ECOLOGICAL THEATER

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ECOLOGICAL THEATER
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ECOLOGICAL THEATER

• Population Ecology
• Population All individuals of the same species
  that occupy a specified area
• Community Ecology
• Community All populations in a habitat. Group
  of organisms with similar life-styles
• Ecosystem Ecology
• Array of organisms, together with their
  environment, interacting through a flow of energy
  and a cycling of materials

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ECOSYSTEM Basic Functional Unit of Ecology

• Community of Organisms
• Flow of Energy
• Cycling of Materials Biogeochemical Cycles
• Feedback Control

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FLOW OF ENERGY
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FLOW OF ENERGY
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FLOW OF ENERGY
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DDT Environmental Contaminant
Rachel Carson
Superfund Sites Mobile Delta
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BIOMAGNIFICATION
DDT, or 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)eth
ane
DDT is a hydrocarbon, which means that it does
not dissolve in water, but does dissolve in oils
and fats. It is not easily degraded to other
substances, and therefore remains in the soil
long after it has been applied to agricultural
crops. All chlorinated hydrocarbons share these
properties.
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ECOSYSTEM Basic Functional Unit of Ecology

• Community of Organisms
• Flow of Energy
• Cycling of Materials Biogeochemical Cycles
• Feedback Control

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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials?

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats/Lipids
• Nucleotides

Materials do not cycle, rather the elements that
make up the materials cycle through the
environment.
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials?
Carbohydrates
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials? Proteins
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials? Proteins
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials? Lipids
Saturated? Unsaturated?
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials?
Phospholipids
Cell Membrane
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials? Nucleotides
ATP
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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWhat Materials?

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats/Lipids
• Nucleotides

Materials do not cycle, rather the elements that
make up the materials cycle through the
environment.
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CYCLING OF MATERIALSHydrologic Cycle
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CYCLING OF MATERIALSPhosphorus Cycle
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CYCLING OF MATERIALSNitrogen Cycle
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CYCLING OF MATERIALSCarbon Cycle
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CYCLING OF MATERIALSDetritus/Detritivores?
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CYCLING OF MATERIALSCarbon Cycle
GtC giga1 billion
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Greenhouse Gases

• Water Vapor
• Methane
• Chloroflorocarbons
• Nitrous oxide
• Carbon dioxide

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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
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Ozone

• Absorption of solar radiation by
• stratospheric ozone is responsible
• for the temperature increase in the stratosphere
• The above absorption protects animals and plants
  on the surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation
• Ozone "pollution" in the lower atmosphere
  created by commercial aircraft acts as a
  Greenhouse gas
• Ozone pollution near the surface due to sunlight
  breaking apart smog can cause respiratory
  problems in humans.

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OZONE
Ozone hole over Antarctica
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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGEConsequences?

• Risks to human health
• Risks to ecosystem services agriculture,
  forestry, fisheries, water resources

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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGEHuman Health?

• Heat waves and mortality France
• Disease West Niles Virus

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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGEEcosystem Services?

• WATER Freshwater streams, aquifers
• FOOD Soil, Forests, Estuaries
• WASTE MANAGEMENT
• CLIMATE CONTROL
• BIODIVERSITY

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ECOSYSTEM Basic Functional Unit of Ecology

• Community of Organisms
• Flow of Energy
• Cycling of Materials Biogeochemical Cycles
• Feedback Control

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LIFE WORKS IN CYCLES
EXAMPLE A Endocrine Control
EXAMPLE B Population Regulation
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BIOFEEDBACK AND THE CARBON CYCLE
Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment Project
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EPISTEMOLOGICAL CYCLE
HYPOTHESIS THE POSSIBLE
Deduction
Induction
PREDICTION
DECISION
Experimentation
Comparison
DATA THE ACTUAL
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CYCLING OF MATERIALS
Complex interactions characterize
ecosystem function
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ECOLOGICAL THEATER andENVIRONMENTALETHICS
Ethics? Ethical? Anthropocentric vs.
Eco-centric Ethic Utilitarian, instrumentalist
relationship to nature