Transcript General Ecology EEOB 404

General Ecology
EEOB 404
Grant Gentry
Tulane University
Preliminaries:
student information desired
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Fill out 3X5 card
Information desired:
 Name,
class or status (e.g., Junior)
 e-mail address, phone number
 Past classes--relevant to ecology
 Classes this semester
 Why taking class?
Course requirements
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See lecture syllabus
Lectures –Information comes FAST
–read the book –download and print
the lecture outline for notes.
 Supplementary materials –read them
learn fast or suffer
 Preparation
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Electronic communications
 Website
tulane.edu/ggentry/
 Electronic Reserve (Eres)--password “ecodocs”
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Lecture course requirements
 Exams
 Grading
Questions?
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Classroom discussions
Value of actually attending lectures
(considering that notes will be
posted electronically)
Preparation for classes (& labs)
Introduction to instructors
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Instructor research interests
Insect Plant Interactions
 Effects of plant chemistry on multitrophic interactions
 Parasitoids as invasive species
 For more information see personal web pages:
http://www.tulane.edu/~ggentry and caterpillars.org
 Dyer lab---
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Instructor teaching interests
General Ecology
 Entomology
 Tropical Biology
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Instructor personal information
Teaching assistants LAB in Stern 2002 –the fun part +
sci-writing, some stats
Labs will be
Groovy
AND
Hot- Hat
Scratchy- Long
sleeves, long
pants, sturdy
shoes.
Buggy- DEET
(goes on the
clothes
What is Ecology?
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The study of living systems, at and
above the level of organization of the
individual (“whole organism biology”)
Definition (text): “Ecology is the study of
interactions between organisms [including
humans] and between organisms and their
environments”
It’s about what controls abundance of
species, and the diversity and functions of
species
Mathmatical
Evolutionary
Population
(metapopulations)
Behaviour
Chemical
Community
(Ecosystems)
What is Ecology NOT?
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Environmental Science
Environmentalism
Conservation Biology/Science
Resource management
 Wildlife
 Fisheries
 Soil
Resources
 Forestry
Why study Ecology?
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Because it’s there--intellectual curiosity as to
how our world works
Value of ecological systems to humans
Ecosystem services (Table 1, Stiling text)
 Valuation of global ecosystem services (Table 2,
Stiling)
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Huge (often detrimental) impact of humans on
global ecosystems--ecology holds key to
predicting our future
(informs political and societal choices)
How do Ecologists go
about their science?
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Scientific method = hypothetico-deductive method
Verification versus falsification of hypotheses
(Popper)
Search for unifying principles
Inductive logic
Observations,
experiments,
patterns
Deductive logic
Models, hypotheses as to how
systems function; i.e., processes
“black box”
Other aspects of ecological method
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Diverse activities
 Hypothesis
testing (experimental, observational;
proximate versus ultimate, pattern vs mechanism)
 Kinds (& merits) of experiments (lab, field, natural)
 Use of statistics & models (e.g., meta-analysis)
 Induction/synthesis of hypotheses
 Advances in observation, measurement precision
 Review of literature (e.g., meta-analysis)
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Use of null models, null hypotheses (H0)--e.g.,
“idiosyncratic hypothesis” for relationship between
ecosystem process and species richness (Hubbell
etc.)
Statistical analysis
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Is the difference between population means
(averages) large enough to be meaningful,
i.e., “statistically significant” (e.g., t-test)
Association among variables
 Correlation
and regression
 Contingency tables (e.g., chi-squared test)
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Meta-analysis = combination of the effects of
multiple experiments (treatment effect size,
“d”, averaged by study, weighted by number
of replicates)
Range of questions asked
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Levels of organization important to ecology
 Behavior
(& physiological ecology..I./e. individuals)
 Population (example of Centauria diffusa-- Stiling text,
ch. 1)
 Community
 Ecosystem
 Biosphere
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[global change]
Scale of ecological phenomena, in space and
time--depends on nature of question
 Spatial
scale related to level of organization
 Temporal scale (e.g., Jackson et al., 2001, Historical
overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems.
Science 293: 629-638.)