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Main Objectives

Main Objectives. 1). What is ecology, & what do ecologists do? 2). What are the four levels of organization of ecology? 3). What are four main factors that affect the distribution of organisms?

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Main Objectives

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  1. Main Objectives 1). What is ecology, & what do ecologists do? 2). What are the four levels of organization of ecology? 3). What are four main factors that affect the distribution of organisms? 4). What is climate and what are the main factors that make it unique across the global? 5). What are 2 main variables that influence climate on regional/local scale in western US? 6). What is microclimate?

  2. What is Biology??

  3. Study of Life-from cells, organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems

  4. What is Ecology??

  5. 1st defined in 1866 by Ernest Haeckel as the comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the environment. Most Recent Definition: 2 parts—1) the interaction between organisms and their environment; 2) the distribution and abundance of organisms

  6. What is Ecology?? NEW DEFINITION COMBINED: Ecology is the study of how the distributions and abundances of populations (and species) are determined by the interactions of individual organisms with their physical and biological environment.

  7. What Does an Ecologist Do??

  8. DESCRIBE before they EXPLAIN and make PREDICTIONS

  9. FOUR LEVELS OF ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

  10. Organism Organismal ecology is concerned with the behavioral, physiological, and morphological ways individuals interact with the environment

  11. Population A population is a group of individual organisms of the same species living together in a particular geographic area Population ecologyexamines factors that affect population size and composition

  12. Community Community is a collection of all the populations of different species that inhabit a particular area. Community ecologyexamines the interactions between populations, and how factors such as predation, competition, and disease affect community structure and organization.

  13. Ecosystem Ecosystem consists of the biological community and the physical, non-living or abiotic environment—the rocks, soils, water and climate in a certain area Ecosystem ecology examines the energy flow and cycling of chemicals among the various abiotic and biotic components.

  14. What factors affect the distribution of organisms?

  15. 4 Factors

  16. Dispersal

  17. Behavior

  18. Biotic

  19. Abiotic * most powerful are temperature and moisture * At a certain point along this elevational gradient, the relative importance of the two limiting factors (temperature and moisture) changes * Two additional factors—soil characteristics, traceable to the parent rocks, and topography-greatly accentuate the differences in water stress at all elevations

  20. Abiotic

  21. Why do we have different climate patterns at the Earth’s surface? 1. insolation—solar radiation that is intercepted by Earth (surface and atmosphere) Influenced by: a) angle of incoming radiation b) length of time exposure

  22. Shortwave Energy Budget

  23. 60 degrees Polar Front Tropical Front Westerlies H H 30 degrees Hadley Cell Easterlies L 0 degrees

  24. 60°N 30°N Descending dry air absorbs moisture Descending dry air absorbs moisture 0° (equator) Ascending moist air releases moisture 30°S 60°S 0° 23.5° 23.5° 30° 30° Arid zone Arid zone Tropics

  25. 2 1 3 (1) The Gulf Stream transports heat from the tropics to northern Europe. (2) North Atlantic Deep Water formation results from strong cooling.  (3) Antarctic Bottom Water formation occurs due to sea ice production around Antarctica.

  26. REGIONAL/LOCAL 2 Main Variables that influence Climate on regional/local scale in western US: • Solar Radiation: • Temperature: • Precipitation: • Wind: 1). Water Bodies 2). Mountain Ranges

  27. Land/water influences insolation insolation Less evaporation, less albedo More evaporation, more albedo

  28. SOLAR RADIATION-REGIONAL/LOCAL

  29. Adiabatic lapse rate- change in temperature with altitude due to pressure

  30. Orographic Uplift Chinook Winds Dewpoint Rainshadow WINDWARD LEEWARD

  31. Wind direction East Pacific Ocean Sierra Nevada Coast Range

  32. WIND-REGIONAL/LOCAL

  33. CLIMATE-MICRO SCALE

  34. Tropical forest Desert Temperate grassland 30 Temperate broadleaf forest 15 Annual mean temperature (°C) Coniferous forest 0 Arctic and alpine tundra –15 400 300 200 100 Annual mean precipitation (cm)

  35. 30°N Tropic of Cancer Equator Tropic of Capricorn 30°S Chaparral Tundra Key Temperate grassland High mountains Tropical forest Polar ice Temperate broadleaf forest Savanna Coniferous forest Desert

  36. Main Objectives 1). What is ecology, & what do ecologists do? 2). What are the four levels of organization of ecology? 3). What are four main factors that affect the distribution of organisms? 4). What is climate and what are the main factors that make it unique across the global? 5). What are 2 main variables that influence climate on regional/local scale in western US? 6). What is microclimate?

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