Introduction To Ecology

INTRODUCTION TO
ECOLOGY
ECOLOGY
 Taken from Greek words “oikos” and “logos”

 the scientific study of the relationships
between organisms & their environment
 Ecology studies the “factors affecting the
density and distribution of organisms”
Biotic vs. Abiotic Factors
 Biotic –“biological” environment:

 Neighbors, predators, prey, parasites, etc.
 Abiotic–non-living factors:
 Moisture
 Temperature
 Sunlight
 Nutrients
 Salinity
Biotic vs. Abiotic Factors
Ecology vs. “Natural History”
 Natural history provides a descriptive account of organisms and

their environment
 Ecology is a quantitative science that tests hypotheses, and often

incorporates theory
Ecology vs. “Environmentalism”
 Ecology is a branch of science
 Environmentalism(or environmental activism) is a social and

political movement
Branches of Ecology
 Hierarchical organization –according to level of organization

 Conceptual organization –according to theoretical construct or
processes studied
 Taxonomic –according to organisms studied
Branches of Ecology
 Time/Place -According to time/place

 Methodological organization –according to method used (or
technology used)
 Theoretical vs. applied (problem solving) -etc.
Hierarchical Structure of Ecological
Systems
 Organism – fundamental unit of ecology. No smaller unit in
biology has an independent life in the environment.
 Population – a group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a
specific area (c.f. all the individuals of a given species)
 Community – an association of interacting species living in a
particular area.
Systems
 Ecosystem – a biological community plus all of the abiotic factors
influencing that community.
 Biosphere – the aggregation of all ecosystems. The living zone of
the planet.
Systems
What level of ecological hierarchy is
illustrated?
Principle of Integrative Levels
(Principle of Hierarchical Control)
 As components combine to produce larger functional wholes in
hierarchical series, new properties emerge.
“Conceptual” Divisions in Ecology
 Descriptive (e.g. natural history approach)

 Functional (according to functional properties)
 Evolutionary ecology (according to evolutionary concepts)
Ecological Questions
 What Questions: (Descriptive ecology)

 What organisms & environments occur in a given area? What are their
distributions? What are their quantities?
 How Questions: (Functional ecology)
 How are organisms & environments functionally related? How are relations
similar & different in similar/different ecosystems?
 Why Questions: (Evolutionary ecology)
 Why are organisms functionally related to each other & their environments
in certain ways & not others? or in certain ecosystems & not others?
Subdivisions of Other Branches
 Taxonomic: plant ecology, animal ecology, microbial ecology, avian

ecology, etc.
 Time/Place: marine ecology, tropical ecology, freshwater ecology, paleo-
ecology
 Processes: behavioral ecology, physiological ecology, evolutionary
ecology
How Do Ecologists Study the Natural
World?
 Ecologists, like other scientists, often employ the scientific method to
answer questions:
 A set of rules & steps followed by researchers/investigators in the natural sciences
 Consists of: Observation& descriptions of natural phenomena
 Developing hypotheses
 Testing the predictions of the hypotheses
Hypothesis
 A hypothesis is a tentative explanation of a phenomenon.

 A prediction based upon past experience.
 It's an "educated guess" about what you expect to happen.
 Hypotheses should be testable via experimental procedures or field
studies
Hypothesis
 Null hypothesis testing in statistics

 Null hypothesis
 A hypothesis that is set up to be nullified or refuted
 Stated in terms of "no difference” between observed results and expected results
 Is presumed true until statistical evidence indicates otherwise
 Alternative hypothesis
 A rival hypothesis that assumes the opposite of the null hypothesis
Hypothesis
Example:
 Null hypothesis (Ho): Particle size does not affect the distribution of
snails in the littoral zone.
 Alternative hypothesis (Ha): Particle size does affect the distribution of
snails in the littoral zone.
Some Scientific Method that can be
used in Ecology:
 Controlled experiments testing hypotheses

 “Natural experiments” –let nature do the manipulation
 Monitoring –e.g. field instrumentation, remote sensing
 Modeling –e.g. population models, ecosystem models
Pitfalls to Ecological Studies
 Many ecological questions can not be easily tested with conventional

experiments
 Too large or too complex (or too small and complex!)
 Too many variables (we cannot control factors)
 Patterns may have evolved over long periods (or may be very fast and escape
our notice)
 Cannot be replicated
 A correlation does not imply causation

 Mechanisms need to be determined independently
 More than one explanation may fit a situation equally well
 avoid simplistic, one dimensional hypotheses; consider alternatives
 Multiple causation
 The Scientific Method assumes alternative hypotheses are mutually exclusive
 Can we identify all factors that contribute to pattern?
 Can we determine relative importance of each factor?Does it vary among
with thecontext?
 Scale
 Patterns (& mechanisms) can change as spatial & temporal scale changes
(e.g. concept of emergent properties)
Approaches to These Problems
 Microcosms can be useful:

 They replicate essential features of a larger system in a
more controlled laboratory or field setting
 Rogowski(2006) used mesocosms to investigate the

effects of mosquitofish & crayfish on populations of
White Sands pupfish
Approaches to These Problems
 Mathematical models are powerful tools:

 Mathematical formulations are used to represent natural processes
 Portrays our understanding of how a system works
 Can test hypotheses by comparing modelled results to what really occurs or
by comparing modelled “treatments and controls”

Introduction To Ecology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction To Ecology

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction To Ecology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INTRODUCTION TO

 Taken from Greek words “oikos” and “logos”

 Biotic –“biological” environment:

 Natural history provides a descriptive account of organisms and

 Ecology is a quantitative science that tests hypotheses, and often

 Ecology is a branch of science

 Environmentalism(or environmental activism) is a social and

 Hierarchical organization –according to level of organization

 Time/Place -According to time/place

 Descriptive (e.g. natural history approach)

 What Questions: (Descriptive ecology)

 Taxonomic: plant ecology, animal ecology, microbial ecology, avian

 A hypothesis is a tentative explanation of a phenomenon.

 Null hypothesis testing in statistics

 Controlled experiments testing hypotheses

 Many ecological questions can not be easily tested with conventional

 A correlation does not imply causation

 Microcosms can be useful:

 Rogowski(2006) used mesocosms to investigate the

 Mathematical models are powerful tools:

You might also like