Ecological footprint of societies part 1 Flashcards

1
Q

define ecological footprint

A

the strength of the direct and indirect impacts that an organism has on the larger ecological system it is part of

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2
Q

ecological footprint - direct impacts

A

via direct trophic interactions for our focal societies

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3
Q

ecological footprint - indirect impacts

A

via indirect trophic interactions, community structuring interactions

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4
Q

ecological footprint: indirect impacts - community structuring interactions

A
  • competition
  • ecosystem engineering
  • associated cascading ecosystem-level processes
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5
Q

define ecosystem

A
  • Ecological scale at which we see the exchange of common elements among organisms and the environment
  • biological communities plus the physical environment in which they live.
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6
Q

ecosystem - unique process

A

energy flux and nutrient cycling

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7
Q

define ecosystem level processes

A

the intersection of biotic processes among all species in a region and the abiotic processes that surround them

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8
Q

ecosystem level processes - abiotic processes include what?

A
  • water cycle and nutrient cycling
  • which can be reciprocally shaped by biotic interactions.
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9
Q

Why is biodiversity important?

A
  • Species are rarely ecologically interchangeable — they have different niches.
  • Niches determine ecological function, and ultimately ecosystem function.
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10
Q

why is biodiversity important - maintenance of biodiversity is critical for what?

A

critical for the maintenance of ecosystem function.

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11
Q

The _____________________________________, because of the complex indirect effects of a species trophic interactions.

A

impact of the presence (or loss) of any one species is hard to predict

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12
Q

biodiversity of social animals - social mammals

A

All form parent-offspring social units for some period of time, but only a small percentage live in more complex societies

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13
Q

biodiversity of social animals - social insects

A

Social insects are a major component of the biodiversity of many terrestrial ecosystems.

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14
Q

Why is abundance important?

A
  • Natural patterns of abundance underpin stable food-web interactions.
  • common species must remain common for ecosystem function (along with biodiversity)
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15
Q

why is abundance important - what can an unstable abundance lead to

A

it can lead to trophic cascades that change the ecosystem, and “ecological meltdown” as a worst case scenario.

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16
Q

why is abundance important - Termite abundance and activity experiment

A
  • Large-scale manipulative experiment of termite abundance in Borneo rain-forest system
  • control plots vs. termite “suppression”
17
Q

termite abundance and activity experiment - what are the results

A

Positive ecosystem-level effects of termite abundance and social foraging activity

18
Q

termite abundance and activity experiment - what are the positive ecosystem-level effects

A
  • accelerated litter decomposition
  • elevated soil moisture
  • greater soil nutrient heterogeneity
  • higher seedling survival rates
19
Q

define keystone predators

A
  • A predator species that has substantial, disproportionately strong effects on community or ecosystem
  • via direct or indirect interactions, despite often being at low abundance.
20
Q

Top-down trophic cascades are common, but ____________________________________

A

vary considerably in ecosystem-level impacts.

21
Q

keystone predators - Top-down trophic cascades initiated by keystone predators

A

can have massive ecosystem-level consequences.

22
Q

How do we study large ecosystem impacts of top predators?

A
  • Manipulative experiments are not logistically or ethically possible in many cases
  • Reintroduction conservation is better
23
Q

explain reintroduction conservation efforts

A

they provide an opportunity for experimental studies of the cascading effects of the reinsertion of a top predator in disturbed food-webs.

24
Q

reintroduction conservation - example

A

Grey wolves in Yellowstone National park

25
Q

Yellowstone prior to Grey Wolf introduction

A

Explosive growth of the elk population (primary consumers) after the local extinction of the Grey Wolf

26
Q

Yellowstone prior to Grey Wolf introduction - result of elk population growth

A
  • loss of vegetation cover
  • loss of vegetation cover then impacted water runoff and water cycle within ecosystem.
27
Q

Yellowstone after wolf reintroduction

A
  • Elk population has been more than halved
  • Elk herbivory rates have been reduced dramatically
  • New higher altitude behavioral patterns in the elk, to avoid wolf social hunting.
28
Q

impactful top-predators must be what?

A
  • they are numerically rare
  • but ecologically impactful top-predators must be retained for persistent ecosystem function