Interspecific and Intraspecific Relationships Flashcards
what is a territory
a territory is an area where an animal lives and the area that it defends from other animals
how do animals defend their territories and what is an example of this
by guarding at the boundary of the territory, and example of this is when meerkats stand guard as lookouts on a high rock at the boundary of their territory
what is a home range and how does it differ to a territory
the home range is the area where an animal will search for food and water that it cannot find in its territory, it is not defended so the animals are vulnerable to predators
what is a lek and what is the purpose
a lek is an area where males usually come together and perform mating displays, often competitively, to attract mates for the purpose of breeding
what is are the advantages and disadvantages of a lek
the advantage of this is that it becomes a hot spot for breeding, increasing the success of mating, the disadvantage of this is that the animals are vulnerable to predators
what is an ecological niche and what does it include
an ecological niche is the physical, biological conditions or factors a population faces in its habitat, this includes the animal’s food source, predators, reproduction, interaction, survival etc
What is Gause’s Law
it basically says that no two species can co-exist with the same ecological niche, i.e if you have two species with the same predators, prey, food etc, the animals will compete, eventually one will dominate over the other causing the other to either become extinct or undergo a change in ecological niche. overall two species with the same ecological niche cannot co-exist indefinitely
what are INTRAspecific relationships and the qualities involved
intraspecific relationships are interactions between animals of the SAME species. since both species have the same ecological niche there is often competition over food and things. the animals often live together in close groups
what are some consequences of intraspecific relationships
aggressive behaviour, fighting, death and injuries
what are some advantages and disadvantages of intraspecific relationships
advantages are that there are a lot of animals to fight off predators, they can help each other find food and defend territories, being in close groups also brings mates into close proximity
disadvantages are that disease are more common amongst close groups, there will be a lot of competition over food and space, and the large groups are super noticeable to predators.
what is a hierarchy
a hierarchy in a population is a ranking system, with the strongest most dominant members on top and the most submissive and weak on the bottom
what are the two types hierarchies, give a brief description of both
linear hierarchies and complex hierarchies,
linear hierarchies involve a simple progression from most dominant to most submissive
complex hierarchies are structures that involve different groups such as sub co-ordinate groups, family groups, bonding pairs, labour groups all CONTROLLED by one singular alpha male.
why are hierarchies good for animal populations
by establishing a rank, each member knows its place in the hierarchy, which reduces fighting and competition of other resources. submissive members are aware that they have to wait for the dominant to eat first
their positions are recognizable by display as the more dominant have tall broad big statures while the submissive have a weak non-threatening display/look to them
hierarchies can change all the time when new animals are introduced and old ones die out
what are some reproductive strategies
animals can either produce loads of offspring with a few surviving and being able to grow up, or they can focus on producing few offspring with most of them surviving and able to grow up. Another strategy is that an animal can mate with one person devoted to them for life (monogamy) , or mate with loads of people not really caring (polygamy).
what do their strategies depend on and give and example
the animal and the environment, for example, penguins can have a long term monogamous relationship raising a baby penguin together because it takes a lot of time and energy, whereas there are other animals that don’t need that and so can just impregnant whoever they want whenever. polygamy increases genetic diversity.
what is the R strategy
R strategists have a high number of offsprings, the parents do not care for the young, they just hope a few have a chance of survival, the parents spend a low amount of energy per offspring, the survival of the parent is not jeopardised by looking after offspring
MANY OFFSPRING will die from starvation or predators
what is the k strategy
k strategists have low numbers of offsprings, the parents spend lots of energy and time on the offspring, protecting them, raising, teaching, preparing and looking after them.
offspring is much more likely to survive.
what are the key differences between offsprings of k strategists and r strategists
K BABIES are more helpless and less developed than R BABIES, this is because the R Babies have to learn how to coper on their own whereas the K BABIES have the support and can rely on their parents
what is courtship
courtship describes all the different things animals do to attract a mate, most of the time the amle has to attract the female and then the female has to decide whether or not she accepts based on the performance of the male
what is a courtship ritual + what are the advantages and disadvantages
courtships rituals can be songs, dances, fights with other males, appearance etc.
the advantage is usually the fittest strongest animals win the females affection, therefore, producing the most suitable offsprings and maintaining a healthy population
the disadvantage is that the males can become competitive and injure one another
another disadvantage these rituals can attract predators
what are interspecific relationships
interactions slash relationships between animals of different species
what is interspecific competition and the effects
involves different species fighting for shared environment and food, the results in aggressive behaviour as well but this more often leads to death as the species are different not the same
what is exploitation
exploitation is the raltionship between two species where one benefits and the other is harmed, i.e one species benefits at the expense of another
what is predation
predation is where one animal hunts and feeds on another, the one that gets eaten is harmed and the one that gets to eat benefits
what is herbivory
herbivory is a type of predation where an animal species feeds on a plant species, and so the plant species is harmed as the population decreases in size and the animal species benefits
what is parasitism and how does it work and what is an example
parasitism involves one organism, the parasite, living on or inside another species, a host, the parasites don’t want to hurt the host, they benefit from them by having a home to reproduce and a supply of food, the host ends up being harmed tho due to lack of resources, an example of this is headlice or tapeworms
what is mutualism and what does it involve
mutualism is the relationship between two different species, where both species benefit from one another, they help eachother out, it involves doing jobs or services for eachother, or one species does a job in return for resources
what is an example of mutualism
in humans, we have gut bacteria that help us digest food, we provide them with a home and let them snack off food that passes throughout enzymes, in return, we get good digestion and development of the gut immune system
what is commensalism
commensalism is the relationship between two different species where one benefits and the other is unaffected, the benefit usually comes from the supply of food, shelter or transport, the person benefitting is usually small and the unaffected one is big
what is an example of commensalism
birds feed off insects on the back of large mammals like elephants, in this scenario, the bird benefits by getting food while the elephant barely notices and is unaffected
what is mimicry
where one species resembles another in some way, it could be mimicking its appearance, behaviour, sound and even smells
what is Batesian mimicry
it is when harmless species mimic dangerous positions ones to keep predators away
what is Mullerian mimicry
where two unpalatable species mimic each others warning signs so that when predators comes he will think they are all untasty and won’t touch any of them, but its really more beneficial because it stops the predators from having to try two different species with the end result being that he didn’t even like them anyway, instead the species try to look the same to avoid the predator having to waste their time on them, and so that they can survive obviously.
