Lecture 16: Intro to Ecology

Question 1

what is ecology?

Answer 1

• it is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

Dumb down:
- the study of how living things interact with each other and their surroundings. understanding the connections between life and the places it lives

Question 2

What do interactions between organisms and their environment influence?

3 examples

Answer 2

• The number of species in an area
• Nutrient cycling
• Population growth

Question 3

what are two closely related sciences?

Answer 3

ecology and evolutionary biology

Question 4

ecology has a long history of what type of science?

Answer 4

DESCRIPTIVE science

Question 5

modern ecology is what type of science?

Answer 5

experimental science

Question 6

things that happen in nature over ____ ____ can lead to changes over _____ _____.

Answer 6

short periods; long periods

Question 7

what is the reason as to why mice traits (like having camouflage) are more common now?

Answer 7

ecology

Question 8

what is the difference between BIOtic and Abiotic?

Answer 8

BIOTIC: living organisms
- plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, humans
ABIOTIC: non-living organisms. chemical and physical factors
- sunlight, water, temperature, soil, air

Question 9

what are the 3 levels of ecology study?

Answer 9

1. Organismal ecology
2. Population ecology
3. Community ecology

Question 10

what does Organismal Ecology refer to?

Answer 10

looks at how INDIVIDUALS BEHAVE (behavioural), FUNCTION (physiological), and ADAPT (morphological) to their surroundings alone

Question 11

what does population ecology refer to?

Answer 11

studies groups of the same species living together (like a herd of deer), and what affects their population number and traits

Question 12

what does community ecology refer to?

Answer 12

looks at all the species living together in one area and how they interact with each other and what shapes the overall community:
- predation (hunting), competition, disease, and disturbance (ex, flood)

Question 13

what does an ecosystem consist of?

Answer 13

all the abiotic and biotic factors in one area (non-living and living things)

Question 14

what does ecosystem ecology study?

Answer 14

the energy flow and cycling of chemicals among the abiotic and biotic components in an ecosystem

Question 15

what is the “rule of 10”?

Answer 15

when energy moves up the food chain, only 10% of the energy is passed on to the next level

Question 16

lets say the producers created 10,000 kcal of energy, how much energy of that 10,000 kcal will be transferred to the next level, primary consumers?

Answer 16

10% of 10,000 kcal = 1,000 kcal

Question 17

what does “patchiness” refer to?

Answer 17

each landscape is like a mosaic of different “patches” (areas with unique characteristics)

Question 18

what do landscape ecologist study?

Answer 18

• how energy, materials, and living things move between patches

Question 19

what does landscape ecology deal with?

Answer 19

the array of ecosystems and their arrangement in a geographic region