Fundamental Concepts in Ecology 1 Flashcards
What is ecology?
The study of the interactions between organisms and the environment
What is a macroclimate?
Global, regional, landscape, wind patterns, etc.
Variation on a smaller scale; temperature, humidity, light
Microclimate
Why can’t all organisms live everywhere?
Climate and competition restrictions
What is a fundamental niche?
The area where a species technically could survive
What is a realized niche?
The area that the species actually occupies
Interactions in ecological time resulting in adaptations over evolutionary time
Organismal ecology
What are the 2 structural features of population?
Density and dispersion
Crude density vs Ecological density
Crude: # of individuals regardless of how habitable the area is
Ecological: # of individuals in a habitable area
How do you estimate population size?
- Density + dispersion
-count the # of individuals in plots —-> average density/plot x number of plots in range - Mark-Recapture
-1st sample: Capture individuals and mark them
-2nd sample: Count # of marked individuals
What does population ecology study?
The age and size of populations and the environmental processes affecting them
What are population dynamics?
Births + immigration vs deaths and emmigration
What is a survivorship curve? What are the 3 types?
A way to represent life expectancy
Type 1: Low death rates at birth, increase among older age groups
Type 2: Constant death rates
Type 3: High death rates at birth, lower death rate for survivors
_______ cannot be sustained for long in any population
Exponential growth
What is a carrying capacity?
The maximum population size the environment can support
The population growth rates decrease as population size approaches?
The carrying capacity (K)
Why is the logistic model only useful for estimating possible growth? What does it estimate?
The model fits few real populations
Estimates the critical size below which populations may become extinct
What shape is the curve of a logistic model of population growth?
S-shaped
