Biosphere/Ecology/Conservation Biology Flashcards
define ecology
The study of organism interactions with others and environment
What do biotic and abiotic factors determine in a population?
- Distribution of species
- Abundance and diversity of organisms
- Evolutionary processes
- Movement of energy and materials in ecosystems
- Successional development of ecosystems
What is a community?
A group of populations in an area
What is an ecosystem?
A community of organisms in an area and the physical factors that interact with them
What is a landscape?
a mosaic of connected ecosystems
What is the biosphere?
sum of all planets ecosystems and landscapes
What is organismal ecology?
How organism structure/behavior responds to environmental changes.
What is community ecology?
How interactions between species affect community structure and organization.
What is population ecology?
How biotic and abiotic factors affect population sizes.
What is ecosystem ecology?
How energy and chemicals cycle through organisms/environment.
What is landscape ecology?
What factors control these cycles of chemicals and energy.
What is global ecology?
How the regional exchange of chemicals/energy affects organisms across the biosphere.
What are the 4 determinants of climate?
Temperature, precipitation, light, wind
Why is climate important to consider for evolution?
It was the first cause of organism distribution on earth.
What is a biome?
It is a major ecosystem type
How do we classify biomes?
By predominant vegetation (terrestrial), the physical environment (aquatic), and adaptations of organisms to that environment.
What do biomes differ in?
Average temperature and precipitation, seasonal variations, and soil nutrient composotion
What do we call a lake that doesn’t mix the top and bottom like Pink lake?
A meromictic lake
What prevents a meromictic lake from mixing? (give the name and describe the phenomenon)
Thermoclines are when the vertical temperature gradients prevent mixing.
What is the name of a lake where the top and bottom layers mix in the spring? What is this movement of water called?
holomictic lakes turnover in the spring
Why do species occur in different areas? (3)
Evolutionary history, biotic factors, abiotic factors
Why did cichlids diversify in Africa?
to ecologically speciate to deep or shallow lakes
What is species richness?
The number of species in a biological community
Why would there be an increase in species richness in an area?
More speciation or less extinction
What 3 theories based on evolutionary history can explain the pattern of species richness across the globe?
During ice ages, temperate areas were vulnerable to glaciations, therefore:
1. Tropical areas receive much more energy from sunlight (longer growing season)
2. There are fewer seasonal changes, and therefore more niches and less competition.
3. Tropical communities are older and stay undisturbed for longer due to the lack of ice age glaciations
What are the two types of species according to their resource usage? Describe them
- A generalist is when a species thrives in a wide variety of conditions. Eg. switching food types when presented with lack of one food type.
- A specialist is a species that thrives under a narrow range of conditions eg. an animal that only eats one thing.
How can we describe the performance of species as their resource abundance goes up?
Both generalist and specialist species reach a theoretical maximum at some point, with the specialization one being higher than the generalist one, however the generalist one is less low farther away from the maximum.
Why do actual resource abundance curves differ from potential abundance curves?
Actual abundance curves are lower because of biological interactions
What is dispersal of populations?
The movement away from origin centers or areas of high population density.
What animal is an example of distribution? How can we describe its realized distribution vs its potential suitable range?
The wood turtle expanded its range after glaciers retreated, however new urban areas made it so that the realized distribution area is smaller than its potential suitable range.
What are the 6 ways a species can respond to climate change?
- Its natural range is limited by physiological factors and it cannot migrate
- The natural range is shifted north
- There is a shrinkage in the natural range due to limited number of habitats in the north and southern limit moving up.
- Dispersal barriers like landscape prevent the colonization of potentially suitable habitats
- Limited dispersal abilities prevent keeping up with rapidly changing conditions
- Adaptation happens to the new range and the population expands into this new range.
What do species interaction affect in a population?
survival, reproduction, population sizes, evolutionary changes
What is a niche
The abiotic and biotic factors used by a species
What is competition?
Two individuals of different species compete for the same resource
How can we describe the effect of competition on niches?
The realized niche is always smaller than the fundamental niche.
What is competitive exclusion?
It is when populations compete for the same resource, and the one that uses it more efficiently effectively wipes out the other population.
What is resource partitioning?
The differentiation of ecological niches that decreases competition.
Can ecological interactions drive evolutionary change?
Yes! An example is Darwin’s finches!
How would we describe large beaked birds vs small beaked birds after a drought event that only leaves tough shelled seeds to eat?
The large beaked birds have a higher relative survival.
What are the two ways a population of an intermediate trophic level could be controlled?
Bottom up (dependence on food available in lower levels)
Top down (dependence on predation)
What is a keystone species?
A species that has a large influence on species richness.
What is commensalism?
One individual from a species that gains benefit from an individual of another species that is not positively or negatively impacted by the relationship.
Give a rough example of commensalism.
Whales and barnacles
