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Introduction to Ecology
Part 1 – Designed & Edited by Joe Naumann
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The Science of Ecology Goals for the day
Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
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The Science of Ecology Goals for the day
Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
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Ecology vs Environmentalism
Scientific societies and activist groups – often in conflict with each other Earth First, Greenpeace, and WWF Industry – e.g., GMO’s: Pandora’s box or chicken little? Individuals vs populations Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy or
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Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy
Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) Integral part of native Hawaiian Luau culture Introduced by both Polynesians and Europeans (2 spp) Rooting destroys many plants Create wallows, water collects, and encourages mosquitoes to breed
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Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy
Attempting to eradicate the pig from their lands Uses ecological impact of pigs as justification for their removal Capture through noose snare-trapping, as this is the easiest way to capture the animals
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Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy
Recognizes the impact that these pigs have on the ecology Snare-trapping is protracted, inhumane, and a painful way to kill them Advocates for humane trapping and then quick kills Ignores financial cost
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Hawaii: PETA vs Nature Conservancy
Resolution? Still to be found Nature Conservancy continues to trap A few write-ups of the controversy are available from the Honolulu Advertiser A more general discussion of invasives in Hawaii is availble from USGS
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Key Distinctions Ecology is a science Environmentalism is a cause
Our focus in this course Environmentalism is a cause With our without scientific backing Conservation Biology is the integration of these two Using science to support a political cause
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The Science of Ecology Goals for the day
Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
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History of Ecological Thought
From Thoreau to modern times Historically has been literature-based appreciation of nature Subsequently became more of a descriptive science
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Darwinian References “…how infinitely complex and close- fitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings to each other and to their physical conditions of life.” Origin of Species
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The Science of Ecology Goals Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
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Definition of Ecology “To determine the factors that have produced the present distribution and abundance of organisms” (Jonathan Krebs, 1972)
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Factors Influencing Organismal Distribution and Abundance
Abiotic Climate Topography Latitude Altitude Biotic Intraspecific Interactions Interspecific Interactions
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The Science of Ecology Goals Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
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Scientific Method and Hypothesis Testing
Goals: Judge good science Hudson River PCB dredging Electromagnetic radiation and cancer Sea otters, killer whales and overfishing Do good science
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Goals of science Describe the patterns that are found in the natural world Purely descriptive in nature Historically this was “ecology”, a.k.a. naturalism Make up explanations and then stop there Test Explanation of Patterns This is the major emphasis of most of what we usually call “science” Key component: TEST these explanations! How to test these explanations? The Scientific Method
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Methods of Explanation
Include those of descriptive science Approximately 11 Steps Process is repeated many times Can NEVER prove a hypothesis Can only reject many, leaving one as best supported by the data “Proof” is a common fallacy Centerpiece of this method are Hypotheses
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Types of Hypotheses Null hypothesis Alternative hypotheses
The hypothesis of no change Often abbreviated as Ho Alternative hypotheses Often abbreviated as Ha, Hb, etc. All must be mutually exclusive (including the null) We accept an Ha if Ho is first statistically rejected Which Ha to accept is determined by trends in data
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Scientific Method - Steps 1-5
Observe or suspect pattern Posit cause or significance of observed difference Create answerable question to explain pattern Create testable hypotheses Null (Ho ) and alternate hypotheses (Ha) Design experiment
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Scientific Method - Steps 6-11
Collect data (descriptive stage) Analyze data, primarily using statistics Evaluate hypotheses, reject Ho? Make conclusions based on data Note problems in current work Predict future directions for research
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An Exercise… Recall an observation that you’ve seen recently and think through how you would implement the above 11 steps
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Parts of a scientific report
Title Abstract - an overall summary Introduction - background, question, Has Methods - what we did Results - what we found, analyses results Discussion - interpretations, predictions Acknowledgements - who helped us References - who we cited
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Transmission Methods in Science
Written report (articles, chapters, books) Traditional Oral presentation Commonly used for preliminary presentation of work to get feedback before writing it up Poster Visual summary of work - used at conferences Web page Can use a written report & make it interactive
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How to Evaluate Science?
Do the data address the question? Is there enough data to support the claim? Has the study been replicated elsewhere? Are alternative interpretations considered? Is it peer-reviewed? Is it presented objectively? Are there real controls?
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The Science of Ecology Goals Differentiate Between Ecology and Environmentalism and Conservation Biology Trace History of Ecological Thought Define Ecology Scientifically Learn the Scientific Method Organization of Ecology
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What is the Organization of Ecology?
Ranges widely from individual to biosphere studies Most of ecology happens in the current time Proximate Explanations Only a few fields (e.g., evolutionary ecology and paleoecology) are concerned with past environments and historical time Ultimate Explanations
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Proximate Fields Emphasis of this course Examples, by scale Population
Growth rates, PVA, Population genetics, Metapopulation analyses, etc. Community Interspecific interactions, Environmental impact statements, etc. Ecosystem Energy, Matter, Nutrient flow, Pollution,
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Ultimate Fields Evolutionary Ecology Behavioral Ecology Paleoecology
Using trees of relationship (phylogenies) to address ecological questions E.g., evolution of swordtail length and preference in platys Behavioral Ecology Comparing a few closely related species to address ecological questions Paleoecology Attempting to recreate the ecology of ancient times One of the goals is to recreate the ancient environment in which the lineages may have evolved
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Proximate Fields Revisited
Trends down pyramid: Increase in geographic scale From single species to multiple species Increasing number of ecological factors that may be influential Decreasing certainty in results Population Community Ecosystem
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