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
innate behaviors
performed in response to a cue without prior experience, fixed action patterns
fixed action patterns
consist of a series of actions triggered by a key stimulus. the pattern will go to completion even if the stimulus is removed
learned response
behavior modified based on previous experience, habituation
habituation
is a simple learned behavior in which an animal gradually stops responding to a repeated stimulus
classical vs operant conditioning
a type of learned response from the association of cause and effect
key behaviors of interest
movement, optimal foraging, communication, interactions with others
local movement
in response to a stimulus, organisms can change movement randomly (kinesis) and non randomly (taxis), migration and navigation
optimal foraging
big prey or small prey, where/when to look for prey, decision based on how much energy, time, and risks of gettin food
information flow
one animal transmits information to another animal causing some kind of change in the animal that get the information
signal/cue (communication)
chemical, visual, auditory, tactile
community ecologist
study the processes that drive community patterns
richness
how many species
diversity
what is the frequency of each species in a sample of individuals
dynamics
how does richness and diversity change overtime
added species
speciation (genetic drift/non random selection), migration (random)
species lost
extinction (genetic drift or non-random selection
area hypothesis
larger areas host more species
theory of island biogeography
species richness depends on area and distance between habitats
productivity hypothesis
species richness correlates positively with primary productivity
richness is also affected by
disturbance and habitat heterogeneity, but in complex ways that depend on the community
succession
process of change in community composition, structure and function over time. mediated by habitat transformation and interspecific interactions
redundancy hypothesis
increasing diversity increases the likelihood that niches and functions are fulfilled
what is an ecosystem
a system of physical, chemical, and biological processes active “within a space-time unit of any magnitude”
ecosystem function
ecosystem components (abiotic and biotic) exchange and transform energy and chemicals
net primary productivity
measure of carbon fixed by photosynthesis minus energy used during cellular respiration
biomass production
secondary production is limited by primary production
energy flow
trophic efficiency represents efficiency of transfer of energy between trophic levels
trophic cascade
bottom up, top down
bottom up
physical and chemical processes
top down
physical and human factors
biocgeohemical cascades
biological, geological, and physical transport mechanism move chemicals through ecosystems and around the globe
geological cycles
formation and weathering of rocks
physical cycles
water and air currents, precipitation, wind
biological
assimilation and decomposition
carbon cycle
autotrophs acquire CO2 from the atmosphere and C is assimilated into biomass
