Ecology & Evolution Flashcards
what is the modern definition of ecology?
The scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions that determine distribution and abundance (Begon et. al. 2006)
name the 4 scales of ecology
Landscape /geo-ecology
Community / ecosystem ecology
Population ecology
Autecology
define landscape ecology
ecology with a focus on large-scale interactions between populations of different species and their environment
define geo-ecology
ecology with a focus on large-scale interactions between populations of different species and their environment
define community ecology
ecology with a focus on interactions between populations of different species and their environment within the ecosystem
define ecosystem ecology
ecology with a focus on interactions between populations of different species and their environment within the ecosystem
define population ecology
ecology with a focus on populations of the same species
define autecology
ecology with a focus on single individuals
name 2 alternate names for autecology
ecophysiology
biochemical ecology
describe the approach taken by holistic/top-down ecology
focus on ecosystems and processes acting therein, trying to gain an overall understanding, often without exact analysis of details (nutrient or energy fluxes, key species,…)
descriptive approach
describe the approach taken by reductionistic/bottom-up ecology
focus on individuals and single populations; interactions with each other and with the environment often analysed in controlled experimental settings
experimental
approach
what is the scientific name of the peppered moth
Biston betularia
describe the 3 morphs of the Biston betularia?
typica - mostly white
insularia - speckled white and black
carbonaria - mostly black
how is the Biston betularia a descriptor for natural selection?
industrial revolution = air pollution, so the trees turned darker
carbonaria became better camouflaged, so the others were predated on more
more carbonaria existed.
as air pollution reduced, the light coloured forms now once again dominate
which basic facts form the basis for evolution through natural selection
1) individuals of a population vary
2) these variations are inheritable
3) ancestors will leave different numbers of breeding descendants (depends on factors like fertility & offspring survival)
4) ability and success of descendants to breed are dependant on interactions between traits and environmental conditions
so, if these heritable traits change over generations, natural selection has occurred
in survival of the fittest, what qualified the ‘fittest’?
leaving the greatest number of descendants relative to other individuals
why doesn’t survival of the fittest result in a ‘perfect’ individual
environmental conditions are constantly changing, so what is most ‘fit’ changes
physiognomic variability especially of multicellular organisms is restricted
why do ecotypes exist
Along environmental gradients, local populations may vary according to the prevailing set of environmental conditions at their occurrence – ecotypes evolve
give experimental evidence for the existence of ecotypes
Comparison of ecotypes of Achillea lanulosa originating from different heights along a transect in the Sierra Nevada and grown under identical condition show that they still vary in height dependant on the elevation of where the seeds were taken from (Nentwig et al 2004)
which 5 mechanisms cause changes within a population
mutations
migration
genetic drift
natural selection
coevolution
what is a mutation
changes in the genome of individuals
how does migration cause changes in populations
exchange of individuals between different populations,
individuals starting new populations; gene flow
what is genetic drift
accidental removal of a part of a population,
accidentally favouring certain characteristics, especially
powerful in small populations
how does natural selection cause changes in populations
Mortality selection: peppered moth example;
fecundity selection by producing more/less fertile offspring
what is coevolution
traits evolve in two different species due to
interspecific interaction
give 2 examples of mutualistic coevolution in plants
ornithophilic & chiropterophilic plants
what are ornithophilic plants
plants evolved to be pollinated by birds
what are chiropterophilic plants
plants evolved to be pollinated by bats
describe pouyannian mimicry
emit pheromones and look like the females of an insect species. when the male tries to copulate, pollen is transferred
which journal paper refers to the population change of the peppered moth
Cook et al 1999
Which journal paper refers to the evolution of ecotypes
Nentwig et al 2004
What is natural selection
mortality selection (e.g. peppered moth) + fecundity selection (producting more/less fertile offspring)
Give an example of mutualistic coevolution in sphingophilic plants
(plants pollinated by moths)
Hawk moth’s long noses + long flowers of the flowers they pollinate, so most pollinators cannot reach their nectar”
Give an example of mutualistic coevolution in ornithophilic plants
(plants pollinated by birds) bright colours so birds can see them, very robust flowers so only beaks can break in
Give an example of coevolution through chemical mimicry
Orchids that release the same pheremone as female wasps
