Barausse 5 Flashcards
Why is the Northern Adriatic Sea significant for marine conservation and modeling studies?
What was the goal of modeling the Northern Adriatic Sea in this study?
What is Ecopath, and how was it used in the Northern Adriatic Sea case study?
What factors influence the choice of food web compartments in a trophic network model?
- ecological roles
- diet + trophic levels
- species abundance + biomass
- data availability
- habitat distribution
- model purpose
What is the significance of achieving mass balance in an Ecopath model?
- model is plausible
- energy and biomass flow are represented accurately
- realistic snaphot of the ecosystem
How are biomass and other difficult-to-measure parameters estimated in Ecopath?
What does a high Primary Production to Total Biomass (PP/TB) ratio indicate in an ecosystem?
What is the Lindeman spine, and what did it reveal about the Northern Adriatic Sea ecosystem?
- the rate and efficiency with which energy is transferred from phytoplankton to higher trophic levels depend heavily on the zooplankton population. If zooplankton biomass or production is limited, it restricts the amount of energy that can flow up the food chain.
- Limiting Factor: A bottleneck implies that zooplankton is a limiting factor in the ecosystem. If zooplankton abundance is low, even if phytoplankton are abundant, the energy cannot efficiently move up the food web, potentially leading to lower biomass at higher trophic levels
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Consequences of Energy from detritus
- Positive: It can stabilize zooplankton populations, provide a buffer against fluctuations in primary production, and contribute to nutrient recycling, supporting ecosystem stability and biodiversity.
- Negative: It might indicate a shift in the food web that could reduce the efficiency of energy transfer to higher trophic levels, signal potential ecosystem stress or eutrophication, and lead to disruptions in the food web, such as algal blooms or hypoxia.
What is mixed trophic impact analysis, and why is it important?
effects and changes of biomass on different groups
What did the mixed trophic impact analysis suggest about the role of predators in the Northern Adriatic Sea?
What is Ecosim, and how was it used in the Northern Adriatic Sea study?
How is model calibration achieved in Ecosim?
parameters in Ecosim:
1. fishing mortality
2. vulnerabilities
Why is primary production critical in the Northern Adriatic Sea ecosystem?
What impact could a 5% decrease in primary production have on fisheries in the Northern Adriatic Sea?
What are the key conclusions from the Northern Adriatic Sea case study regarding ecosystem modeling?
models are valuable for
- understanding ecosystem functioning
- guiding management decisions
What future directions are suggested for improving ecosystem modeling and conservation efforts?
- more field studies
- increased ecological monitoring
- improving model calibration techniques
- coupling of different models
