Learn the key concepts in ecology and what makes populations change over time, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Ecology is the study of plants and animals in their environments but what kinds of questions do ecologists try to answer? We begin with a population - a group of organisms belonging to the same species that live in one place. Some populations are stable, while others boom and bust, and we find out why births and deaths are key to understanding stability. We then consider why there are so many species on Earth and in doing so discover the ecological niche that constrains organisms to a specific role. Finally, we take a quick look at humans, who have broken out of their niche and taken control of the planet.
Erratum - Mammal biomass on Earth
The figures given in the video are incorrect. The actual figures are: 34% humans, 62% livestock and 4% wild mammals.
https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Titles
00:29 Key ecological questions
01:18 The state of populations: births and deaths
02:58 The rabbit versus the albatross
04:32 Keystone species: the case of the sea otter
06:20 Competition: the ecological niche
08:23 Humans – the ultimate competitor?
11:26 Outro
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Learn the key concepts in ecology and what makes populations change over time, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Ecology is the study of plants and animals in their environments but what kinds of questions do ecologists try to answer? We begin with a population - a group of organisms belonging to the same species that live in one place. Some populations are stable, while others boom and bust, and we find out why births and deaths are key to understanding stability. We then consider why there are so many species on Earth and in doing so discover the ecological niche that constrains organisms to a specific role. Finally, we take a quick look at humans, who have broken out of their niche and taken control of the planet.
Erratum - Mammal biomass on Earth
The figures given in the video are incorrect. The actual figures are: 34% humans, 62% livestock and 4% wild mammals.
https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Titles
00:29 Key ecological questions
01:18 The state of populations: births and deaths
02:58 The rabbit versus the albatross
04:32 Keystone species: the case of the sea otter
06:20 Competition: the ecological niche
08:23 Humans – the ultimate competitor?
11:26 Outro
Learn about the microbiome, the amazing flexibility of bacteria, and why we have an antibiotic resistance crisis with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Have you ever wondered what bacteria do for you? Bacteria are the ultimate survivors and brilliant at adapting to a changing environment. By turning genes on and off - known as gene expression - they can change the tools and machinery that they produce, so they can deal with different foodstuffs.
Bacteria also carry extra bits of DNA, called plasmids, that carry genes that allow bacteria to cope with unusual situations. Genes for antibiotic resistance are often carried on plasmids and this means they can easily be passed around, leading to the current crisis.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:24 Titles
00:29 The Microbiome
01:51 E.coli and gene expression
03:34 Gene expression in detail (the lac operon)
04:53 Plasmids and the antibiotic resistance crisis
06:49 Antibiotic use in livestock
08:30 What bacteria can't do
09:05 Outro
Biology: The Whole Story
Learn the key concepts in ecology and what makes populations change over time, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Ecology is the study of plants and animals in their environments but what kinds of questions do ecologists try to answer? We begin with a population - a group of organisms belonging to the same species that live in one place. Some populations are stable, while others boom and bust, and we find out why births and deaths are key to understanding stability. We then consider why there are so many species on Earth and in doing so discover the ecological niche that constrains organisms to a specific role. Finally, we take a quick look at humans, who have broken out of their niche and taken control of the planet.
Erratum - Mammal biomass on Earth
The figures given in the video are incorrect. The actual figures are: 34% humans, 62% livestock and 4% wild mammals.
https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Titles
00:29 Key ecological questions
01:18 The state of populations: births and deaths
02:58 The rabbit versus the albatross
04:32 Keystone species: the case of the sea otter
06:20 Competition: the ecological niche
08:23 Humans – the ultimate competitor?
11:26 Outro
