Ecology is a branch of biology, and is the study of abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment. It encompasses life processes, interactions, and adaptations; movement of materials and energy through living communities; successional development of ecosystems; cooperation, competition, and predation within and between species; and patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes.
The word ecology (German: Ökologie) was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel. The science of ecology as we know it today began with a group of American botanists in the 1890s. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection are cornerstones of modern ecological theory.
Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living (abiotic) components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Ecosystems have biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and abiotic components of the planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and provide ecosystem services like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value. (Full article...)
Redonda, an island in Antigua and Barbuda, where restoration efforts have taken place.
The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some marine mammals. Their ecosystems are also very vulnerable to human disturbance and particularly to introduced species, due to their small size. Island groups, such as New Zealand and Hawaii, have undergone substantial extinctions and losses of habitat. Since the 1950s several organisations and government agencies around the world have worked to restore islands to their original states; New Zealand has used them to hold natural populations of species that would otherwise be unable to survive in the wild. The principal components of island restoration are the removal of introduced species and the reintroduction of native species. (Full article...)
Image 2Wetland habitat types in Borneo (from Habitat)
Image 3A generalised graph of a predator-prey population density cycle (from Community (ecology))
Image 4Few creatures make the ice shelves of Antarctica their habitat, but water beneath the ice can provide habitat for multiple species. Animals such as penguins have adapted to live in very cold conditions. (from Habitat)
Image 6Sequence of a decomposing pig carcass over time (from Ecosystem)
Image 7Global oceanic and terrestrial phototroph abundance, from September 1997 to August 2000. As an estimate of autotroph biomass, it is only a rough indicator of primary production potential and not an actual estimate of it. (from Ecosystem)
Image 13A simple trophic cascade diagram. On the right shows when wolves are absent, showing an increase in elks and reduction in vegetation growth. The left one shows when wolves are present and controlling the elk population. (from Community (ecology))
Image 14A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology. (from Community (ecology))
Image 22a) A trophic pyramid showing the different trophic levels in a community. b) A food web of the same community (from Community (ecology))
Image 23Loch Lomond in Scotland forms a relatively isolated ecosystem. The fish community of this lake has remained stable over a long period until a number of introductions in the 1970s restructured its food web. (from Ecosystem)
Invasive species in the Everglades are exotic plants and animals that are not native to the area and have aggressively adapted to conditions in wilderness areas in southern Florida. The Everglades are a massive watershed in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida that drains overflow from the vast shallow Lake Okeechobee that is in turn fed by the Kissimmee River. The overflow forms a very shallow river about 60 miles (100 km) wide and 100 miles (160 km) long that travels about half a mile per day. The network of ecosystems created by the Everglades are surrounded by urban areas to the east in the South Florida metropolitan area, to the west by Naples and Fort Myers, and to the south by Florida Bay, a marine environment that receives fresh water from and is maintained by the Everglades. As it is surrounded on three sides and close to a major transportation and shipping center, it is particularly vulnerable to the importation of exotic species.
In the 20th century, Florida experienced a population surge unparalleled in the U.S., accompanied by rapid urban expansion made possible by draining portions of the Everglades. Flood control became a priority and the Central & South Florida Flood Control Project, from 1947 to 1971, constructed over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canals and flood control structures in South Florida. The widespread building created new habitats and disturbed established plant and animal communities. Many of the new residents or tourists in Florida were responsible for introducing plant species to the area by accident, or deliberately to improve landscaping. Many animals have been introduced similarly, and have either escaped or been released to proliferate on their own. Several terms are used to identify non-native species: exotic, invader, immigrant, colonist, introduced, nonindigenous, and naturalized. "Naturalized" usually refers to species that have adapted to a region over a long period of time, while "invasive" refers to particularly destructive or aggressive species. (Full article...)
Crop Biotech Update is a weekly e-newsletter published by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology that summarizes global news on agricultural biotechnology with implications for developing countries, highlights of research, documents and events. CBU also comes with a bi-monthly Biofuels Supplement that features new developments in energycrops production, processing, policy, and economics. (Full article...)
... molecular ecology is a field of evolutionary biology that is concerned with applying molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and more recently genomics to traditional ecological questions (e.g., species diagnosis, conservation and assessment of biodiversity, species-area relationships, and many questions in behavioral ecology)?
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