MODULE 2 : Biology and Epidemiology

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
& ECOLOGY Prepared by : Engr. Ma. Eliza U. Cruz
„ I n this chapter, the fundamental biological
principles governing ecosystems, with special
attention to processes that mediate the fate of
chemical substances in natural and engineered
environments will be discussed.
BIOLOGY

„ Defined as the scientific study of life and living things, often

taken to include their origin, diversity, structure, activities,
and distribution.

„ It includes the study of “biotic effects” which are important

in many phases of environmental engineering. The “biotic
effects” involves – the ways organisms are affected by and
have an effect on the environment.
BIOTIC EFFECTS

1.  Effects on humans ( e.g. , infectious diseases )

2.  Impacts on the environment ( e.g., species introduction )
3.  Impacts by humans ( e.g., endangered species )
4.  Mediation of environmental transformation ( e.g.,
breakdown of toxic chemicals )
5.  Utilization in the treatment of contaminated air, water ,
and soil.
ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

„ The Earth is conceptualized as comprising “great

spheres” of living and nonliving materials.
Atmosphere
(AIR)

Lithosphere
(SOIL)
BIOSPHERE
„ The atmosphere (air) , lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere
(water) constitute the “abiotic” or nonliving component.

„ The “biosphere” contains all of the living things in Earth. Any

intersection of the biosphere with the nonliving spheres
( living things and their abiotic environment) constitutes an
“ecosystem”.

„ Taken together, all of the ecosystems of the world make up

the “Ecosphere” .
ECOLOGY

Ecology – is the study of structure and function of the

ecosphere.

Ecosystem – the interactions between living things and their

abiotic environment.
THE THREE DOMAINS OF ORGANISMS
TAXONOMIC RANK
„  Example of Scientific classification
HUMAN
„  Kingdom: Animalia
„  Phylum: Chordata
„  Order: Therapsida
„  Class : Mammalia
„  Order: Primates
„  Family: Hominidae
„  Tribe: Hominini
„  Genus: Homo
„  Species: H. sapiens Binomial name
„  Homo sapiens
ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS
„ The character of Earth’s many and varied ecosystems is
determined to a large extent by their physical setting.

„ The physical setting includes climatic factors such as:

„  Temperature ( extreme values and duration of seasons)
„  Sunlight ( day length and annual variation )
„  Precipitation ( extremes and annual distribution )
„  Wind
„  Soil Physics ( particle size )
„  Chemistry ( pH, organic content , nutrients )
OXYGEN DEMAND

„ Organisms derive the energy required for maintainance of

metabolic function, growth, and reproduction through the
processes of fermentation and respiration.

„ Biochemical Oxygen Demand ( BOD ) - is the amount of

oxygen utilized by microorganisms in performing oxidation.
MATERIAL FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS

„ The natural passage of chemicals occurs in “biogeochemical

cycles”
„  Oxygen Cycle
„  Carbon Cycle
„  Nitrogen Cycle
„  Phosphorus Cycle
„  Sulfur Cycle
BIODIVERSITY

„ Biodiversity ( biological diversity ) – refers to the great

variety present in all forms of life.

„ While the concept of biodiversity originally focused on

individual species, many scientists now consider “ genetic
diversity” ( within species ), and “ecological diversity”.
LEVELS  OF  BIODIVERSITY  
—  Species Diversity
—  Has three qualities
—  Species richness - The total number of species
—  Species evenness - The relative abundance of species
—  Species dominance - The most abundant species

—  Ecosystem Diversity

—  Different types of ecosystems in a given unit area
—  Genetic Diversity
—  Refers to the total number of characteristics in the genetic
makeup of a specific species, subspecies, or group of species.
FACTORS THAT TEND TO INCREASE
DIVERSITY
„ A  physically  diverse  habitat  
„ Moderate  amount  of  disturbances  
„ A  small  variaCon  in  environmental  condiCons  
„ High  diversity  at  one  tropic  level  increases  the  diversity  at  
another  tropic  level  
„ An  environment  highly  modified  by  life  
„ Middle  ages  of  succession  
„ EvoluCon  
FACTORS THAT TEND TO DECREASE
DIVERSITY
„ Environmental  stress  
„ Extreme  environments  
„ Severe  limitaCon  in  the  supply  of  essenCal  resource  
„ Extreme  amount  of  disturbance  
„ Recent  introducCon  of  exoCc  species  
„ Geographic  isolaCon  
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

„ “ Because of the magnitude and speed with which the human
species is altering the physical, chemical and biological world,
BIODIVERSITY is being destroyed at a rate unprecedented in
recent geological time”
„  - Thorne – Miller , 1999
THREATS  TO  BIODIVERSITY  

„ Habitat  DestrucCon  
„ Introduce  Invasive  Species  
„ GeneCc  PolluCon  
„ OverexploitaCon  
„ HybridizaCon,  GeneCc  Erosion  and  Food  Security  
„ Climate  Change  
HABITAT  DESTRUCTION  

„ Human  Causes  
„ Land  conversion  to  agriculture  
„ Urban  sprawl  
„ Infrastructure  development  
„ Other    anthropogenic  changes  to  the  characterisCcs  of  
the  land  
HABITAT  DESTRUCTION  

„ Natural  Causes  
„ Volcanism  
„ Wildfire  
„ Climate  change  
„ Other  natural  catastrophe  
INTRODUCE  INVASIVE  SPECIES  

„ Species   living   outside   its   naCve   distribuConal   range,   which  

has   arrived   there   by   human   acCvity,   either   deliberate   or  
accidental.  
 
GENETIC  POLLUTION  

„ Undesirable  and  uncontrolled  gene  flow  into  indigenous  

populaCons.  
„ A  side  effect  of  introducing  invasive  species  
OVEREXPLOITATION  

„ HarvesCng  a  renewable  resource  to  the  point    of  

diminishing  returns  
 
„  PopulaCons   that   are   harvested   at   a   rate   that   is  
unsustainable,   given   their   natural   rates   of   mortality   and  
capaciCes  for  reproducCon.  
HYBRIDIZATION, GENETIC EROSION AND
FOOD SECURITY
„ HybridizaCon  was  used  to  increase  yield  
„ Hybridized  breeds  originated  in  developed  countries  and  
were  further  hybridized  with  local  varieCes  in  the  
developing  world  to  create  high  yield  strains  resistant  to  
local  climate  and  diseases  
„ GeneCc  erosion  coupled  with  geneCc  polluCon  may  be  
destroying  unique  genotypes,  thereby  creaCng  a  hidden  
crisis  which  could  result  in  a  severe  threat  to  our  food  
security.  
CLIMATE  CHANGE  

„ Effects  of  CO2  

„ Increases  in  atmospheric  CO2concentraCon  
affect  how  plants  photosynthesis,  resulCng  in  
increases  in  plant  water  use  efficiency,  enhanced  
photosyntheCc  capacity  and  increased  growth  
CLIMATE  CHANGE  
„ Effects  of  Temperature  
„ Increases  in  temperature  raise  the  rate  of  many  
physiological  processes  such  as  photosynthesis  in  plants,  
to  an  upper  limit.    
„ Extreme  temperatures  can  be  harmful  when  beyond  the  
physiological  limits  of  a  plant.  
CLIMATE  CHANGE  

„ Effects  of  Water  

„ As  water  supply  is  criCcal  for  plant  growth,  it  plays  a  key  
role  in  determining  the  distribuCon  of  plants.    
„ Changes   in   precipitaCon   are   predicted   to   be   less  
consistent   than   for   temperature   and   more   variable  
between   regions,   with   predicCons   for   some   areas   to  
become  much  weYer,  and  some  much  drier.  
BIOLOGICAL  EVOLUTION  

„ Biodiversity  is  the  result  of  3.5  billion  years  of  evolution.  
„ Refers  to  the  change  in  inherited  characteristics  of  a  
population  from  generation  to  generation.  
„ According   to   the   theory   of   biological   evolution,   new  
species  arise  as  a  result  of  competition  for  resources  and  
the   difference   among   individuals   in   their   adaptations   to  
environmental  conditions  
FOUR PROCESS THAT LEAD TO
EVOLUTION
„ Mutation  
„ Natural  Selection  
„ Migration  
„ Genetic  Drift  
MUTATION  

„ MutaCons  are  changes  in  a  genomic  sequence  

„ Caused   by   radiaCon,   viruses,   transposons   and   mutagenic  
chemicals   as   well   as   errors   that   occur   during   meiosis   or  
DNA  replicaCon  
NATURAL  SELECTION  

„ Inheritance  of  traits  from  one  generaCon  to  the  next  and  
some  variaCon  in  these  traits  (geneCc  variability)  
„ Environmental  variability  
„ DifferenCal  reproducCon  that  varies  with  the  environment  
„ Influence  of  the  environment  on  survival  and  reproducCon  
MIGRATION  

„ MigraCon  into  or  

out  of  a  
populaCon  can  
change  the  
proporCon  of  all  
copies  of  a  gene  
that  is  made  up  of  
parCcular  gene  
variant.  
GENETIC  DRIFT  

„ Is  the  change  in  the  frequency  of  the  gene  variant  in  a  
populaCon  due  to  random  sampling  .  
„ May  cause  gene  variants  to  disappear  completely  and  
thereby  reduce  geneCc  variaCon.  
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
„ The ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT is the
measure of human demand on the
Earth’s ecosystems. It is a standardized
measure of demand for natural capital
that may be contrasted with the planet’s
ecological capacity to regenerate.

„ It represents the amount of biologically

productive land and sea area necessary
to supply the resources a human
population consumes, and to assimilate
associated wastes.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

„ The first academic publication about the

ecological footprint was by William Rees in
1992.

„  In early 1996, Wackernagel and Rees

published the book Our Ecological Footprint:
Reducing Human Impact on the Earth.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

„  Ecological footprint analysis compares human

demands on nature with the biosphere's ability to
regenerate resources and provide services.

„  It does this by assessing the biologically productive

land and marine area required to produce the
resources a population consumes and absorb the
corresponding waste, using prevailing technology.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

„ Footprint values at the end of a survey

are categorized for Carbon, Food,
Housing, and Goods and Services as well
as the total footprint number of Earths
needed to sustain the world's population
at that level of consumption.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS (EFA)

„ Per capita ecological footprint (EF), or ecological

footprint analysis (EFA), is a means of comparing
consumption and lifestyles, and checking this against
nature's ability to provide for this consumption.

„ The tool can inform policy by examining to what

extent a nation uses more (or less) than is available
within its territory, or to what extent the nation's
lifestyle would be replicable worldwide.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS (EFA)

„ The footprint can also be a useful tool to

educate people about carrying capacity and
over-consumption, with the aim of altering
personal behavior.
„ Ecological footprints may be used to argue
that many current lifestyles are not
sustainable. Such a global comparison also
clearly shows the inequalities of resource use
on this planet at the beginning of the twenty-
first century.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS (EFA)
„ In 2007, the average biologically productive
area per person worldwide was
approximately 1.8 global hectares (gha) per
capita.
„ The U.S. footprint per capita was 9.0 gha, and
that of Switzerland was 5.6 gha, while China's
was 1.8 gha.
„ The WWF claims that the human footprint
has exceeded the biocapacity (the available
supply of natural resources) of the planet by
20%.