Exam 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Condition
A
Abiotic environment that varies in time and space and to which organisms respond differently.
2
Q
Components of condition
A
Temperature, pH, humidity, water flow rate
3
Q
Resource
A
Factor that organisms may use up and make less available for others
4
Q
Performance of Species graph
A
Species that survive may not be able to grow or reproduce. Species that grow may not be able to reproduce.
5
Q
Homeotherms
A
Approximately constant body temperature. “Hot blooded”
6
Q
Poikilotherms
A
Variable body temperature. “Cold Blooded”
7
Q
Endotherms
A
Heat generated internally
8
Q
Ectotherms
A
Heat from environment
9
Q
A lot of hibernating animals are this
A
Poikilotherms
10
Q
Behavioral thermoregulation
A
Can control body temperature based on behavior
11
Q
Advantage of Ectothermy
A
Generally low cost. Plants can put more towards growth than towards thermogenic machinery. Choice of environment limited though
12
Q
Advantage of Endothermy
A
Can exploit more environments. High energy cost though
13
Q
Short wavelengths provide…
A
More energy
14
Q
Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)
A
Radiation that can be used by plants
15
Q
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect
A
Infrared rays get into earth and cannot escape. If at an increased rate then can’t escape atmosphere
16
Q
El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
A
Warm water is sloshed back to South America and cold water is covered, resulting in less nutrient for wildlife, productivity decreases
17
Q
Red Kangaroo Population during ENSO
A
Declined. Droughts reduced amount of vegetation kangaroos could eat.
18
Q
Grasshopper thermoregulation
A
Change pigment. Increase potential for Hr gain (dark) or Decrease potential for Hr gain (light)
19
Q
Torpor
A
State of low metabolic rate and low metabolic temperature
20
Q
Hibernation
A
Torpor happening during the winter
21
Q
Estivation
A
Torpor happens during the summer
22
Q
Greenhouse Effect
A
Atmosphere keeps surface of Earth warm. Gasses absorb infrared radiation emitted by solar heated earth and re-emit most energy back to the earth.
23
Q
Walker Circulation
A
Air over warmer Western Pacific rises, flows eastward in the upper atmosphere, then sink over eastern pacific. Air mass then flows westward along southeast trade winds, gradually warming and gathering moisture. Western flowing air eventually joins the rising air in the western pacific. As warm and moist air rises, it forms rain clouds
24
Q
La Ninas
A
Periods of lower sea surface temperature and higher than average barometric pressure in the eastern tropical pacific
25
Effects of El Nino
Easterly winds slacken and warmer waters come in. Upwelling on coast is shut down and supply of nutrients shut off
26
El Nino Effect on Great Salt Lake
Lowered salinity levels allowed predacious corixid bugs to move into limnetic zone. Corixids reduced Artemia, main grazing zooplankton species. As response phytoplankton biomass increased.
27
Pedology
The study of soils
28
Soil
A mixture of inorganic materials (clay, silt, pebbles, sand) , decaying organic matter, water, air, and living organisms
29
Role of Soil
Ecosystem: Nutrient delivery system, recycling system, waste disposal system
Plants: Site of germination, nutrients, support, decay
Animals: Refuge, sewer, or a complete habitat
Decomposers: Resource
30
O-Horizon
Surface litter. Freshly fallen organic matter. Usually absent in agricultural soils and deserts
31
A-Horizon
Topsoil. Partially decomposed organic matter (humus) living organisms, and some inorganic minerals
32
E-Horizon
Zone of Leaching. Dissolved or suspended material move downwards
33
B-Horizon
Subsoil. Accumulation of Fe, Al, humic compounds, and clay leached from above regions
34
C-Horizon
Parent material. Partially broken down inorganic materials.
35
R soil layer
Impenetrable layer. Cracks allow water to go up
36
Soil characteristics
Texture, porosity, permeability
37
Soil texture
Fine textured: Clay
Coarse textured: Sand
Loamy soil is best for farming
38
Soil Porosity
Number of pores per unit of soil
39
Soil Permeability
Determined by size of pores
40
What do soil characteristics determine?
Water holding capacity, aeration, susceptibility to erosion, CEC, workability
41
Types of Parent materials
Loess, Alluvium, Lacustrine,Till, Marine, Residual
42
Parent Material
Rise of geological materials that make up soil
43
Loess
Parent Material transported by wind
44
Alluvium
Parent material transported by running water
45
Lacustrine
Parent material transported by lake action
46
Till
Parent material transported by glacial ice
47
Marine
Parent material transported by oceans
48
Residual
Parent material that remains in place
49
Major Types of Soil Forming Processes
Gleizations, Calcification, Podzolization, Laterization
50
Gleization
Happens in tundas.
O-Horizon: High organic with reduced Fe. Anaroebic, few organisms, slow decomposition
A and E-Horizons: ICE - Surface flooding. Little leaching below these layers
51
Podzolization
Coniferous and Deciduous Forests
O-Horizon: Trees take up little Calcium
A- and E-Horizons: High rain leaches salts and Fe and Al. White color because Si left behind
B-Horizon: Deposited Fe, Al (clays). Yellow/brown. Can be hardpan and impede water and air
52
Calcification
Grasslands
O-Horizon: Litter Ph~7. Less leaching, less rain. A lot of invertebrates. Organic matter mixed annually. Grass roots return Ca to upper soil layers.
A and E-Horizons: High organic content and thick
B-Horizon: Indistinct
53
Lateralization
Tropical Rain Forest
O-Horizon: Barely present because of high temp and moisture and high decomp. A lot of weathering, mostly chemical via water
A- and E-Horizons: Intense leaching of salts. Clay (Fe and Al) left behind. Fe oxidized. (ferric)-red soil. Indistinct Horizons
54
Community
An association of interacting species inhabiting some defined area
55
Community ecology
The study of collective properties in the structure of multi species biological assemblages
56
Collective properties
- Species richness
- Species Diversity
- Dominancy
- Frequency
- Trophic structure
- Stability
57
Primary question in community ecology
Are there patterns in time or space in community properties even when species are very different?
58
Three Issues in community definitions
1) Co-occurence
2) Recurrence
3) Communities tend toward dynamic stability (slow)
59
Two Major Views of Communities
1) Individualistic School (H.A. Gleason)
| 2) Superorganism School (F.E. Clements)
60
Individualistic School
- Co-Occurence
- An abstraction of continuously varying vegetation
- Useful concept, but not a fundamental description of nature
- A collection of populations with similar environmental requirements
61
Superorganism School
- Tightly coevolved in evolutionary time
- Important in ecological time
- not just an invention of ecologists
- Species importance value distribution in clear pattern for superorganism. Usually in nature, distribution is random
62
Gaia-Hypothesis
Earth can respond as a "super-organism"
| The problem with this hypothesis is that it implies we can do anything to the earth
63
Hypothesis for increased species richness at lower latitudes
1) Rate of evolution increases in tropics than in temperate zones
2) Stability-time: Tropics have been stable for longer periods of time. Evolution occurs
- Turns out tropics aren't that stable
3) Rate of colonization, not rate of evolution, is limiting in temperate zone
4) Tropics are less seasonal than temperate zone
5) Spatial (architectural heterogeneity)
6) Greater species-specific predation in the tropics
7) Productivity: Tropics more productive, possibility of more trophic levels
- not really valid
64
Community Structure
Refers to the absolute and relative abundance of species in a community
65
Focus of community structure
what factors produce given patterns of species abundance. Not just how many species but which ones
66
Major community structuring forces
- interspecies competition
- predation
- disturbance
67
Strong interactions
Some species have a strong effect on community structure. ex. Starfish pisaster on california mussels
68
Keystone Species
Organisms whose feeding activity strongly control community structure
69
Disturbance
Any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystem, community or population structure and changes resources, substrate availability, or the physical environment
70
Abiotic sources of disturbance
Fire, hurricanes, ice storms, flash floods
71
Biotic sources of disturbances
Disease, predation
72
Human-caused
Timber harvesting, road/bridge construction
73
Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH)
Species should be highest at medium disturbance.
74
Australian Coral Reef demonstrating IDH
Have damaged and undamaged coral. Very similar to hypothetical curves
75
Species Diversity
Species Richness and evenness
76
Climax Community
Vegetation formation resulting from many years of development
77
Biomass based on climax community
- Temperate deciduous forest
- Coniferous forest
- Tropical rain forest
78
Succession (climax community)
Non-seasonal, directional, and continuous pattern of colonization and extinction on a site by populations of a species
79
3 traditional views of successional process
- Facilitation
- Tolerance
- Inhibition
80
Facilitation
- monoclimax
- one climax community for every climatic region that all stands of vegetation inevitably move towards
- Successional mechanism is facilitation
- ex glacial moraines on Glacier Bay, AK
81
Facilitation as a mechanism
Each species in the sequence modifies the environment to make it more suitable for the next species
82
Tolerance
- Similar to facilitation- later species outcompete earlier ones
- different from facilitation-early species don't make environment more favorable to later ones
- Sequence of species a result of colonizing ability, reproductive rates, growth rates, and competitive abilities
- eg. sand dunes
83
Characteristics of later species in Tolerance scenario
Fewer, less propagules, slower growth rates, but higher competitive abilities
84
Inhibition
-Opposite of facilitation
-each species inhibits colonization by subsequent species
-External force required for succession to proceed
competition not a driving force in succession
-eg. old field succession and rocky intertidal
85
Algae of Rocky intertidal
- Ulva sp. is an early successional species
- Red algae started replacing it in milder storm years
- studies show that intermediate sized rocks that take intermediate force to turn over has highest algal density
86
Old field succession
Old farmland will provide succession for plant community
87
Temperate deciduous Forests
- Cold winters
- local variations: wet > dry
- abundant understory
88
Coniferous forests
- Boreal forest- northern tier of forest areas, aka taiga
- spruce and fir but also some aspen and birch
- Cold with moderate amounts of precipitation
- abundant understory
89
Temperate Rain Forest
- western edge of north and south america
- a lot of rainfall
- considerable amounts of seasonal variation
- mixture of conifers and deciduous trees
- Canopy layer, understory layer, ground layer
90
Tundra
- alpine area north of boreal forest
- low precip. permafrost
- relatively low biological diversity
- simple vegetation structure- low growth forms
91
Grasslands
- middle latitudes in interior of continents
- adequate precip. to support grasses
- occasional droughts
- Tall grass and shortgrass prairies
92
Savanna
- Grasslands with scattered trees
- less rainfall and soils not as rich as in grasslands
- Fire-very important
- High biological diversity
93
Shrubland (chaparral)
- Short, densely branching shrubs
- Winters: Mild and rainy
- Fire and drought: very important
94
Deserts
- 20% of earth's surface
- Hot and cold deserts
- Conflicting definitions: Most based on floristic composition and distribution. Some use animal composition or both and other criteria
95
Hot deserts
- Chihuahuan, Sonoran, Mojave, Sahara
- Drought conditions year round. 15 cm precip. per year
- Temp > 30 degrees Celsius commonly
- Not many plants
- Burrowing animals
96
Cold deserts
- Great basin, Gobi, Atacama, Namib
- Precip. mainly snow or fog
- Large temp. changes
- Mosses, a few grasses
- Burrowing animals
97
Tropical Rain forest
- <6% of Earth's surface
- Temp. rarely > 34 degrees celsius or < 20 degrees celsius
- Precip. 125-660 cm per year
- >50% of known plant and animal species
- ~25% of all known medicines
- A biome of tall, straight trees
