Ecology pt 2 (ch. 54-56)

Question 1

community

Answer 1

group of populations of different species living close enough to interact

Question 2

inter-specific interactions

Answer 2

may be positive, negative, or neutral for one species

includes competition, predation, and symbioses
-competition between two different species for resources, like food

Question 3

inter-

Answer 3

between different groups

Question 4

intra-

Answer 4

within the same group

Ex: 2 males fighting over a territory

Question 5

competitive exclusion principle

Answer 5

two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place

(when two species are vying for a resource, eventually the one with the slight reproductive advantage will eliminate the other)

Question 6

ecological niche

Answer 6

sum total of biotic and abiotic resources that the species uses in its environment

Question 7

fundamental niche

Answer 7

niche potentially occupied by the species

Question 8

realized niche

Answer 8

portion of the fundamental niche the species actually occupies

Question 9

Predation; defenses for predators

Answer 9

one species is the predator and eats the other species, the prey.

Defenses:
cryptic coloration
aposematic coloration
mimicry (2 types)

Question 10

Differences between Batesian mimicry and Mülerian mimicry

Answer 10

1. referring to a situation in which a harmless species has evolved to mimic the coloration of an unpalatable or harmful species
2. two bad-tasting species resemble each other, ostensibly so that predators will learn to avoid them equally

Question 11

herbivory +/- interaction

What are plant’s main protective devices?

Answer 11

herbivore eats part of a plant or alga

chemical toxins, spines, thorns

Question 12

Symbiosis (3 types of interactions within)

Answer 12

Parisitism
Mutualism
Commensalism

Question 13

Species diversity

Answer 13

measures the number of different species in a community (species richness) AND the relative abundance of each species

Question 14

trophic structure of a community

Answer 14

feeding relationships among the organisms

Question 15

tropic levels

Answer 15

links in the trophic structure of a community

Question 16

food web

Answer 16

consist of 2 or more food chains linked together

Question 17

dominant species

Answer 17

highest BIOMASS in a community (sum weight of a population) or are the most abundant

Question 18

keystone species

Answer 18

exert control on community structure by their important ecological niche

Question 19

disturbance

Answer 19

storm, fire, flood, drought, or human activity
(changes a community- removing organisms OR changing resource availability)

moderate levels create conditions with greatest species diversity

Question 20

ecological succession

Answer 20

transitions in species composition in a certain are a over ecological time

primary & secondary succession

Question 21

primary succession

Answer 21

no soil after a disturbance
takes a very long time
pioneer species
-volcanic island

Question 22

secondary succession

Answer 22

soil intact after a disturbance

-abandoned farm

Question 23

2 biogeographic factors important in community diversity

Answer 23

latitude- generally more abundant and diverse in tropics

area- larger the area, more species it has (if all other factors are equal)

Question 24

Island biogeography

Answer 24

rates of immigration/extinction affected by…

size, distance from the mainland

Question 25

ecosystem

Answer 25

the sum of all the organisms living within its boundaries (biotic community) and all the abiotic factors with which they interact. ____ processes include: energy flow and chemical cycling

Question 26

Can energy be recycled?

Answer 26

NO!!! It comes from the sun! It cannot be created nor destroyed. It can be traced through the feeding or tropic levels in food chains/webs. Some of it is always lost as heat.

Question 27

Are energy conversions efficient (according to the 2nd law of thermodynamics)?

Answer 27

No. Some energy is always lost as heat. As it moves through food chains, much of the energy is lost as heat to the ecosystem

Question 28

primary producers

Answer 28

autotrophs

Question 29

heterotrophs

Answer 29

all organisms in trophic levels above primary consumers

Question 30

What type of consumers are herbivores?

Answer 30

primary consumers

Question 31

secondary &; tertiary consumers

Answer 31

consumers that eat herbivores | consumers that eat secondary _____

Question 32

detritivores/decomposers

Answer 32

consumers that get their energy from detrius, which is nonliving organic material such as the remains of dead organisms, feces, dead leaves, and wood. Convert organic materials from all trophic levels to inorganic compounds that can be used by producers. Thus, nutrients cycle through ecosystems.

Question 33

primary production

Answer 33

the amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by autotrophs the amount of all photosynthetic production sets the spending limit for the energy budget of the entire ecosystem.

Question 34

gross primary production (GPP)

Answer 34

total primary production in an ecosystem NOT the amount of energy available to consumers. Some of the fuel molecules made by the producers must be used as fuel for their own cellular respiration

Question 35

Net primary production (NPP)

Answer 35

equal to gross primary production minus the energy used by the primary producers for their "autotrophic respiration" ___ = GPP- Rsub(a)

Question 36

factors that affect primary production in aquatic ecosystems

Answer 36

affected primarily by: light availability (decreases with depth) nutrient availability

Question 37

factors that affect primary production in terrestrial ecosystems

Answer 37

temperature and moisture evapotranspiration combines both key terrestrial factors

Question 38

Types of ecological pyramids you can draw and explain

Answer 38

biomass pyramid energy pyramid (can NEVER be inverted) pyramid of numbers *biomass and number pyramids can be inverted*

Question 39

biogeochemical cycles

Answer 39

nutrient cycles that contain both biotic and abiotic components

Question 40

What are the four main biogeochemical cycles?

Answer 40

carbon, water, nitrogen, phosphorous

Question 41

nitrogen fixation

Answer 41

major pathway for ___ to enter an ecosystem. The conversion of N2 by bacteria to forms that can be used by plants

Question 42

detirification

Answer 42

process when bacteria releases nitrogen to the atmosphere

Question 43

bioremediation

Answer 43

the use of organisms, usually prokaryotes, fungi, or plants, to detoxifyf polluted ecosystems. -has been used to restore areas degraded by mining or to remove oil or radioactive elements

Question 44

bioaugmentation

Answer 44

the introduction of desirable species such as nitrogen fixers to add essential nutrients

Question 45

____ flows through ecosystems, while ____ cycles within them.

Answer 45

Energy Matter

Question 46

3 main levels of Biodiversity (biological diversity)

Answer 46

Genetic diversity Species diversity Ecosystem diversity

Question 47

What happens when a population drops below a minimum viable population (MVP) size?

Answer 47

The population's loss of genetic variation due to nonrandom mating and genetic drift can trap it in an extinction vortex

Question 48

Biodiversity hot spot

Answer 48

A relatively small area with an exceptional concentration of endemic species and a large number of endangered and threatened species. They are also prime candidates for protection (bc places of extinction).

Question 49

Which human activity, in particular, alters nutrient cycling?

Answer 49

Agriculture. Soil nitrogen is often depleted by crops. Excess nitrogen in aquatic ecosystems can lead to eutrophication

Question 50

Acid precipitation

Answer 50

Rain, snow, or fog with a pH < 5.2 The oxides react with water to form sulfuric and nitric acid

Question 51

Biological magnification

Answer 51

Toxins become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of a food web. The toxins cannot be broken down biologically by normal chemical means, so they magnify in concentration through the food chain.

Question 52

Greenhouse effect

Answer 52

The absorption of heat the Earth experiences due to certain atmospheric gases

Question 53

Ozone layer

Answer 53

Reduces the amount of UV radiation penetration from the sun through the atmosphere

Question 54

energetic hypothesis

Answer 54

length (of a food chain) is limited by inefficient energy transfer Ex: 10% rule (more data supports this)

Question 55

dynamic stability hypothesis

Answer 55

long food chains are less stable

Question 56

How can you simplify a food web?

Answer 56

- group species with similar trophic relationships into broad functional groups - isolating: interacts very little with the rest of the community

Question 57

What are four major threats to biodiversity?

Answer 57

1. habitat destruction 2. introduced species 3. global change 4. overharvesting

Question 58

production efficiency

Answer 58

the fraction of energy stored in food that is not used for respiration ____ = (NPP/assimilation of primary production)*100

Question 59

Which trophic levels are phytoplankton and zooplankton?

Answer 59

zoo___: primary consumers phyto___: primary producers

Question 60

resource partitioning

Answer 60

idk

Question 61

character displacement

Answer 61

idk

Question 62

Shannon diversity index

Answer 62

idk