Essay on Ecology

The purpose of this experiment is to determine which stimuli sowbugs prefer more, moist or dark. However, to confirm that sowbugs prefer dark and moist environments we had to create an experiment to prove this. We proved sowbugs prefer dark environments by using a lamp to create a light environment and cardboard over half the petri dish to create the dark environment; the sowbugs chose the dark side. Then we proved sowbugs preferred moist environments over dry ones by creating a wet environment on one side and a dry environment on the other side of the petri dish. After our final experiment, we were able to determine that sowbugs prefer the dark stimuli over moist stimuli.

The common cuckoo can be recognized by its soft, two-note call: “cuc-koo, cuc-koo.” This gentle song may make the bird seem innocent. However, the cuckoo is guilty of using a few cunning schemes to advance its own interests. Specifically, cuckoo birds employ a technique known as mimicry. This means that they copy the physical, and behavioral patterns of other animals to improve their own chances at survival. Thanks to these wily tricks, common cuckoos have managed to thrive in many parts of the world.

Ecological models can answer many questions regarding hypotheses, ecosystem parts and their functions (Marewski & Schooler, 2011). My ecological model was very standard for my teenage years (McWhirter, 2017). I was the first of four children and lived in Ohio, growing up during the ‘60s and ‘70s. We were an average American family living in an average suburb. We all had bicycles and went on bike rides all the time. In the summer, we would ride to the swimming pool in our town. In the summer, we did the book clubs at our library and we always had something to do together with our friends (McWhirter, 2017).

Do you observe a selective advantage or disadvantage for the red or blue beads on the blue habitat? Why?

Environmental scanning can be viewed as a way of acquiring information about outside events that can aid organizations in first identifying potential trends, then interpreting them

The emperor moth, or Saturnia pavonia, is a species of moth most notable for its beautiful collection of four eyespots on its wings; two on its front wings and two on its back wings. Because the eyespots are so visible and prominent on the wings of the moth, it can be proposed that this trait was adapted by the moth to increase its chances of viability by intimidating or confusing predators, compared to the common heath moth Ematurga atomaria which is a simple brown or grey colour (i.e. no eyespots). Eyespots on an organism is an example of mimicry – when an organism evolves a specific trait that is similar to a different organism (usually a predator), which in turn can help to improve its chances of survival. The theory behind mimicry proposes that the certain traits that a species adapts (in this case, eyespots), appear as confusing to predators, therefore hindering the predator’s ability to accurately perceive the identity of the species which allows said species even the slightest chance to escape from harm’s way (Howse 2013). There is also proof that large eyespots, such as those on the Saturnia pavonia, are beneficial to the organism because they are visibly similar to the eyes of predators such as owls (Howse 2013). The results from one experiment conducted by Blest (1957) studied the number of averted attacks by birds on a butterfly with eyespots compared to the number of averted attacks on a butterfly with the eyespots concealed from rubbing the wings (Stevens).

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such an organism plays a role in its ecosystem that is analogous to the role of a keystone in an arch. While the keystone feels the least pressure of any of the stones in an arch, the arch still collapses without it. Similarly, an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem by measures of biomass or productivity. It has become a very popular concept in conservation biology.

A biome, also known as life zones, consists of all plants, animals, and other organisms, as well the physical environment in a particular area. A biome is characterized by its’ plant life, climate, and location. The climate and physical features determine the boundaries of a biome. A biome is made up of many different ecosystems. The ecosystems tend to have the same pants and animals as neighboring biomes around the boundaries. The major biomes are the tundra, taiga, tropical rain forest, temperate forests, desert, grassland, savanna, chaparral, and marine. Each biome has it’s own characteristics such as the tundra.

Ecology is the tool used to better understand the causes, effects, and potential mitigation of environmental problems.

Taste Aversion Learning by Birds in Colchester, Vermont on the Saint Michael’s College campus: A Study of Batesian Mimicry

There are 6.5 million species of land mammals. Wildlife biologists get the privilege of studying and spending time with these animals as their everyday life. I should be a wildlife biologist so I can study land mammals.

"What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument."

Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

Environmental problems are something which belongs to nature or known as “Mother Earth” [13]. Nature was created to help people survive from gathering foods until build a house. This phenomenon happens continuously without thinking how much damage that nature has because human’s fault. Nature gradually becomes worse and animal’s life in danger. People who are aware of the importance of nature react. Those people do several ways to save the environment. Although these efforts can return back the environment, these efforts only can be hold temporarily. This problem happens because those people who are aware of the environment only slightly; for remaining, there are people either do not know or do not care about the nature. People’s efforts

Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be