BIOL 2060 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Species Richness, Positron Emission Tomography, Population Growth
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
BIOL 2060
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Ecology
• Attempts to explain the distribution, abundance and diversity of life
• Concerned with interactions between organism and their external environments (abiotic,
biotic)
• Includes humans (in those interactions)-either with natural or built environment
• Ecology is not environmentalism
• Ecosystem* *ecology
Community*
Population*
Individual*
Organ/tissue
Cell
Molecules
• Ecology at levels of biological organization
▪ Ecosystem
▪ Community
▪ Population
▪ Individual
o E.g. polar bears
▪ Individual level: what adaptations allow the polar bear to survive, grow
and reproduce?
• Polar bears don’t hibernate, but females make dens
• Strategy to reproduce
• If females reach a good enough condition in the summer, they will
mate and produce young in early winter in December
• Dens in ground to nurse cubs
▪ Population level (group of polar bears): are polar bear populations
increasing, decreasing or relative constant from decade to decade?
▪ Community level: Do polar bears influence the reproductive success of
seabird colonies through nest predation?
• Polar bears eat seabird eggs
• As sea ice breaks up earlier, polar bears are forced onto land earlier
and forced to find another source of food like seabird eggs
• Or extend that question to seals as prey
o As polar bears shift their diet from seals to sea bird eggs,
will there be a positive effect on seals?
▪ Ecosystem level: everything in that biotic community plus the abiotic
environment
• How do polar bears influence energy and nutrient exchange
between the tundra and the adjacent marine ecosystem
• Ecology Is relevant to humans and our environment
o Issue: Nitrogen deposition from inorganic fertilizer
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ Ecological questions: Ecological questions: How does extra N influence
individual growth? How do fertilized plants influence insects?
o Issue: Exotic species invasions
▪ Ecological questions: Will exotic species outcompete native species? Why
or why not?
o Issue: Rising temps
▪ Ecological questions: How do rising temps influence migratory
movements and timing of breeding?
The Scientific Method
• Case studies: Disappearing Marine Iguanas: A case of population collapse by Conrad
Toepfer
o Observations:
▪ Lots of iguanas in 1990s
▪ 1999-Many fewer iguanas
• Three possible hypothesis for why iguanas might have declined
o Urban develop that might disrupt the habitats of iguanas- buildings, human
activity etc.
o Airports brought back invasive species
• Recall:
o Hypothesis is a proposed explanation for an observed pattern
▪ What process caused the observed pattern?
▪ A potential reason (a mechanism, a why) for an observed pattern
▪ Ask: what process might have caused the observed pattern
o Prediction is an expected, measurable outcome if the hypothesis is true
▪ Guides the design of data collection and experiment
• In ecology, we are concerned with: Distribution, abundance, diversity
Biogeography
Categorizing life on Earth-Biomes
• Collection of ecosystems
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Ecology: attempts to explain the distribution, abundance and diversity of life, concerned with interactions between organism and their external environments (abiotic, biotic) Includes humans (in those interactions)-either with natural or built environment: ecology is not environmentalism, ecosystem* Molecules: ecology at levels of biological organization, ecosystem, community, population. Individual level: what adaptations allow the polar bear to survive, grow and reproduce: polar bears don"t hibernate, but females make dens, strategy to reproduce. The scientific method: case studies: disappearing marine iguanas: a case of population collapse by conrad. In ecology, we are concerned with: distribution, abundance, diversity. Key fact: temperature and rainfall are linked: observation: water vapour content of air is higher with warmer temperatures. Tropical rain forest distribution and climate: high temp and high precipitation, warm and therefore wet and super productive, this place is near equator. Tundra distribution and climate: cold and therefore dry (and stressful)
