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BIO120 > Final Exam Readings > Flashcards

Final Exam Readings Flashcards

1
Q

what is the most impact variable in the environment

A

temperature

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2
Q

what is the intertropical convergence zone

A

a region near the equator where trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres meet
- rising warm air

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3
Q

what is abiotic and biotic factors

A

abiotic = non-living
biotic = living

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4
Q

what are conditions

A

states that cannot be depleted they are not resources but they are factors such as temperature, salinity

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5
Q

what are the big two

A

water availability and temperature

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6
Q

what is the environmental gradient

A

changes in habitat factor
illustrated by moisture gradient moving from lakes inward to land
- gradual change in environmental conditions or factors over a large scale of area

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7
Q

what is transect sampling

A

sampling along a gradient - soil moisture to see how species vary along environmental factors

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8
Q

what does it mean by “range of tolerance”

A

each species is limited to a portion of a gradient based on tolerance for certain factors - this forms parts of their ecological niche
- bell curve that peaks representing the optimal conditions in the centre

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9
Q

what are death zones

A

beyond the tolerance limits or peaks
a species cannot survive In these conditions

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10
Q

what are enzymes

A

essential for biological reactions
- very sensitive to temperature - can denature proteins at high temperatures

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11
Q

what is osmosis

A

osmotic balance and takes place in almost all chemical reactions
Too much or too little water can = dehydration, dilute, or denaturing of protein

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12
Q

what does it mean to be environmentally at equilibrium

A

organisms tend to reach their desired temperatures and moisture of their surrounding
Organisms are vulnerable all the time - cannot control the environment

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13
Q

homeostasis

A

Organisms must maintain a stable internal environment - importantly with thermoregulation and osmoregulation (temperature and salinity)

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14
Q

what does having a high SA/V ratio mean

A

small organisms, more susceptible to environmental changes
- based on high or low = how much thermoregulation or osmoregulation
paramecium = high SA/V ratio

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15
Q
A
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16
Q

Ectotherms

A

organisms that rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperatures
their body temp fluctuates with the environment
- they don’t need to eat as much to maintain internal heat

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17
Q

endotherms

A

organisms that generate their own body heat through the metabolic process, they maintain an OK range of stable body temps
- birds, mammals
- wider range of comfortable temps

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18
Q

poikilotherms

A

organisms whose body temperature varies with the temperature of the environment
- most poikilotherms are ectothermic but this term refers to specifically the body temp in their body

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19
Q

homeotherms

A

organisms that maintain a small window of constant body temperatures regardless of environmental temperature changes

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20
Q

conduction

A

Direct heat transfer between two bodies in contact

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21
Q

convection

A

Heat transfer from moving fluids (air, water)

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22
Q

evaporation

A

on water
effective cooling method when it evaporates from a moist surface such as skin to water vapour

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23
Q

what is radiative heat transfer

A

all bodies emit thermal raditation
- transferring heat without constant
- heat can either radiate outwards or inwards from the surroundings

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24
Q

Bergmann’s rule

A

Larger body sizes are more common in colder habitats as they retain heat better due to a SA/V ratio
B - Body sizes

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25
Q

Allens Rule

A

Animals in warmer climates tend to have longer appendages (ears, tails, legs)
This is to increase heat loss, maximizing SA/V ratio
A - appendages

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26
Q

how does insulation help maintain heat

A

Using body fat, fur, and feathers for heat insulation - traps air - creates a temperature gradient that reduces heat loss
Feathers and fur can be adjusted in thickness with seasonal shedding - the warmer seasons = more shedding

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27
Q

what is countercurrent circulation

A

To retain heat - animals with extremities like whale flippers use this circulation method
Arterial and venous blood vessels are close together
This allows warm blood to transfer heat to the cooler returning blood
veins bring cold blood back to the core
arteries brings warm blood to appendages

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28
Q

what are some desert adaptations

A

using ADH, kidneys minimize water loss
- nocturnal habits - burrow under dirt to avoid extreme daytime heat
- water storage in plants - shallow roots
- micropyle in perennial plants - small leaves to reduce heat load instead of big ones - also causes turbulent airflow which keeps them cool

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29
Q

why do plants have large SA (most of them)

A

to increase photosynthesis, more stomata, more gas exchange
- but a lot of sunlight = risk = tradeoff

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30
Q

laminary flow

A

smooth lead surfaces create smooth flow off of the leave or object

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31
Q

what is an xerophytic adaptation

A

adaptations in dry areas - deserts
- leaves dropping, to conserve water, the photosynthetic parts become the bark, stems
- leaves = modified thrones to help water storage and defense from predators

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32
Q

what are age-structured models for population growth

A

mathematical models that divide the population into different age classes to better understand how age species birth and death rates influence overall population dynamics

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33
Q

why do age-structured models tend to focus on females

A

tracking females for simplicity
- they put a lot of cost and resources and invest a lot of time into children
- males are treated as abundant cheap resources - this does not affect the overall reproduction potential

34
Q

what are survivorship schedules

A

represented by lx
it is the probability of an individual surviving to age x
- ranging from 0 to 1
newborns have a survivorship of 1 and it decreases over
- a survivorship curve only declines as time goes on - only when the offspring are born at first then there is high mortality, then stabilizes

35
Q

what is a fecundity schedule

A

Bx = average number of daughters produced by a female at age x
Bx is usually zero until reproductive maturity

36
Q

what is the net reproductive rate

A

R0
it means the lifetime reproductive output of the average female
- if R0 = 1 then the population remains stable
- if R0 is above 1 then the population grows
if R0 is below 1 then the population declines

37
Q

what is the Leslie matrix

A

a matrix approach by using Bx and survivorship values to project future population age structure
- useful for stimulating stable age distribution or population growth under constant conditions

38
Q

what are key trade-offs in evolutionary ecology

A
  1. Size-number tradeoff
    The balance between offspring size and quantity based on resource allocation - larger offspring have a survival advantage but require more resource
  2. Early Vs Late Reproduction
    Early reproduction is often favoured for faster population growth
    But may trade off with individual survival or future reproduction
    Species reproducing early tend to have shorter lifespans - delayed reproduction may be longer-lived
  3. Cost of Reproduction
    Energy spent on offspring can reduce parental survival and future reproductive success
39
Q

what is the reproductive value

A

Vx it is the expected future offspring of an individual at age x
- Calculated by combining age specific fecundity and survivorship
- High reproductive value individuals contribute more to the future generations - protecting these individuals is key for conservation

40
Q

what is semelparity

A

one-time reproduction followed by death = annual plants

41
Q

what is synchronized flowering

A

Many long-lived perennials synchronize blooming to maximize reproductive success
Ex:
Asian Bamboo - they may flower and seed in cycles spanning decades

42
Q

what is predator satiation

A

When plants produce massive seed crops - they can overwhelm seed predators - ensuring that enough seeds survive to germinate
Masting in Trees
Nut-bearing trees like oaks exhibit periodic heavy seed production - reducing seed predation through predator satiation

43
Q

what are R selected species

A

Adapted for rapid growth in less stable environments with high fecundity, short life spans, low survival rates
Weedy species with numerous small-seeds

44
Q

K related species

A

Adapted for competitive environments with slower growth, less offspring, high survival
Typical traits include large seeds and longer development times
Some ecologists argue this model is overly simplistic and propose alternatives

45
Q

what is the C-S-R model

A

by J.P Grime
C = competitors
S = stress tolerators
R = ruderals
- adapted to disturbed environments - growing quickly to exploit available resources

46
Q

what is the deterministic model

A

uses fixed birth and death rates - giving a single and predictable outcome
- lack of realisms and they don’t account for natural variability

47
Q

what is the stochastic model

A

introduce random variation in birth, death and other parameters
- reflecting the unpredictability of natural populations
- Stochastic models are more effective for conservation, allowing simulations of extinction risk by generating distributions of outcomes

48
Q

what is an ecological community

A

All of the organisms or the biotic entities in some spatially defined locality
If we were to be adding all the abiotic parts of the area then = ecosystem

49
Q

what is a subset

A

When biologists make a community study it is mostly just a subset - which can be taxonomically defined or functionally defined (birds in Arizona or soil decomposers in Arizona)

50
Q

what is species richness

A

the number of species present
- the amount of distribution of abundance and rarity determines the species diversity of the species assemblage
- A community with 10 equally abundant birds = more diverse
A community with 1 common bird and 9 rare = less diverse

51
Q

what is the logistic model

A

A logistic equation effectively models an environment in which resources for population growth are supplies at a certain rate - and organisms used them up
The logistic equation modifies exponential growth by adding a braking term that slows down growth as more individuals of the species use up resources

52
Q

what does the first braking term in the logistic model mean

A

Braking term = intraspecific competition = from the first species

53
Q

what does the second braking term in the logistic model mean

A

Second braking term = interspecific competition from the second species

54
Q

what is the alpha constant used for in the logistic model

A

We need to add this coefficient because there is no reason to expect that the 2 species use resources in the exact same way
**it is the competitive effect on species 1 exerted by species 2 = &12
**competitive effect on species 2 exerted by species 1 = &21
If & = LARGE then = interspecific competition is important
If & = small then there is not much effect from interspecific compeition

55
Q

what are the 4 possible outcomes between 2 species interactions

A
  1. species 1 always outcompetes species 2 - if K1 is bigger than K2
  2. species 2 always outcompete species 1 - if K2 is bigger than K2
  3. species 1 and 2 will stably coexist - both of them remaining below their K values at a steady state
  4. the competition is unstable, but the winner depends on the initial number of the population - whichever species has a larger initial population will outcompete the other
56
Q

T/F Intraspecific competition needs to be stronger than interspecific

A

true

57
Q

What G.F Gause prove with competition in beetles

A

showed that competitive exclusion was a rule
2 species that compete for the same resources cannot coexist for long
One species will be slightly better at growing with shared resources and the most efficient species will be able to increase its population at the expense of the less efficient competitor

he showed this by examining beetles and seeing that abiotic conditions are important to beetles bc one always outcompete the other

58
Q

how was the niche concept formulated

A

by Grinell
It is unlikely that 2 species would occupy the same niche
One of them must be better than the other
Although - there are plenty of situations in nature where organisms do seem to be filling the same functional niche and still manage to coexsit

59
Q

what was Robert MacArthur’s research

A

how many species of warbler were able to coexist
The habitat of the northern coniferous forest = not much diversity of trees or food
The birds would not seem to have much-specialized niche
He looked for differences in how these species used their habitats
**the most common warbler species were usually feeding in different zones of the coniferous trees - gave a partial explanation of what species were doing differently - they were engaging in finer-scale niche partitioning
1. the data was quantitative
2. measures of niche overlap should = competition coefficient in LV model

60
Q

niche partitioning

A

refers to the process by which competing species or individuals within a species divide or share resources in an ecosystem to reduce direct competition. This occurs when species with overlapping ecological niches evolve to exploit different aspects of the environment, such as food sources, habitat preferences, or time of activity

61
Q

what is the role of predation in competitive exclusion

A

Predators reduce pop sizes, keeping species below their carrying capacity
Prevents competitive exclusion by allowing inferior competitors to coexist with superior ones

62
Q

Robert Paine’s Starfish Experiment

A

removal of starfish in rocky zones caused the prey of single mussels to become dominate, and not let others grow, taking up space
- this limits species diversity
- this shows that predators keep control over diversity and lower trophic levels

63
Q

what is a metapopulation

A

a collection of subpopulations across habitat patches
Patches vary in quality and are separated by unsuitable matrix habitats
Dispersal connects subpopulations = able to recolonize the empty patches
Colonization vs extinction rates determine patch occupancy
Equilibrium proportion: p = 1 - e/c
E = extinction rate
C = colonization rate

64
Q

source patches

A

high quality patch with species that are suitable to disperse to other patches and migrate

65
Q

sink patches

A

low quality patches that rely on immigration to sustain their population - migrates from the source patches

66
Q

explain the experiment behind the origin of the symbiosis study

A

Paul Buchner
- established that bacteria is essential for the survival of many insects
Helps aphids overcome nutrient deficiencies in plant sap (lacks AA)
Giant tube worms → doesn’t have a gut but has a sack of bacteria
The bacteria = chemosynthesis that process H2S into food
It is different from photosynthesis because worms = live in darkness

67
Q

explain the diversity of microbes

A

Gut bacteria = bears, rhinos, pandas, lemurs, hippos
Herbivores have the most diverse gut microbes = plant-based diet
Carnivores have the least diversity
Omnivores = middle

68
Q

explain the hare and lynx predator and prey cycle

A

coyotes are the hare’s general predator
coyotes thrive in shallow snow and it’s becoming more common for hares who also favour shallow snow
this makes coyotes not a good predator
lynx are not affected by the depth of the snow
- when the pop of hares increase = more food for lynx - hares decrease, lynx increase
- when there is no more hares, lynx decrease and hares increase
climate change is affecting the snow patterns and will effect the population dynamics

69
Q

autotrophs

A

species that make food for themselves
- green plants that photosynthesize to create high energy carbon bonds
- at the bottom of the pyramid

70
Q

heterotrophs

A

organisms that consume primary producers
eat both plants and animals

71
Q

primary consumer

A

herbivores
eat primary PRODUCERS

72
Q

secondary consumers

A

eat primary consumers - herbivours

73
Q

omnivores

A

feed at multiple trophic levels

74
Q

decomposers

A

detritivores
fungi and bacteria that break down dead organic material

75
Q

what is Hutchinson’s contribution

A

the study of energy flow in ecosystems
Energy comes to the earth via solar radiation → the organisms use it before it goes back into space as heat
Matter is recycled - involves biogeochemical cycles - some elements spend long periods of time in inactive forms before being used again (phosphorus remains as ocean sediment)

76
Q

HSS Hypothesis

A

Most terrestrial ecosystems appear green = abundant plant material
Because herbivores are limited by predators (top-down control)
Plants are not entirely consumed
Criticisms argue that the theory oversimplifies ecosystem dynamics
Some plants may = inedible = alternative explanation for greenness

77
Q

indirect effects

A

predators eat herbivores which benefits the primary producer - plants
- u can test the effects of this by removing a top predator and seeing how abundance changes - overgrazing and vegetation loss

78
Q

T/F Removing predators and observing = cascading effects on lower levels

A

true

79
Q

how do plants defend themselves

A

structurally = thrones, tough leaves
chemically = toxic compounds released when a plant is damaged, alkaloids (caffeine, cocaine)

80
Q

what are some specialized adaptations that insects have to overcome for plants

A

plants = sessile = need defenses = toxic
insects will evolve especially to be tolerated to the toxins = milkweed + monarch butterflies
this = coevolutionary arms race with plants and insects that makes them so abundant and why the earth is so green

BIO120 (29 decks)

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