Chapter 1: The Nature of Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
The scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environment.
What is included in the environment?
- Abiotic factors (physical, chemical)
- Biotic factors (biological)
Why do we need to understand the world around us?
- Improve our environment
- Manage natural resources
- Protect human health
What is natural history?
The descriptive study of the natural world.
What is the cornerstone of ecology?
Darwin’s theory of natural selection (1859)
- Organisms evolve by adapting to changing environmental conditions
Who is Ernst Haeckel?
Coined the term ecology (1866) and popularized Darwin’s work.
Who is Justus von Liebig?
The father of organic chemistry who created an apparatus for measuring carbon content. Discovered that plants use CO2 from the air and not the soil.
What is Liebig’s Law of the Minimum?
Plant growth is limited by a nutrient that is shortest in supply.
How does climate change affect food supply?
- Warming and increased CO2 in the biosphere may help plants grow faster. But, more extreme weather events reduces crop yields.
- Water warming and pollution causes fish to move north, changing communities.
What is environmentalism?
A social movement that advocates the preservation, restoration, and improvement of the natural environment, and may be referred to as a movement to control pollution or protect plant and animal diversity.
What is the hierarchy of ecological systems from smallest to largest?
Individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere.
What emergent properties exist at the individual level?
- Metabolism
- Regulated growth
- Reproduction
What subdivision is studied at the individual level?
Physiological ecology: The functioning of an individual organism.
What is an example of an experiment at the individual level?
A species of coral disintegrates as a result of more CO2 in the biosphere -> weak carbonic acid in the ocean -> higher acidity -> more breakdown.
What is an individual?
The basic unit of ecology.
What is a population?
A group of individuals of the same species that occupy a given area.
What are the emergent properties of a population?
- Birth and death rates
- Distribution of individuals
What subdivision is studied at the population level?
Population ecology: Studies structure and dynamics of populations and factors affecting populations.
What is an example of population ecology?
Warming and pollution decrease the population of 2 different coral species. The hybrid of these 2 species is better adapted to these conditions.
What is a community?
All populations of different species living and interacting within an ecosystem.
What are the emergent properties of an ecosysem?
- Species interactions
- Relative abundance of species
What subdivision is studied at the community level?
Community ecology: Studies factors that influence biodiversity, community structure, and the distribution and abundance of species.
What is an ecosystem?
The biotic community plus the physical environment (abiotic).
What are the emergent properties of the ecosystem?
Flow of energy and nutrients through the physical and biological systems.
What are examples of ecosystem ecology?
- Ocean warming and pollution causes bleaching (algal symbionts leave) in corals.
- Corals in the Pacific survive better than those in the Atlantic because there are more diverse fish (eat nutrients off coral)
What subdivision is studied at the ecosystem level?
Ecosystem ecology: Studies how the living and nonliving components interact with each other and how both natural and human-induced changes affect how they function.
What is a landscape?
An area of land (or water) composed of a patchwork of communities and ecosystems.
What subdivision is studied at the landscape level?
Landscape ecology: Factors that influence the spatial distribution of ecosystems and the effect on organisms.
What is a biome?
Broad-scale geographic regions with similar geological and climatic conditions and dominated by similar types of ecosystems.
What subdivision is studied at the biome level?
Biogeography: Patterns ob biological diversity with geography, biome level.
What are examples of ecosystems within a biome?
Foothills of Brooks Range and Beaufort Coastal Plain are ecosystems that both exist in a Tundra biome.
What is the biosphere?
The thin layer at the surface of Earth that supports all life.
What subdivision is studied at the biosphere level?
Global ecology: Functioning of Earth’s environment as a whole, interactions between ecosystems and the atmosphere.
What is the scientific method?
- Observations
- Question
- Hypothesis
- Predictions
- Experiments
- Analysis
What are the 2 main types of experiments in ecology?
- Lab experiments
- Field experiments
What are models?
Abstract, simplified representations of real systems that provide a basis for predictions. Can be mathematical or verbal/conceptual.
What are the types of categorical data?
- Nominal: Unordered (hair color)
- Ordinal: Ordered (post-reproductive)
- Binary: 2 categories (sex)
What are the types of numerical data?
- Discrete: Certain values (integers)
- Continuous: Any value (height)
What is a theory?
An integrated set of hypotheses that together explain a broader set of observations than any single hypothesis.
What are the 4 crucial areas in problems facing humanity?
- Human population growth
- Biological diversity
- Sustainability
- Global climate change
