Final (Modules 3 & 4) Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
any self-regulating process by which biological systems maintain stability
What is a self-regulating process?
A process where a change in a factor causes system activation
What is allostasis?
Maintaining stability through change
What is the framework of response to change in homeostasis?
input integration output
What is input?
sensors detect change in regulated parameters
What is integration?
CNS signals are interpreted often using the HPA axis
What is output?
neural and endocrine responses initiate processes to restore the parameter to its set point/range
What happens after output?
signal shutoff through negative feedback
What is input in allostasis?
sensors detect or anticipate change in energetic demand
What is integration in allostasis?
Same as in homeostasis
What is output in allostasis?
neural and endocrine responses initiate processes to maintain energy balance under new conditions
What is the time frame of homeostasis?
moment to moment
What is the time frame of allostasis?
rapid or long-term
What is the flexibility of homeostasis?
regulates to set-point/range
What is flexibility of allostasis?
Allows shifts to new set points as needed
Is homeostasis reactive?
yes
Is allostasis reactive and predictive?
yes
What is the cost of homeostasis?
routine energy costs
What is the cost of allostasis?
allostatic load/overload
What traits does homeostasis control?
T, pH, osmolarity, O2, CO2, Ca, Glucose, BP
What traits does allostasis control
HR, Metabolic rate, BP, fat storage, immune activity, appetite, emotional state
How does your HR change before you get sick?
increased HR to mobilize more energy
What is the normal range of pH?
7.35-7.45
Why is a irregular pH bad?
Protein denaturation
What is the normal T range
36.5-37.5
Why is an irregular T bad
membrane solidification for low, protein denaturation for high
What is the normal range of blood glucose?
70-100mg/dL
Why is an irregular glucose bad
hypo/hyperglycemia
What is the normal range for O2 saturation?
95-100%
What is the normal range for osmolarity?
285-925 mOsm/L
Why is an irregular osmolarity bad?
changes tonicity of cells
How is body temp regulated in endotherms?
body temp changes, hypothalamus integrates and activates response, physiological and behavioural changes restore temp
How would an endothermic respond to heat?
flattened hair, rest, sweat, blood vessel dilation, seek shade
how would and endothermic respond to cold
shiver, blood vessel contraction. tighten up, piloerection
What are examples of morphological, physiological, and behavioural traits that reduce the need for moment-moment theormoregulation
fur, lack of fur, more sweat glands, more fast twitch muscles, increased or decreased surface to volume ratio, herd, fatty tissue, coloration, brown fat, metabolic regulation, countercurrent flow, etc…
Why do swordfish have a brain and eyeball heater (cranial endothermy)?
allows for superior vision at lower depths and in colder waters
How do the swordfish heaters work?
modified skeletal muscle similar to brown adipose tissue
What are the kangaroo rat’s solution to osmoregulatory challenges?
nocturnal, no sweat, panting, derives H2O from nutrients and food, selects seeds with more H2O and carbs and less fat and protein, reduces H2O loss in filtration and reabsorption
What is the purpose of the loop of henle?
allows for the reuptake of h2o
What is ADH?
Anti diuretic hormone, argininie vasopressin, increases permeability of collecting duct to water
How does the kangaroo rat utilize the kidney?
Increases loop of henle length and ADH sensitivity to increase water reuptake
How does osmotic environment influence kidney function?
The less access to water, the more concentrated the urine
Why do steady levels of glucose in the blood need to be maintained?
For osmotic balance, brain energy, general energy, and because high glucose can cause tissue dmg
How are blood glucose levels maintained
By the antagonistic actions of insulin and glucagon
What does insulin do?
stimulates glucose transport into body cells and stimulates glycogen storage
What does glucagon do?
promotes glycogen breakdown
How can an animal maintain steady blood glucose when it isn’t eating?
glucagon, fat stores, hibernation
How does the arctic ground squirrel maintain blood glucose during hibernation?
Bulk up, become hypothermic and reduce metabolic rate
How might climate change impact arctic ground squirrels?
shift in their time frame, not enough bulk, may not even hivbernate
What is the bar headed goose?
Crazy ass goose that flies over the Himalayas in one day, no stop, at night when there’s no updraft to help them fly
How is a bar headed goose different in terms of their respiratory system?
air sac system allows for continuous O2, while crosscurrent flow in blood capillaries maximizes O2 gain
How does a bar headed goose’s blood change?
Increased O2 affinity in Haemoglobinq
How does a bar headed goose increase blood flow?
Increased capillary density for increased blood flow to different regions
How do bar headed geese make themselves more hypoxia tolerant?
By changing a tryptophan to an arginine in their cytochrome c oxidase
What is innate immunity?
Immunity we have from birth. rapid resposne
What is adaptive immunity?
Recognition of traits specific to paritcular pathogens using a vast array of receptors. slower response
What are barrier defences in innate immunity?
Skin, mucous membranes, secreation
What are internal defences in innate immunity?
phagocytic cells, natural killer cells, antimicrobial proteins, inflammatory response
What are humoral responses in adaptive immunity?
antibodies defending against infection in body fluids
What is cell-mediated response in adaptive immunity?
cytotoxic cells defend against infection in body cells
What is the first step of inflammation?
at injury, mast cells release histamines and macrophages release cytokines, which cause capillaries to dilate
What is the second step of inflammation?
capillaries widen and become more permeable allowing for antimicrobial peptides to enter the tissue, attracting neutrophil
What is is the third step of inflammation?
Neutrophils digest pathogens and cell debris at the site and the tissue heals
Why are our innate defences insufficient?
pathogenic evolution and unique pathogens without common shared characteristics
What is the main limitation of the innate immune defence?
inadaptibility
What is the virus that caused the 1918 pandemic?
H1N1
What are the two types of influenza virus?
A and B
In what species, does type A circulate in?
many animals, pigs, birds, humans
What genotypic changes does influenza A undergo?
antigenic drift and shift, causes epidemics and pandemics
What species does type B circulate in?
Humans
What genotypic changes does influenza B undergo?
Antigenic drift, causes epidemics
What is IAV spillover?
The direct transmission of H1N1 to humans or a secondary carrier which then transmits to humans
What is antigenic drift?
evolution of antigens that can result in a lack of immune system recognition. natural selection
What is antigenic shift?
genomic reassortment when two different variants infect a mixing vessel, resulting in a recombinant virus
What is unusual about influenza pandemic mortality rates?
very high in normally healthy groups
How is the mortality curve of the 1918 pandemic explained?
the elderly encountered H1N1 or H1N8 before, while middle aged encountered H3N8 and youth encountered H1N8
Where is the antigen binding site
at the end of the variable region of the heavy chain and the light chain
What are the regions of an antibody?
2 light chains and 2 heavy chains, variable region at end of each and a constant region
How are antibodies assembled?
configuration of the gremlin,, D-J recombination, V-DJ recombination, and assembly
What is immune memory?
THe memory of specific antigens, allowing for better future immune response
What is the epitope?
Specific amino acid areas that an antibody interacts with
What does monoclonal mean?
An antibody only interacts with one epitome
What does polyclonal mean?
An antibody interacts with multiple epitomes
What are the asexual modes of reproduction?
binary fission, budding, and fragmenation
What is parthenogenesis?
Reproduction from an egg without fertilization
What is accidental parthenogenesis?
Where an egg randomly develops
What is facultative parthenogenesis?
Production of female clone when males are unreliable
What is obligate parthenogenesis?
exclusive asexual reproduction
What does sexual reproduction require
the fusion of gametes from two parents
Can fertilization be internal or external?
both
What are the ways embryos develop internally
viviparous (live bearing) or ovoviviparous (encased egg within mother)
How do embryos develop externally
oviparous (egg bearing)
How does ovoviviparity work in tiger sharks?
50 eggs fertilized internally, retained in uterine horns, eggs hatch internally, gestation lasts 12 months, only 1 or 2 sharks survive
Why is the shark method beneficial?
allows for selection and survival of strongest offspring
What are bluehead wrasse?
tropical, schooling fish, mostly females and sneaker males, with one or two dominant males, where dominant males defend females and spawn up to 40 times in a single day
What is a sneaker male?
a male that looks female and sneakily fertilizes eggs
What happens if dominant male dies?
the largest individual becomes male
How does sex change in bluehead wrasse
behaviour changes, ovary regresses, testis grow, and become fully functioning
How does gonadal hormone expression change?
gene encoding aromatase goes down, and gene coding anti-mullerian hormone goes up
How does brain hormone expression change?
gene encoding aromatase goes down, and gene encoding isotonic goes up
What are the characteristics of wolverines?
circumpolar distribution, large home ranges, generally solitary, low density pops
Why is a wolverines ecology challenging to reproduction?
large range and highly seasonal environments
How do wolverines solve problems?
highly opportunistic, increased pheromone expression, one esters cycle per year, ovulation induced by mating, blastocysts floats in uterus until spring when implantation occurs
When are most human blastocytes terminated?
6 weeks
What is characteristic of human reproduction?
continuous cycles of gametogenesis and ovulation and high maternal investment
How does risk of miscarriage change with maternal age?
decreases and then increases
What percentage of human embryos are terminated?
22-70
Why have some mammals shifted the endocrine role of pregnancy maintenance from the mother to the embryo?
Selects for increased embryonic fitness
What hormone is essential for pregnancy maintenance?
Chorionic Gonadotropin
Why is hCG production required from the embryo?
if the blastocysts doesn’t produce massive amounts of hCG compared to the mothers production of LH, then the pregnancy ends with menstruation
What are Maynard’s costs of sex?
Growth of sexual pops will be 50% that of parthenogenesis and females will only be 50% related to their offspring on top of many other costs
How must organisms make up for the costs of sex?
Producing fitter or more offspring
What are the four potential benefits of sex?
Reduced genetic load, good genes can escape bad genetics, bet hedging (variations in offspring may increase their fitness in an unpredicatable world), the red queen (makes organisms an adapting target for enemies)
What is muller’s ratchet?
Asexual lineages can only accumulate new mutations, leading to a decline in fitness over time
How does sex prevent mullets ratchet?
recombination
What is the ruby in the rubbish?
Sex can take away good mutations from bad genetic background
What is the result of beneficial mutations being brought together?
COmplex adaptations
How does sex help with uncertainty?
If an environment is complex and changing over time and space, then diversifying is the best strategy
How does stress lead to sexual reproduction in some organisms?
Allows for recombination of genotype for less stress in offspring
How many sexual eggs can a water flea produce?
2
Why would a water flea produce sexually at all?
under poor conditions
What is the RQ hypothesis?
That sex allows slow-reproducing organisms to evade parasites
What is expected in sexual vs asexual forms of the same species
less parasites
What is evidenced by the duck-snail-parasite thingy
that in the presence of a parasite in the shallow water with ducks, snails become sexual as opposed to the deepwater asexual snails
What is an example of an extended phenotype?
building elaborate nests
How do bowerbirds court females?
they make. nest that acts like a theatre, get treasure and woo them with the treasure
Which sex will be bigger when there is intersexual competition?
Males
Which sex will be bigger when females are under fecundity selection?
females
What is fecundity sleection
selection for increased numbers of offspring
What is fisher’s runaway?
Female preference and genetic male trait causes both preference and trait to be passed to offspring, reinforcing preference and non-random mating
What happened in stockies?
eyes became really far apart
What are examples of direct benefits in mate choice?
glandular secretions, prey items, parental care, protection, territory
Why do spiders sometimes eat mates?
Males have nutrients/other product that help with offspring productions
What are the indirect benefits of mate choice?
picking good and compatible genes
What occurs in grey tree frogs?
frogs with longer calls produce better offspring, therefore are selected as mates more
What are the immune benefits of mate choice?
androgen makes males susceptible to disease, so a male with high ornamentation that has survived has a really good immune system
What immune complex is an important part of mate choice?
Major Histocompatibility Complex (prefers dissimilarity)
What are alternative reproductive tactics?
cryptic and sneaker males that use surprise in mating (cryptic males in guppies and jacks in salmon)
What are the three lizard colormorphs?
Orange polygamous territorial, Blue monogamous territorial, and yellow sneak drifter
Which lizard colormorph can compete against which?
Orange beats blue, blue beats yellow, yellow beat orange
How does the dung fly select sperm?
post-copulation selection (sperm competition)
What is the function of drosophila sperm?
form a mating plug, stimulate egg production, decrease attractiveness and sexual receptivity, incapacitate rival sperm, decrease female longevity
How do female drosophila respond to sperm?
reduced binding affinity, reduced responsiveness
What was rices experiment with drosophila?
stopped female counteradaption, allowing for males to produce better mating outcomes and sperm
How does duck reproduction work?
often rape
How do females combat rape in ducks?
Coiling of vagina in opposite direction of penis
How many SA genes do pops have
many
What is Hamiltons rule/
Br>C
When do geldings ground squirrels call?
When kin are near (much higher frequency)
Why are females more likely to call the males?
Females tend to have higher relatedness
What are the benefits and costs of cannibal tadpoles?
good if algae scarce, high proteins extra growth is costly, may eat relatives, greater risk of parasites
How does inclusive fitness factor into cannibal tadpoles?
some tadpoles don’t eat relatives
How do tadpoles become cannibals in smaller ponds
to a lesser extent, since more likely to be related
What is the haplodiploid sex determination system?
drones are haploid, queen is diploid, making daughters 75% related to each other, meaning that they’d rather help each other than have offspring
What is the sex ratio of male to female Hymenoptera?
1:3
How do mole rats create eusociality?
slavery basically, not inbreeding
How does altruism work I non-relatives?
Has to be reward for the individual later
What is the prisoners dilemma strategy?
Do unto others basically
what is r-selected?
rapid reproduction
What is K sleected
low birth rates, high survival
What is type 1 reproductive pattern?
high investment
What is type 2 reproductive pattern?
medium investment?
What is type 3 reproductive pattern?
low investmetn
When is exponential growth expected?
WHen resources are not a contraint
What happen s when a pop approaches K
slow in reproduction, resources decline per capita
What is allocation?
distribution of resources to growth and reproduction
What is semelpajrity?
terminal reproductive strategy
What is iteroparity?
breed multiple times
How do stresses exacerbate tradeoff?
Can cause higher investment into reproduction
What is inclusive fitness?
Extended fitness based upon relatedness
Which is more important, lifetime or immediate success?
Lifetime
What is group selections theory?
evolution occurs for the good of the group/species, old die so young can take their plave
What is the germ plasm theory?
inheritance occurs excusively through egg and sperm, produced by Germaine cells
Why does evolution favour early reproduction?
Earlier the reproduction. higher chance of passing on genes
What does early reproduction mean for aging?
The fitness consequences of death decrease over time
How does early reproduction lead to mutation accumulation?
the hypothesis suggests that genes having negative effects late in life are not selected against
What is antagonistic pleiotropy?
The theory that genes impacting more than one trait have fitness tradeoffs in reproduction
What was Rose’s experiment?
increased lifespan of fruit flies, and those that reproduced later in life showed reduced ear;y reproductive success
What happens if iteroparity is risky?
semelpajrity evolves
What trends do hydra show?
no decrease in mortality and no decline in reproductive potential with age
What is density independent factor
a factor that is not impacted by population numbers
What is a density dependent factor
a factor that is influence by denisty
What are the reasons for the cyclic hare and lynx pop
increased predation, increased stress and death, decreased numbers, decreased predation
What is ecological footprint?
The amount of land required to sustain an individual?
What is the human max?
around 11b
How many ha of land are needed to sustain 1 person?
1.7ha
What are Warren Thompson’s stages?
Premodern ( high b/d), industrialization (lower death, high birth), mature industrialized (drop in birth, drop in death), post industrial (stability or pop decline)
What is the HDI
human development index
What does the HDI show
fertility decreases as HDI goes up and then increases at the extreme end
What is competition?
both species suffer
What is predation/parasitism?
one species benefits while other suffers
What Is mutualism?
Both species benefit
What is commensalism?
One species benefits while the other is unaffected
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
Complete competitors cannot coexist
What is competition (detailed)
antagonistic relationship created by use of a common resource
What is a fundamental niche?
the range of conditions that allows a species to survive and reproduce?
What is a realized niche/
the actual range of conditions an organism is found in
What is the difference between a fundamental and a realized niche?
The portion of a fundamental niche in which a species is outcompeted by others
What is resource partitioning?
When two species specialize differently in their resource use
What is character displacement?
the phenomena where a species more different from closely related competitors in parts of their range that are sympatric
What happens when sticklebacks invade freshwater?
fish shed pelvic armour
How do sticklebacks experience character displacement?
Limnetic and Benthic versions of the species are formed
What is parallel evolution?
When closely related species evolve similar traits in response to similar selective pressures?
What is a cryptic species?
one that doesn’t want to be noticed
What is an aposematic species?
bright to advertise they taste like shit
What is a batesian mimic?
aposematic colors similar to another species but lack defence
What is mullein mimicry?
convergent evolution with possible frequency dependence
Why are some fruits sweet and delicious?
they want to be eaten so their seeds can be shit out
Why do chilies have capsaicin?
it is an antimicrobial
When do peppers produce capsaicin?
When fungi and insect herbivores are common
What is characteristic of mild peppers?
uncommon fungal infection/insect wounding, larger, sturdier seeds
Why is mutualism hard to verify?
hard to debate if mutualism or ensalvement when relationship become obligate
What is the relationship between ants and acacia?
ants defend acacia while acacia provides sad
What is facultative mutualism?
when species can live on their own, but benefit from association
How are ants enslaved by acacias?
ants lack invertase expression, tree provides that to them in nectar, but also produces chitinases permanently disabling invertase
How are ecosystems described?
energy flow, chemical cycling, biotic and abiotic factors, organic and inorganic components
What is Shannon diversity?
A scale based off of number of species and evens of species
Why is it hard for invaders to get established in biodiverse communities?
more resource portioning and fewer available ecological niches
What is trophic structure?
feeding relationship between organisms and the community
What are for chains?
passage of energy from primary producers, to consumers, to decomposers
What is the energetic hypothesis?
short food chains are the result of inefficient energy transfer
How much energy gets passed between levels?
10%
What is the dynamic instability hypothesis?
The longer the chain, the more easily disturbed they are
What is a dominant species?
competitively superior species in environment
Why can invasive species become dominant?
There are no specialist predators or parasites in their new range
What are keystone species?
Species that exert control on community structure, although not super common (ex. otters eat sea urchins which eat kelp
What is bottom up control?
nutrient levels and primary produces control community diversity?
What is top down (tropic cascade) control?
Top predators control community structure (usually by munching on keystone slices)
What are ecosystem engineers?
animals build their own habitat (niche construction)
What is the equilibrium model?
views community as in balance with a fixed climate species compostiiton
What is the non-equilibrium model?
emphasizes the role of disturbances in constantly changing the ecological environment
Why is too little disturbance bad?
dominant species take over
Why is too much disturbance bad?
too stressful for most species
What is succession?
A predictable series of organisms when land is colonized
What is primary succession?
lichen, prokaryotes, protists, mosses first colonize, then once soil builds up, grasses shrubs and trees
What is secondary succession
disturbance levels a community but soil is chilling. annuals return first, then taller spindly species and then forest
What happened in glacier bay?
fireweed, dryas, spruce, alder
How does number of species increase with the size of an island?
increases
what are detrivores?
organisms that play critical role in converting dead organic matter beck to inorganic chemicals
What is net ecosystem productivity?
total biomass in an ecosystem
What are the limits on marine productivity?
nitrogen and phosphorus (taken up by phytoplankton or lost as detritus
What happens if phosphorus is supplemented in freshwater
eutrophication
What is eutrophication?
excessive nutrient richness, leading to excess plant growth, decreasing food habitat and oxygen
What is positively associated with productivity in terrestrial systems?
moisture and warmth
What is limiting in terrestrial systems?
nitrogen and phosphorus
How do plants get adequate supply of nutrients?
bacterial pops
What are common gases?
N2 O2 and CO2
What nutrients are localized?
phosphorus, calcium, potassiun
How do humans change nutrient availability?
transport of nutrients, fossil fuel burning
How does the water cycle work?
high evaporation from ocean, precipitation over land and water, evapotranspiration from land, runoff
What does the HBEF allow?
understanding of nutrient cycling
How is water loss monitored in HBEF
precipitation monitoring, spillway monitoring
What does the HBEF show?
very little nutrients are lost in forest, while in clear cut, less evapotranspiration and increased nutrient loss
What are the benefits of biodiversity?
breeding, bioengineering, medecine, cleaning, purifying, pollination, stabilizing, pest control
Why has the Anthropocene caused extinction events?
overharvesting and alos introduction of non-native species
Why are habitat “islands” problematic?
can cause inbreeding, leading to an extinction vortex
What are edge effects?
more edges to environment means that Depp forest dwellers aren’t suited to environment
Why are wildlife corridors vital?
promote gene flow
What are zoned reserves?
undisturbed habitat surrounded by habitat shared with a low density of huumans (buffer)
What is biological magnification?
some toxins increase with successive levels of food chain (ex. DDT nearly extincting the peregrine falcon
What primarily causes acid rain?
nitrogen and sulphur oxides released by burning wood and fossil fuels
What is the consequence of ocean temp rising?
coral bleaching
What is coral bleaching?
The turning white of corals caused by zooxanthallae
How have calcium carbonate levels changed?
Gone down, pH is falling
What is global climate change?
increase in global temp due to increased abundance of greenhouse gases
What are biodiversity hotspots?
Areas with a large number of unique endemic species
What are the mechanisms of competition?
interference and exploitation
What in interference?
When there is direct conflict
What is exploitation?
When there is indirect conflict through resource depletion
What is multitrophic defence?
plants attract predators of herbivores using volatiles
what is tolerance?
recovery after damage in plants
What is resistance in plants?
preventing damage
What are the consequences of diversity?
higher productivity, more resilient, more stable over time
Why does biodiversity increase towards the equator?
higher speciation, lower extinction
What is potential for evapotranspiration?
solar radiation and precipitation
What is the equilibrium on islands?
immigration=extinction
What do larger islands have?
lower extinbction
What do islands closer to mainland have?
Higher immigration
How is Lyme disease affected by pop?
White tailed deer pop size
What is gross primary production?
total photosynthesis
What is net primary production?
gross primary production - autotrophic respiration (energy for consumers)
What is net ecosystem production?
GPP- total ecosystem respiration
What is a positive NEP?
A carbon sink
What is a negative NEP?
A carbon source
What are cold spots?
Desert, Tundra, Open Ocean
What how does a biomass period change
Usually narrows as you go up, but not always
Is dead biomass and fossil fuels larger than living biomass?
yes
What is bioremediation?
The use of organisms to remove pollutants
What is biological augmentation?
adding organisms to rebuild function
How is phosphorus cycled?
locally
What are the levels of biodiversity?
Species, genetic, community
What are the values of biodiversity?
instrumental and utilitarian?
What are the instrumental values of biodiversity?
goods, services, info, psycho-spiritual
What are the intrinsic values of biodiversity?
right of everything to exists, regardless of humans
Is conservation biology multidisciplinary?
yes
What are the threats to biodiversity?
habitat loss, over harvesting, global change, and invasive species
What is effective population size?
number of individuals who can contribute to the next generation
What is minimum viable population size
size needed to avoid extinction
What is more significant in small pops
genetic drift and inbreeding depression
What is the declining population approach?
identifying and reversing rapid pop decline regardless of current pop size
Where are most at risk species in Canada?
southern ontario
How must sustainability be addressed?
not just through population, but also through inequality in resource use and tech inefficiency
