Introduction to Ecosystem Ecology

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

study of living biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems within an ecosystem framework; examines large-scale ecological issues such as energy flow, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem responses to natural and human-induced change; it is at a broad scale in comparison with other ecologies like population, community, aquatic, and terrestrial ecology
-shows structure (has parts, function (connected processes), and are dynamic (change over time)

Question 2

What is ecology measured in?

Answer 2

dE/dt = change over time; distribution of species (inventory of what is there); focus on energy levels

Question 3

Synecology

Answer 3

Holistic; ecology of relationships among the various organisms and populations; mostly concerned with communication of material, energy and information, among system components

Question 4

Autoecology

Answer 4

Reductionistic; ecology of individual organisms and populations; mostly concerned with the elements themselves

Question 5

What are the two main functions of ecosystems?

Answer 5

Transfer/exchange of energy and cycling of material (especially nutrients)

Question 6

epistemode

Answer 6

known reality is function of sensory organs (including brain/mind)
-each species has its own “modeling function” a filter through which it sees the world.
-can be species-specific- a filter through which it sees the world
-reality becomes a a multitude of system-environment constructions that are in each case unique

Question 7

rheomode

Answer 7

-the world is always flowing
-everything is always processing, in flux, in change
-processes exist in patterns, network, organizations, configurations, or webs…
-processes are relatively stable; have different levels of complexity
-David Bohm - there are no objects but temporary events

Question 8

Systems analysis approach

Answer 8

• both holistic and reductionistic
  -reductionist approach (analysis) which means to take it apart
  -understanding the pieces as a system (synthesis). True integration.
  -finding links

Question 9

Why is systems analysis important for environmental management?

Answer 9

-in the 20th century we have begun to outstrip the capacity of the environment due to human activity
-need for management and conservation policies at all levels
-technological fix is no longer the answer: agree or disagree?
-develop political, social, and economic structures and the will of the people to look at the future of the environment and planet
-one technology isn’t enough to solve all environmental issues

Question 10

What is the system?

Answer 10

: assemblage of parts that function in some way as a whole
-establish a system boundary
-has parts
-that are connected
-receives inputs and generates outputs
-when outputs become inputs that becomes feedback: possesses capacity for self-organization (growth) and self-regulation

Question 11

1st law of thermodynamics

Answer 11

within an isolated system, the total energy remains constant, even if the energy is converted from one form to another (law of conservation)
-energy cannot be created or destroyed
-can write a balance equation; inputs= outputs

Question 12

2nd law of thermodynamics

Answer 12

Heat always flows spontaneously from hotter to colder regions of matter.
The entropy of the entire universe, as an isolated system, will always increase over time.
Energy is wasted as it is transferred or transformed.
Heat does not spontaneously pass from a colder body to a warmer body.
Energy will not flow spontaneously from a low temperature object to a higher temperature object.

-energy moves from high ability of do work to a low ability to do work (energy moves from a high quality to low quality during each energy transformation; while energy is conserved, it's ability to do work decreases when it has moved to the lower ability to do work); implies you need to find more energy

Question 13

Defining energy systems: isolated systems, closed and open systems

Answer 13

-isolated systems-no exchange with surroundings (impossible)
-closed systems exchange, not matter
-open systems exchange energy and matter
-all environmental/living systems are open systems** = we only deal with open systems
-the system’s structural organization is maintained through massive throughputs of mass and energy

Question 14

What is a model?

Answer 14

-a replica, an ideal, to display
-a simplification/conceptualization; could be a physical model (of a watershed, train, etc)
-a mapping of reality
-a set of constituent hypotheses
-models are imperfect representations of reality (many to one mapping; homomorphic mapping)

Question 15

Types of models

Answer 15

-conceptual models identifying the boundaries, elements, attributes, and structural relationships of the system: = main goal of class
-quantitative mathematical models

Question 16

Why make models?

Answer 16

Why make models? -can help test theories, research, applications

Question 17

What is environment?

Answer 17

-combination of external conditions influencing the lives of individual organisms. External environments comprises nonliving components with other living components

Question 18

Mason and Langenheim environment

Answer 18

-environment is organism (object) directed; anything that affects the organism
-operational environment (direct)
-potential environment
-non-environment; indirect factors
-only direct factors matter; where do we stop with indirect factors? You could keep going on and on forever; interconnections which aren’t practical but make philosophical sense

Question 19

Maelzer environment

Answer 19

-supports mason and langenheim
-only should look at things that have a direct influence
-Direct Categories: resources, mechanical stressors, weather, member of the same species, predators, parasites and pathogens

Question 20

Young environment

Answer 20

-highlights inadquacies of mason and langenheim
-effective environmental similar to the operational environment
-perceptual/conceptual environment
-Social Science: Built environment/human-modified/role of humans in the environment
-early human ecologist

Question 21

Uexkull

Answer 21

-each organism has an “inner world” includes both receptor and effector
-surrounding world has both a world-as-sensed and world-of-action
-function circles close the two worlds
-introduced feedback (function circles)

Question 22

Patten environment

Answer 22

-environmental reference state: needed to account for the internal causation of a system
-every object within a system has two environments: input and out environs
-propogation of flow along each pathway is unique and targeted for a particular component
-recognized the direct and indirect things coming in and out of the system

Question 23

Gallopin environment

Answer 23

• Definition of Environment is paradoxical because by changing
  boundaries can eliminate the environment
• Relations between elements in the Environment are of no interest
• Progressive definition of Environment

Question 24

Implications of the environment

Answer 24

• Input and Output Orientations
• Standard biological food webs are incomplete
• Trophic levels are not discrete
• Energy-matter is well mixed
• Feedback allows for Niche Creation
• Extragenetic inheritance