exam 2 Flashcards
what is ecology?
the study of organismal interactions
what resources are utilized in a niche?
food, shelter, water, space
what functions do a niche provide?
producer or consumer, engineer: affecting structres
what interactions do niches do?
nutrient flow, selective pressures, movement, behavior
niche overlaps
overlap in one dimension does not necessarily imply strong competition, minimal niche overlap; little potential for competition
consequences of competition
population regulation, logistic growth model, character displacement, species can evolve to minimize niche overlap
logistic growth model
wherein the instantaneous change in the population is a function of proximity to an environmentally dictated carrying capacity
phenotypic placidity
the ability of individual genotypes to produce different phenotypes when exposed to different environmental conditions, natural selection effect on phenotype is not heritable, “programming” based on environmental conditions, environmental effect on phenotype is not heritable
life history theory
how organisms budget available energy to competing demands over the course of their lifetimes to maximize their total lifetime reproductive success, tradeoffs between survival and reproduction, terminal investment: putting all energy into reproduction instead of energy to live in last week of life
parity
how often to reproduce
iteroparous
producing offspring at multiple times in life
semelparous
only producing offspring once in life
negative competition
both parties loose out
competition
mutually detrimental
mutualism
both participants experience benefits (reciprocity)
exploitation
predation and parasitism, one party gains at expense of the other
commensalism
one party experiences net benefit, other no effect
amensalism
one party experiences detriment, other no effect
what do behavioral ecologists study
a behavior is a way that animals can solve problems in their life. it is usually studied with in the context of a stimulus and a response
behavior is
a phenotype, heritable, shaped by evolution, situationally flexible
most behaviors caused by two forces
genetics and learning
applications of a behavioral ecologist
conservation, agriculture, wildlife management, climate change adaptation, insight into human behavior, evolution, and disease
genetically programmed behaviors
genes influence behaviors through effects on neuron development and physiology, thus behaviors can have a heritable component