Intro to Ecology Flashcards
Ecology is
the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment.
Ecology allows us…
to predict the distribution and abundance of organisms
Major Ecological Questions
Why are certain species found in some places and not others? (what factors influence abundance?)
What factors regulate population growth rates/persistence? (what factors influence abundance)
Why are some species rare and others abundant?
What is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem “function”?
Evolution⇌Ecology
Population size(abundance) -> drift
Movement(distribution)->gene flow
Interactions, abundance, distribution-> fitness
Three postulates of evolution by natural selection
- Individuals vary in traits that affect fitness
- This variation is heritable
- Fitness correlates with the heritable trait
- Fitness depends in the environment
Ecology and Fitness
An individual’s fitness, and therefore allele frequencies in a population, are affected by…..
- Biotic Elements= Living Things
- Abiotic Elements= Non-living things
What ecological (biotic) interactions affect fitness
Predator vs. Prey, competition, resource availability
Levels of Biological Organization
Atoms, cells, tissue, organ, body system, organism, populations, communities, ecosystems, biospheres
Five primary levels of ecological study
- Organismal ecology
- Population ecology
- Community ecology
- Ecosystems ecology
- Global Ecology
When wolves were introduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995, researchers documented a number of dramatic effects. What level of ecology is best for studying this phenomenon?
ecosystem ecology
An ecologist studying how maggot fly feeding parts are adapted to eat apples is studying…
Organismal ecology
Four main abiotic factors fundamentally affect the distribution and abundance of life on earth…
Sunlight
Temperature
Moisture
Wind
Sunlight
The amount of Light affects photosynthesis
Tilt of the earth creates variation in daylength
Temperature is affected by
Solar radiation,
The curvature of the Earth
Moisture is caused by…
Uneven solar heating causes atmospheric circulation and predictable precipitation patterns.
Hot rising air at the equator creates Hadley cells, which generate predictable areas of precipitation (e.g. deserts).
Wind
Coriolis effect= A phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to curve as they travel across or above Earth’s surface.
Caused by temp diffs & earth’s rotation
Ecology is defined as the study of ____________; its main outcome is understanding _______________.
- biological diversification; evolutionary relationships.
- latitudinal gradients in species richness; how energy,
productivity, age, and area contribute to species
distributions. - how organisms interact with each other and their
environment; the distribution and abundance of
organisms on the planet. - fitness interactions among species; the relative
importance of mutualism, commensalism, and
consumption in explaining community composition. - all of the above.
- all of the above.
Which of the following are biotic interactions?
1. predation
2. competition
3. mating
4. respiration
- respiration
What causes seasonality in weather on Earth?
- Earth’s spherical shape.
- Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees.
- The tropics receive the most solar radiation.
- Rising air currents at the equator lead to greater
precipitation at the equator and less at the poles. - Falling air currents at 30° North and South latitudes lead to low levels of precipitation.
Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees.
Areas at 30° North and South latitudes are
most likely to be subjected to ________.
- rising air currents and desert conditions
- falling air currents and desert conditions
- rising air currents and high levels of precipitation
- falling air currents and high levels of precipitation
- falling air currents and desert conditions
Areas at 30° North and South latitudes are
most likely to be subjected to ________.
- rising air currents and desert conditions
- falling air currents and desert conditions
- rising air currents and high levels of precipitation
- falling air currents and high levels of precipitation
- falling air currents and desert conditions
