001 Introduction

Environment & Ecology

Environment – the natural world that we live in and interact with.

Ecology – the study of the interaction of organisms with their environments.

The word "ecology" coined from Greek word "oikos", which means "house" or "place to live”.

It involves understanding biotic and abiotic factors influencing the distribution and abundance of living things.

Biotic factors are all the living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment.  

Some Biotic Factors • Parasitism • Disease • Predation• Food availability• Habitat availability• Competitors• Symbiotic Relationships

Biotic Factors

Abiotic factors are the nonliving things in an environment.  

Some Abiotic Factors • pH• Temp• Nitrates• Rainfall• Climate Conditions• Natural disasters• Salinity• O2 levels

Abiotic Factors

Fig. 52-2Organism

Population

Community

Ecosystem

Landscape

Biosphere

Studies in Environment

& Ecology

• A population is all the members of a given species in a given area.

Example - All the green turtles in Kaneohe Bay

Population

Community• Community - all the species in a given

area. Example - all the living things in Kaneohe Bay

Environment• Environment – encompasses the interaction

between the living and nonliving world in a particular geographic area.

Niche• A plant's or animal's niche is a way of life that

is unique to that species. • Niche and habitat are not the same. While

many species may share a habitat, this is not true of a niche. Each plant and animal species is a member of a community.

• The niche describes the species' role or function within this community.

• Moray eel’s habitat might include coral reefs, coral rubble, and caves, is shared with many animals .

• The niche is that of a predator.

• Only the moray occupies this niche in the coral reef community. However, a different species of animal may occupy a similar niche to that of the moray.

Niche

What niche does the Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse fill?

Niche

What niche does the Ewa blenny fill?

Niche

Niche

No two animals can occupy the same niche at the same time.

Result = competition

Environmental Science

EnvironmentalismA social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world from undesirable changes brought about by human actions.

An interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, (including physics, chemistry, biology, soil science, geology, and geography) to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems.

Environmental EthicsA process of applying a set of ethical standards to the relationships between human and nonhuman entities.

Sustainable Ethics

• The earth has a limited supply of resources.

• Humans must conserve resources. • Humans share the earth's resources with

other living things. • Growth is not sustainable. • Humans are a part of nature. • Humans are affected by natural laws. • Humans succeed best when they

maintain the integrity of natural processes sand cooperate with nature.

Environmental Ethics

• Loggers • Nuclear Power • Oil Companies• Hydroelectric plants

AnthropocentrismCost-benefit analysis

Environmental Ethics

Biocentrism

Environmental Ethics

Ecocentrism

Nature has moral considerationbecause it has intrinsic value, value aside from its usefulness to humans.

http://www.malamahawaii.org/

Environmental EthicsEcocentrism10

Voluntary Human Extinction Movementhttp://www.vhemt.org/

Environmentalists

John Muir

Alfred Leopold- wildlife ecology

Rachel Carson

Wangari Maathai- green belt S. Africa

Chico Mendes- Brazil

Environmental Justice

Fair and equitable treatment of all people with respect to environmental policy and practice, regardless of their income, race or ethnicity.

Ecological Footprint

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html

Sustainable Solutions

How would you address the following concerns?

• Energy demands

• Water use

• Population

• Land management

• Waste management

Mass Extinction Events

Recent Extinctions

Recent Extinctions

Yangtze river dolphin2007

Tasmanian Tiger 1936

Who’s next?

West African Black Rhino2006

Golden toad 2007

Steller’s sea cow~1770

Pre-European contact

Amazon Rainforest

Deforestation

Indigenous cultures

Dustbowl

Potato Famine

BP Deepwater Horizon 2010

Fukushima Power Plant 2011

Hurricane Katrina (2005)

Natural Disasters

Earthquakes/Tsunami

Natural Disasters

Haiti 2010

Chile 2010

Indonesia2005

Japan 2011

Polynesian Migration

Rapa Nui

• Polynesians arrived 700 AD, sailing from the west.

• They lived an isolated existence for the next thousand years

http://www.eisp.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/about05.jpg

Ecological Disaster• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

– Isolated Pacific island with poor soil and little water– Originally covered by Chilean Wine Palms– No native edible plants– Rich in seafood and nesting animals

Ecological Disaster• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

– Settled by 25-50 Polynesians in 5th century

• Survived easily on seafood, chickens, bananas, taro and yams, plenty of free time

• Developed elaborate competition between clans with moai (statues)

– Civilization peaked at 1550, with population of ~12000

• Rapa Nui (Easter Island)– Reached by a Dutch ship in 1722

• Found about 2,000 people living in caves• Primitive society, constant warfare

– Rapa Nui’s carrying capacity had been drastically lowered by society’s actions:

• Transportation of moai had required cutting down trees

• Erosion of soil made yams scarce• Lack of canoes made fishing difficult and escape

impossible

Carrying Capacity

Moai• Ancestor worship• With their backs to the

sea they could inspire and protect the Islanders.

• Moai carving and transport were in full swing from 1400 to 1600, just 122 years before first contact with European visitors to the island.

The Cost of the Moai• The Moai took a tremendous

amount of natural resources and human energy

• Movement required human energy, ropes, wooden sledges, lifting logs and/or rollers.

• There are nearly 900 moai in various stages of completion, some stones weighed 80t, and were transported 16km from the quarry.

Archaeological evidence includes:

• disappearance of trees

• disappearance the island's bird life

• disappearance of evidence of people eating porpoise and tuna.

• wooden carvings of emaciated people

• the appearance of a new implement - spear tips.

Catastrophe

Stone Tools

chiselsFish hooks

knives

Civil Warfare

Rapa Nui’s Lesson

The islanders carried out for us the experiment of permitting unrestricted population growth, profligate use of resources, destruction of the environment and boundless confidence in their religion to take care of

the future. The result was an ecological disaster leading to a population crash … Do we have to repeat

the experiment on a grand scale? … Is the human personality always the same as that of the person who

felled the last tree?

Paul Bahn and John Flenley,Easter Island, Easter Island 1992

http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/big_box_mart

QUESTION: ReviewThe term “environment” includes:

a) Living things, such as animals and plantsb) Non-living things, such as rivers and soilc) Buildings and citiesd) All of the above are included in this term

QUESTION: Review

A Neo-Malthusian would say that predicted massive human starvation has not yet occurred because:

a) Diseases have been eradicatedb) Enough people are dying from war and conflictc) Agriculture has postponed massive starvationd) People are too dumb to limit their population

growth

QUESTION: ReviewWhich of the following is correct about the term “environmentalism”?

a) It involves pursuing knowledge to understand the natural world.

b) It is a social movement to protect the environment.c) It usually does not include advocacy for the

environment.d) It requires trying to remain objective.

QUESTION: Review

An anthropocentric worldview would consider the impact of an action on:

a) Plants only

b) Animals only

c) Humans only

d) All living things

e) All non-living things

QUESTION: Review

Which ethic holds that resources should be wisely used?

a) Preservation ethic

b) Land ethic

c) Conservation ethic

d) Deep ecology

e) Biocentrism

QUESTION: ReviewWhat is the definition of “sustainable development”?

a) Using resources to benefit future generations, even if it means lower availability now

b) Letting future generations figure out their own problems

c) Letting each country decide what is its best interestd) Using resources to satisfy current needs without

compromising future availability

QUESTION: Weighing the Issues

Which do you think is the best way to protect commonly owned resources (i.e., air, water, fisheries)?

a) Sell the resource to a private entityb) Let organizations themselves decide if they want to

participate in protecting the resourcec) Enact governmental regulationsd) Do nothing and see what happens

QUESTION: Weighing the Issues

Do you think the rest of the world can have an ecological footprint as large as the footprint of the United States?

a) Yes, because we will find new technologies and resources to overcome environmental problems.

b) Yes, because the footprint of the United States is not really that large compared to other countries.

c) Definitely not. The world does not have that many resources.

d) It does not matter. It’s not that important.

QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data

According to this graph, what has happened to the population over the last 500 years?

a) It has grown enormously.

b) It has grown slower than food production.

c) It has decreased.

d) It has slowed down recently.