production system (open sky) It will require the use of
localized irrigation systems by spraying or dripping and specific
fertilizers (soluble, technical grade) to be diluted and incorporated
through said irrigation system.
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D) Technological factors (continued).-While
extensive production systems will use seeder-
fertilizers to sow and fertilize at the same time, using
for this last activity commercial agricultural grade
solid fertilizers and tractors will also be used to
establish the crop in large areas of land and
sprinklers (terrestrial or aerial) to protect the sowing.
 ECOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND THEIR
COMPONENTS.
GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
AGRICULTURAL.

According to estimates, more than half of the surface of the

earth's crust or the globe (52%) has been allocated to agricultural
activities, of this total agricultural cultivation comprises 12%, livestock
farming 25% and the planting of artificial forests 15%.