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2115 > BIOL2410 - ecology final exam > Flashcards

BIOL2410 - ecology final exam Flashcards

1
Q

what is the ecological importance of disturbance?

A

> resets the clock
mixes age
composition and structure at spatial timescales
diversity

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2
Q

what is an example of a press disturbance?

A

urbanisation and ecological response that span a long time

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3
Q

what is an example of a pulse disturbance?

A

wildfire, causes short term fluctuation

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4
Q

what is an example of ramp disturbance?

A

a drought, where it progressively gets worse to a lower new mean

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5
Q

the intermediate disturbance hypothesis describes:

A

an intermediate disturbance will show the greatest diversity as too little means no external competition and too much causes little to no species

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6
Q

describe primary sucession

A

from a disturbance that causes a ‘reset’ such as volcanic eruption, grasses and shrubs colonise which pave the way for larger trees (better competitors) to grow

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7
Q

describe secondary succession

A

occurs on soil exposed by disturbance but does not result back to the beginning (bare rock). caused by a wildfire.

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8
Q

difference between allogenic and autogenic succession

A

autogenic is driven by factors that are internal such as mortality, lifespan and biological processes

allogenic is drive by external factors such as disturbance regimes

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9
Q

a large disturbance will be recolonised most likely by

A

widely distributed propagules

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10
Q

what does biogeography explain briefly

A

reflects patterns of evolution, past dispersal and extinction.

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11
Q

where would you find greatest species richness

A

closest and largest to the mainland region (where immigrants come from)

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12
Q

the habitat diversity hypothesis describes:

A

species that are restricted to certain habitats may only exist on large islands

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13
Q

what does the equilibrium theory of island biogeography explain:

A

the balance between immigration and extinction controls species richness, larger islands hold greater amount of species

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14
Q

what are the 3 mechanisms to succession?

A

facilitation - early successional species facilitate colonisation and growth of later species

tolerance - species neither help or hinder colonisation

inhabitation - species taking up space for other colonisers, original colonisers are dominant

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15
Q

where does energy go within food webs?

A

not all is consumed by primary consumers so some gets left for decomposers

biomass eat by herbivores is not all assimilated

energy is lost as respiratory heat

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16
Q

explanation for why habitats with similar areas might have more or less species richness even if species relationship curve is true

A

habitat diversity is greater in one area compared to other

isolation and dispersal differences - isolated islands have less species

species better suited in larger communties

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17
Q

what is a joule and calorie

A

joule is the amount of energy exerted when a force of 1 newton is applied over a displacement of 1 metre

calorie is the amount of heat to raise 1g water by 1˚C

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18
Q

chemoautotrophs are:

A

organisms that use inorganic molecules and carbon dioxide to produce energy (deep sea bacteria)

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19
Q

photoheterotrophs are:

A

organisms that use sunlight and organic compounds for energy (ocean bacteria)

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20
Q

chemoheterotrophs are:

A

organisms that use organic compounds to make energy (animals and humans)

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21
Q

photoautotrophs are:

A

organisms that use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make energy and oxygen such as plants

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22
Q

the first law of thermodynamics states that

A

energy cannot be created or destroyed - only transformed

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23
Q

what is the second law of thermodynamics

A

that energy conversions are not 100%

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24
Q

exploitation efficiency can be calculated by:

A

the amount ingested / the net production of previous organism

(Ln/Pn-1) x 100

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25
Q

assimilation efficiency can be calculated by:

A

amount assimilated (absorbed) / exploitation (ingested)

(An/Ln) x 100

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26
Q

how to calculate production efficiency

A

the production of biomass / assimilation (absorbed)

(Pn/An) x 100

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27
Q

what is exploitation efficiency influenced by:

A

appetite, palatability, quality and satiation

invertebrates have lower exploitation due to only eating grasses and such

zooplankton have high due to abundance of phytoplankton

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28
Q

what is assimilation efficiency influenced by:

A

food quality

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29
Q

production efficiency is influenced by

A

metabolic activity such as thermo regulation

for endotherms who produce own body heat, the production is lower compared to ectotherms (snakes)

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30
Q

to calculate how much a tertiary species needs primary producers is by:

A

ecological efficiency / the catch

the amount needed to produce / EE of next level

the amount needed to produce / EE of next level

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31
Q

primary producers biomass compared to consumers in oceans is lower because:

A

primary producers grow and reproduce at rapid rate, consumers are able to increase biomass greatly

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32
Q

the flow of energy in open oceans looks like:

A

tertiary - lowest amount of energy
primary consumers - intermediate
primary producers - lots

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33
Q

who has the most biomass in the open ocean

A

primary consumers or herbivores

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34
Q

who has the least biomass in open ocean

A

tertiary consumers

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35
Q

who has the most biomass in a forest and why

A

the trees due to it being unable to be eaten by herbivores easily

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36
Q

does biomass of primary consumers in a grassland have more compared to forest

A

yes, grassland primary consumers have more due to the availability of herbivores to plants

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37
Q

what are consequences of the food web structure

A

bioaccumulation of contaminants at higher trophic levels and this is magnified (biomagnification) due to the flow of contaminants from lower to higher

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38
Q

what is the nitrogen cycle

A

the flow of nitrogen between the atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere

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39
Q

how is ammonium converted to nitrogen for the atmosphere

A

through nitrifying bacteria that convert it to nitrites then nitrates and release nitrogen back into the atmosphere

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40
Q

what can affect nitrogen cycle?

A

human mediated changes such as the use of fertilisers and release of carbon dioxide

41
Q

what can happen if there is more nitrogen in the atmosphere

A

acid rain, smog and eutrophication

42
Q

is phosphorous found as a gas molecule? and where is phosphorous most found

A

no, it is found mostly in aquatic sediment

43
Q

how is phosphate cycled through the biosphere

A

digestion of plants by animals how have phosphorous from sediments

44
Q

where is carbon mostly found

A

in the deep ocean

45
Q

what is the most critical environmental impact for agriculture in australia

A

dryland salinity

46
Q

what did the hubbard brook experiment hypothesise and find?

A

hypothesis that deforestation would affect the abiotic nature of the land

results:
large changes to inorganic molecules due to changed budgets and cycles causing increases in calcium, nitrogen and potassium.

47
Q

what is a spatial subsidy? and an example?

A

the providing of resources to another habitat that is depleted of the certain resource.

an example would be a bird providing nutrients to a nearby isolated island that does not receive any

48
Q

how is salmon spawning an example of spatial subsidy?

A

a decomposing salmon provides nutrients to riparian vegetation

49
Q

how are nutrient fluxes occured from land to aquatic ecosystems

A

loss of foliage, tree fall and soil erosion

50
Q

what are human impacts on spatial subsidies

A

altering habitat areas and configurations, fragmenting habitats, modifying transport processes and resource accumulation

51
Q

what are solutions for human impacts on spatial subsidies

A

restoring and protecting donor habitats, maintaining connectivity, natural circulation patterns and resource accumulations

52
Q

what is an invasive species

A

a non indigenous species that spreads from the point of introduction and becomes abundant

53
Q

a pest species is any species that

A

interferes with human activities, properties or health

54
Q

what is an example of a pest species

A

a young wheat crop being damaged by a plague of locust

55
Q

what are characteristics of non native species

A

R selected, high dispersal, generalist, broad diet and high genetic variability

56
Q

why are species introduced

A

sport, aqua and agriculature, pets, biological control, cultural and religious regions

57
Q

accidental introductions come from:

A

travel, trade, parasites, dispersal activites, removal of natural barriers, escapes of domestics

58
Q

what is one health

A

a cross sectoral approach to optimise the health of humans, animals and the ecosystem by interlinking the fields

59
Q

how are species responding to climate change?

A

distribution shifts, adaptations through genetic changes, extinctions

60
Q

what is bergmanns rule

A

larger individuals are found in cooler areas compared to hotter regions

61
Q

an impact assessment is began because

A

an event has caused a change in the environment.

62
Q

a control location is needed for an impact assessment as it needs to be

A

as similar as possible to the impacted site

63
Q

what are the 8 steps to ecological restoration

A
  1. engage stakeholders
  2. draws on different knowledge
  3. informed by native reference ecosystem
  4. supports ecosystem recovery processes
  5. assessed against clear goals and objectives using measurable indicators
  6. seeks highest level of recovery
  7. gains cumulative value
  8. part of a continuum of restorative activities
64
Q

what is reclamation?

A

involves stabilisation of land surfaces, pollution control, visual improvement and usually for highly degraded but localised sties

65
Q

what is rehabilitation?

A

restores some species but focuses on ecosystem, usually to improve productive capacity in degraded production lands such as agriculture

66
Q

what is restoration?

A

restoring an entire ecological community by re introducing original species

67
Q

what are the 7 steps of framework in ecological restoration

A
  1. identifying processes leading to degradation via site assessment
  2. develop methods to reverse or ameliorate the degradation
  3. determine realistic goals
  4. develop easily observalbe measure of success
  5. develop practical techniques for implementing restoration goals
  6. document and communicate progress
  7. monitor and assess progress
68
Q

what is natural capital

A

a natural resource with value to humans

69
Q

what is natural income

A

the growth of capital

70
Q

what is a fishery?

A

targeted fish population, the aquatic habitat and associated species and people with the capture and other use of the species.

71
Q

fisheries are managed because impacts such as :

A

the undesirable effects of uncontrolled fishing leads to extinctions, loss of income, habitat loss

72
Q

what is the traditional way fisheries were managed?

A

the maintenance of maximum biological yield

73
Q

what is the maximum sustainable yield set at?

A

half the maximum fishing mortality or K/2

74
Q

if MSY is set too high or low what happens

A

if set too high it would lead to extinction and if too low it would crash or reach higher population sizes or yield lower

75
Q

what does MSY no consider?

A

that fish eat other fish and compete for space and that one species cannot be managed alone

76
Q

what is ecosystem base managment?

A

ecosystems affect fisheries and vice versa through habitat alteration and by catch

77
Q

what are some alternative logging strategies?

A
  1. small patch clear felling (clearing small patches of forests)
  2. shelter wood logging (leaving old trees)
  3. seed tree retention (removal of all trees except seed bearing)
  4. selective cutting (mature only)
78
Q

what are ways of management in forests

A

weeding, brashing, pesticide, fire control, reserved forests, multipurpose native forest and plantations

79
Q

what are 2 causes dryland salinity

A

removal of large vegetation for agriculture which rises the groundwater table

soil erosion exposing more subsoil

80
Q

why mutualistic species can be referred to as reciprocal parasitism

A

because both species are exploiting resources from each other

81
Q

how might a mutual relationship turn parasitic

A

changes to abiotic factors that cause the resources to deplete or changes in behaviour.

82
Q

what is sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity

A

sensitivity is how much the impact can affect an individual

exposure is how exposed an individual is to the impact

adaptive capacity reflects how well an individual can react to the impact

83
Q

what is a characteristic of invasive species that make them have lower vulnerability

A

high adaptive capacity due to greater dispersal and migration

a broad range of habitat

R selected

84
Q

what is an introduced species

A

an introduced species is any species that is not from its original habitatw

85
Q

what is an invasive speices

A

any species that is introduced and becomes abundant, this could be due to sport, religious or controlling reasons

86
Q

what is a pest species

A

a pest species is one that interferes with human activities such as agriculture

87
Q

what are 3 ways that make energy transferral inefficient in a trophic cascade

A

respiratory heat, wastes and not all fully assimilated/digested

88
Q

what are 3 key sites for restoration ecology

A

control, impacted and reference site

89
Q

what is a control site in RE

A

they are sites which are unmanaged to see the differences in restoration

90
Q

what is an impacted site in RE

A

a site that is of concern for restoration

91
Q

what is a reference site in RE

A

a site that is used to compared to control for benefits of restoration

92
Q

why is ecosystem based management better than maximum sustainable yields

A

an EBM recognises the dynamic nature of marine ecosystems and aims to improve ecosystems as well as sustain maximum efficient yield of fish

93
Q

what are two ways vegetation cover affects water quality

A

controlling of nutrient cycling

preventing excess soil erosion causing sedimentation in water ways

94
Q

what type of response is an oil spill

A

pulse response

95
Q

what type of response is prolonged seafood harvesting

A

press response

96
Q

what type of response is a desalination plant releasing toxic water

A

press response

97
Q

what is an example of facilitation

A

alder (shrubs) species fixates nitrogen in the soil so other trees can grow

98
Q
A

2115 (10 decks)

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