Chapter 52: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
Overview: The Scope of Ecology
• _______________ is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment
• These interactions determine ____________________ of organisms and their abundance
• Ecologists work at levels ranging from individual ______________ to the _____________
• _____________________ ecology studies how an organism’s structure, physiology, and (for animals) behavior
meet environmental challenges
• A __________________ is a group of individuals of the same species living in an area
• Population ecology focuses on factors affecting how many __________________ of a species live in an area
• A ____________________ is a group of populations of different species in an area
• Community ecology deals with the whole array of ___________________ species in a community
• An ________________ is the community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they
interact
• Ecosystem ecology emphasizes ______________________ and _______________________ among the various
biotic and abiotic components
• A ____________________ is a mosaic of connected ecosystems
• Landscape ecology deals with arrays of ecosystems and how they are ________________ in a geographic region
• The ____________________ is the global ecosystem, the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems
• Global ecology examines the influence of _______________ and __________________ on organisms across the
biosphere
Concept 52.1: Ecology integrates all areas of biological research and informs environmental decision making
• Ecology has a long history as a _______________ science
• Events that occur in ecological time affect life on the scale of ___________________ time
• ________________________ is credited with starting the modern environmental movement with the
publication of Silent Spring in 1962
• Her efforts led to a ban on _____________ in the US
Concept 52.2: Interactions between organisms and the environment limit the distribution of species
• Ecologists have recognized patterns of distribution of organisms within the biosphere, this is called
_______________________
• Ecologists recognize two kinds of factors that determine distribution: _______________, or living factors, and
___________________, or nonliving factors
• Ecologists consider multiple factors when attempting to explain the ______________________ of species
• ____________________ is movement of individuals away from centers of high population density or from their
area of origin
• Dispersal contributes to global _______________________ of organisms
• ____________________________ include organisms that are intentionally or accidentally relocated from their
original distribution
• Species transplants can __________________ the communities or ecosystems to which they have been
introduced
• Some organisms do not occupy all of their _________________ range
• Biotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms may include:
_____________________ with other species
__________________
____________________
• Abiotic factors affecting distribution of organisms include:
________________
_________________
____________________
Wind
Rocks and soil
•
Environmental _________________________ is an important factor in distribution of organisms because of its
effects on biological processes
• _________________ may freeze and rupture below 0°C, while most proteins _______________ above 45°C
• Mammals and birds expend ___________________ to regulate their internal temperature
• Water ______________________ in habitats is another important factor in species distribution
• Desert organisms exhibit ___________________ for water conservation
• _______________ concentration affects water balance of organisms through ___________________
• Few terrestrial organisms are adapted to __________________________ habitats
• Light __________________ and quality affect ____________________
• ________________ absorbs light, thus in aquatic environments most photosynthesis occurs near the
______________
• In deserts, high light levels increase temperature and can _________________ plants and animals
• Many characteristics of soil limit __________________ of plants and thus the animals that feed upon them:
__________________ structure
______________
________________ composition
• Four major abiotic components of climate are _________________, water, __________________, and wind
• The ______________________ prevailing weather conditions in an area constitute its climate
• ___________________________ consists of patterns on the global, regional, and local level
• ________________________ consists of very fine patterns, such as those encountered by the community of
organisms underneath a fallen log