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principles of ecology > module 4 > Flashcards

module 4 Flashcards

1
Q

what is trophic ecology?

A

the study of feeding relationships between organisms.

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2
Q

equation for efficiency in food webs

A

(Yt)^n

Yt - trophic yield (function of growth and metabolism)

n - number of trophic levels

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3
Q

what does it mean when a food web is size structured

A

body size is related to the position of the organism in the food web.

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4
Q

what are marine food webs dominated by?

why is this the case

A

small organisms

higher rates of reproduction, takes less time to grow, consume less than larger organisms.

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5
Q

bait balls

A

gather schools of fish or plankton in one area and feed on it.

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6
Q

ram-feeding

A

swimming through water column with mouth open

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7
Q

lunge-feeding

A

swim with mouth open and filter it through.

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8
Q

bubble-net feeding

A

Whales release bubbles through blowholes to trap schools of fish in one area.

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9
Q

chemosynthesis

A

uses energy released by inorganic chemical reactions to make sugars.

common in places where primary producers cannot receive sunlight for photosynthesis.

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10
Q

5 main chemosynthetic habitats in the oceans

A
  1. contiental slope sediments

2.hydrothermal vents

  1. whale and food falls
  2. cold seeps
  3. shallow-water sediments
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11
Q

trophic cascades

A

non-linear ecological interaction whereby a change in upper (lower) trophic levels induces dramatic shifts in lower (upper) trophic levels.

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12
Q

trophic cascade in otters and kelp

A

otter numbers decrease
(don’t feed on sea urchins)

sea urchins increase
(feed on kelp)

kelp decreases

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13
Q

trophic compensation

A

change in upper trophic level does not propagate down the food web.

the potential for compensation depends on the potential for the individuals to respond to predation and on the trophic diversity and complexity of food webs.

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14
Q

mesoconsumer release

A

when collapses in top predator populations are associated with dramatic increases in abundance of smaller predators.

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15
Q

marine biodiversity

A

the variety of life in the oceans comprising ecological, organismal and genetic components.

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16
Q

ecological diversity

A

the variety of biomes, ecosystems and habitats in the ocean.

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17
Q

species diversity

A

alpha, beta and gamma, taxonomic diversity, shannon’s diversity, evenness across different species

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18
Q

functional diversity

A

same metrics as species diversity but measured across different functional traits.

19
Q

genetic diversity

A

same metrics as species diversity but also phylogenetic differences, measured across populations, individuals and genes.

20
Q

where is there a higher diversity of reef fish species found?

A

in the tropics

21
Q

where is there higher functional diversity of fish?

A

Galapagos islands and on the south west coast of Africa

22
Q

biodiversity hotspots

A

regions or habitats with disproportionately high biodiversity value.

measured as the number of rare, endemic or endangered components

22
Q

coral triangle

A

example of a biodiversity hotspot.

  • habitat diversity leads to increase in niches
  • genera are young, either evolving here or surviving here while going extinct elsewhere
  • minimal disturbance from sea level rise
23
Q

bathymetric gradient

why is this so?

A

depth gradient

higher species richness and diversity in shallow water.

  • don’t have as much data about the deep sea as we do about shallower depths
24
Q

abyssal plains

A

flat muddy plains in the deep sea.

25
Q

deep-sea biodiversity hotspots

A

cold water coral reefs

seamounts

shipwrecks and other structures.

26
Q

what are the 7 reasons why diversity reduces with increasing latitude

A
  1. time-stability hypothesis
  2. rapports rule
  3. Species-area hypothesis
  4. Differences in geological history
  5. Gradients in solar energy input/levels of productivity
  6. Mid-domain effect
  7. Differences in rates of evolutionary processes
27
Q

time stability hypothesis

A

tropics are more stable over
evolutionary time than poles

28
Q

Rapoport’s rule

A

small geographic ranges in the tropics permit
species co-existence, broader geographic ranges in higher latitudes
result in lower diversity

29
Q

Species-area hypothesis

A

the tropics cover a larger area so can
support more species

30
Q

Differences in geological history

A

higher latitudes are younger

31
Q

Gradients in solar energy input/levels of productivity

A

low latitudes more productive

32
Q

Mid-domain effect

A

denser species packing around geographic
midpoints of distribution

33
Q

Differences in rates of evolutionary processes

A

speciation and
extinction rates differ in the tropics and poles.

34
Q

why is there a higher biodiversity in the southern ocean?

A
  1. older ocean - arctic is still being colonised by new species
  2. larger area
  3. higher structural heterogeneity (leads to higher number of species’ niches)
35
Q

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

A

we always find highest biodiversity in areas with intermediate disturbances.

Infrequent disturbance lets
slower-growing but competitively superior species (k-selected
species) dominate and exclude other species, while frequent disturbance favours only species that are fast-growing good colonisers (r-selected species).

36
Q

marine biogeography

A

explores how groupings (clusters) of species form geographically distinct ecosystems and causal mechanisms of these groupings.

37
Q

biogeographic realm

A

very large regions of coastal, benthic or pelagic ocean across which biotas are internally coherent at higher taxonomic levels due to shared and unique evolutionary history.

38
Q

biogeographic provinces

A

nested in realms

large areas defined by the presence of distinct biotas that have at least some cohesion over evolutionary time frames.

39
Q

biogeographic ecoregion

A

smaller units. areas of relatively homogenous species composition, clearly distinct from adjacent systems.

40
Q

how many marine realms are there?

A

30

41
Q

which organisms contribute to differences in boundaries?

A

endemic species contribute most to the creation of boundaries because of lack of mobility, inputs of freshwater, continental drift, geographical/bathymetric ranges of the animals.

42
Q

what 6 environmental conditions contribute to creation of boundaries?

A
  1. temperature
  2. salinity
  3. dissolved oxygen
  4. nitrate
  5. phosphate
  6. silicate

principles of ecology (5 decks)

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