Introduction to Ecology Session 1 Introduction to the
- Slides: 33
Introduction to Ecology Session 1 – Introduction to the Study of Ecology
The Science of Ecology • • • Goals for the day Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
The Science of Ecology • • • Goals for the day Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
Ecology vs Environmentalism • Scientific societies and activist groups – often in conflict with each other • Earth First, Greenpeace, and WWF • Industry – e. g. , GMO’s: Pandora’s box or chicken little? • Individuals vs populations – Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy or
Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy • Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) – Integral part of native Hawaiian Luau culture – Introduced by both Polynesians and Europeans (2 spp) – Rooting destroys many plants – Create wallows, water collects, and encourages mosquitoes to breed
Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy • Nature Conservancy – Attempting to eradicate the pig from their lands – Uses ecological impact of pigs as justification for their removal – Capture through noose snare-trapping, as this is the easiest way to capture the animals
Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy • PETA – Recognizes the impact that these pigs have on the ecology – Snare-trapping is protracted, inhumane, and a painful way to kill them – Advocates for humane trapping and then quick kills – Ignores financial cost
Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy • Resolution? – Still to be found – Nature Conservancy continues to trap • A few write-ups of the controversy are available from the Honolulu Advertiser • A more general discussion of invasives in Hawaii is availble from USGS
Key Distinctions • Ecology is a science – Our focus in this course • Environmentalism is a cause – With our without scientific backing • Conservation Biology is the integration of these two – Using science to support a political cause
The Science of Ecology • • • Goals for the day Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
History of Ecological Thought • From Thoreau to modern times • Historically has been literature-based appreciation of nature • Subsequently became more of a descriptive science
Darwinian References • “…how infinitely complex and closefitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings to each other and to their physical conditions of life. ” – Origin of Species
The Science of Ecology • • • Goals for the day Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
Definition of Ecology • “To determine the factors that have produced the present distribution and abundance of organisms” – (Jonathan Krebs, 1972)
Factors Influencing Organismal Distribution and Abundance • Abiotic – – Climate Topography Latitude Altitude • Biotic – Intraspecific Interactions – Interspecific Interactions
The Science of Ecology • • • Goals for the day Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
Scientific Method and Hypothesis Testing • Goals: – Judge good science • Hudson River PCB dredging • Electromagnetic radiation and cancer • Sea otters, killer whales and overfishing – Do good science
Goals of science • Describe the patterns that are found in the natural world – Purely descriptive in nature – Historically this was “ecology”, a. k. a. naturalism • Make up explanations and then stop there • Test Explanation of Patterns – This is the major emphasis of most of what we usually call “science” – Key component: TEST these explanations! • How to test these explanations? – The Scientific Method
Methods of Explanation • • Include those of descriptive science Approximately 11 Steps Process is repeated many times Can NEVER prove a hypothesis – Can only reject many, leaving one as best supported by the data – “Proof” is a common fallacy • Centerpiece of this method are Hypotheses
Types of Hypotheses • Null hypothesis – The hypothesis of no change – Often abbreviated as Ho • Alternative hypotheses – Often abbreviated as Ha, Hb, etc. – All must be mutually exclusive (including the null) – We accept an Ha if Ho is first statistically rejected • Which Ha to accept is determined by trends in data
Scientific Method - Steps 1 -5 1. Observe or suspect pattern 2. Posit cause or significance of observed difference 3. Create answerable question to explain pattern 4. Create testable hypotheses – Null (Ho ) and alternate hypotheses (Ha) 5. Design experiment
Scientific Method - Steps 6 -11 6. Collect data (descriptive stage) 7. Analyze data, primarily using statistics 8. Evaluate hypotheses, reject Ho? 9. Make conclusions based on data 10. Note problems in current work 11. Predict future directions for research
An Exercise… • Come up with an observation that you’ve seen recently and work through how you would implement the above 11 steps
Parts of a scientific report • • Title Abstract - an overall summary Introduction - background, question, Has Methods - what we did Results - what we found, analyses results Discussion - interpretations, predictions Acknowledgements - who helped us References - who we cited
Transmission Methods in Science • Written report (articles, chapters, books) – Traditional • Oral presentation – Commonly used for preliminary presentation of work to get feedback before writing it up • Poster – Visual summary of work - used at conferences • Web page – Can use a written report & make it interactive
How to Evaluate Science? • • Do the data address the question? Is there enough data to support the claim? Has the study been replicated elsewhere? Are alternative interpretations considered? Is it peer-reviewed? Is it presented objectively? Are there real controls?
The Science of Ecology • • • Goals for the day Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
What is the Organization of Ecology? • Ranges widely from individual to biosphere studies • Most of ecology happens in the current time – Proximate Explanations • Only a few fields (e. g. , evolutionary ecology and paleoecology) are concerned with past environments and historical time – Ultimate Explanations
Proximate Fields • Emphasis of this course • Examples, by scale – Population • Growth rates, PVA, Population genetics, Metapopulation analyses, etc. – Community • Interspecific interactions, Environmental impact statements, etc. – Ecosystem • Energy, Matter, Nutrient flow, Pollution,
Ultimate Fields • Evolutionary Ecology – Using trees of relationship (phylogenies) to address ecological questions – E. g. , evolution of swordtail length and preference in platys • Behavioral Ecology – Comparing a few closely related species to address ecological questions • Paleoecology – Attempting to recreate the ecology of ancient times – One of the goals is to recreate the ancient environment in which the lineages may have evolved
Proximate Fields Revisited • Trends down pyramid: – Increase in geographic scale Population – From single species to multiple species Community – Increasing number of ecological factors that may be influential Ecosystem – Decreasing certainty in results
Assignment for Next week: • Establish your Ecological Footprint – How much of an impact you have on the planet • Instructions are all online, and available here • Turn in at beginning of class – We will discuss it then
Next Week: The Tour of the Basic Fields of Ecology Begins • Population ecology – Next week’s emphasis • Community ecology • Ecosystem ecology • Conservation Issues – Application of above to real world problems
- Chapter 52 an introduction to ecology and the biosphere
- Chapter 52 an introduction to ecology and the biosphere
- Section 18-1 introduction to ecology worksheet answers
- Lesson 1: introduction to ecology answer key
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