Ecology and Environment

Paper Code: 
CENV 101
Credits: 
04
Contact Hours: 
60.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 

This course will enable the students to -

  1. Acquaint students with the subject and make them learn the fundamentals of Ecology and the Environment
  2. Lay emphasis on the basic understanding of the ecosystem and its structural and functional aspects
  3. Make students understand the basic principles behind various environmental processes

Course Outcomes (COs):

Course

Course outcome

Learning and teaching strategies

Assessment Strategies

Paper Code

Paper Title

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CENV 101

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

Upon completion of this course, the students will:

CO1: Appraise various components of the environment                         and interfaces

CO2: Analyse the role of Ecological principles to manage ecosystems

CO3: Develop a plan to spread awareness about the environment around us and conduct outreach activities

CO4: Evaluate the correlation between ecological dynamics and regulation of vital processes on earth as

biogeochemical cycles

Approach                          to teaching:

Powerpoint presentations Instructional charts Interactive                       lectures, Group discussions

Learning                activities for the students: Learning               through               a memory game Environmental     issues related to news reading and        green                  file preparation

Case studies

Powerpoint presentations, Assignments, Open book tests, Peer and self- assessments, Poster making, Group activity, Class Test, Semester End Examinations

 

12.00
Unit I: 
Basic Concept of Environmental Science & Ecology
  • Scope, Importance of Environmental Science & Multidisciplinary nature of Environmental Science
  • Origin and Evolution of Biosphere: Atmosphere of the Primitive Earth. Early Life forms, Origin of Life- Chemical basis, Evolution of Life forms through ages
  • Gaia hypothesis
  • Ecosphere and its components: Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere and Biosphere
  • Interaction of all the components (Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere and Biosphere)
  • Main subdivisions of ecology: Based on taxonomic categories /habitat/levels of the organization

 

12.00
Unit II: 
Ecosystem Dynamics
  • Concept of Ecosystem & its types
  • Structure of Terrestrial (Desert, Forest) and Aquatic ecosystems (Freshwater, Marine and Estuarine)
  • Energy flow in ecosystems and energy flow models (Pipeline, Universal and Y- shaped models)
  • Food chains and food webs
  • Ecological pyramids
  • Ecological principles- Liebig’s Law of Minimum, Shelford’s Law of Tolerance, Combined Concept of Limiting Factors

 

12.00
Unit III: 
Community Ecology
  • The Biotic community concepts
  • Community structure and the concept of Ecological Dominance
  • Ecotone and Edge Effect
  • H abitat and Ecological Niche
  • Productivity: Concept and its measurement
  • Ecological succession- General process, Basic types, Patterns of Succession, Causes  and trends, Concept of Climax (Monoclimax and poly climax)

 

12.00
Unit IV: 
Population Dynamics
  • Population characteristics: Density, dispersion, age, structure, natality, mortality
  • Growth Forms: J and S forms
  • Concept of Carrying capacity
  • Population regulation and Factors affecting population explosion
  • Life history strategies (r and K selection)
  • Interactions amongst populations: intra- and interspecific interactions
  • Negative interactions: Predation, parasitism and antibiosis
  • Positive interactions: Commensalism, cooperation and mutualism

 

12.00
Unit V: 
Biogeochemical Cycling

Biogeochemical cycles: Patterns and basic types of cycles

  • Hydrological
  • Carbon
  • Oxygen
  • Nitrogen
  • Phosphorus
  • Sulphur
  • Role of microbes in biogeochemical cycles

 

Essential Readings: 

ESSENTIAL READINGS

  • Agrawal,K. C. (2001).Fundamentals of Environmental Biology. Bikaner (India): Nidhi Publishers.
  • Odum E.P. (1996). Fundamentals of Ecology. Dehradun: Natraj Publisher
  • Chapman,J. L. and Reiss, M. J. (1995).Ecology: Principles and Applications. Cambridge: University Press
  • Cunningham, W. P., & Saigo, B. W. (1999). Environmental Science. Mc-Graw Hill Book Company.
  • Kumar, H. D. (1995). General Ecology. Vikas Publishing house Pvt. Ltd.
  • Santra, S. C. (2001). Environmental Science. New Central Book Agency (P) Ltd.
  • Sharma, P. D. (2008). Ecology and Environment. Rastogi Publications.

SUGGESTED READINGS

  • Cunningham, W.P. Cooper, T.H. Gorhani, E. and Hepworth, M.T. (2001). Environmental Encyclopaedia. Mumbai: Jaico Publ. House.
  • Kemp: The Environment Dictionary
  • Kormondy. (1969). Concepts of Ecology. Prentice hall.
  • Miller, T. G. (1997). Environmental Science. Wadsworth Publishing Co. (TB).
  • Odum, E. P. (1983). Basic Ecology. Saunders Co. Publication.
  • Smith, R. L. (!996). Ecology and Feild Biology. Harper Collins.
  • Townsend, C., Harper, J., & Begon, M. (2006). Essentials of Ecology. Blackwell Science.

 

References: 

e-RESOURCES

JOURNALS

  • Journal of Environmental Management
  • Environmental International
  • Global Change Biology
  • Annual Review of Environment and Resources
  • Journal of Community Ecology
  • Journal of Applied Ecology
  • Ecological Monographs

 

Academic Year: 
2023-2024
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