BIOL 3301 ch1

Ecology

broad field of scientific inquiry focused on interactions between organisms and abiotic environment and their effects on distribution and abundance

Ernst Haeckel

ecology was termed by

haekels ecology

investigation of animals and their inorganic and organic environment, and how the directly or indirectly contact it

what is ecology concerned with

natural systems formed through evolution, understanding why system is necessary

evolution

process by which populations of organisms change over generations

evolution is driven by various mechanisms

affect genetic makeup of pop. And shape diversity

adaptation

characteristic of organism that makes it well suited to its environment

evolutionary bases of adaptations

adaptations are outcomes of evolutionary processes

primarily natural selection

and example of evolutionary basis of adaptations

examples of primary selection

enhanced kidney function in desert animals, cryptic coloration for predator evasion

Charles Darwin evolution

species change to better fit their environment (ecology and evolution inherently linked)

Environment

ecology often involves studying of the

Involved in environment

physical, chemical, biotic and biotic environment

Ecosystem

collection of parts that function as a unit

Biotic

living components

Interactions between organisms

mating, predator and prey

Abiotic

nonliving components

Ex of abiotic components

temperature, moisture, concentration of gases, light intensity

Levels of organization of ecology

individual, populations, communities, ecosystems, landscape, biosphere

Individual

boundary and exchange, energy and material transformation, adaptation and survival

Individuals interact with environment

heat balance, water balance, diffusion of gases, nutrients absorbed and wastes excreted

Adaptations for survival

how organisms morphology, physiology, and behavior are adapted to allow survival and reproduction in specific environments

Species

groups of organisms that share common characteristics and are capable of interbreeding to produce offspring

Concepts pivotal to species

understanding biodiversity and classification of living organisms

Population

group of same species living in particular are

Five distinct properties of population

geographic range, abundance, density, change in size, composition

Geographic range

total are a population occupies

Abundance

total number of individuals

Density

number of individuals per unit are, due to birth rates, immigration, and emigration

Change in size

change in abundance and density

Composition

change in age classes, sex ration, individuals

Ecological community

all populations of different species that live together in a specific area

Diversity and interaction

diversity of organisms, complex interactions among these populations

Spatial dynamics and boundaries

community boundaries can change across landscape

Ecosystem

one or more communities interaction with non living physical and chemical environments

Energy glow

key factor in ecosystems

Flows of ecosystem

energy and nutrient flow

Boundaries and variability

boundaries cover diverse landscape and condition

Landscape

multiple interconnected ecosystems, facilitate movement across ecological areas

Landscape dynamics

variety ecosystem types, natural processes (water runoff) and biological activities

Landscape impacted by human activity

habitat fragmentation, human activity create patchwork

Biosphere

all ecosystems and landscape on earth

Biosphere interconnected through

movement of energy, nutrients, and organisms

Cycling of energy and materials

primary external inputs being solar energy, main loss being energy radiated to space, retains all materials originally possesses

Three major biological principles

conservation of matter and energy, dynamic steady states, evolution

Law of conservation of matter

matter is neither created nor destroyed but only changes form

Law of conservation of energy

energy cannot be created nor destroyed only transformed

Ecological systems

exchange of matter and energy with their surroundings is balanced

Larger ecological context

dynamic steady state is maintained through complex interactions and cycles

Genotype

set of genes and organism carries

Phenotype

attribute of an organism

Examples of phenotype

behavior, morphology, or physiology

Natural selection

frequency of genes in populations can change because some phenotypes increase the chances for survival and reproduction

Natural selection operates based on

variation in traits among individuals, inheritance of traits from parent to offspring, differentia reproductive success based on these traits

Ecological and evolutionary complexity

occurs withing complex ecological networks

Fitness

ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment

Components of fitness

survival fitness, reproductive fitness, offspring viability, influence of genetic traits, environment dependent, coevolution and fitness

Survival fitness

ability of organism to survive to reproductive age

Reproductive fitness

how many offspring organism produces in lifetime

Offspring viability

probability that offspring survive to reproduce

Influence of genetic traits

heavily influenced by genetic traits

Environment dependent

can vary significantly across different environments

Co evolution and fitness

fitness of species can be affected by evolutionary changes in order in which interacts

Symbiotic relationship

close and long term biological interaction between two different biological organisms

Examples of symbiotic relationships

organisms live together, close bound relationship, survival of the fittest

Amensalism

one organisms in inhibited or destroyed while the other remains unaffected

Scavenger—consume dead animals

Example of scavenger

vultures

Detritivores

break down dead organic matter and waste products into smaller particles

Decomposers

bread down dead organic material into simpler elements and comounds

Niche

range of abiotic and biotic conditions it can tolerate

Uniqueness of niches

its unique adaptations and requirements

Niche specialization

different species that feed on specific plants

Fundamental theory

two species cannot have the same niche

Hypothesis

ideas that potentially explain a repeated observation

Proximate hypothesis

addresses the immediate changes

Ultimate hypothesis

addresses why an organism has evolved to respond in a certain way to its environment

Predictions

statements that arise logically from hypotheses

Parts of scientific method

treatment, control, replication, randomization, microcosm

Treatment

factor that we want to manipulate

Control

treatment that includes all aspects of an experiment except the factor of interest

Replication

being able to produce a similar outcome multiple times

Randomization

aspect of experiment design

Microcosm

simplified ecological system