exam1

Question 1

wildlife = …

Answer 1

animals living in a wild state (non-domesticated).

By convention includes: birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians

(fishes, insect, other invertebs are also wildlife)

Question 2

evolution = …

Answer 2

Darwin: modification through descent

Modern: changes in gene frequencies within populations over time

Question 3

co-evolution

Answer 3

evolution of two interacting populations in response to their reciprocal effects on each other

(ex: herbivore vs. toxic plant)

Question 4

convergent evolution

Answer 4

unrelated spp evolving similar traits due to similar enviro conditions or niches

Question 5

evolution by natural selection

Answer 5

• indiv traits vary (differential genotype reproduction)
• fitness varies (diffrential survival/reprod from variation in heitable traits)
• traits can be inherited
• individuals are selected, populations evolve
  
  • selects indiv w/ high fitness (lifetime reprod success)
• mutation is random, selection is deterministic
  
  • selection can push towards genetic uniformity
    
    • stabilizing / directional / disruptive

Question 6

fitness landscape

Answer 6

• pattern of fitness variability in a population
• is dynamic: when the environment changes, new genotype may be selected (e.g. Darwin’s finches)

Question 7

genetic drift

Answer 7

• chance change in gene frequencies (from more offspring)
  
  • gene freqs of next generation are function of luck instead of fitness
• strength of drift increases as population size decreases
  
  • chance events more likely w/ small sample size
• don’t assume traits are adaptations, might just be drift…
  
  • sampling error due to small # of breeders
  • founder effect
  • bottleneck effect

Question 8

adaptation

Answer 8

a character or suite of characters that helps an individual cope w/ its environment (improves fitness)

Question 9

challenges of hot (4) and cold (2)

Answer 9

• hot
  
  • denatures proteins
  • accelerates chemical rxns
  • affects properties of lipids
  • typical upper limit for most animals: 45°C
• cold
  
  • disrupts life processes (slows chem rxns)
  • ice crystals damage cell structures

Question 10

poikilotherms

Answer 10

• internal body temp fluctuates w/ that of the ambient environment
• reptiles, amphibians, fish; most are ectotherms (req’s ext heat)
• advantages:
  
  • low energy expenditure
    
    • can live w/o food for a long time
    • can be very small as heat loss not an issue
• costs:
  
  • inability to exploit cold environments
  • impaired performance while warming up
  • reduced stamina; energy stores recover slowly

Question 11

homeotherms

Answer 11

• maintain constant internal body temp (regardless of env)
• primarily endothermic birds & mammals (heat produced internally from metabolism)
• note: not all homeotherms are endotherms
  
  • some ectotherms maintain constant body temp by behaviorial regulation
• non bird/mammal endotherms
  
  • some fish, like Tuna
  • Leatherback turtle

Question 12

Leatherback turtle

Answer 12

• endothermic
• heat conserved by large body size
• endothermy allows swift movement, even in cold water
• in warm water: reduces activity to dissipate heat

Question 13

graphic: endo/ecto/homeo/poikilo

Answer 13

Question 14

homeothermy adv/costs

Answer 14

• advantages
  
  • can live/function optimally in wide variety of environments
  • greater stamina; energy stores recover rapidly
  • can respond rapidly to environmental stimulii
• costs
  
  • enzymes are specialized to narrow range of body temp
  • lots of energy req’d to maintain T_b outside
• *thermo-neutral zone (TNZ)**
  * must eat lots of food
  * smaller orgs have higher surface:volume, so rapidly lose heat to ambient env

Question 15

hypothermic homeothermy adaptations (structural) (4)

Answer 15

1. to be a ball is best (ex: Pika)
   
   1. Allen’s rule: homeotherms in cold climates have small extremeties
   2. Bergmann’s rule: “ “ “ “ … tend to be larger
2. fur: guard hairs + underfur trap air
3. feather
   
   1. fluffing traps air
   2. oil matting makes thermal window -> hypothermia
4. blubber

Question 16

hypothermic homeothermy adaptations (physiological)

Answer 16

• increased heat production
  
  • activity (elevated metabolism)
  • shivering
• vasoconstriction
  
  • narrowing of superficial blood vessels diverts flow of heated blood to body core
• countercurrent heat exchange
  
  • weak temp gradient at interface w/ ambient environment reduces heat loss

Question 17

hypothermic homeothermy adaptations (behavioral)

Answer 17

• migration
• burrowing
• change posture (be a ball)
• form tightly packed groups (penguins, quail, bison)
• hibernation & torpor
  
  • hibernation is a type of torpor, but not triggered by environment
  • common in ground squirrels, bats, hummingbirds (at night)
  • can consume 1% of resources while inactive, but arousal is costly

Question 18

hyperthermic homeothermy adaptations

Answer 18

• structural
  
  • small size
  • thermal windows
    
    • birds: gular pouch, feet, legs, face
    • mammals: face, feet, arm pits, core
• physiological
  
  • mammals: sweating, panting
  • birds: no sweat glands, so evap via lungs, air sacs, gular pouch (ex of gular pouch puff: male frigate bird)
  • vasodilation
  • countercurrent heat exchange
  • heat storage in large mammals, birds
    
    • body vol aborbs heat in day, releases at night (camels)
• behavioral
  
  • reduced activity
  • increased water intake
  • seek cooler activity times / space
    
    • estivation (summer hibernation)
    • become crepuscular or nocturnal
    • seek shade / veg / water
    • go underground (fossorial)
  • ex: Lacertid lizard: sunny microsites for basking

Question 19

Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla)

Answer 19

• drivers of pop dynamics (reprod, dispersal, mortality)
  
  • veg, community, connectivity, density
• very diverse songs, “shrad”
• likes to breed in ankle->shoulder-height shrubs
• Threats:
• shrubland -> grazing (goat/cow) / agriculture
• urbanization
• wildfire suppression
  
  • shrubs -> forests
  • invasives fill in shrub canopy
• brown-headed cowbird
  
  • migratory bison -> stationary cattle
• successful recovery at Ft. Hood by cowbird extermination
• Lauren’s study compared recovered pops w/ surrouding areas
  
  • mist netting
  • banding / measurements
  • spot mapping to delineate banded bird territories
  • band nestlings that live > 6 days
• reasons for nest failure
  
  • weather
  • predators
  • parasitism
• results: most pops in decline

Question 20

living requires energy

Answer 20

• multicellular > single celled
• large animals > small animals
• homeotherms > poikilotherms

Question 21

food challenges for heterotrophs

Answer 21

• energy packaged in other orgs is limited (10% rule)
• other orgs don’t want to be eaten
• so, hets are under pressure to be efficient in finding & processing of food

Question 22

foraging: finding, consuming, & processing of food

(4 types)

Answer 22

1. herbivores: consumes plants, usually w/o killing
   
   • grazers: grasses & herbaceous veg
   • browsers: woody veg
2. predators
   
   • consume all or part of others orgs, killing them in the process
3. parasites: consume parts of hosts w/o killing them
   
   • neg effect on host
   • rare in wildlife spp
     
     • ex: common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus
4. scavengers
   
   • consume dead organic material
     
     • no direct effect on pops producing the resource
     • important recyclers of nutrients
     • ex: Black vultures

Question 23

predator vs. herbivore

Answer 23

• predation: high quality food, but hard to come by
• herbivory: plentiful but low quality, hard to digest food
• smallest homeotherms can’t survive on plants
  
  • ex: Pygmy shrew

Question 24

optimal diet theory

Answer 24

trade-off: benefits & costs paid in currency of fitness

E_net = E_in - E_out

E_rate = E_net / T_foraging

try to maximize E_rate!

Question 25

morphological forager adaptations for processing food

Answer 25

• limb mods to manipulate food prey (tearing vs. grasping)
• jaws/teeth adapted to diet (crushing vs. tearing vs. browsing)
  
  • snakes: quadrate bone
• birds have gizzards (muscular grinding)
  
  • • behavioral adaptation of eating grit/rocks
• herbivores:
  
  • long digestive tracts w/ fermentation chambers
  • some have rumen (holds food for later regurg/re-chew,
    & also ferments)
  • hind-gut fermenters have microbes in cecum & large intestine
    
    • often req’s coprophagy

Question 26

specialists / generalists

Answer 26

• at species level:
  
  • generalist: wide range of resources
  • specialist: narrow range of resources
• at population level:
  
  • individual generalist: indiv. whose diet/habitat breadth matches that of population
  • individual specialist: indiv. whose diet/habitat breadth is restricted relative to that of pop.
• under stable conditions, evolution favors specialists
  
  • but rapid change favors generalists
• climate change + hab loss/frag + invasives = fast rate of change
• > worldwide decline in specialists
• spp can be both spec & gen, maximizing just one aspect of hab
  
  • ex: burrowing owl

Question 27

Bobcat (Lynx rufus)

Answer 27

• mesocarnivore (6-13kg, 13-30lbs)
• broad NA distribution
• broad diet (generalist)
  
  • leporids, small mammals, birds, bats, deer
• pop stable or increasing
  
  • better mgmt of furbearer harvest
  • able to cope w/ human land use

Question 28

Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Answer 28

• only wild cat adapted to northern woodland / boreal forest
• dense, silvery brown fur
  
  • so efficient at trapping heat that snow around them
    doesn’t melt
• HUGE feet (same size at Mtn Lion w/ 1/5th body size)
  
  • paws are spread out & full of super dense, stiff fur
  • = low footload (31g/280cm² vs coyote: 136/77cm²)
• more common across snowy boreal forests of NA
  
  • not found w/o deep winter snow
  • cannot survive w/o ss hares (excellent hind-gut fermenter: can eat pine needles)
• threatened status in WA & US
  
  • < 50 in wA
• modern threats:
  
  • timber over-harvest
  • hab frag
  • catastrophic fires
  • climate change
  • trapping in source pops
  • competition w/ generalist predators

Question 29

Lauren’s lynx study

Answer 29

• study Q’s:
  
  1. what factors influence hare survival?
  2. do predation sites differ from surrounding landscape?
  3. what are attributes of successful lynx foraging habitat?
• trapped & tagged ss hares, monitored survival
  
  • then bunny csi + vegetation plots
• predator ident by leftovers, predatory sign, salival dna, hairs

Question 30

wildlife basic needs

Answer 30

• heterotrophs need:
  
  • food
    
    • for growth, maintenance
  • water
    
    • sometimes exclusively from food
  • rest (not nec. sleep)
    
    • often involves finding shelter / cover
• must find mates & reprod & survive long enough to do so
• collectively, needs dictate habitat use

Question 31

habitat

Answer 31

• any area offering the resources and conditions that promote occupancy by a species
  
  • resources: food, cover, shelter, etc
  • conditions: climate, terrain
  • species-specific (not always wilderness)
• not “are they ever in that location” but “does that area support them?”

Question 32

habitat use

Answer 32

• the way an animal uses the collection of conditions and resources in a habitat
  
  • conditions: spatially & temporally variable
• hab. use is a measure of how much time an animal allocates to particular locations across a landscape
• can measure for ind’s, pops, spp.
• can quantify for all behaviors combines or specific behaviors

Question 33

habitat use is hierarchical…

Answer 33

• 1st order: geographic range
  
  • global spatial scale (macroscale) of species
• 2nd order:
  
  • pattern of use at landscape spatial scale that
    determines home range of individual or social group
• 3rd order:
  
  • pattern of use at of resources & conditions w/in an individual or social group’s home range
  • most commonly studied
  • can be average to describe population, species patterns
• 4th order:
  
  • fine-scale pattern of use of R&C at particular locations w/in home range
  • ex: certain plants, but not others, by wildebeest

Question 34

habitat != veg, but…

Answer 34

• hab use is strongly influences by veg / ground characteristics
• structure:
  
  • shelter from predators / enemies
  • thermoregulation
  • niche space
• food
• who comes to eat there

Question 35

hab use methodology

Answer 35

• direct observation
• tracking (or other animals signs like calls, feces)
• vhf telemetry
• satellite telemetry
• animal-borne video cams
  
  • must weigh < 3-5% of animal body weight

Question 36

Cougar Hunting Behavior in a Managed Landscape, Clint Robins

Puma concolor

Answer 36

• mtn lion / puma / cougar (~80 common names, world record)
• crepuscular (active at dawn/dusk)
• solitary, stalking predator w/ large territories
• largest range (NA -> SA) of any terrestrial mammal
• no natural predators
• extirpated from east US during euro-colonization
• West Cascafes Cougar Project (2012)
  
  • 6-8yr project to improve understanding of cougar pop characteristics, residential area use, interactions w/ ppl
• Clint’s research: cougar hunting behavior & interspecific interactions at kill sites along urban-to-wildland gradient

Question 37

types of animal movement

Answer 37

• normal:
  
  • movements w/in home range
  • exploratory trips beyond home range boundary
• dispersal:
  
  • permanent movement of org from home population
  • natal: from birth place to site where it reproduces
    
    • happens once
  • breeding: mvmt of adults b/t breeding area
    
    • can occur multiple times
• migration
  
  • repeated movements b/t 2+ home ranges

Question 38

dispersal

Answer 38

• why?
  
  • inbreeding avoidance
  • competition for mates
  • competition for resources
• mammals: males more likely to disperse
  
  • female reprod success limited by nutritional constraints
  • males are limited by females
• birds: females more likely to disperse
  
  • males establish a defend breeding territories
  • may benefit more from familiarity w/ local surroundings
    *

Question 39

migration

Answer 39

• why?
  
  • avoid harmful conditions (heat, cold)
    
    • altitudinal (mule deer)
    • latitudinal (arctic tern, 22,000mi each way
      between Arctic & Antarctic)
  • follow resource (food, water)
    
    • serengetti wildebeest follow the rain
      b/t Kenya and Tanzania
  • component of lifeycle req. diff. environments
    
    • forage in one, breed in another
    • ex: Green turtle
• amazing migrations
  
  • Sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus)
  • Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
  • Alpine swifts (Tachymarptis melba)
    
    • airborne for 6 months, including mating
    • eats atmospheric plankton
• Conservation implications
  
  • must consider all activity spaces of mig route, including stopovers (rest & refuel)

Question 40

wildlife populations

Answer 40

• groups of animals, all of same species, that live together in a particular area & can interbeed
• however, pops don’t lie in isolation at larger scale
  
  • dispersal creates connections b/t pops
    
    • -> metapopulation: a pop of pops

Question 41

metapopulation

Answer 41

• a pop of pops
• geographically separated
• consist of same spp
• limited interaction at some level, generally through dispersal
  
  • at least some genetic exchange
• conservation note: wildlife spp cannot repopulate areas (aka historic ranges) w/o sources

Question 42

study of wildlife pops involves… (3)

Answer 42

1. description of pop characteristics
2. exploration of determinants of pop size
3. mathematical modeling to predict growth

Question 43

pop delineaters

Answer 43

• geographic barriers
• habitat boundaries
• animal interactions
  
  • intraspecific: borders set by adjacent pops of same spp w/ whcih interbreeding is rare
  • interspecific: competition, parasitism, predation
  • ex: Golden mantled ground squirrel will mess you up__​

Question 44

pop characteristics

Answer 44

• frequency of different genotypes (genetic structure)
• age structure
  
  • proportion of ind’s in diff. age classes
  • influences pop growth trajectory
• dispersion: density & spacing of ind’s in a pop

Question 45

dispersion

Answer 45

• describes the spacing of individuals in a population with respect to one another
• patterns
  
  • clumped / clustered: individuals in discrete groups
    
    • social predisposition (bushtits), for thermoreg, foraging, protection
    • progeny stick to parents
    • clumped distrib of resources (taz clump when feeding)
    • (note: Taz has srongest bite force per body mass)
  • uniform / evenly spaced: ind’s maintain min. distance from other ind’s; usually only relatively even
    
    • arises from interactions b/t ind’s
    • territoriality: sometimes reduced if neighbors are familiar (“dear enemy” effect), ex: Tawny dragon
  • random: in’d spaced independently of one another
    
    • overlapping home ranges (no territoriality)
    • randomly distrib. resources

Question 46

reproduction

Answer 46

• process by which orgs produce individuals of the same kind
  
  • sexual: new indivs produced by combination of genetic material from two parents
    
    • two-fold cost: txfrs only half of genome to next gen
    • but also increases diversity -> adaptability in populations
  • asexual: near perfect copy of parent

Question 47

reproductive strategies

Answer 47

• K-selected (ex: mtn gorillas)
  
  • long lived
  • few offspring
  • much parental care
  • low mortality rate
• r-selected (ex: Pacific treefrog, 400-750 eggs)
  
  • short lived
  • many offspring
  • little parental care
  • high mortality rate
• mate choice effects reprod success

Question 48

sexual selection

Answer 48

• special case of natural selection
• on average (not all…)
  
  • female choice: inter-sexual selection
  • male-male competition: intra-sexual selection
• why?
  
  • sperm is cheap, eggs are expensive
  • greater variance in reprod. fitness in males
    
    • higher female investment limits output
• can lead to sexual dimorphism (wood duck)
• can lead to sexual traits that are otherwise costly
  
  • energetically expensive
  • may be dangerous to health & survival (maladaptive)
  • male indian peafowl (peacock)

Question 49

mating systems (4)

Answer 49

• monogamy: one male, one female
  
  • lifetime or serial
  • +: shared aprental care, resource defense
  • -: less diverse offspring (solved by extra-pair copulations
• polygyny: one male, many females (african lion)
  
  • +: fems get a high-quality male, co-op child rearing, better home resources
  • -: low operational sex ratio (few males get to mate), reduced effective pop size, more maladaptive traits in males
  • lek mating (sage grouse): males display competitively
• polyandry: many males, one female
  (Moustached tamarin, Garter snake)
  
  • sequential or simultaneous
  • same +/- as polygyny w/ sex roles can be reversed
• promiscuity: many males, many females (chimps)
  
  • low skew in mating success among indivs
  • competition often in form of sperm competition
  • • & - : narrower range of reprod success

Question 50

population growth

Answer 50

• populations increase in proportion to their size
• exponential
  
  • continuous (r)
  • discrete (λ)
• logistic (K)

Question 51

exponential population growth = growing unchecked

Answer 51

• continuous exponential growth
  
  • indivs added w/o interruption
  • dN/dt = rN
  • ​proportional to r
    
    • r (i.e. b - d) > 0 : increase
    • r = 0 : no change
    • r < 0 : decrease
  • proportional to N
    
    • larger pop = faster rate of change
• discrete exponential growth (aka geometric)
  
  • indivs added in pulses
  • N_t+1 = λ(N_t)
  • recursive, output -> input
  • solution after t intervals
    
    • N_t = λ^t(N₀)
• a pop is…
  
  • growing when λ > 1 or r > 0
  • constant when λ = 1 or r = 0
  • declining when 0 < λ < 1 or r < 0

Question 52

density dependence = decreasing growth w/ increasing pop size

Answer 52

• a growing population causes
  
  • crowding
  • reduced access to food
  • aggravated social strife
  • promotes spread of disease
  • attracts attention of predators
• so pop growth slow and eventually stops
• modeled with logistic growth model
  
  • carrying capacity (K) = size at which no more indivs can be supported over long time periods

Question 53

logistic growth model

Answer 53

• dN / dt = rN ( 1- N/K )
• results in S-shaped curve (sigmoid growth)
• inflection point at K/2 separates accelerating & decelerating phases of growth
• 2 key assumptions:
  
  • no age or size structure
  • constant B & D over time

Question 54

fecundity = …

Answer 54

female offspring per female

Question 55

stable age distribution

Answer 55

equilibrium in which proportion of each age class does not change, so population grows with constant survival & fecundity

Question 56

life table

Answer 56

age-specific schedules of survival & fecundity

Question 57

Marine Bird Ecology & Conservation on the Farallon Islands

Answer 57

• basic seabird biological attributes
  
  • speialized feeding adaptations
  • temp regulation (nesting; at sea)
    
    • fat / down feathers / contour feathers
  • lower repod. potential
  • nesting areas isolated, safe from land predation
  • permanent pair bonds
    
    • increased mating efficiency
    • bonded by nest site, split up after breeding
  • migratory
  • philopatric - tendency of birds to return to birth place or previous nesting site
• major taxonomic groups
  
  • Procellariiformes: petrels (1’ wingspan), storm petrels, shearwaters, Wandering albatrosses (10’ wingspan)
  • Pelecaniformes: pelicans, cormorants (double-crested here)
  • Charadiformes: Alcidae (Common Murre / underwater rocket bird); gulls (scavengers); terns (fisheaters)
  • Anseriformes: marine ducks; geese; swans
  • Other: loons; grebes
• SE Farallon Island (west of SF)
  
  • protected in various ways, including National Wildlife Refuge System (thanks Teddy R!)
  • located above a “shelf break” = lots of food
  • former Northern Fur Seal rookery (now in AK)
  • formerly Coast Guard station
  • 19th century: european hares intro’d, denuded island, increasing erosion, causing nest burrows to collapse
    
    • exterminated in 1980s
  • Pt Reyes Bird Observatory -> Pt. Blue Conservation Science
  • Western Gull (since seals left)
  • Common Murre
    
    • egg harvests during gold rush dropped pop from 1million -> 10K, but has since recovered a bit
    • lays one egg per year, no nest
      
      • hue/spot pattern unique per bird
      • huge egg = huge investment
  • Cassin’s Auklet
    
    • small; nest @ night to avoid competition from larger birds (esp. gulls)
    • sharp toenails -> nest burrows
    • tends to nest under path/rail car line
  • Tufted puffin: cavity nester
  • Rhinocerous Auklet
  • Ashy & Leach’s storm petrel
  • Black oystercatcher
• Major threats to population
  
  • ocean currents, upwelling (el nino = Murre pop drop)
  • water temp / level (global cc)
  • chemical contamination (esp. hydrocarbons, reduces shell thickness -> cracks)
  • oil pollution: mats down -> thermal windows -> death
  • gill-netting
  • disturbance @ breeding areas & along migratory routes
• Conservation Measures:
  
  • protect breeding & staging areas
  • reduce chemical contaminants
  • reduce plastic particle pollution
  • reduce effects of gillnetting
  • protect prey fish populations
  • educate the public