Unit 1: Introduction

Cards (39)

  • OEKOLOGIE
    • derived from “oikos” (Greek) + “logus” (Latin)
    • the study of nature’s household
    • concept coined by Ernst Haeckel – the study of plants, animals, microorganisms, their relationship with each other and with their physical environment
  • Ecology
    • a study of nature
    • physical, chemical, and biological processes of our environment and how these processes operate as a system
    • study of the relationship of organisms with their environment
  • Organisms
    • includes man as a biological species
    • utilize matter and energy from the natural world and use them to life
    • engage in biological processes to sustain life
  • Biological processes
    • Metabolism (photosynthesis & cellular respiration), growth, reproduction, migration
  • Environment
    • consists of all factors and phenomena outside of the organism that influences its survival and reproduction
  • Physico-chemical environment
    • include temperature, moisture, soil, water, chemical elements
    • factors interact which influence life of organisms (e.g. water flow in a stream)
  • Biotic environment
    • refers to the influence of one organism on another
  • Relationships
    • include all interactions, positive & negative with the physical environment and the members of other species and individuals of the same species
    “organisms and their environment are strongly coupled” – operate as a SYSTEM
  • SYSTEM - consists of interdependent parts that make up a whole.
    • The components plus their interactions and with the necessary input deliver the specific output which each part cannot do on its own.
    • The Earth is both a closed and open system.
  • Rachel Carson
    • American nature writer whose books played a major role in shaping and popularizing the modern environmental movement.
    • Silent Sring
  • Charles Darwin
    • theory of organic evolution by means of natural selection
    • Preservation of favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
  • Charles Elton
    • concept of the pyramid of numbers and one of the inventors of the concepts of food chain, food we, and ecological niche.
  • John Harper
    • revolutionized plant ecology
    • impact on its development as a modern science than any other ecologist in the 20th century
  • G. Evelyn Hutchinson
    • advocated quantitative approaches
    • revamping an existing concept, the ecological niche, into a more robust and explicit idea in which species distribution is mapped into axes of environmental variation
  • Aldo Leopold
    • A Sand Country Almanac
    • Sketches Here and There
  • E. Lucy Braun
    • deciduous Forests of Eastern North America
  • Eugene & Howard Odum
    • leading the figures in the developmental of ecosystem ecology after the second world war
  • Arthur Tansley
    • key to the discipline's professionalization
    • introduced what would become one of his science's most fundamental and influential terms, the ecosystem
  • Angel C. Alcala
    • first working no-take marine reserve in the country
    • national scientist champions coastal resource management
  • Jurgenne Primavera
    • chief mangrove scientific advisor o the zoological society
  • Scope of Ecology
    • An ecologist’s laboratory is the organism’s natural habitat
    • Focused on the increasing hierarchical levels of organization
    • Concept of a system - Interdependent parts functioning as a whole
  • Hierarchical Levels of Organization
    individual > population > community > ecosystem > biome > biosphere
  • Ecology is an interdisciplinary science.
  • Autecology - the study of individuals or populations of a single species and their relationship to their environment
  • Synecology - deals with the structure and development of entire ecological communities and the interrelationships of the plants and animals within them
  • Behavioral Ecology - deals with how behavior contributes to the survivorship, reproduction and population growth of species
  • Population Ecology – emphasis on factors that affect population growth and determine population size
  • Community Ecology - focus on diversity and what influences the number of species in an area
  • Ecosystem Ecology – examines nutrient availability and energy flow
  • Carolus Linnaeus:
    • Development of the binomial nomenclature system for naming species.
    • Classification of organisms into a hierarchical structure, laying the foundation for modern taxonomy.
  • Anton van Leeuwenhoek:
    • Invention of the microscope, enabling the discovery and observation of microorganisms.
    • Pioneering studies on microscopic life, advancing the understanding of the microbial world.
  • Victor Hensen:
    • Introduction of the term "plankton" and foundational work on marine biology.
    • Investigations into the role of plankton in marine ecosystems, contributing to oceanography.
  • Robert H. Whittaker:
    • Development of the Five Kingdoms classification system.
    • Contribution to the understanding of plant community ecology through the concept of biome classification.
  • Eugenius Warming:
    • Formulation of the concept of plant ecology.
    • Pioneer in the study of plant communities and their interactions, influencing ecological research.
  • Victor Shelford:
    • Formulation of the concept of ecological succession.
    • Introduction of the idea of the "biome" and pioneering research on animal ecology.
  • Alexander von Humboldt:
    • Groundbreaking work in biogeography and ecosystem interactions.
    • Pioneer in the study of climate and vegetation zones, emphasizing the interconnectedness of nature.
  • Henry Chandler Cowles:
    • Development of the concept of ecological succession in plant communities.
    • Studies on sand dune ecology, providing insights into primary ecological succession.
  • Karl August Möbius:
    • Contributions to marine ecology and the study of marine communities.
    • Research on the ecological relationships between different species in marine ecosystems.
  • Vladimir Vernadsky:
    • Formulation of the biosphere concept.
    • Contributions to the understanding of the Earth as a living system, bridging geology and biology.