Marine Ecology Exam 2

community

interacting populations of multiple species

competition

two or more organisms attempting to obtain a limiting resource

interspecific competition

competition occurring between individuals of different species

intraspecific competition

competition occurring between individuals of the same species

niche

functional role in the ecosystem

fundamental niche

everywhere an organism can be found

realized niche

where it is actually found due to competition exclusion

consumption

when one organism eats another

food web diagram

trace energy flow through consumption

cooperation

when two or more organisms interact in a way that benefits all parties involved

nodes

an individual species or species group represented in a food web

links

connection between two nodes linking prey and predator

food chain

the simplest food web model

omnivory

feeding at multiple trophic levels result in trophic levels not being discrete

quantitative links

show strength of the interaction

isotope fractionation

anything that concentrates or dilutes the typical ratio of heavy to light isotopes

biodiversity

the variety of life

species richness

number of unique species

species identity/composition

what particular species are present

functional diversity

number of different ecological roles represented by the species in the community

functional redundancy

number of species able to perform the same role

similarity/dissimilarity measures

multivariate comparisons of communities using beta diversity

multivariate

many variables

univariate

looks at each species and site individually (can get overwhelming)

extinction

gone forever

extirpation

extinct in some places but not all places

ecological extinction

rare enough not to play historical roles in the ecosystem

ecosystem function

aggregate properties of ecosystems and actions performed by ecosystems (e.g., plant/animal biomass and production, nutrient cycling, stability/resilience)

BD-EF Theory

developed from models of consequences of biodiversity loss

niche complementarity

more species = more complete resource use

sampling effect

more species = more likely to get one with big effect

primary producers

turn organic matter into inorganic matter through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

organic matter

complex, carbon-based molecules

inorganic matter

smaller, simpler molecules

autotrophs

primary producers

heterotrophs

consumers

bottom up control

production at the base of the food web (primary producers) drive higher trophic level production

gross primary production (GPP)

rate that producers create organic matter

respiration (R)

rate that organisms expend organic matter

net primary production (NPP)

production left over after respiration

compensation depth

plant rate of photosynthesis is no greater than their respiration; at about 1% of surface light

critical depth

for phytoplankton, the depth above which daily GPP = R can occur

cohort method

closely monitor a population over time

radioisotope labeling

measure rate of incorporation of labeled nucleotides or amino acids that related to secondary production

allometric method

apply theoretical relationships to measure secondary production

allometry

relating body size to other things that are affected by body size, like shape, anatomy, physiology, metabolism, (including production)

production to biomass (P:B) ratio

small organisms have smaller P, but larger P:B

2nd law of thermodynamics

no energy transfer is 100% efficient; entropy increases; energy is lost as heat

fisheries

harvest of living resources from the ocean (fish, whales, clams, crabs, algae, ect.)

bycatch

non-targeted species usually discarded

active gear

gear that moves through the water to catch fish

passive gear

stationary gear that catches fish without moving gear through the water

fisheries science

study of marine population, community, and ecosystems ecology as it relates to harvesting

stock assessments

used to determine how many fish there are

population modeling

used to determine how many fish there are going to be

fisheries management

determines how many fish we can harvest

fisheries independent

data collected without the direct influence of fishing to assess fish stocks.

fisheries dependent data

data collected that relies on information from fishing activities, used to evaluate fish populations and harvest levels.

catch per unit effort (CPUE)

how many were caught in a standardized effort

maximum sustainable yield (MSY)

the maximum harvest that allows sustainable population regrowth

optimal sustainable yield

the amount to take from a stock per year to get maximum economic benefit

development

new stock is discovered and rapidly hearvested

full exploitation

harvest reaches MSY; stock is at 50% of unexploited biomass

over exploitation

harvest exceeds MSY and stock declines

collapse

stock <10% of unexploited biomass, followed by recovery or extirpation (depends on life history factors)

invasive species

species from another region that causes ecological harm

non-native species

species that are outside its historic native range and may not alter ecological function

mariculture

specific to marine species when talking about aquaculture

intensive aquaculture

a lot of work goes into raising animals

extensive aquaculture

nature does most of the work

animal husbandry

life history knowledge is critical to mariculture species

polyculture

growing multiple species together