Biology 2483A Study Guide - Field Experiment, Primary Production, Natural Selection
17 Jan 2013
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Document Summary
Ecology: scientific study of interactions between organisms and environment, and to explain distribution and abundance of organisms (not enviro activism/science) General misconceptions: balance of nature (return to previous states after disturbed)- no, things always change, each species has a distinct role to maintain balance- no, not really all species matter, lots of redundancy in roles. Ecological maxims: organisms interact & are interconnected, everthing goes somewhere, pop"n cant increase in size forever, finite energy & resources = tradeoffs, organisms evolve, spacial scale matters. Natural selection: certain adaptations reproduce at higher rate = increased frequency of trait. Net primary productivity (npp): e. captured by producers e. lost as heat (cell resp. ) Energy moves in a single direction (not recycled) Nutrient cycle: from physical environment organisms and back. Ecological experiments: lab controlled: no natural variation/fluctuation (isolation of mechanism but not realistic, mixed: controlled and natural (best of both, natural: totally open (cant control anything but very realistic)
