Ecology Guide

ECOLOGY: 1869 Ernst Heakel, the study of organisms and their environment
“oikos”=home “logos”=study
Definition: “The scientific study of the relationships that living organisms have with eachother and with their natural environment”

Ecology has relationship with different pure sciences:
Biology: information about evolution of species, behavior, classification and physiology
Mathematics:create models to predict future conditions, calculus, statistics, probability, etc
Geography: linked to species distribution on Earth
Geology: evolutionary process. Biomas (-aquatic –tundra)Chemistry: very living organism leans to chemical reactions. Helps understand the molecular structure of living things
Physics: tells ecology about energetic transformation
Climatology: tells ecologyabout distribution (different kinds of weather)
Economics: analyze activities that conduct to the production of wealth
(food, shelter, oil, development, technology, education)
Politics: mediate,regulates by creating international legal frames
Ethics: promotes, values, respectful use of natural resources

*TIMELINE (History of Ecology)

Ecology works:
-EPLANATION: looking for purescientific knowledge
-DESCRIPTION: trying to understand
-PREDICTION: use description and explanation to predict future scenarios
-CONTROL: solutions to solve the problem

Lionfish:
Explanation: therehas been a dramatic 65% decline in 42 species of reef eaten by lionfish over a two-year period. Lionfish biomass increased from 23% to nearly 40% of the predator biomass on the study sites between 2008and 2010.
Description: They have quickly become established across the waters of the southern US and the Caribbean upsetting the ecological balance of coral reef ecosystems. They have characteristicsthat allow them to become invasive species
Prediction: The invasion will affect the structure and function of invaded marine ecosystems.
Control: governments are initiating campaigns to promote...