Introduction to

Ecology
Reading:Freeman,Chapter50 .

Ecology is the scientific study

of the distribution and
abundance of organisms, and
their interactions with the
environment.

Thewordecologycomesfromthe
Greekwordsoikos,meaninghouse,
andlogos,tostudy.

What do we mean by
scientific study?

Therearehundredsofdifferentsciences;each
employsdifferenttechniquesandhasitsown
methodsandstandardsofevidence.
Inoneformoranother,thescientificstudyof
everysubjectusesthehypothetico-deductive
approach.
Thisapproachisrathernewhistorically,tracing
itsrootsbacktotheEuropeanenlightenment
ofthesixteenthandseventeenthcenturies.

Essentially, it goes something like this

Ascientist,orgroupofscientists,becomes
interestedinexplainingoneaspectofhowthe
naturalworldworks.(Thiscomeseasilyfor
scientists,aswellasmostpeople,peopleare
curious...)
Bothintentionallyandunintentionally,scientists
conductobservations.(Someobservationsmay
becommonsenseorcenturiesold(i.e.,thetides),
othersmayrequirespecializedexperience
(variationinscutellarhairnumberondifferent
strainsofDrosophila)
Ahypothesisisconstructedbasedonallthe
pertinentobservations.

A hypothesis is a suggested
explanation for a phenomena, based
upon a conceptual working model
of how a system works.
Goodhypothesesgeneratepredictionsthat
canbetested.
Inexperimentalsciences,experimentsare
setuptotestthehypothesis.
Inthehistoricalsciences,additionalevidenceis
gatheredintheplaceofexperiments(although
notnearlyasincisive,someareasdonoteasily
lendthemselvestoexperiments(i.e.,stellar
astronomy)).

Ifthepredictionsofthehypothesisarenot
borneout,thehypothesisisfalsified.

Interestingly, a hypothesis cannot

be proven true by an experiment,
even when it correctly predicts the
outcome.

Thisisbecauseaninfinitenumberofhypotheses
canusuallybegeneratedthatpredictthesame
outcome.
Thestrongesthypothesesareusuallyaccepted
astrueifmultipleexperimentsfailtofalsifythem.
Thesehypotheses,andtheirunderlyingmodels,
formscientific paradigmswhichmaylastfor
centuriesorlonger.Scientificparadigmsare
explanationsforhowtheworldworks,they
inspirefutureresearch,butalsolimititsdirection
tocertainavenues.

Example-Zonosemata wing
markings.
Observation-Zonosemataflieshave
darkbandsontheirwings.Theywave
themupanddownwhendisturbed.
Basedontheprevailingscientific
paradigminbiology(Darwinism)-Erick
GreeneaskedHowcouldthebehavior
evolvebynaturalselection?

3 hypotheses

Hypothesis1-Wingpatternsanddisplays
evolvedbysexualselection.(courtship
displayssuchasthisarecommoninflies)
Hypothesis2-Wingpatternsanddisplays
evolvedtoscarepredatorsbymimickinga
jumpingspider.(mimicryisacommon
defenseintheanimalkingdom)
Hypothesis3-Displaysevolvedtodeter
predationbyjumpingspidersthemselves.

Experiment

Hecreatedfiveexperimentalgroups
1-Untreatedcontrols
2-Zonosematawithownwingsre-glued
3-Zonosematawithhouseflywings
4-HouseflieswithZonosematawings
5-Untreatedhouselfies
Hesubjectedfliesfromeachtreatmenttostarved
jumpingspidersandotherpredators,conducted
20trials,measurednumberoftimesspideror
otherpredatorattacksv.s.retreats.
Questions-Whygroup2?Whynotjust1trial?

Predictions
Hypothesis1-Allfliesshouldbeattacked.
Hypothesis2-Jumpingspidersshouldattack
allgroups.Otherpredatorsshouldattack
groups3-5,butleave1and2alone.
Hypothesis3-Otherpredatorswillattackall
groups.Jumpingspiderswillavoidgroups
1and2butattackeverythingelse.

What does this data

suggest?
#ofkillsoutof20trials
JumpingspiderAnole
Group1419
Group2420
Group32019
Group42020
Group52019

Ecology has a long history as a

historical science, and is becoming
an experimental science.

Atthemoment,ecologylacksa
scientific paradigmbecausemanyof
itsunderlyingideashavenotbeen
sufficientlytestedorhavecrumbled
undertheweightofnewexperiments.
Thismakesecologyanexcitingfield,
becausenewdiscoveriescanhavean
enormousimpact

Based Upon the Questions

they Choose to Ask,
Ecologists May Work at One
or More of Several Different
Levels of Organization:
Individuals
Populations
Communities
Ecosystems

Individuals are single, discrete

organisms.

...Insomecases,itiseasytodefinean
individualorganism,i.e.,miceandpeople.
Inothercases,thedistinctionbetween
individualsisarbitraryornonexistent.A
standofaspentreeslookslikemany
individualsabovetheground,butbelow
groundtheyareallinterconnected.Asingle
fungusmycelliummayoccupytensof
squarekilometersbeneaththesurfaceofa
forest.

Forexample,ascientistmightaska
questionabouthowacavecricketfindsits
wayinandoutoftheentranceofacave
everytimeitforages.Thisiscalled
organismalecology.

Populations are groups of organisms

of the same species living in the
same place.

Individualsofthesamepopulation
interactwithoneanother:most
interactionamongmembersofagiven
speciesoccurswithinapopulation
Theymaycompeteforresourcesand
mates,theymaycombineallelesvia
sexualreproduction.

Examples of
populations include:
...aherdofwildabeast
...allthebullheadcatfishlivingina
midwesternlake
allofthetropicbirdsnestingona
singleoceanicisland
.theE. colipopulationinasingle
personsgut

Population ecologistsaskquestionsat
thislevel.Veryfrequently,thesequestions
concernabundance,density,population
growth,andlimitstogrowth.Forinstance,a
populationecologistmightstudytheextent
towhichthenumberofavailablenestsites
affectsthemaximumnumberoftropicbirds
anislandcansustain.

Communities are assemblages of

populations of different species
living in the same place

Differentspecieshavedifferentfunctionsina
biologicalcommunity.
Forinstance,somearedecomposers,someare
producers,etc.
Somespecieswithinthecommunitymayinteract
toagreatextent,whileinteractionbetweenother
speciesmaybevirtuallynonexistent.
Theextenttowhichbiologicalcommunitiesaretightly

knitsystems,oropportunisticassemblages,isdebated.

Acommunityecologistmightask
questionsabouttheextenttowhich
parasiticwaspscontroloutbreaksof
pinesawflies,andwhetherthe
presenceofparasitoidsisnecessary
forthepresenceofpinetrees.

www.hort.wisc.edu/.../insects/eps/eps.htm

Ecosystems

Ecosystemsareinteracting
assemblagesoflivingthingslivingina
particulararea,accountingalsoforthe
nonlivingcomponents,suchaslight,
water,nutrients,soil,andseasonality,
thatareimportanttolife.
Ecosystemsarenestedwithinother
ecosystems.

Anecosystemsecologiststudyingcaves
mightaskquestionsabouttheroleofbat
guanoenteringthecaves,andtheextent
towhichnutrientsandenergybroughtin
bythebatsfromoutside,viatheirguano,
supportthenonphotosynthetic
ecosysteminthecave.

What is a Species?

Theconceptofaspeciesisfundamentalto
biology,yetbiologistsdisagreeonexactly
whatconstitutesaspecies.
Thereareseveraldifferent,working
definitionsofaspecies
Differentbranchesofbiologyusedifferent
workingdefinitionsbecausetheyhave
accesstodifferentinformationorbecauseof
fundamentaldifferencesinthebiologyofthe
organisminquestion.

Biological Species
Concept
Aspeciesisagroupofactuallyor
potentiallyinterbreedingorganisms
thatcanmateandproducefertile
offspringErnstMayer
Thisdefinitionisveryinterestingfrom
anevolutionaryperspective.Itdefines
speciesasreal,objectiveentities,
definedbythelimitsofgeneexchange

Morphological Species
Concept

SpeciesareGroupsofOrganismsthat
ShareCertainMorphologicalorBiochemical
Traits
Somespeciesdonotreproducesexually,
someareknownonlyfromfossils.This
definitionistheworkingdefinitionusedby
biologiststhatcannot,orshouldnot,usethe
BiologicalSpeciesConcept
Itismoresubjective

Phylogenetic Species
Concept

Aspeciesisadiscretelineage,
propagated,ancestortodescendent
throughtime,whichisrecognizably
differentfromothersuchlineagesand
sharesadistinctevolutionaryhistory.
Itdefinesaspeciesbyitsrelationship
tootherspecies.

Example of an ecological
hypothesis test

RobertMarquisandChrisWhelanstudiedtheroleofbirds
inlimitingthedensityofherbivorousinsects.
Theyobservedthatdeciduousforestsharborhundredsof
speciesofherbivorousinsects,yetonlyasmallproportion
oftotalleafareaiseateneveryyear.
Manyspeciesofbirdsareinsectivores,butspiders,
parasiticwasps,andfungalinfectionsalsoattack
insects.Arebirdsanimportantfactorincontrolling
herbivores?

 Experimental

Treatment-Multipletrees
(replicationisimportant)areenclosedin
cagestoexcludebirdsbutnotinsects.
Control Treatments Controltreespairedwiththe
excludedtreescontrolfor
environmentalvariation.
Incompletecages-controlforthe
presenceofthecage.
Data Collected %ofleafareaeaten
densityofherbivorousinsects
Prediction-ifbirdsareanimportant
agentofinsectcontrol,bothvariables
shouldbehigherinexclusioncages

Result
Cagedtreeshad70%moreinsects
thancontrols,andcagedtreeshadan
increasedpercentageofmissingleaf
area(35%)relativetocontroltrees
(22%)
Conclusion-birdsareanimportant
potentialagentofherbivorecontrol.

Otherstudies Oneofthemostimportantattributesofa
goodexperimentisthatitsresultsbe
reproducible.
Thisisaprobleminecology,because
conditionsinthefieldvaryfromyeartoyear
andplacetoplace-itisalmostneverpossible
toreproduceafieldexperimentexactly.
Exclusionexperimentsofthistypehave
beendonemanytimes,withdifferentresults

Ecological Time Scales

Ecological processes may occur over time scales ranging
from days to millennia.
The ecological time scale is shorter than the evolutionary
time scale, but there is some overlap-populations evolve over time,
and this can affect the composition of communities and functioning
of ecosystems.

Whatweseetodaymightreflecteventsthathappenedlongagobyourstandards.
Example-colonizationofNorthAmericanforestsfollowingglaciation-acontinuingprocess
Alpinepopulationsoftundracommunitiespersistathighelevations
Chicagowasunderice15,000yearsago-LakeChicagoexistedherethereafter,graduallygrowingasthe

glaciermelted-itdrainedouttheMississippi.
Asaresult,ThecommunityofGreatLakesfishspeciesresemblesthatoftheMississippiriver,ratherthantheAtlanticocean.
DeciduoustreeshavereplacedPineandJuniperaswarmconditionspersisted-

Differentspecieshavecolonizedatdifferentrates.
ArelictpopulationofPinesisstillpresentatIndianaDunesnationalLakeshore.

Climate vs. Weather

Weatheristheparticularsetofabiotic
conditions,suchasrainfall,sunlight,
temperature,andhumidity,affectinga
particularareaataparticulartime.
Climateistheoverallpatternofweatherin
thatarea.
Weatherchangesdaily,climatechanges
overdecades,hundreds,orthousandsof
years

Biomesarebroadassemblagesofplantandanimal
communitiesgenerallydefinedbythedominantvegetation.
Thisisanoldconceptinecology,firstestablishedbythe
terrestrialplantecologistsF.E.ClementsandV.E.Shelford.
Biomespaintabroadswathofanareabaseduponwhat
thedominantvegetationlookslike.Arecentapproachhas
beentobemorespecificbynamingEcoregions.
Ecoregionsaremajorecosystemsthatresultfrom
predictablepatternsofclimateasinfluencedbylatitude,
globalposition,andclimate.

Terrestrial Biomes
(some scientists count them
differently)

Tundra
TaigaorConiferousForests
Desert
Chaparral
Grasslands
Savannah

TemperateDeciduousForests
TropicalRainForests
TropicalDryForests

Terrestrialbiomeshavecharacteristic
vegetationdeterminedbytheamount
andtimingofwater,theamountof
availablesunlight,andbytemperature.
Vegetationprovidesaspatialstructure
toterrestrialbiomes.
Spatialstructurecreatesmicroenvironmentsimportanttovarious
differentorganisms
Biomesdiffergreatlyintheir
productivityandtheirbiodiversity

Major Physical Factors

influencing terrestrial
biomes
Rainfall,anditstiming
Sunlight
Disturbance

warmwetareasfavorrainforests

Intermediateareascan
beeithergrasslandor
forest,dependingupon
otherfactors

Tundrareceivesverylittleprecipitation,desertsrangefromhottocold

Tundra
Tundraischaracterizedbythelackoftrees,
thedominantvegetationislichens,annual
grasses,and,insomeplaces,very
speciallyadaptedshrubsandwoodyplants.
Tundraoccursinpolarclimatesandathigh
elevations,wherethegrowingseasonis
veryshort.Nearlyallprecipitationfallsas
snow.
Plantsandinsectsflourishduringtheshort
growingseason.

Taiga or Coniferous Forest

Cone-bearingtreessuchaspine,spruce,andfir
dominate.mostaredominatedbyoneorafew
species
Thisbiomeisverycommon,coveringhugeareas
athighlatitudesorhighelevations
Thecooltowarmsummersarethegrowing
season
Plantsaredormantduringthewinter,when
temperaturesdropfartoolowforphotosynthesis.
Often,muchoftheprecipitationfallsassnow.
Snowmeltreleasesagreatdealofwaterintothe
communitiesthatmakeupthetaiga

Desert

Lowrainfall,generallylessthan30cmperyear,
characterizesadesert
Manydesertsareveryhot(atleastduringtheday),
butsome,suchastheGreatBasinandtheGobi
Desert,arecoldmostoftheyear.
Thedryenvironmentoftencausesadramatic
differenceintemperaturebetweendayandnight
Grassesareusuallyfoundwhenwaterisavailable
(theyaredormantunderground,orasseeds,when
thereisnowater).
Succulents,suchascactiandeuphorbs,and
shrubswithspecializedwater-savingadaptations,
arepresent.
Treesareuncommonortotallyabsent.

Chaparral:

Cool,rainywintersanddrysummers
Dense,spiny,evergreenshrubsdominate
Seasonalfires
Mostoftheplantsarefire-adapted.Many
speciescanonlyreproduceviaperiodicfires
Thisbiomehashighbiodiversity,withagreat
dealofendemism.Endemismiswhenspecies
arefoundinoneplaceonly
Thisbiomeisratheruncommon,being
confinedtorelativelyfewlocationswitha
Mediterraneanclimate,California,CostalSouth
America,SouthAfrica,theMediterranean,and
WesternAustralia

Grasslands

Grassesandforbsdominate.Fireandgrazing
preventtheestablishmentofshrubsandtrees
Moderatetolowrainfallandawiderangeof
temperaturespermitgrasslands
Seasonaldrought,occasionalfires,andgrazingby
herbivorespreventtheestablishmentoftreesas
thedominantvegetation
Grasslandsareawidespreadbiome;examples
includethePrairiesofNorthAmerica,theSteppes
ofAsia,thePampasofArgentina,theVeldtsof
SouthAfrica,andthePusztaofHungary.

Savannah
Savannahisgrasslandmixedwithscatteredtrees
(sometimesitisconsidereditsownbiome.) .

Temperate Deciduous Forests

Moderaterainfallandmildtowarmsummerswith
cooltocoldwinters.
Occuratmid-latitudes,wheremoistureissufficient
tosupportthegrowthoflargetrees
Wintersarecoldenoughtoprohibitphotosynthesis,
andmostorganismsgodormantorhibernateover
thewinter
Densestandsofdeciduoustreespredominate
Treestendtohavedistinctverticallayers;including
oneortwostrataoftreesandanunderstoryof
shrubs

Tropical Rain Forests

Themostproductivebiomeontheplanet,alsoharborsthe
mostbiodiversity.
Mostarelocatedneartheequator,wheretemperatures
arewarmandrelativelyconstantyearround
Plantsarebroad-leafedevergreentrees,shrubs,woody
vines,andepiphytes.
epiphytes-plantsthatliveonotherplants,usuallytrees.
Examplesincludeorchidsandmistletoe
Highrainfall-usuallywithapronouncedrainyseasonand
dryseason.
Competitionforlightisintense.Pronouncedstratification
withseverallayersoftrees.

Tropical Dry Forests

tendtooccurinlowlandareas,where
thedistinctionbetweenthewetseason
andthedryseasoncanbevery
pronounced
deciduoustrees,thornyshrubs,and
succulentsareverycommon

Thoughtheyareusefulasafirstsketchof
whatisinanarea,biomesarearough
sketch.AgrasslandinSouthDakotais
verydifferentfromagrasslandinSouth
Africa.
Ecoregionsaremorespecific,accounting
forsoil,climate,climate,vegetation,and
history.Itisaheirachialscheme.
Domainisthebroadest

withindomainsareDivisions
withindivisionsareProvinces

Aquatic communities are

determined by the availability of
sunlight and nutrients
Thetermbiomeisnotgenerallyappliedto
aquaticenvironments,thoughtheoceans
havebeenbrokenintooceanic regions.
Liketerrestrialareas,aquaticenvironments
includehugevolumesofhabitatdefinedby
afewbasicfactors

Thewatercolumnitselfprovidesspatial
structure.Withinagivenoceanicregion,
communitiesarestratifiedspatially.

Open Ocean

Pelagic Zone:Lightpenetratesthetopfewmeters
Exceptinareasofupwelling,nutrient
concentrationsaregenerallylow,becausethe
remainsofdeadorganismssinktothebottomof
theocean.
Allorganismsarefloatingorfree-swimming
nekton.Themajorproducersarephotosynthetic
algae.
Abyssal Zone:Nutrientsreachthiszonebyfalling
fromabove.
Lightisabsent.Thiszonesupportsawidevariety
ofspecially-adaptedorganisms

Wetlands
Wetlandsareareascoveredinwaterthat
supportaquaticplants
Theyrangefromperiodicallyfloodedregions,to
soilthatissaturatedwithwaterduringthe
growingseason,topermanentlyfloodedareas
Typical Wetlands
Estuaries-occuratthemouthsofrivers
Swamps-floodedareasdominatedbytrees
Marshes-floodedareasdominatedbysedges
andgrasses
BogsandFens-havedistinctivevegetation
becausetheirsoiliseitherveryalkali(fens),or
veryacidic(bogs).

For most, but not all groups of

organisms, biodiversity increases
from the poles to the tropics
Thisiscalledalatitudinalgradientinspecies
diversity
Reasonforthispatternisamysteryin
ecology.Fourhypotheses-noneissufficient
toexplainitalone.
1)greaterproductivityintropics
2)history
3)complexityofhabitats
4)lessdisturbance

History affects what species live in

an area as well.

Inthebroadestsense,thenaturalist
AlfredRusselWallacebroketheworld
intoseveralbiogeographicrealms.
Whichspeciesoccurineachregion
aredeterminedbyhistoricaland
evolutionaryfactors.