Tolerance Range

Tolerance range: Range of chemical and physical conditions that must be maintained for populations of a particular species to stay alive and grow, develop, and function normally. Temperature can be the tolerance range of organism. Based on the tolerance to temperature, animals can be grouped into two groups of animals: (1) Eurythermal animals are animals that can live on the ambient temperature in a broad range (2) Stenothermal animal is an animal that is only capable of living on the ambient temperature within a narrow range. 

The organisms are abundant in the central optimum range. In the zone of stress, only a few organisms survive and in the zone of intolerance, organisms are absent. If the organism has wide range of tolerance, it is usually distributed and if its tolerance range is narrow it is restricted. Due to the temperature range that is acceptable to the animals, any kind of animal has an own cardinal point temperature. What is meant by temperature cardinal points are points that show the maximum temperature limit, the optimum temperature and minimum temperature limits that are still acceptable to the creature. Maximum temperature is the highest temperature that still allows only 50% of the population of an organism to survive. The minimum temperature is the lowest temperature point which allows only 50% of members of the population to survive. The optimum temperature is the temperature value that allows the population of an organism to live the best and most produce offspring. Growth and reproduction of animal on this optimum range.  In connection with the tolerance range of organisms to temperature, so although each species has its own range, but for most species, which is still acceptable range is 0° C - 45° C. Thus, some extreme instances they may be found. 

Ectoterm and Endoterm

Ectoterm and endoterm is the concept of organism response to temperature and based on the production of body heat can be divided into:

(1) Endoterm: it can suffice the production of body heat (can maintain body temperature production of body heat from within).

(2) Ectoterm: the production of body heat is too low, so the body temperature cannot maintained and body temperature is determined by the temperature of the environment

Limiting Factors

Condition is abiotic environmental factor that varies in space and time and affects the performance of organism (ex: moving, growth rate, reproductively, and so on). 

Resource is all things consumed (used up) by organism, such as food, oxigen, space and so on. For the example: The death of fish in Medali river, Puri District, Mojokerto Regency, from that problem, we can determine the conditions: pollutant consentration (liquid factory waste) and pH; and the resources: food, water (space) and O2.

Limiting factor: environmental conditions that limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population of organisms in an ecosystem. Condition and resources can be a limiting factor because In part, their tolerance of conditions and their need for certain resources determine the distribution and also abundance of species. The Law said that limiting factor, the factor is most deficient determines the presence or absence of any given organism. The concept of limiting factors also based on : (1) Liebig's Law of the Minimum, which states that growth is controlled not by the total amount of resources available, but by the scarcest resource. (2) Shelford's Law of Tolerance that an organism's success is based on a complex set of conditions and that each organism has a certain minimum, maximum, and optimum environmental factor or combination of factors that determine success.

Hierarchy of Ecology

(1) Global ecology

Global ecology examines the influence of energy and materials on organisms across the biosphere (the whole globe).

(2) Landscape ecology 

Also called: seascape ecology, focuses on a mosaic of connected ecosystems. It focuses on the exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems (aerial view of a river, sand, brush).

(3) Ecosystem ecology

An ecosystem is the community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they interact (a lot of species living together in communities within). Ecosystem ecology focuses on energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and abiotic components. 

(4) Community ecology

A community is a group of populations of different species in an area. Community ecology focuses on the whole array of interacting speciecommunity ecology-think lots of species living in a community (exampe: forest).

(5) Population ecology

A group of individuals in the same species living in an area. Population ecology focuses on factors affecting population size over time.

(6) Organismal ecology

Organismal ecology focuses on how an organism's structure, physiology, and behavior (for animals) meet environmental challenges. Organismal ecology includes physiological, evolutionary, and behavioral ecology.

Tugas Ekologi "Spesies Indikator"

    Contoh spesies indikator adalah kumbang bubuk. Hewan ini banyak digunakan dalam studi bioindikator terhadap tingkat kerusakan hutan karena mereka memiliki peran ekologis yang penting dalam ekosistem hutan tropis. Kumbang bubuk bersama dengan serangga lainnya merupakan organisme dekomposer yang sangat penting, sehingga menentukan ketersediaan unsur hara bagi vegetasi hutan. Mereka juga terlibat dalam penyebaran biji-biji tumbuhan dan pengendalian parasit vertebrata (dengan menghilangkan sumber infeksi). Distribusi lokal dari kumbang bubuk sangat dipengaruhi oleh tingkat naungan vegetasi dan tipe tanah. Selain itu struktur fisik habitat menjadi faktor penting yang mempengaruhi komposisi dan distribusi kumbang bubuk (Davis et al. 2001). Oleh karena itu kelompok serangga ini merupakan indikator yang berguna untuk menggambarkan perbedaan struktur (bentuk arsitek, abiotik) antara habitat.

    Peran serangga sebagai bioindikator ekosistem hutan telah didemonstrasikan dengan baik oleh Klein (1989) yang menguji peran kumbang bubuk dari ordo Coleoptera famili Scarabidae terhadap dekomposisi kotoran hewan pada habitat yang berbeda yakni hutan alami, hutan terfragmentasi dan padang rumput (bekas hutan tebangan) di Amazon bagian Tengah (Central Amazon). Laju penguraian kotoran hewan menurun sekitar 60% di hutan alam dibandingkan padang rumput. Meskipun kelimpahan kumbang bubuk pada ketiga habitat tersebut tidak berbeda nyata namun terjadi penurunan sekitar 80% jumlah jenis kumbang bubuk di padang rumput. Hal ini menegaskan bahwa setiap jenis kumbang bubuk memiliki peran yang cukup penting dibandingkan jenis lainnya sehingga semakin tinggi biodiversitas kumbang bubuk dan serangga lainnya menunjukan kestabilan ekosistem hutan yang semakin mantap.

Tugas Ekologi "Condition and Resources"

In ecology, what determine the distribution and abundance of species? 

In part, their tolerance of conditions and thei need for certain resouces that determine the distribution and abundance of species or organism. Condition is abiotic environmental factor that varies in space and time and affects the performance of organism. Resource is all things consumed (used up) by organism. For the example: The death of fish in Medali river, Puri District, Mojokerto Regency, from that problem, we can determine the conditions: pollutant consentration (liquid factory waste) and pH; and the resources: food, water (space) and O2.