Chapter 20: Landscape Dynamics Flashcards
A patchwork of different types of land cover is called a ___.
Mosaic
Distinct communities are called ___.
Patches
The study of causes behind the formation of patches and boundaries and the ecological consequences of these spatial patterns on the landscape is called ___ ecology.
Landscape
The communities that surround a patch are called its ___.
Matrix
True or false: only human activity determines size and shape of landscape patches.
False; geology, soil conditions, ect. can too.
The place where the edge of one patch meets the edge of another patch is called a ___.
border
A wide border forming a transition zone inside it is called an ___.
ecotone
Some species that live in borders like to live in the middle and require two habitats, but some need to live right on the edge and are called ___.
edge species
The fact that borders are often populated by a rich diversity of life is called the ___.
edge effect
True or false: The greater the contrast between adjoining patches, the greater the diversity of species in the border.
True
Large species usually live in ___ patches.
Large
Why are large patches more diverse in species?
They usually offer more variations in topography and soils.
When can a patch develop interior conditions, or a core area?
When it is large enough to be deeper (not a bigger patch!) than its border.
These species prefer a more stable habitat and do not react well to change, unlike border species.
Interior species
This theory states that the number of species established on an island represents a dynamic equilibrium between the immigration of he new colonizing species and the extinction of previously established ones.
Theory of island biogeography
According to the island theory of biogeography, after all the mainland species have moved to the island, the rate of immigration will be ___.
Zero
In the island theory of biogeography, when will equilibrium be achieved?
When immigration rates equal extinction rates
A greater distance from the mainland means that species on the island will likely not complete the journey successfully, so there will be a ___ in the equilibrium number of species.
Decrease
Bigger patches have a ___ extinction rate that smaller ones, so they will have a ___ equilibrium rate.
Lower; higher
The degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes the movement of organisms along patches is referred to as ___.
Landscape connectivity
This type of landscape connectivity relates to the physical arrangement of habitat patches on the landscape (how well they’re linked to each other).
Structural connectivity
This type of landscape connectivity describes the degree to which the landscape facilitates the movement of organisms and is a function of both the physical structure of the landscape as well as the behavioral responses of organisms to the structure.
Functional connectivity
True or false: Structural connectivity implies functional connectivity.
False
True or false: Functional connectivity is landscape and species specific.
True
True or false: Patches do not need to be structurally connected to be functionally connected.
True
These facilitate the ability of organisms to move patches of suitable habitat and act as “highways” between patches.
Corridors
True or false: corridors can encourage gene flow between subpopulations and help reestablish species in habitats that have experienced local extinction.
True
This is where different sized caps in corridors allow certain organisms to cross while restricting others.
Filter effect
True or false: Corridors always positively affect populations.
False
True or false: Corridors can be habitats too.
True
This model views the equilibrium number of patches occupied by a given species as the balance between colonization and extinction of local populations.
Model of metapopulation dynamics
The set of local communities that are linked by the dispersal of multiple potentially interacting species define the ___.
metacommunity
Any discrete event, like a fire or flood, that disrupts community structure and function is called a ___.
disturbance
The ___ of a disturbance is measured by the proportion of total biomass, or population of a species, that the disturbance kills or eliminates.
intensity
This refers to the spatial extent of the impact of the disturbance relative to the size of the affected landscape.
Scale
This is the mean number of disturbances that occur within a particular time interval.
Frequency
The mean time between disturbances for a given area is the ___.
return interval
An opening that becomes a site of localized regeneration and growth within the community is called a ___.
gap
True or false: A disturbance’s frequency is often linked to its intensity and scale.
True
The view of a landscape that says that disturbances of all kinds alter the biological and physical structures of communities making up the landscape is called the ___.
shifting mosaic
In this view of the landscape, each of the patches is in a stage of successional development and is continuously changing.
shifting mosaic
