8_22 ECO Q A PDF Ecology Past Paper
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This document contains questions about ecology, including the study of interactions between organisms and their environment. The questions cover topics such as the scales at which ecology is studied, historical perspectives on ecological thought, and the basic domains within the field.
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1. What is ecology? Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment. 2. At what scales do we currently study ecology? We study ecology at various scales: individuals, populations, interactions, communities, ecosystems, landscapes, regio...
1. What is ecology? Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment. 2. At what scales do we currently study ecology? We study ecology at various scales: individuals, populations, interactions, communities, ecosystems, landscapes, regions, and the biosphere. 3. How did humans think about ecological ideas indirectly before the formal study of ecology? Pre-ecology thinking involved humans observing their surroundings, such as through hunting, gathering, and early agriculture, before the formal study of ecology began. 4. Who coined the term ecology? The term "ecology" was coined by Ernst Haeckel, a German zoologist, in the 1800s. 5. What are the basic domains in ecology (e.g., individuals, landscapes, etc.)? The basic domains in ecology include: Individuals: physiological or behavioral have evolved in individual to survive Populations: environmental factors limit bison abundance on the Kaibab Plateau Interactions: How do Abert’s squirrels’ diet choice affect dispersal of oak seeds? Communities: How does diet choice influence large herbivore interactions in the Ethiopian Highlands? Ecosystems: How do major fires affect community composition and succession at the Grand Canyon? Landscapes: effects of biome heterogeneity: exchanges across/among ecosystems (materials, energy, organisms, etc.) Regions: geographical ecology: Many large areas consisting of many ecosystems and landscapes: How have climate shifts during the Ice Age influenced the current distribution of biomes in North America? Biosphere: global change biology: Global ecosystem of interacting biotic and abiotic factors on Earth: How does changing global green house gas concentrations impact each of Earth’s ecosystems differently?
