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biology 230 > midterm 1 > Flashcards

midterm 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology definition

A
  • the scientific study of how organisms affect- and are affected by- other organisms in their environment
  • the scientific study of interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms
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2
Q

processes of distribution and abundance of species

A
  • meeting abiotic requirements
  • biotic interactions
  • dispersal
  • evolution
  • stochasticity (randomness)
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3
Q

why are the tropics warmer than the poles?

A
  • towards the poles, the sun’s rays are spread over a large area and take a longer path
  • near the equator, the suns rays strike earths surface perpendicularly
  • all the photons are concentrated in one small area-> heating the equator
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4
Q

Hadley cells

A

at the equator, warmer, less dense air rises, then spreads out towards the poles, gradually cooling and sinking as it moves, dropping at 30N/30S, it then loops back to the equator and warms again.

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5
Q

low pressure

A

wet/rainy
air is rising

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6
Q

high pressure

A

dry
air is dropping

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7
Q

global atmospheric circulation

A

high-rainfall biomes in the tropics
low rainfall biomes at 30N and 30S

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8
Q

Ferrell cell

A

driven by the movement of Hadley and polar cells and by exchange of energy between tropical and polar air masses at the polar front

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9
Q

polar cell

A

cold air flows away from poles and begins to warm, then rises again and loops back around to the poles at a high level

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10
Q

tropics (0°- 30°)

A

tropics (0°)= low pressure, abundant precipitation in all seasons
close to 0°= summer wet, winter dry
close to 30°= high pressure, dry in all seasons

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11
Q

temperate zone (30°-60°)

A

close to 30°= winter wet, summer dry
close to 60°= low pressure, ample precipitation in all seasons

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12
Q

polar zone (60°-90°)

A

close to 60°= low pressure, lots of precipitation in all seasons
close to 90°=high pressure, little precipitation in all seasons

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13
Q

moving air deflection

A

northern hemisphere= deflected from left to right (clockwise)
southern hemisphere= deflected from right to left (counterclockwise)

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14
Q

what causes winds to deflect?

A

rotation of the earth and Coriolis effect

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15
Q

westerlies

A

“coming from the west”
occur between 30° and 60°

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16
Q

easterlies

A

“coming from the east”
occur between 60° and 90°

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17
Q

SE trade winds

A

“coming from the south east”
occurs at 0° to 30°S

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18
Q

NE trade winds

A

“coming from the north east”
occurs at 0° to 30°N

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19
Q

rain shadow effect

A

air cools when it rises, forcing out the moisture as precipitation

moving air mass picks up moisture over the ocean–> on the windward slope, air rises and cools, releasing precipitation–> on the leeward slope, the dry air warms, little precipitation

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20
Q

where would you expect to find rain shadows?

A

tropics (0°-30°)= west of mountains
temperate (30°-60°) =east of mountains

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21
Q

Coriolis effect

A

explains why winds and ocean currents appear to be deflected to the right (northern hemisphere) and to the left (southern hemisphere)

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22
Q

rain shadow

A

the area downwind of a mountain or mountain range where relatively little ran falls

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23
Q

abiotic factors that affect organisms

A

temperature, pH, water precipitation, competition, nutrients, disturbance, light, soil, salinity…

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24
Q

potential distribution

A

entire geographic range of which an organism can occupy

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25
Q

actual distribution

A

smaller geographic range that an organism occupies due to interactions with other organisms or the environment
- competition, less optimal environment

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26
Q

stress

A
  • the condition in which an environmental change results in the decrease in the rate of an important physiological process
  • conditions that restrict production
  • conditions that cause sub cellular or cellular damage, leading to impaired function
    *always relative to the organism
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27
Q

what matters more, environmental temperature or organisms body temperature?

A

organisms body temperature

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28
Q

Wcd

A

conduction

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29
Q

Wsw

A

solar irradiance

30
Q

Wlw

A

long-wave transfer

31
Q

We

A

evaporation

32
Q

Wcv

A

convection

33
Q

2 methods for coping with extreme environmental temperatures

A

avoidance and tolerance

34
Q

tolerance can change

A

acclimation (lab) in the lab, acclimatization (natural environment) in the field, longer-term adaptation over generations

35
Q

thermoneutral zone

A

the range of ambient temperature in which normal metabolism provides enough heat to maintain an essentially constant body temperature in homeothermic animals

36
Q

endotherms

A

warm-blooded organisms

37
Q

ectotherms

A

cold-blooded organisms

38
Q

autotrophs

A

produces their own food for energy
sunlight via photosynthesis or inorganic chemical compounds via chemosynthesis
plants, some bacteria, algae

39
Q

heterotrophs

A

obtain energy by consuming energy-rich organic compounds made by other organisms (including detritus)
animals, most bacteria, fungi

40
Q

chemoautotroph

A

bacteria/archaea

41
Q

photoautotroph

A

plants, bacteria/archaea

42
Q

light compensation point

A

light intensity where the rate of photosynthesis exactly matches the rate of cellular respiration

43
Q

light saturation point

A

point where light intensity doesn’t increase rate of photosynthesis

44
Q

light limitation

A

area of a light intensity curve where the light saturation point has not been reached
rate of photosynthesis is dependent on light intensity

45
Q

light saturation

A

area of a light intensity curve whets the light saturation point has been reached

46
Q

phenotypic plasticity

A

changeable phenotype

47
Q

life histories key concepts

A

life history patterns vary within and among species
there are trade-offs between life history traits

48
Q

life history

A

major events related to its development, growth, reproduction, and survival

49
Q

life history strategy

A

pattern in the timing and nature of life history events averaged across all the individuals in a species

50
Q

indirect development

A

must undergo metamorphosis in order to become an adult

51
Q

if sexual reproduction is so costly, why is it part of so many life histories?

A

genetic diversity in sexual reproduction prevents parasites and pathogens from specializing on specific genes and killing species by mass

52
Q

complex life cycles

A

have at least two distinct stages

53
Q

plankototrophic

A

feeding larvae

54
Q

lecithotrophic

A

non-feeding larvae (have enough energy, don’t need to eat)

55
Q

direct developer

A

skip larvae stage
lower dispersal
youre born as a tiny adult

56
Q

population

A

a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area at the same time and interact with one another
*its difficult (or impossible) to delineate a population with absolute precision

57
Q

geometric growth

A

discrete time periods e.g. annual plants, mouse example, looper moths, increasing by some fixed factor each time
*results in a J shaped set of points

58
Q

exponential growth

A

continuous reproduction e.g. humans
*results in a J shaped curve

59
Q

logarithmic scale

A

when geometrically or exponentially growing population is plotted on a log scale, the result is a straight line

60
Q

population growth rate (λ)

A

If the ratio is 1= population hasn’t changed, were at equilibrium
Not possible to have -λ (you can’t have a negative population)
Decreasing population= λ<1
Increasing population= λ>1

61
Q

exponential growth rate (r)

A

population is stable/equilibrium= r=0
decreasing population= r<0
increasing population= r>0

62
Q

limits to the growth of populations

A
  • limited resources –>competition (density dependent)
  • predation/pathogens (density dependent)
  • natural disaster (density independent)
63
Q

density-independent

A

a factor whose effects on birth and death rates are independent of population density (temperature, rainfall, storms, fires, floods)

64
Q

density-dependent

A

a factor that causes birth rates, death rates, or dispersal (immigration/emigration) rates to change as the density of a population changes

65
Q

population regulation

A

density-dependent factors cause a population to increase when density is low and decrease when density is high

66
Q

logistic growth

A

a population level pattern in which abundance rapidly increases at first and then stabilizes at a population size known as the carrying capacity

67
Q

rmax

A

per capita intrinsic rate of increase under ideal conditions

68
Q

robs

A

per capita intrinsic rate of increase under actual conditions

69
Q

carrying capacity (K)

A

at K, B=D (assuming no emigration/immigration)

70
Q

population fluctuations

A

reasons that no population growth looks exactly perfect
can be erratic in either direction
- can increase the risk of extinction

71
Q

factors altering λ of a population

A

weather, disease, competition…
higher standard deviation of λ= more likely to go extinct

biology 230 (1 decks)

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