Nutrient Acquisition

Question 1

What is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)?

Answer 1

The light that is actually used for photosynthesis. Green is reflected and red and blue are absorbed the best.

Question 2

What affects the light quality and quantity?

Answer 2

Latitude, seasons, weather, time of day, landscape, water, organisms present

Question 3

What are the 3 photosynthesis pathways?

Answer 3

C3, C4, and CAM

Question 4

What is the C3 photosynthesis pathway? How common is it?

Answer 4

85% of plants use it. CO2 goes directly into the Calvin cycle

Question 5

What is the C4 photosynthesis pathway? How common is it?

Answer 5

About 5% of plants use it, is common in prairie grasses. CO2 capture is separated from the usage to reduce water loss

Question 6

What is the CAM photosynthesis pathway? How common is it?

Answer 6

About 10% of plants, common in desert plants. Not a lot of photosynthesis occurs, CO2 capture occurs during the night and photosynthesis occurs during the day.

Question 7

Which 5 elements make up 93-97% of an organism’s biomass?

Answer 7

Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Phosphorus

Question 8

How is the carbon-nitrogen ratio different in plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria?

Answer 8

High in plants. Animals and bacteria are about the same, fungi are a little higher, but still low

Question 9

How is dentition different for different diets?

Answer 9

Carnivores have sharp, pointy teeth. Herbivores have flat, broad teeth. Invertebrates have variations in mouthparts

Question 10

What do herbivores eat?

Answer 10

Living plant tissue

Question 11

Why is there a problem with being herbivorous as a vertebrate? What are the solutions?

Answer 11

Vertebrates can’t directly digest cellulose. Solutions are to eat seeds, fruits, and nectar, which have less cellulose. Can also have a specialized gut microbiome, and a larger organism is less focused on a certain part of the plant

Question 12

Which is a concern for herbivores, quality or quantity?

Answer 12

Quality

Question 13

What are 5 adaptations that herbivores have to improve digestion?

Answer 13

1. ruminant stomach
2. long intestines with an enlarged cecum
3. coprophagy (eating your own feces)
4. presence of a crop, or swallowing rocks to grind up food
5. Variations in mouth parts

Question 14

What do carnivores eat?

Answer 14

Herbivorous animals

Question 15

Which is a concern for carnivores, quality or quantity?

Answer 15

Quantity

Question 16

How does the digestive system of a carnivore differ from that of an herbivore?

Answer 16

Shorter intestines, no need to worry about trying to digest cellulose, expandable stomach to eat a lot of food when it’s available

Question 17

Why are predators selective?

Answer 17

They eat what is around, and what they have the ability to catch and how efficient it is to catch it

Question 18

How are predators selection agents for prey defence?

Answer 18

The predators pick off the weaker members of the population, leaving the stronger ones to pass down their traits

Question 19

What does an omnivore eat?

Answer 19

Both plant and animal matter, but food habits often vary with the seasons

Question 20

When is being an omnivore an effective strategy?

Answer 20

When resources are limited

Question 21

What is the main challenge for omnivores?

Answer 21

Being efficient

Question 22

What do detritivores eat?

Answer 22

Dead organic matter, mostly plant material

Question 23

How are detritivores classified?

Answer 23

By size. Their size influences what they do

Question 24

Which is a challenge for detritivores, quality or quantity?

Answer 24

Quality

Question 25

What is foraging theory?

Answer 25

Organisms can only take in energy and nutrients at a limited rate. Even if there’s unlimited resources, rate is still limited from physical and physiological limits

Question 26

What is a functional response?

Answer 26

Change in the rate of prey exploitation by a predator in response to a change in prey density

Question 27

What are type 1 consumers?

Answer 27

As food density increases, consumption increases in a linear line until it plateaus at a maximum. They have little or no search and handling time, and are usually filter feeders

Question 28

What are type 2 consumers?

Answer 28

As food density increases, consumption increases in a saturated curve. Feeding rate is limited by search and handling time

Question 29

What are type 3 consumers?

Answer 29

As food density increases, consumption increases in an s-shaped line. Show prey switching: when densities of one prey species is low, the predator will eat something else

Question 30

What is optimal foraging theory?

Answer 30

The tendency for animals to harvest food efficiently. Individuals will select food that maximizes intake for the energy spent

Question 31

How can the one prey species equation and the two prey species equation be used to determine if a predator will eat one or two prey species?

Answer 31

If the one-species equation gives a higher number than the two-species equation, the predator will only eat one prey species, and vice versa

Question 32

What is the marginal value theorem?

Answer 32

How long an animal should spend in a patch before moving

Question 33

For what 3 reasons should an animal stay in a patch?

Answer 33

1. patches are far away, takes a lot of time to reach a new patch
2. General environment is low in food
3. the current patch has an especially high amount of food

Question 34

What is the optimal amount of time to spend in a patch?

Answer 34

The amount of time needed to maximize the amount of energy gained per unit time