INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY LAB

 

THE INTRODUCTORY LAB OBJECTIVES:

 

1. The student will be familiar with the lab syllabus and departmental policies

2. The student will be able to list and discuss the "Principles of Sustainability"

3. The student will gain a basic understanding of the following scientific concepts:

a.    Acids, bases and pH

b.    Taxonomy and the Five Kingdoms

c.    The Scientific Method

d.    Succession

e.    Ecology (video)

 

4. The student will review the assignment for a research paper on an ecological tonic.

 

Principles of Sustainability

 

In an effort to create a unifying theme that runs throughout the semester in the Ecology lab, we have chosen to focus on sustainability. Please familiarize yourself with the "Principles of Ecosystem Sustainability" found in Wright and Nebel's text "Environmental Science". We will relate each lab to one or more of these principles. Briefly, they are as follows:

 

1.    For sustainability, ecosystems use sunlight as their energy source.

 

2.    For sustainability, ecosystems dispose of wastes and replenish nutrients by

       recycling all elements.

 

3.    For sustainability, the size of consumer populations is maintained such that

       overgrazing and other forms of overuse do not occur.

 

4.    Ecosystems show resilience when subject to disturbance.

 

5.    Ecosystems depend on biodiversity.

 

For Further Discussion: Think of examples that illustrate how Nature follows each of these 5 principles. Plants use sunlight, for example. Next, think of how man disregards each of these principles. What types of energy do humans use? How do we dispose of waste? Do we recycle nutrients? How has the size of the human population grown? Do we overuse resources? What is man's impact on biodiversity? Give examples.