Ecology of Organism and Its Environment

A French zoologist, Isodore Geoffroy St. Hilaire, coined the term Ethology for the study of the relation between the organisms and the community.

‘Ecology’ was coined in 1869 by German biologist Ernst Haeckel and was taken from the Greek word ‘Oikos’, which means home, and ‘logos’ means to study.

Ecology, at the biological level, is a living biological science that attempts to understand how different organisms interact with surrounding areas not only by a life but also by reproduction. The sun and its inclination of the axis cause annual variations in intensity and the length of the temperature, which leads to different seasons. These changes and annual variations of rainfall account for the construction of large plants such as the desert, rainforest, and tundra.

Abiotic factors

1. Water

Water is another very important factor that affects the health of living things. Life on earth came from water and is not possible without water. Its availability is limited in deserts, and only adaptability makes it possible for species to survive there. Production and crop distribution are also highly dependent on water.

2. Light

As plants produce food through photosynthesis, the process is only possible when sunlight is available as a source of energy. Many types of small forest-dwelling plants can be adapted to photosynthesis appropriately below the surface in low-light conditions because they always cover us in long, fertile trees. Many plants also rely on sunlight to meet their photoperiodic requirement for flowers. In many animals, too, light is important because they use daily variation and duration of photoperiod as indicators of the timing of their diet, reproductive functions, and migration. The discovery of light in the world is very much related to temperature as the sun is your source for both.

3. Soil

The environment and soil structures in different areas vary; it depends on the weather, the climate process, whether the soil is transported or melted and how soil development occurs. A variety of soil characteristics such as soil structure, grain size, and aggregation determine the percolation and water-holding capacity of the soil. Along with these factors, parameters such as pH, minerals, composition, and topography determine the extent to which the vegetation is ideal in a certain location.

4. Temperature

Temperature is the most natural feature. You know the average temperature on the earth varies from season to season, declining steadily from the equator to the poles. It goes from the subzero temperatures in tropical and subtropical areas up to 50°C in tropical deserts in the summer. However, there are unique places such as hot springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents through which moderate temperatures pass 100°C.

Organism’s responses

Throughout the millions of years of their existence, many species have had a fixed internal environment that allows for all biochemical and physiological reaction jobs to keep up the great efficiency and, thus, develop complete fitness. This consistency, for example, is possible to be at the correct temperature again for the fullness of osmotic body fluids. Appropriately then, the body should try to maintain the consistency of its internal environment (homeostasis), despite the variability of common external environmental conditions disrupting its homeostasis.

The different possibilities for the responses may be:

1. Conform
2. Regulate
3. Suspend

Confirm

The most amazing of animals and almost all plants are unable to maintain a stable interior. Their body temperatures change according to the ambient temperature. These animals and plants are simply conformers. Considering the benefits of a consistent internal environment for the body, one should ask why these conformers did not change to become regulators.

Regulate

Thermoregulation is expensive for many living things as per energy. This is especially true for small animals such as shrews and hummingbirds. Losing heat or gaining heat is a function of more space. Since small animals have a large relative size in their capacity, they often lose body temperature very quickly when it is cold outside; then, they have to use more energy to produce the body heat through metabolism. This is the main reason why small animals are rarely found in tropical areas. During the period of evolution, costs and benefits of internal storage regularly are considered. Other species have emerged with the ability to control, but over a limited range of natural conditions; otherwise, they simply agree.

Suspend

In bacteria, fungi, and low-lying plants, a variety of dense spores are formed that help them to survive conditions – this grows by finding the right place.

In high plants, seeds and other vegetative reproduction structures serve as a means of shifting in times of stress. They germinate to form new plants under harvest humidity and temperature conditions. They do that by minimising their metabolic activity and sleep. In animals, organisms, if unable to migrate, may avoid stress by escaping on time. The common case of bears getting into it in winter is an example of timely escape. Others like snails and fish enter the rest area to avoid summer-related problems. Under adverse conditions, many species of zooplankton in lakes and ponds are known to enter diapause, a stage of suspended growth.

Migrate: The organism can move away temporarily from the stressful habitat to a more hospitable area and return when the stressful period is over.

Conclusion

Ecology is the study of the relationship between organic and biotic organisms and abiotic parts of their nature. It consists of four levels of biological organisation: living beings, humans, communities, and biomes. Temperature, light, water, and soil are the most important factors the physical features of the ecosystem translated in different ways. Regular internal maintenance of the environment by organisms has a major impact function, but only living things are capable of homeostasis when subjected to external environmental changes. Others partially control their internal space or easily agree. A few other species have changed adaptation to avoid adverse weather conditions over time.