Species Distribution 1 Flashcards
What is a population?
Group of individuals of the same species occupying a particular space at a particular time
What is the name for the local populations?
Demes
What is population density ?
Number of organisms per area
What is population natality?
The reproductive output of the population
What is the mortality of populations?
Death rate
What is a morphological species?
A group of individuals that is morphologically physiologically or biochemically different from other groups
What is a biological species?
A group that can potentially breed amoung themselves but not with individuals of other groups
What is an ecological community?
A set of interacting natural species in a prescribed habitat
What is biodiversity?
The sum of all biotic variation from the level of genes to ecosystems relative abundence
What is species distribution?
Range within a group of organisms
What is abundence?
The amount of species within a group
What is Liebigs law of the minimum?
The rate of any biological process if limited by that factor in least amount to telematics requirements
What is the problem with liebigs theory?
Deemed to simple, focussing on only one factor
What is shelfords law of tolerance?
The distribution of a species will be controlled by that environmental factor for which the organism has the narrowest range of tolerance
What if diffusion?
Slow spread across hospitable terrain over generations
What is jump dispersal?
Slow spread across hospitable terrain over generations
What is secular dispersal?
Spread in geological time associated with extensive evolutionary change and continental drift
What 4 factors limit geographic ranges?
Dispersal, Behaviour, Other species and physical and chemical factors
What is dispersal?
The tendency of an organism to move away from birth of breeding sites
How did African Bees get introduced into South America?
Escaped during an experiment, now spread all across the Americas
What is the tens rules?
Each transition for an animal to a new environment is 10%, 10% of this has an established community with 10% of these becoming pests
What is trophic structure?
Who eats who
What are transplant experiments?
Inadvertently conducted by man
What determines animal habitat selection?
Habitat cues, presence of conspecifics, presence of other organisns, time lags
What is descriptive ecology?
The foundation of ecological science
What is functional ecology?
Studies dynamic responses of populations and communities to immediate factors in the environment here and now
What is evolutionary ecology?
Considers organisms and their interrrelations as historical products of evolution
Why might the behaviour of an animal be different?
Reacting to different external stimulae
What is the study of evolution?
Change in the gene pool
What kind of research was ecology first focused on?
Qualitative
What did Elton call ecology in 1927?
Scientific natural history
What did Odun focus on in 1963?
The structure and function of nature, shape and the form
What is functional ecology more focussed on?
Responses of species to factors in the environment,
Proximate here and now
What is an ecological community?
Interacting natural community
What is a range
The geographical area where a species can be found
What are the three main abiotic factors that effect distribution
Climatic factors, edaphic, social
What are social factors
Land use and water availability
What is a community made up of?
Different assemblages
What is trophic structure?
Who eats who, determines flow of energy
Is a trophic chain with more, or less connections more vulnerable to change or a disturbance
Less is more vulnerable
Are species found everywhere
No, it’s impossible to say but it’s thought a species cannot stretch its control acreos the whole planet
What else can limit distribution in terms
Of amount of something
Excess as will as shortages, acknowledged by shelford
What is shelfords law
The distribution of a species is controlled by the factor that the organism has the narrowest range of tolerance
What is the temperature that a fish was brought up in called
It’s acclimation temperature
What is tolerance
Range or point that something can survive in
What is incipient lethal
Lethal over a number of days
What is ultimate lethal,
Lethal over a short time period
How can dispersal limit distribution
A species can’t get to a place
What might constrain a species ability to move around
It’s Own motor mechanisms and movement
What is a transplant experiment
Taking a species to a area not already habitated
What are the outcomes of species transplantation and what does it tell us
If successful limited geographically, if unsuccessful limited by chemical or biological factors
How can transplant be done naturally
Inadvertently by man
What is an example of inadvertent transplantation by man
African honey bee
How did the honey bee spread
Brought to Brazil in 1956 to enhance honey production, spread great distances, accidental jump dispersal
What did Williams and fitter create in 98
The tens rule
What is the chance that out of 10 established that you wold get a pest
10%
Out of 348 plant species imported by the wool trade how many have established
Only 4
Why is the tens rule critisesd
Suggests that we do not need to worry about the problem
What barriers are there at continental scales
Barriers to dispersal limit and distribution
Are species good at dispersing at local levels
Yes, many species have good-excellent dispersal mechanisms
What tends to limit species locally
Climate,
Habitat, competitors
What is important in local scales of distribution
Habitat and habitat selection
What is a habitat
A place where something lives, be that temporary or permantely
What 3 types of selection may a swallow make to pick habitat
Geographical area, habitat type, tree type ect
What do animals take from the habitat to decide whether to live there
Habitat cues
Why might other species, conspecifics determine habitat selection
Mates competition ect
What are the stimuli for birds in the environment
Nest, song, watch, feeding and drinking sites
What is the main difference between the tree and meadow pipits
Meadow sing from the ground and tree sing from trees
What was the key thing that a tree pipit needed
Height on the perch
Where were kangaroo rats found more
In large open spaces, had speed to avoid predators
What was the bet condition for pocket mice
Enclosed tree or bush areas
What is the predation pressure for kangaroo rats and pocket mice
High
Why do animals hide
They perceive this as the safest place to be
When shelter was added did the kangaroo rats do
Avoid it
What did pocket mice do with the shelters
Use them more
What is ideal free distribution
Fretwell 1972, animals are free to move into any habits without constraints
How do animals respond according to fretwell
They move in relation to other animals, for example if there are lots in one place will move to another
When will a poor suitability habitat be habitated
When other areas are taken up by other species
What happens when a place gets densely packed
Becomes as suitable as a formally less suitable place
Why is there equal breeding success on shrub and grass habitats on the Medes islands
Shrubs become over populated and therefore inhabitable
Why might different communities respond differently to invasion
Communities vary in resistance due to varying intrinsic properties (Elton 1958)
According to Elton what places are more susceptible to invasion
Species poor communities or those with disturbed habitats
What are spurious relationships
When two factors are limited but by chance
Why may new bird species have trouble adapting to a large island
Too big to find mates,
Case
How many native species are there in the Society Islands
13
How many introduced species are there in the Society Islands
12
How many native birds on Zanzibar are there
102
How many extinct birds in Zanzibar
0
How many introduced birds on Zanzibar
4
What geographical feature can be a good surrogate of diversity
Island elevation, Macarthur
How does Island size change species amount
The larger the island the more the species
What relationship is there with extinct species and introduced ones
Normally the more species introduced the more extinct species there are
What is the relationship between number of species lost and gained
Similar, new species are replacing spaces left by older ones
What does extinction show
That a lot of extinction is not caused by competition
When large species are lost what often replaces them
Smaller bird species
How much natural forest and native bird species has Hawaii lost
60% in each, correlation
What is the UKs extinction rate and forest loss
93% forest loss but only 3% bird loss
How are organisms typically not distributed
Randomly, southwood 1977
What are differences in habitat selection often ascribed to
Variation in morphology or physiology
What could contribute to ducks nest site selection
Natural selection
When will natural selection occur (Roberts)
When there are differences between unsuccessful and successful nests
What can fitness also be known as
the adaptive value of the species
How can we see if a speices has a higher fitness
leaves more decendents
What should fitness not be used for
compared across species
What are phenotypes
the observable attributes of individuals
If a transplant experiment is successful what does this show
that the species is blocked by geographic factors
What is the study of species reactions to physical and chemical factors
physiological ecology
What is a sublethal endpoint
stage at which the state of the fish begins to deteriorate, can then calclulate the lethal point without killing the fish
What is the upper lethal limit of temperature tolerance limited to
previous acclimation temperature
Which stage of animals or plants are most susceptible to environmental change or other chemical changes
young juvinile fish
How can animals avoid lethal doses
the can move away from them
What do many animals do to avoid temperature extremes
they migrate
What zone can be created from chemical or temperature readings
critical tolerance zone
What grass evolved to cope with lead, zinc and copper at over 1%
Agrostis Tenuis
What is the impact of growth on agrostis
slow stunted growth
If someone sows 2000 seeds on mine soil how many will survive
4-5 (Wu et al)
How do most governments control inadvertent tansplanting
by preventing the transport of plants and animals
What is an allelopathic species
one that alters the surroundings chemically in such a way that others cant use it
What crustacean was transported from europe in 1985
Zebra Mussel
what was the issue with zebra mussels
blocked pipelines to big cities, could reach densities of 750,000 per meter squared
What benefit did the zebra mussel have
cleaned the water supply
Where did the zebra mussel spread to first
lotic systems such as rivers, filter feeders
When were Californian sea otters redicovered
1914 at point Sur
where did the otter spread fastest
south, 3.1km a year, north 1.4km a year
What is reids paradox
trees moved 1000km in the time they should of moved 36km
Why might an animal not move into an area which is possible to get to?
Behaviour
How do mosquitos chose their nesting sites in belize
on blue green algae
How might blue green algae be covered up
cattail plants, physical obstructions stop the male dance and restrict the species
What is the Ideal despotic distribution
if individuals are not free to move in a habitat due to the agressive nature of other species, density could be higher in marginal habitats if speices are forced by others
How can the environment control distribution
different rain levels, habitats, climates
Where does most rain fall
over oceans rather than land
How much rain does the average weather station get a year
660mm
What latitudes does rain fall most at
the lower latitudes round the equator
Why are polar regions not arid
little evaporation, snow and water is left on the ground
How much of the world is in a rainfall deficit
1/3
If a habitat saw an average temperature of 0’c and low rain fall of 200-1900mm of rain a year
Boreal Forest
What are the climatic conditions of a habitat
temperature and precipitation
What 4 impacts does climate have on an animal
survival, reproduction, development of young and interactions with other organisms
What plays a key role in categorising species by extinction risk
Range
How many species are listed only on range measurement
75%
What is criterion D
An indicator of a very small or restricted population
What three
ciriteria arw
Used to identify endangered species
Severe fragmentation, continuing decline in range, extreme fluctuations in range size
How many mammals qualified only under greographic range criterion
35%
How are geographic boundaries of animals often mapped
Through occurrence or sightings as the outer most edge of the animals predicted range, Gaston
How can habitats be used to guess location
Habitat preferences can be mapped into data for existing habitats to see where an animal may live
How can statistical modelling be used to guess animal range
Use climatic variables to predict the favoured places of animals
Where is the spotted wing drosophila native to
Southeast Asia (orsted 2019)
What is the drosophila
A fruit fly
What is the drosophila Suzukii a pest to
The fruit production industry
How many occurrences of suzukii were documented
517 over 52 counties
How many invasive occurrences of suzukii were documented
421, only 96 were native
What climate does the suzukii prefer,
Humid environment with mild winters in order to generate a permanent range
What are SDM’s
Species distribution models have been increasingly used to predict spatial distribution
Where did suzukii spread to
Europe and America
What does suzukii have w preference for
Ripening fruit, lays eggs in the fruit
Describe the distribution of suzukii
Clumped in groups, East and west coast USA, Uruguay and southern Brazil, Europe, and native south east Asia
What latitudes can Suzuki be seen in
Normally between -+10-60 degrees
What was the largest predoctor of suzukii in Europe
Min temp of coldest month
What were the most important predictors if native suzukii
Annual precipitation and temperature seasonality
What was the most important factor in predicting distribution of suzukii at a global scale
Annual mean temperature and mean temp of coldest quarter
How many counties did suzukii originally inhabit
10
How many invasive occurances were found in europe
306
How many european countries have suzukii
30
Which remote locations has suzukii been found in
remote islands such as maderia, french polynasia and reunion
What was strange about the habitats at native, europe and global
all different, suzukii had to adapt to lots of different niches
How many countries did the SDM pretict that suzukii could colonise
an extra 31, limited after that die to climate
Why could suzukii spread further than expected
already seeing small interspecific adaptions that allow suzukii to live in different areas of the world
Which constraint was the same for europe global and native
minimum temperature for coldest month, all about -2.5
What was different about native to global and european habitats
Much warmer with a much dryer dryest month
What is the optimal temp for suzukii
20-25 degrees, but has a very wide temp range from -2.5 with detrimental heat coming at 32 degrees
What happens to suzukii when temperature falls below freezing
limits reproductive ability
What is the key factor for limiting distribution of suzuki
precipitation, need for a wet envrionment
Who wrote the paper on suzukii
Orsted and Orsted 2018
What are the favourite foods for suzukii
apple, grape, peach, persimmon, fig, and pear
