Mid Term 1 reveiw Flashcards
1
Q
Where is Baffin Bay
A
Area Between Greenland and Baffin Island
2
Q
Where Is GreenLand
A
A country near Canada that is linked to Denmark
3
Q
What are the 4 main points in Arthur Tansleys quote about Population Ecology
A
Every genuine worker in science is an explorer
adapt his material and mental equipment
the greatest attractions of ecology to the student who is at once eager, imaginative, and determined
For the lover of prescribed routine methods with the certainty of “safe” results, the study of ecology is not recommended.
4
Q
What are the 3 Root Questions of Ecology
A
- How did such a variety of life arise?
- How is it all maintained?
- What would happen if it were lost?
5
Q
What is COMMUNITY/POPULATION ECOLOGY
A
branch of science focused on
understanding Earth’s biodiversity
Species interact with one another and their environment
Species and their interactions change through time “EVOLVE”
6
Q
What is a Community
A
A group of species that occur together in space and time
7
Q
What are the 3 notes about the definition of a community
A
1 The definition is an operational one
2 Limit on space and time are Arbitary
3 Limit on the number of species are arbitary
8
Q
What is a Operational Definition
A
statement of procedures. Use to define the terms of a process and its properties (duration, quantity, structure)
9
Q
What is the first wrok of community about
A
Botany, study of plants. Community were found to be predictable
10
Q
What is a COHERENT UNIT
A
Planet communities followed a pattern of succession to some stable climax community
11
Q
What is Primary Succesion
A
occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which thesoilis incapable of sustaininglifeas a result of such factors aslavaflows, newly formedsand dunes, orrocksleft from a retreatingglacier
12
Q
What is Secondary Succesion
A
occurs in areas where acommunitythat previously existed has been removed; it is typified by smaller-scale disturbances that do not eliminate all life andnutrientsfrom theenvironment.
13
Q
What is Succesion
A
Orderly Process of commuity development that is directional and predictable
14
Q
What is the SUPERORGANISM CONCEPT
A
Early Ecologists viewed communities as unique entities
15
Q
What is Limnology
A
The study of inland water
16
Q
Why was the superorganism concept questioned
A
SPECIES have distinct ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
May appear as tightly knit group of species at a local scale BUT in fact
this is the response of individual species to environmental gradients.
17
Q
What did the Superorganism Concept lead to
A
INDIVIDUALISTIC CONCEPT OF COMMUNITIES
18
Q
What is the INDIVIDUALISTIC CONCEPT OF COMMUNITIES
A
based on the premise of a continuum or gradient of plant distributions
19
Q
What is required to for the INDIVIDUALISTIC CONCEPT OF COMMUNITIES
A
Highly discreet resources
In environments with sharp ecological boundaries
20
Q
What regulated abundance of individuals
A
birth, death, migration
21
Q
What did Charles Elton propose in the Ecology of Animals;
A
that communities have limited membership” and that “only a fraction of the forms that could theoretically do so actually form a community at any one time”
22
Q
How was Eltons idea of Limited membership supported
A
mathematical theories on population growth and species interactions
23
Q
What was the key outcome if the mathematical models of limited membership
A
Two species competing for a single resource cannot coexist
24
Q
How was “ Two species competing for a single resource cannot coexist” tested
A
Gause studied the interaction of protozan populations. P.Aurelia outcompeted P.Caudatum
25
What is the GAUSIAN’s Competitive exclusion principle
Two species cannot coexist on one limiting resource”
Modified form - this has become a cornerstone for Community Ecology
26
When did the big debate over the competitive exclusion principal occur
1940s and 1950s
27
What was the Competitive Exclusion principle about
Whether populations were regulated by
DENISTY-DEPENDENT factors OR DENSITY-INDEPENDENT factors
28
What is DENISTY-DEPENDENT factors
Regulated Population
Disease
29
What is DENISTY-INDEPENDENT factors
Limiting Population
Enviroment, Temperature, Major Events
30
WHat is Grinells Definition of a NIche
defined the niche of an organism as the habitat or environment it is capable of inhabiting
31
WHat is Eltons Definition of a NIche
Independently defined the niche as the role a species plays in the community
32
WHat is Gause Definition of a NIche
made the connection between the degree to which the niches of two species overlap and the intensity of competition between them.
33
What is Hutchinsons Definition of a Niche
Quantifying an organism’s niche, including both biotic and abiotic dimensions of the environment, as axes of an n-dimensional hypervolume
34
What is a fundamental Niche
preinteractive):
Those parts of the environment a species could occupy in the absence of interactions with other species
35
WHat is a Realized Niche
(postinteractive)
The parts of the environment a species actually occupies in the presence of interacting species (e.g. predators and competitors)
36
WHat question stepped behind Gausses competitive exclusion principal
If the competitive exclusion principle is true and interspecific competition limits the coexistence of species within the same niche, then how dissimilar must species be in their niches in order to coexist?
37
Can Realized Niche be Larger then Fundamental Niche
yes
38
What is a MiniPat Satalite
Device used to collect data at a set interval of time. Collects Depth and Temperature
39
Where where his MiniPAT Satellites Found
1st in Ireland
2nd in France
40
What is the Biggest Limitation of MiniPat Satellite
Battery and Transmittion to the satelite
41
How does data From the MIniPat satelite get Collected
1 After ejection, it gets sent to the surface of the ocean and when it is dry, transmission of data is sent to the satalites
2 If found, you can collect the data
42
What are the advantaged of getting the MINIPAT satalite back
Data intervals go from 75 seconds to 1 second
75/80 % of data goes 100%
43
What caused the Tag from ireland to change depth rapidly
Predation attack from greenland shark on fish. Analysis of temp confirmed it.
44
What is the optimal amount of niches to study
3 beacause it is easy to visualize
45
How Does Body Size differ in a community
Species that were similar in most ways EXCEPT the sizes of prey eaten tended to differ by a constant size ratio:
LENGTH (By a factor of 1.3)
BODY MASS (By a factor of 2)
46
What are Hutchinsonian Ratios
LENGTH (By a factor of 1.3)
BODY MASS (By a factor of 2)
47
WHat was the example of Hutchinsonian Ratios used in class
Desert rodents in the Western United States
48
What is the Concept of Limiting Similarity
able to specify the minimum niche difference OR maximum niche overlap
That will allow two species to coexist
49
Concept of Limiting Similarity K value
resource continuum
50
Concept of Limiting Similarity W value
is the standard deviation of a species resource use
51
Concept of Limiting Similarity D value
the distance between the mean of two adjacent resource curves
52
When does minimal Niche seperation occur
When D/W = aprox 1
53
When was the Ireland Minipat Tagged
2021
54
What satalitte does the MINIPatt transmit to
ARGO
55
What was the purpose of the IRELAND MINI PAT
to study breeding grounds
56
Where was the second MINIPATt Found
France
57
What was the France MINPATT tagged to
Greenland shark in 2021
58
what was the pupose of the Second MINIPATT tag
to study Anthopogenic Impacts. What is the post catch mortality of sharks
59
How many Greenland sharks have been found pregnant
1
60
What happend to MINIPatt Data for the France Tag
Data was never reported
61
What is the Null Model Debate
increase in emphasis on field experiments to test ecological hypotheses.
62
What could have a major effect on species diversity or community structure
presence or absence of predators
63
What is Alpha Diversity
the number of species found at a local site
64
What is Beta Diversity
the number of species found at a local site
65
What is Gamma Diversity
a measure of species richness in a region.
66
What is a geological boundary
contiental margins, mountain ranges and/or climate breaks
67
Rank Space units by size
Realm,Province,Biome,Regions, Local
68
What are the 4 main categories into explaining the latitudinal diversity gradient
(1) NULL MODELS
2) ECOLOGICAL HYPOTHESIS
(3) HISTORICAL EXPLANATION
EVOLUTIONARY HYPOTHESES
69
What is the Null Models
: attempts to specify how a relationship or pattern in nature should look
In the absence of a particular process or mechanism
70
What is the Mid Domain Effect
Null Model
Proposed that the latitudinal gradient in species diversity reflects the outcome of placing species ranges in a bounded domain
71
How was Mid Domain Effect Tested
Predicted how bird species diversity should vary with latitude based on random dynamics of species ranges
Spreading dye model
72
What were the results of the Spreading Dye Model
1st Model- did not explain, only represented 2%
2nd Model- Broken into geographic regions. more similar patterns
3rd Model- addition of available energy. Similar to distribution
73
What is the take home message of the mid domain effect
alone does not show any correlation but when energy and geographical regions are added there is a more positive correlation
74
What is a ecological Hypothesis
Focuses on carrying capacity and tied to climate
75
How is climate linked to the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient
Explain about 64% of the variation in species richness across broad range of taxa
76
What is the Species-energy hypothesis
to explain why there are more species where it is warm and we
77
What are the 2 ECOLOGICAL HYPOTHESES: Climate and species richness
HYPOTHESIS 1: Number of individuals an area can support will increase with increasing
primary productivity (energy)
HYPOTHESIS 2: Species richness varies as a function of the total number of individuals in an
area. BECAUSE: over evolutionary time – a greater number of individuals can divide into
more species with viable population sizes.
78
What is a Sea Grass Bed
Nursery Habitat that provides habitat, food, oxygen and carbon sequestration
79
What is Shark Bay
Protected area on the coast of australia
80
What was the result of the Sea Grass Beds
One major plant instead of many plants
81
How can tropic levels be measured
measured by stomach contents
82
What is the average sharks trophic level
3.8 - 4.5
83
What is the HISTORICAL HYPOTHES
The time-and-area hypothesis and the
concept of tropical niche conservatism
84
What are the 2 original dissusions of the time hypothesis
Tropical environments are much older and more widespread in Earth’s history
2. More time available for diversification; equatorial regions have suffered less from
harsh climatic events (ice ages) that drive extinctions and reset the biodiversity clock
(this was based from the Pleistocene glaciations)
85
What is a foraminifence
animal used to understand past temperatures. used oxygen isotopes. Lower isotopic value means higher temp
86
What is the evolutionary hypothesis
DIVERSIFICATION RATES may vary betwen environments
87
What does Cradle Mean
generation of new taxa
88
What does MUSEUM mean
preservation of existing diversity
89
do tropics cradle or museum
BOTH ARE CORRECT
90
True or False diversification rates are
generally higher in the tropics than in
temperate or polar regions
true
91
True or False High rates of species origination and
lower extinction risk in the tropics
True
92
How is fossil evidence limited
1. Few taxonomic groups
2. Marine invertebrates
93
How Does Lattitude in marine enviorments differ
More of an Open ecosystem
3rd dimension of depth
Inverse of terrestrial envoirments
94
True or False the rate of increase in species richness declines with increasing productivity at the global scale
True
95
What is Increasing limb of hump
Increased productivity allows more
species to exist at minimum
viable population sizes
96
What is Decreasing limb of hump
Why past a certain point
does increasing productivity reduce
the number of species?
97
Why past a certain point
does increasing productivity reduce
the number of species?
1. A shift from NUTRIENT limitation to LIGHT limitation occurs at high productivity – this
drives a decline in plant species richness in very productive environments
(Tilman and Pacala 1993)
2. Intermediate productivity environments are more common than low and high
(especially in the temperate zone); more species have thus evolved to utilize intermediate
productivities. This creates a larger species pool for those environments
(Partel et al. 2007)
3. Communities are more likely to occur in alternative states at intermediate productivities
98
What is the Power Function formula
S= CA^Z
log S = Log C + Z log A
99
How do Slope and Power Functions relate
SLOPE: Z is the same as M
INTERCEPT:C is the same as C
100
Why Does species richnes increase with area
1. Larger areas typically encompass more habitats
2 Demographic processes – larger areas can support larger populations of single species
101
What is Theory of Island Biogeography
To explain the idea of larger population size hence lower extinction
Function of :
(i) Rate of immigration of species from the mainland
(ii) Loss of island species - extinction
102
How do Extinction rates increase
(i) There are more species to
go extinct
(ii) The number of individuals per
species decreases as the total
number of resident species
Increases
SMALL populations more likely to
go extinct than large populations
103
How was A Theory of Island Biogeography tested
Experiment in flordia keys on mangrove islands. Many islands tested. throught years, islands were made smaller and smaller causing populations to decrease
104
What does Z represent
Z is the slope
= rate of change
105
What is TRIPHASIC SPECIES-AREA RELATIONSHIP
SAR is steepest (unity) at the PROVINCIAL (CONTINENTAL) SCALE - when diversities
are compared among biological provinces
REMEMBER at PROVINCE (CONTINENTAL) scale – include biogeographic regions with
independent evolutionary histories. THUS you’d expect species richness to change
more dramatically (LECTURE TWO)/THREE)
ALSO – expect rapid change in species richness when the spatial scale of study is
larger than most species home-ranges (Allen and White 2003; McGill 2011)
Shallowest at REGIONAL scale (within provinces). Z constant values are typically
around 0.25 (0.15-0.40; Rosenzweig 1995). Variation is strongly linked with climate
106
How is Z linked with climate
Bird species richness on islands and continents globally - z-values increased
significantly with temperature and precipitation
107
What is Species Abundance Distribution”
plot species by abundance (number of individuals)
Negative binomial frequency distribution
108
True or False Species Richness varies with lattitude
True
109
What are 2 strong predictors of species richness
Climate and Productivity
110
What was the death rate of the Ordovician extinction
85% caused by falling sea levels
111
What was the death rate of Devionian extinction
70% Caused by astriod impacts
112
What is the death rate of the permain extinction
95% caused by volcanic activity
113
What was the death rate of the Triassic Extinction
76% Caused by rapid warming
114
What is the Death rate of the K-T extinction
80% caused by asteroid
115
Since the last mass extinction, what percent of species have we lost
up to 50%
116
What are the causes of species loss
Habbitat destruction, overharvesting, invasive species, climate change, eutrophication, human effects
117
Where did the drought resistance experiment take place
minnesota
118
What is drought resistance
rate of plant biomass change (loss in plant community biomass DROUGHT YR versus PLANT BIOMASS in previous year)
119
What were the results of the drought resistance experiemnt
207 plots studied
Communities studied had been changed by adding fertilizer
Diversity decreased with addition of fertilizer
This EXTRA factor (fertilizer) may have impacted the observed relationship
120
What was the Ecotron experiment
Manipulated species richness in small replicated ecosystems
- 14 Controlled environmental chambers
121
What were the results of the ecotron experiments
High diversity communities consumed more CO2
2. High diversity resulted in greater primary productivity
122
in the ecotron experiment, how was ecosystem function measured
Community respiration
Decomposition rates
Nutrient retention
Plant productivity
Water retention
123
in the Ecotron experiemnt, what were the trophic levels
Parasitoids
Molluscs and
insects
Annual plants
Collembolids and
earthworms
124
What are the 4 important ecosystem functions
PRODUCTIVITY
NUTRIENT USE AND NUTRIENT RETENTION
COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM STABILITY
INVASIBILITY
125
How was productivity of an ecosystem tested
3 different experiments used
EXPERIMENT ONE
168 plots (9 x 9m)
Introduced seed from 1,2,4,8, or 16 grassland-savanna perennial species
Diversity treatments - Species composition – randomly generated from
18 species (15 g seed/m2/species) – all weeds removed regularly
EXPERIMENT TWO
REPEATED across seven countries (Sweden to Greece)
Regional species pools differed between sites
EXPANDED on first experiment by factoring in different environmental regimes
EXPERIMENT THREE
Plant diversity manipulated across a large number of experimental plots
Examined above and below ground productivity and nutrient use efficiency
FOCUS on multi-trophic level effects (Marquard et al. 2009; Hector et al. 2011)
126
What was the overall results of the Productivity experiemnts
Increasing species diversity increases biomass production in primary producers
- polyculture attains x1.4 biomass vs. monoculture
127
What are the underlying mechanisms of diversity-productivity relationship
NICHE COMPLEMENTARITY VERSUS SPECIES SELECTION
128
What is Niche Complementarity
Species differ in the use of limiting resources
IF community is composed of species that differ in their niches:
efficiency of resource use increases with species richness =
higher overall productivity
Positive relationship between species richness and ecosystem function
129
What is Species selection
if a community contains more productive species, may dominate
130
Does high or low niche overlap result in high ecosystem productivity
low
131
Nutrients cycling and Nutrients Retention
species EXHIBIT resource partitioning and thus exhibit niche complementarity
= more diverse communities use resources more efficiently
= amount of unused resources decline as species richness increases
132
DIVERSITY AND STABILITY
KEY FOCUS IS TEMPORAL (Time): consistency of species abundance over time
MEASURING COMMUNITY STABILITY (Tilman 2000):
SPECIES LEVEL: Mean abundance / Standard deviation of its abundance (SD)
COMMUNITY LEVEL: requires variance (SD) and covariance
133
What was the Cedar Creek Experiemtn
experiment about stability
DIVERSITY HAD A STRONG POSITIVE EFFECT on TEMPORAL STABILITY at the plant community level
BUT a NEGATIVE EFFECT when considering at the individual level
134
What is INVASIBILITY
Are more diverse communities more resistant to invasion by exotic species? Overall (YES)
MECHANISM: increased interspecific competition
