Ecology

Question 1

What are ten principles of ecology?

Answer 1

1. Evolution organizes ecological systems into hierarchies.
2. The sun is the ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems.
3. Organisms are chemical machines that run on energy.
4. Chemical nutrients cycle repeatedly while energy flows through an ecosystem.
5. The rate of population increase or decrease is a balance of its births, deaths, and net migration into the area.
6. The rate that the diversity of species in an area changes reflects the balance of the number of new forms that arise, those that go extinct, and those that migrate into the area.
7. Organisms interact in ways that influence their abundance.
8. Ecosystems are organized into webs of interactions.
9. Human populations have an outsized role in competing with, preying upon, and helping other organisms.
10. Ecosystems provide essential services to human populations.

https://michaelkaspari.org/2017/07/17/the-ten-principles-of-ecology/

Question 2

What is the hierarchy of ecology?

Answer 2

Organism (or individual)
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biosphere

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-ecology/hs-introduction-to-ecology/a/hs-introduction-to-ecology-review

Question 3

Organism

Answer 3

An individual living thing.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology

Question 4

Species

Answer 4

A group of similar organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology

Question 5

Population

Answer 5

A group of individuals that belong in the same species and live in the same area.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology

Question 6

Community

Answer 6

All the populations of all the different species that live together in a particular area.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology

Question 7

Ecosystem

Answer 7

All the organisms that live in a place, along with their physical environment.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology

Question 8

Biosphere

Answer 8

All of the ecosystems on Earth.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology

Question 9

Biodiversity

What are the 3 types of biodiversity?

Answer 9

The variability within and among living organisms.

There are 3 types:
Genetic
Species
Ecosystem

(CBD; https://www.treehugger.com/3-types-of-biodiversity-overview-and-importance-5191428)

Question 10

Genetic Biodiversity

Why is it good?

Answer 10

Genetic diversity refers to the diversity of the gene pool of a given species, or diversity at the DNA level. Genetic diversity can be inferred from what an animal looks like, but is more accurately determined through direct assessments of a species’ DNA.

Populations that are genetically diverse are well-equipped to handle change. For example, if a deadly disease strikes a population, high levels of genetic diversity increase the likelihood that there are members of the population who are less affected by the disease. By protecting a portion of the population, genetic diversity can prevent the population from going extinct.

https://www.treehugger.com/3-types-of-biodiversity-overview-and-importance-5191428

Question 11

Species Biodiversity

Why is it good?

Answer 11

Species diversity is not only based on the number of different species present in a community, but also the relative abundance of each species and the role they have in the community (i.e., species richness).

For example, a community may be composed of many different species, but may only have one predator that pursues a certain prey species. When the predator’s population levels are healthy, its prey’s population numbers remain at a level the community can handle.

However, if the predator’s population suddenly shrinks, the prey species’ population may explode in response leading it to overconsume its own prey and generate a ripple effect that shakes up the entire community. Instead, if a community has more species diversity, it may have multiple predators that chase the same prey. Then, if one predator population undergoes a sudden change, the community is protected from downstream destabilizing effects.

https://www.treehugger.com/3-types-of-biodiversity-overview-and-importance-5191428

Question 12

Ecosystem Biodiversity

Why is it good?

Answer 12

Ecosystem diversity refers to variability in habitats within a geographic area. Unlike genetic diversity and species diversity, ecosystem diversity considers both biological drivers and non-biological drivers of variability, like temperature and sunlight. Areas high in ecosystem diversity create a geographic mosaic of communities that help protect an entire area from drastic changes.

For example, an area of dry vegetation may be susceptible to wildfire, but if it’s surrounded by a diversity of less-sensitive ecosystems, the wildlife may be unable to spread to other areas of dry vegetation in the same year, leaving the species that make up the burned ecosystem a chance to move to an unscathed habitat while the burned land recovers. In this way, ecosystem diversity helps to maintain species diversity.

https://www.treehugger.com/3-types-of-biodiversity-overview-and-importance-5191428

Question 13

Biotic

Answer 13

The living components of an environment.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 14

Abiotic

Answer 14

The physical or nonliving components of an environment (e.g., climate, soils).

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 15

Nutrient Cycle

Answer 15

The cyclic movement of a nutrient between organisms and the physical environment.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 16

Climate Change

Answer 16

Directional change in climate over a period of three decades or longer.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 17

Distribution

Answer 17

The geographic area where individuals of a species are present.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 18

Abundance

Answer 18

The number of individuals of a species or population.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 19

Dispersal

Answer 19

The movement of individuals into (immigration) or out of (emigration) an existing population.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 20

Geographic Range

Answer 20

The entire geographic region over which a species is found. Includes all the areas it occupies during all its life stages.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 21

Disturbance

Answer 21

An abiotic event that kills or damages some individuals and thereby creates opportunities for other individuals to grow and reproduce.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 22

What are some reasons for dispersal?

Answer 22

Avoid predation
Avoid sibling interactions
Avoid habitat restrictions

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 23

Ecological Footprint

Answer 23

The total area of productive ecosystems required to support a population.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 24

Lotic

Answer 24

A lotic organism or habitat is within fast-moving water (i.e., rivers, streams).

(Mac Dictionary)

Question 25

Lentic

Answer 25

A lentic organism or habitat is within still freshwater (i.e., lakes).

(Mac Dictionary)

Question 26

Competition

Answer 26

A non-trophic interaction on which individuals of the same species (intraspecific) or different species (interspecific) are harmed by their shared use of a resources that limits their ability to grow, reproduce, or survive.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 27

Competitive Coexistence

Answer 27

The ability of two or more species to coexist with one another despite competing for the same limiting resources.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 28

Competitive Exclusion Principle

Answer 28

The principle that two species that use a limiting resource in the same way cannot coexist indefinitely.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 29

Resource Partitioning/Niche Partitioning

Answer 29

The use of limiting resources by different species in a community in different ways.

Relies on ecological and evolutionary ‘compromises’ that result in divergence in resource use as a mechanism for coexistence.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 30

Fundamental Niche

Answer 30

The full set of resources, along with other biotic and abiotic requirements, that are suitable for a species excluding the negative interactions with other species.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 31

Realized Niche

Answer 31

The part of the fundamental niche that a species occupies as a result of species interactions.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 32

What is the difference between species abundance and species diversity?

Answer 32

Species abundance is a measure of the number of individuals of the same species in an area.

Species diversity is a measure that combines the number of species (species richness) in a community and their relative abundances compared with one another (species evenness).

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 33

How does energy move through a system?

Answer 33

Through food webs (i.e., through trophic levels).

Primary source of energy for almost all ecosystems is the sun.

Primary producers use the energy from the sun to make their own energy.

Primary consumers (aka herbivores) eat primary producers and obtain about 10% of their energy.

Secondary consumers (aka carnivores) eat herbivores and obtain about 10% of their energy,

Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers and obtain about 10% of their energy.

Decomposers break down dead things and return their energy to the soil to be used by plants.

Not all energy moves onto the next trophic level because a lot gets lost as heat and poop along the way.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 34

Food Web

Answer 34

A diagram showing the connections between organisms and the food they consume.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 35

Trophic Level

Answer 35

A group of species that obtain energy in similar ways.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 36

Net Primary Production (NPP)

Answer 36

The carbon that is fixed by photosyhnthesis.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 37

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

Answer 37

A hypothesis proposing that species diversity in communities should be greatest at intermediate levels of disturbance (or stress or predation) because competitive exclusion at low levels of disturbance and mortality at high levels of disturbance (frequency & intensity) should reduce species diversity.

At low disturbance levels, competitive exclusion reduces diversity.

At high disturbance levels, diversity declines as mortality rises.

At intermediate disturbance levels, a balance between disruption of competition and mortality leads to high diversity.

(BIOL 2600 Notes)

Question 38

Biota

Answer 38

The animal and plant life of a particular region, habitat, or geological period e.g., the biota of the river.

(Mac Dictionary)

Question 39

Ecosystem Services

Answer 39

Services nature provides that benefits people.

Supporting (e.g., the creation of soil)
Provisioning (e.g., food and water)
Regulating (e.g., regulation of climate)
Cultural (e.g., recreation)

Question 40

Life History

Answer 40

The life history of an organism is the series of chronological events that it experiences in order to survive, grow, mature, reproduce, and recruit to perpetuate the species.

https://fisheries.org/docs/books/55065P/7.pdf

Question 41

What are life history traits? What are some key life history traits for your study species?

Answer 41

A specific aspect of a species’ life history.

Life history traits include growth rate; age and size at sexual maturity; the temporal pattern or schedule of reproduction; the number, size, and sex ratio of offspring; the distribution of intrinsic or extrinsic mortality rates (e.g., patterns of senescence); and patterns of dormancy and dispersal.

An important trait for snapping turtles is hibernation.

All my fish species have no parental care and lay thousands of eggs.

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199830060/obo-9780199830060-0016.xml

Question 42

Ecological Trap

Answer 42

A habitat that is low in quality for reproduction and survival that cannot sustain a population, yet is preferred over other available, high-quality habitats.

Thus, a trap is simply a sink habitat that is preferred rather than avoided, or an “attractive sink.”

(Battin, 2004)

Question 43

What happens to animals that populate an ecological trap?

Answer 43

Ecological trap theory suggests that, under most circumstances, the presence of a trap in a landscape will drive a local population to extinction.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 44

How do source-sink systems work?

Answer 44

In their simplest form, source-sink systems involve two habitats, one of high quality (source) in which the population growth rate is positive, and one of low quality (sink) in which population growth is negative.

Animals settle in the superior habitat until it fills up, and the remaining individuals are forced to settle in the inferior habitat.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 45

Describe population stability in a source-sink system.

Answer 45

They have a relatively stable population overall that conforms to a logistic pattern of population growth, with high population growth rates at low densities, when all animals can settle in the source habitat.

A source-sink system therefore tends toward a stable population size unless an animal’s ability to find source habitat is limited and there is very little source habitat in the landscape

(Battin, 2004)

Question 46

What is the assumption of source-sink models?

Answer 46

There is some form of optimal habitat selection.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 47

Why do animal’s choose ecological traps?

Answer 47

They make errors in habitat assessment as a result of some mismatch between the environmental cues they use to select habitats and actual habitat quality.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 48

Why is it important to tell the difference between ecological traps and source-sink systems?

Answer 48

Because they have a different impact on a population’s long-term survival.

Trap = extinction
Source/Sink = stable

So essential to know which you’re dealing with for management.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 49

What landscape characteristics increase the vulnerability of animals to ecological traps?

Answer 49

High ratio of trap to source habitat.

Rapid pace of landscape change - the less time organisms have to adapt to a changing environment—through either adaptation or learning—the more likely they are to make habitat-selection mistakes.

High rate of exotic species invasion.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 50

What organism characteristics increase the vulnerability of animals to ecological traps?

Answer 50

Slow rate of evolution.

Slow capacity for learning.

Variation in habitat preferences is low.

No behavioural adaptations to change.

Low level of knowledge about landscape.

Reliance on indirect habitat-selection cues.

Low population size.

Cyclical population fluctuations.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 51

How is an ecological trap identified?

Answer 51

To demonstrate unequivocally that an apparent trap is truly a trap, researchers must demonstrate that the trap, like a sink, does not produce enough individuals to replace those lost to the population, and that animals actually prefer that habitat to others.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 52

What are the management implications of ecological traps?

Answer 52

Even if high quality habitat is present, it doesn’t guarantee conservation as it might not be used.

The creation of even modest amounts of poor habitat can pose a significant danger to population persistence if the species in question selects it preferentially.

(Battin, 2004)

Question 53

Resilience

Answer 53

The capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic events such as fires, flooding, windstorms, and human activities, pesticide sprayed in soil, and the introduction of exotic plant or animal species.

(wikipedia)

Question 54

Positive vs Negative Feedback loops

Answer 54

Positive feedback loops enhance or amplify changes; this tends to move a system away from its equilibrium state and make it more unstable.

Negative feedbacks tend to dampen or buffer changes; this tends to hold a system to some equilibrium state making it more stable.

https://www.google.com/search?q=positive+vs+negative+feedback&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA939CA939&oq=positive+vs+negative&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEAAYgAQyCQgAEEUYORiABDIHCAEQABiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCDUwMTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Question 55

Ideal Free Distribution Theory

Answer 55

Used to predict what animals will do when in competition (for food and/or space) and choosing between different habitats.

Says that species will choose the site that maximizes their reproduction.

This means they may not choose the best habitat if there are already numerous members of their species there - because there would be less intraspecific competition at the less desirable habitat.

Assumes animal is free to move about.

(Alcock, 2013)