An ecosystem is a complex community of living organisms with different relationships, functional interactions and dependency among them. If all the ecosystems on Earth were classified into two major categories or divisions, one based on their differences in physical forms and the other based on their function, both seem apt to reveal the nature of […]
Any physiological, behavioral or morphological attribute of an organism that enables it to survive and reproduce in its respective habitat is called as an ecological adaptation. Adaptations help the organisms to exist under the prevailing ecological habitat. Different types of ecosystems exist with varying ranges of environmental conditions where various plants and animal species have
Ecology is the study of the earth as a ‘household’, or ‘household’. It is supposed to include plants, animals and microorganisms. They all live together as interdependent components. Ecology can be described as one of the largest sciences that tries to understand complex nature of the world. Ecology is the study or” the earth as
The biosphere includes all the living components of the earth. It consists of all plants and animals, including all the micro-organisms that live on the planet earth and their interactions with the surrounding environment. The biosphere can be subdivided into a number of biogeochemical zones based on factors such as soil composition, atmospheric content, temperature,
Ocean currents are like river flow in oceans. They represent a regular volume of water in a definite path and direction. The ocean current sets that connect the poles with the equator, even though it is almost imperceptible, are responsible for the dissemination of species in the world’s oceans. Ocean currents are influenced by two
Tides are a phenomenon that can be seen clearly from the shores of Earth’s many coasts. The tidal movement is the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the constant rotation of our planet. Tides have been used by mankind for thousands of years, from building early coastal settlements to the creation of some
The waves themselves are never stopped by the seashore, just slowed down. That slowing down is the action of friction on the surface of the water and that creates all kinds of strange effects in a phenomenon known as surface tension. Water particles only travel in a small circle as a wave passes. Wind provides
The ocean is a huge reservoir of water that is in constant motion. It has two primary motions, horizontal and vertical. The primary horizontal motion in the ocean occurs in a counter-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The secondary motion in vertical in nature and is called tides.
The distribution of salinity depends upon the amount of evaporation as well as the position of the water bodies. Solar energy has a major role to play in evaporation. Water bodies located near the equator have a much greater salinity compared to those located near the poles. Additionally, there is much difference in salinity with
Salinity is the state of the water in terms of salts. The higher the salinity, the more salt content there is in water. It may be defined differently based on various parameters like temperature, specific gravity, pressure, etc. Saline drainage is saline water that drains into an area or region. The term “saline groundwater” refers
