BIOL1003 Final: Behavioural ecology
What is Ecology?
The study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of
organisms
Scales of ecology:
Organism- within organism
Population- within species, how and why population size changes over time
Community- other organisms (plat and animal), how interactions between
species, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and
organisation
Landscape/ecosystem- place and climate
Fundamental ecology questions
• Where are organisms found
o Biogeography- distribution through space and time
o Biome- e.g. tropical forests and woodland of central Africa
o Habitat e.g. primary or secondary forests
• What
o Role/niche- What does the organism do (primary consumer,
herbivore, competitor, mutualist, prey)
• How?
o Population Ecology: life history
Leads to predicting future and past
Distribution
• Population of wallabies population crashed to 5 → predator prof fence
around distribution → 39
• Cane toad- spread, predicted distribution
Abundance
• HDV infection
• Exponential growth- problem of resources
Antechinus: teat number limits litter size
• Pouch young attach to one teat for 27-35 days
• Each female always give birth to more young than she has teats
• Every female begins with al teats occupied
Climate
• Macroclimate- patterns on the global, regional and landscape level
• Microclimate- finer scale patterns, e.g. community of organisms on a tree
trunk
• Major components- temperature, sunlight, wind, precipitation
• Climatic extremes: Atacama desert Chile (22-30ºC) rainfall 3-15mm,
Cherrapunji India (19ºC-24ºC) monsoon rains
• It is warmer closer to the equator, because sunshine acts directly rather
than obliquely (angle of incidence)
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• Direction of winds is determined by coriolis affect
• Land at the equator is moving faster, wind is pushed back, so easterly in
the tropics, westerly in the temperate zones
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Distribution and abundance of organisms relies primarily on the availability of
water which is determined by the movement of air.
• Lake Eyre South Australia- when there is water the abundance of
organisms greatly increases, pelicans, lizards, fish
Rain shadows
• Mountains obstructing the prevailing winds force air to move up
• Air cools down as it moves up, and loses its water content in the form of
precipitation
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms. Population- within species, how and why population size changes over time. Community- other organisms (plat and animal), how interactions between species, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and organisation. Distribution: population of wallabies population crashed to 5 predator prof fence around distribution 39, cane toad- spread, predicted distribution. Abundance: hdv infection, exponential growth- problem of resources. Antechinus: teat number limits litter size: pouch young attach to one teat for 27-35 days, each female always give birth to more young than she has teats, every female begins with al teats occupied. Climate: macroclimate- patterns on the global, regional and landscape level, microclimate- finer scale patterns, e. g. community of organisms on a tree trunk, major components- temperature, sunlight, wind, precipitation, climatic extremes: atacama desert chile (22-30 c) rainfall 3-15mm,
