Below is a list of important topics from lectures since CC106’s last exam (not including the April 16th lecture and those after).
Important topics:
Ecology Lectures I and II: Biomes and Physical Ecology: (Prof. Schnieder)
- Ecology as concept– Biotic vs. abiotic traits of environment– Biome vs. biogeographic region– Levels of biological organization– Physical geography vs. biogeography– Ecological systems (population, community, ecosystem, biosphere)– Conditions conducive to high diversity of life in ecosystem– Reasons for climate variation– Coriolis effect– Hadley cells– Influence of wind on ocean currents and exchange of heat via ocean currents– Influence of topography on climate– Convergent evolution in environmentally similar but geographically separate regions.
- Traits that form major conditions of terrestrial vs. aquatic biomes– Wallace’s line and six biogeographic regions– Relation of continental drift to biogeographic regions– Examples of biotic interchange (Bering land bridge, Panamanian land bride).
Chemical Ecology Lecture: (Prof. Atema)
- Chemical signals are everywhere in life, inside and outside our and their bodies.
- Currents are necessary to carry odors over any significant distance; this could vary from millimeters to kilometers.
- Smell and taste are the two primary sense organs to respond to chemical signals: smell interacts with odors in the free flowing medium (air or water); taste tests the stuff we eat to stimulate appetite and to avoid poisoning ourselves.
- The molecular receptors for smell and taste can be similar (because both function to interact with chemicals).
- The anatomy of smell and taste sense organs is very different, including the mouth map of the taste brain and the glomeruli in the smell brain.
Ecology III Lecture: Population Growth: (Prof. Schneider)
- Definition of a population.
- BD model of population size: essentially, births increase and deaths decrease population size.
- Per capita growth rate.
- Life Table.
- Life histories determine population growth rates.
- Populations grow multiplicatively, but limiting resources can cap population growth.
- Limits to population growth.
- Carrying capacity.
- Human population growth.
Reminders:
- Professor Schneider sent out an email this morning with the Arctic Ice assignment attached. That will be due this coming Monday in your discussions. You may work with a parter on this if you would like. Let me or Nate know if you have any questions regarding this assignment.
- Nate and Gayle will hold a review for the final but that is a couple weeks away from now. They will send along more information about that when it gets closer.
Interesting Science Article/News:
- Fish’s DNA May Explain How Fins Turned to Feet, New York Times: nyti.ms/Zmpidx
