Population & Ecology Pt. 2 Flashcards
Biological —: an assemblage of populations of various species living close enough for potential interaction
COmmunity
——: relationships between species in a community
Interspecific Interactions
Interspecific Interactions can affect the — & — of each species, can be summarized as:
- —(help)(+)
- — (harm)(-)
- ——(0)
- Positive
- Negative
- No effect
Interspecific Interactions Examples:
- —
- —
- —
- —
- —
- Competition
- Predation
- Herbivory
- Mutualism
- Commenalism
— is an interaction that occurs when species compete for a limited resource
Competition
Strong competition can lead to ——: local elimination of an inferior competing species
Competitive exclusion
——— states that 2 species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexists in the same place
Competitive exclusion principle
——: sum of a species use of biotic and abiotic resources
Ecological niche
Ecologically similar species can coexist in a community if there are one or more significant differences in their niches, known as ——
Resource Partitioning
——: niche potentially occupied by that species
Fundamental niche
——: niche actually occupied by that species
Realized Niche
As a result of competition, a species — niche may differ from it — niche
- Fundamental
2. Realized
Species can partition niches in — & —
- Space
2. time
Temporal Niche Partitioning:
E.g. common spiny mouse and the golden spiny mouse
* Both species are normally —
* Where they —, the golden spiny mouse becomes dinural (active during the day)
- Nocturnal
2. Coexsist
Any exploitation interaction in which one species — by — on the other species
- Benefits
2. Feeding
Exploration Includes:
- —
- —
- —
- predation
- Herbivory
- Parasitism
— interaction is where one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey
Predation
Predator adaptation includes: —,—,—,—, & —
- Claws
- Teeth
- Fangs
- Stingers
- Poison
Prey adaptations include: —,—,—— or —,——, & ——
- Hiding
- Fleeing
- Forming herds or Schools
- Self-defense
- Alarm calls
Animals also have morphological and physiological defense adaptations
- — & — defenses
- —
- —
- Mechanical
- Chemical
- Coloration
- mimicry
A porcupine is an example of a — defense and a skunk is an example of a — defense
- Mechanical
2. Chemical
——: camouflage, makes prey difficult to spot
Cryptic Coloration
——: bright coloration warning of chemical defenses
Aposematic Coloration
——: a palatable or harmless species mimics an unpalatable or harmful model
Batesian Mimicry
——: two or more unpalatable species resemble each other
Mullerian mimicry
— interaction in which an herbivore eats parts of a plant or algae
Herbivory
Plant structural and chemical defenses include: —, —, & —
- Spines
- Thorns
- Toxins
Herbivore adaptations include:
- —— in extremities to specialized ability to recognize dangerous plants by smell and taste
- Specialized — or —— for processing vegetation
- Chemical sensors
- Teeth
- Digestive systems
A — interaction in which one organism, the — derives nourishment from another organism, its — which is harmed in the process
- Parasitism
- Parasite
- Host
—: live within the body of their host
Endoparasites
—: live on external surface of a host
Ectoparasites
Positive Interactions: At least one species benefits and neither is harmed~
- — (+/+)
- — (+/0)
- Mutualism
2. Commensalism
—(+/+) interaction that benefits both species
Mutualism
In mutualism both species incur —, but the benefits to each partner — the costs
- Costs
2. Exceeds
A mutualism can be:
- —: one species cannot survive without the other
- —: both species can survive alone
- Obligate
2. Facultative
— (+/0) interaction in which one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped
Commenalism
In commensalism some interactions that are typically comes along may at time become —(+/+)
Mutualistic
Two fundamental features of community structure are —— and ——
- Species diversity
2. Feeding realtionship
In some cases, a few species in a community exert strong control that ——
Community’s structure
Species diversity is a — of organisms that make up the —
- Variety
2. Community
2 components of special diversity:
- ——: total number of different species in the community
- ——: proportion each species represents of the total individuals in the community
- species richness
2. relative abundance
Two communities can have the same species — but a different ——
- Richness
2. Relative abundance
Benefits of communities with high species diversity are more — and more — in their productivity
- Productive
2. Stable
Benefits of communities with high species diversity are better able to withstand and recover from ——
Environmental stresses
Communities with high species diversity are more resistant to ——, organisms that become established outside their native range
Invasive species
—— is the feeding relationship between organisms in a community
Tropic structure
——: link tropic levels from producers to top carnivores
Food chains
——: the position an organism occupies in a food chain
Tropic level
Food chains are NOT —, but are — together
- Isolates
2. Linked
——: a branching food chain with complex trophies interactions
* species may play a role at more than one ——
- Food webs
2. Tropic level
Each food chain in a food web is usually only a — links long
Few
——: suggests that length is limited by inefficient energy transfer
Energetic Hypothesis
Only about — of the energy stored in organic matter at each tropic level is converted to —— at the next trophies level
- 10%
2. Organic Matter
—: total mass of all individuals in a population
Biomass
Food chain length may be limited by the fact that — tend to be larger at — tropic levels
* Becomes more diffuclt to obtain enough food from small prey efficiently enough to meet — needs
- Carnivores
- Higher
- Metabolic
Highly abundant species play a pivotal role in community dynamics by impacting either, or both:
- — interactions
- — environment
- Tropic
2. Physical
3 types of species with a large impact:
- — species
- — species
- ——
- Dominant
- Keystone
- Ecosystem Engineers
— species are those that are most abundant or have the highest biomass
Dominant
One hypothesis suggests that dominant species are most competitive in ——
Exploiting resources
Another hypothesis is that dominant species are most successful at avoiding — or —
* — species, typically introduced to a new environment by humans, often lack predators or parasites
- Predators
- Disease
- Invasive
— species exert strong control on a community by their ecological roles, or niches
Keystone
Keystone species in contrast to dominant species, they are not necessarily abundant in a —
Community
—— cause physical changes in the environment that affect community structure
* E.g. beaver dams can transform landscapes on a very large scale
Ecosystem Engineers
———: proposes a unidirectional influence from lower to higher tropic level
* Presence/abscesses of —— controls plant numbers, herbivore numbers, and predator numbers
- Bottom Up Model
1. mineral nutrients
———: proposes that control comes from the tropic level above
* — limit herbivore, herbivores limit plants, plants limit nutrient levels through nutrients uptake
- Top down model
2. Predators
—: an event that changes a community by removing organisms or altering resource availability
- —,— and — are examples
- Keeps many communities from reaching a state of — in species diversity or composition
- Disturbance
- Storms, fire, floods
- equilibrium
———: suggests that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater diversity than either high or low levels
Intermediate disturbance hypothesis
High levels of disturbance exclude many —— species
Slow growing
Low levels of disturbance allow — species to exclude — competitive species
- Dominant
2. Less
——: the sequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance
Ecological succession
—— occurs where no soil exists when succession begins
* — & — are often initial life forms followed by lichens and mosses & then grasses, shrubs and trees
- Primary succession
2. Protists & prokaryotes
—— begins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance
* Common after forest — or — agricultural land
- Secondary succession
- Fire
- Abandoned
Early-arriving species and later-arriving species may be linked in one of 3 processes:
- Early arrivals may — appearance of later species by making the environment favorable
- They may — establishment of later species
- They may — later species but have no impact on their establishment
- Facilitate
- Inhibit
- Tolerate
Succession is the result of changes induced by the — itself
* — plant species facilitate later arrivals by increasing soil nitrogen content
- Vegetation
2. Pioneer
Successional stages (in order):
- —
- —
- —
- —
- Pioneer
- Dryas
- Alder
- Spruce
— have the greatest impact on biological communities worldwide
Humans
Humans disturbance to communities usually reduces species —
Diversity
2 key factors that affect a communities species diversity are — & —
- Latitude
2. Area
Species richness is especially great in the — & generally — in a gradient toward the poles
- Tropics
2. Declines
2 key factors affecting latitudinal gradients of species richness are —— & —
Evolutionary history & climate
Evolutionary history:
- — environments may have greater species richness becaus ether has been more time for —
- temperate & polar communities have “——“ repeatedly following glaciations
- Tropical
- Speciation
- Started over
Climate is likely the primary cause if the — gradient in biodiversity
Latitudinal
Two main climatic factors correlated with biodiversity are — & —
* can be considered together by measuring a community’s rate —
- Sunlight
- Precipitation
- Evapotranspiration
—: evaporation of water from soil + transpiration of water from plants
* function of — radiation, — & — availability
- Evapotranspiration
- Solar
- Temperature
- Water
——: the measure of potential water loss, assuming water is available
* determined by amount of —— & —
- Potential Evapotranspiration
- Solar radiation
- Temperature
—— of plants and animals correlates with Evapotranspiration & potential Evapotranspiration
Species richness
———: quantifies the idea that, all other factors being equal, a larger geographic area has more species
* Due to greater — of habitats
- Species-area curve
2. Diversity
Species richness on islands depends on:
- — size
- — from the mainland
- — & —
- Island
- Distance
- Immigration
- Extinction
An equilibrium will be reached where the rate of —=— of —
Immigration = rate of extinction
Community structure is universally affected by —, which include disease causing microorganisms and viruses
* can alter —— quickly and extensively
- Pathogens
2. Community structure
Human activities are transporting — around the world at unprecedented rates
Pathogens
——: transferred to humans from other animals
Zoonotic pathogens
The transfer of pathogens can be direct or through an intermediate species called a —
Vector
Many of today’s emerging human diseases are —
Zoonotic
Identifying the community of hosts and vectors for a pathogen can help prevent —
Disease
