Module1; lecture 7, pandemics

Question 1

How to deal with pandemics?

Answer 1

Monitor globally for the appearance of a virus in humans with pandemic potential

Question 2

Once a pandemic emerges what to do(2)?

Answer 2

1.Quickly produce a vaccine
2.Limit exposure and transmission Modern communication is quick ( we are no longer waiting for the newspaper to get information)
a. Wearing masks, social distancing, quarantine, etc
b. Limit travel to limit spread

Question 3

Why is it a challenge to quickly produce vaccines? What helps vaccine development?

Answer 3

Huge challenge, not easy because vaccines constantly mutating. ( this has worked in the past) = still a slow and difficult process. New knowledge about viruses helps vaccine development and new methods for vaccine production being tested.

Question 4

Herd immunity

Answer 4

When a large part of a community is immune, virus has limited hosts

Question 5

What are useful for promoting herd immunity?

Answer 5

Vaccines

Question 6

Why do we monitor the “Viral Chatter” in animals?

Answer 6

In order of determining which things may be likely to become problematic…

Question 7

In what areas do we monitor Viral Chatter?

Answer 7

Monitoring across the globe; in places where there are frequent interactions between humans and wild animals ( hunters or wet market)

Question 8

Example given of real life monitoring viral chatter, who do we work with to monitor such thing?

Answer 8

Monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa; working with hunters, convincing them not to collect already dead animals ( since they don’t know what killed them)

Question 9

Why hunters?

Answer 9

• Because we can get info from the hunters about the animals they encounter
• Hunters can actually collect blood samples from the animals they kill

Question 10

By what method can hunters collect blood samples from animals?

Answer 10

Card method; making it possible to isolate viruses.

Question 11

Humans greatly influence the environment, and in turn this influences the other organisms in that environment. What are two known aspects of this?

Answer 11

1.Global warming/climate change
2.Habitat alteration/destruction

Question 12

when faced with selection pressure, species can ______or________or________

Answer 12

Show phenotypic plasticity or evolve (or adapt) or Go extinct

Question 13

Showing phenotypic plasticity

Answer 13

change their phenotype to one that better deals with the selection pressure. The idea that some organisms can alter their phenotype, and express different traits depending on the environment conditions. Does not require change or evolution.

Question 14

Trophic Mismatch

Answer 14

Timing of migration and breeding need to coordinate with the timing of food availability.

Question 14

Why can temperature and climate can have big effects on breeding?

Answer 14

• Animals evolved to use cues; like temperature and daylight to determine when to breed
• shaped by natural selection: Selection will favour individuals that can maximize their reproductive output.

Question 15

Timing of breeding is full of _____

Answer 15

Trade-offs in order to maximize number of offspring, minimize costs ( finding food, mates, shelter)

Question 16

Example of trophic mismatch

Answer 16

caribou example no phenotypic plasticity: caribou not flexible in when they give birth— gestation time is long, can’t make last minute changes

Question 17

Has the caribous made any progress in evolutionary changes? what could this result in?

Answer 17

NO, So far in caribous, there hasn’t been any evolutionary change in the timing of births, so if no evolution or plasticity.. could lead to extinction.

Question 18

Changes in global temperature could drive speciation?

Answer 18

YES, Two populations that are becoming genetically divergent…

Question 19

Habitat alteration/destruction happens as a consequence of what?

Answer 19

-as a consequence of humans
-as a consequence of noise pollution

Question 20

Example of noise pollution and its effect birds

Answer 20

In urban areas our sounds will influence the sounds that birds make. This can be an example of
- Phenotypic plasticity
- cultural evolution ( since birds learn their songs from the birds)
- genetic evolution

Question 21

Lombard effect

Answer 21

Humans will increase the amplitude (loudness) and frequency (pitch) of our speech when ambient noise increases. This is also called the “cocktail party” effect

Question 22

Lombard effect is also known as the _____ effect

Answer 22

“Cocktail party effect; You will raise your voice in order to be heard, consequently, the people around you will raise their voices and so on…

Question 23

Birds example of lombard/cocktail party effect

Answer 23

Birds do this when singing in a noisy environment but females chose males based on their songs, so male birds have to sing louder to be heard but doing so may alter aspects of their song, so this can affect how the animal reproduces ,etc

Question 24

Habitat fragmentation

Answer 24

Lots of habitat fragments or land “islands”; animal populations are separated from each other.

Question 25

term food chain can be misleading, what is it really?

Answer 25

Term food chain can be misleading, its really a food pyramid

Question 26

Primary producers vs consumers

Answer 26

-Lots of individuals at the base ( primary producers)
-Fewer individuals as you move up levels ( consumers)

Question 27

What is the apex predator

Answer 27

The one at the top of the pyramid

Question 28

Do apex predators have big population sizes?

Answer 28

the population size of each apex carnivore species is going to be much smaller than the population size of species at other trophic levels + The diversity in the number of types of carnivores will be smaller than the diversity of life at other levels

Question 29

Why large predators require particularly large habitats?

Answer 29

• Because large predators use a lot of resources:
  
  • Food: apex predators need other organisms filling in the base of the pyramid

Question 30

Why are apex predators important?

Answer 30

Apex predators are important for keeping many aspects of the ecosystem in balance