Ecology and the distribution of natural resources

Ecology is the scientific study of the interrelationships among organisms—including their habitats, distribution, and abundance—and the relationships of these organisms with their environment, known as bionomics. From a global perspective, ecology concerns many issues that affect the interaction and connections between living and nonliving environments, and, hence, the availability, distribution, and use of global resources.

Background

In the 1860s, Ernst Haeckel, a German scientist, coined the word “ecology” based on the Greek word oikos, which means “house.” The terminology is apt, because ecology focuses on the complex environmental conditions that form organisms’ habitats. Historically, ecology was rooted in natural history, which in the 1800s sought to describe the diversity of life and evolutionary adaptations to the environment. In modern usage, ecology includes the study of the interactions among organisms—such as humans, animals, insects, microbes, and plants—and their physical or abiotic environment. The abiotic environment concerns factors such as (air and temperature), (water), geological substrate (soil), light, and natural disasters that affect the environment. The abiotic factors are essential for sustaining the life of organisms.

Ecology also involves the study of biotic environmental components that influence habitats and the distribution and abundance of species of organisms in geographic space and time. The interaction between living organisms and the nonliving environment in a self-contained area is known as an ecosystem. Ecologists study processes such as how energy and matter move though interrelated ecosystems like ponds, forest glades, or rocks with moss growing on them. Maintaining an requires the proper balance of air, water, soil, sunlight, minerals, and nutrients.

Ecological Levels

Modern ecology is interdisciplinary and is based on multiple classifications. Descriptive unit classifications based on the study of organisms and processes start with the simplest and build to the most complex, from individuals to populations, species, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.

•Physiological ecology, the simplest classification, concerns the interaction of individual organisms with their life-sustaining abiotic environment and the impact of biotic components on their habitats.

•Population ecology is the study of the interaction of individuals of different species (whether bacterium, plant, or animal) that occupy the same location and are genetically different from other such groups.

•Community ecologists analyze the interaction of interdependent species populations living within a given habitat or area, known as an ecological community.

•Ecosystem ecology includes the nonliving environment and concerns decomposition of living organisms and intake of inorganic materials into living organisms. In other words, ecosystem ecologists study the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients through the abiotic and biotic environments of interacting ecological communities.

•The interaction of multiple ecosystems with one another is known as a biome. Some familiar biomes include coniferous forests, rain forests, tundra regions, deserts, coral reefs, and oceans.

•Finally, scientists involved in ecology study the interaction of all matter and living organisms on the planet.

Ecological Subfields

The terminology used for other ecological classifications emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of ecology. Paleoecology, for example, involves archaeology in the study of ancient remains and fossils in order to analyze the interrelationships of historic organisms and reconstruct ancient ecosystems. Using evolutionary theory, behavioral ecologists consider the roles of behavior in enabling organisms to adapt to new and changed environments. In systems ecology, scientists use systems theory to manage energy flows and biogeochemical cycles in ecosystems. With some basis in anthropology, political ecologists seek equilibrium in political, economic, and social decision making that impacts the environment. Landscape ecologists conduct spatial analyses and examine processes and interrelationships of ecosystems over large, regional geographic areas. Global ecology is the study of interrelationships between organisms and their environment on a global scale.

Genetic Ecology

Two emerging specialty subfields of ecology are genetic and evolutionary ecology. In genetic ecology, scientists study genetic variations in species that lead to the evolution of new species or to the adaptation of existing species to new or changed environments. These new or changed environments may be the result of many factors, including abiotic changes, such as an increase or decrease in temperature; increased predation of a species, including overhunting or overfishing; or an unsustainable increase in population. When the environment changes or ecosystems are disturbed, species must adapt or face extinction. Genetic ecology considers genetic factors that allow some species to adapt to and survive environmental changes more easily. In some recent studies of plant species scientists used genetic ecology to analyze how quickly specific plants migrate and adapt to new habitats in response to climate change. Although earlier predictions indicated that plant migration would keep up with environmental change, recent studies indicate that migration will be slower than originally believed. Genetic ecology is also an important tool in studying animal species as well as managing wild and captive animal populations and improving population health.

Genetic ecologists are involved in genetic engineering in order to assess the relationship between genetics of a species and the ecosystem that supports the survival of that species. One argument is that an organism’s genetic structure fits exactly with the external ecosystem that supports its survival, especially the external and life-sustaining oxygen-carbon dioxide system. The concern is that interspecies genetic engineering will upset the delicate ecological balance that allows a species to maintain its existence within a specific ecosystem and will adversely affect the continuous and systematic reproduction of ecosystems supported by symbiotic relationships, such as an organism’s energy production and processing systems. Unless an organism is able to evolve by adapting its genetic structures to changes in an ecosystem, it is unlikely to survive. An example of genetic engineering that may adversely affect the environment and other living organisms involves pest-resistant corn. Pollen of some corn genetically modified to code for Bacillus thuringiensis was initially thought to threaten monarch butterflies. Later studies showed this not to be the case, but a greater concern emerged: So-called Bt corn may encourage the development of resistant pests, which could then threaten corn crops. Until the emergence of a better understanding of the relationships between genetic structures of all living organisms and the relationships of organisms to ecosystems, genetic engineering may present serious dangers.

Evolutionary Ecology

Evolutionary ecology brings together ecology, biology, and evolution. Evolutionary ecologists look at the evolutionary history, developmental processes, and behavioral adaptations and interactions of organisms from all over the world for the purpose of studying biodiversity. This type of study operates mainly at the levels of population, species, and communities and utilizes many subsets of ecology. Scientists employ paleoecology to establish historic patterns of biodiversity; genetic ecology, especially DNA techniques, to study variation and to make genealogical connections among organisms; telemetry and satellites to study patterns in distribution of various species; and computer simulations and field experimentation to test out hypotheses. Both genetic and evolutionary ecology are important for the of and for developing applications to solve biological problems.

Applied Ecology

Ecology also involves many aspects of applied science in which the results of scientific study are applied to real-life situations, from management to urban planning. Biotic natural resources have been managed at the individual and population levels since the agricultural revolution occurred eight thousand to ten thousand years ago. Until the 1960s, forestry, fish, and wildlife management techniques were aimed at increasing the productivity of single species—usually game species, such as quail and trout, or commercial tree species, such as loblolly pine. As community ecology and ecosystem ecology matured, and as popular concern for the loss of species arose in the 1960s, natural resource management agencies began to look at the effects of single-species management techniques on the entire community. Range management has always taken the community ecology perspective in managing native grass and shrub communities for livestock forage production. However, range conservationists also manage forage production for wildlife as well as for livestock. Conservation biology applies the understanding of all ecological levels in the attempt to prevent species extinction, to maintain species genetic diversity, and to restore self-sustaining populations of rare species or entire communities.

Population ecology remains the core of these applied ecological disciplines. Population ecology mainly deals with mortality rates, birthrates, and migration into and out of local populations. These are the biotic factors that influence population size and productivity. The goal of consumptive natural resource management is the harvesting of population or community productivity. The goal of nonconsumptive natural resource management is to manage for natural aesthetic beauty, for the maintenance of diverse communities, for the stability of communities and ecosystems, and for a global environment that retains regional biotic processes.

Issues in Ecology

Among the applications of ecological studies are some of the following:

•climate change; and global warming;

•loss of species populations and concomitant loss of biodiversity, including threatened species and endangered species (such as the collapse of bee colonies important for pollination) and the introduction of exotic invasive species into unnatural habitats;

•changes in global ocean currents and their effect on terrestrial biomes such as forests and deserts;

•human activities, including the release of pollutants and their impact on the and animal species, and global resource levels and their impact on ecosystems, land conversion and habitat loss, infrastructure development, and overexploitation;

•blockage of solar energy and holes in the layer; and

•the potential impact of space debris on the global environment.

Internationally, environmental scientists and others are entering into treaties, conducting serious discussions at global conferences, and collaborating on solutions to resolve these and many other issues—including the availability of food and other resources—that may affect future survival. Making humans aware of the many ecological concerns and gaining their support in protecting, conserving, and preserving the environment and global resources for future generations, thus enhancing the health of the Earth, may be the most important goal of the study of ecology.

Bibliography

Bertorelle, Giorgio, et al. Population Genetics for Animal Conservation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Cain, Michael L., William D. Bowman, and Sally D. Hacker. Ecology. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, 2008.

"Distribution of Natural Resources." National Geographic, 2024, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/distribution-resources/. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Morin, Peter Jay. Community Ecology. 2d ed. Oxford, Oxfordshire, England: Blackwell, 2008.

Sherratt, Thomas N., and David M. Wilkinson. Big Questions in Ecology and Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Weisman, Alan. The World Without Us. New York: Picador, 2008.

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