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biology > Lecture 30 - Ecology (part 1) > Flashcards

Lecture 30 - Ecology (part 1) Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Ecology

A

is the rigorous study of climate and interactions with other species in understanding how these influence the distribution and abundance of organism

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2
Q

Organismal Ecology

A

how does an organism’s structure, physiology, and behaviour affect its SURVIVAL in the environment
• Ex. How do flamingos mate?

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3
Q

Population Ecology

A

analyses factors that effect POPULATION SIZE and how it CHANGES through time
• Ex. What environmental factors affect the reproductive rate of flamingos?

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4
Q

Community Ecology

A

examines how interactions between species, such as predation and competition, affect COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
• Ex. What factors influence the diversity of species that interact within an area?

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5
Q

Ecosystem Ecology

A

emphasises energy flow and chemical cycling BETWEEN ORGANISMS and their environments
• Ex. What factors control photosynthetic productivity in this aquatic ecosystem?

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6
Q

Landscape Ecology

A

focuses on factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms ACROSS MULTIPLE ECOSYSTEMS
• Ex. To what extent do nutrients from terrestrial ecosystems affect organisms in this lake?

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7
Q

Global Ecology

A

examines how the regional exchange of energy and materials influences the functioning and distribution or organisms ACROSS the biosphere
• Ex. How do global patterns of air circulation affect global distribution of species?

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8
Q

Earth’s climate varies by…

A

latitude & season & is changing very rapidly!

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9
Q

What is the main driver of organismal distribution?

A

climate

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10
Q

Climate

A

the long term prevailing weather conditions in an area

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11
Q

Climate is determined by a wide variety of factors:

A
  • Solar energy
  • Seasonality
  • Water Bodies
  • Mountains
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12
Q

Solar energy

A
  • Insolation
  • Higher temps in the tropics evaporate more water, causing warm air masses to flow to the poles
  • As they move over tropics, condense and release moisture (rain)
  • Dry air creates deserts (~30°N/S)
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13
Q

Insolation

A

is the intensity of sunlight (energy) in a given area during a period of time

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14
Q

Seasonality

A
  • The Earth’s tilt toward the sun and annual rotation around the sun causes strong seasonal variations in middle to high latitudes
  • Changes day length, solar radiation, temperature
  • Can cause seasonal shifts in rainfall amounts, wind patterns, ocean currents
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15
Q

Water Bodies

A
  • Ocean currents affect climate by heating and cooling overlying air masses
  • Coastal regions are also generally wetter than intercontinental areas
  • Supports huge diversity of coniferous rainforests (Giant redwoods and Sitka spruces along West Coast), or fog forests of Newfoundland
  • The specific heat capacity of water means water moderates local climates
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16
Q

On hot days…

A

land is warmer than water and warmer air masses draw in cooler air masses from water to land

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17
Q

At night…

A

water cools more slowly than land, drawing cooler air from the land away and warming it with the warmer air from water

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18
Q

Mountains

A
  • When warm air meets a mountain, the air rises and cools
  • The windward side receives abundant rainfall as the air moves up the mountains
  • On the leeward side, air is now cooler and descends, picking up moisture and resulting in a “rain shadow” (drier)
  • Produces the world’s deserts and also Alberta Chinooks
  • Also affect sunlight
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19
Q

South-facing slopes in the N. hemisphere…

A

receive more sunlight than north-facing slopes, and are thus warmer and drier

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20
Q

Spruce and conifers grow on the…

&

Drought-resistant plants grow on the…

A

cooler north-face and shrubby

south-face

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21
Q

Every 1000m increase in elevation drops the temperature by…

A

~6°C

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22
Q

At a smaller scale…

A

microclimate can develop

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23
Q

Microclimate

A

Very fine, localised patterns in climatic conditions

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24
Q

What factors can microclimates be caused by?

A
  • Abiotic

* Biotic

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25
Q

Abiotic

A

non-living
• Chemical and physical attributes
• Temperature, light levels, water, nutrients

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26
Q

Biotic

A

living
• Forest trees moderate climate below them by casting shade, reducing wind, reducing surface evaporation
• Creates a cooler, humid microclimate

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27
Q

Global climate change can affect the…

A

interactions of life all around Earth (biosphere)

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28
Q

Climate change

A

The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have dramatically changed the Earth’s climate in a directional shift from Earth’s normal climate
• The burning question becomes then if current global species will be able to adapt to these climatic shifts

29
Q

Interactions…

A

limit the distribution of species

30
Q

Physical location of the land…

A

can affect distribution

• Kangaroos in Australia are found no where else on Earth

31
Q

Ecologists…

A

ask not only where are organisms found, but also why

- can use molecular evidence to unravel evolutionary pasts and historic dispersal routes

32
Q

As climate warms…

A

natural range expansion can occur, however abiotic factors can limit how much they expand their ranges

  • Range expansions can have huge affects
  • Coyotes expand into new territories, reducing deer populations
  • Reduced deer populations affect tick populations and reduce the prevalence of Lyme-disease (if humans don’t control coyote populations)
  • Coyotes can also hybridise with wolve “coy-wolf”, ie Eastern coyote
33
Q

Abiotic factors can affect…

A

dispersal

34
Q

Abiotic factors that can affect dispersal:

A
  • Temperatures
  • salinity
  • water levels
  • sunlight
  • soil nutrients/composition can also prevent organisms from tolerating and surviving in new environments
35
Q

Fundamental niche

A

the abiotic factors that permits an organism to survive in an area

36
Q

Main abiotic factors limiting dispersal are…

A

temperature and moisture

37
Q

Fundamental niche affects…

A

biological processes
• Cells can rupture if water they contain freeze
• Proteins denature in high temperatures

38
Q

Temperature sets northern limit for many…

A

Northern Hemisphere species

39
Q

Northern Hemisphere species

A
  • These have evolved adaptations to survive with temperature fluctuations
  • Ecotherms have evolved behaviours to adapt to these changes (ie burrowing in mud during the winter)
40
Q

Ectotherms

A

have evolved behaviours to adapt to these changes (temp fluctuations) (ie burrowing in mud during the winter)

41
Q

Biotic factors also affect…

A

dispersal (are other species responsible for limiting dispersal?)

42
Q

Biotic factors that also affect dispersal:

A
  • Negative interactions with predators or herbivores can restrict an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce
  • Absence of food sources or plant pollinators
  • Presence of pathogens, parasites, or other competing species
  • Humans
43
Q

Biological process affect…

A

population dynamics

44
Q

Populations

A

are a group of individuals from the species inhabiting the same general area

45
Q

Populations rely on what?

A

Rely on the same resources, are influenced by the same environmental factors, and are likely to interaction and interbreed with each other

46
Q

Populations described via…

A

boundaries and size (ie # individuals in an area)

47
Q

Density

A

is the # individuals per unit area or volume

48
Q

Density use a variety of methods to determine density:

A
  • mark-recapture
  • counting a subset per unit area and extrapolating
  • counting proxies (tracks, fecal piles, number of nests, etc)
49
Q

Individuals can be:

A

added or removed from populations

• Additions from births or removals from deaths

50
Q

Immigration

A

influx of new individuals from another population

51
Q

Emigration

A

movement of individuals out of a population to other locations

52
Q

Dispersion

A

is the pattern of spacing among individuals

53
Q

3 types of dispersion:

A
  • Clumped
  • Uniform
  • Random
54
Q

Clumped

A

aggregate in patches (ie plants and fungi due to soil conditions)

55
Q

Uniform

A

evenly spaced (ie territorial animals, flocks of birds)

56
Q

Random

A

spacing is independent of other individuals (ie dandelions)

57
Q

Demography

A

is the study of vital statistics of populations and how they change over time

58
Q

Demographics…

A

Can construction life tables, summarising the survival and reproductive rates of individuals in specific age-groups in populations

59
Q

Birth rates

A

frequency of live offspring born in a population

60
Q

Death rates

A

frequency of deaths in a population (ie Mortality rate) during a given timeframe

61
Q

Life tables usually just look at…

A

females since only females physically produce offspring

62
Q

Demographics can represent the survival data as a…

A

survivorship curve

63
Q

Survivorship curve

A

Plot of the proportion of individuals in a cohort still alive at each age

64
Q

Type I (Survivorship curve)

A

flat at start, low death rates early on
• Typical of large mammals that produce few offspring but high investment in
parental care

65
Q

Type II (Survivorship curve)

A

intermediate, constant death over lifespan

• Typical of ground squirrels and small animals

66
Q

Type III (Survivorship curve)

A

sharp death rate at start, declines as aging increases

• Typical of organisms that produce abundant young (fish, plants, etc),and do not provide much for parental care

67
Q

Reproductive rates

A

Reproductive output varies with age in females

68
Q

What do Reproductive rates estimate via & with?

A

• Estimate via direct counts, mark-recapture method
• Estimate with molecular tools
- Skin samples from mother and amplify DNA using genetic markers using PCR
- Then sample young to see how many match the genetic profile of the mother

biology (25 decks)

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