Species and Community Interactions Flashcards
What is a community?
group of different species living in the same area
What are some ways we can characterize a community?
- species richness
- species diversity
- primary productivity
What is species richness?
how many species are there
What is species diversity?
how many species and how evenly distributed are they
What is primary productivity?
rate at which biomass is produced by organisms that covert inorganic materials into organic materials
What is an ecological niche?
total of all the ways an organism can use the resources in its environment
What is a fundamental niche?
what organisms can actually use
What is realized niche?
what organisms are actually using
What is the range of realized niche compared to that of the fundamental niche?
realized niche is either the same or smaller than the fundamental niche
What is resource partitioning?
division of a niche (like splitting up where to nest on a tree)
Why do organisms resource partition?
because competition is tiring
What is character displacement?
evolution so character traits enable better use of different parts of a niche
What does character displacement need?
time
Is herbivory a predator prey relationship?
yes
What can too much predation do for prey population?
extinction of prey population and then extinction of predator
What is an example of non-lethal predator effect?
to avoid predators, prey may remain in less food abundant areas, and then the prey suffers from food loss (not directly affected by a predator)
What is batesian mimicry?
a species that is not poisonous looks like one that is
What is mullerian mimicry?
a species that is poisonous looks like another species that is poisonous also
What is coeveolution?
evolutionary changes brought about by interactions between species
What is warning coloration?
having colorful colors to indicate that they can cause harm
What is cryptic coloration?
blending into their environment to not get preyed upon
What is symbiosis?
long term biological interaction between species (evolve over TIME)
What is mutualism?
a relationship where both organisms benefit
What is commensalism?
a relationship where one species benefits and one is unaffected
What is parasitism?
a relationship where one benefits and the other is harmed
What are endoparasites?
internal parasites
What are ectoparasites?
external parasites
What are parasitoids?
lay eggs on another species and when it hatches, the larvae eat the host
What is toxoplasmosis?
a parasite that infects rats and makes them lose fear of cats, and the cats eat the rats and the toxoplasmosis further divides and develops (because toxoplasmosis needs a cats gut to reproduce)
What are cordyceps?
a fungus that affects ants brains and then later, the fungus sprouts out of the ants head
What is the story with ants, rodents, and seeds?
- rodents eat big seeds (and small seeds) and ants eat only small seeds
- if the rodents are removed, the population of ants will increase for a while
- then the population of ants decrease because the big seeds dominate due to no one eating it
What is primary succession?
growth starting from nothing
What is secondary succession?
rebuilding after disturbance
What are the 3 steps to succession?
- establishment
- facilitation
- inhibition
What is establishment?
r-selected species start to grow (grasses and weeds)
What is facilitation?
r-selected species change landscape (by dying and making soil) to favor k-selected species (equal amount of k and r)
What is inhibition?
k-selected species take over and the landscape mature (low r-selected species)
What are r-selected species?
species that have high growth rates, many offspring, and low survival chances
What are k-selected species?
species that are more stable and tend to live longer
What is interference competition?
species fight for similar resources (occupy the same space)
What is exploitative competition?
one species takes over a portion of the others resources (occupy different spaces)
