The Levels of ecological organization Are individual, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere and biome. They describe the disposition of biological organisms in relation to each other, being a classification and organization of the various ecosystems.
These ecosystems can be studied in small or large levels. At the simplest level of the hierarchy are individual organisms, where interactions with other organisms are not considered.
By climbing the hierarchy, ecologists have found more complex ways of describing relationships between organisms.
These culminate in the biosphere , Which describes the totality of all living beings on planet Earth.
Levels of ecological organization
1- Individuals or organisms
Individuals or organisms constitute the basic unit of study in ecology. At each level, the biological unit has a specific structure and function.
At this level the form, physiology, behavior, distribution and adaptations in relation to environmental conditions are studied.
Similar organisms or individuals have the potential to cross and produce fertile offspring (which are then called species). The organism or individual performs all of their life processes independently.
An individual or organism is fully adapted to its environment. It has a definite life that includes stages such as birth, hatching, growth, maturity, senescence, aging and death. Competition, mutualism and predation are various types of interaction between organisms.
The aspects of evolution are widely used in the study of this level. At this level, ecology deals with the biological, morphological and physiological development of individual organisms in response to their natural environment.
2- Population
Pack of wolves.
An ecological population is made up of a group of individuals of a given species living in a specific geographical area at a given time and functioning as a unit of biotic community.
Populations include individuals of the same species, but may have different genetic characteristics such as color and size of hair, eyes and skin between them and other populations.
For example, individuals of elephants or tigers in an area constitute a population. Generally, interactions among populations are studied. These interactions may be those of a predator and its prey, or a parasite with its host.
Competition, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, and predation are all kinds of interactions.
3- Community
Communities include all populations in a specific area at any given time. A community includes populations of organisms of different species.
For example, populations of fish, salmon, crabs and herring coexist in a defined place forming an ecological community.
The biotic community organization results from the interdependence and interactions between populations of different species in a habitat. It is a set of populations of plants, animals, bacteria and fungi that live in an area and interact with each other.
A biotic community has a composition and structure of different species such as animals, plants and decomposers (ie, bacteria and fungi).
4- Ecosystem
Ecosystems as part of nature, are the place where living organisms interact with each other and with their physical environment.
An ecosystem is composed of a biotic community, integrated with its physical environment through the exchange of energy and recycling of nutrients.
The Ecosystems Can be recognized as self-regulating and self-sufficient units of the biome, for example a pond or forest.
An ecosystem has two basic components: abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living organisms). The abiotic components comprise inorganic materials such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, CO2, water, etc., while the biotic components include producers, consumers and decomposers.
5- Biome
Biomes of Brazil (Batista Da Rocha).
A biome, in simple terms, is a set of ecosystems that share similar characteristics with their abiotic factors adapted to their environment.
Biomes are land units with a natural boundary that have a mosaic of land that generally represents different ecosystems.
It is a large regional unit characterized by an important type of vegetation and associated fauna that is found in a specific climatic zone.
The biome includes all associated developing and modified communities occurring within the same climatic region, eg forest biomes, grassland and savanna biomes, desert biome, etc.
On a global scale, all terrestrial biomes and aquatic systems on Earth constitute the biosphere.
6- Biosphere
When we consider all the different biomes, each mixed in the other, with all humans living in many different geographic areas, we form a huge community of humans, animals, plants and microorganisms in their defined habitats.
A biosphere is the sum of all the ecosystems established on planet Earth. It is the living (and decomposing) component of the terrestrial system.
The entire inhabited part of the earth and its atmosphere, including living components, are called the biosphere. The global environment consists of three main subdivisions:
- The hydrosphere that includes all components of water
- The lithosphere comprising the solid components of the Earth's crust
- The atmosphere formed by the ozone layer of the earth.
The biosphere consists of the Lower atmosphere , Land and oceans, rivers and lakes, where living beings are found.
By default, the biosphere includes climate, geology , The oceans and human pollution. This level of analysis may seem abstract, but often has practical applications.
Global climate change, for example, examines how the destruction of an ecosystem - for example, the Amazon rainforest - can lead to a loss of global climate regulation and affect life on a part of the Earth far from the Amazon.
References
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