Transcript Powerpoint
Welcome to: Foundations of Ecology Biology 356 J. Ruesink Lecture 1 Introduction/ Adaptation What do ecologists do? • How many of you are familiar with the following jobs: – – – – Computer programmer Marketing department Artist Biotechnologist • Ecologist What does this course cover? • Basic principles of ecology • Methods that ecologists use – Experiments, models, observations • Graphical presentation of ecological data • Interpretation of ecological data • Evaluation of primary literature What does this course cover? • 3 Exams (20% each) – Feb 3, Feb 24, Mar 16 • 4 In-class exercises (5% each) • 2 Literature reviews (5% each) • Independent write-up of scientific study (estimating crow population size) (10%) What does this course cover? Week 9, 10 Landscapes: Week 8 Week 5-7 Week 2 Week 3, 4 Week 1, 2 Fig 1.1 Syllabus Who is my TA? • Last names A-L: Shallin Busch • Last names M-Z: Jon Moore Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles • Review material from Biology 180 – Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes – Autotrophs or Heterotrophs • • • • • Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles • Review material from Biology 180 – Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes – Autotrophs or Heterotrophs • • • • • Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles • Review material from Biology 180 – Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes – Autotrophs or Heterotrophs • • • • • Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles • Review material from Biology 180 – Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes – Autotrophs or Heterotrophs • • • • • Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles • Review material from Biology 180 – Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes – Autotrophs or Heterotrophs • • • • • Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles • Review material from Biology 180 – Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes – Autotrophs or Heterotrophs • • • • • Plants Animals Fungi Protists Bacteria Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles Fig 1.5 Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles SUN Photoautotrophs Dead organic matter Inorganic & organic nutrients Heterotrophs (Decomposers) Inorganic carbon Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles SUN Photoautotrophs Dead organic matter Inorganic & organic nutrients Heterotrophs (Decomposers) Inorganic carbon Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles SUN Plants, Protists Photoautotrophs Dead organic matter Inorganic nutrients Fungi, Bacteria Heterotrophs (Decomposers) Inorganic carbon Different groups of organisms play different ecological roles SUN Animals, some protists Heterotrophs (Consumers) Photoautotrophs Dead organic matter Inorganic nutrients Heterotrophs (Decomposers) Heterotrophs (Consumers) Inorganic carbon Ecological principles • Ecological systems are physical entities • Ecological systems exist in dynamic steady states • Maintenance of living systems requires expenditure of energy (Boundary is essential) • Ecological systems undergo evolutionary change • Maintenance of living systems requires expenditure of energy (Boundary is essential) Fig 3.12 • Maintenance of living systems requires expenditure of energy (Boundary is essential) Homeostasis: organism’s ability to maintain a constant internal environment despite variation in the environment • Ecological systems undergo evolutionary change See Ch. 1 p. 15: Natural selection requires heritable variation and differential survival and reproduction Also see Ch. 9 P. 182-3 Diverse life forms are a product of evolution • Habitats vary. • No single species can exist in all habitats. (Tradeoffs exist.) An organism’s niche represents the ranges of conditions that it tolerates and the ways of life it pursues. • Habitats vary. • An organism’s niche represents the ranges of conditions that it tolerates and the ways of life it pursues. Adaptation • Attributes of structure or function that suit an organism to the conditions of its environment – May be adaptations to physical characteristics of the environment – Or to biological characteristics of the environment Adaptation Adaptation Adaptation Physical characteristics of the environment that affect plants • • • • • Light Nutrients Water Temperature Carbon dioxide Physical characteristics of the environment that affect plants • • • • • Light Nutrients Water Temperature Carbon dioxide As you read chapter 3, you should write down examples of plant adaptations to (extremes of) each of these environmental conditions • Nutrients – Distribution of nutrients, as well as total amount, influences plant growth • Nutrients – Plants have adapted to use “pockets” of nutrients by locally increasing root density Physical characteristics of the environment that affect animals • • • • • Temperature Water Salt balance Oxygen (Food supply = biological) • Temperature – Endotherms use internal metabolic processes to adjust body temperature – Ectotherms cannot control temperature internally, only through behavior • Temperature – Cold adaptations • Large body size (small surface to volume ratio) • Storage of food • Hibernation/ torpor Ecological principle: Activity space Fig 9.4 What do ecologists do? • Measure characteristics of the environment • Count organisms • Observe their responses to and affects on their environment Today’s in-class exercise • Form a group of 4 people. Hand in separate worksheets. • Do a mark-recapture study to estimate the number of individuals in a population of beans. • Vary the number of beans marked. • Vary the number of beans sampled.