lec 1- intro to ecology

Question 1

what is ecology?

Answer 1

distribution and abundance of organisms, interactions between biotic and abiotic components, energy movement, and resource management

Question 2

what is an individual?

Answer 2

an organism that acquires nutrients and energy and produces waste, have a membrane boundary that separates internal processes from the external environment

Question 3

what is a species?

Answer 3

individuals that are capable of interbreeding or share genetic similarity

Question 4

what is a population?

Answer 4

individuals of a same species living in a particular area

Question 5

what is a community?

Answer 5

populations of species living together in a particular area

Question 6

what is ecosystem?

Answer 6

one or more communities of living organisms interacting with their nonliving physical and chemical environments

Question 7

what is biosphere?

Answer 7

all ecosystems on earth

Question 8

what is the governing principles of ecology?

Answer 8

-matter and energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but can change form
-ecological systems gain and lose matter and energy, a dynamic steady state occurs when gains and losses are in balance

Question 9

what causes large-scale patterns of environmental variation?

Answer 9

Climate

Question 10

what are factors in climate?

Answer 10

light, temperature, precipitation, wind and ocean circulation

Question 11

what are the two types of climate oscillation?

Answer 11

1. el nino/la nina
2. pacific decadal oscillation (PDO)

Question 12

how do we characterize broad ecological patterns?

Answer 12

biomes

Question 13

the rotation of the earth around its axis causes what?

Answer 13

daily periodicity (day vs night)

Question 14

the rotation of the moon around the earth causes what?

Answer 14

lunar cycles (tides)

Question 15

the revolution of the earth and the sun combined with the tilted axis causes what?

Answer 15

seasonal patterns by hemisphere

Question 16

what is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 16

light from the sun being reflected off of the earth and being sent back to space while most light gets trapped in the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases

Question 17

what is the latitudinal pattern?

Answer 17

solar heating decreases away from the equator as sunlight is spread across larger areas

Question 18

what are hadley cells?

Answer 18

the circulation of air where it rises near the equator and goes away causing it to sink and then goes equatorward again