BIOE 20C Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Ecosystem Ecology, Population Ecology, Ecological Study
12 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 11 11/5/2015 8:59:00 PM
What is Ecology?
• Oikos=house
• Logos=to study
• Study of how organisms interact with the environment
• Central goals of ecology
o Understanding distribution and abundance of organisms
o Recognizing/explaining patterns in nature
More on the Environment
• Can be divided into two parts
• Biotic=living
• Abiotic=nonliving
• Biotic interactions=between organisms
• Abiotic interactions=between organism and non-living environment
Scales of Ecological Study
• Organismal ecology (physiological/morphological ecology)
• Population ecology
• Community ecology
• Ecosystem ecology
Organismal Ecology
• Focus: interaction between individual and environment
• Considers morphology, physiology, and behavior
Population Ecology
• Focus: on the population
o Populations have variation
• Goal: understand mechanisms regulating population growth
• Also looks at interactions between members of a population (intra-
specific interactions)
Community Ecology
• Community=all the organisms that interact within an area
• Areas of focus
o Interspecific interactions
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Community structure and dynamics
o Community response to disturbance
Ecosystem Ecology
• Expands to include both biotic and abiotic interactions
• Ecosystem=all organisms in an area + abiotic environment
• Areas of focus
o Nutrient cycles
o Energy flow
Climate
• Influences ecosystem structure
• Determines who can and cannot live in that environment
• Historically describes terrestrial systems
• Aquatic systems also have distinct climates
• Climate=prevailing long term weather conditions
• Weather=short term atmospheric/aquatic conditions
o Temperature, precipitation, wind, sunlight
• “Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get”
• can directly and indirectly affect organisms
• Examples:
o Temperature—metabolism
o Wind—moisture loss
o Sunlight—photosynthesis
• terrestrial plants especially responsive to temperature and moisture
Global Variation in Climate
• Temperature—driven largely by solar radiation
• At equator hits at 90°=warm temps
• Angle becomes increasingly shallower towards poles=cooler temps
Precipitation
• Influenced by temperature and air circulation
• Hadley cell
o Formed by warming and cooling of air
o Creates a cyclical cell of circulation north and south of equator
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
11/5/2015 8:59:00 pm: oikos=house, logos=to study, study of how organisms interact with the environment, central goals of ecology, understanding distribution and abundance of organisms, recognizing/explaining patterns in nature. More on the environment: can be divided into two parts, biotic=living, abiotic=nonliving, biotic interactions=between organisms, abiotic interactions=between organism and non-living environment. Scales of ecological study: organismal ecology (physiological/morphological ecology, population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology. Organismal ecology: focus: interaction between individual and environment, considers morphology, physiology, and behavior. Population ecology: focus: on the population, populations have variation, goal: understand mechanisms regulating population growth, also looks at interactions between members of a population (intra- specific interactions) Community ecology: community=all the organisms that interact within an area, areas of focus, interspecific interactions, community structure and dynamics, community response to disturbance. Ecosystem ecology: expands to include both biotic and abiotic interactions, ecosystem=all organisms in an area + abiotic environment, areas of focus, nutrient cycles, energy flow.
