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Lesson Overview

Lesson Overview. 3.1 What Is Ecology?. THINK ABOUT IT. How is Earth, in a scientific sense, a “living planet”?. Studying Our Living Planet. Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment. Studying Our Living Planet.

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Lesson Overview

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  1. Lesson Overview 3.1 What Is Ecology?

  2. THINK ABOUT IT • How is Earth, in a scientific sense, a • “living planet”?

  3. Studying Our Living Planet • Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment.

  4. Studying Our Living Planet • The biosphere consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere. • The biosphere extends from about 8 km above Earth’s surface to as far as 11 km below the surface of the ocean.

  5. The Science of Ecology • Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among and between organisms and their physical environment. • Interactions within the biosphere produce a web of interdependence between organisms and the environments in which they live. • Organisms respond to their environments and can change their environments, producing an ever-changing biosphere.

  6. Ecology and Economics • Economics is concerned with interactions based on money. • Economics and ecology share the same word root oikos (economics). Indeed, human economics and ecology are linked. Humans live within the biosphere and depend on ecological processes to provide such essentials as food and drinkable water that can be bought and sold for money.

  7. Levels of Organization • Ecological studies may focus on levels of organization that include the following: • Individual organism

  8. Levels of Organization • Population—a group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

  9. Levels of Organization • Community—an assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area

  10. Levels of Organization • Ecosystem—all the organisms that live in a place, together with their physical environment

  11. Levels of Organization • Biome—a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

  12. Levels of Organization • Biosphere—our entire planet, with all its organisms and physical environments

  13. Organismal Ecology: how organism's structure, physiology & behavior meet the challenges of its environment. • Population Ecology: factors that affect population size & changes through time. • Community Ecology: interactions between species such as predation & competition affect community structure. • Ecosystem Ecology: energy flow & chemical cycling between organisms & the environment. • Landscape Ecology: factors controlling exchange of energy, materials & organisms across ecosystems. • Global Ecology: regional exchange of energy & materials influences functioning & distribution of organisms across the biosphere.

  14. Biotic and Abiotic Factors • Biotic factors: biological (living) factors of an ecosystem • Abiotic factors: Physical components (nonliving)of an ecosystem

  15. Biotic Factors • Biotic factors relating to a bullfrog might include algae it eats as a tadpole, the herons that eat bullfrogs, and other species competing for food or space. • Abiotic factors: a bullfrog could be affected by water availability, temperature, and humidity.

  16. Biotic and Abiotic Factors Together • The difference between abiotic and biotic factors is not always clear. Abiotic factors can be influenced by the activities of organisms and vice versa. • For example, pond muck contains nonliving particles, and also contains mold and decomposing plant material that serve as food for bacteria and fungi.

  17. Biotic and Abiotic Factors Together • Trees and shrubs affect: • amount of sunlight the area receives • range of temperatures • humidity of the air • chemical conditions of the soil. • A dynamic mix of biotic and abiotic factors shapes every environment.

  18. Ecological Methods • Regardless of their tools, modern ecologists use three methods in their work: Each approaches relies on scientific methodology! • observation • experimentation • modeling

  19. Observation • Observation is often the first step in asking ecological questions. • Questions may form the first step in designing experiments and models.

  20. Experimentation • Experiments can be used to test hypotheses. • An ecologist may set up an artificial environment in a laboratory or greenhouse, or carefully alter conditions in selected parts of natural ecosystems.

  21. Modeling • Many ecological events occur over such long periods of time or over such large distances that they are difficult to study directly. • Ecologists make models to help them understand these phenomena.

  22. Sampling Techniques • Random sampling is usually carried out when the area under study is fairly uniform, very large, and or there is limited time available. When using random sampling techniques, large numbers of samples/records are taken from different positions within the habitat. • Systematic sampling is when samples are taken at fixed intervals, usually along a line. For example you might use a transect to show the changes of plant species as you moved from grassland into woodland.

  23. Stratified sampling • Stratified sampling is simply the process of identifying areas within an overall habitat, which may be very different from each other and which need to be sampled separately. Each individual area separately sampled within the overall habitat is then called a stratum.

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