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
What are the features of science?
Develops predictions that are testable and REFUTABLE
Methods are reasonably replicable
Peer review
Publication of information
Uses tentative language: avoid claims of certitude
Results in a body of evidence open and accepting of scrutiny
Does Pseudoscience confirms a theory?
Yes
Does science disconfirms a theory?
Yes
What are aspects when doing science?
Willingness to change with new evidence
Ruthless peer review
Takes account of all new discoveries
Invites criticism
Verifiable results
Limits claims of usefulness
Accurate measurement
What are aspects when doing pseudoscience?
Fixed ideas
No peer review
Selects only favorable discoveries
Sees criticism as conspiracy
Non-repeatable results
Claims of widespread usefulness
“Ball-park” measurements
Are the number of islands in Oceania large and varied?
Yes
Are a piece of land surrounded by water define it being an island?
No. The definition of an island relates to the ecology of the land
What does tropical describe?
Describes the range of climates
Between tropics of cancer (23.5 degrees N) and Capricorn (23.5 degrees S)
What influences the species of animals that inhabit it?
Vegetations
Do Oceanic Islands have fewer species?
Yes
It has a distinct biodiversity that is suited to its particular habitat.
Isolation resulted into distinct ecosystems in oceanic islands
Do continental islands have species closely resembling the ones in the mainland?
Yes
What did the farmers bring to first settling into the Oceanic Islands?
Staple crops, domestic animals and medicinal plants
What did the first settlers do when living onto the islands?
Altered the natural landscape and ecology of the islands
What did the Europeans dramatically do to the islands?
Accelerated rate of species introduction, habitat destruction, and extinction.
Did the indigenous people always live in harmony with nature?
No
What do atolls in the central pacific form?
A series of volcanic islands that go from larger to smaller.
The reef then remains.
What reasoning is Darwin’s hypothesis when it comes to the formation of atoll islands?
Inductive reasoning
Darwin Based his hypothesis on individual evidence
- No evidence of volcanic rock holding up the coral
How is an oceanic island formed?
When a volcanic peak grows up from the sea floor and builds land above sea level
How are coral reefs made?
Algae and animals living and dying together
How do islands sink?
added volcanic material cause seafloor to spread, carrying it downwards.
How are atolls made?
Volcano first emerge onto land (Youngest)
Then the volcano sinks (Middle)
After time, coral continues to build up from the original fringing reef and Shrinking shoreline
The mountains almost completely submerged; exposed peaks in the middle of the lagoon (Oldest)
When completely submerged, the island is now an atoll
What is a barrier Reef?
An offshore coral reef, separated from the island by a lagoon or other deep water
what is an atoll?
A ring of coral reefs and islets surrounding a lagoon; the remains of a former volcanic island
What are morning geckos?
Native to pacific islands
forests and people’s homes
W’s on their backs
What are house geckos?
Native to the Philippines and Indonesia
Larger, tan
Spread/introduced in WWII
What is competition?
Direct and indirect interaction between organisms over limited resources
What is exploitation?
individuals use the same resources, but do not interact
What is interference?
An individual prevents another from using the resource, limits its access
What is deductive arguments conclusion necessitated by?
The premise
If premise and argument is valid, conclusion must be true
What do scientist use Inductive reasoning for?
To develop hypothesis and draw conclusion
Note: Better to use for hypothesis
What do scientist use deductive reasoning for?
Devise tests that must include controlled experiments and observations
What is correlation?
Two events are related but without indication of cause-effect relations
What is coincidences?
The occurance of two events of things at the same time and place by chance alone
What Pacific groups are Oceanic Islands?
Micronesia and Polynesia
What Oceanic Group are Continental islands?
Melanesia
What happens to species when introduced to a new area?
Species genetically altered
What is an independent Variable?
Factors believed to influence the system
What is dependent Variable?
Factors measured for a response (response variable)
