How Do We Study and Understand Diversity

1. How Do We Study and Understand Diversity • Ecology and Genetics are the primary avenues • Ecology – study of interactions of organisms with environment and with other organisms • Interactions – potential selective forces

2. Tools of Ecology • Physiology • Genetics (population genetics) • Statistics • Molecular Ecology

3. Physiology – Ecology of the Individual • What environmental factors limit where an organism live? • How does it cope with change? • Should it’s physiology change with the environment or remain constant?

4. Range of Tolerance Range of Tolerance

9. Population Ecology • Population – group of individuals of the same species living within a given area • Change in population size • Population genetics • Variation • Persistence • Intraspecific interactions • Competition • Sexual selection

10. Community Ecology • Community – two or more species living in a given area • Competition • Predation • Other symbiotic interactions

17. Avoid Capture Grouping behavior

18. Ecosystem Ecology • Ecosystem – the communities and the environmental conditions of a given area • Nutrient cycling • Energy Flow

20. Food Web