483 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, Biome, Temperate Deciduous Forest
14 Jun 2018
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Definitions
1. Your textbook defmes ecology as the study ojthe interactions ojorganisms with
other organisms and with the physical and chemical environment.
2. The word ecology is derived from the Greek word "oikos" that means house or
home.
3. In a simplistic way one could say ecology is the study of the house or home of Life on
earth.
4. Ecology is a basic division of the Science ofBiology much like Botany and Zoology.
History
I. Anton van Leeuwenhoek a Dutch shopkeeper studied "jood chains" and "population
regulation" in the early 1700's.
l.uuw~lfhoek "JlSuaJJy rl!rtfOftlN!"-d ID lire ~fa1"er ofille microscope". H~ built th~ first
microscope and was
probobly thefirst peT.WIf to ~ee ceIb wing /I microscope.
2. Ernst Baeckel, a German Biologists,jirst used the word ecology in 1866.
3. Ecology did not mature into a distinctfudd ofstudy lUltil the early 1900's.
4. During the 1960's, ecology finally became part of the general public vocabulary and
a distinct curriculum at universities in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Levels of Study (see handout ofTable 46.1 Ecological Terms from page 438 oflatbook)
• One of the most common ways scientists approach the study of ecology is to
hreak it down into what are called "levels oforganization".
• We studied "levels oforganizahon" in a single animal and found the following
progression.
CELLS-TISSUES-ORGANS-ORGAN SYSTEMS- - - - ORGANISM
• We can continue the progression and do something similar for the study of
ecology.
ORGAN1SM-POPULATlON-COMMUN1TY-ECOSYSTEM- - - BIOSPHERE
• We will cover these levels using the titles
Population Ecology
Community Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
The Biosphere
1. PopulationEcology
A. Definition and Overview
• Population Ecology is defined as the study ofa group oforganisms of
the same species occupying a certain geographic area and sharing a
common gene pooL
• Population is a word normally used to denote a group of people in a
given area. (E:xImtpIn indutk lire population ofTTmlon, tire populaJion ofGiMon County, or
tire popuialion ofTennLSUL)
• In ecology the word is used in a similar way.
B. Examples of Population Ecology Studies
• Population Densities.
(1) Whitetail Deer population estimates for TWRA's Hom Bluff
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Wildlife Management Area
(2) Whitetail Deer population estimates for the State ofTennessee
• Population Growth Rates.
(1) Depends on birth rates, death rates, emigration, and
immigration.
(2) Includes studies measuring increase or decrease in population
densities over time in a particular area
(3) For hypothetical example - a study that found that the human
population growth rate in Gibson County to be a 5% increase
each year from 1990 to 2000.
• DispersaJ Patterns.
( 1) Dispersal patterns represent how individuals of a species are
distributed across a geographic area.
(2) There are 3 basic dispersal patterns. (DrawollblacA;board)
CLUMPED RANDOM UNIFORM
---- .~a~. ------ ... / .. /
.
,
,.
. ~
0,,·' • ~o /_---- . _ , "
D( -: U! (. (P ~ '1 (}« l-tr.,. , {P! i
t-. -1'" - J fill f::: ~rq ,<t'
Zt(f I\ ~ - leE.' fwr
' f'
I d
Tz rI ,"'" _::. J .::>
• Life History Studies.
(I) Example would be a Life History Study of the Bald Eagle that
answered such questions as
When do they mate?
How long do they live?
What do they eat?
How many eggs does a female lay?
Etc, Etc.
2. Community Ecology
A. Definition and Overview
• Community Ecology is defined as the studies ofan assemblage of
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