Table of ContentsIntroductionEcology, energy and chemical cyclesCommunity structureBiodiversity and successionHow does each idea work?ConclusionIntroductionEcology is a branch of biology that deals with the scientific analysis of how organisms are distributed, their abundance, interactions and relationships in and with their respective environments. Some of the critical areas of interest include animal and plant populations, animal and plant communities and the nature of their ecosystems, or the network of networks that define the relationships between organisms at different scales of organization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The discipline of ecology emerged from the natural sciences in the late 19th century, when researchers were interested in conducting studies on almost everything related to the environment, from the formation and recycling of nutrients, tiny bacteria, how tropical rainforests affect the Earth's atmosphere, and more. Another important area includes the study of how chemicals, nutrients and energy flow within a certain ecosystem to establish ecological efficiency (the process that describes the transfer of energy from different tropical levels) . It is determined by a series of coordination efficiencies related to assimilation and organic resources in a particular ecosystem. Therefore, ecology seeks to improve the understanding of the natural environment by focusing on the distribution and abundance of biodiversity in the environment, the stages of adaptation, how ecosystems develop successively and how energy and materials make their way through living communities. Ecology, Energy, and Chemical Cycles For the natural world to function efficiently, various factors are responsible for regulating the amount and rate of biomass and the flow of energy. Imperatively, energy flow is defined as the quantity of energy contained in a certain food chain (Ansari, 2016). The energy entering the ecosystem, or energy input, is measured in calories or joules, so energy flow is also associated with the term "heat flow." Thus, when studying energy flow, the fundamental goal of ecologists is to quantify the value of species and their respective feeding patterns and relationships (In Rawat, In Dookia, & In Sivaperuman, 2015). The sun is considered the largest producer of energy. energy in an ecosystem, and some of its unused energy is lost as heat. Nutrients and energy flow through food chains as organisms feed on each other and the remainder is used by decomposers (Hanski, 2016). This means that energy disappears over time but nutrients undergo a recycling process. So, to consider how energy flows and chemical cycles, it is crucial to consider how it passes from one tropical level to another and how solar energy is transformed into heat and ultimately lost. Chemical cycles are also essential for efficient operation. of the natural environment. As such, a chemical cycle is defined as a pathway by which chemical elements are used as they move through the abiotic and biotic earth components (In Rawat, In Dokia and In Sivaperuman, 2015). Second, a cycle includes a series of changes that repeat from the starting point to the end and back again. For example, there isa water cycle when it rains: part of the water seeps into the sea and oceans by infiltrating as groundwater. Others evaporate into the atmosphere to feed the clouds. There is also the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle, the nitrogen cycle and others. All must go through complete phases so that there can be efficiencies in the natural world. For example, the water cycle must take shape so that water lost through evaporation and other means can be made available for the survival of plants and organisms (Reddy,Karanth, Kumar, Krishnaswamy, & Karanth, 2016 ).Community structureAccording to Reddy et al. (2016), the community structure segment focuses on species diversity and richness, including investigating why ecosystems that reflect relatively higher diversity are considered more stable and the role of species key and fundamental. Based on this, the structure of a community is determined by its species richness, which measures the number of species present (In Rawat, In Dokia and In Sivaperuman, 2015). It is also interested in species diversity, which covers both evenness and species richness (In Rawat, In Dookie and In Sivaperuman, 2015). Many factors affect community structure, including species interactions, abiotic factors, chance events, and level of disturbance. Some species play a critical role in determining their community structure, including founding and keystone species (Reddy et al., 2016). In light of the preceding discussion, a community is considered to be a collection of populations. which dominate a certain area (Hanski, 2016). They are often studied with difficulty because they have different boundaries and sizes. As such, an ecosystem covers a higher level of community, involving the respective physical environment, such that the ecosystem includes both physical and biological components that interfere with the routine functioning of the ecosystem/community . This means that the ecosystem could be studied from a functional perspective focused on energy flow or from a population distribution perspective. The concept of species diversity is closely linked to efficiency in the natural world. This depends on both the relative abundance of species and the number of different species within a given community (Reddy et al., 2016). Generally, ecologists view more diverse communities as stable than less diverse communities (In Rawat, In Dookia, & In Sivaperuman, 2015). Biodiversity and successionEcological succession refers to the process that a biological community undergoes as it evolves with the passage of time (Reddy et al., 2016). There are two types of succession, including primary succession which takes place in areas without life, for example a region where lava has flowed more than once thus rendering the soil barren. On the other hand, secondary succession takes place where there was a community. occupying a certain region but had to be moved due to conditions that do not support life. They are considered small-scale disturbances that deprive the affected environment of nutrients and life (Ansari, 2016). Both provide the basis for how the natural world functions by creating an ever-changing mix of species (Reddy et al., 2016). How does each idea work? The other sections discussed how the ideas of chemical and energy cycles, community structure, biodiversity, and succession come together to form the basis for the functioning of the natural world. First, chemical and energy cycles must be balanced in the atmosphere.