Question

Ecology is the study of

I. organisms.
II. interrelationship of organisms with abiotic and biotic components. ‌
III. the habitat of the organism.

• A. I only
• B. I and III only
• C. II and III only
• D. I, II and III

Answer 1

The correct option is D I, II and III

Study of the relationship of living beings with other living organisms and the non-living or abiotic factors of its surrounding physical environment like temperature, air, water, etc., is called Ecology. It can also be considered as the study of distribution and abundance of organisms.

Ernst Haekel is the father of Ecology. He coined the term ‘Ecology’ for the branch of science that remained unnoticed for a long time.

Ecology can be studied at various levels in order to understand and study the interaction of organisms and their environment. These levels are as follows:

• Organisms - Any living individual, they are the basic units of Ecology. For example, human beings.
• Population - Group of individuals belong to the same species inhabiting in a given area. For example, Human population in Bangalore.
• Community - Group of different populations present in an area. For example, a farmer community with cattles (cows, buffaloes) in an area.
• Ecosystem : Composed of biological community along with physical environment. For example, living (fishes, frogs) and nonliving things (soil, temperature) in a pond ecosystem.
• Biome : Regional unit characterised by plants, animals and climate in that area. For example, Deserts are characterised by less rainfall, extremely hot day time and very cold night time. Examples of organisms include plants like cactus and animals like camels, snakes etc.
• Biosphere : It is also called ecosphere and is the sum of all ecosystems.

Ecology helps to understand :

• the importance of conservation of environment.
• which resources necessary for the survival of organisms (resource allocation). For example, food and shelter.
• the importance of energy conservation, preventing unnecessary wastage of resources and their over-exploitations. For example, petroleum products.