BIOL 2200 Lecture Notes - American Bison, Spruce Budworm, Keystone Species
Document Summary
Landscape ecology: the study of composition of landscapes and spatial arrangements of habitats within them. And of how those patterns influence individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems at different spatial scales. Landscape context: the quality and spatial arrangement of the habitat types in a habitat matrix. Their behavior determines what happens at larger levels (population and community levels) What are the physical spatial relationships in accordance to functional ones. Can see a variety of habitats within a walking distance. The first two pictures are of the milk river. There are grasslands on the top of the coulees and can find forests along the river. Tundra: different colors of green represent different types of vegetation. In many cases it is heterogeneous with much disturbance. More biodiversity in mid disturbance (early, mid and late succession) Prairie fires: heterogeneity is not as vast as seen in forests. Some animals play huge roles in heterogeneity: they are called ecosystem engineers.
