Chapter 1: Intro to Ecology Flashcards
State the “Biogenetic Law” and explain what it means.
“Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny” which means as an organism goes through its development, it repeats the adult stages of its evolutionary past
How does the early plant ecologists differ between Europe and the US?
Europe: focused on describing plant communities, deriving methods for sampling and analyzing data and classifying with an elaborate system of nomenclature
US: more interested in HOW plant communities develop and how they CHANGE after disturbance
What is zoogeography?
The study of the distribution of animals and the reasons for these distrobutions
How does ethology differ from behavioral ecology?
Ethology is the study of the way animals behave under natural conditions. Behavioral ecology focuses on the adaptive role of behaviors that are shaped by natural selection.
What branch of ecology is concerned with the ways in which individual organisms interact with their abiotic environment?
Physiological Ecology
What is the area focus of chemical ecology?
Plants and animals that use chemicals as a defense mechanism
What contributions do the writings of Thomas Malthus make to the development of ecology and evolutionary biology?
He concluded that food supplies increase arithmetically and populations increase geometrically. ie; all populations will eventually outstrip their food supply
The interactions of population dynamics, genetics, evolution and natural selection are the focus of what branch of ecology?
Evolutionary Ecology
What is limnology?
The study of freshwaters which includes producers, consumers, trophic feeding levels, nutrient cycling, etc.
The paper, “Trophic-dynamic aspects of ecology” by Lindeman marks the beginning of what branch of ecology?
Ecosystem Ecology
How do the goals of theoretical and applied ecology differ?
Theoretical ecology’s goal is to understand how individuals, populations and communities interact with their natural environments. The goal of applied ecology is to find ways to solve environmental problems through the use of sound ecological principles.
What is the focus of conservation biology?
Solving the problems of habitat destruction and the loss of biodiversity
What is the branch of ecology concerned with the Earth’s spatial patterns and how they develop?
Landscape Ecology
What is restoration ecology?
Study that applies ecological principles and experimental research to try to restore disturbed habitats to their former state
