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Scope of Ecology Ecology (from Greek word oikos “household” and logos “study of”) • Is the scientific study of the distribution, abundance and relationship between organisms and their environment Environment • Includes not only the physical but also the biological conditions under which an organism lives Relationship • Includes interactions with the physical world and with members of other species and the same species The term ecology was coined by the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866. He called it Oecologie and defined its scope as the study of the relationship of animals to their environment. 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. • Environmental science provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems • Organisms interact Ecosystem with their environment within the context of the ecosystem. • Eco – relates to the environment • System – a collection of related parts that function as a unit. Ecosystem consists of two basic interacting components: •biotic (living) •abiotic (physical) Ecosystem components form a • All organisms of a given kind constitute a hierarchy species. Each species represents a particular array of hereditary material called a gene pool, which is distinct from the gene pools of other species. • Populations – groups of individual organisms of the same species that interbreed and occupy given areas at given times. Each organism and population has a habitat, the place where it lives. • Community – populations of plant and animals species living and interacting in a given area at a given time. • Ecosystem – community of living things that interact with each other and with the physical environment. • Biosphere – combination of all ecosystems The Organism and its Environment Fundamental ways the organism relates to its environment • Environmental conditions vary both in time and space – All organisms live in a varying physical environment of temperature, moisture, light, and nutrients. • Organisms need a fairly constant internal environment • Homeostasis – the maintenance of conditions within the range that the organism can tolerate • Homeostasis is possible only within a limited range of conditions – Leibig’s law of the minimum (the performance of an organism will be a function of the most limiting environmental factor) • An organism cannot do equally well in differing environments – The characteristics that enable an organism to do well under one set of conditions limit its performance under a different set of conditions. • The distribution of organisms reflects environmental variation • Environmental components – Affect the distribution and abundance of organisms Kangaroos/km2 > 20 10–20 5–10 1–5 0.1–1 < 0.1 Limits of distribution Figure 50.2 Southern Australia has cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. Climate in northern Australia is hot and wet, with seasonal drought. Red kangaroos occur in most semiarid and arid regions of the interior, where precipitation is relatively low and variable from year to year. Southeastern Australia has a wet, cool climate. Tasmania • An organism lives in a habitat – The actual location or place where an organism lives is called its habitat • Constraints and trade-offs in habitat use define an organism’s niche • The basic role of an organism in the community – what it does, its relationship to its food and enemies (species occupation) • Includes all the physical and biological variables that affect an organism’s well-being