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General Ecology EEOB 404

General Ecology EEOB 404. Grant Gentry Tulane University. Preliminaries: student information desired. Fill out 3X5 card Information desired: Name, class or status (e.g., Junior) e-mail address, phone number Past classes--relevant to ecology Classes this semester Why taking class?.

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General Ecology EEOB 404

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  1. General EcologyEEOB 404 Grant Gentry Tulane University

  2. Preliminaries: student information desired • Fill out 3X5 card • Information desired: • Name, class or status (e.g., Junior) • e-mail address, phone number • Past classes--relevant to ecology • Classes this semester • Why taking class?

  3. Course requirements • See lecture syllabus • Lectures –Information comes FAST • Preparation –read the book –download and print the lecture outline for notes. • Supplementary materials –read them learn fast or suffer • Electronic communications • Website tulane.edu/ggentry/ • Electronic Reserve (Eres)--password “ecodocs” • Lecture course requirements • Exams • Grading

  4. Questions? • Classroom discussions • Value of actually attending lectures (considering that notes will be posted electronically) • Preparation for classes (& labs)

  5. Introduction to instructors • Instructor research interests • Insect Plant Interactions • Effects of plant chemistry on multitrophic interactions • Parasitoids as invasive species • For more information see personal web pages: http://www.tulane.edu/~ggentry and caterpillars.org • Dyer lab---- • Instructor teaching interests • General Ecology • Entomology • Tropical Biology • Instructor personal information • Teaching assistants LAB in Stern 2002 –the fun part + sci-writing, some stats

  6. Labs will be GroovyANDHot- HatScratchy- Long sleeves, long pants, sturdy shoes.Buggy- DEET (goes on the clothes

  7. What is Ecology? • The study of living systems, at and above the level of organization of the individual (“whole organism biology”) • Definition (text): “Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms [including humans] and between organisms and their environments” • It’s about what controls abundance of species, and the diversity and functions of species

  8. Mathmatical Evolutionary Population (metapopulations) Behaviour Chemical Community (Ecosystems)

  9. What is Ecology NOT? • Environmental Science • Environmentalism • Conservation Biology/Science • Resource management • Wildlife • Fisheries • Soil Resources • Forestry

  10. Why study Ecology? • Because it’s there--intellectual curiosity as to how our world works • Value of ecological systems to humans • Ecosystem services (Table 1, Stiling text) • Valuation of global ecosystem services (Table 2, Stiling) • Huge (often detrimental) impact of humans on global ecosystems--ecology holds key to predicting our future (informs political and societal choices)

  11. How do Ecologists go about their science? • Scientific method = hypothetico-deductive method • Verification versus falsification of hypotheses (Popper) • Search for unifying principles Inductive logic Observations, experiments, patterns Models, hypotheses as to how systems function; i.e., processes “black box” Deductive logic

  12. Other aspects of ecological method • Diverse activities • Hypothesis testing (experimental, observational; proximate versus ultimate, pattern vs mechanism) • Kinds (& merits) of experiments (lab, field, natural) • Use of statistics & models (e.g., meta-analysis) • Induction/synthesis of hypotheses • Advances in observation, measurement precision • Review of literature (e.g., meta-analysis) • Use of null models, null hypotheses (H0)--e.g., “idiosyncratic hypothesis” for relationship between ecosystem process and species richness (Hubbell etc.)

  13. Statistical analysis • Is the difference between population means (averages) large enough to be meaningful, i.e., “statistically significant” (e.g., t-test) • Association among variables • Correlation and regression • Contingency tables (e.g., chi-squared test) • Meta-analysis = combination of the effects of multiple experiments (treatment effect size, “d”, averaged by study, weighted by number of replicates)

  14. Range of questions asked • Levels of organization important to ecology • Behavior (& physiological ecology..I./e. individuals) • Population (example of Centauria diffusa-- Stiling text, ch. 1) • Community • Ecosystem • Biosphere [global change] • Scale of ecological phenomena, in space and time--depends on nature of question • Spatial scale related to level of organization • Temporal scale (e.g., Jackson et al., 2001, Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science 293: 629-638.)

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