37.1-37.7 Flashcards
What do community ecologists study?
abiotic factors and interactions between populations.
What is community ecology necessary for?
conservation of endangered species, management of wildlife, game, and fisheries.
What is the scientific title for the interactions between different species in a community?
Interspecific interactions.
What is the interspecific interaction: interspecific competition?
One of the many ways populations interact is for food sources. Here, they compete for the same food source. In general, this competition is negative for both populations, and limits their carrying capacity
Populations of eastern bluebirds declined after the introduction of non-native house sparrows and European starlings. All three species nested in tree cavities. Suggest how an interspecific interaction could explain the blue birds decline.
Interspecific competition for nest space.
What is an ecological niche?
“the sum of its use of the biotic and abiotic factors in its environment” , it being a species.
What happens when the ecological niches, biotic or abiotic, of species overlap with each other?
There is interspecific competition.
Which do you think has more severe effects, intraspecific competition or interspecific competition and why?
Intraspecific competition is more severe because members of the same species have exactly the same niche. Thus, they compete for the exact same resources.
What is mutualism?
A relationship the is beneficial for both species involved.
What is an example of mutualism?
Dinoflagellates (unicellular algae) live within corals reefs and photosynthesize to provide for them.
When corals are stressed by environmental conditions, they expel their dinoflagellates in a process called bleaching. How is widespread bleaching likely to affect coral reefs?
Without dinoflagellate mutualists, corals do not have enough energy to maintain the reef structure. Bleached reefs will die.
What are the interspecific interactions?
Competition, mutualism, predation, herbivory, p&p
What is predation, and its “charge”
Its in the name, good for predators, bad for prey. Predation has a huge negative impact on the reproductive success of prey
What does predation cause?
Predators kill prey, and thus the prey that possess favorable traits survive to pass on their genes. Natural selection causes prey species to develop diverse adaptations to avoid predators. Ex. camouflage, poison, spikes.
What is herbivory?
Consumers eating plants, good for consumers, bad for plants.
What separates plants from prey in herbivory?
Herbivory is not usually fatal to the plant, Plants are able to grow back, but they must expend energy to do so.
What makes plants and prey similar in herbivory?
plants have developed toxins and poisons to deter animals. In fact, many drugs are from these plant adaptations.
What is coevolution?
reciprocal evolutionary adaptations in two species. It occurs when a change in one species acts as a new selective force on another species, and the resulting adaptations of the second species in turn affect the selection of individuals in the first species. Very commonly found in herbivorial interspecific relationships.
People find most bitter-tasting foods objectionable. Why do you suppose we have taste receptors for bitter-tasting chemicals.
Individuals having bitter taste receptors presumably survived better because they could identify potentially toxic food when foraged.
What are parasites and pathogens as a interspecific interaction.
Parasites affect both plants and animals. Both internal and external parasites, you know what they are. Good for parasites and pathogens, bad for consumers and producers.
What are some examples of external parasites?
ticks, lice, mites and mosquitoes, for humans, aphids and nematodes for plants.
What are pathogens?
disease causing bacteria: viruses, fungi, protists, microscopic parasites.
What is an example of a pathogen/parasite affecting a community?
Chestnut trees died out due to a parasite, many birds lost their homes, but decomposers found new ones.
Why did tree diversity increase after the chestnut trees died?
Chestnuts had many of the same niche characteristics as other trees, but apparently chestnuts were superior competitors. After they died, the remaining species have had fewer niche similarities, or they may have been more equal as competitors, allowing more species to coexist.
