Population Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

Organize biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, and organism from broadest to smallest level of biological organization

A

Biosphere- Biome- Ecosystem- Community- Population- Organism/Individual

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Ecology

A

Interactions between organisms and the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Three different types of dispersion
examples

A

Uniform - penguins, plants that undergo allelopathy
Random - dandelions and other plants that have wind-dispersed seeds, oyster larvae
Clumped - plants that drop their seeds straight to the ground, animals that live in groups, sea stars, bald eagles

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Two methods of quantifying a population
determine what type of organisms would be suited for qualification

A
  1. Quadrat Analysis
    -plants, sedentary animals
  2. Mark-release-recapture
    - birds, snails, butterflies, large mammals, amphibians, fish fins
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Biotic factors
examples

A

Living components of an ecosystem
ex. plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, protists

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Abiotic factors
examples

A

Non-living or physical components of an ecosystem
ex. temp, water, sunlight, atmosphere, wind, rocks, soil, pH

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Producers

A

autotrophs
convert the energy from sunlight or inorganic chemical compounds to synthesize organic molecules
photoautotrophs, chemoautotrophs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Consumers (herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores)

A

heterotrophs- are animals that depend upon producers for food
herbivores - only eat plant material
omnivores - eat variety of food sources plants, animals, algae (bears, crows, humans)
carnivores - eat other animals (lions, tigers, eagles, wolves)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Decomposers (detritivore)

A

heterotrophs - play a critical role in keeping ecosystems healthy
when they break down dead materials and waste they release nutrients that can be recycled and used as building blocks by primary producers (fungi, cockroaches, wasps, bacteria)
detritivores - earthworms , dung flies, mites, sea stars - consume the dead decomposing material created by decomposers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Demography

A

Study of vital statistics of a population and how they change over time
Death rates, birth rates, and life expectancies are of particular interest to demographers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Describe what a life table is

A

Age-specific summary of survival pattern of a population
best made by following the fate of a cohort, a group of individuals of the same age

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Types of survivorship curves
examples

A

Type 1- humans
Type 2 - bird species
Type 3 - trees, marine invertebrates and most fish

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Differentiate between semelparity and iteroparity

A

semelparity - reproduce once
iteroparity - reproduce repeatedly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Semelparity
examples

A

Big-bang reproduction
-reproduce once and die
ex. pacific salmon, bamboo, grain crops like wheat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Iteroparity
examples

A

Repeated reproduction
produce offspring repeatedly
ex. humans, all birds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Differences between exponential and logistical growth models

A

exponential - per capita growth rate (r) doesn’t change even if population gets very large
logistic - per capita growth rate (r) gets smaller as pop. approaches its max size

16
Q

Define r, r-max, and K(carrying capacity)

A

r - intrinsic rate of population growth or per capita population growth rate, measures whether the population tends to grow >0, shrink,<0 or stays the same =0
r-max - maximum pop. growth rate
K - mam pop. size a particular environment can support

17
Q

List density-dependent factors that limit population size

A

changes in intensity as a function of pop. size (biotic)
- competition for resources
- disease and parasitism
- predation
- toxic wastes
- social behavior
logistic

18
Q

Differences between r-selected and K-selected species

A

r-selected are consistent with semelparity
- opportunistic
- short lifespan, death rate high, small offspring’s, no parental care, reproduction early in life
k-selected are consistent with iteroparity
- equilibrial

19
Q

Quadrat Analysis

A

Used to quantify immobile organisms (plants and sedentary animals) as well as small slow moving organisms

20
Q

Mark-release-recapture

A

Used to quantify mobile organisms

21
Q

Assumptions when using mark-recapture method

A

animals are:
randomly dispersed
not immigrating or emigrating
none born or died
marked and unmarked have the same chance or being recaptured
type of marking used does not influence the animals chance of being recaptured or being preyed upon

22
Q

Mark recapture formula

A

N=m1xn2/m2
N=total # of individuals in the population
m1= # of animals marked and released
n2= total # of animals caught in recaptured sample
m2= # of marked animals caught in recaptured sample

23
Q

Clumped Dispersion

A

most common type of dispersion
-distance between neighboring individuals is minimized (individuals are clustered in groups)
arise from social predisposition to form groups (for thermoregulation, better foraging, cooperative hunting, safety from predators)
Inability of offspring to independently move from their habitat

23
Q

Random Dispersion

A

Least common type of dispersion
distance between neighboring individuals is unpredictable
exhibited by individuals that do not from social groups (neither attract nor repel one another)

23
Q

Uniform Dispersion

A

known as even distribution (less common that clumped more than random)
distance between neighboring individuals is evenly spaced
helps to ensure adequate resources for each individual

23
Q

Type 2 survivorship curve

A

bird species
death rate is constant over the organisms life span
have relatively few offspring and provide significant parental care

23
Q

Type 1 survivorship curve

A
  • humans and most primates
  • low death rates during early and middle life then an increase in death rates among older age groups
  • small number of offspring provide lots of parental care
23
Q

Type 3 survivorship curve

A

trees, marine invertebrates and fish
- high death rates for the young and then a slower death rate for survivors
lots of offspring not much care

23
Q

Density-Independent factors

A

Alter birth rates and death rates irrespective of # of individuals in pop.
involves change in abiotic environment
-exponential growth

23
Q

Quadrat formula

A

N=(A/a)*n
N=estimated total population size
A= total study area
a = area of one quadra t
n= mean # of organisms/quadrat