Lecture 2 Flashcards
What is Life History in ecology?
The schedule of birth, death, growth and reproduction across an organism’s lifespan.
What does phenology refer to?
The timing of growth and reproduction within a year.
What causes variation in reproduction?
External and internal factors such as physiology and resource availability.
Define Evolution
Evolution is the change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.
What is a trade-off in ecology?
Trade-offs occur when resources are limited, requiring organisms to allocate resources to one function at the expense of another.
What are the 2 causes of tradeoffs?
Fixed Resources and limits of maximization
How are resources allocated in hierarchical systems?
Each hierarchical decision allocates resources for each individual. Ex.) Carbs, mineral, and water are shared between vegetative and reproductive growth
What are the 3 difficulties in identifying tradeoffs?
1.) Resources are allocated overtime but measured at one point
2.) Unequal resources hide tradeoffs due to spread availability and resouce allocation. Ex.) More water makes more leaves
3.) Apparent tradeoffs without a biological basis. Ex.) Poplar Oak: fast growth Oak: Harder wood
What is the reproductive output of the sporophyte generation in angiosperms?
The reproductive output is the production of seeds.
What is the reproductive output of the sporophyte generation in ferns, mosses, horsetail, and non vascular organisms?
The reproductive output is the production of spores.
What is flowering like for the Green-lipped Cycnoche?
They can produce millions of offspring per flowering.
What is the reproductive outlook for Cottonwood plants?
Thousands per flowering
What the flowering patterns of the Sea Coconut?
Few, large offspring
Define Limits of Maximization
Not everything can work at 100% all the time
What is the impact of trade-offs on female fitness in plants?
The number of successful offspring a plant produces is impacted by trade-offs because the female must choose among mainly small seeds with low success chance or fewer large seeds.
What determines female fitness?
Female fitness is affected by environmental quality/stability and the plants lifespan
What is the parent-offspring conflict?
The selective pressures that optimize the fitness of the parent plant or fitness of its offspring.
What does inclusive fitness measure?
A measure of how well an individual and its relatives pass on their genes.
What was Smith and Fretwells Hypothesis?
There is a single optimum for seed size when the environments stable.
What was Mark McGinleys Hypothesis?
Variable seed size maximizes population growth when the environment is also variable.
What at th 5 Non-Adaptive factors of seed size?
Think Morphology
- Taxonomy and inherited characteristics
- Flower and inflorescence constraints
- Fruit Morphology constraints and position in Fruit
- Differences in fertilization timing
- Heterogenous Resource availability
What are the 3 adaptive factors in seed size?
- Granivory
- Dispersal Constraints
- Parent offspring conflict
Without inclusive fitness plants…
Have larger seeds and increased resource gathering
With inclusive fitness plants…
Have traits that increase survivability
What is the Schedule of Growth and Survival?
Plant species have varying schedules in which theyh grow and reproduce
What are possible selective pressures for growth and survival?
Think Effort
- Critical size for reproduction
- Danger of all effort in one bout
- Diminishing returns in later years
What’s architecture?
The arrangement of regenerating modular body parts and their typical body structure.
- Adaptations for survival and resource retention
- Schedule of growth and survival organs
- Value of saving resources for future bouts
Reflect what?
Architecture
Whats the reproduction pattern of a monocarpic plant?
Once then dies
Whats the reproduction of a polycarpic plant?
Many time before death
What acts on the Schedule of Growth and Survival?
It is genetically coded, acted on by natural selection, and changes resources appropriation.
