Chapter 22 Geographic Ecology Flashcards
Geographic ecology is the ______.
search for patterns of plants and animal life that can be put on a map
Which additional features have been added to the definition of geographic ecology since MacArthur defined it?
study of the ecological structure on large scales
study of ecological process at large geographic scales
What correlation exists between islands and species richness on islands?
Species richness increases as isolation decreases.
Match the correct number of bird species to the square area of the associated islands.
14 bird species - 200 acres
26 Bird species - 1250 acres
3 birds species - 26 acres
Which events helped lead to the establishment of montane habitats?
The climate warmed.
Alpine habitats contracted to the top of mountains.
Robert MacArthur defined ______ ecology as the “search for patterns of plant and animal life that can be put on a map.”
geographic
What type of correlation exists between montane mammal richness and the habitat area?
a positive correlation
Building on MacArthur’s original definition, we now say the study of ecological structure and processes at large geographic scales is the definition of _____ ______
geographic ecology
What a total number of fish species did Tonn and Magnuson discover to be in the lakes of northern Wisconsin?
23
What relationship exists between habitat patches and species richness on islands?
As a habitat patch increases in size, the species richness increases.
What type of relationship exists between island isolation and species richness?
negative
Which statement correctly describes the relationship between the number of species and the area of an island?
Small islands have the fewest species.
Match the correct species richness with the island distance from the mainland.
101 bird species - 675 km
12 birds species - 3150 km
65 birds species - 1880 km
Where are montane habitats typically found?
on top of mountain
Which group had a lower species richness on the Azore Islands compared to the Channel Islands in Williamson’s study?
bird species
Match the appropriate mammal richness to the montane area.
1 mammal species - 10 km
15 mammal species - 10,000 km
6 mammal species - 100 km
What best explains the difference between the bird and fern diversity on the Azore Islands?
Ferns can disperse much easier than birds.
What type of relationship is discovered when total species richness is plotted against lake area as in the Tonn and Magnuson study of lakes in Wisconsin?
A positive relationship is observed.
Which number of mammal species would we most likely find on a mountaintop that is extremely isolated?
6 species
What level of species diversity would we expect on an island that is close to the mainland?
high level of diversity
Which statement best explains why certain mountain islands have a greater diversity than others?
The higher mountain island diversity is maintained by colonization from nearby regions.
Which New Guinea islands were discovered to have the greatest bird diversity?
the ones closest to the mainland
True or false: Species richness on islands is static.
false
Which statement is correct about the results of Williamson’s study of the Channel and Azore Islands?
Birds and ferns both show a positive relationship between island area and diversity.
What relationship about diversity was discovered on the Azore Islands?
low bird diversity and high fern diversity
Which variables are associated with the equilibrium model of island biogeography?
Rates of extinction
Rates of immigration
What type of relationship exists between isolation and the number of montane mammal species on mountaintops in the American Southwest?
strong negative relationship
What event helps maintain the diversity on a mountain island?
colonization from source areas
In the equilibrium model of island biogeography, the rate of extinction is the rate at which species go locally extinct from an island. What term refers to the rate of arrival of new species on an island?
Immigration
What are the two main processes that help maintain a dynamic balance of species richness on islands?
extinction on the island
immigration to the island
Match the number of species with the island size, as predicted by MacArthur and Wilson.
lowest number of species - small islands far away
highest number of species - large islands that are near
intermediate number of species - small near islands
True or false: The equilibrium model predicts that there will be no species turnover on an island once the island reaches an equilibrium.
false
Species composition on islands is not static. It changes over time.
The ______ model of island biogeography states that the pattern of species diversity on islands is a balance between rates of immigration and extinction.
equilibrium
Which features of Diamond’s study about birds in the California Channel Islands supported the equilibrium model of island biogeography?
He found that there was an approximately equal number of immigrations and extinctions on each of the islands.
There was a stability in the number of bird species on the islands over the study period.
Identify the dimensions of the Florida Keys mangrove study sites used by Simberloff and Wilson.
11 to 18 m in diameter and 5 to 10 m in height
In the equilibrium model of island biogeography, the rate of immigration describes the rate of arrival of new species on an island. The term that refers to the rate at which species disappear from an island is
extinction
What prediction did MacArthur and Wilson make about island biogeography?
Large, near islands will support the greatest number of species.
What did Simberloff and Wilson discover about species richness at their control mangrove study sites?
Species composition changed.
The number of species present did not change.
The change in the species composition of an island is termed species
turnover
What did Diamond determine was the reason for the stability in the number of bird species during his study in the California Channel Islands?
There was an approximately equal number of immigrations and extinctions.
What occurred on the mangrove experimental islands over time after the arthropods were initially removed?
All but one island recovered in terms of species richness and species turnover occurred on all the experimental islands.
What type of study sites were used by Simberloff and Wilson during their Florida Keys study?
Small mangrove islands
What type of relationship existed between species richness and island area in the study by Rydin and Borgegard in Lake Hjalmaren?
A positive relationship existed between species richness and island area.
What did Rydin and Borgegard learn about large islands during their study of Lake Hjalmaren?
Large islands had reached an equililbrium point.
What group of organisms did Simberloff and Wilson survey during their mangrove study?
arthropods
What correlation did Simberloff find existed between area and species richness in the data?
When island area is reduced, species richness decreases.
Identify what happened after defaunation of the mangroves islands in the Simberloff and Wilson study.
The number of arthropod species increased.
What was the plant species richness on the islands in Lake Hjalmaren, during the first century of their existence?
0 to 127
What additional information about island biogeography has been gained since the MacArthur and Wilson theory was first proposed?
Species richness is not in equilibrium on many islands.
What information did Rydin and Borgegard obtain about the plant diversity on the islands in Lake Hjalmaren?
Small- and medium-sized islands had more immigrations than extinctions.
Which biome is most likely to have the greatest species richness?
tropical rainforest
According to the “time since perturbation” hypothesis, why are there more species in the tropics?
The tropics are disturbed less frequently.
The tropics are older.
What did Simberloff learn when he tested the effect of island area on species richness?
There is a positive relationship between area and species richness.
Which abiotic feature is believed to have played a role in the disturbances experienced by the middle and high latitudes in the “time since perturbation” hypothesis?
glaciation
Which biomes in particular are associated with the productivity hypothesis?
coral reefs
tropical rain forests
Which variables play a role in determining the species richness of islands?
Differences among the extinction rates of various species.
Differences among the colonization ability of various species.
Differences among the speciation rates of various species.
What is the basis behind the environmental heterogeneity hypothesis?
The tropics are more heterogeneous than temperate regions.
What happens to species richness as you approach the equator?
Species richness increases.
According to the favorableness hypothesis, which region provides a more favorable environment in part due to the fact that it has more stable temperatures?
tropics
According to the perturbation hypothesis, the tropics will have a(n) _______ species richness than the temperate biomes.
higher
What are the two main categories of hypotheses that scientists are using in order to explain latitudinal gradients in species diversity?
niche breadth
interspecific interactions
What assumption supports the “time since perturbation” hypothesis?
The tropics have remained relatively stable.
Which features did Brown propose played a secondary role in determining species diversity?
competition between species
amount of predation within the region
What correlation is associated with the productivity hypothesis?
high productivity = high species richness
Which factors play the greatest role in determining the number of species in a given area?
number of species added minus the number of species that disappear
According to the heterogeneity hypothesis, which geographic region would contain the greatest number of species?
tropics
What did Rosenzweig discover about the temperatures of tropical latitudes?
Temperatures are uniform across tropical latitudes.
According to the favorableness hypothesis, why would one region have a greater species richness than another?
The environment is more favorable.
Which statement correctly describes the mean annual temperature of the tropics that allows for wide areas of dispersal in the area?
The mean annual temperature in the tropics is very stable across a large range.
Identify the following hypotheses that try to explain latitudinal gradients in species diversity.
Tropical species are more controlled by predators.
Tropical species have more mutualistic interactions.
Tropical species are limited by biological factors
According to Rosenzweig, how does a large tropical region decrease the chances of extinction?
Large tropical areas will allow tropical species to be distributed over a large area.
Large tropical areas should have more refuges that will help decrease environmental disturbances.
Which feature did Brown propose as the ultimate cause for the differences in species richness?
physical differences between the tropics and higher latitudes
What is the relationship between continental area and species richness?
A positive relationship exists between mammalian richness and the area of continents.
In what ways are new species added to an area?
speciation
immigration
According to Brown, which land masses would have intermediate levels of mammalian diversity?
Africa
North America
Australia
What did Rosenzweig discover about the tropical latitudinal zones?
They contain the largest amount of land on earth.
Which tropical area would we expect to have the greatest number of fruit-eating mammal and plant species?
Amazonia (the largest area of the three listed here)
What is the biological significance of the latitudinal pattern of temperature in the tropics?
Organisms can disperse across a large range.
True or false: Islands will vary in the species diversity and composition due to the difference in size.
true
Why did Rosenzweig propose that tropical species should have a greater population size?
Tropical species have a larger range.
Based upon the research done by Flessa, which statement would be correct?
A large continent would have a high mammalian richness.
What type diversity of bird species would we expect in a Northeastern North American community that has a high degree of vertical heterogeneity in the plant community?
high diversity
Match the correct land mass with species richness, according to Brown.
eurasia - greatest
africa - moderate
madagascar - lowest
Identify the reason that southern Africa developed a Mediterranean flora.
During the Tertiary period, the climate became progressively cooler and drier.
What type of relationship exists between tropical area and tropical diversity among fruit-eating mammals and plants?
A positive relationship exists.
According to Latham and Rickleffs, what is one of the main reasons for the difference in tree diversity between Eastern Asia, Eastern North America, and Europe?
distribution of the forests during the last ice age
Which two factors help explain the variation in species diversity across islands?
isolation of the region
area of the habitat
Recall the main reason that Europe experienced a higher rate of plant extinction during the last ice age than other glaciated regions.
The direction that the mountain ranges run in Europe influenced the rate of extinction.
What correlation exists between Northeastern North American plant communities and bird diversity?
The greater vertical heterogeneity in the plants, the greater the diversity in the bird species.
Which endemic species suggest that South American beech forests have been isolated for an extended period of time leading to low diversity of there?
Mammals
Frogs
Birds
Which features are associated with a Mediterranean flora? These features allowed for the development a Mediterranean flora in southern Africa as the climate became cooler and drier there.
fire resistance
succulence
Which abiotic factor most likely played a role in determining the difference in temperate tree diversity on Northern Hemisphere continents?
distribution of mountain ranges
Identify the functions of geographic information systems.
store geographic information
analyze geographic information
display geographic information
What is the disadvantage of east-west mountain ranges in Europe during an ice age?
Plants do not have a way to retreat from glaciers.
What is the main role of a global positioning system?
determine locations on the earth’s surface
Which statement best describes remote sensing?
The gathering of information about an object without direct contact.
Identify the reasons why South American beech forests have a low diversity of birds.
They have a small area.
They have been isolated for a long time.
What type of information can be gained from satellite images?
changes in plant biomass
Why do we know so little about production in the open ocean?
The open ocean is very large.
The research is often expensive.
Open ocean sampling devices are limited as compared to sampling on the land.
Which group of scientists is most likely to use geographic information systems to analyze their data?
geographic ecologists
Which areas of the ocean show the highest levels of productivity?
along the coast
Identify the functions of a GPS system.
determine altitude
determine latitude
determine longitude
_____ ______ systems are computer-based systems for storing, sorting, analyzing, and displaying large quantities of geographic data. (Enter two words, not an acronym.)
geographic information
What information is used by a remote sensing system?
electromagnetic radiation
Which of the following benefits can be gained by using satellite images when studying landscapes?
The images can be done frequently.
When studying the production of the open ocean, which group of organisms is important?
phytoplankton
What is the remote sensing image measuring when studying the ocean productivity?
levels of chlorophyll a
What process do geographic information systems perform?
displaying
mapping
sorting
analyzing
