Patterns and Processes Flashcards
Ecology
The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the factors and interactions that determine distribution and abundance
Graunt 1662, Leeuwenhoek 1687
Population growth
Buffon 1756, Malthus 1798, Quetelet 1835, Verhulst 1838
Population regulation
Farr 1848
Farr’s rule
Relationship between the density fo the population & death rate
As density increases, mortality also increases
Edward Forbes 1887, H.C. Cowles 1899
Community regulation and succession
Robert Ross 1908
Systems analysis: Mathematical model of the spread of infectious disease
A.G. Tansley 1904, F.E. Clements 1905, Charles Elton 1927
Some of the founders of modern ecology (experimental)
Rachel Carson
Until 1960, ecology has become increasingly Experimental & increasingly important as a guide to sound environmental science
Abiotic components
Non-living chemical and physical factors
Temperature, light, nutrients, water
Biotic components
Living (biological) factors
Other organisms, competition, predation
Interaction
Abiotic and Biotic components interact
organisms are affected by the environment but their presence/activities also change the environment
Biological Scales
Levels of Biological Organization: Biosphere Ecosystem Community Population Organism Organ Tissue Cell Organelle Molecule
Ecological Scales
~Typically operates at the highest of the biological organization (Organism->Biosphere)
~Each level operates at different biological, temporal, and spacial scales
~Ecological levels of explanation operate at longer time scales and larger spatial scales than physiological mechanisms
Organism
A single individual of a single species
Population
Individuals of the same species living in the same geographical location
