Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

ECO3B: Managing Conservation > W5: L21 = Systems Ecology [Systems Thinking] (Prof. Sally) > Flashcards

W5: L21 = Systems Ecology [Systems Thinking] (Prof. Sally) Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology?

A

= the interactions of organisms with one another & the environment in which they occur.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Different levels at which ecology is studied? (4)

A
  • Individual.
  • Population.
  • Community.
  • Ecosystem.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Individual?

A

= involves physiology, reproduction, development & behaviour.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Population?

A

= involves the habitat & resource needs of individual species, behaviour & limits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Community?

A

= where populations of many species interact with one another, i.e., predators & their prey, competitors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Ecosystem ecology attributes? (4)

A
  • Interdisciplinary (all disciplines interact with one another).
  • Finer levels of resolution build an understanding of the mechanisms that govern the entire Earth system.
  • Mechanistic basis for understanding processes that occur at global scales.
  • From mechanism = process to context in which the mechanism plays out = the environment.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Ecosystem studies attributes? (2)

A

They recognize that:

  • The biological & physical components interact.
  • It is not meaningful to separate the two (i.e., the biological & physical components).
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Ecosystem?

A

= the biological community that occurs in some area, and the physical & chemical factors that make up its abiotic environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Egs of ecosystems? (4)

A
  • Lake.
  • Estuary.
  • Grassland.
  • Drop of water.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Ecosystem attributes? (3)

A
  • Boundaries of an ecosystem are not fixed in any objective way.
  • Boundaries are often chosen for practical reasons regarding the goals of the particular study.
  • It’s the theoretical that determines the boundary of an ecosystem.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Scales of ecosystem study? (4)

A

Typically studied at a local scale (eg, a watershed & cycling of water+nutrients through that system)

BUT the processes of that have far ranging effects (larger scale)

AND ecosystems are connected (even larger scale).

THEREFORE, “Earth system”.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Studying ecosystems attributes? (3)

A
  • Things to consider when studying ecosystems.
  • Dynamically linked system.
  • The emphasis on standing stock & cycling of materials provides a means to compare ecosystems.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How to study ecosystems/What to consider when studying ecosystems? (2)

A
  • The structure of an ecosystem.
  • The function of an ecosystem.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Structure of an ecosystem?

A

= involves the amount of materials (eg, C or N) & the distribution of those materials (living, decaying, inorganic).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Function of an ecosystem?

A

= measured by processes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Egs of processes? (6)

A
  • Photosynthesis.
  • Respiration.
  • Evapotranspiration.
  • Elemental cycling.
  • Competition.
  • Facilitation.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

In Open vs Closed systems diagram 1, identify the:

  • Structure.
  • Function.
  • Is it an open or closed system? Why?
A
  • Structure
    = Carbon, Oxygen via CO2.
  • Function
    = Evaporation, transpiration, photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, erosion, etc.
  • Open/Closed system & why?
    = Closed system, because C is being cycled within the C cycle and none of it is being lost to the atmosphere.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

In Open vs Closed systems diagram 2, identify the:

  • Structure.
  • Function.
  • Is it an open or closed system? Why?
A
  • Structure
    = solar radiation/heat, greenhouse gases (CH4, CO2).
  • Function
    = Evaporation, transpiration, photosynthesis, respiration, radiation, convection, conduction.
  • Open/Closed system & why?
    = Open system, as heat is being lost in the atmosphere and space overtime.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

System?

A

= a configuration of parts connected & joined together by a web of realtionships.

20
Q

Systems science attributes? (3)

A
  • Applied widely in many disciplines.
  • Central to the systems ecology approach through the idea of feedbacks.
  • Uses & extends concepts from thermodynamics.
21
Q

Feedbacks?

A

= relationships that either regulate or disrupt system states.

22
Q

Ecosystem feedbacks?

A

= when a change in one element generates a response which is spread through the rest of the system, that eventually returns to have an effect on first element that changed.

23
Q

Ecosystem feedbacks attributes? (3)

A
  • A system that is self-regulating.
  • “Negative” when its net effect is to dampen the initial change.
  • “Positive” when its net effect is to amplify the initial change.
24
Q

Negative feedback?

A

= promotes stability (stabilising) & does not change.

25
Q

Positive feedback?

A

= tends to destabilise (amplifying) & changes into different states.

26
Q

Systems diagrams?

A

= diagrams that provide a language for articulating our understanding of the dynamic, interconnected nature of our world.

27
Q

Goal of systems diagrams?

A

To help reveal what we understand & what we don’t understand.

28
Q

How do we achieve the goal of systems diagrams?

A

By mapping our thinking & making it explicit, we are able to test our assumptions & uncover inconsistencies that may have never been surfaced.

29
Q

Systems diagrams attribute?

A

Help us to communicate deeper insights about complex issues.

30
Q

Kinds of tools used for systems diagrams/Types of systems diagrams? (2)

A
  • Causal loop diagrams.
  • Stock and flow diagrams.
31
Q

Causal loop diagrams?

A

= use loop analysis to determine whether an combination of feedback processes result in a positive to negative overall.

32
Q

What ways can they be represented/shown? (3)

A
  • One affects the other without the other affecting the first.
  • Both factors affect each other.
  • Reinforcing loop.
33
Q

Reinforcing loop attributes? (2)

A
  • An initial increase in the starting variable led to a further increase down the line.
  • All variables are affecting each other positively (increase).
  • Lags in a system are important to understand as they might make a system unresponsive/unable to adapt/respond sometimes.
34
Q

Tips when dealing with feedbacks? (5)

A
  • Where more than one feedback pathway exists & the signs are different, the net effect can still be calculated, but this requires knowledge of the relative magnitudes of the individual effect terms.-
  • Use algeebra to determine whether it’s stabilising or not.
  • Way to manage an amplifying feedback is to add other components.
  • The initial state determines the effect of each variable on each other.
  • Use graphs as well (on the side) to get an idea of the relationship between the variables.
35
Q

Why are causal loop diagrams helpful? (3)

A
  • They help us clarify our own mental models & make our thinking clearer.
  • They help us identify common archetypes that drive systems’ behaviour.
  • They help us share our mental models & modify them with others (opens a rich dialogue).
36
Q

Archetypes?

A

= small set of system structures that produce common behavioural patterns across many different fields.

37
Q

Eg of how causal loop diagrams help in driving systems’ behaviour?

A

Tragedy of the commons.

38
Q

Tragedy of the commons?

A

Where multiple agents, behaving in the self interest, escalated actions that depleted a shared resource & led to the resource’s extinction over time.

39
Q

General guidelines when dealing with loop diagrams? (5)

A
  • Use nouns when choosing a variable name (no verbs/action phrases as loop’s arrows convey the action).
  • Use variables that represent quantities that can vary over time.
  • Whenever possible, choose the more “positive” sense of a variable name.
  • If a variable has multiple consequences, start by lumping them into one term while completing the rest of the loop.
  • If a link between two terms needs a lot of explanation to be clear, redefine the variables or insert an immediate term.
40
Q

When can positive feedbacks lead to “runaway” change? (3)

A
  • If they are sufficiently large.
  • Even if large, the effect of a positive feedback is a small increase of size of the initial perturbation.
  • If the net feedback effect is larger than the initial perturbation, the system is said to have crossed a threshold & will move under its own internal dynamics into a new stability domain.
41
Q

Tipping points attributes? (3)

A
  • Moderately-complex systems exposed to external forcing don’t change smoothy & gradually.
  • Especially where some/all of the effect links between elements are themselves non-linear, or lagged in time.
  • Instead, these systems appear to resist change/be insensitive to applied driving forces over some domain, & then change abruptly.
42
Q

Explain the “Brian Walker” on tipping points video?

A
43
Q

Stock and flow diagrams attributes?

A
  • Representation is independent on the type of ecosystem.
  • Only components that vary between ecosystems are: the amount of stock, the transfer rates & the controlling factors on these rates.
44
Q

Components of stock & flow diagrams that vary between ecosystems? (3)

A
  • The amount of the stock.
  • The transfer rates.
  • The controlling factors on these rates.
45
Q

Fluxes vs Stocks?

A
46
Q

Ecosystems summary? (4)

A
  • The interrelationships between the physical & biological environments are embodied in the concept of an ecosystem.
  • Functional systems are linked through a variety of biological, physical & chemical processes.
  • The structure of an ecosystem is measured by the amount of the materials & their distribution.
  • The function of an ecosystem is measured by processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, evapotranspiration & elemental cycling.
47
Q

By the end of this lecture/Lecture outcomes? (4)

A
  • Define an ecosystem: discuss issues of scale, structure, function, & distinguish between open & closed systems.
  • Create & analyse systems diagrams in terms of their feedbacks & behaviour.
  • Discuss the value of systems diagrams & systems thinking & the challenges of modelling complex systems.
  • Explain & give examples of tipping points with reference to concepts of feedbacks & resilience.

ECO3B: Managing Conservation (34 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions