mid term Flashcards
What is biogeography
Study of the geographical distributions of plants and animals
what are the 3 divisions of biogeography
Zoogeography- study of the distribution and abundance of Animals
Phytogeography-“” plants
microbial- “” bacteria
What is a habitat
local area characterised by a specific set of environmental conditions
sizes of habitats
Micro >m, meso, macro, mega
What’s the difference between a habitat generalist and a habitat specialist
A specialist requires a certain set of environment conditions where as generalists can live almost anywhere
What is environmental tolerance
ability of any species to maintain and reproduce itself in a given environment
What is shelfords law
Each organism has ecological minimum and maximum limits of tolerance
what is the difference between a eurytopic species and a stenotopic species
eurytopic has a wide tolerance
stenotopic has low tolerance
what is stress
it occurs when energy is directed away from growth and reproduction towards maintenance
What are the two master limiting factors
Water and temperature
list the needs for water in animals
excretory system
temp regulation
work the lungs
classify plants with moisture
hydrophytes- live in water
halophytes- marsh
mesophytes- moderate moisture
xerophytes- (0) moisture
what is the temperature at which chilling sensitive plants die
10 degrees
what is the frost tolerant temperature
-40
what is the frost tolerant temperature
-15
characteristics of endotherms
high metabolisms
can generate and maintain body heat
distribution indépendant to to temperature
what is the thermal neutral zone
zone where no metabolism is used
ectotherm characteristics
cold blooded
need to soak there heat in through solar radiation
in northern hemisphere what side of a slope is warmer
south (prone to drought)
define population
loose collection of individuals belonging to the same species that can interbreed
define local population
tightly linked interbreeding group
define natality
offspring produced per unit population per unit time
Define fertility
actual reproductive performance of a population measured by a reproductive rate
Define Fecundity
potential reproduction of offspring
Define carrying capacity
A limit to the number of individuals a habitat can support
Define population irruptions
pop surges then crashes fast (boom and bust)
Difference in population dependant and independent factors
indépendant factors dont give a shit about the population
dependant factors are influenced by the population
What is a life table
of individuals expected in each age class based on ability to produce offspring and survival rates based on females
What is survivorship
How many of the species are expected to reach a certain age
difference between sources and sinks
sources is a good habitat that produce reproductive success over death
sink is local mortality is greater than sexy time due to habitat
What is a meta population
A population where there are many sub groups of the same species that frequently imm/emagrate
What are the 4 types of meta populations
Loose- interactions are rare between sup pops
Tight- heaps of interactions
extinction and colonisation- high turnover rates
mainland island- rescue effect essential a large persistent pop and mixture of small sup pop prone to extinction
what is the rescue effect
rescue effect- local extinction prevented by occasional immagrents, high species diversity
characteristics of r strategists
R- rely on habitat with little competition, high pop growth rate short gen time bacteria
characteristics of k stratagists
slow growth rate usually stable habitat. elephants
what are the 4 types of mutual cooexistance
Neutralism- no interaction
protocooperation- both benefit but is not obligated too
mutualism- both benefit but its obligated
commensalisms- one benefits the other is unharmed
what’s a detritivores
feed on waste and debris chew and bring orgnanic matter
what’s the difference between ecosphere and ecosystem
ecosphere- all living things plus life support
ecosystem- a space in what organisms interact together and with the environment
community structure vs functions
structure- diversity, composition and biomass species
functions- energy flow and nutrient cycle
photo mass
is the living material in all producers
basal metabolic rate equation
M=cm^0.75
features of small animals
higher rates such as cardiac and respiratory meaning has smaller lifespan is more active and higher reproductive rates
features of big animals
larger storage meaning less effected by drought starvation and cold. slower reproduction rate
are smaller or large animals specialist and use smaller geographic areas and there are fuck tons of them
smaller
what’s a keystone species
a species all others rely on in ecosystem
What’s the first and second law of thermo dynamics
Energy is not created or destroyed.
when its transferred some of the energy is lost to useless shit
what is prey switching
eating the most commonly available prey
what is prey selecting
only choosing to eat the best/ favourite food
difference between intra and interspecies competition
inter is different species
intra is same species
