Ecology - Midterm #1

Pollination

In seed plants, transfer of pollen from male parts to female parts

Self Pollination

Same Plant

Cross Pollination

Different plant

Advantages of Self pollination

Greater chance of pollination

Advantages of Cross Pollination

Greater Genetic Diversity in offspring

Pollen Vectors

Water wind animals

Rewards for pollinators

nectar, pollen, scented oil

Signals for pollinators

color, large size, shape, scent

Traits of effective animal pollinators

surfaces pollen can stick too, long tongue to acess nectar, move from one flower to another, vibrate at certain frequency and sensory system

Human color vision

3 types cone cells, percieved color depends on relative response of each type

Range of visible light spectrum

380-740nm

Cone cells in Birds

4 types that can see ultraviolet through red light

Number photoreceptors in Honeybees

3 types spanning UV to orange

Number of photoreceptors in Butterflies

Up to 15 types. but may not use all for color vision

Benefits plant recieves from animal pollination

More diversity, higher chance of pollination, don’t need to make as much pollen

Benefits animal receives from animal pollination

Food source

Bee specific pollinator plants

Bright white, yellow, blue UV, with a fresh mild pleasent scent. Nectar is usually present and pollen is limited and often sticky. The flower shape is shallow / tubular with landing platform

Beetle Specific pollinator Plants

Dull white or green, no odor to strongly fruity or bad smelling, nectar is sometimes present and pollen is ample. The flower shape is bowl like.

Bird Specific Pollinator Plants

Orange red white, no odor, ample deeply hidden nectar with moderate pollen, the shape is large tubular.

Wind Specific Pollinator Plants

Dull green or brown with no odor or nectar. Pollen is abundant, small not sticky and the shape is small, petals absent or reduced

What cost plants pay in animal pollination

animal eats some of the pollen, plant dependent on pollinator for sucess

Cost an animal pays in animal pollination

Time and energy for travel, pollinator sucess depedent on plant

Advantages of Generalist

More Options

Advantages of Specialist

Only goes to that type of pollen, guarentees pollen reaches right area

Ecology

How organisms interact with their environment (including other organisms)

Levels of Biological Organization

Individual Population Community Ecosystem Landscape Biosphere

Population

Group fo individuals of a single species that live in a particular area and interact with each other

Community

An associaton of populations of different species living in same area at same time

Ecosystem

A community of organisms plus their physical environment

Landscapes

Areas with substantial differences, typically including multiple ecosystesms

Biosphere

All living organisms on earth plus the environments in which they live

Experiments

Scientist manipulate or change some variable to determine how changes in that variable affect some other variable of intrest

Observational Study

Scientist measure existing variation in nature to find out if there is a relationship between two variables

Treatment

Factor or variable you are testing

Experimental Group

Factor you are testing

Control Group

Does not have factor you are testing

Experimental Unit

Smallest unit to which a treatment is given

Cofounding Factors

Variables other than one you are testing that could affect the outcome

Cofounding factors

Control, replicate, randomize, block

Hypothesis

A possible explaination for phenomenon that was observed

Prediction

What expect to see assuming hypothesis is correct

Adpatation

A feature of an organsim that improves its ability to survive or reproduce in its environment

Natural Selection

An evolutionary process in which individauls that possess particualr characteristics survive or reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals because of those characteristics

Producer

An organism that uses energy from an external source to produce its own food without having to eat other organisms or their remains

Consumer

An organism obtains its energy by eating other organsims or their remains

Net Primary PRoduction

Amount of energy that producers fix by photosyntehsis or other means, minus the amount they use in cellular respiration

Nutrient Cycle

Cyclic movement of nutrient between organisms and physical environment

Weather

The current temperature, humidity, precipitation wind and cloud cover

Climate

Long term trend in temperature, wind and precipitation. Can be daily, seasonal and multiyear cycle and averages and variability

How climate is important ecology

Physiological function of organisms, resources available, abiotic processes and geographic distribution of organisms

How to sun rays strike the earth surface

perpendiculary

How are sun rays towards the poles

spread over a larger area and take a longer path through the atmosphere

What does light affect

temperature

What does temperature affect

Global atmospheric circulation

How does warm air act when solar radiation heats earth surface

because warm air is less dense then cool air it rises above the surface, as it rises it expands and cools, and as air cools vapor condenses to form clouds

Hadley Cells

As warm moist air rising tropics, it cools and drops moisture as rain

Where does cooler dryer air flow

Towards the poles

Where does this cooler dryer air descends

About 30 N and 30 S creating deserts

Polar Cells

The cold dense air subsiding at poles

Ferrel cells

The polar cells and Hadley cells drive the mid latitude for these cells

What does temperature and precipitation affect

Vegetation

What does Global Atmospheric Circulation Affect

Surface Winds

What is the Coriolis effect

Converts winds moving to equator into east winds and winds moving away into west winds

What happens when golf stream reaches artic

It water loses heat

What does Upwelling do

Bring nutrients from deep sediments to lighted surface waters where phytoplankton grow and food for zooplankton and fish

What is earth’s axis tilted

23.5 degrees

Season when northern hemispehre is titled toward sun

Summer in the northern and winter in the southern

What is the effect of axial tilt

Areas near equator have wet and dry seasons and areas farther from equaotr have hot and cold seasons

What does it mean for water to have high heat capacity

takes a lot fo energy to change its temperature

The maritime climate near coast

low temperature variation

The continental climate

High Temperature variation

elevation relates to temperature

higher Elevation is colder

Aspect mountain relates to temperature

sunnier side is hotter and dryer

Rainshadow on leeward

A moving air mass picks up moisture over the ocean, on the upward slope air rises and cools releasing most of its moisture as precipiation, on the leeward slope the dry air descends and warms and there is little precipitation

How mountains affect temperature

cooler temps patterns

How mountains affect precipitation

less precipitation with more mountains

Minnesota climate precipitation

Driest in the northwest, wetest in the south east

Minnesota climate temperature

colder in north warmer in south with the cities being warm

Minnesota Climate

warm humid summers, cold snowy winters, most precipitaiton falls in summer and high variability, gets colder as you go north gets moister as you go southeast.

Homeostasis

A self regulating process by which biological systems maintain stability while adjusting to changing external conditions

Negative feedback loop

A change in one direct leads to a change in the other direction

Temperature affects

enzyme stability, cell membrane fluidity, rates of biochemical reactions, freezing, water loss

Homothermy

Stable body temp

poikliothermy

variable body temp

endothermy

relies on internal heat production

ectothermy

relies on external heat production

What inputs into heat balance

metabolic heat and solar radiation

What outputs into heat balance

Evaporative cooling

What could be either inputs and outputs into heat balance

Radiation (light/infrarred) convection and conduction

Net equation for aerobic respiration

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6H₂O + 6CO₂ + energy

The upper limit of young healthy people for thermal tolerance range

44-48 (111-118) at 20% relative humidity, 31C (87F) 100% relative humidity

What is water balance closely tied to

Salt balance

Inputs of water balance

Ingestion and oxidative metabolism

Outputs of water balance

Secretion or evaporative loss

What are inputs or outputs of water balance

Osmitc exchange

How does osmotic exchange work

driven by solute concentration where water moves to solute concentration is equal

What gains water due to osmosis

freshwater fish

What loses water due to osmosis

Marine mammal and marine bony fish

Why evaporative loss is necessary

Evaporative cooling, gas exchange, plants transpiration moves mineral nutrients from roots to leaves

Immediate response to stressful situation

Physiology and behavior