part 5 Flashcards
physiological ecology
studies what an organism needs and its tolerances for its environment
how its body respond to different environ conditions
principle of allocation
the idea that orgs have a finite energy source and the distribution of the energy enxpadature will always have benefits and drawbacks
as org adapts to a set of environment their fitness for that environ only will increase
what is an energy budget
the amount of energy an org has based on what they eat/ phosyn
it is then divided into biological processes. energy spent in one section cannot be spent in another
what is an evolutionary trade off
the adaptations an organism makes to increase its fitness in one environment, which will decrease its fitness in others,
range of tolerance
the entire range of conditions an org can survive in. beyond this range the or will parish
includes factors: temp, light, moister/ water availability and nutrient availability
within the range exists an ideal range of environmental condictions that exist above and below and organism’s optimal performance
what is maintenance
the basal metabolic cost needed for simply staing alive
reproduction costs
production in the reprod organs, mechnaisms that attract mates, and the physical development of offspring
what are activity costs
the energy required to move, eat, and defend. anything that is not associated with sleeping/ dormancy
what does “steno-“ mean
narrow range
what does “Eury-“ mean
wide range
what does “-haline” mean
salinity
what does “-topic” mean
habitat
what is the law of toleration
an organisms survival is dependent on the environmental conditions allowing for maximal, minimal, and optimum population sizes.
Microclimate
a climatic variation on a scale of a few kilometers, meters or centimeters measured over short periods of time
these areas are heavily influence by latitudes, vegetation, soil colour, boulders and burrows
these areas are generally are small and differ in ‘climate’ when comped to its surrounding area
macroclimate
the typical weather for an area to be considered normal
determined by air and water circulation patterns
the general climate of a large area
how does vegetation reduce ground temp
the leaves will absorb incoming radiation
tf shrubs (increased branching) results in cooler temps
what are burrows
aka setts and have more moderate temps that the outer ambient conditions
how does temp impact animal performance
animals/ orgs ahve enzymes which operate best at certain temps (they have thier own limited range)
adaptation
the change in allele frequency in the gene pool of a population form generation to the next
acclimation
short-term physiological changes in response to temps. this is a reversible change with other environ changes
psychrophilic microbial activity
cold-loving bac
commonly found in Antarctica
thermophilic microbial activity
very high temp loving bac
in hot springs
hyperthermophile microbial activity
the most heat loving bac
perfer about 80C
what is thermo regulation
regulation of the internal body temp within a rage that allows the body biochem reactions to proceed
these reactions are temp sensitive
what is the heat gain/ loss equation
Hs= Hm+- Hcd +- Hcv +- Hr -He
Hm is always heat gained via meta
He is always heat los via evap
what is meta heat
the heat released durive cell resp
Hm
is conduction
heat movement when 2 objects touch
Hcd
what is convection
Heat flow btwn a sloid body and moving fluid (wind, moving water or org)
Hcv
what is evap
heat lost when water evap form a surface
what are ectotherms
orgs that use the external environment as the main source of heat
they balance the movement of heat absorbed and released
commonly reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates
what are endotherms
orgs that use meta as main source of heat
partake in anatomical and behavioral tricks
what are homeotherms
orgs that maintain a steady/ constant internal temp
ex. torpor
what are poikilotherms
boy temp will vary in response to the environ
what are heterotherms
orgs whos body temp is regulated only when active
which they of Thermo regulator is analogous to plants thermo regulation
ectotherms
thermal neutral zone
the range of temps over which the meta rate does not change. when temps are in the range the meta rate is stabilized
when does meta rate increase? decrease?
it will increase in response to temp increase or decrease.
temp inc= inc rate via panting and sweating
temp dec= inc rate via shivering
the rate will not decrease.
what is the general trend with MR and animal size
larger animals have faster MR, tho this is an allometric relationship
what is an allometric relationship
the disproportional energy requirements to animal size (maintenance or growth)
may be pos or neg in relation to an isometric relationship
what is mass specific MR
the rate which orgs comsume energy per gram of body weight.
generally smaller orgs consume more food per body weight than large animals
what is torpor
the decreased physiological activity in aminals defined by reduced body temp and MR
usually a result of resource scarcity
entered as a method to conserve energy
what is hibernation
long term torpor
how does water impact regualtion of body temp in orgs
water is a heat sink, able to absorb heat w/o changing temp 3000 times more than air
conductive heat loss os much fast in water than in air
why can birds and mammals be endothermic in aquatic systems
they dont expose. large resp SA to the water. exposed surfaces have rapid heat loss, such as gills
they are well insluated by fat or fur tat traps warm air
what is countercurrent heat exchange
a strategy aquatic animal use to rude heat loss from thier body to the surrounding aquatic environ. In distal appendages heat from the arteries is able to dissipate and transfer into the viens. heat will travel parrelel to the flow of blood. this is achieved by conduction and convection
how to plants in the tundra regulate temp
they try to stay warm
inc radiative hating (Hr)
decrease convective cooling (Hcv)
to do this they generally have darker pigments and till partake in phototropism, orienting thier leaves to exposed max SA to incoming sun (to absorb more heat)
they will grow in cushion patterns to provided shelter and decrease SA:V (slow air movement through the plant bundle)
how do dessert plants stay cool
dec radiative and conductive heating
inc radiative cooling
highly reflective/ light leaves
leave are parrelel to the sun or will fold inwards mid day
will grow in isolated patterns w/ leave above the ground
what is the relationship between orgs fitness and water
they must maintain an appropriate concentration of water and dissolved solutes by balancing water loss and uptake
what is water relations
the balance of water loss and uptake by an org
encompasses: uptake(drinking and absorb), loss (evap and excreation) and transport (accros a conc or pressure grad)
what is osmoregulation
the mechanisms that orgs use to regulate the diff between the (water:solute) and that of the environ
osmolarity
the concntration of solute per L of water
osmotic pressure
the movement of dissolved solute across an semi-permeable membrane . this will follow a gradient to obtain equilibrium between 2 environ
directionality of osmosis
high water posential to low water poential
what were the 2 major issues org faced when moving onto land?
large water loss via evaporation (not an issue in aquatic)
reduced access to replace any lost water
how do animals lose water
evap for breathing or skin
how to animals gain water
through the consumption of food or water
some animals area able to absorb water from the atmos via particular skin/ epidermal; adaptations
how do plants loose water
transpiration
wind=evaporation
secraections or excess nutrients (sap)
how do plants gain water
aborbed by roots
absorbed by leaves if air is moist
what is metabolic water
the water sourced from cell resp/ metabolization of food
a common adaptation of animals that live in dry hot climates
how is the loop of Henle related to water retention
orgs in dry hot environ will have a long loop tho increase water and salt reabsorption, ruling in very concentrated urine
how much biomass can the roots of a plant account for?
upwards to 90% especially for desert, grassland and tundra plants.
the root systems of these plants grow very large root networks to maximize water uptake
25% in coniferous forests
do micro-climate conditions impact root depth?
yes. clones in plots of dry land have larger rot networks when adjacent to those with moist soil.
further in moist climates the biomass above ground is greater
how do animals reduce water loss
water proofing ( coating themselfs in water proof hide, acting like a wax)
behaviour also plays a large role
how do plants reduce water loss
those in dry climates tend to have large amounts of water proofing hydrocarbons in their cuticle
they will also close and open their stomata depending on the time of day
osmoregulation
org that maintains/regulates their internal solute/ water concentration independent of the external environment
osmoconformers
ors that don’t active regulate their internal solute concentrations and will rather adopt the conditions of their environment
hypoosmotic
the conc of solute in greater in the org than in environ. water will enter the org
hyperosmotic
when the environ concentration of solutes is greater than what is in the org. water will leave the org
