the nature of ecology

ecology

study of relationships between organisms and their environment

examples of physical environment

temperature, solar radiation

chemical environment

nutrient content of soil, water ph

biological environment

interactions between plants + animals, animals + animals, etc.

relationships

interactions with physical aspects of the environment

interactions with same and other species

→ natural selection is a cornerstone of ecology

ecosystem

where organisms “struggle for existence”

what is an biotic component of an ecosystem?

predation, disease, symbiosis

what is an example of abiotic component?

plants depend on the ph of the soil or how organisms depend on temperature

population

group of individuals of the same species in a given area

what are common interactions in populations

competition for resources

predator-prey

mutually beneficial relationships

community

interactions with other populations

ecosystem

interaction of living and non-living organisms in a given area 

landscape

the areas interacting together (ecosystems composed of different communities)

biome

geographic regions with similar geological and climatic conditions

what is the ranking of the ecological hierarchy?

individual > population > community > ecosystem > landscape > biome > biosphere

field study

examining natural patterns across a landscape → results suggest a relationship, but do not prove cause and effect

field experiment

test applied in a natural setting

what is one advantage and disadvantage of a field experiment?

realistic results, but hard to control other influencing factors

what is one advantage and disadvantage of a laboratory experiment?

more control over environmental conditions, but results are not reflective in the field

statistical population

the group you’re collecting data and drawing conclusions on

sample

part of the population that is being observed in a statistical population

categorical data

qualitative → can be nominal (hair color, sex, etc.) or ordinal (life cycles, for instance, because it has to be ordered)

when only 2 data sets exist, it’s called binary

numerical data

quantitative → can be discrete (integer values, counts), or continuous (like height or weight)

frequency distribution

count of the number of observations having a given score or value → for instance, snake body lengths → USUALLY shaped as a bell-curve distribution

scatter plot

relationships between 2 variables (correlation +, -, O) → r² value is how tight your correlation is between data (the closer it is to 1, the BETTER the line of best fit is)