week 3 species distribution Flashcards
factors affecting distribution
colonization expansion of species into new areas
extinction
range - balance between colonization and extinction
Time - ecological time seconds, minutes months
evolutionary time - millions of years
ecological factors
Environmental conditions (abiotic)
organism interaction (biotic)
ecological niche
- requiremnets
- multidimensional
- fundamental vs realized niches
abiotic plant environments
what do plants need?
photosynthesis
- light
- co2 - stomata
- h20 - transpiration
- soil nutrients
respiration
Abiotic factors limiting distributions Moisture
Most important factor
soil water
- capillary water - film of water attached to particles (just right)
- Hygroscopic water - super thin film of water molecule attached to the outside of soil particles (too little)
- Gravitational water - super thick film of water molecules attached to the outside of soil particles ( too much)
too much water
Mangroves - type of plant found on shoreline of tropical oceans
root knees
lentils
pandas root knees
too little water
do not photosynthesis on leaves
takes place on base/stems
leaf pubescence - develop a thin layer of hair that blocks sunlight and reduces photosynthesis
too little water - sclerophyll leaves
leaves that are small
thicker loose less moisture
extensive root net workd
- tap roots - very deep roots
fibrous roots - roots going everywhere (dense)
soil nutrients
plant nutrients
macro nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus,potassium,calcium,magnesium, sulfur( plants need a lot of it)
iron, zinc,copper,manganese (bad for plants if they have too much)
cations - positively charged elements ( plants want and need)
cation exchange plants give out hydrogen and get back nutrients
high ph and high sec is good for growing crops
light
photosynthesis
- the more light the more photosynthesis
- sunlight controls transpiration
shade tolerat vs shade intolerant pine trees
differences over small distances
atmospheric gases
co2 - we have been causing c02 levels to go up significantly
anthropogenic release
fertilization experiments (FACE - Free -air-co2 enrichment)
o2 pretty consistent
pollutants
temperature
very important
passive temperature control - photosynthesis has a higher rate in warmer conditions
cold adaptions - in cold environments there is a very short vegetation
Heliotropism
way of tracking the sun (leaves stay open to sun to keep warm)
cleciduoudness
shedding leaves for a portion of the year ( getting ready for cold season)
hot adaptions
photosynthetic pathways (c3,c4,cam)
humidity
in areas with frequent fog, water droplets are deposited which created fog precipitation which supplies water source fo trees/plants
wind
high winds increase transpiration rates
Krummholz wind - that constantly comes form the same direction and damages one Sid eof a plant
fire
described by intensity and mri
intensity looks at heat of fire and how much it does
mri looks at how frequently a fire will come back to the same spot
minor fires
crown fires
ground fires
minor fires - surface fires does not make its way very high above grassland
grown fires - consumes upper leaves and branches
ground fire - burns underground
Adaptions
from scars on trees you can tell when the tree was burnt
survive or recolonize
surviving fires
fire tolerant (killing trees) vs fire intolerant
surviving fires
- thick of fibrous bark
- resprout from stem
- resprout form lignotuber
growth bud location
where are fires common?
Fuel (NPP)
flammability
not common in desert areas
moderate in rain forest because the have high fuel but lots of rain
areas that are dry = high flammability
areas that are wet = low flammability
interaction of factors
gradual vs abrupt boundaries
environmental gradients
- sum of conditions
env change
biotic interactions Neutralism
Two species interacting and not having impact on one another
mutualism
both species benefit two types of mutualism obligatory and non obligatory
obligatory - mutualism is required (ex. pollination)
non obligatory - mutualism is nice but not required
commensalism
benefit for one species only
amensalism
harmful for one species
allopathy - addition of some sort if chemical to the environment
parasitism;
one species benefits and one is negative
3predation
leads to the death of the host ( one species benefits)
Biotic effects
they can range form being lethal or beneficial
sometimes these interactions are general or sometimes they re very specific
interference and coexistence among plant species - competition
use same resources
moist vs dry environments
plants re competing for different things
size matters
all plants start small
small plants are more vulnerable when competing fo resources
solutions
phonology
timing of life events for ex, when trees produce berries
Alleopathy
addition of materials (chemical compounds) into the soil that will have an adverse effect on the competitor
consequences of competition
restriction in range - boreal species , ex. along gradient
how can competing species coexist / specialization
attacking resources differently
special variation
when a tree falls over it will pull up its root plate and leave behind a pit
temporal variation
plants will partition an area over time
auto-inhibition
all competing for same resources so they start interfering with each other
