Species Interactions Flashcards

1
Q

Community ecology

A

Interactions among different species have 2 important results:

  1. They affect the distribution and abundance of the interacting species
  2. They are agents of natural selection and affect the evolution of the interacting species
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2
Q

Species interactions

A

+ : a relationship between 2 species providing a fitness benefit to members of one of the species

  • : a relationship that hurts members of one of the species

0 : a relationship that has no effect on the members of either species

Interactions: -/-, +/-, +/+, or +/0 (commensalism)

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3
Q

3 themes in community ecology

A
  1. Species interactions may affect the distribution and abundance of a particular species
  2. Species act as agents of natural selection when they interact; a co-evolutionary arms race occurs between predators and prey, between parasites and hosts, and between other types of interacting species
  3. The outcome of interactions among species is dynamic and conditions; interactions among species can change
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4
Q

Coevolution

A

The process where evolutionary changes in the traits of one species results in evolutionary changes in the traits of a different species; can involve predators and prey, hosts and parasites, an other kinds of interactions

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5
Q

Competition

A

A -/- interaction that occurs when individuals use the same limiting resources

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6
Q

Intraspecific competition

A

Competition that occurs among members of the same species; major cause of density dependent population growth

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7
Q

Interspecific competition

A

Competition occurs between members of different species

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8
Q

Consumptive competion

A

When two species consume the same resources

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9
Q

Preemptive competition

A

When one species makes space unavailable to another species

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10
Q

Overgrowth competition

A

One species grows above another

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11
Q

Chemical competion

A

When one species produces toxins that negatively affect another species

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12
Q

Territorial competition

A

Mobile species protects its feeding or breeding territory against other species

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13
Q

Encounter competition

A

Two species interfere directly for access to specific resources

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14
Q

Niche

A

The range of resources that a species is able to use, and the range of conditions that it can tolerate

  • interspecific comp. occurs when the niches of two species overlap
  • area with minimal resources, specialist will do well
  • area with numerous resources, generalist will do well
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15
Q

Exclusion principle

A

Two species which compete for the same limited resource cannot coexist at constant population values

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16
Q

Asymmetric competition

A

When one species has a much greater fitness reduction than the other species

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17
Q

Symmetric competition

A

When the fitness reduction in both species is approximately the same, or equal

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18
Q

Competitive exclusion

A

The competitive exclusion principle states that it is not possible for species with the very same niche to coexis

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19
Q

Fundamental niche

A

The total theoretical range of resources, habitats and conditions used/or tolerated when there is no competition

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20
Q

Realized niche

A

The portion of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies; the resources, habitats, and conditions used/or tolerated when there is competition

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21
Q

Niche differentiation

A

An evolutionary change in the traits of a species that reduces the amount of niche overlap (also called resource partitioning); this reduces competition

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22
Q

Character displacement

A

Evolutionary changes in the traits of species during the process of niche differentiation

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23
Q

Consumption

A

+/- interaction; one organism eats the other; increases the fitness of one and reduces fitness of the other

24
Q

Major types of consumption

A
  1. Herbivory
  2. Predation
  3. Parasitism
25
Q

Constitutive/standing defences

A

Defences that are always present (i.e. camouflage, schooling, weaponry, mimicry)

26
Q

Inducible defences

A

Only present when a predator or consumer is present; induced in response to the presence of the predator

27
Q

Aposematic colouration

A

A bright warning of dangerous or noxious defences; effective on visual predators (learn to avoid these patterns)

28
Q

Mullerian mimicry

A

When harmful species resemble each other; increases the chances that predators learn to avoid them

29
Q

Bayesian mimicry

A

When harmless species resemble harmful species; predators avoid harmful species and harmless species get a “free ride”

30
Q

Community structure (4 elements)

A
  1. The total number of species
  2. The same of interactions among all species
  3. The relative abundance of those species
  4. The physical attributes of the community (geographic size, temperature, pressure) as well as biotic factors such as major vegetation type (biome)
31
Q

Species richness

A

The number of different species in a given area

32
Q

Species abundance

A

The number of individuals within a species (or each different species) in an area

33
Q

The Shannon Diversity Index

A

H’ = - sum of pi ln pi

H’ = species diversity
pi = the proportion of species i

34
Q

Keystone species

A

Has a bigger effect on the entire ecosystem than any other one species; greater impacts on a community than either its abundance or biomass suggest

35
Q

Top-down control

A

Affects trophic levels underneath keystone predators

36
Q

Ecosystem engineers

A

Cause physical changes in the environment that affect community structure (i.e. beavers)

37
Q

Keystone prey

A

Species that have major input in the amount of nutrients and nutrient cycling within an ecological system; their removal would disastrous for the diversity of ecosystem

38
Q

Bottom-up control

A

Introduced something at the bottom; affects trophic levels above it

39
Q

Bottom-up influences

A

When nutrients, sunlight, temperature, moisture and other abiotic factors determine the number of primary producers (we have bottom-up control)

40
Q

Top-down influences

A

Refers to the removal of predators or consumers at a higher trophic level having a strong impact on a lower trophic level

41
Q

Trophic cascade

A

Changes in top-down control cause conspicuous effects two or three links away in a food web (increase-decrease-increase)

42
Q

Frederick Clements

A

Biological communities are stable, integrated, and orderly entities with a highly predictable composition
- climax community

43
Q

Henry Gleason

A

Community found in a particular area is neither stable nor predictable
- chance

44
Q

Disturbance regime

A

Most communities experience a characteristic type of disturbance, and in most cases, disturbances occur with a predictable frequency and severity

45
Q

Inherent edge

A

Naturally present and stable

46
Q

Induced edge

A

Transitory; either natural disasters or human activity

47
Q

Extirpation

A

Local extinction

48
Q

Ecotone

A

Region of transition between two biological communities

49
Q

Succession

A

The recovery that follows a sever disturbance

50
Q

Primary succession

A

Occurs when a disturbance removes the soil and its organisms as well as organisms that live above the surface (i.e. glaciers, floods, volcanic eruptions)

51
Q

Secondary succession

A

Occurs when a disturbance removes or all of the organisms from an area but leaves the soil intact, including microbes and seedlings

52
Q

Successional pathway

A

The specific sequence of species that appears over time (after succession)

53
Q

Pioneering species

A

The first organisms that arrive at a newly disturbed site; very high reproductive rates; can tolerate severe abiotic conditions; good dispersal ability; little competitive ability (trade off)

54
Q

Facilitation

A

Occurs when early-arriving species make conditions ore favourable for the arrival of certain later species

55
Q

Tolerance

A

Existing species do not affect the probability that subsequent species will become established

56
Q

Inhibition

A

The presence of one species inhibit the establishment of another

57
Q

Longitudinal diversity gradient hypotheses

A
  1. High-productivity hypothesis: high prod. Promotes high diversity
  2. Energy hypothesis: high temp. Increases prod. and likelihood that organisms can tolerate he physical conditions in a region
  3. Time hypothesis: topical regions have had more time for speciation than other regions
  4. Intermediate disturbance hypothesis: regions with moderate type, frequency, and severity of disturbance should have high species richness and diversity
  5. Area and age hypothesis: land are and historical factors (i.e. glaciation)

All factors at influence diversity; no single hypothesis can give explanation