Week 7 Flashcards
Def: Ecology
the study of how organisms interact with their environment and each other
What are the levels of ecology
Organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, global systems
Organismal ecology
Asks how adaptions of shape, physiology and behavior allow individual organisms to live in particular habitat
Population ecology
Asks how and why the numbers of individuals in a population change over time
Def: population
a group of individuals of the same species that live in an area
Community ecology
asks about predation, parasitism, and competition how groups of species respond to fires, floods and other disturbances
Def: biological community
species that live and interact with one another in a habitat
Ecosystem Ecology
Considers all the organisms in a particular region along with nonliving components
Focuses on how nutrients and energy move among organisms, the surrounding atmosphere, soil, water and what keeps the whole system stable
Global ecology
investigates the biosphere, the thin zone surrounding the earth where all life exists
-focus of human impacts on biosphere
Explain the Canadian Salmon migration
-each year salmon migrate up Fraser river to spawn in their natal streams
-Temperatures in the fraser river have increased 2 degrees since 1960
-70% of fish may die before they spawn
Research conducted on Salmon migration
Question: does salmon stocks ability to migrate change when temperatures increase
Hypothesis: stocks exposed to higher temperatures in nature will be better adapted
Measured: aerobic space- difference between resting and max use of oxygen at each temperature in 8 different stocks
Results: only certain stocks preform well under wide range of temperatures
Meaning: increase in temp will decrease genetic diversity by limiting stocks
Conservation biology
aims to preserve and restore threatening populations, communities and ecosystems
-draws knowledge from other areas of study
Biogeography
the study of how species are distributed geographically
-history, climate and configuration of landforms determine where particular species live
Abiotic Factors
Non-living factors that limit where people and animals live
Geographical distribution/ range
where on earth a species lives
-no species lives everywhere
Niche
the suite of conditions a species can tolerate
Biotic factors affect of distribution of species
limits or expands distribution through factors such as competition, reproductive needs, parasitism, etc
Explain the example with testse flies limiting cattle distrubution
Testse flies carry trypanosoma which is deadly to cattle (sleeping sickness)
-biotic factor that effects distribution
-vary limited area where species both inhabit
Wallace Line
Division line between asia and australia cuased by ocean trench preventing species from dispersing across
-independent ecosystems evolved on either side of line
Human influences on species distrubution
affect species distributions through hunting farming and by physically moving them
Invasive species
when a exotic species is introduced into a new area and spreads rapidly and eliminates native species