2. Subdisciplines & Scientific Method Flashcards
What are the 7 levels of organization of disciplines in ecology?
-Global Ecology
-Macroecology
-Landscape Ecology
-Ecosystem Ecology
-Community Ecology
-Population Ecology
-Autoecology
What is autoecology concerned with?
How an individual organism or species interacts with it’s environment
Physiological & behavioural
What is population ecology concerned with?
Environmental influences on population structure and dynamics (e.g. birth/death rates, growth)
What is community ecology concerned with?
Interaction effects of predation, parasitism, mutualism, and competition. Evolutionary effects of interactions on a given species.
What is ecosystem ecology concerned with?
The biological, physical, and chemical processes and interactions that occur within a location. The forces driving nutrient cycling and energy flow in an ecosystem
What is landscape ecology concerned with?
Exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms between different ecosystems. How these things impact other ecosystems
What is macroecology concerned with?
Regional processes and patterns. All landscapes are parts of regions, subject to long-term and large-scale changes. (e.g. different continents)
What is global ecology concerned with?
The biosphere, all regions on earth which support life. Climate change, human activity, other topics affecting all life. Predictions about fututre trends.
What is a temporal scale?
The scale of time affecting an ecosystem, from short to long-term
What is a spacial scale?
The vastness of an area studied within ecology. Can be local, regional, etc
What are the steps of the scientific method?
-Observation: noticing a phenomenon
-Question: wondering why the phenomenon exists
-Hypothesis: a testable answer to a question about a(n) observation(s)
-Prediction: a condition that should be met if a hypothesis is true
-Test of prediction
-Results
What are the 3 characteristics of a hypothesis?
-A broad concept (B occurs)
-Directionality (B is caused by A)
-Mechanism (how A causes B)
