L12 Autecology Flashcards
What is autecology
The study of an individual organism or species in relation to its environment
What kind of measurements are taken in autecology
Easily measured variables - light, humidity, available nutrients
What is the aim of autecology
To understand the needs, life history and behaviour of the organism or species
What did early autecology focus on
Plant adaptations to extreme environments
How did technical advances help autecology
Permitted physiological experiments under controlled laboratory conditions
Technical analysis of various parameters in the fiels (gas flux, O2 production, light)
How can autecology be used in climate change modelling
Predict nre minimum temperatures, precipitation regimes, and season length
Predict changes in vegetaion patterns - loss of forest, more deserts
Predict what will happen under different scenarios
What is the flora of a region
All wild plant species
A catalogue of plants
How many plant species (angiosperms, charophytes and ferns) are in the Plant Atlas 2020
1692
How many non-native plant species are there
1753
Roughly how many bryophytes are there (UK Plant atlas 2020)
1000
Give two species of buttercup which could be seperated using the prescence or absence of morphological features
Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris) and creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
How does a dichotomous key work
Prescence or abscence of distinctive morphological and physiological properties
Who published one of the first autecological books pn British flora, what was the issue with it
Tansley (1911)
Could not be used in the field
Give the leading quote in autecology and who and when it was said
‘Our main concern as plant ecologists is to know why a plant of this species not that, is growing in a given spot’ Clapham (1956)
When was Flora of the British Isles publiched and by who
Clapham et al (1952)
What was included in the Flora of the British Isles book
Accurate identification of all British plants plus commonly grown garden plants and well established aliens
Invaluable info concerning ecology, geographical distribution, evolutionary history, agricultural significance
What change in the study of British flora was seen between 1970 and 1990
research efforts were more detailed and specialsied
What kind of communities are demographical studies useful for and why
r-selected
Understanding how an adult tree was affected as a sapling is hard if it happened 10s of years ago
What about British flora can be found in the journal of ecology
Series of autecological accounts
Over 300 species accounts
Covers both common and endangered species
What information can be found in the ecological flora of the British Isles (Uni of York and Kew Gardens)
Data on 3842 higher plants species based on 130 eological and morphological characteristics
Mycorrhizal associations and fungi
Phytophagous insects
Where are changes in distribution and abundance of plant species most pronounced
Lowlands
What has been the overall trend in:
Number and size of populations
Species richness
Both decrease
Total number of plant species recorded in the Plant Atlas 2020
3445
What proportion of native plants have declined in distribution since the 1950s
> 50%
What effect has agricultural intensification had (Plant Atlas 2020)
Significant declined in native species
Loss and degradation of habitats
Increased grazing
What has caused nitrogen enrichment of soils
What effect has this had
(Plant Atlas 2020)
Over-fertilisation and atmospheric pollution
Favours non-native species (from warmer climates) which outcompete natives
What effect has climate change had on the distribution of natove and non-native plants (Plant Atlas 2020)
Declines in some native plants
Provided species originating from warmer countries more favourable conditions
Give an example of a plant that has been affected by draining of damp meadows
Devils-bit scabious
What proportion of ancient arable wildflowers have experienced declines in distrubution
62%
Give examples of native mountain plants which have declined due to climate change
Alpine lady fern
Alpine speedwell
Snow pearlwort
Give an example of a Southern species which has benefitted from climate change and how it has benefitted
Bee orchid
Now able to spread firther North
What can functional classification be useful for (and monitor)
Preserving rare populations
Predicting response to change in environment
Climate change
Soil conditions
Competiton
Human exploitation
Who recognised functional classification
Ramenskii (1938)
How many plant stratergies are there
What determines them
3
Environmental influecnes like stress and disturbance
Who determined the 3 plamt stratergies
Grime 1977
What are the 3 plant stratergies
When do they occur
Give an example of each
Low stress and low disturbance = compeitors e.g. Oak
Low disturbance and high stress = stress-tolerators e.g. Cactus
High disturbance and low stress = ruderals e.g. Dandelion
What impacts does stress have
Restricts photosynthettic production
Shortages of light, water, mineral nutrients, sub-opyimal temperatures
What is disturbance and what causes it
Destruction of plant biomass
Herbivores, pathogens, humans, wind, frist, drought, soil erosion, fire
What is the CSR model
What does it propose
Where oes it come from
Proposes that vegetation develops in an equillibrium between
Intesnitues of stress (product constraints) S
Disturbance (physical damage) R
Competitoin (from neighbours for a scarse resource) C
Grime (1977)
Give some examples of intensities of stress (product constraints)
Drought
Not enough light
Give 2 examples of disturvance / physical damage
Herbivory
Humans
What kind of plants grow when there is loww stress and low disturbance
Large, fast growing
High competitive avaulability to become dominant
What is Allium ursinum
Where does it fall on the CRS model
Wild garlic, between R and S
Bottom middle
Little bit of disturbance is okay, can deal with stress well (low loght)
