ENVIR ST 260 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Last Lecture I Run Through of Syllabus Outline of Current Lecture I Populations A Why Study Population B Definition of Population C Population Ecology and Growth II E Writing Assignment Current Lecture Populations Levels of Study Ecology can be studied at many levels ranging from individuals to the entire planet The categories are broad but we follow this general organizational structure Individuals are the narrowest and the biosphere is the broadest levels of study Once can learn a lot from individuals and get a good sense of what they look and act like However there are a lot of limitations Example If you study just one person who is tall you might assume that everybody is tall A lot of people study at a population level The more individuals you study the better idea you have about averages A populations is a group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time A group of individuals These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Of the same species Interbreeding individuals Important because the species have to have a generational continuity and pass on genetic information Living in the same place at the same time Important because the population has access to the same resources and is under the same environmental pressures Same conditions and environmental factors Assigning a place to population study is arbitrary and a little fuzzy Can range from city limits to county boundaries to statewide to nationwide Population ecology Study of the distribution and abundance of a given species in a specified area at a given time Two big questions SIZE Why are the populations the size they are How many are there Many or few With endangered species there s a small population due to things such as hunting pressure or loss of habitat However we re not concerned so much with the number but we want to know why How old are the individuals Sex ratios Age and sex ratios are interesting things we can look at Why are they the way they are GROWTH How does a population grow Fast or slow Shrinking Population Growth There are two graphs you ll typically see when looking at population growth with the X axis being time and the Y axis being the number of individuals Exponential The population is growing This is what we expect to see with populations over time they start out with few and get many Logistic The population begins growing quickly but then levels out over time They level out because of limitations on resources For example a water source may only be able to support a limited number of individuals World Population It s exponential Human population growth is exponential We haven t leveled out yet E Writing Assignment Feedback in cycles Low stakes point at start and higher at the end Overview will be on Moodle Additional information will be posted as we get closer to those parts of the assignment Three parts ongoing throughout the semester Overview and details for PART 1 on Moodle Additional details will be added soon E writing goal Recognize that we are part of an ecosystem and we have a lot of influence Explore the impact of individual choices and do it in a creative way Explore the ecological impacts of an individual choices Use a creative medium E writing end product Make an appointment for help with design lab E writings are like graphic essays and theory comics Take the usual essay that s all just text but add pictures and color and tweak the font size Include photos and present them in a way that is visually appealing to a reader Link to design lab on moodle However we ll start smaller We re starting with an essay Examples on the Design lab web page Phase 1 Essay detailed PDF on Moodle What is one action behavior you have with a positive impact on the environment What is one action behavior that has a negative impact Why did you make these choices What happens when that impact is scaled up to a larger population Just use google to explore