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Ecology and Environment > Lecture Four - Community Structure > Flashcards

Lecture Four - Community Structure Flashcards

1
Q

Name the green seaweed that has invaded the Mediterranean sea.
How did it get there?

A
  • Caulerpa taxifolia

- From fishtanks

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2
Q

What has been the effect of the invasive seaweed species in the Mediterranean?

A

Formed large, overgrown meadows and vastly reduced native fish habitats.

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3
Q

What are species:genus ratios?

A

Use species:genus ratios as an indicator of competition.

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4
Q

What are neutral models?

A
  • Strong patterns can emerge from random processes / randomly generated communities
  • Used to explain lower species:genus ratios on islands compared to mainland.
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5
Q

What do neutral models assume?

A

That there are no interactions between species. Every species is behaving independently from each other.

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6
Q

Describe some proof for neutral models.

A
  • SAD diagrams with ‘lazy J’ shape can be formed from randomly choosing coloured sweets.
  • From this alone, cannot infer that interactions are happening, as the pattern can occur from a random process.
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7
Q

What is the Glaesonian view?

A

That species go about their business and don’t interact with other species = the null model.

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8
Q

What is Whittaker famous for?

A
  • Mapping world biomes onto moisture and temperature gradients.
  • Working on mountains and viewing ecological control by climatic factors (how climate controls appearance of plants)
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9
Q

Describe Whittaker’s experiment on climatic control of plants.

A
  • Walks and transects through mountains

- Counts how many trees of each species there are

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10
Q

What do the following words mean?

a) Mesic
b) Xeric

A

a) Mesic = wet

b) Xeric = dry

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11
Q

What did Whittaker find in diorite soil?

A

Distinctive community composed of over 6 trees.

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12
Q

What did Whittaker find in serpentine soil?

A

Some of previous tree species still there, but three new species.

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13
Q

What is the point of Whittaker’s experiment?

A

That there is no consistent community to which our focal species actually belong.

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14
Q

What was Whittaker’s main observation of the habitat?

A

There were no edges, only boundaries for each organisms or species.

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15
Q

Were Whittaker’s results Clemensian or Gleasonian?

Why?

A

Gleasonian

Because trees drop in and out of habitat without rules about the presence and absence of other tree species.

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16
Q

What does a food web consist of?

A

Predator-prey interactions

17
Q

What does an interaction web consist of?

A

Any ecological interactions! Such as

  • Predation
  • Competition
  • Mutualism
  • Parasitism
  • Disease
18
Q

What is the USDA Germplasm Bank?

A

A place in Washington USA where all seeds are kept in freezers in case a species becomes extinct.

19
Q

What is a bipartite network?

A

A network that has two layers, e.g. plants connected to bees, but plants also connected to other plants by cross-pollination by bees.

20
Q

What is a topological food web?

A

A web with no indication of interaction strengths.

21
Q

What is chain length in a food web?

A

Number of links between a basal species and a top predator.

22
Q

What is linkage density?

A

The mean number of links per species

23
Q

What is connectance?

A

Number of actual links/possible links.

24
Q

What is the linkage density hypothesis?

A

Linkage density is constant, at approximately 2.

Because connectance decreases with the number of species in the food web.

25
Q

What is the constant connectance hypothesis?

A

That connectance is constant, but diet breadth is wider in larger webs.

26
Q

What is Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?

A

A game based on the small world phenomenon that assumes any actor can be linked through his or her film roles to Kevin Bacon within six steps.

27
Q

What is the approximate Bacon number for humans?

A

6

28
Q

How many species of mammals in

a) The UK?
b) Ireland?

A

a) UK = 44 species

b) Ireland = 22 species

29
Q

Give the equation showing relationship between size of an area and how many species can fit into it.

A

S(A) = C x A^z

Where
C = species richness of one unit area
A = area of habitat in same units
z = a constant

30
Q

When do species and area have a linear relationship?

A

When z = 1

31
Q

What is the habitat diversity hypothesis?

A

That habitat diversity increases with area, accommodating different kinds of species.

32
Q

What is the passive sampling hypothesis?

A

That larger areas present a larger target for colonising species.

33
Q

What is the average value of z?

A

0.3

34
Q

Give the log equation for species diversity linked to area.

A

logS = logC + zlogA

Ecology and Environment (22 decks)

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