Transcript ecology_intro_ppt

Environment & Ecology
001 Introduction
Environment – the natural world
that we live in and interact with.
Ecology – the study of the
interaction of organisms with their
environments.
The word "ecology" coined from
Greek word "oikos", which
means "house" or "place to live”.
It involves understanding biotic
and abiotic factors influencing
the distribution and abundance of
living things.
Biotic Factors
Biotic factors are all the living things or their
materials that directly or indirectly affect an
organism in its environment.
Some Biotic Factors
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Parasitism
Disease
Predation
Food availability
Habitat availability
Competitors
Symbiotic Relationships
Abiotic Factors
Abiotic factors are the nonliving things in an
environment.
Some Abiotic Factors
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pH
Temp
Nitrates
Rainfall
Climate Conditions
Natural disasters
Salinity
O2 levels
Fig. 52-2
Organism
Studies in
Environment
& Ecology
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Landscape
Biosphere
Population
• A population is all the members of a
given species in a given area.
Example - All the green turtles in
Kaneohe Bay
Community
• Community - all the species in a given
area.
Example - all the living things in Kaneohe
Bay
Ecosystem
• Environment – encompasses the interaction
between the living and nonliving world in a
particular geographic area. Ex. Rocks and Trees
Niche
• A plant's or animal's niche is a way of life
that is unique to that species.
• Niche and habitat are not the same.
While many species may share a habitat,
this is not true of a niche. Each plant and
animal species is a member of a
community.
• The niche describes the species' role or
function within this community.
Niche
• Moray eel’s habitat might
include coral reefs, coral
rubble, and caves, is shared
with many animals .
• The niche is that of a predator.
• Only the moray occupies this
niche in the coral reef
community. However, a
different species of animal may
occupy a similar niche to that of
the moray.
Niche
What niche does the Hawaiian
Cleaner Wrasse fill?
Niche
What niche does the Ewa blenny fill?
Niche
No two animals can
occupy the same niche
at the same time.
Result = competition
Environmental Science
An interdisciplinary academic field that
integrates physical and biological sciences,
(including physics, chemistry, biology, soil
science, geology, and geography) to the
study of the environment, and the solution of
environmental problems.
Environmentalism
A social movement dedicated to protecting
the natural world from undesirable changes
brought about by human actions.
Environmental Ethics
A process of applying a set of ethical
standards to the relationships between
human and nonhuman entities.
Sustainable Ethics
• The earth has a limited supply of
resources.
• Humans must conserve resources.
• Humans share the earth's resources with
other living things.
• Growth is not sustainable.
• Humans are a part of nature.
• Humans are affected by natural laws.
• Humans succeed best when they
maintain the integrity of natural
processes sand cooperate with nature.
Environmental Ethics
Anthropocentrism
Cost-benefit analysis
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Loggers
Nuclear Power
Oil Companies
Hydroelectric plants
Environmental Ethics
Biocentrism
Environmental Ethics
Ecocentrism
Nature has moral consideration
because it has intrinsic value, value
aside from its usefulness to
humans.
http://www.malamahawaii.org/
Environmental Ethics
Ecocentrism10
Voluntary Human
Extinction Movement
http://www.vhemt.org/
Environmentalists
Alfred Leopold- wildlife ecology
John Muir
Rachel Carson
Chico Mendes- Brazil
Wangari Maathai- green belt S. Africa
Environmental Justice
Fair and equitable treatment of all
people with respect to environmental
policy and practice, regardless of
their income, race or ethnicity.
Ecological Footprint
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
Sustainable Solutions
How would you
address the following
concerns?
• Energy demands
• Water use
• Population
• Land management
• Waste management
Mass Extinction Events
Recent Extinctions
Recent Extinctions
Yangtze river dolphin
2007
West African Black Rhino
2006
Tasmanian Tiger 1936
Golden toad 2007
Who’s next?
Steller’s sea cow
~1770
Pre-European contact
Amazon Rainforest
Deforestation
Indigenous cultures
Dustbowl
Potato Famine
BP Deepwater Horizon 2010
Fukushima Power Plant 2011
Natural Disasters
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Natural Disasters
Earthquakes/Tsunami
Haiti 2010
Chile 2010
Indonesia
2005
Japan 2011
Polynesian Migration
Rapa Nui
• Polynesians
arrived 700 AD,
sailing from the
west.
• They lived an
isolated existence
for the next
thousand years
Ecological Disaster
• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
– Isolated Pacific island with poor soil and little water
– Originally covered by Chilean Wine Palms
– No native edible plants
– Rich in seafood and nesting animals
Ecological Disaster
• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
– Settled by 25-50 Polynesians in 5th century
• Survived easily on seafood, chickens,
bananas, taro and yams, plenty of
free time
• Developed elaborate competition
between clans with moai (statues)
– Civilization peaked at 1550, with
population of ~12000
Carrying Capacity
• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
– Reached by a Dutch ship in 1722
• Found about 2,000 people living in caves
• Primitive society, constant warfare
– Rapa Nui’s carrying capacity had been
drastically lowered by society’s actions:
• Transportation of moai had required cutting down
trees
• Erosion of soil made yams scarce
• Lack of canoes made fishing difficult and escape
impossible
Moai
• Ancestor worship
• With their backs to the
sea they could inspire
and protect the
Islanders.
• Moai carving and
transport were in full
swing from 1400 to
1600, just 122 years
before first contact
with European visitors
to the island.
The Cost of the Moai
• The Moai took a
tremendous amount of
natural resources and
human energy
• Movement required human
energy, ropes, wooden
sledges, lifting logs and/or
rollers.
• There are nearly 900 moai
in various stages of
completion, some stones
weighed 80t, and were
transported 16km from the
quarry.
Catastrophe
Archaeological evidence includes:
• disappearance of trees
• disappearance the island's bird life
• disappearance of evidence of people
eating porpoise and tuna.
• wooden carvings of emaciated people
• the appearance of a new implement spear tips.
Stone Tools
chisels
Fish hooks
knives
Civil Warfare
Rapa Nui’s Lesson
The islanders carried out for us the experiment of
permitting unrestricted population growth, profligate
use of resources, destruction of the environment and
boundless confidence in their religion to take care of
the future. The result was an ecological disaster
leading to a population crash … Do we have to repeat
the experiment on a grand scale? … Is the human
personality always the same as that of the person
who felled the last tree?
Paul Bahn and John Flenley,
Easter Island, Easter Island 1992
http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/big_box_mart
QUESTION: Review
The term “environment” includes:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Living things, such as animals and plants
Non-living things, such as rivers and soil
Buildings and cities
All of the above are included in this term
QUESTION: Review
A Neo-Malthusian would say that predicted
massive human starvation has not yet occurred
because:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Diseases have been eradicated
Enough people are dying from war and conflict
Agriculture has postponed massive starvation
People are too dumb to limit their population
growth
QUESTION: Review
Which of the following is correct about the term
“environmentalism”?
a) It involves pursuing knowledge to understand the
natural world.
b) It is a social movement to protect the environment.
c) It usually does not include advocacy for the
environment.
d) It requires trying to remain objective.
QUESTION: Review
An anthropocentric worldview would consider
the impact of an action on:
a) Plants only
b) Animals only
c) Humans only
d) All living things
e) All non-living things
QUESTION: Review
Which ethic holds that resources should be wisely
used?
a) Preservation ethic
b) Land ethic
c)
Conservation ethic
d) Deep ecology
e) Biocentrism
QUESTION: Review
What is the definition of “sustainable
development”?
a) Using resources to benefit future generations, even
if it means lower availability now
b) Letting future generations figure out their own
problems
c) Letting each country decide what is its best interest
d) Using resources to satisfy current needs without
compromising future availability
QUESTION: Weighing the Issues
Which do you think is the best way to protect
commonly owned resources (i.e., air, water,
fisheries)?
a) Sell the resource to a private entity
b) Let organizations themselves decide if they want to
participate in protecting the resource
c) Enact governmental regulations
d) Do nothing and see what happens
QUESTION: Weighing the Issues
Do you think the rest of the world can have an
ecological footprint as large as the footprint of
the United States?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Yes, because we will find new technologies and
resources to overcome environmental problems.
Yes, because the footprint of the United States is
not really that large compared to other countries.
Definitely not. The world does not have that
many resources.
It does not matter. It’s not that important.
QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and
Data
According to this graph,
what has happened to the
population over the last 500
years?
a) It has grown
enormously.
b) It has grown
slower than
food
production.
c) It has
decreased.
d) It has slowed
down recently.