Ecology Flashcards
What is Ecology?
The comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the environment - Haekel, 1866
Ecology is the science which concerns itself with the relations of plants and animals to each other and to the past and present conditions of their existence (Burdon and Sanderson, 1893)
What is the Abiotic environment?
The non-living things e.g. climate and geology.
What is the Biotic environment?
The living things e.g. plants and animals but also bacteria and viruses.
What is physiology?
The functions of living organisms and their parts, from the molecular and cellular level through to organ, tissue and whole system/individual level.
What is morphology?
The study of the form and structure of organisms.
How does Ecology interact with physiology and morphology?
Ecology aims at understanding how the physiology and morphology of individuals allow them to cope with environmental conditions. This creates two subdisciplines:
- Ecological physiology
- Ecological morphology
What is Behavioral Ecology?
This is where we focus on how an individual will respond to the environmental conditions and can adopt particular behaviors that allow them to exploit the available resources or avoid environmental perturbations.
What is the Operational Definition of Ecology?
- The distribution and abundance of organisms
- The interactions that determine that distribution and abundance
- The relationship between organisms and the transformation and flux of energy and matter
Ecology covers which scales of study?
- Levels of organization of living things
- Spatial Scales
- Temporal Scales
What are levels of organization in Ecology?
- -> Individual (morphology and physiology of individuals)
- -> Population (population dynamics and genetic structure)
- -> Community (interactions among different species)
- -> Ecosystem (flux of matter and energy)
- -> Biosphere (global distribution and contribution to global processes e.g. carbon cycling)
What is an example of a small spatial scale to study?
Individual level
What is an example of a medium-large spatial scale to study?
Population, Community or Ecosystem level
What is an example of a very large ecosystem scale to study?
Biosphere level
What is spatial scale in absolute and relative terms?
In absolute terms, the spatial scale at which ecologists work depend on the biological system they study.
in relative terms, what matters for spatial processes is how the organism you study perceives space.
What is the importance of temporal scale?
Environments change over time, therefore we need to consider temporal scales because different ecological processes take place along different time scales. Thus we need to carry out long-term observations to study a process. The life history of the organisms you study is also fundamental.
What is temporal scale time scales determined by?
Time scale is also determined by the species you are studying.
When might you consider several temporal scales?
When the object of your study may be subject to the control of several drivers that don’t operate on the same time scale.
What is ENSO?
ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) is one of the most important climate phenomena on Earth due to its ability to change the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn, influences temperature and precipitation across the globe.
What are the three states/phases ENSO can be in?
- El Nino (warm)
- La Nina (cold)
- Neutral (the middle of the continuum)
How are time and space scales linked?
Time and space scales are linked by the factors that drive ecological processes. Small events (short time scales) such as surface gravity waves, and large events (large time scales) such as ENSO.
What is a gravity wave?
A gravity wave results when fluid is displaced from a position of equilibrium. Gravity waves on an air-sea interface of the ocean are called surface gravity waves or surface waves, while gravity waves that are within the body of the water (such as between parts of different densities) are called internal waves).
What are capillary waves?
Capillary waves are small, free, surface-water wave with such a short wavelength that its restoring force is the wavers surface tension, which causes the waves to have a rounded crest and a V-shaped trough.
How to study Ecology?
- Observations
- Experiments (lab or field)
- Mathematical Models
What do organisms need from the physical environment?
The presence of life in any given environment requires that organism to tolerate the environmental conditions and that they can find the essential resources for growth, reproduction and survival.