Autecology and Synecology

Ecological studies are based on three basic principles: Habitat, Taxonomic group and levels of organizations. Depending upon the consideration of ecological unit as either individual or group of organisms, the levels of organization is divided into autecology and synecology.

Autecology

The study of interaction between individuals and its environment is known as “autecology” or “ecology of individual”.

In autecology, at a given time, we study the influence of individual’s reactions to its natural environment and requirements together and affects of its interacting environment. In simple words how an organism or single species interacts (what it required and after interaction how it reacts) with its natural environment (i.e. under the present conditions prevailed by the organism). Individual species contribute as the unit of autecology study.

In autecology, we study in details the morphology of individual effected by its prevailing environment, its geographical distribution based on the surrounding, influence of environment on the life cycle and growth of organism, its taxonomical position and several factors including those which effects different developmental stages of individual’s life cycle.

Examples of Autecology

For instance, the influence of the change in temperature of the surrounding can highly influence the life cycle and developmental stages of individual. In brief, lizards, crocodiles and several other reptiles can hatch their eggs and sex of the baby is determined by the temperature at the time of hatching.

Best and classical example is provided by the Darwin’s finches of Galapagos Island. Darwin, Zoologist, who went on a voyage, very finely observed the Galapagos Island and revealed that the birds habituating that Island, called Finches, differ in the shape and size of their beaks clearly indicating that different finches habituating different area and feeding on different vegetations evolved to survive and developed beaks of different size and shape.

Another example includes the adaptation of organism to higher altitudes. At higher altitudes, due to higher pressure, there is less availability of oxygen to body tissues, so the individual adapt to it by developing higher number of RBCs which can effectively and with high affinity bind to the oxygen molecules through hemoglobin. While the individual living in plain areas are susceptible to these sudden changes in oxygen levels and pressure and can be attacked by hypoxia condition.

Synecology

In 1896, Schrocter and Kirchner coined the term Synecology. Organisms of different species living in a group can affect each other’s life in any possible way under their natural conditions. It’s a more complex condition. Unlike autecology, where single organism is the unit of study, in synecology “group of organisms” are considered as the unit of study. Therefore, an ecological approach “group of organisms” as the unit of study is termed as synecology.

Synecology can be divided into population, community ecology, and biome and ecosystem ecology.

An example of synecology is side effects of acid rain to a pond ecosystem. As the acid rain falls in a pond, rich in flora and fauna (mainly with fish diversity), it directly and indirectly affects the health of population or community or total biome or pond ecosystem. Acid rain creates an unfavorable environment in the pond ecosystem by stimulating various chemical reactions attributed to the characteristic feature of acid rain.

A classical example includes, Gause’s principle derived concept of Resource Partitioning where organism of different species compete for the same resources eg. Food, space etc. thereby, leading to partitioning of resources or habitat.