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BIO10011 > MODULE 5 OVERVIEW > Flashcards

MODULE 5 OVERVIEW Flashcards

1
Q

What is an ecological community?

A

a group of potentially interacting species that occur together in space and time

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2
Q

What ecological processes affect communities?

A
  • selection
  • drift
  • speciation (diversification)
  • dispersal
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3
Q
A
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4
Q

What evolutionary processes affect population?

A
  • selection
  • genetic drift
  • mutation
  • gene flow
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5
Q

What traits?

A

things that drive their response to environment

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6
Q

What is selection?

A

changes in community structure caused by non-random (deterministic) fitness differences between taxa

sites vary with respect to temperature, rainfall, soil, fire regime

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7
Q

What are the features of selection pressures?

A
  • vary across space / time
  • constant
  • density-dependent
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8
Q

What is diversification?

A

the evolution of new lineages from existing lineages

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9
Q

What is a metacommunity?

A

a group of local communities occupying a set of habitat patches that are linked by the dispersal of multiple, potentially interacting species

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10
Q

What are ecological processes?

A

processes that lead to changes in the species composition of a community

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11
Q

What are xeromorphic traits?

A

structural adaptations that reduce water loss

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12
Q

What are pyrophytic traits?

A

adaptations that allow plants to deal with fires

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13
Q

Which ecological processes help to explain the current diversification of Australian plant communities?

A
  • persistence of rainforest species that evolved BEFORE the breakup of Gondwana
  • persistence of species that evolved AFTER Gondwana breakup in response to a trend of drying of the continent and increased frequency of fire
  • dispersal of rainforest species from SE Asia into Australia
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14
Q

What is alpha diversity?

A

the composition of a local ecological community with respect to its RICHNESS (number of species), EVENNESS (Distribution of abundances of the species), or both

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15
Q

What are some issues with describing ecological communities?

A

1) detectability of species

2) taxonomy (we don’t have a full description of ALL the species that are present)

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16
Q

We can measure species richness (sum of species present) but NOT species evenness because. . .

A

the abundance actually can’t be determined

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17
Q

The species range is a subset of. . .

A

the environmental range

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18
Q

Define niche

A

Ecological niche is a term for the position of a species within an ecosystem, describing both the range of conditions necessary for persistence of the species, and its ecological role in the ecosystem.

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19
Q

What are 2 factors that influence distribution?

A

1) conditions e.g. light or temp

2) resources e.g. food

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20
Q

How did Hutchinson define niche (fundamental niche)?

A

a multidimensional hyperspace containing conditions & resources that allow the species to survive = fundamental niche

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21
Q

What is the realized niche?

A

smaller than the fundamental niche due to:
- COMPETITION
- DISPERSAL LIMITATIONS
- DISTURBANCES
- STOCHASTICITY (chance events)

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22
Q

What are some examples of environmental gradients?

A
  • cover
  • aspect
  • solar radiation
  • temp
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23
Q

What are some environmental variables for terrestrial settings?

A
  • climate
  • soil type
  • humidity
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24
Q

What are some environmental variables for freshwater settings?

A
  • temperature
  • water quality
  • flow magnitude & variability
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25
Q

What are some environmental variables for marine settings?

A
  • depth
  • temp
  • salinity
  • currents
  • dissolved oxygen
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26
Q

What is competitive exclusion?

A

if 2 species compete for the same limited resource, one will dominate in the long term

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27
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A

species change morphology (shape + size) to reduce competition

  • known as character displacement
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28
Q

Can resource partitioning occur through changes in behaviour?

A

YES

e.g. changing from nocturnal to diurnal

29
Q

Give an example of how spatial / temporal variability allows co-existence

A
  • different moisture levels across an area
  • temp changes at dif times
30
Q

How can community patterns be measured in space?

A

structure e.g. height of vegetation

env. relationships

31
Q

Types of interspecific interactions

A

1) mutualism
2) competition for resources (-/-)
3) predation / parasitism
4) commensalism

32
Q

What are tolerable parasites?

A

those that have evolved to ensure their own survival and reproduction but at the same time w minimum pain and cost to the host

32
Q

What is commensalism?

A

where one species benefits and the other doesn’t really get affected (neutral outcome for them)

32
Q

With trematodes, where does sexual reproduction happen?

A

in the definitive post

32
Q

Features of parasites

A
  • smaller than host
  • live on/in host for extended period of time
  • usually don’t kill host
32
Q

Even though parasites are very small, they are often. . .

A

in such abundance that their total biomass is very significant within ecological communities

32
Q

What is a keystone predator?

A

has such a important role in the community that it helps to define the community - if it is removed the community will be drastically different

e.g. sea starts who keep mussel levels in check in the community

33
Q

Direct effects of predation

A

more animals alive or dead

34
Q

Indirect effects of predation

A

prey learning to hide

may be in the form of developmental, morphological, physiological, or behavioural adaptations

35
Q

What’s weird about indirect effects of predation?

A

even the presence of the predator can have important effects on populations and things, even if they aren’t actually doing any predation.

Like nothing needs to actually be eaten for there to be an effect from their presence (fear of predation)

36
Q

What are trophic cascades?

A

predator-prey effects that alter the abundance, biomass, or productivity of a species, functional group or trophic level across more than one link in a food web

one predator-prey interaction that has big cascading effects across more than just the direct relationship

37
Q

Examples of parasites

A
  • protozoans
  • animals
  • fungi
  • plants
38
Q

Predation (e.g. indirect effects) on birds

A

SPATIAL arrangements – birds will nest far away from area of predators

39
Q

What are the effects of grazing?

A
  • change composition & structure
  • increase cover
  • increase exotic weeds
  • decrease plant species richness
40
Q

What is the topological food web?

A

focus on number & distribution of connections, using data

41
Q

Distinguish b/w top-down and bottom-up control.

A

top down control: when predators have an effect on communities

bottom-up control: when producers have an effect on predators

42
Q

Interspecific interactions are important across many different scales

A

1) time (first pollinating relationships millions of years ago)

2) space (the migration of Bogong moths and their predation by mountain pygmy possums)

3) body size (antarctic krill and their predator the humpback whale)

43
Q

Mutualistic relationships are the result of. . .

A

coevolution, when unrelated organisms evolve in a coordinated fashion

44
Q

Mutualistic relationships can be. . .

A

specific –> b/w 2 species

diffuse –> b/w groups of species

45
Q

What is mycorrhizae?

A

fungus that grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or only mildly pathogenic relationship

46
Q

Explain fungal mycorrhizal networks

A

Fungal mycorrhizal network (generally in soil) provides water, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to plants (their roots), and the plants give back photosynthetic products (sugars) to the funghi.

Things and information can also be passed (via biochemical signals) through this network to other plants.-

Plants are generally more resistant to pathogens when in these relationships

47
Q

What are functional groups?

A

a group of species that perform a similar function in a community

48
Q

Example of a functional group

A

corallivores feed on coral

excavators take large bites of living coral & the coral skeleton

49
Q

What is succession?

A

natural changes in the composition and structure of an ecological community over time

  • the replacement of one community by another
50
Q

Succession can be. . .

A

Orderly - nice logical sequence up to optimal community

Not orderly - takeover domination of one particular tree type during colonisation when fire management regimes are out whack

51
Q

What is a disturbance?

A

a discrete event that disrupts the structure of an ecological community, changing resource availability and/or the physical environment

52
Q

Examples of natural disturbances

A
  • bushfires
  • floods
  • cyclones
  • volcanic activity
  • disease
53
Q

Examples of human-generated disturbances

A
  • habitat clearing
  • urban development
  • pollution
54
Q

What are some effects of disturbance?

A
  • selection
  • drift
  • dispersal (some new species may move in)
55
Q

What is a disturbance regime?

A

the long-term pattern of disturbances across a landscape - its frequency, size, & intensity

56
Q

Disturbance regimes are estimated using. . .

A

historical data

57
Q

Invasive species affect. . .

A

terrestrial
freshwater
marine communities

58
Q

What are the pros of: conservation of single species

A

tangible target that is conceptually simple and can have charismatic draw for people’s efforts & engagement

good for support, funding, policy, awareness…

59
Q

What are the cons of: conservation of single species

A

expensive, risky, & may mean conserving a species that has no viable (wild) habitat

60
Q

Pros of conserving ecological communities

A

can target multiple species at once, with more efficient use of resources, & can support non-charismatic species

(more important for inter-species relationships)

61
Q

Cons of conserving ecological communities

A

requires protection of land, & communities may be subject to multiple stressors and threats

may be at cost of humanitarian / economic benefits

62
Q

What are some of the issues faced by the Coastal Banksia Woodland (an endangered ecological community)?

A

It faces a range of threats, habitat loss, and fragmentation (overdevelopment, agriculture, urbanization, clearing for mining) as well as introduced pathogens, invasive species, and climate change

63
Q

Threatened ecological communities are recognized under the EPBC. Was it effective?

A

No! Species still declining, clearing of threatened ecological communities is rarely prevented

64
Q

Ecological problems ALWAYS have. . .

A

interrelated social problems that must be considered

BIO10011 (23 decks)

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