Saturday, July 5, 2008

Wind and Water

1. They affects the dispersion of organism. They also affects the distribution of fruits, seeds and spores.

2. Wind increase evapotranspiration thereby decreasing moisture. Hence, windy habitats are usually inhabited by xerophytes.

3. Strong water currents causes erosion that would then determine the type of species that line the riverbanks.

4. Plankton and algae species are also found in small amounts in fast flowing waters. In the beaches, waves and beach sand prevent plants from inhabiting there.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Important Concepts of Ecology

1. Ecology: study of interactions between organisms and organisms with their environments

 

2. Biosphere (Ecosphere): all parts of planet Earth inhabited by living organisms. It stretches from the bottom of the ocean  to the upper atmosphere = all the communities and ecosystems in planet Earth

 

3. Biotic components: living components in the ecosystem, such as plants, animals, humans and microorganisms

 

4. Abiotic components: non-living components of the ecosystem such as water, soil, air, rocks, snow and others.

 

5. Environment: surrounding of an organism including all biotic and abiotic components. The environment of an  organism usually includes water, air, soil and living things.

 

6. Habitat: specific area(place) of the physical environment where an organism lives. Example: Forest as habitat of monkeys, Meadow as habitat of deers.

 

7. Microhabitat: particular place in the habitat where and organism lives. Microhabitat can be an area under a rock, for ants.

 

8. Community: all organisms living in the same habitat. Mangrove swamp community consists of mangrove trees, birds, crabs, monkeys, snakes, microorganisms...etc.

 

9. Biome: large community unit that extends over wide biogeographical area, determined by area. Hence, biome can be said as a climatically delineated assemblage of organisms that have a characteristic appearance and is distribute over a wide geographical area. This community is usually complex and its animals and plants have certain characteristics. Example: Terrestrial biome are tropical forest, Mediterranean forest, deciduous forests, savanna, tundra, desert and prairie. Ocean is a single biome.

 

10. Bion: independant individual organism living in any ecological system.