* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Concepts in contemporary ecological theory Ecology is the study of
Renewable resource wikipedia , lookup
Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project wikipedia , lookup
Biodiversity action plan wikipedia , lookup
Biogeography wikipedia , lookup
Source–sink dynamics wikipedia , lookup
Ecosystem services wikipedia , lookup
Storage effect wikipedia , lookup
Ecological fitting wikipedia , lookup
Human impact on the nitrogen cycle wikipedia , lookup
Molecular ecology wikipedia , lookup
Triclocarban wikipedia , lookup
Soundscape ecology wikipedia , lookup
Cultural ecology wikipedia , lookup
Restoration ecology wikipedia , lookup
Conservation psychology wikipedia , lookup
Reconciliation ecology wikipedia , lookup
Habitat conservation wikipedia , lookup
Ecological resilience wikipedia , lookup
Concepts in contemporary ecological theory Ecology is the study of relationship between a species and its environment. Environment consists of all those objects and forces external to the organism with which it interacts or by which it is affected. Most organisms exist in units known as populations, groups of individuals of the same species who occupy the same given area and interbreed with one another. Specific area where a population lives is its habitat. The niche of a population in environment is its place, or how it makes a living (its “profession”). Habitat is a concrete idea whereas niche is more abstract concept; since it includes how the population interacts with both natural resources and other populations. Adaptation is the process by which organisms or populations make biological or behavioral adjustments that facilitate their survival and reproductive success in their environment. Ecosystem -- cycle of matter, information and energy that includes all organic things and links them to the inorganic. Exchanges of energy, matter, and information can go on through a number of trophic levels, or levels of feeding relationships, i.e., producers, herbivores, and consumers. Sequence of exchange is also known as the food chain. Every environment is limited in ability to support life. Limiting factors (food, water, temperature, rainfall, presence of disease causing organisms, etc.) help determine the carrying capacity of an environment the point at or below which a population tends to stabilize or, alternatively, the limit to which a population can grow and still be supported by the environment. Really the maximum number of individuals of a population that a given ecosystem can support without. Carrying capacity determined not just by the total amount of food available (i.e., calories) but also by quality of food in form of proteins, vitamins, minerals. For human populations, carrying capacity can vary with technology. Two important properties of ecosystems: stability and resilience. Resilience is a measure of the degree of change a system can undergo while still maintaining its basic elements or relationships. Stability is a measure of the speed with which a system returns to equilibrium after absorbing disturbances. Ecosystems may be highly resilient, yet have low stability, taking longer to return to equilibrium. But despite the long period necessary to return to stability they continue to persist as systems since their parts do not change. On the other hand, ecosystems may be highly stable, that is they return to equilibrium quickly, but have low resilience because they are likely to collapse. How/why are humans different? Human interaction with environment differs from all other animal species in two ways: o 1. While niche of most animal species is relatively narrow ... Humans occupy an exceptionally broad ecological niche and can be found in an extremely wide range of habitats. o 2. Once humans enter an ecosystem they tend to become the dominant species and affect thesurvival and adaptiveness of other species. Ability to modify environment (through technology) means that we can create artificial environments (farms & cities) that must be sustained with enormous inputs of energy, matter and information. Draws not just from local ecosystem but often from very far away. Tremendous ability to modify environment means that human dominated ecosystems are often considerably less resilient than other ecosystems. They can be maintained only by constant expenditure of human energy and ingenuity. Evolutionary ecology -- study of living organisms within context of their total environment, with the aim of discovering how their evolved characteristics and strategies for survival contribute to their success in that environment. Combines synchronic (present) research from ecology with diachronic (change over time) perspective of evolution. Dual inheritance of humans -- cultural transmission and change working simultaneously with a parallel process of natural selection. In the process of adapting, humans are active decision makers and innovations lead to change. Flexibility is key. o "The organism with the best chance of reproductive success is not necessarily the one most perfectly adjusted to its environment at any particular point, but rather the one that maintains its ability to respond to the environment in a flexible variety of ways" (Bates page 32)