Community Ecology Flashcards
What is a community?
A group of populations of different species interacting with one another in the same environment.
What is a niche?
What a species does in its community, every interaction a species has with its community members.
What is a habitat?
Where the species lives in its community.
What is biodiversity?
The number of different species in a community.
Having more niches and habitats in a community leads to more species living there, which leads to a higher what?
Biodiversity
Why is biodiversity important?
Increases ecosystem productivity as each species has an important role to play, greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms, and keeps Earth’s natural systems operating.
Over time, nature evolves what?
Relationships
Do organisms or populations live in isolation from other individuals or the environment?
No, they do not live in isolation.
What are the six types of species interactions?
Commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, predatory, competitive, and amensalism
What is a symbiotic relationship?
Two species that physically touch one another for a relationship to occur (live together)
Which two relationships are almost always symbiotic?
Mutualism and parasitism
Which relationship is always symbiotic?
Commensalism
Which relationship is usually symbiotic?
Amensalism
What is a commensalistic relationship?
One species benefits and the other does not harm nor benefit. (+,0)
What are examples of commensalism?
Egrets among livestock, birds and army ants, leeches, and barnacles attached to the back of whales or shells of horseshoe crabs
What is a mutualistic relationship?
Both species benefit (+,+)
What are three examples of mutualism?
Pollinators and flowering plants, remoras and sharks, and 48% of land plants rely on mycorrhizal relationships with fungi
What do remoras and sharks get out of their mutualistic relationship?
Remoras get free ride/leftovers and sharks get rid of parasites.
What do land plants and fungi get out of their mutualistic relationship?
Plants get inorganic compounds and trace elements and fungi get nutrients.
What do plants and pollinators get out of their mutualistic relationship?
Plants get pollen dispersal and pollinator gets nectar and pollen
What is parasitism?
One species draws benefit from another but does not immediately kill it (+,-)
What are examples of a parasitic relationship?
HIV in human white blood cells, mistletoe, and heartworm, tapeworms, fleas, and ticks
What is a predatory relationships?
One species draws benefit from another species by immediately killing and eating it (-,-)
Is a predatory relationship considered symbiotic?
No
When is grazing considered predation?
When the plant dies
Can plants be in predatory relationships?
Yes as there are carnivorous plants
What are the four examples of prey defenses?
Camouflage, mimicry, warning coloration, and moment-of-truth defenses
What is warning coloration?
When a prey tells a predator that it is potentially dangerous
What are examples of warning coloration?
Bright colors or false eyes spots to startle and confuse others
What is mimicry?
Once an animal experiences the defense of the model organism, it remembers the appearance as it possesses an overt antipredator defense.
What is moment-of-truth defenses?
When animals are cornered
What are examples of moment-of-truth defenses?
Examples include snarling, growling, showing their bare teeth, spewing odors, looking bigger, and etc.
What is a competitive relationship?
Two populations or individuals fight for resources, causing harm to both (-,-)
What are the two examples of competitive relationships?
Intra-specific and inter-specific
What is intraspecific competition?
Competition between the same species
What are examples of intraspecific competition?
Food, light, nutrients, space, and mates
What is interspecific competition?
Competition between two different species
What are examples of interspecific competition?
Trees competing for light, niche/habitat overlay, and cheetahs and lions compete for the same prey.
What is competitive exclusion?
No two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche at the same time.
What is amensalism?
When one species unintentionally harms another (-,0)
What are examples of amensalistic relationships?
Sheep/cattle making trails in the grass which kills it, elephants stepping on insects, and the bread mold Penicillium secretes penicillin, which is a chemical that kills bacteria.
