Community Ecology Flashcards
Definition of Community Ecology
The study of patterns and processes involving at least 2 species of organisms at a particular location
Parasites are often only afapted to ____ or a few host species, but host species often have ____ parasite species.
one; multiple
Coevolution of host and parasite species
The host and parasite populations evolve in response to selection pressures of the other
The ____ ____ ____ abolishes the expression of the Duffy antigen receptor of chemokines on the surface of red blood cells, and confers almost complete protection from P. vivas
Duffy-negative phenotype
*Approaches fixation in western and central Africa
Each time a ____ species is lost to extinction, all ____ specialized to depend on the host species will all follow.
host; parasite
Parasites greatly increase ____ ____linkages, and makes them ____ stable.
food web; more
Lyme disease is caused by ____that is carried and transmitted by ____. White-footed mice are a primary ____ ____, and white-tailed deer are a crucial hsot for adult tick ____.
bacteria; black-legged ticks; zoonotic reservoir; reproduction
The Ecology of Lyme Disease
1st Summer: eggs hatch to larvae and infects birds and small mammals
2nd fall: Adult ticks mate and lay eggs
Why are ticks good at spreading diseases?
They spit digestive enzyme / anticoagulant which can pring pathogens into the body.
Chain reactions linking oak mast to lyme disease risk
- Deer bring in adult, gravid female ticks during mast events (t=0)
- Mice feed on acorns, increases mouse population in the following year (t=1)
- Larval ticks hatch the following spring, and feed on abundant mice (t=1)
- Many larvae feed on infected mice become infected with B. burgdorferi, molt into infected nymphs the following summer (t=2)
- Increased number of infected nymphs results in a spike in the number of human cases of Lyme disease (t=2)
Apparent competition
Occurs when a predator consumes multiple prey species
- Prey species indirectly compete with each other by increasing the numbers of their shared predator
Shared Parasitism
The parallel concept of a single parasite utilizing more than one host
*one parasite, multiple hosts
Competition
A fundamental force structuring wildlife communities
Exploitative competition
The indirect form of the interaction, whereby 2 species compete via a shared resource
Competitive exclution principle
2 species that share exactly the same resource/niche cannot persist
