INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGY

The article describes ecology as the branch of biology that examines how organisms interact with each other and with the environment (Brown, 2014).   It also states that the study of ecology is composed of biotic and abiotic factor of the environment. Biotic factors entail the study of living organism whereas abiotic factor is about non living factors. Ecology is studied at different levels such as organism, community, population, biosphere and ecosystem. Organism is part of ecology concerned with how individuals interact with environment made up of biotic and abiotic components. On the other hand, population ecology is concerned with factors which affect population density and distribution. An ecosystem dwells on all communities in the same area including biotic and abiotic factors of the environment. More over, biosphere is the region occupied by living organisms. One of the core objectives of ecology is to comprehensively understand the distribution and abundance of living organisms in their physical environment. An example of abiotic factors that can hinder the distribution of living thing s in an environment is water. On the other hand, the presence of nutrients provided by other organisms in the environment is a biotic factor.

Biology is described as the study of life; ecology on the other hand describes how organisms interact in the environment. Our every day life is ecologically related to biology in the sense that living things are naturally affectionate towards life and how environment supports it (Faegri & Van 2013). . The biological concept relevant to the topic is species classification. A species is a group of individuals that can interbreed but can not breed with other groups. Population ecology studies the dynamics and behaviors of a population and how they interact with the environment. Population density, abundance, age structure and sex are basic characteristics that determine how the population grow or shrink. Biology is a wider discipline of study; however it does not give an opening that leads to the ecological studies. There should have been a brief overview that would aid the reader in understanding the wider area of study.

By it’s own definition, the article draws the attention of the reader in that it relates to environment and how we interact with it. Human beings, I included, would wish to associate themselves with an ecosystem that is complete and supportive of their lives. We have a natural sense of attraction towards an environment in which we coexist with animals, plants and non living organisms (Forman, 2014). This necessitates the desire to associate oneself with ecology. This study is relevant in my life because it has practical applications in our lives, for instance; agriculture and forestry. It is eminent that we all rely on agriculture to support our livelihood. I have a small garden in which plant leguminous plants, consume them, and they help fix nitrogen in the soil which support the growth of other plants too. Forests play a crucial role in our lives because they serve as a habitat for wild animals like birds which my community feeds on. It is also a source of fire wood as well as timber. The forest cover is also composed of some indigenous trees which serve as source of herbal medicine. The scientific knowledge of ecology has a direct effect in my life because without population ecology, it would be difficult for me to understand why organisms of a particular population can not interbreed with others of a different group. 

Researching on this topic should be funded by a specific professional network based in the field of biology. This is because finding individuals from other fields to fund a private research can be very tasking. One’s institutional office of research and colleagues in the same profession can prove to be valuable sources of funds towards a project of this nature. Non governmental organizations too can be approached to seek their hand in funding the project. These should be organizations that specialize in conducting researches. In order to be on the competitive on the global edge, the government is a useful source of funds for researchers (Zipf, 2016).  However, government funding is susceptible to manipulation and embezzlement by unscrupulous researchers. The tax payers money under it’s custodians should fund this research because it touches on the environmental issues affecting the nation. This research can also be funded by the private sector as a commitment to giving back to the society. They can also support university and college students who lack adequate resources to propel their researches. This research is more important compared to others because it touches on the matters that affect our daily livelihood.

In summary, ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment. The study is composed of biotic and abiotic factors of the environment. Ecology is studied at different levels which are; population, organism, ecosystem, community and biosphere. The study posits that living things have a sense of affection towards life and how environment supports it. Human beings like to associate themselves with an ecosystem that is complete and supportive of their lives. The study of ecology is relevant in our lives because it has practical applications in life such as agriculture and forestry. In order to succeed in researching on this topic, one can get funding from professional networks, government or the private sector.

References

Brown, J. L. (2014). Helping communal breeding in birds: Ecology and evolution. Princeton University Press.

Faegri, K., & Van der Pijl, L. (2013). Principles of pollination ecology. Elsevier.

Forman, R. T. (2014). Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions (1995) (p. 217). Island Press.Zipf, G. K. (2016). Human behavior and the principle of least effort: An introduction to human ecology. Ravenio Books.