Lec 4-6 Flashcards

1
Q

Physiological processes are affected by _________

A

Temperature

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2
Q

Why are physiological processes affected by temperature?

A

Enzyme-catalyzed processes rely on steady temperatures

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3
Q

Physiological processes affected by temp

A

Photosynthesis

Cellular respiration

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4
Q

Enzymes catalyze reactions faster at __________ temperatures

A

HIGHER

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5
Q

Low temperatures therefore _______ support physiological processes well

A

Do NOT

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6
Q

Enzymes at extremely high temperatures?

A

Get DENATURED

High temps do NOT support processes

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7
Q

Physiological Age

A

Developmental time

Measured as number of degree-days above threshold temp

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8
Q

Developmental time

A

Time it takes to reach a certain stage of development

Depends on temperature in certain organisms (many insects are examples)

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9
Q

Developmental time is _________ when temperature is HIGHER; ________ when temperature is COOLER

A

FASTER; SLOWER

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10
Q

Grasshopper eggs require _____ degree-days above a threshold temperature of ____ in order to develop

A

70; 16

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11
Q

At daily mean of _____, grasshopper eggs take _____ days to develop

A

23C; 10

70/(23-16) = 10 days

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12
Q

Degree-days equation

A

degree-days/(daily mean temp - threshold temp)

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13
Q

Mechanisms by which organisms gain or lose heat

A

Solar Radiation

Sensible Heat

Latent Heat

Metabolic Heat

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14
Q

Solar Radiation

A

Sun’s energy input

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15
Q

Sensible Heat

A

Convection

  • Heat exchange between a gas or liquid circulating around a solid
  • COOLING mechanism
  • All water circulates around organism’s body, heated by body, rises, leaves body cooler behind

Conduction
-Heat exchange between two solids in contact with each other

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16
Q

Latent Heat

A

Heat exchange that occurs during a CHANGE OF PHASE

Evaporation

  • Conversion of liquid to gas
  • COOLING

Condensation

  • Conversion of gas to liquid
  • WARMING
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17
Q

Adaptations of PLANTS to HEAT

A

Decrease solar radiation
-Pubescence, waxy cuticle (reflects sun rays), curled or vertical orientation (less sun able to strike)

Increase sensible heat (CONVECTION)
-Compound leave to increase surface area-to-volume ratio for more air contact and heat exchange

Increase latent heat (EVAPORATION)

  • Evaporation is TRANSPIRATION in plants
  • Requires LARGE water supply, so plants have deep/wide-spreading roots or be able to store water (succulents)
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18
Q

Adaptations of PLANTS to COLD

A

Annual life history strategy:
-Seeds resistant to cold, so annual plants survive cold seasons by existing exclusively as seeds

Supercooling
-Production of excess sugars within cells, which increases their solute concentration and lowers their freezing point

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19
Q

“Types of animals” with respect to temperature

A

Ectotherms

Endotherms

Heterotherms

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20
Q

Animal Temperatures: Ectotherms

A

Regulate the amount of solar radiation they receive to maintain a fairly constant body temperature
-Examples include fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and most invertebrates

Ectotherms with HIGH SA-V ratio better able to exchange heat with surroundings (smaller)

  • As body size increases, SA-V decreases
  • -Large ectotherms UNCOMMON
  • –Dinosaurs likely endotherms
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21
Q

Animal Temperatures: Endotherms

A

Regulate temperature METABOLICALLY (use metabolic heat)
-Maintain CONSTANT body temperature

VERY effective: Trade-off = High energy consumption

Examples: Birds and mammals

Tolerate temperature extremes:

  • Insulation
  • –Fur, feathers, fat (all reflect solar radiation)
  • Shivering
  • –Involuntary muscle activity to increase heat production
  • Evaporative Cooling
  • –Sweating, panting, breathing
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22
Q

Animal Temperatures: Heterotherms

A

ACTUALLY ENDOTHERMS

ENDOTHERMS that are able to relax control of metabolism during inactive periods, allowing body temp to drop near environmental temperature

Torpor: Metabolism relaxed daily

  • –Bats during the day
  • –Hummingbirds at night

Hibernation: Metabolism relaxed seasonally

  • –NOT bears
  • –Many rodents - squirrels, mice, hamsters
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23
Q

Importance of Light for Organisms

A

Light is the energy source for photosynthesis in ALL ecosystems
Light provides a cue that environmental conditions are changing

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24
Q

Light and Photosynthesis

A

Stages of Photosynthesis:

1) Light Reactions:
- -Light energy is used to oxidize water into oxygen, providing the electrons required to generate high-energy ATP and NADPH

2) Calvin Cycle:
- -ATP and NADPH energy is used to reduce carbon dioxide (GAIN e-) into glucose and other carbohydrates, which are high in chemical energy

PAR:

  • -Photosynthetically Active Radiation
  • -Solar radiation wavelengths that provide the energy for photosynthesis (specifically light reactions)
  • –All visible light wavelengths EXCEPT green
  • —-Plants appear green because that’s the energy being reflected, all others are absorbed

Light Response Curves:
–Graphs showing the relationship between light levels and photosynthetic rate

Compensation Point:

  • -The minimum PAR required for positive net photosynthesis
  • —The point at which CO2 uptake for photosynthesis is balanced by CO2 loss from cellular respiration

Saturation Point:

  • -The maximum PAR that plants can use for increased rates of photosynthesis
  • –When plants are saturated with sunlight

Photoinhibition:

  • -Reduced photosynthesis rates at very high lights levels, due to damage caused by excessive solar radiation
  • -Too much light is generally not a problem for most plants

SHADE-TOLERANT PLANTS

  • -Those plants able to maintain positive net photosynthesis even in very low light conditions
  • -Plants found in forest understories where most light is blocked by the canopy above
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25
Q

Adaptations of Shade-Tolerant Plants

A

1) General characteristic:
- -Low compensation point (exceptionally)
- -Low saturation point (handle shade well, not)
- -Susceptible to photoinhibition

2) Mechanisms of shade tolerance:
- -Allocation of more resources to the light reactions than to the Calvin Cycle
- -Allocation of more resources to the leaves than to the stems or roots
- -Thinner but wider leaves

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26
Q

Light as an Environmental Cue

A

Circadian Rhythms:

  • -Daily pattern of activity that correspond to a 24 hour cycle of light and dark
  • -Best demonstrated by diurnal and nocturnal oorganisms
  • -The adaptive value of circadian rhythms can be physical or biological

Physical:

  • -Insects are ectotherms, so they are diurnal to “soak up the sun”
  • -Rabbits are nocturnal to avoid the heat of the day

Biological:

  • -Plants are diurnal and open their flowers during the daw when their pollinating insects are active
  • -Owls are nocturnal because their prey are active at night

Photoperiodism:

  • -A response to changing daylengths throughout the year
  • -Not seen in equatorial organisms

Changes in light levels are the most reliable cues of upcoming seasonal changes

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27
Q

Importance of Water for Organisms

A

Polarity of water ad the hydrogen bonds that forms between water molecules lead to water’s life-supporting properties:

1) Water molecules stick to each other (COHESION) and to other molecules (ADHESION)
- Necessary for the transport of water up plant stems

2) High specific heat capacity
- Helps organisms maintain fairly constant body temperatures
- Moderates the temperature o f the environments in which organisms live
- High boling point and low freezing point, so liquid at ambient Earth temperatures

3) Excellent solvent for dissolving solutes
- Common aqueous solutions include the cytosol of cells, the blood of animals, and the sap of plants (H2O + sugar)
- Water also trasnports solutes well because it flows easily (is not viscous)
- -Solution where water is solvents: AQUEOUS SOLUTION

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28
Q

Types of Plants with respect to water

A

Mesophytes
Xerophytes
Hydrophytes

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29
Q

Opening of stomata on leaves is necessary for photosynthesis, allowing ____ to enter plant

A

CO2

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30
Q

H2O is lost through open stomata, dduring the process of ___________

A

Transpiration

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31
Q

A plant’s _________ relates the amount of CO2 entering a plant to the amount of H2O lost

A

Water Use Efficiency (WUE)

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32
Q

_________ means much CO2 taken in with minimal H2O lost

A

High WUE

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33
Q

Major enzyme that brings CO2 into Calvin Cycle:

A

Rubisco

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34
Q

Rubisco:

a) is efficient
b) is NOT efficient
c) brings in O2 into Calvin Cycle
d) Brings in CO2 to Calvin Cycle
e) b, c, and d
f) All of the above

A

e) NOT efficient, brings O2 and CO2 into Calvin Cycle

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35
Q

Rubisco inefficiency yields NO photosynthetic output and wastes the CO2 present because the Calvin Cycle is “occupied” by O2: Consequence - WUE is ______-

A

LOWERED

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36
Q

Most plants are _____ plants and must deal with problem of PHOTORESPIRATION

A

C3:
-Undergo normal photosynthesis (Mesophytes and Hydrophytes)

Photorespiration:
-CO2 and O2 produced

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37
Q

Xerophytes

A

Evolved alternative photosynthetic pathways to increase WUE:

  • C4 pathway
  • CAM pathway
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38
Q

Examples of C4 plants

A

Corn and Sugarcane

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39
Q

In C4 plants, CO2 is first bound to a different enzyme, PEP carboxylase (PEPcase), which has ____________

A

NO affinity for O2

This bound CO2 is transported to the bundle sheath cells, the only cells in which the Calvin cycle occurs

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40
Q

CO2 is unloaded in the bundle sheath cells and becomes so concentrated that any O2 is ______________

A

“swamped out”

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41
Q

The C4 strategy

A

Increases WUE by efficiently utilizing all of the CO2 taken into the plant

Still loses some H2O

NONE of CO2 is wasted

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42
Q

Examples of CAM plants

A

Cactus and Pineapple

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43
Q

CAM plants open stomata at _______

A

Night

When there is LESS transpirational pull on H2O (not losing water to surroundings)

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44
Q

CO2 is first bound to PEPcase (NOT rubisco), and is stored in the cell’s _______ overnight

A

Vacuole

45
Q

Stomata __________ when transpiration would be greatest

A

Close during the day

46
Q

CO2 is released from the ________ to go through the Calvin cycle while the light reactions are proceeding

A

Vacuole

47
Q

The CAM strategy

A

Increases WUE by minimizing the amount of H2O lost from the plant

48
Q

Why haven’t all plants evolved a C4 or CAM strategy?

A

More energy is required for these pathways, so there is a trade-off involved

Benefits outweigh costs for xerophytes in very dry, hot environments

49
Q

Animal-Water Relations

A

Adaptations of TERRESTRIAL animals to DRY habitats:

  • -Avoid adverse conditions
  • -Reduce water loss
  • -Obtain water from food
50
Q

Avoid Adverse Conditions:

A

1) Become nocturnal (many desert animals)
2) Migrate out during dry season (African savanna ungulates)
3) Go dormant during the dry season
- -Diapause: Hibernation due to water stress rather than temperature stress
- -Estivation: Belowground “cocoon” (toads and snails)

51
Q

Reduce water loss:

A

1) Reabsorb water in kidneys and intestines to redce water lost with urine and feces (kangaroo rats)
2) Reduce evaporative water loss by suppressing panting and sweating (African savanna ungulates)
3) Waterproofing scales (reptiles) or exoskeletons (arthropods)

52
Q

Obtain water from food:

A

1) Desert insects derive water from feeding of succulent plants
2) Desert birds and lizards derive water from feeding on the insects
3) Kangaroo rats metabolically produce water from dry seeds: they convert the carbohydrates into CO2 and HsO

53
Q

Osmoregulation

A

Aquatic animals must maintain a proper solute concentration in order to regulate the amount of water gained or lost

54
Q

Marine invertebrates are _____ to their environment

A

ISOTONIC: Same salt concentration relative to environment

Solute concentrations inside the animals are equal solute concentrations in the surrounding water

NO special adaptations are needed for osmoregulation

55
Q

Marine vertebrates are __________ to their environment

A

HYPOTONIC

Solute concentrations inside the animals are LESS tahn solute concentrations in the surrounding water

Water concentration inside the animals is GREATER than water concentration in the surroundings (per unit volume)

They will LOSE water to the environment: Challenge for osmoregulation

56
Q

Marine vertebrates must actively ____________________

A

Drink water and excrete salt from the gills and kidneys

57
Q

Freshwater animals (invertebrates and vertebrates) are ________ to their environment

A

HYPERTONIC

Solute concentrations inside the animals are GREATER than solute concentrations in the surrounding water

Water concentration inside the animals is LOWER than water concentration in surroundings -> These animals GAIN water (challenge for osmoregulation)

58
Q

Freshwater animals constantly

A

EXPEL water with their urine (freshwater is essentially fish pee)

59
Q

How do Organisms Obtain Organic Nutrients?

A

Autotophes synthesize thier own organic nutrients by wat of photosynthesis or chemosunthesis (bacteria in hydrothermal vents)

Heterotrophs must consume autotrophs or other heterotrophs to obtain organic nutrients

Both autotrophs and heterotrophs undergo cellular respirations

Nutrients taken up from soil (contains humus - decaying organic matter)

60
Q

Cellular respiration

A

3 stages:

1) Glycolysis
- -Glucose and other carbohydrates are oxidized into pyruvic acid, providing the electrons required to generate high-energy ATP and NADH (NOT NADPH)
- -Glucose split apart

2) Citric Acid Cycle (AKA Kreb’s Cycle)
- -Pyruvic acid oxidized into CO2 providing the electrons required to generate more ATP and NADH (plus FADH2)

3) Electron Transport Chain
- -In the presence of O2, which is reduced to H2O, the high-energy NADH and FADH2 molecules are used to generate even more ATP molecules

61
Q

Soil Particles classified by Size:

A

Sand (Largest)
Silt
Clay (smallest)

62
Q

Optimal Soil Characteristics: Soil Particles

A

SAND has LARGE pore spaces between particles -> water and minerals are LEACHED (drained) through sand and are unavailable to plant roots; BUT large pore spaces enable efficient diffusion of oxygen through sand to roots (roots need oxygen)

SILT and CLAY have SMALL pore spaces between particles -> water and minerals are NOT leached; BUT water drains so slowly, soil saturated, LITTLE oxygen = suffocate roots

OPTIMAL: LOAM
–Equal mixture of SAND, SILT, and CLAY

63
Q

Optimal Soil Characteristics: Live Organisms

A

Live organisms are necessary for decomposition and soil mixing

Bacteria, fungi, arthropods, worms, and the plant roots themselves live within and shape the soil

64
Q

Optimal Soil Characteristics: Water

A

Although excessive water can have negative consequences, a water deficiency is of course harmful as well

Minterals are dissolved in solution

Very dry soil therefore leads to a lack of both water and nutrients

65
Q

Optimal Soil Characteristics: pH

A

Soil particles are negatively charged

Majority of plant’s essential nutrients are positively charges ions (cations), which adhere to these negatively charged particles

ACIDIC soil has a high hydrogen ion concentration

  • H ions adhere to soil particles, displacing essential cations
  • Cations leached through soil; unavailable to plant roots

NEUTRAL or SLIGHTLY BASIC soil is the optimal pH for plant nutrient acquisition

66
Q

Plants increase the surgace area of their roots for increased nutrient absorption by way of __________-

A

millions of tiny root hairs

67
Q

Plant roots involved in _______ relationships with ______ and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

A

MUTUALISTIC; MYCORRHIZAE

68
Q

Mycoorhizae

A

Mutualism between plant roots and fungi

Very common

Fungi wrap around plant roots and spread out into the soil, increasing the surface area for nutrient contact and absorption

Fungi receive photosynthates from plants

69
Q

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

A

Bacteria that live mutualistically within root nodules

Only in certain plants (legumes)

Bacteria convert nitrogen gas (N2) into usable forms of nitrogen for the plant

Bacteria receive photosynthates and shelter from the plant

70
Q

Nonmutualistic Plant Relationships

A

With other plants or with animals

Parasitic plants obtain organic and inorganic nutrients from a host plant, harming the host in the process

Carnivorous plants are photosynthetic but supplement their nitrogen supply by digesting insects and other small animals
–Generally live in marshes, bogs, swamps: Low nitrogen, must obtain from animals

71
Q

Parasitic Plants

A

Hemiparasite:

  • -Capable of photosynthesis but still obtain much of their water and nutrients by parasitizing a host plant
  • -MISTLETOE

Holoparasites:

  • -CANNOT photosynthesize and therefore extract all of their nutrients from a host plant
  • -DODDER
72
Q

Carnivorous Plants

A

Generally found in bogs with nitrogen-poor soil

Trap, kill, and digest prey using highly modified LEAVES

Examples:

  • -Venus Fly Trap
  • -Sundews
  • -Pitcher Plants
73
Q

Animals take in nutrients by ingesting other organisms (though _________ is obtained from the atmosphere)

A

Oxygen

74
Q

Herbivore eat ________

A

Plants or algae

75
Q

Carnivores eat ________

A

Other animals

76
Q

______________ eat both plants and animals

A

Omnivores

77
Q

Advantages of Herbivory:

A

More energy is available since they feed lower on the food chains than carnivores feeding higher up

Herbivores expend significantly less energy obtaining food (don’t need to chase or capture prey)

78
Q

Challenges of Herbivory:

A

Physical defenses (spines (leaf) and thorns (branch)) and chemical defenses (toxins)

Plants a high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, while animals have a low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
–To obtain sufficient nitrogen herbivores by eat lots of plants

Plant proteins are “incomplete”
–They lack one or more of an animal’s essential amino acids

Sodium is an essential nutrient for ANIMALS but NOT for PLANTS
–Salt licks

Plants have cellulose and other indigestible material

Mutualistic microorganisms (bacteria, protozoans) within an herbivore’s digestive tract break down cellulose for the herbivore

  • -Ruminants and their four-chambered stomach
  • -Rabbits and coprophagy
79
Q

Evolution is biology’s _______ and there for ecology’s _________

A

Unifying theme (both)

80
Q

Much of evolution has an ___________

A

Ecological foundation

81
Q

Ecology and evolution are _________________

A

Highly related and interdependent

82
Q

Charles Darwin was an ecologist, though he predated the term; instead, he was termed ________

A

Naturalist

Voyage of Beagle: 1831-1836
Origin of Species: 1859

83
Q

Evolution can be considered on a smaller, shorter time scale (______________), as well as on a larger, longer time scale (______________)

A

Microevolution, macroevolution

84
Q

Background Terms:

A

1) Alleles: Alternative forms of genes
2) Genotype: Genetic make-up of an organism (collection of alleles)
3) Phenotype: The physical expression of an organisms’ genotype (its morphology, anatomy, physiology, and behavior)
4) Fitness: Number offspring produced by an individual relative to number offspring produced by all other individuals in population; an individual’s relative contribution to the next generation

85
Q

Microevolution

A

Allele frequency changes in a POPULATION over time

86
Q

Mechanisms of Microevolution:

A

1) Mutations
2) Sexual reproduction
3) Genetic drift
4) Gene flow
5) Natural Selection

87
Q

Mutations

A

Changes in genes due to changes in the nucleotide sequences of DNA

Caused by errors during cell division (mutagens) usually resulting from exposure to chemicals or high-energy radiation

The ultimate source of new alleles within a population

88
Q

Sexual Reproduction

A

Rearranges existing alleles into new combinations by way of crossing over, independent assortment of chromosomes, and random fertilization

Reproduction is a greater contributor to genetic variability than are mutations in sexual organisms

89
Q

Genetic Drift

A

Change in allele frequencies of SMALL populations due solely to chance

90
Q

Gene Flow

A

Change in allele frequencies due to immigration into or emigration out of a population

91
Q

Natural Selection

A

There exists variation among the individuals within a population

  • Most of this variation is genetically inherited
  • -Some environmentally acquired, MOT inherited
92
Q

Overproduction of Offspring

A

All populations have the potential to produce far more offspring than the environment can support with its limited resources

Offspring will therefore compete for these resources

93
Q

Unequal Reproductive Success

A

Those individuals with the inherited traits that make them stronger competitors in their environment will obtain the limited resources, survive, and reproduce to pass the traits o n to their offspring (they will have the greatest fitness)

Allele frequencies change as certain traits increase while others are eliminated

94
Q

Adaptations are features that

A

Improve an organisms ability to survive and reprodues in its environment

95
Q

_____________ involved adaptations increasing in frequency within a population over time

A

Adaptive evolution

96
Q

_____________ is the only mechanism of microevolution that consistently promotes adaptive evolution

A

Natural Selection

Other mechansisms change allele frequencies, but may increase frequency of harmful alleles as well as adaptive ones

97
Q

Macroevolution

A

Defined by Darwin as DESCENT WITH MODIFICATION
–All current species are descended from a common ancestor, but modified from that ancestor

Also known as SPECIATION - the process by which an ancestral species evolves into 2 or more descendant species; NOT synonymous with macroevolution; a COMPONENT of macroevolution

98
Q

Definition of a Species:

A

2 Organisms belong to same species if they have potential to mate in the WILD and produce viable, fertile offspring

Formation of new species involves formation of reproductive barriers

99
Q

Mechanisms of Macroevolution

A

1) Allopatric Speciation

2) Sympatric Speciation

100
Q

Allopatric Speciation

A

More common

Geographic barrier physically splits a population in two and prevents gene flow between the new populations

Each population undergoes microevolution independent of the other population

If the two populations are brought back together and can no longer interbreed, they have evolved into separate species

101
Q

Sympatric Speciation

A

NOT very common

Part of population becomes reproductively isolated in the midst of its parent population

NO geographic barrier

Due to MUTATIONS

Most frequently seen in PLANTS (polyploidy, so mutations common)

102
Q

Convergent Evolution

A

When natural selection produces similar phenotypes in organisms that are NOT closely related

Due to same environmental selection pressures

103
Q

Coevolution

A

When 2 species exert selective pressures on each other, resulting in both evolving together

Due to interactions such as mutualism and parasitism

104
Q

Sexual Selection

A

A type of natural selection in which limited resource for which individuals compete is mates, and the “environment” that selects for advantageous traits is the opposite sex

105
Q

Note that a ________ evolves, NOT an __________

A

Population; individual organism

An individual organism either survives and reproduces or dies

A population changes over time as individuals with particular traits become more or less abundant

106
Q

Acclimatization

A

An individual organism can respond to changing conditions by altering its physiological processes

Informal: Acclimation

107
Q

Adaptation

A

A population (species) respongs to changing conditions by evolving

108
Q

Phenotypic Plasticity

A

Single organism with one genotype but MULTIPLE PHENOTYPES based on that ONE genotype

Common in PLANTS

109
Q

Note close relationship between ecology and evolution

A

Ecology is DEFINED as the interactions between organisms and their environment

Evolution is DRIVEN by the interactions between organisms and their environment

Ecology is the driving force behind evolution

Note that many evolutionary terms (adaptation, population, competition, etc.) are actually ecological terms