Chapter 1
The Nature of Ecology
Ecology
Environment of the 1960’s and 1970’s
Popular
Term everywhere
Confusion
Ecology is neither one: environment or environmentalism
1.1 Ecology is a science
( Match: Relationships, Environment, Ecology )-
is the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment- includes the physical and biological conditions under which organism live.
- interactions with the physical world and with members of other species and the same species
.
Ecology comes from
Greek: oikos - " the family household " logy - " the study of "
" the study of the household "
economics and ecology
ecology coined by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866
Oecologie - study of the relationships of animals to their environment
1.2 The major unit of ecology is the ecosystem
Organism interactions
eco - environment
system - ecosystem is a system, a collection of related parts that function as a unit.
Automobile engine
biotic - living
abiotic - physical
figure 1.1 pg. 3 physical components of the forest
complex interactions
1.3 Ecosystem components form a hierarchy
Population is a group of potentially interbreeding individuals occurring together in space and time.
Competition for limited resources: food, water and space.
Mutually benefit each other.
Community and the physical environment make up the ecosystems .
More than one level.
humans
same species
herbivores
predators
Biosphere
Interact to modify and control chemical and physical conditions of the biosphere.
Gaia hypothesis - self-sustaining biosphere, in which every organism is linked to the other.
Not all ecologists agree with this hypothesis.
1.5 Ecologists use scientific methods
Hypothesis is a statement of causation that can be tested, then either accepted or rejected.
Other observations
Previous investigations.
Field study
Field experiment
Laboratory experiment
1.6 Experiments can lead to predictions
Models
Observations and experiments
Understanding gained from data
Prediction
Which
picture represents an ecosystem?
Which picture represents a population?
Which picture represents a community?
Which picture represents ecology?
Is the scientific study of the relationship between organisms and their environment.
Population
A group of individuals of the same species living in a given area at a given time.
Ecosystem
The biotic community and its abiotic environment functioning as a system.
Community
All population within a ecosystem are referred to as a community and have some connection to one another. The community and the physical environment make up the ecosystem.
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