ecology final

Question 1

Biodiversity – what is it and why is it important?

Answer 1

-variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life.
-Provides provisioning services that provide products humans use, like lumber, fur, crops, water
-Provides regulating services that include climate regulation, flood control and water purification
-Provide cultural services that provide spiritual or recreational values
-Provide supporting services that allow ecosystems to exist, such as primary production, soil formation, and nutrient cycling.
-Important to maintain species richness and allow ecosystems to survive and recover from unpredictable catastrophes

Question 2

What is a biome?

Answer 2

A biome is a large area characterized by its temperature and precipitation (climate). There are five major types of biomes: aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra.

Question 3

Which biomes are most threatened by climate change?

Answer 3

Arctic tundra

Question 4

What types of activities are having the most impact on biodiversity worldwide?

Answer 4

Overharvesting
Deforestation
Introduced species
Pollution

Question 5

Terrestrial Plants: Be able to describe different methods for monitoring plants, their considerations, and which one you would most likely choose in a scenario provided to you.
What would you measure in each of those monitoring methods?

Answer 5

-For measuring you would use either quadrats used to measure the plant distribution and density. Or the Line intercept which is used to measure growth or increase in cover.
-Most common types of plots used for collecting plant data; quadrats,point of interest and transects.

Question 6

What are Plankton

Answer 6

small and microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea or freshwater (can’t propel themselves against a current), consisting chiefly of diatoms, protozoans, small crustaceans

Question 7

What are Phytoplankton

Answer 7

• plants (photosynthetic organisms)
• obtain their energy through the conversion of sunlight in photosynthesis

Question 8

What are Zooplankton

Answer 8

-protozoans and animals
-feed upon other plankton, including phytoplankton and zooplankton

Question 9

Algae vs Cyanobacteria. How are they similar and how do they differ?

Answer 9

both are photosynthetic organisms
can convert sunlight into carbohydrates, and contain chlorophyll.
are mostly aquatic organisms

Question 10

Algae vs Cyanobacteria. how do they differ?

Answer 10

Cyanobacteria: are photosynthetic bacteria (prokaryotes) (used to be called blue-green algae), do not have a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles
Algae: are eukaryotic and have different photosynthetic pigments

Question 11

What are ciliate

Answer 11

Ciliate - use short hair (cilia) to move

Question 12

What are flagellate

Answer 12

Flagellate- use whiplike flagellum to move

Question 13

What are amoebas

Answer 13

Amoebas- use pseudopods to move

Question 14

Be able to identify the different groups seen at Willowbrook Lake
The groups are: ciliophora, rotifers, cyanobacteria

Answer 14

Ciliophora- single celled eukaryotes with cilia
Rotifers- multicellular eukaryotes with cilia
Cyanobacteria- photosynthetic bacteria (prokaryotes) (used to be called blue-green algae)

Question 15

Ciliophora

Answer 15

single celled eukaryotes with cilia

Question 16

Rotifers

Answer 16

Multicellular eukaryotes with cilia

Question 17

Cyanobacteria

Answer 17

photosynthetic bacteria (prokaryotes) (used to be called blue-green algae)

Question 18

What is a plankton tow?

Answer 18

tool used to sample the microscopic life in the ocean. A jar is attached to the end of the net, while the two are pulled. As the tow is pulled through the water excess water will exit through the mesh netting while the plankton is trapped into the jar at the end

Question 19

How far down in the water column do ecologists typically take water samples when they’re interested in phyto and zooplankton? Why?

Answer 19

-Up to 200m depth (euphotic zone)
-All phytoplankton and a lot of zooplankton live in the upper ocean, where there is enough sunlight to support phytoplankton, the first link in the food chain and food for many zooplankton.
-Photosynthesis requires sunlight and therefore phytoplankton are restricted to the upper 50 - 100 m of oceanic water bodies because this is the maximum depth to which sunlight penetrates the water environment.

Question 20

What causes algae blooms?

Answer 20

Mycrocystis (Cyanobacteria), photosynthetic bacteria, cause algal blooms

Question 21

What is meant by the phrase “central tendency”?

Answer 21

Tendency of a set of values to gather around the middle of the set. Measured by mean, median and mode.

Question 22

Be able to identify the distribution of data. Is it normal? Why or why not?

Answer 22

You will be able to tell if a data is normally distributed if you look at the curve. If the curve is symmetrical with no screw it is normal.

Question 23

How do you transform data?

Answer 23

Log, sqrt, rank

Question 24

Be able to interpret a one and two tailed t-test.

Answer 24

A one tail test is looking for an increase or decrease in the parameter that you are testing. A two tail test is looking for a change in the parameter you are testing; does not specify if it’s an increase or decrease. One tail will specify that. Also you’re going to see two tails more often. In a one tail the .05 in one tail but the two tail is going to have .025 in each tail

Question 25

Be able to interpret an ANOVA.
What is ANOVA stand for

Answer 25

Anova- analysis of variance
-1 tail test F test
-tell whether there is a significant difference between the means of two or more levels of a variable.
-The lower the probability, the more likely there is a difference between the groups

Question 26

Be able to interpret a chi-square test

Answer 26

It’s called a goodness of fit test. Test statistic is X^2. Compares frequency data to a probability model stated by the null hypothesis. Also used for variance testing for one sample variance testing but she’s probably not asking for that here.

Question 27

Know when you would use all of the above statistical tests.
When to use ANOVA and chi-square

Answer 27

When you are given observed frequencies and expected frequencies and asked to test if the observed values come from a population of the expected values you used chi-square. You use ANOVA when you are comparing the means from more than two groups.

Question 28

Stream Monitoring
What’s a run?

Answer 28

Runs- deep with fast water and little or no turbulence.
Riffles- shallow with fast, turbulent water running over rocks.
Pools -deep with slow water. Riffles are shallow with fast, turbulent water running over rocks.

Question 29

Stream Monitoring
What’s a riffles?

Answer 29

Riffles- shallow with fast, turbulent water running over rocks.

Question 30

Stream Monitoring
What’s a pools?

Answer 30

Pools -deep with slow water. Riffles are shallow with fast, turbulent water running over rocks.

Question 31

What types of features help stabilize stream banks?

Answer 31

-live planting, bioengineering, and hard armoring.
-You may be able to stabilize shorelines or prevent erosion problems by planting appropriate types of vegetation, then allowing nature to heal itself. Costs of this approach are relatively low and can help with erosion control
-Bioengineering relies on a combination of structural components and plant material to produce a dense stand of vegetation that serves as a “living system” to protect streambanks and shorelines.
-Hard armoring includes a variety of techniques including rock riprap (large stones placed along the slope of a streambank or shoreline) and gabions (rock-filled wire baskets placed along a streambank or shoreline). Hard armoring typically involves grading the bank to a gentler slope. If done properly, these techniques provide very good protection and will work in severe situations where bioengineering will not.

Question 32

What are some factors that can result in erosion?

Answer 32

Rainfall and wind, moving water like streams and lakes, ice; when water gets into cracks freezes expands and then melts again(this is why we have cracks in roads).
5 factors
climatic, hydrological, topographic, soil, geological and vegetation conditions

Question 33

When would you expect streams to be the most polluted?

Answer 33

After recent rainy weather (When we get more rain, it increases the amount of nutrient and sediment pollution that gets into local streams and rivers. When it rains, stormwater runs off lawns, farms, streets and parking lots, picking up pollution and carrying it into the nearest storm drain or waterway)

Question 34

Why are spotted lantern flies an issue in NY?

Answer 34

Spotted lantern flies are an issue in NY because they pose as mostly a threat to agricultural crops, and while they are not tree killers, they weaken trees if there’s a severe infestation. They are especially a problem in NY because they are a threat to native plants and crops in the state — including grapevines, hops, apple trees and maple trees.

Question 35

How would you collect leaf litter for monitoring arthropods? How and where should you collect?

Answer 35

You would just scoop it up off the ground and bring it back into the lab to put under a heat lamp. You would go into the forest to collect the litter

Question 36

What’s a Berlese funnel and how does it work?

Answer 36

-Tool used to extract insects from soil samples, including leaf litter
-It uses a heat source (in this case a light bulb) to dry the sample, forcing the insects through a screen and into a jar of preserving fluid.

Question 37

What are lichens and why are they important?

Answer 37

Lichens are plants with a symbiotic association between a fungus and a single celled photosynthetic organism, like an alga. In the ecosystem, they fix carbon and nitrogen. Since they allow algae to live all over the world in different climates, they also provide a means to convert CO2 in the atmosphere through photosynthesis into oxygen, which we all need to survive.

Question 38

Symbiosis

Answer 38

Any association between two species populations that live together is symbiotic, whether the species benefit, harm, or have no effect on one another.

Question 39

Mutualism

Answer 39

A symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit from the existence of each other.

Question 40

Parasitism

Answer 40

A symbiotic relationship in which a symbiont lives all or part of its life in or on a living host, usually benefiting while harming the host in some way and usually having a higher reproductive potential than the host.

Question 41

Intraspecific competition

Answer 41

• competition among individuals of the same species

Question 42

Interspecific competition-

Answer 42

competition among individuals of different species.

Question 43

Renewable resources-

Answer 43

resources that are constantly regenerated. Ex: plants, hone

Question 44

Nonrenewable resources-

Answer 44

resources that are not generated. Ex: coal, oil

Question 45

Exploitative competition-

Answer 45

-competition in which individuals
consume and drive down the abundance of a resource to the point that other individuals cannot persist.
-This occurs when individuals interact indirectly as they compete for common resources, like territory, prey or food. Seabirds eating salmon may reduce the amount of salmon available to seals.

Question 46

Interference competition

Answer 46

when competitors do not immediately consume resources but defend them.
Occurs when organisms of the same species or of two or more different species interact directly by fighting for scarce resources, such as male seals competing for mating territory.

Question 47

Allelopathy

Answer 47

a type of interference that occurs when organisms use chemicals to harm their competitors
Ex: knotweed

Question 48

Body segmentation

Answer 48

head, thorax, abdomen or cephalothorax and abdomen

Question 49

Legs

Answer 49

3 pairs with various modifications

Question 50

Mouthparts

Answer 50

chewing, piercing, sucking, biting

Question 51

Wings

Answer 51

2 pair with various modifications; membranous or sclerotized

Question 52

How to interpret shannon weiner index

Answer 52

The higher the index, the more diverse the species are in the habitat. If the index equals 0, only one species is present in the community.