Reading for lec 11-12 Flashcards
How is it possible to determine in which tropic level an organism operates in?
Yes by measuring the stable isotope ratio in ones tissue.
What are detritivores?
Decomposers, animals that derive their carbon from dead animals.
Where are tropic cascades more likely to be found in?
Aquatic systems, because they lack mechanisms for dispersal. They behave more as populations rather than metapopulations
Why are terrestrial animals unruly?
Because they are more heterogeneous
What is folivory?
Eating plants
Are flowers antagonists or mutualistic
Mutualistic, they have adapted to attract pollinators.
What are structural defenses?
Thorns of cacti, spiky hairiness of many leaves, abrasive silica of grasses.
What are chemical defenses?
Metabolic chemicals or deterrents
What is the main adaptive function of secondary chemicals?
Defense against herbivores
Which plants are mostly susceptible to attacks?
Plants lacking secondary chemicals.
What lead to speciation and diversification?
Co-evolution
But co-evolution between antagonists gives more urgency and impetus
How is local speciation result off, and what does it result in?
Local speciation is a result of co-evolution
It results in new species and different lineages.
What is parallel adaptive radiation?
Back and forth escalation of adaptiveness, like legumes and beetles. For example bruchid diversity and legume diversity
What was responsible for the huge variety of insects and flowering plants?
Evolutionary arms race and counter-adaptation
Which type of lineages have more speciation?
Herbivore lineages compared to carnivore lineages in the same amount of time.
