ecology Flashcards
more edge means
less equal habitat
every person has DDT (insectiside) in what cells
fat
33% of all amphibian species are threatened with
extinction after the industrial revolution
what are endemic species
species found only in a particular region
4 causes for biodiversity loss
habitat destruction, disease, introduced species, and direct exploitation
coral bleaching and loss of reefs why?
bleaching- acidification and warming reefs- disease
what is one of the conservation efforts
keystone species- prarie dogs
what is the meaning of oikos and ology
oikos- home
ology-knowledge
what are the biomes
terrestrial-subtropical desserts, temperate grasslands, temperate forest, taiga, and tundra
light penetrates farther
in freshwater rather than seawater
why should we care that a nuclear reactor melts
contaminated every fish we get from the coast
what does atrazine do
kills weeds but its in our water!!
resilience
how or if ecosystem bounces back- low resilience it will never come back
resistance
how much its affected by disturbance
keystone species
hold habitats together, not many but if taken out- ecosystem crashes.
what defines a biome
habitat area is defined by their vegetation
what does temperate mean
varie- cool dry winters, hot summers
neritic zone
intertidal zone-neritic- oceanic
one of the ocean zones
temperate grassland and temperate forests are essentially the same but what is the difference
temperate grass land has more rain
details of cascade mountains
west- moisture lade, rain falls-air rises over mountains and cools, east- dry air creates desert conditions
littoral zone
leaf zone- near trees
emerged plants “little plants”
limnetic zone
lake zones horizontal-open water, after littoral
photic zone
light zone- vertical
aphotic zone
no light- under photic still vertical
benthic zone
bottom
when looking at aquatic world were not looking at vegetation
were looking at physical factors-influenced by surrounding biome
intertidal zone
between the tides- neritic zone, scuba diver
estuary
where freshwater meets saltwater
fresh water- such as lakes
(lentic) still water
streams and rivers
lotic- flowing water
lake zones
littoral, close to shore-small fish
limnetic- away from shore -bigger fish and phytoplankton
proximate behavior
“how” explanation -signal triggers response. askking a girl out at the bar- how? he thinks shes cute
ultimate behavior
“why” explanation of behavior or increase fitness (passing on ones genes) why? to start a family
fixed action patterns
“computer program” innate behavior- behavioral reflex- born with it
behavior is more like
innate and learned
optimality
theoretically an animal will evolve to behave in the most optimal way- highest benefits for least cost
optimality in crabs
crabs eat muscles- larger muscles use more energy to open and small ones dont provide enough energy so choose one in the middle- optimal
sexual selection
form of evolution that promotes traits to increase an organisms mating success
intrasexual
members of one sex COMPETE over partners with the winner performing most of the matings
intersexual
member of one sex CHOOSES mate based on particular characteristics
polygyny
one male mates with many females
polyandry
one female mates with many males
what can be expressed as Br > C, where
B is the fitness benefit to the beneficiary, r is the
coefficient of relatedness, and C is the fitness cost
to the actor.
hamiltons rule
hamiltons rule states that altruisitc behavior is more likely when
- The fitness benefits of altruistic behavior are high for the recipient.
- The altruist and recipient are close relatives.
- The fitness costs to the altruist are low
inclusive fitness
-genetic success is from altruistic behavior
kin selection
natural selection that acts through
benefits,sel- sacrifical behavior, to relatives and results in increased indirect
fitness.
reciprocal altruism (nonkin)
an exchange of fitness benefits
that are separated in time. tit for tat
fecundity
number of offspring per
individual
high fecundity ..
low survivorship
r selected species
high rate of population growth but poor competitive ability(weeds)
k selected species
low reproductive rate but better competitors (trees), (human)
type 1 survivorship curve
rate of loss of juveniles low and
most individuals lost later in life-high survivorship
type 2 survivorship
fairly uniform death rate
type 3 survivorship
rate of loss for juveniles high and
then loss low for survivors
human growth fits what type of pattern
exponential
the US has less people than china but what do we produce more of
ecological footprint per person
less developed countries have a higher what
population
as r increases
population grows more rapidly
difference between predation and commensalism
predation- + effect on one but - effect on the other. Commensalism- + effect on one and no effect on the other.
what is amensalism
negative effect on one with no effect on the other
intraspecific
same species
interspecific
between species
fundamental niche
what a population is capable of using- food water habitat
realized niche
what a population actually uses
examples of antipredator strategies
chemical defense(newt)
cryptic coloration
mimicry
fighting and defense
types of mimicry
mullerian mimicry- toxic species similar- venomous
pattern(bees)
Batesian mimicry – Palatable mimic cheats- warning signal
invasive species have no natural
predators
alpha diversity
Diversity at a particular
site
beta diversity
Diversity between sites
gamma diversity
combines both beta and alpha
what would happen if the earths axis was not tilted
no seasons
with increasing biodiversity there is increased ecosystem
resilience and resistance
what is considered a non marine zone
littoral
example of lotic
missouri river
whales are examples of
nekton- heterotrophic, swim
example of intersexual selection
male peacocks have large tails with several colors- choosing
optimal foraging theory
individuals balance costs and benefits when selecting a nest site
food chain
linear depiction of energy flow
each feeding level in a chain is called what
trophic level
trophic level transfer efficiency
energy from the above trophic level is incoorperated into biomass
low trophic level transfer efficiency for 2 reasons
many organisms cannot digest all prey
much assimilated energy lost as heat
biomagnification
concentration of toxins in an ogranism from digesting other plants or animals
competitors
negative effect on both
predator
positive effect on 1- negative on the other
mutualism
both have a positive effect
amensalism
negative effect on one and no effect on the other
parasitism
negative effect on one and positive effect on the other
resource partitioning
the division of resources to avoid interspecific competition for limited resources in an ecosystem.
