Topic 1

Question 1

Ecology

Answer 1

study of interactions between organisms and organisms and their environment.

(biotic and abiotic)

ecology is a quantitative science. meaning you want to find a way to measure something in order to get an answer to a question.

while natural history is descriptive, in which ecologists take info to ask a question in order to then find an answer. it is an account of organisms and their enviro

Question 2

Pike and their ecology

Answer 2

Live in a rocky area with not a lot of vegetation. They have burrows in between rocks.

They collect vegetation and put them in piles called hay piles. They dry them out in the sun and save them for winter.

These are the types of questions one can then ponder:
What kind of plants are they taking? Do they have a preference? Why would they have a preference?

They also compete with other species like the (?)

Question 3

levels of ecological organization (or hierarchy)

Answer 3

↑ spatial and ↓ temporal scales

Individuals
↓
Populations = a group of potentially interbreeding individuals of a specific species in a specific area.
↓
Community = an association between different species living in a particular area, interactions between them and their environment.
↓
Ecosystem = a biological community + all abiotic factors influencing a community.
↓
Landscape = the patchwork of ecosystems in an area. important b/c many species dont stay in 1 ecosystem.
↓
Biome
↓
Biosphere = the portion of earth that supports life.

Question 4

Environmentalism

Answer 4

social or political philosophy or movement that focuses on minimizing or eliminating human impacts.

ecology = tools and info

enviro = uses tools and info to make a change

why should we care?
- impacts many ppl
–> agriculture
–> forest fires
–> more interactions between humans and wild life, which displays a disconnect between humans and nature. can help teach respect to nature and safer interactions

Question 5

Ecology of Forest birds

Answer 5

5 species of warblers in sprue forests in North America, all approx. same size and fed on insects in the trees.

“How could they all live in the same area if they are so similar?”
–> occupying different niches.

“How would you observe the feeding behaviour of these birds?”
–> 1 way is to sit and watch

“What kind of equipment would you need?”
–> binoculars, cameras, systems to do math

“How long would it take?”
–> can take months to years to collect data

Found that the birds fed on different sections of the trees, some of which overlapped slightly. some ate up top, middle, bottom, the inner part, outer part.

Question 6

scientific method with warblers

Answer 6

Observations: 5 species that eat similar things and live in same area.

Question: how’d they all lived in the same area?

Hypothesis (bigger pic): Avoid competition by acquiring diff resources.

Prediction (more detailed): coexist by feeding in different zones of the trees.

Test (experiment or additional observations): observed warblers = quantify where they fed, count how much they eat in one area or time spent in 1 area.

–> test does not support hyp, revise it or pose new one.
–> test supports hyp, make additional predictions and test them.

Question 7

ELA (experimental lake areas) whole-lake experiments

Answer 7

big question (1960s): lakes were turning green from algae, called eutrophication (algae blooms), in which they take up so much oxygen they can kill lakes off.

Observations: lakes were turning green from algae.

Question: what causes lakes to turn green?

Hypothesis: P usually limited in aquatic enviros and this limits algae growth.

Prediction: adding P to a lake will cause an algal bloom

Test (experiment or additional observation): add P to a Lake. + many other chemicals to rule them out.

Found that cause of eutrophication was P, P was coming from household detergents, then detergents with P were banned and water quality improved.