Questions Ecologists Ask

Question 1

What do ecologists do?

Answer 1

Engage in a systematic effort to understand and describe the natural world using accepted scientific inquiry methods.

Question 2

What are the four main stages of scientific inquiry?

Answer 2

1. Exploration and discovery
2. Testing Ideas
3. Community analysis and feedback
4. Benefits and outcomes

Question 3

What happens in the explore/discover phase?

Answer 3

1. Make observations
2. Ask questions
3. Review the literature

Question 4

What happens in the idea testing phase?

Answer 4

1. Generate research questions and hypotheses.
2. Design studies.
3. Collect and analyze data.

Question 5

What happens during the community analysis/feedback phase?

Answer 5

1. Design study with replicates
2. Engage in peer review
3. Build theories that can be tested

Question 6

What happens in the benefits/outcomes phase?

Answer 6

1. Societal need(s) addressed
2. Policy informed
3. Solve problems
4. Build knowledge and understanding of natural phenomena

Question 7

What are some challenges of ecological research?

Answer 7

1. Manipulative experiments can help ascertain cause and effect, but they are not always possible (scale too large/too small, causal factors too difficult to separate).
2. Correlational observations can be made.

Question 8

What are some approaches to correct research challenges?

Answer 8

1. Microcosms/Mesocosms
2. Natural experiments
3. Mathematical models

Question 9

How do microcosms/mesocosms help with research? What is a limitation of this approach?

Answer 9

Allow researchers to replicate key features of a system at a small scale.
Ensures data can be consistently collected.

Limitation: can be unrealistic.

Question 10

Describe the natural experiment approach.

Answer 10

Relies on natural variation in the environment to test a hypothesis.

Useful for large-scale questions where manipulations are difficult/impossible.

Limitation: difficult to determine cause and effect.

Question 11

Describe the use of mathematical methods in research?

Answer 11

Portray a system with equations to generate predictions in a more refined way.
Test hypotheses using simulations informed by observations.

Question 12

What is ecology?

Answer 12

The study of ecological systems from a natural science perspective.

Question 13

What is environmental science?

Answer 13

The study of human-ecological systems from both natural and social science perspectives.

Question 14

What is environmentalism?

Answer 14

Social or political viewpoint aimed at preserving natural environmental systems.