Biology Stack Exchange
Biology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [ecology]

The study of the spatial and temporal patterns of the distribution and abundance of organisms, including causes and consequences (Scheiner, S.M. and Willig, M.R., 2008. A general theory of ecology. Theoretical Ecology, 1(1), pp.21-28. doi:10.1007/s12080-007-0002-0)

Questions should be about the interactions among and between organisms and their environment. Examples of topics include:

  • Life processes, interactions, and adaptations
  • Materials and energy in living communities
  • The development of ecosystems
  • Abundance and distribution of organisms
  • Biodiversity

questions pertaining to specific hierarchical levels of ecology should use specific tags: , ,

Questions pertaining to evolution should use

535 questions
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Can beavers control the direction a tree falls?

We humans can easily control the direction a tree falls by making a number of strategic cuts, essentially creating a hinge: This prevents trees from falling on equipment and people and sets them up in a good location for the subsequent processing…
canadianer
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Earth overshoot day: is it a sound concept?

Today, August 8th, is Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) for 2016, the day when humanity supposedly has consumed the natural resources available from the planet for the year 2016; we're now running a deficit, somehow. At least if your believe the…
Roland
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Smallest viable reproducing population

What is the smallest viable reproducing population, such as in a human population. By viable I mean a population which keeps genetic defects low (enough). A very strongly related question: what is the expected number of generations a given…
John Smith
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How do biological communities at deep-ocean hydrothermal vents migrate between vents?

Much interest in the astrobiology community has been generated by the discovery of biological communities populating deep-ocean hydrothermal vents (i.e. "black smokers"). (1) These ecosystems rely on chemoautotrophic bacteria/archaea extremophiles…
Poshpaws
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Why haven't prey evolved the ability to always outrun their predators?

I can understand why some prey can't outrun a recently evolved species. However, since cheetahs have existed for so long, why haven't its prey evolved to always outrun it, driving cheetahs to extinction. Is it because the cheetah population size is…
Timothy
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How to get rid of mosquitoes in a small lake

I own a small lake. Give or take it is about 50 meters wide and 100 meters long (or 160 feet wide, 320 feet long), with a max depth of around 2 meters / 6.5 feet. One third of the lake is surrounded by forest, the rest is grass / small enclaves of…
Thorst
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What prevents predator overpopulation?

I've often heard that a population, human or otherwise, will continue to grow as long as there is food available (assuming nothing else is killing them off). It makes sense: if you have food you can live, and if nothing is hunting you you'll…
Nerrolken
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Why are flies not scared when landing on a monitor with changing graphics?

I have been wondering why would insects in general, not be scared when important changes happen on your monitor where they have landed... If you move even just a finger, they are scared to death and fly away, but anything on my monitor and they…
Alexis Wilke
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What exactly is this small puffer fish doing and how did it manage to accomplish such a feat?

I recently saw a video on youtube where it shows a puffer fish making intricate designs in the sand: OZZY MAN VIDEO The puffer fish made this design on the sand: What exactly is the puffer fish doing and how is it capable of accomplishing such…
user35897
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How do burrowing animals get enough oxygen?

Tree borers make a small hole in a tree. At the end of it, they chew on wood to elongate the tunnel. They digest food and grow. All this takes oxygen. The entrance to the tunnel is generally small. Some borers plug the entrance. Even without that,…
mmesser314
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Why is a mosquito feeding on human blood not a parasite?

I recently read in my Ecology course notes that a mosquito feeding on human blood is not considered as a parasite. However, since it sucks blood from the human body, shouldn't it be regarded as a parasite, just like lice and ticks?
user31223
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How will rising carbon dioxide levels in the troposphere affect photosynthetic producers?

Much discussion has been had about the affects of climate change on plantlife, but how will rising carbon dioxide concentrations affect the photosynthetic process itself? Since CO₂ is a reagent in photosynthesis, would we expect higher CO₂ to mean…
Poshpaws
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Where can I find historical data on world-wide ecology parameters?

I hope this is the right StackExchange forum for such a question. I'm looking for large data sets on world-wide ecology parameters, such as annual temperatures by latitude, annual rainfall, CO₂ and O₂ concentration in the atmosphere and in the…
Tobia
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Was the recent "conservation hunt" of a black rhino supported by science?

CNN recently covered a sanctioned black rhino hunt in Namibia by Texan Corey Knowlton, who bid US$350,000 for the license. In the story, he claims that the hunt was actually supporting conservation of the critically endangered species, as they were…
MattDMo
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Antibacterial soap impacts on septic system?

What impacts do antibacterial soaps have on septic systems? I know that septic systems rely heavily on bacteria (especially regarding the breakdown of wastes by bacteria), so it seems as though antibacterial agents surely could do some harm to…
theforestecologist
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