Chapter 1 Flashcards
What are the focuses on Pacific Islands?
Islands have interesting natural histories, with rich diversity relative to their size
Their small size also implies they may be vulnerable to certain kinds of environmental disturbances
We live here
What are the two main rock types of the geology of Oceanic Islands?
Basalt
Rich in iron and aluminum
Denser than continental crust
Igneous rock
Limestones
Skeletons of dead marine organisms
Primary calcium carbonate
Sedimentary rock
What are the two common islands?
Oceanic Island
Continental islands
What are oceanic islands?
Islands formed in oceanic crust
Majority of islands in remote Oceania; isolated from continental land areas
What are continental islands?
Islands formed on continental crust
Islands that are part of a continental landmass.
Most common in New Oceania
What are the four common island formations in Oceania?
Volcanic islands - Single volcanic peak, fringing reef/barrier reef. (Sarigan, Northern Marian islands)
Low Limestone islands - Reef material/coral remains, tips of a sunken volcano. (Majuro, Marshall Islands)
Raised limestone islands - coral reefs or atolls are pushed up above sea level (Tinian, Luta, Aguigan, Northern Marianas Islands)
Continental island (Fiji)
What are the three features of the four common island formation Guam has?
Volcanic Island
Raised Limestone
Low Limestone
Are islands static or dynamic features of the earth?
Islands are dynamic due to the movement of tectonic plates.
Animals coming in and out of the islands
People settling on the islands
What is a biota?
the animal and plant life of a particular region, habitat, or geological period
What Biota do Oceanic islands have?
Have a distinct collection of plants and animals
Many endemic species
It has a distinct biodiversity that is suited to its particular habitat.
Isolation resulted into distinct ecosystems in oceanic islands
What biota do Continental islands have?
Much easier for plants and animals to colonize
What island regions/groups are in the Pacific Ocean?
Micronesia
Melanesia
Polynesia
What are prehistoric species that were introduced to Micronesia?
Tar(suni)
Dogs
Chicken
Rats
Breadfruit
Several geckos species
Monitor lizards
Various insects
What is a Hypothesis?
A hypothesis is a “scientific question or explanation” that can be tested through observation or controlled experiments
What was the hypothesis of island formation?
Hypothesized that the low limestone atolls and the volcanic high Islands were part of a continuum
What is a theory?
an explanation of a broad or widespread phenomenon that is widely supported by results from many experiments.
what is a law?
An observation of a phenomenon that happens the same way each time given identical conditions.
What is proximate cause/question?
how it happens now
Functional Biology
Scientific questions about processes happening in the present, “can be answered with experiments in the present”
What is ultimate cause/question?
how did it get there
Evolutionary biology
Scientific questions that include a historical component and usually “cannot be answered by experiments in the present day”
What is a laboratory experiment?
Able to control most extraneous variable
Typically short term
Sacrifices biological realism
What is a field experiment?
Typically longer than lab experiments (weeks, months, even years!)
More environmental variability
More biological realism
What is a Natural “Experiment”?
Study which involves observations and data recording in the interest of finding interesting and unique patterns
Lack controls
Less powerful than either lab or field experiments
Can provide important natural history information for future controlled studies
What are factors/variables?
Anything that influences something
Ecology = Environmental factors -> affect where or whether a species exists or how well it survives
Conditions that may be influencing the system. May be biotic (living) or probiotic (nonliving, 1)competition between geckos and 2) lights
What is Experimental control?
“Tests condition which is held constant or is unmanipulated”
A test condition of factor is left out but all other conditions are the same
This allows for comparisons between replicates that have been “treated” and “untreated” and allows us to make determinations of causality