Question

which of the three main components of ecology (succession, trophic interactions, and biogeochemistry) is most important to ecosystem ecology and why? Discuss how ecosystem ecology fits into the ecological hierarchy and the key attributea/characteristics of ecology that permeates through each hierarchy layer?

Answer 1

Ans) Trophic interactions are most important to ecosystem ecology. This is because trophic interactions are the feeding interactions between trophic levels.Ecologists have derived five major types of species interactions: predation, competition, mutualism, commensalism and amensalism.These interaction keep the chain going on in an ecosystem.

Ans) Ecological hierarchy theory describes the arrangement of biological organisms in relation to one another. At the simplest level of the hierarchy are individual organisms. At the individual level, interactions with other organisms are not considered. Moving up the hierarchy, ecologists have found more complex ways to describe the relationships between organisms. These culminate in the biosphere, which describes the totality of all living things on planet Earth.

Biological organization is the hierarchy of complex biological structures and systemsthat define life using a reductionistic approach.It is based on common characters like food habits, body sizes and complexities etc.