Chapter 1 - The Nature of Ecology Flashcards
TEXTBOOK: CH1 STARTS AND END - PAGE 19 - 33
What is ecology? How is is relevant today? (T)
What is environmentalism?
How are they different?
- Scientific study of the relationship between organisms and their environment (which includes the physical and chemical conditions, as well as the living components of an organism’s surroundings)
(greek, oikos, ‘the family household’)
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(T) Describe at least 2 examples of ecological systems?
- Farmer’s field: insects,birds, plants, wind,temperature,fires, bears,deer
- City : buildings, pets, people, cars, temperature,wildlife
- Forest: wildlife, fires, vegetation, sunlight, fungi
(T) The biotic environment and it’s interaction with the abiotic environment.
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(T) Some key individuals and events in the development of Ecology?
- Charles Darwin
- John Ray (‘father of ecology’)
- Carl Linnaeus
- Alexander von Humboldt
MODULE 11:
- How old is the Earth?
- When and what produced atmospheric oxygen?
- When and what was the Cambrian Explosion?
4.53 bya
cyanobacterial photosynthesis, 3 bya
Biological Big Bang, 538 mya, All major animal phyla starting appearing in fossils.
Cambrian Explosion = when a huge diversity of species evolved. Rapid O2 increase lead this explosion
(T)The conditions on the planet have not remained static throughout it’s history. A changing world prompts extinctions and speciation. New evolutionary adaptations provide new advantages. Speciation has generated a large amount of diversity.
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Levels of Ecological Organization: (T)
List the levels of ecological organization.
Explain the general trend of complexity across the these levels.
- organism,
- population,
- community,
- ecosystem
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(T) Define species.
a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g. Homo sapiens.
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(T) Individuals:
Give at least 3 examples of organisms that are well-adapted to their environments.
What evolutionary process causes organisms to be well-adapted to their environments?
- Natural Selection with Variation
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(T) Fitness :
What is ‘fitness’?
What is ‘lifetime reproductive success’?
Organisms increase their lifetime reproductice success.
Fitness also depends on survival and fecundity (the ability to produce an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertility)
Various life history strategies and social systems have evolved to maximize LRS. Ultimately, what is LRS determined by? the # of grandchildren produced
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(T) Define Population
What are some of the major concepts explored in population ecology?
(T) Population = members of same species living in the same area. They are able to breed.
- Demographics
- Population size
- Population dynamics
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(T) Define community
(B) How does this help ecologists understand the interaction of organisms with their environments?(T)
(B) What is the abiotic environment?
(B) How does this help ecologists understand the interaction of organisms with their environments?
Community = multiple populations of different species in a given area and their interactions with one another.
- (T) The ecological niche of a species is the range of abiotic and biotic conditions to which it is adapted and which determine it’s function in an ecosystem.
- The habitat of a species is the physical area where populations of that species live.
- We study adaptations, populations, and species interactions in order to identify the niche and habitat of a species.
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(T)
What are some examples of species interactions?
(T) What is meant by community dynamics? Why is this important?
- Commensalism
- competition
- consumption
Dynamics = disturbance regime and succession
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(T) Define ecosystem
(T) Give at least 2 examples of important Q’s that can be answered with ecosystem ecology.
Ecosystem = all living organisms and non-living organisms & environment and how they interact.
- What factors affect productivity of one ecosystem to another?
- What is the impact of increasing nitrogen inputs to aquatic systems (consequences)
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(T) Define biome
(T) What are some of the variables that determine where particular biomes occur? Are these variables the same in terrestrial & aquatic environments?
- Biome = a particular region with characteristics, like plants and animals in environment
Ex: Desert –> dry hot at 30 degrees south and north of equator
Latitude, areas of rainfall, soil type.
Climate predicts biome.
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(T) Large-scale Ecology:
What questions are best answered at scales larger than ecosystems?
(T) Human Impacts:
How have humans altered the planet?
- why does fragmentation cause population declines for many species. (logging rainforest vs. Boreal forests)
- farm-land clearing
- Our impact affects resource production and availability.
Scientific Method?
Steps involved?
a process that evaluates ideas with observation and analysis
ex: a theory is submitted, a prediction is tested by gathering data, and if it’s supported by data (good), and if it’s not, it’s revised or rejected
