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Ecosystem
A community of living organisms (plants, animals, and microorganisms) interacting with their physical environment (air, water, soil) in a specific area. It includes both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components, functioning together as a system. Ecosystems can vary in size and complexity, from a small pond to a vast forest.
Migration(s)
Migrations in Ecology:
The seasonal movement of animals from one habitat to another, often in search of food, breeding grounds, or more favorable environmental conditions. This behavior is typically observed in birds, fish, and mammals, and can be triggered by changes in climate, food availability, or reproductive cycles. Migrations can be long-distance, such as the annual journey of monarch butterflies, or shorter, localized movements.
Abundance
How many individuals are there in the population
Distribution
Where the individuals are actually located in space and time
Organisms
Organisms in Ecology:
Individual living entities that can interact with their environment and other living beings. In ecology, they are classified into various categories based on their roles in ecosystems, such as producers, consumers, and decomposers. Organisms are essential for maintaining ecological balance and contribute to nutrient cycling, energy flow, and biodiversity.
Hypotheses
Provisional explanations for observations, can be proven true or false
Predictions
Logical outcomes that are likely to be true if the hypothesis is true
Herbivore
An organism that primarily consumes plants, including leaves, stems, fruits, and roots. Herbivores play a crucial role in ecosystems by transferring energy from producers (plants) to higher trophic levels, such as carnivores and omnivores. Examples include deer, rabbits, and elephants.
Exclosures
A series of fenced areas
Correlation
The statistical relationship between two or more ecological variables. It indicates how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another. For example, a positive correlation might show that as temperature increases, species diversity also increases, while a negative correlation could indicate that as pollution levels rise, species diversity decreases. Correlation does not imply causation; it merely highlights patterns or associations within ecological data.
Correlation Coefficient
( r), describes the strength of the correlation if r = 1 it is direct if r < 0 there is less correlation if it is >0 there is more correlation if r = 0 there is no correlation
Predators
Organisms that hunt, kill, and consume other organisms (prey) for food. They play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems by controlling prey populations and influencing community structure. Predators can be classified into various types, including carnivores, omnivores, and some herbivores that consume other organisms.
Biosphere
The global sum of all ecosystems. It is the zone of life on Earth, encompassing all living organisms and their interactions with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The biosphere includes various habitats such as forests, oceans, and deserts, where life thrives.
Populations
The abundance and distribution of species at a particular location. How many individuals there are, their distribution, and the change in the abundance and distribution overtime
A group of individuals of the same species that live in a specific geographic area and interact with one another. Populations are characterized by their size, density, distribution, and age structure, and they are essential for studying species dynamics, interactions, and ecosystem health.
Communities
Populations interacting with each other
Landscapes
Places were there are groups of interacting and usually spatially connected ecosystems
Savanna
A mixed grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced apart so that the canopy does not close. This environment typically features a warm climate, seasonal rainfall, and is home to a variety of wildlife, including large herbivores and predators. Savannas are commonly found in regions such as Africa, South America, and Australia.
Regions
Landscapes make up geographical areas that have a common set of environmental and evolutionary influences
Species Richness
The number of species in a given area
Regression Analysis
Correlation in ecology refers to the statistical relationship between two or more ecological variables. It indicates how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another, helping to identify patterns and potential causal relationships in ecological data.
Regression analysis is a statistical method used to examine the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. It helps in predicting outcomes and understanding the strength and nature of relationships within data.
Independent Variable
A variable that does not change based on anything else and it actually has direct influence on another variable
Dependent Variable
A variable that is change or influenced because of another variable
Coefficient of Determination
(R²) measures the proportion of the variance of the data explained by the line of best fit in a regression analysis
P-Value
The probability of something happening assuming the null hypothesis is true p-value = 0.00005
Carnivores
Organisms that consume other animals
Photosynthesis
The process in which plants take in carbon and convert it to sugar which they use for energy and then they expel oxygen as a by product
Reproductive Success
Refers to the ability of an organism to produce offspring that survive to reproductive age. It is a key measure of fitness in evolutionary biology, indicating how well a species adapts to its environment. Factors influencing reproductive success include mating strategies, parental care, resource availability, and environmental conditions.
Errors
Sampling
GPS
System
A set of things that are interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time.
An interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something
Consist of elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose
Interconnections
The relationships that hold elements together
Function and purpose
function and purpose are expressed through the operations of the system. Purpose is deduced from behavior not rhetoric or stated goals.
function is generally used for nonhuman systems and purpose is used for human ones
Stock
The foundation of any system. Stocks are the element of the system that you can see, feel, count, or measure at any give time. A store, a quantity, an accumulation of material or information that has built up over time. Does not have to be physical
A stock is the memory of the history of changing flows within the system
Flow
The actions that change stock overtime.
Dynamics
The behavior of stocks and flows overtime
Dynamic Equilibrium
A stable and unchanging state, the inflow and outflow are equal
feedback and feedback loops
a consistent behavior pattern over a long period of time, forms when changes in stock affect the flows into or out og that same stock
a closed chain of casual connections from a stock through a set of decisions or rules or physical laws or action that are dependent on the level of the stock, and back again through a flow to change the stock
feedback is the interconnections, the information part of the system, what comes in and drives the system
balancing/stabilizing feedback
The stock level may not remain fixed but it does stay within an acceptable range. This is a goal-seeking/stability-seeking loop. ex. when you pull up to a red light
runaway/reinforcing feedback
Generates more input to a stick the more that is already there and the same is true for what’s less. It enhances whatever direction of change is imposed on it. This is a self-multiplying loop. Ex. populations and economies
delay
When the flow can’t react instantly and there is a pause or gap so that is can register and adjust to the change
shifting dominance
When one loop dominates the other and has a stronger impact on the systems behavior
stocked-limited and flow-limited
nonrenewable resources, entire stock is available at one but the stock cannot be renewed and extracted at any rate
renewable resources, can support harvest or extraction indefinitely. Have a finite flow rate equal to their regeneration rate
resilience vs static stability
bounded rationality
Bounded Rationality: This concept in decision-making indicates that individuals face limitations in processing information and making rational choices due to cognitive constraints, time restrictions, and environmental complexity. Consequently, people often use heuristics or simplified strategies instead of optimizing outcomes.
externalities and perturbations
a side effect of industry, economic, or commercial activity that impacts other parties without it being reflected in the goods or services
a deviation of a system
Biome
A large geographical area with characteristic groups of organisms adapted to that particular environment.
species composition
The number of species and their abundance in a given environment
tropical rainforest
an environment with a high amount of biodiversity, has hot temperatures, moist, and rains year around
Symbiotic
various species living together in one environment
Mutualism
A relationship where both species benefit
epiphytes
plants that live on other plants, some don’t impact the host tree and others positively impact them
primary production
a term used to describe the chemical energy generated by autotrophs in an ecosystem
autotrophs
organisms that generate their own energy ex. plants
coral bleaching
When the water gets too warm and the coral expels the algae in their tissue due to stress
biological diversity
the variety of life on earth going from genes to ecosystems
extrapolation
a method used to estimate data points that are outside the range of the ones that exist. Using what you have to predict what will be
intertropical convergence zone (itcz)
a zone where hot air and cold air form clouds around the equator
Deserts
a very dry environment, many are found at about 30 degrees latitude
Hadley Cell
dry air flowing toward the equator making a circulating cell
ferrel cell
air flowing away from the equator forming the surface of another circulatory cell
polar cell
cold air masses that sink towards the surface once over the poles
Coriolis effect
deflects air masses away from a linear path
gyres
large-scale surface circulations
tundra
dominant biome of northern rims of Asia, North America, and sections of Antarctica. It is flat, dry, extremely cold winters, and cool summers. Manu have permafrost which is a permanently frozen soil layer and a nutrient poor upper layer that freezes and thaws.
forbes
non-woody plants other than grasses
dormancy
periods of inactivity/shut down
taiga
a biome that is covered in trees primarily spruce, fir, and pine
temperate forests
grow under moderate conditions, warm summers, cool winters, significant rainfall, fertile soil and a longer growing season
tropical rainforest and topical dry forest
constantly warm and wet, (rainforest) lots of broadleaved tress and there is a sub-canopy of tress, shrubs, and other plants on the floor
lianas
vines that use the trees for support as they climb towards the canopy
adaptation
changes organisms make over time in order to better survive in their environment especially when it the environment changes
temperate grasslands
interior of Eurasia, North America, and somewhat south America. cold winters and warm summers, moderate precipitation, and grass and forbs is the primary vegetation
standard error (of the mean)
a measure of variation from the mean
temperate shrubland
fires are very common here, nutrient-poor soil, wet and wild winters, hot and dry summers, short growing season, high biodiversity
Stomata
organs that regulate water and CO2 in a plant
phytoplankton
microorangisms in water that get their energy from the sun and produce oxygen as byproduct
thermal stratification
the formation of distinct layers along a temperature profile
dead zones
places that have very low dissolved oxygen levels for an extended period causing aerobic organisms to die
disturbance
A disruption in normal behavior
anthropogenic biomes
biomes whose nature and character were determined by human impact
benthic zone
the bottom part of bodies of water were dead organisms decompose and their nutrients are released
turnover
happens in the fall or winter in temperate and polar regions. Surface water temperatures become cooler than deep water temperatures
upwelling
occurs in oceans near western shores of land masses, winds move surface water away from the shore and causes deeper water to move in and form a more productive region
food web
shows the network of energy transfer from organism to organism
reservoir
water storage
flux
flow of water from the atmosphere to the earth’s surface
transpiration
water moves through a plant and evaporates from its leaves
residence time
the average amount of time a water molecule remains in its reservoir
endemic species
species that are found only in a certain region/area
oligotrophic lake
low nutrient levels and is relatively unproductive
eutrophic lake
high levels of nutrients and is productive due to large population of photosynthetic phytoplankton
europhication
The process of a body of water becoming over enriched causing plant life to overgrow
limiting nutrient
the nutrient that is present and prevents overgrowth of plant life in water
chemosynthesis
The conversion of energy from chemical compounds in the environment into chemical bond energy stored in carbs
carbon cycle
how carbon moves between the atmosphere, oceans, and land
feedback interactions
