Week 1: Physical Environment

Textbook Reading Guide

 Chapter 1
o Define
o ecology: Ecology is the scientific study of the relationship between organisms
and their environment.
o Ecosystem: The eco-part of the word relates to the environment. The system-
part implies that the ecosystem functions as a collection of related parts that function
as a unit.
o Biotic- Refers to living component.
o Abiotic- refers to non-living component.
o Population-
o Community-
o Landscape-
o hypothesis, prediction, categorical data, continuous data, bar graph, scatterplot,
model, environmental science
o Describe ecology as a field, and specify the differences across population,
community, and ecosystem ecology.
o Apply the scientific method to describe how we answer questions in ecology.
o Identify different types of data and how they are displayed.
o Justify the use of models in ecology.
o Identify the findings and importance of their work for the following scientists:
Theophrastus, Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus, Gregor
Mendel, Frederic Clements, Arthur Tansley, and Charles Elton.

 Chapter 2
o Define weather, climate, greenhouse effect, net radiation, Coriolis effect, gyres,
relative humidity, Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), continentality, rain shadow
effect, El Niño, microclimate
o Differentiate between weather and climate. 
o Describe how the distribution in solar radiation impacts surface temperature,
atmospheric circulation, air moisture content, and precipitation.
o Describe how and why climate varies depending on where you are on earth.
o Apply microclimate principles in describing habitat needs of a species.
o Explain how humans are impacting the earth's climate. 

 Chapter 3
o Define hydrologic cycle, precipitation, infiltration, surface runoff, groundwater,
transpiration, evapotranspiration, specific heat, cohesion, thermocline, solvent, solute,
ion, diffusion, acidic solution, alkaline solution, pH, intertidal zone, estuary
o For the hydrologic cycle, identify water reservoirs and fluxes; and brainstorm
how these patterns may be modified with an increase in the human population on
Earth.
o Describe why water is an unique molecule and its resulting properties.
o Explain the changes that occur in water with increasing depths.
 Week 1: Physical Environment
Textbook Reading Guide
o Summarize how water is a solvent with ions, oxygen, and how the breakdown of
the molecule results in differing pH values.
o Explain what creates ocean tides and how these movements impact water
composition across the transition zone.
o Apply the principles of water to explain how rising atmospheric concentrations
of CO2 increase ocean acidity and how that impacts aquatic organisms.

 Chapter 4
o Define leaf area index (LAI), mechanical weathering, chemical weathering,
parent material, leaching, silt, clay, sand, loam, soil horizon, saturation, field capacity,
wilting point, available water capacity.
o Summarize how the terrestrial and aquatic environments are linked and the
importance of each for living organisms.
o Describe why understanding leaf area is important for terrestrial environments,
and how the orientation of the leaf and tree shape changes its LAI.
o Summarize how soil is formed and how soil is classified.
o Describe the contents of soil horizons O, A, E, B, and C.
o Differentiate between sand, silt, clay, and loam soils and describe how these
differences impact their water content.
o Recognize that soils differ regionally through a variety of soil formation
processes (skim over each - section 4.10).