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Transcript of 1 Introduction to Ecology: Historical Foundations and Developing Frontiers Chapter 1 Copyright ©...
1
Introduction to Ecology: Historical Foundations and Developing Frontiers
Chapter 1
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
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Outline
• Overview of Ecology• Ecology of Forest Birds• Forest Canopy Research• Climatic and Ecological Change• The Scope of Ecology
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Overview of Ecology
• Ecology: Study of relationships between organisms and the environment. Simple definition does not convey the
extreme breadth of this discipline.• Ecosystem: Includes all organisms living in
an area, and the physical environment with which these organisms interact. Biosphere: Highest level of ecological
organization.
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Ecology of Forest Birds
• Robert MacArthur studied the ecology of five species of warblers in spruce forests in N.A. Theory predicted two species with
identical ecological requirements could not coexist indefinitely.
Studies found warblers coexisted by feeding in different zones of the same tree.
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Bay-breasted Warbler
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Blackburnian Warbler
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
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Cape May Warbler
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Warbler Feeding Zones
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Stable Isotope Analysis
• Chemical elements have different atomic masses (isotopes)
• Proportions of isotopes vary across the environment and this is reflected in the body tissue of organisms Recent advances in ecology take
advantage of this variation By examining body tissue, ecologists
can determine food sources and habitat use
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Forest Canopy Research
• Due to heavy rainfall, many rainforest soils are nutrient-poor. Nutrient stores in rainforest canopies are
associated with epiphytes. Epiphyte mats contain significant
quantities of nutrients. Trees send roots up to epiphyte mats
to access nutrients.
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Climatic and Ecological Change
• Many environmental changes occur over large spatial or temporal scales.
• Davis monitored plant pollen deposited in lake sediments in the Appalachian Mtns. Documented large temporal changes to
nearby plant communities.
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Paleoecology: Vegetation History from Pollen Sediments
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The Scope of Ecology
• Ecology: Study of relationships between organisms and the environment. Wide variety of approaches.
Large temporal and spatial scales. Field Lab Observational Manipulative