BIO-8 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Gaia Hypothesis, Ernst Haeckel, Homeostasis
Document Summary
Haeckel (1866): study of relationship of animals to their environment; coined term of ecology. Many species on earth (1. 9 million named and described) Each species has a unique, limited geographic distribution. Abundance of each species varies in space and time. Communities: set of species that co-occur together. Natural history: study of nature and natural phenomena. Not appropriate; includes topics peripheral to ecology (e. g. astronomy) Provides interesting questions to start ecological studies. Problem: seems to apply homeostasis to everything on earth. Gaia hypothesis: earth is inherently homeostatic; proven. Ecology: scientific study of the interactions that determine the distribution, wrong. Ex: temp is increasing on earth abundance, and co-occurrence of organisms: simple enough, but subtle, interactions occur between organisms and their environments. Close ties to many natural science (genetics, physiology, evolution, chemistry, and physics) Ex: indigo bunting yearly cycle: late may breed, migrate, spring move to north, breed and cycle starts again, identification of proximate (immediate) causes ex.
