Lecture eleven Flashcards
Physiological Ecology
How individuals respond to environmental conditions - abiotic
Evolutionary Ecology
How individuals maximize fitness and adapt over generations
Behavioural Ecology
How individuals respond to other organisms - biotic
Population Ecology
Processes of birth, death, migration influence the abundance and distribution patterns of groups of organisms
Spatial Structure
How individuals organize themselves in space. Geographic, dispersal, dispersion, population size
Age/size Structure
of individuals in each age/size class
Genetic Structure
Genetic composition of all individuals combined within a population
What determines population size?
Birth/death/migration rates. These are influenced by abiotic and biotic factors
Unitary Individuals
Physically and genetically distinct individuals. GENETS
Modular Individuals
Many interconnected units derived from the same zygote. Can exist separately and independently. RAMETS
Aspen Tree
Each tree is a ramet, together they are a genet.
Are ramets more or less likely to go extinct? Why?
More likely because there is no genetic variation amount them.
What is a geographical distribution/range determined by?
The presence of suitable environmental conditions and resources.
What is a habitat patch? What can it result in?
An area of homogeneous environmental conditions. Can be heterogeneously distributed, separated by unsuitable habitats. Can result in subpopulations.
Metapopulation
A collection of local (sub) populations interacting within a geographical range.
How do local populations interact?
Via dispersal –> immigration and emigration.
What does the degree of interaction between local populations depend on?
Ability of individuals to move between habitat patches (distance, suitability, barriers) and habitat patch size and quality
What is dispersion?
Spacing of individuals with respect to one another.
What are the three general patterns of dispersion?
Clumped (in discrete groups), even (uniformly spaced), random (without regard to others)
Do environmental conditions and resources influence dispersion patterns at different spatial scales?
Yes.
