population ecology - studies environment influences on population structure and dynamics (EG: population structure, growth, birth, and mortality rates etc..)
population
- a group of a single species individuals inhabiting a defined area
examples of population ecology - how does disease spread in a species
- how does hunting practices effect the survival rate of brown bear offspring
community ecology - studies interaction effects of predation, parasitism, mutualism and competition
-- abandon the realm of individual species and think ecological communities
- some study evolutionary effects of interactions on the species involved
- others study interaction effects on diversity or provision of ecology services for the species
examples of community ecology - Biocon experiment in Minnesota: how do plant communities respond to rising CO2
- looks at how plant communities (different species of plants within the same ecosystem) respond to rising levels of CO2
- checking losses of biodiversity, increase in invasive species
ecosystem ecology - studies the biological, chemical, physical processes, and interactions that occur within a location
- one goal of ecosystem ecology is to understand the controls exercised on nutrient cycling and energy flow through ecosystems
example of ecosystem ecology - looking at energy flow and nutrient cycling across ecosystem
- EG: what is the effect of wildfires on soil nutrients or tree growth
- EG: how does a grazing animal effect the nutrient cycling in the soil (bison feeding)
Iandscape ecosystem - studies exchange of materials, energy and organisms with other communities and ecosystems
- all natural communities and ecosystems are open systems subject to various interactions and exchanges with other communities
example of landscape ecology - effects of roads on animal movement and plant dispersal
- this would be with the implementation of a road (how animal movements have changed or plant distribution because of the road
macroecology - studies regional processes and patterns (on a large scale)
- all landscapes are part of regions, subject to large scale and long term regional processes
- relatively new branch of ecology
- EG studies on latitude or rain factors and etc. and how they effect things like biodiversity
Example of macroecology - effects of global trade on biotic exchange among continents
-EG: question posed "how global trade can effect the ecosystem such as invasive species (still not a global picture)
global ecology - the largest spatial scale and highest level of ecological organization
- the biosphere represents portions of earth that support life, or the total global ecosystem
example of global ecology - change in the mean global temperature and predictions about future trends
- EG: effects on global species extinction rates due to earths temperature trends
temporal scale - The window of time used to examine phenomena and processes or the length of time over which they develop or change
- EG: two birds fighting (short temporal time scale)
- forest burns down and you study the area 100 years later (long temporal time scale)
spatial scales Small- soil microorganisms Large- atmospheric pollutants