3: Ecology

Introduction

Ecology is the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment. In this chapter, you will explore how energy and matter move through ecosystems, and how populations of organisms grow, interact, and respond to changes in their environment. You will learn how factors like food, space, predators, and climate affect where organisms live and how many can survive. We will also connect these ideas to real-world issues, such as habitat loss, pollution, and conservation, including local ecosystems you will visit in this course. By the end of the chapter, you will be able to use data, graphs, and models to better understand how ecosystems function and how human actions impact the natural world.

• 3.1: Population Ecology

  This page highlights the detrimental effects of road networks on wildlife, specifically habitat fragmentation that threatens biodiversity and increases extinction risks. It suggests wildlife corridors, including overpasses and underpasses, as effective solutions for facilitating animal movement.

  • 3.1.1: Ecological Hierarchy
  • 3.1.2: Population Distribution
  • 3.1.3: Population Size
  • 3.1.4: Population Growth and Regulation
  • 3.1.5: Life History

• 3.2: Community Ecology

  This page outlines the significance of Bison as a keystone species in the Great Plains, detailing their decline in the late 1800s due to government actions and subsequent conservation efforts that aided in population recovery by the early 2000s. It emphasizes Bison's role in enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem structure, while discussing biotic interactions, community dynamics, and the necessity of assessing ecological changes over time for effective conservation.

  • 3.2.1: Biotic Interactions
  • 3.2.1.1: Symbiosis
  • 3.2.1.2: Trophic Interactions
  • 3.2.1.2.1: Predation
  • 3.2.1.2.2: Herbivory
  • 3.2.1.2.3: Competition
  • 3.2.2: Community Structure and Dynamics
  • 3.2.3: Data Dive- Beaver Impacts on Wetlands

• 3.3: Ecosystem Ecology

  This page highlights the dual role of beavers as both nuisances in urban settings and vital keystone species in natural ecosystems, where their dams enhance habitat diversity and manage water flow. It introduces key ecological concepts such as ecosystem types, resilience, foundation species, and discusses essential topics like matter and biogeochemical cycles.

  • 3.3.1: Matter
  • 3.3.2: Energy
  • 3.3.3: Biogeochemical Cycles
  • 3.3.4: Energy Flow in Food Webs
  • 3.3.5: Ecosystem Types and Dynamics
  • 3.3.5.1: Climate and Biomes
  • 3.3.5.2: Terrestrial Biomes
  • 3.3.5.3: Aquatic Biomes
  • 3.3.6: Data Dive- Biome Carbon Storage

Attributions 

Modified by Erin Rempala. 

Thumbnail western toad wikimedia.org by Thompsma - Own work, (CC BY 3.0).