Unit 3 Flashcards
Process of Coevolution
How the evolutions of one species impacts the evolutions of one another and vise versa (reciprocal evolution)
Concept of an evolutionary arms race
A series of adaptations and counter adaptations usually between predators and prey
What happens when an evolutionary arms race doesn’t concur
either the predator or the prey will go extinct
Mimicry
looking like something you’re not
How does Mimicry arise through coevolution
Some prey will look slightly like something else, it gains a fitness advantages, however, the predator gets good at locating this new form new mutations make individuals blend in better, etc.
Aposematic Coloration
Bright warning colors
Mullerian Mimicry
multiple toxic/dangerous organisms look similar to one another
Batesian mimicry
a benign organism looks like a dangerous/toxic one
Innate behaviors
genetically hardwired, do not require any sort of previous experience to do, little variation
Learned Behaviors
Are not genetically hardwired, they do require previous experience in order to do them, wide variety of variation
Innate Reflex examples
protection behaviors, bracing yourself when you fall
Innate Taxis examples
Directional movement as a result of exposure to a stimulus, sunflowers move towards sunlight
Innate Kinesis Behaviors
non-directional movement as a result of exposure to a stimulus, speed
Learned Habituation examples
getting used to a particular stimulus
Learned Imprinting example
learning certain behaviors at an early age when exposed to a particular stimulus, ducklings following mom
Learned Culture Example
based on the way you were raised and what you are used to, you will respond differently in certain situations
Contemporary vs. historical
at the time behavior is done, and over evolutionary time
Proximate vs. Ultimate
physical mechanism associated with a behavior
vs evolutionary reasons
Contemporary proximate
what mechanisms are necessary to conduct their behavior
Contemporary ultimate
what is the evolutionary advantage of doing this behavior
historical proximate
how did this trait/behavior develop over evolutionary time
historical ultimate
what is the phylogenetic history of this trait/behavior
What demographic factors influence population growth/decline
birth rate, death rate, immigration rate, emigration rate
Fecundity
fertility (how many offspring will an individual have)
Survivorship
how long do you live
Density independent growth and Exponential growth
(growth is not affected by how big the population is)
Density Dependent growth and Logistic growth
growth is affected by how many individuals are in the population
What variables influence logistic growth
What proportion of the carrying capacity is being occupied
What variables influence exponential growth
growth rate
Limiting factors to population growth
resources, predators, disease, waste
Major two ways organisms can obtain energy
autotrophs and heterotrophs
Autotrophs
proudcers
heterotrophs
consumers
primary producers
plants, algae (bottom of the food chain)
primary consumers
herbivores
secondary consumers
carnivores
bottom-up trophic cascade
whatever happens to the species at the bottom of the food chain, is also going to happen to everything else above it in the food chain
top-down trophic cascade
whatever happens to the species at the top of the food chain, is going to happen to everything else above it in the food chain
Keystone species
an organism that plays a disproportionately large role in the community structure/make up relative to its abundance
Major components of biogeochemical cycles
sources/sinks and fluxes
Sources/sinks
where is a particular resource found in large quantities and these can be living or non-living
Fluxes
processes by which a resource will be moved from one source to another
Sources in water cycle
Ocean, atmosphere, soil, plants/animals
Fluxes in water cycle
evaporation, precipitation, runoff, absorption
Concept of nitrogen fixation
plants will absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere, send it down to the roots, where symbiotic bacteria take that nitrogen and convert into nitrogenous compounds
Eutrophication
excess nitrogen/phosphorus enter the water supply and get into a lake which causes an algal bloom, algae dies, sinks to the bottom where it begins to decay. Decomposition uses all the oxygen in the water, leading to mass die offs.
Bioaccumulation
the concentration of a particular pollutant builds up in an organism over time
biomagnifcation
the concentration of pollutant increases dramatically as you go up the food chain
abiotic variables that contribute to the formation of biomes
average annual precipitation and average annual temperature
Net Primary Production
The quantity of plan biomass in an area
How is NPP related to abiotic factors and biomes
Affected primarily by average annual precipitation and average annual temperate and amount of npp defines what biome you’re in
What ways are terrestrial and aquatic biomes are being impacted by humans
deforestation, pollution, invasive species
Zone of tolerance
what sets of conditions can a species tolerate or survive in
ecological filtering
what influences whether a species can live in a certain area
Disperal filter
can the organism even get to that area
abiotic filter
are the environmental conditions appropriate for that species/organism (zone of tolerance)
species interactions
will the organism be outcompeted or eaten in that area?
Greenhouse effect
the atmosphere traps solar radiation on the surface of the earth. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more heat is trapped.
How does the greenhouse effect relate to carbon dioxide
Carbon Dioxide is one the the greenhouse gases that gets in the atmosphere and traps the heat.
Difference between global warming and climate change
global warming is looking at rising temperatures across the world and climate change looks at everything else that arises as a result of those rising temperatures
Expected consequences of continued warming
more severe weather, more severe droughts, rising sea levels, mass extinction, ocean acidification, climate refugees, and loss of resources
the importance of maintaining biodiversity
supporting services, regulation services, provisioning services, and cultural services
Supporting services
pollution, nutrient cycling, pest control, primary production
regulation services
preventing soil erosion, water purification, production of oxygen and removal or carbon dioxide, and decomposition
Provisioning services
providing fuel, food, medicines, water
cultural services
recreation, tourism
Resistance
extent to which an environment remains unchanged due to a disturbance
Resilience
extent to which an environment recovers after a disturbance (how quickly does it recover)
Possible strategies for the conservation of a threatened species
Educational services, “off-site” conservation and reintroduction, genetic restoration, wildlife corridors, seed banks, designated protected wildlife areas
