What is ecology?
Unit 1: Introduction to Sustainability
[This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. This information pack is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. A copy of this licence is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/au/ or by writing to info@creativecommons.org.au. However logos are protected by copyright.] [This project was funded by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.]
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Ecology is the study of the living organisms and their environment. The environment of an organism includes both physical properties, such as sunlight, climate and the earth, as well as the other organisms that share its habitat. This ancient river gum provides homes for lots of animals, birds and bugs. It has lived through droughts and floods for hundreds of years. It is part of an ecosystem which has sustained communities of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Nature demonstrates that sustainable systems are possible.
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There is no “waste� in nature. Everything that is produced and discarded by one organism is used up gratefully by something else. We need to try to make human systems mimic natural systems. The ants and termite here use the wood as food. And other animals use the hollow as a home.
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No individual organism can exist in isolation
Animals get food from animals, other animals get food from plants, plants depend on the sun to complete photosynthesis forr their energy needs; plants depend on the carbon dioxide in the air produced by animals as they exhale and plants also need the nitrogen fixed by bacteria at their roots. Together plants, animals and microrganisms work together to maintain conditions on earth that are conductive to life. This is a profound lesson we need to learn from nature.
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Biodiversity – coral reefs
A diverse ecosystem is one with lots of different types of plants, animals and organisms. A diverse ecosystem will be a resilient one because it contains many species with overlapping ecological functions that can partially replace one another if one dies out or is affected by changing conditions. When a particular species is destroyed by a severe disturbance a diverse community will be able to survive because other links can at least partially fulfil the function of the destroyed species.
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Biodiversity � mangroves
There are many types of different systems that suit different areas. Mangroves have adabted to suit the area they are located in.
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Biodiversity – arid zone
As have plants and animals in the bush and desert regions.
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Biodiversity – cities?
Do cities have biodiversity? Depending on what you look at they do. Nature-wise it might be limited but in terms of things made by humans, you could say it does. There are lots of different types of buildings to suit different uses. There are different types of shops, types of work.
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Human Diversity
In human communities, ethnic and cultural diversity may play a similar role to biodiversity in an ecosystem. Diversity means that many different relationships, values and experiences can offer many different approaches to the same problem. Values, knowledge, language, and world views associated with culture impact on the way issues connected to sustainability are dealt with in a community context. So sharing stories from the each other creates an opportunity for us to think critically about the factors that shape our vision and expectations of the future.
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Monoculture
On the other hand communities lacking diversity remain vulnerable to destruction if a pest threatens a single species. For example a monoculture such as wheat or corn can be wiped out within hours. So it is important that we have diversity. As we begin to learn more about the environment we will get to see that one size does not fit all. When things are going well it is because a number of different groups work together, not apart. That when one thing fails there is something similar to come along and take its place. But if we disrupt the environment too much we lose that diversity and the ability to bounce back. We begin to put all our eggs in one basket.
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