Macroecology

Question 1

What is macroecology?

Answer 1

A way of studying relationships between organisms and their environment at a large spatial scale that involves characterizing and explaining statistical patterns or abundance, distribution, and diversity

Question 2

What is biogeography?

Answer 2

Science that attempts to document and understand spatial patterns of biodiversity at a large spatial scale

Question 3

What is ecological niche modeling?

Answer 3

An attempt to predict species geographic distribution ranges, including expansion and retractions based on information of species current distribution and nice requirements, and spatial information

Question 4

What environmental factors are considered in environmental niche modeling?

Answer 4

Macroclimate
-mean annual temp
-precipitation

Question 5

Why should we predict potential invaded areas?

Answer 5

Know where to focus monitoring programs to detect and remove the invader

Question 6

What are control options?

Answer 6

Trap animals
Market animals as food

Question 7

Why is trapping animals difficult?

Answer 7

Species reproduces fast and has broad environmental niche, can occur in large populations and spread fast

Question 8

Why is marketing animals as food difficult?

Answer 8

Ethically controversial and populations can occur in polluted waters

Question 9

What are the limitations of ecological niche modeling?

Answer 9

Focuses on realized niches, does not consider the fundamental niche
Even harder to model rare species because we will have few observations from which to gather environmental data

Question 10

What are other applications of ecological niche models?

Answer 10

Can be used to direct researchers to areas in which rare species may be found
Can predict movements/extinctions/immigrations/ under future environmental conditions

Question 11

What can be considered an island?

Answer 11

Any portion of isolated habitat
-mountain tops
-lakes
-habitat fragments

Question 12

What are species richness patterns?

Answer 12

Species richness increases with island area
Species richness decreases with island isolation

Question 13

Why is there a relationship between area and species richness?

Answer 13

Larger areas:
-likely have more resources
-can support larger populations, less vulnerable to extinction
-have greater niche diversity

Question 14

What is species richness like on marine islands?

Answer 14

Species richness on islands decreases with increasing distance from the mainland

Question 15

What can species richness on islands be modeled as?

Answer 15

A dynamic balance between immigration and extinction of species

Question 16

When are immigration rates highest on islands?

Answer 16

Highest on new islands because every species arriving is new

Question 17

When do immigration rates on islands decrease?

Answer 17

Declines as species accumulate on islands until all p;possible species present on the island

Question 18

Why do extinction rates rise with an increasing number of species?

Answer 18

More species create bigger pool of possible extinction
As number of species increases, population size of each likely to decrease, increasing risk of extinction
As the number of species on island increases potential for competitive interactions will increase

Question 19

What is the point of equilibrium between immigration and extinction?

Answer 19

Predicted number of species for an island
Immigration and extinction rates are equal
Species compositions can turn over but species number stays constant

Question 20

How does species richness relate to latitudinal gradients?

Answer 20

Species richness generally increases from middle and high latitudes to the equator
Most groups of organisms are more species-rich in the tropics than they are at higher latitudes

Question 21

What are the time and area effects of latitudinal gradients?

Answer 21

Tropical ecosystems are generally older and disturbed less frequently
Tropics include greater area of both land and water
Temperatures more uniform across a range of tropical latitudes