Ecology chp 1  Created by J_K_Sohal   25 terms · Introduction to
Ecology   test of hypotheses, can be observational or
manipulative   universal proposition that suggests explanations
for some observed ecological situation   verbal or mathematical
statement of a hypothesis  scientific law  universal statement
that is well corroborated that everyone accepts it as part of
scientific background knowledge. none in ecology.   universal
statement that we all accept because they are mostly definitions
a heirarchical set of empirical hypotheses that together explain
a significant fraction of hypotheses. theory of evolution most
important.   scientific study of interactions that determine
distributions and abundance of organisms  four biological
disciplines related to ecology  behavior, genetics, physiology,
evolution  Graunt 1662  father of demography: birth and death
rates  Buffon 1756  great fertility of species counterbalanced
by inumerable agents of destruction  Malthus 1798  reproduction
will be checked by food