1. AED 1313 INTRODUCTION TO BUILT ENVIRONMENT
BASIC PRINCIPLES
OF
ECOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, CENTRE FOR
FOUNDATION STUDIES, IIUM, PETALING JAYA
Compiled by

2. What is Ecology?
Greek words oikos, “house” or “place to live”
and logos, “study of”
the study of how organisms interact with one
another and with their nonliving environment.
a study of connections in nature.
How organisms are adapted to their
surrounding,
how they make use of their surrounding, and
how an area is altered by the presence and
activities of organism
Interactions involve energy and matter,
living things requires a constant flow of energy
and matter
ECOLOGY

3. PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY
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1. An animal that consumes other animals for its food and energy.
2. A group of organisms of the same species that interbreed and live in the same place.
3. Interaction between biotic populations and abiotic factors in a community.
4. The zone of air, land and water at the surface of the earth that is occupied by organisms.
5. An animal that consumes autotrophs for its food and energy.
6. A collection of interacting population.
7. The study of how organisms interact with one another and with their nonliving environment.
8. An animal that consumes both plants and other animals for its food and energy.
9. Organisms that use energy from the sun to make their own food.
10. A single living thing.

4. ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES OF ECOLOGY

5. • Man has bestowed with quality to function as STEWARD on the
earth, with abilities to make pliant everything for his good.
• Status of his own self, social and physical environment around
him is TRUST.
• Should live on earth with JUSTICE and benevolence without
transgression the delicate BALANCE of things and phenomena
there in or causing INJURY or affecting BEAUTY and productivity
of NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES OF ECOLOGY

6. If man ignores these basic values of life, then he is bound to face a severe crisis /
FASAD.
The Quran says, Everything is created in due the proportion and with intricate
balance (MIZAN)
HUMANITY is to discover this balance, which encompasses the animate and
inanimate world, and within each individual’s own self submit to the law and
order of the universe of its habitants.
NATURE provides both material and spiritual sustenance for humanity, humanity
should appreciate the forces of nature and make its possible in the planetary
ecosystem.
The whole realm of nature is the revelation of the will of God. The holy Quran as
the basic sources, which may lead us to develop an Islamic perspective is
regarding to the Ecological creation.
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES OF ECOLOGY

7. • ESSENCE OF ECOSYSTEM
‘Do they look at the earth – how many noble things of all kinds we
have produced therein.’
(26:7)
• ESSENCE OF ECOBALANCE
‘And the earth we have spread out; set therein mountain firm and
immovable and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance’.
• ESSENCE OF CREATION / BIODIVERSITY
‘There is not an animal (that lives) on earth, nor a being that flies
on its wings but forms part of the communities, like you. Nothing
have we omitted from the Book, any they all shall be gathered to
their Lord in the end’.
(Al An’am:38)
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES OF ECOLOGY

8. Study of natural ecosystem will help us to
understand this complicated relationship between
the environment and living things.
It also gives a clear understanding on how the
impact of humans is influencing the natural world
and the consequent.
Therefore, ecosystem is the functional units of
sustainable life on earth.
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES OF ECOLOGY

9. It is a self –sustaining, self-regulating community of
organism interacting with the physical environment
within the defined geographic space
DEFINITION OF ECOSYSTEM

10. ECOSYSTEM
BIOTIC COMPONENTS
Nonliving factors that influence the life and
activities of an organism
energy, matter (nutrient and chemicals), physical
factors (temperature, humidity, moisture, light, wind
and available space)
Living portion of the
environment
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS

11. BIOTIC COMPONENTS
AUTOTROPHS
Autotrophs (producers) are self-nourishing
organism. These are mainly green plants
that are able to manufacture food from
simple substances. Autotrophic means self-
feeding.
Heterotrophs are mainly animals that ingest
other organisms and obtain the energy rich
chemicals either indirectly or directly from
autotrophs.
HETEROTROPHS

12. Functions in ecosystem include the transformation, circulation and
accumulation of matter and the flow of energy through the medium
of living organisms and their activities and through natural
processes.
Other functions include photosynthesis, food web and symbiosis.
All ecosystems are dependent upon the flow of energy and the cycling
of materials through the community of living organism.
ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION

13. FOOD CHAIN

14. Two type of habitats:
Terrestrial ecosystem eg: forest, desert
Aquatic ecosystem eg: sea, river, lake
HABITATS

15. LAKE ECOSYSTEM

16. MARINE ECOSYSTEM

17. Biological diversity or biodiversity is the variety of life
forms: the different plants, animals and microorganisms,
the genes they contain, and the ecosystems they form.
OR
The genetic, species, and ecological diversity of the
organisms in a given area.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

18. • 1 of 17 mega diverse areas in the world
• High levels of endemism
• Mammals:286 total species (27)endemic
• Birds: 736 total species (11) endemic
• Flowering plants: P.M’sia: orchids:500 total species
(350) endemic
• Palm: 195 total species (84) endemic
MALAYSIA’S MEGA DIVERSITY

19. Examples of Malaysia’s Biodiversity
• Endau-Rompin (Johor-Pahang) Lowland/hill dipterocarp
forest,
• Houses the largest viable population of Sumatran
rhinoceros
• Endemic and threatened species include tiger, fan palm
and the kelisa or arowana fish
• Site supports a vast diversity of fauna and flora species,
with much knowledge yet to be unlocked

20. Benefits can be considered in 3
groups:
– Ecosystem services
– Biological resources
– Social Benefits
IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY

21. •Weather regulation
•Climate regulation
•Hydrological services
•Nutrient cycling
•Soil formation
•Air cleaning
•Water quality
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

22. • Food
• Fuel
• Clothes
• Medicines
• Ornamental plants
• Timber
• Non-timber forest
products
• Basis for improving
domestic stocks
BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES

23. • Aesthetic
• Cultural
• Traditional
• Spiritual
• Scientific
• Research
• Recreation
SOCIAL BENEFITS

24. Biological diversity is central to the productivity and
sustainability of the earth's ecosystems.
• Specific examples of the role of bio-diversity in
ecosystem functioning include providing for
• 1) essential processes,
• 2) ecosystem resistance to and recovery from
disturbances, and
• 3) adaptability to long-term changes in environmental
conditions.
WHY IS DIVERSITY IMPORTANT

25. • stability (resistance) recovery (resilience) from disturbing
that disrupt important ecosystem process
• Resistance often results from complex linkages among
organisms, such as food webs that provide alternate
pathways for flows of energy and nutrients.
• Energy flow and nutrient cycling
• Long term adaptation towards climatic changes and other
environmental parameters
• Selection for rearrange of lake and terrestrial ecosystems
when environment change
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

26. The intimate living together of members of two different species; includes
mutualism, commensalisms, and in some classification parasitism
OR
Any intimate association of two dissimilar species regardless of the benefits
or harm derived from it
SYMBIOSIS
Mutualism
relationship between
individuals of different species
where both individuals derive
a fitness benefit
Commensalism
relationship between two living
organisms where one benefits and
the other is not significantly
harmed or helped.
Parasitism
relationship is one in which one
member of the association
benefits while the other is
harmed.

27. • Habitat alteration and loss
• Overuse/overexploitation
• Pollution
• Global climate change
• Ecological invasions such
as species and disease
introduction resulting from
human activities
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

28. The stage where human activities
alter environmental condition in such
a way that they exceed the range of
tolerances for one or more organisms
in the biotic community.
5 D’s of natural system degradation /
ecosystem degradation
• Ecosystem Damage
• Ecosystem Disruption
• Ecosystem Destruction
• Ecosystem Desertification
• Ecosystem Deforestation
ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION

29. Impacts:
• The overall productivity of the area is
reduced.
• Biodiversity is greatly diminished.
• The soil more prone to erosion and
drying.
• The standing stock of nutrients and
biomass, once stored in the trees and
leaf litter, is enormously reduced.
• The hydrological cycle is changed, as
water drains off, instead of being
released by transpiration through the
leaves of trees or instead of percolating
into ground water.
ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION