Chapter Objectives

1. Explain why the field of ecology is a multidixciplinary science
2. Distinguish among physiology, ecology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecoloty
3. Describe the relationship between ecology and evolution
4. Explain the importance of temperature, water, light, soil, and wind to living organisms
5. Explain the principle of allocation
6. Describe how environmental changes may produce behavioral, physiological, morphological, or adaptive responses in organisms
7. Explain the concept of environmental grain and under what situation(s) a single environment may be both coarse-grained and fine=grained
8. Describe the characteristics of the majore biones
   1. tropical forest
   2. savanna
   3. desert
   4. chaparral
   5. temperate grassland
   6. temperate forest
   7. taiga
   8. tundra
9. Compare and contrats the types of freshwater communities
10. Using a diagram identify the various zones found int he marine environment

Chapter Terms:

Chapter Outline Framework

1. The Scope of Ecology
   1. Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment
   2. Ecological research ranges from the adaptations of organisms to the dynamics of ecosystems
   3. Ecology provides a scientific context for evaluating environmental issues
2. Abiotic factors of the Biosphere
   1. Climate and other abiotic factors are important determinants of the biosphere's distribution of organisms
3. Aquatic and Terrestrial Biomes
   1. Aquatic biomes occupy the largest part of the biosphere
   2. The geographical distribution of terrestrial biomes is based mainly on regional variations in climate
4. Concepts of Organismal Ecology
   1. The costs and benefits of homeostasis affect an organism's responses to environmental variation
   2. An organism's short-term responses to environmental variations operate within a long-term evolutionary framework

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