Biology 2003

Organismal Ecology
Readings:
Physiological Ecology :
● Read about fundamental/realized niches chapter 57.1 only the paragraph
under “The Realized Niche Is Smaller Than the Fundamental Niche Due to
Competition”
● Read about anaerobic respiration in chapter 7.8

● Read about chemoautotrophs in chapter 27.4 (read the section under

“Mechanisms of Nutrition and Responses to Oxygen” only)
● Read about osmoregulation in chapter 41.4 (only sections “A Balance of
Water and Ions is Critical for Survival” and “Animals Adapt to Osmotic
Challenges by Regulating or Conforming”). Feel free to read the fun Feature
Investigation on the development of Gatorade – but that won’t be part of
our discussion.
Behavioral Ecology: Chapter 55.1, 55.3, 55.5
Learning objectives
Students will be able to:
● Describe the field of Organismal Ecology
Physiological Ecology

● Describe a fundamental niche (to be revisited in Community Ecology in contrast to the

realized niche)
A fundamental niche
● Describe some physiological adaptations to the environment that allow organisms to
reside in a particular niche, particularly one with no oxygen, no sunlight, high or low
salinity.
● Identify the role of chemosynthesis in organisms and ecosystems without light

● Identify the role of anaerobic respiration in areas without oxygen,

● Identify adaptations for osmoregulation to fresh or saltwater,

 ● Interpret data regarding physiological adaptations to environmental conditions (can you
identify chemosynthesis, anaerobic respiration)
● Interpret data regarding physiological adaptations and fundamental niches
Behavioral Ecology

● Make or identify statements of ultimate and proximate causes for behavioral

adaptations (or physiological adaptations) .
● Be able to identify and distinguish fixed action patterns (fig. 55.1), classical conditioning,
operant conditioning, and cognitive learning. Describe learning in evolutionary terms.
● Be able to discuss the heritable and learned aspects of behavior.

● Describe “optimal foraging” and the fitness tradeoffs between searching for food and
predation risk
● Not required: but fun to read about the bee waggle dance. Be ready to perform the
waggle dance (ok – not necessary, but a fun study break).
One-minute Reflection
Reflect for 1 minute on one or more of the following: How has the current state of the world
(ongoing challenges involving Covid 19, RSV, and flu) influenced your learning about disease
ecology? Reflect about your thoughts about ecology so far. How are you feeling for the
upcoming exam? Feel free to use this space to outline your plan for studying.