Synecology: what it is and what functions it has

Have you ever heard of synecology? It is a science related to different ecosystems and their species, but what exactly does it study? How do you define yourself? What subtypes of synecology can we find?

In this article we will answer these and other questions and, in addition, we will describe two of the possible applications of synecology.

• Related article: "The 8 types of biomes that exist in the world"

Previous concepts: the ecosystem

Before delving into the meaning of synecology, we believe it is necessary to recall the meaning of some previous relevant concepts.

One of them is the concept of ecosystem; An ecosystem is a biological system made up of two elements: a set of living beings (community) and the natural environment (environment) in which they live.

In other words, it is formed by two types of factors: biotic factors, which include living beings (animals and plants) and abiotic factors, which include the components that do not have life, such as temperature, water, salinity or light, among others.

We have introduced this previous concept because synecology deals, fundamentally, with studying the relationships between ecosystems and biological communities. Now let's get to know this concept in depth.

Synecology: what is this research discipline?

The term synecology has also been translated as "community ecology" or even as "biocenotic". Specifically, it is a subdiscipline (or branch) of ecology. Ecology is that part of biology in charge of studying the relationships of living beings with each other, as well as with the environment in which they live.

For its part, synecology is the science in charge of studying the relationships between the biological communities (different species of a community, or biocenosis) and the ecosystems of the Land. When we talk about biological communities, we refer to those environmental environments where different species live.

Thus, synecology deals with studying these means, as well as the type of relationships that appear between the species of each of these natural systems and the relationships of these species with their environment.

What are you studying?

Thus, by way of synthesis, we can say that synecology deals with studying biological communities, and more specifically: their composition, structure, the changes that occur in them over time, etc.

It also studies the relationships of species with their community, and the relationships produced within each species (and between different types of species).

• You may be interested in: "The 6 types of ecosystems: the different habitats we find on Earth"

Study perspectives (and types of synecology)

The different studies of synecology can adopt two different perspectives (or two points of view), which are the following:

1. static perspective

The first perspective that we will describe, and that synecology can adopt, is the static perspective, which alludes to a type of descriptive synecology. Its objective is to describe the different types and groups of living beings existing in a certain environment or ecosystem..

Through this type of descriptions, the professional will be able to obtain the pertinent knowledge in relation to the composition of these groups (or species), their spatial distribution, their abundance, constancy, etc.

2. dynamic perspective

In the second perspective of synecology we can use the term functional synecology.

In this case, we are talking about a dynamic perspective, where its two key objectives are, on the one hand, to describe the evolution of groups of beings living (or species), and examine the influences or circumstances that cause these groups to appear in one place or another in the ecosystem, by the other.

Another of the aspects or elements that synecology studies from a dynamic point of view, is how matter and energy in an ecosystem are mobilized and transported from one part of the ecosystem to another, through the different constituents of the system itself.

In addition, functional synecology also analyzes other elements such as: biomass, food chains, the productivity of a system, its performance, etc. However, all this mentioned would correspond to a subtype of functional synecology itself, called quantitative synecology.

Applications

And in the more practical field? What applications does synecology have? Here we will mention two of them:

1. ecological succession

One of the applications of synecology is the so-called "ecological succession", which in turn constitutes the basis for restoring ecosystems once they are altered or disturbed (for different reasons).

But what exactly does ecological succession consist of? It is about that evolution that occurs naturally in an environment, causing the living beings of an ecosystem to be progressively replaced by others. In short, it is about the substitution, in the long term, of some species for others (both plant and animal).

That is, it encompasses that sequence of changes in plant (or animal) communities that occur over time.

In the case of plant communities, this sequence presents two levels: primary succession (moment in which certain organisms colonize an area that initially has no vegetation), and secondary succession (when the ecosystem is disturbed or altered, either by a natural event, or by man's own action, and later the system begins its recovery [once the disturbance]).

The action of man

Thus, the succession can also be produced by the action of the human being (although in this case, it would not be ecological). In these cases, What can be done when a system is altered by human action? A possible ecological solution is to restore said system, that is, to restore its initial conditions, which is called ecological restoration.

But how is it achieved? In the case of plant communities, it is sometimes necessary to apply reforestation methods that imitate the ecological succession itself (especially in complex ecosystems, such as a jungle tropical). Of course, when reforesting a system, the synecology of the ecosystem must always be taken into account in order to carry out this action successfully.

In this way, we see how professionals in these fields (biology, ecology...) must analyze, in exhaustively, what is the ecological succession of the different communities and ecosystems, in order to can design a restoration plan that is adequate and therefore works.

2. Epidemiology

For its part, epidemiology would be another of the possible applications of synecology, and now we will see why.

Let us remember that epidemiology is that branch of medicine in charge of studying the development of pandemics and the incidence in the population of certain infectious diseases.

But, in order to apply it to synecology, let's see an example: we know that in order to know what dynamics is established between a parasite and its host, the studies of the synecology. These studies or knowledge would form the basis of epidemiology when analyzing how an infectious disease develops in time and space.

That is why epidemiology constitutes another of the applications of synecology, because in the example mentioned, it is necessary to know the interaction that is established between the parasite (for example a virus) and its host (for example a human being). This leads us to think about a current issue, which would be a good example: the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Bibliographic references:

• Buiza, C. et al. (1985). Carmen Study of ecosystems: a field and laboratory experience. Madrid: Ministry of Education and Science, Breviaries of Education, 10.
• Hagen, J.B. (1992). An Entangled Bank: The Origins of Ecosystem Ecology. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
• Patten, B.C. & Jorgensen, S.E. (nineteen ninety five). Complex Ecology: The Part-Whole Relation in Ecosystems. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA.
• Well, W.E. & Youlatos, D. (2005). Synecological study of nine species of primates from the Yasuní National Park, Ecuador. Polytechnic Magazine, 26(1): 83-107.