An Outline of Ecology
BIOLOGY 331: GENERAL ECOLOGY
TEST 1, FALL 2009
STUDY GUIDE
Concepts:
What is Ecology? • Foundation Disciplines (esp., behavior, ecology, genetics, evolution) • What it is not (i.e., not a study of environmental problems, but rather a study of interactions among organisms and environment)
Levels of Organization • Individual organism • Population • Community • Ecosystem (with the abiotic environment)
Limiting Factors – abiotic vs. biotic
Adaptation
• Ecotypic adaptation vs. phenotypic plasticity • Examples
Examples of Laws and Rules governing organism’s/population’s success • Liebig’s Law of the Minimum • Blackman’s Law of Limiting Factors • Shelford’s Law of Tolerance • Bergmann’s Rule – role of S/V • Allen’s Rule – role of S/V • Gloger’s Rule – pigmentation in hot, humid climates
Ecosystem Processes • Water Cycle • Water and plants • Photosynthesis • movement based on Ψ (Greek symbol, psi, water potential) • transpiration-cohesion hypothesis • Pollution and water-use efficiency • Animal adaptations to drought and excess water conditions • Freshwater vs. marine osmotic balance adaptations • Mammalian nephron structure and function • Effects of relative nephron length • Nutrients • functions of specific nutrients • Carbon cycle • Know diagram • Nitrogen cycle • Know processes: Fixation, ammonification, nitrification, denitrification • Phosphorus cycle • Know diagram • Human impacts on nutrient cycles • Fertilizers and Eutrophication
Effects of Global Change and Elevated CO2 • Global warming • Domino effect with ΔN content • Community shift with ΔWUE
Trophic interactions and energy flow • Energy and work • Trophic terminology (types of feeders) • Autotroph, heterotroph, producer, consumer, herbivore,
TEST 1, FALL 2009
STUDY GUIDE
Concepts:
What is Ecology? • Foundation Disciplines (esp., behavior, ecology, genetics, evolution) • What it is not (i.e., not a study of environmental problems, but rather a study of interactions among organisms and environment)
Levels of Organization • Individual organism • Population • Community • Ecosystem (with the abiotic environment)
Limiting Factors – abiotic vs. biotic
Adaptation
• Ecotypic adaptation vs. phenotypic plasticity • Examples
Examples of Laws and Rules governing organism’s/population’s success • Liebig’s Law of the Minimum • Blackman’s Law of Limiting Factors • Shelford’s Law of Tolerance • Bergmann’s Rule – role of S/V • Allen’s Rule – role of S/V • Gloger’s Rule – pigmentation in hot, humid climates
Ecosystem Processes • Water Cycle • Water and plants • Photosynthesis • movement based on Ψ (Greek symbol, psi, water potential) • transpiration-cohesion hypothesis • Pollution and water-use efficiency • Animal adaptations to drought and excess water conditions • Freshwater vs. marine osmotic balance adaptations • Mammalian nephron structure and function • Effects of relative nephron length • Nutrients • functions of specific nutrients • Carbon cycle • Know diagram • Nitrogen cycle • Know processes: Fixation, ammonification, nitrification, denitrification • Phosphorus cycle • Know diagram • Human impacts on nutrient cycles • Fertilizers and Eutrophication
Effects of Global Change and Elevated CO2 • Global warming • Domino effect with ΔN content • Community shift with ΔWUE
Trophic interactions and energy flow • Energy and work • Trophic terminology (types of feeders) • Autotroph, heterotroph, producer, consumer, herbivore,