Ecology Flashcards
(131 cards)
1
Q
Scale of Ecology
A
organismal population community ecosystems landscapes global/macro
2
Q
Reasons for distribution of biodiversity
A
climate created by tilt of earth and wind cells
3
Q
Coriolis effect
A
creates major trade winds and oceanic current
result of equator moving faster than the poles.
4
Q
Effects of earth’s tilt
A
seasons
create wet and dry seasons
changes wind patterns which changes ocean currents
5
Q
effect of mountains on climate
A
wayward side is wet because of moist air coming off water and cooling as it goes up mountain
air on leeward side is very dry, creates deserts
6
Q
define microclimate and give two examples
A
local zone where climate differs from surrounding area
- In winter, under snow. Stable temperature, some plants grow and animals around to eat them-called subnivium ecosystem
- Koala bears live in eucalyptus trees because they are cooler than the surrounding environment.
7
Q
Effects of global climate change on species’ range
A
- extinction
* *golden toad in costa rica killed by tropical fungus that thrives in warmer climate** - exterpation: loss of some populations not whole species because species cannot survive at certain temperatures/climates.
- expanded range: species have moved towards poles and up mountains.
- No-analog communities: populations that previously were not in contact are now because of shifting ranges.
8
Q
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
A
production of organic compounds from atmospheric or oceanic CO2 by autotrophs.
amount of new biomass added to in a given period of time. tropical rainforests most productive
9
Q
Biodiversity
A
species richness/number of species
variation of living world from genetic diversity to diversity of species in an ecosystem/biome
10
Q
tropical rain forest
A
located at equator
+B
+NPP
11
Q
Desert
A
North and south of tropics
+B
-NPP
dry
12
Q
Savannah
A
ecotone between rain forest and deserts
13
Q
grasslands
A
center of large landmasses
subject to large climate swings because not stabilized by any body of water
rest by fires
inhabited by large mammals because need large digestive systems to digest grasses.
mid B and NPP
14
Q
chapparel
A
on coasts otherwise would be desert because located north/south of tropical rainforests warm and moist because of ocean currents hot and dry seasons moderate NPP -B fire adapted species
15
Q
northern coniferous forests
A
north america, europe and asia
short growing season
+NPP few species able to live there are large and can fix a lot of CO2
-B b/c few species adapted to live there
16
Q
temperate deciduous forests
A
located on coasts primarily because of ocean currents that bring warm moist air
long growing season
lots of temperature variation and high precipitation year round
+NPP
moderate B
17
Q
tundra
A
at extreme latitudes
cold dry short growing season (if any)
-NPP and -B
18
Q
Anthromes
A
human-created biomes
NPP decreases towards dense settlements
native species also decline in that direction but ornamental/non-native species increase
Biodiveristy may increase because of imports
19
Q
ocean pelagic zone
A
low NPP (carbon sink)
-B
huge expanse but not full of life of productivity
20
Q
abyssal zone
A
hydrothermal vents \+B average NPP located around plate edges have chemocynthetic bacteria that use sulfur for nutrients
21
Q
coral reefs and kelp forests
A
shallow marine biome along equator
+B and +NPP
very small biome but highly productive
created because of ocean currents
22
Q
estuaries/salt marshes/mangrove forests
A
-B and +NPP because of tidals swings. organisms fed by nutrients coming from water but need to be adapted to water and air exposure
23
Q
lentic systems
A
still terestrial waters
lakes and wetlands
24
Q
oligotrophic
A
-B and -NPP
deep water, cold, clear water
light cannot reach ottom in most places
lake superior
25
eutrophic
+B and +NPP
shallow warm nutrient rich murky water
lake medota
light penatrates to bottom stimulating growth
26
wetlands
extreme eutrophic lake
water covers part of year and has water rich soils and water loving soils
+B and +NPP because so shallow
marshes, swamps, bogs
27
lotic systems zones
running water systems
1. headwaters=-B and -NPP. high course particulate matter, cold, narrow, oligotrophic
2. mid-regions: water slows and warms, course particulates broken down, primary producers, +B and +NPP
3. lower regions: low course particulate count, cloudy water, moderate B and NPP
28
Latitudinal Diversity Gradient (LDG)
increase in species diversity going from poles to tropics
| 120 hypotheses exist
29
Biome productivity/energy hypothesis
amount of energy in biome drives diversity
| but NPP and B are not directly related (deserts)
30
Biome size/area hypothesis
bigger land masses have more species, more productivity
| but largest land biome is desert yes +B but -NPP
31
climate stability and predictability of biome
tropics do not vary much in temperature or precipitation
| but still flawed in some way
32
age of biome
biomes destroyed by glaciers and must restart
| tropics ancient so have lots of species but flawed in a way we don't need to know apparently
33
Grographic area/mid-domain effect
null hypothesis
| random chance
34
Animal Behavior
combined with animal physiology leads to all levels of ecological science
gives insight into mechanisms behind population and community ecology
35
Behavioral ecology
study of othology (animal behavior) focusing on ecological and evolutionary implications of animal behavior
36
Innate behavior
developmentally fixed.
| shared by all members regardless of individual preference and environmental differences
37
learned behavior
modified based on previous experiences
38
mixed behavior
bahavior is innate but skill is learned
| example: birdsong
39
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)
innate behavior that is indivisible and runs to completion regardless
ex: when brood parasites lay eggs in different nest, other bird still feeds chicks because that is what the innate behavior is even though the chick is clearly not its own
40
Movement-Taxis
innate response to directional stimulus/gradient
not a tropism because animal has mobility
example: trout always face upstream so they don't get swept away
41
Movement-kinesis
innate response to non-directional stimulus
42
orthokinesis
speed of movement is dependent upon intensity of stimulus
| example: prey runs faster when predators around
43
Klinokinesis
sinuosity of movement is proportional to stimulus intensity
example: baby turtles usually follow straight path towards ocean when they hatch. Light makes them vear off course--worse at higher intensities of light
44
Signals and communication
signals: stimulus transmitted from one organism to another
comm: transmission and reception of signals
example: one bee finds a food source and relates it to others with dance that tells direction and distance from hive
45
thermocline
layers of lake
Summer: warm on top, denser cold on bottom
Fall: turnover b/c top cooling
Winter: top frozen then cold then warm at bottom
Spring: turnover as top melts and warms
46
Imprinting
phase sensitive learning
| rapid and independent of consequences
47
Filial Imprinting
babies learn from parents.
| can be taken advantage of like to teach birds to migrate
48
Spatial learning
there is strong selective pressure to estimable memory that reflects spatial distribution of resources
ex: wasps use landmarks to memorize location of nest
49
Path integration (ded reckoning)
animals can continuously compute location from past trajectory and efficiently return to starting location
useful in featureless landscapes
50
cognitive map
internal representation of lanscape
| held in brain and allows for visualization of map to make useful path
51
Associative learning
association of stimulus with another
52
classical conditioning
arbitrary stimulus associated with a particular outcome
53
operant conditioning
animal first learns to associate a behavior with a reward or punishment and then tends to repeat or avoid behavior
"trial and error" learning
54
cognitive learning
knowing that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgement
55
social learning
examples:
1. prarie dogs have different calls for different situations. animals from other populations can still recognize signs.
2. Birdsong: birds partner with tutors to learn how to call well
56
Factors effecting biome distribution besides geography and climate
1. soil type
2. available nutrients
3. space
4. seed source
5. competition
57
though wisconsin is fully in temperate zone, why is vegetation different in north than in south?
In north it is colder so there is more water (less evaporation and transpiration)
differences in soil, elevation, and proximity to streams also effects vegetation
58
Foraging ecology
food obtaining behavior including diet and activities used to search, recognize, capture, and consume food
59
Optimal foraging
animal is able to obtain best food resource with least amount of costs
60
Reproductive ecology
behavior leading to the creation of offspring, including all activities that animals use to seek, identify, and compete for a mate
61
Infanticide
killing of infants by mature adult of same species
Benefits: ensures murderer's genes are passed on
affects how mother bears feed and how females mate (with lots of men for paternal confusion)
62
Interspecific foraging risks
behavior of prey affected by presence of predators
63
ghosts of predators past hypothesis
animals that were prey previously retain evasive behavior in absence of predator
relatively hard-wired traits
64
how foragers avoid predators
camouflage
change activities like activity period or avoid kill zones
be dispersed or be densely packed
65
How foragers avoid death once found
be fast
taste bad and show that
increase handling time with hard outsides
66
Predator Functional Responses types
Type I: kill rate is proportional to prey density (spider web eventually reaches capacity regardless of how high the fly population gets)
II: kill rate is limited at high prey density because of handling time (professor eating snickers is slowed down by wrappers)
III: kill rate is limited at very low prey density (absence of search image), accelerated at moderate density and slowed at high density
67
Predator Functional Responses definition
behavioral response to predator based on abundance of prey
| number of prey eaten per predator relative to amount of prey on landscape is how it is graphed
68
Monogamy
evolved because of limited resources and a need for both parents to rear and search for food.
example: Wandering Albatros
90% all birds monogamous because females too spread/free for a male to control many.
69
Cuckolding
in monogamy female mates with other males and her single partner still raises the offspring
may lead to decrease in parental investment in rearing
70
Resource defense polygyny
male defends resource to attract as many mates as possible
| red winged black bird set up a territory and aggressively protect it
71
mate gaurding polygyny
resources is not defensible to males compete for the opportunity to mate by actively guarding females
porcupines: females spread over wide area so males travel around and mate when females in heat then stay until she is out of it then move on to next female
72
Lek polygyny
resources are not defensible so males compete by attracting attention with dances, songs
example: sage grouse
73
sperm competition
by means of repeated copulation, mating plugs, and others, male is able to ensure his sperm is successful in fertilizing
74
cooperative polyandry
several males defend a female territory
75
resource defense polyandry
females defend territories that contain smaller areas of groups of males
76
benefits of polyandry
```
sperm replenishment (a man is always available)
material benefits
genetic benefits (females have options to chose fittest)
female convenience (does not need to look for a mate)
```
77
promiscuity
individuals are not territorial so there is lots of overlap and things mate through random encounter
example: two-toed sloth
78
Operational Sex Ratio
ratio of females:males
explains mating system
polygyny: more females than males
monogamy: equal ratio
79
Sexual size dimorphism
male size:female size
polygyny: males larger
monogamy: equal size
females and males may have totally different diets due to differences in size
80
population definition
group of organisms of same species occupying same space at a particular time
81
Dispersion
use quadrants to determine type
| null hypothesis: dispersion is random
82
Poisson dispersions
random: mean=variance
clumped: meanvariance
83
Indicies
index of density is any measurable correlation of density. usually a count statistic that is obtained in the field like number of nests then just need to convert that to number of individuals.
can be biased based on ease of seeing things and whatever
84
Mark-recapture equation/Lincoln-Peterson Equation
(marked and recaptured, r) ===(total captured first time, m)
----------------------------------- ---------------------------------
(total captured 2nd time, c) (population size, N)
85
Mark recapture issues
if animals cage shy after being captures first time, r is small and N will be too large
if animals cage happy after capture, r r is large and N is falsely small
86
Assumptions of Lincoln Peterson equation
1. equal probability of capturing and recapturing all animals
2. complete mixture of population after release
3. closed population (no immigration, emigration, birth, death)
87
Exponential Population growth equation and uses
dN/dt=rN r=rate of growth and N=starting population
1. when invading/colonizing new place
2. rebounding from massive crash
3. when a new adaptation develops to cope
4. at start of bounded population
88
Density Dependence
decline in population growth rate as population increases because of competition for resources and space
89
Carry capacity invovlement
k/2=time of greatest increase in population growth
90
assumptions of exponential growth model
constant birth and death rate
no immigration or emigration
no time lags
there are enough resources and space for all organisms to survive as the population grows
91
Positive Density Dependence/Allee Effect
population growth rate is low when population size is small because of low reproductive success/survival
- can't find each other to mate
- so on dN/dt to pop. size graph, before fast increase, a dip.
example: ferrets
92
assumptions of logistic growth
constant birth and death rate
no immigration, emigration
no lag time
environment is constant except for crowding effect (reason for carrying capacity)
effect of crowding is felt by all, equally
does not consider unpredictable variation in weather, etc
93
deterministic growth models
outcome determined only by inputs.
| nothing is left to chance or changing conditions
94
stochastic models
account for less predictable changes in and uncertainty around growth rates that alter population factors
example: chaparrals burn down ~1/decade
95
Environmental stochasticity
annual changes in population because of weather, food supply, etc
96
Catastrophic stocasticity
fire, flood, droughts that occur occasionally and impact the majority of the population
97
Demographic stocasticity
natural and unpredictable fluctuations in birth and death rate and sex ratios
98
patterns of mortality
Type III: death of most in early years. Few live to old age
II: likelihood of death equal for all age groups
I: majority live to old age then die quickly
**does not consider differences in male and female survival**
99
Hypotheses for differences in male and female mortality timelines
H1: chromosomal
2. reproductive/dispersal
3. intraspecific competition
100
metapopulation
assemblage of local populations connected by emigration and immigration. matrixes (areas of passage only)
101
Classic metapopulations
b, d, i, e vary between local populations
| dispersal can repopulate dying or extinct local populations
102
source-sink metapopulations
one big population with greater birth than death rate (source) disperses out to inferior habitats where death is greater than birth rates (sink)
103
patchy metapopulations
variable b d i e. emigration and immigration are so high that demographic differences between local populations are insignificant and populations are not independent of each other
104
Island metapopulations
immigration and emigration are functionally zero so subpopulations are independent and dispersal is not sufficient to repopulation dying or extinct populations.
105
Island biogeography
number of species on an island reflects balance between rate of new-species colonization and rate of existent-population extinction
106
Exploitation competition
using up a resource
| example: the more prairie dogs on a landscape the less weight gained by cattle
107
Interference competition
behavioral interactions that keep other from gaining access
| example: interspecific killing NOT for food.
108
preemptive competition
individuals use space that is then unavailable to others
109
Gause's Competition Exclusion Principle
two species that have the same niche one will go extinct
110
Fundamental niche
niche occupied in absence of predators
111
realized niche
niche occupied in presence of predator
112
Niche separation
species should be under selection to evolve to use different niches with lower overlap BUT overlap still exists because efficient use of resources drives organisms to stay close.
113
Types of predation
1. herbivory
2. insect parasitoids
3. parasites
4. cannibalism
5. classic predation
114
herbivory
eating plants
monophagy (one plant)
polyphagy (lots of plants)
rare in birds because lots of digestive parts needed
115
insect parasitoids
insects that lay eggs on or near host that then consumes the larvae.
somewhat specialized at least
always kill the host
example: wasps
116
cannibalism
consuming conspecies.
| rare because of disease transfer and eating own species bad for population size
117
Why care about predation
mechanism of natural selection
determines cost-benefit balance in sexual selection (guppies)
life history breeding (age of breeding, nesting strategies)
anti-predation adaptations
118
Character release
when animal is in environment without competitors it is able to occupy a broader niche.
119
Character displacement
a species that previously had no competitors gets a competitor and it develops a more restricted characteristic because of niche partitioning.
120
Difference between phenotypic plasticity and character displacement
phenotype changes because of changing environmental conditions. It does not change the genotype of the species. Character displacement is a result of natural selection/evolution
121
keystone predator
removes some of the more competitive species from an ecosystem freeing up niche space for more species.
areas with keystone predators have greater species richness
122
first law of thermodynamics applied to ecology
energy amount constant. plants convert solar energy to chemical. some lost as heat.
123
second law
in energy transfer if no energy enters or leaves system, potential energy will always be less than at the start because of heat loss
124
Why are predators larger than prey?
In aquatics, predators must engulf prey or else it could get swept down stream.
On land, do not need to be as large because they have the ground to hold dead animal.
Advantageous to be smaller than prey for some because of stealth and speed.
125
Aquatic food chains vs terrestrial ones
aquatic can have up to 7 transfers because of more efficient transfer of energy. Terrestrial only 4 at most
126
Trophic cascade
reciprocal predator-prey effect that alters abundance, biomass, productivity of a trophic level across more than one link in a food web.
Example: sea otter/kelp forest population decreasing because great whale population reduction.
127
Global cycles
nitrogen carbon oxygen sulfur
| because gases
128
local cycles
Phorphorus, potassium, calcium
| because to heavy to travel as gas go by dust
129
water cycle
in dynamic equilibrium
| input=outputs
130
carbon cycle
out of balance
| outputs>inputs because of fossil fuel burning
131
ocean acidification
result of excess carbon dioxide forming HCO3-. Increases H+ concentration
shells dissolve
