ecology intro and maxims

you can never do just one thing

organism interact with each other with their physical environment. As a result, events in nature are connected and what affects one organism or place can affect others as well

everything goes somewhere

there is no away into which waste materials disappear

no population can increase in size forever

there are limits to the growth and resource use of every population including our own

there is no free lunch

an organisms energy and resources are finite and increasing inputs into one function (such as reproduction) results in a tradeoff in which there is a loss for other functions (such as reproduction) results in a tradeoff in which there is a loss for other functionss (such as growth)

evolution matters

organisms evolve or change over time, it is a mistake to view them as static

evolution

an ongoing process because organisms continually face new challenges from changes in both living and nonliving components of their environment

time matters

ecosystems change over time

7 maxims

you can never do just one thing, there is no free lunch, everything goes somewhere, no population can increase in size forever, evolution matters, time matters, life would be impossible without species interactions

life would be impossible without species interactions

species depend on one another for energy, nutrients, and habitat

haeckel

german zoologist 1870

haeckel

by ecology we mean the body of knowledge concerning the economy of nature, the investigation of the total relations of the animal to its inorganic and organic enviroment

burdon sanderson

(1890) elevated ecology to one of the three natural divisions of biology, physiology, morphology - ecology

andrewartha

(1961) the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms

odum

(1963) the structure and function of nature

Krebs

(1972) ecology is the scientific study of the processes regulating the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions among them, and the study of how these organisms in turn mediate the transport and transformation of energy and matter in the biosphere

goal of ecology

to understand the principles of operation of natural systems and to predict their responses to change

what ecology isnt

not enviromentalism nor deep ecology. ecology is science, based on biological, physical and chemical principles and should be value free

environmentalism

advocates for certain actions and policy positions

why study ecology

curiosity, responsibility, sustainability, ecological systems are models for

curiosity

how does the world around us work? how are we shape by our surroundings

responsibility

how do our actions change our environment?

sustainability

a property of human society in which ecosystems (including humans) are managed such that the conditions supporting present day life on earth can continue.

how to study ecology?

observations, microcosms, mathematical models

observations

go into the field and see whats happening

microcosms

isolate a portion, limit factors, manipulate conditions

mathematical models

describe ecosystems interactions as equations

connections to other disciplines

genetics, hydrology, behaviour, geology, biochemistry, physiology, atmospheric sciences

where to study ecology

organisms (tissues), organelle, molecule, atom, population, community, ecosystem

population

group of interacting and interbreeding organisms

community

different populations living together and interacting. populations can interact as competitors, predator and prey, symbiotically

ecosystem

organisms and their physical and chemical environments together

biome

large scale areas of similar vegetation and climatic characteristics

biosphere

thin film on the surface of the earth in which all life exists, the union of all of the ecosystems. this is a highly ordered system, held together by the energy of the sun.

populations

are shaped by their abiotic surroundings and in turn, change their abiotic surroundings, example, o2 in atmosphere from photosynthesis

how will we learn from ecology

start with energy flows, at the energy level, how does an individual make a living, then ecosystem level, how does energy move around? next, move on to nutrients, how does nutrient availability limit organisms growth. On an ecosystem and global scale, do organisms fit in to global nutrient cycles? them focus on populations and communities