Biology 2483A Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Skipjack Tuna, Acclimatization, Frostbite
29 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
The physical environment influences an organism"s ecological success in two ways. Availability of energy and resources - impacts growth and reproduction. Extreme conditions can exceed tolerance limits and impact survival. Energy supply can influence an organism"s ability to tolerate environmental extremes. The actual geographic distribution of a species is also related to other factors, such as disturbance and competition. Because plants don"t move, they are good indicators of the physical environment. Example: aspen distribution can be predicted based on climate. Low temperatures and drought affect reproduction and survival. A species" climate envelope is the range of conditions over which it actually occurs. Physiological ecology study of interactions between organisms and the physical environments that influence their survival and persistence. Deviations from the optimum reduce the rate of the process. Stress - environmental change results in decreased rate of physiological processes, lowering the potential for survival, growth, or reproduction.
