Unit 2 Flashcards
Hazards in Fieldwork
Hazards in fieldwork include adverse weather conditions, difficult terrain, problems associated with isolation, and contact with harmful organisms
How should sampling be carried out
in a manner that minimises impact on wild species and habitats
What consideration must be given when carrying out fieldwork
Consideration must be given to rare and vulnerable species and habitats that are protected by legislation
Point count
A point count involves the observer recording all individuals seen from a fixed point count location.
What is used to sample sessile or slow moving organisms
Quadrats, of suitable size and shape, or transects are used for plants and other sessile or slow-moving organisms
What is used to sample mobile species
Capture techniques, such as traps and nets, are used for mobile species
What techniques are used to sample elusive species
Elusive species can be sampled directly using camera traps or an indirect method, such as scat sampling
How can an organism be identified and classified
Identification of an organism in a sample can be made using classification guides, biological keys, or analysis of DNA or protein
Organisms can be classified by both taxonomy and phylogenetics
Taxonomy
Taxonomy involves the identification and naming of organisms and their classification into groups based on shared characteristics
Classic taxonomy classification is based on morphology.
Phylogenetics
Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms
Phylogenetics uses heritable traits such as morphology, DNA sequences, and protein structure to make inferences about an organism’s evolutionary history
Taxonomic groups
Nematodes, arthropods and chordates are examples of taxonomic groups.
Model organisms
Model organisms are those that are either easily studied or have been well studied
Model organisms examples
E. coli
Arabidopsis
C elegans
Drosophila
Indicator species
Presence, absence or abundance of indicator species can give information of environmental qualities, such as presence of a pollutant
Population estimate formula
Procedure for the mark and recapture technique as a method for estimating population size using the formula
N= MC/R
Methods of marking animals
Methods of marking animals such as: banding, tagging, surgical implantation, painting and hair clipping
Measurements used to quantify animal behavior
latency, frequency and duration
Latency
Latency is the time between the stimulus occurring and the response behaviour.
Frequency
Frequency is the number of times a behaviour occurs within the observation period.
Duration
Duration is the length of time each behaviour occurs during the observation period.
Ethogram
An ethogram lists species-specific behaviours to be observed and recorded in the study. Recording the duration of each of the behaviours in the ethogram, together with the total time of observation, allows the proportion of time spent on each behaviour to be calculated in the time budget.
Anthropomorphism
When human characteristics and feelings are implied against animals
Evolution
Evolution is the change over time in the proportion of individuals in a population differing in one or more inherited traits
Non random evolution
Natural and sexual selection
Random evolution
Genetic drift
Effects that mutations can have
Harmful, neutral or beneficial
Sexual Selection
Sexual selection is the non-random process involving the selection of alleles that increase the individual’s chances of mating and producing offspring
Sexual selection may lead to sexual dimorphism
Male-male rivalry
large size or weaponry increases access to females through conflict.
Female Choice
Female choice involves females assessing the fitness of males.
Genetic Drift
Genetic drift occurs when chance events cause unpredictable fluctuations in allele frequencies from one generation to the next
Genetic drift is more important in small populations, as alleles are more likely to be lost from the gene pool
Bottlenecks
Population bottlenecks occur when a population size is reduced for at least one generation.
Founder effect
Founder effects occur through the isolation of a few members of a population from a larger population. The gene pool of the new population is not representative of that in the original gene pool.
Selection pressures
Selection pressures are the environmental factors that influence which individuals in a population pass on their alleles.
They can be biotic: competition, predation, disease, parasitism; or abiotic: changes in temperature, light, humidity, pH, salinity
Hardy Weinberg Principle
The Hardy-Weinberg (HW) principle states that, in the absence of evolutionary influences, allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant over the generations
Conditions for maintaining the Hardy Weinberg principle
The conditions for maintaining the HW equilibrium are: no natural selection, random mating, no mutation, large population size and no gene flow
Hardy Weinberg principle formula
p2 +2pq+q2 =1
p = frequency of dominant allele
q = frequency of recessive allele
p2 = frequency of homozygous dominant genotype
2pq = frequency of heterozygous genotype q2 = frequency of homozygous recessive genotype
Fitness
Fitness is an indication of an individual’s ability to be successful at surviving and reproducing
refers to the contribution made to the gene pool of the next generation by individual genotypes
Absolute fitness
Absolute fitness is the ratio between the frequency of individuals of a particular genotype after selection, to those before selection
frequency of a particular genotype after selection
frequency of a particular genotype before selection
Absolute fitness number results
If the absolute fitness is 1, then the frequency of that genotype is stable. A value greater than 1 conveys an increase in the genotype and a value less than 1 conveys a decrease.
Relative Fitness
Relative fitness is the ratio of the number of surviving offspring per individual of a particular genotype to the number of surviving offspring per individual of the most successful genotype
number of surviving offspring per individual of a particular genotype
number of surviving offspring per individual of the most successful genotype