CHAPTER 1:

THE WEB OF LIFE

Terms, Graphs and Equations:

o Basic Ecological Maxims (8)
o The Connection Principle
o Law of Conservation of Mass
o Carrying Capacity
o Opportunity Cost
o Theory of Evolution
o Geological Time
o Spatial Variation and Scale
o Species Interaction

1.1: What is ecology?

 Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment
 Scientific study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms
 Ecology is a branch of biology, while Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary field that
incorporates concepts from the natural sciences and the social sciences
 Environmental science is focused more specifically on how people affect the environment and how
we can address environmental problems
 Ecologists now recognize that (1) Natural systems do not necessarily return to their original state
after a disturbance and (2) Seemingly random perturbations play an important role in nature
 Events in nature are interconnected
 Ecologists must select the most appropriate dimension in both time and space
 Population: Group of individuals of a single species that live in a particular area and interact with
one another
 Community: An association of interacting populations of different species that live in the same
area
 Biotic: Living components of a natural system
 Abiotic: Physical environment
 Ecosystem: Community of organisms and the physical environment in which they live
 Biosphere: Consists of all living organisms on Earth plus the environments in which they live
 Key terms in ecology: evolution, adaptation, natural selection, producer, consumer, net primary
production and nutrient cycle

1.2: Answering Ecological Questions

 Ecologists evaluate competing hypotheses about natural systems with observations, experiments
and models
 The scientific method: Observe  Hypothesize  Experiment  Conclude