bio exam study

Define ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment

define environment

everything an organism is exposed to

what are the abiotic components

weather, light, nutrients, and water

what are the biotic components

all of the organisms that live in an individuals environment

what are examples of abiotic factors

temperature, water, salinity, sunlight, rocks and soil, oxygen levels, altitude, cloud coverage, location, rainfall

define population

the members of a particular species that live in the same area

what is a community

All the populations of different species in a habitat

What is an ecosystem?

abiotic factors and all live things in a certain area

What is the biosphere?

the global ecosystem

What is organismal ecology?

individual organisms interaction with biotic and abiotic factors in their environment

what is physiological ecology

how organisms are physiologically adapted to their environment and how environment impacts species distribution

what does behavioral ecology study?

how the behavior of animals affects their survival and reproduction (fitness)

what does population focus on?

it focuses on the population of an organism

what does community ecology study

it studies how populations interact and form communities

what does ecosystem ecology study

the study of the flow of energy and chemicals within an ecosystem

what are some abiotic factors in the biosphere

temperature, sunlight, wind, rock, soils, and periodic disturbances

climate is a major influence on what?

on the distribution of organisms, climate includes temperature, watertight,and wind

what is the greenhouse effect

heat is trapped on earth by greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide

describe a biome

a major ecosystem type, aquatic biomes cover over 75% of earths surface. terrestrial biomes cover 25% of the earths surface. named after dominant vegation and climate.

what are examples of aquatic biomes

intertidal zone, coral reef, the open ocean, lentic habitats, lotic habitats, and wetlands

what is the largest biome

open ocean

what are examples of lentic habitats

calm water such as lakes

what are examples of lotic habitats

fast moving water, streams and rivers

describe terrestrial biomes

tropical rain forests, tropical deciduous forest, temperate rain forest, temperate deciduous, temperate coniferous forest, tropical grasslands(savanna), temperate grasslands(prairie), hot desert, cold dessert, tundra, and mountain ranges

describe the tropical deciduous forest

leaves are shed during the dry season

describe the temperature rainforest

coastal Pacific Northwest

what is a major terrestrial biome in Michigan

temperate deciduous forest

what are proximate questions

how questions, for example how do bats use their sonar

what are ultimate questions

why questions,

what is fitness

your ability to reproduce and produce an offspring that will survive and reproduce themselves

kin selection

includes close kin

inclusive fitness

personal fitness plus that of close relatives

what is reciprocal altruism

a favor is given and now with an expectation of reciprocity in the future

describe behavioral ecology

this is the modern study of animal behavior. it is the study of behavior in an ecological context

What do all behaviors have?

all behavior have genetic and environmental components

describe innate behavior

in the 1930s European ethologists developed the concept of a fixed action pattern. behaviors that are triggered by a stimulus are called a sign stimulus. these behaviors are called innate(inherited) behaviors.

what is an example of innate behavior

a fixed action pattern. for example the sign stimulus is the egg outside of the nest. the fixed action pattern is rolling the egg back into the nest

What is the semirestricted behavioral development

imprinting is a good example. many young animals will imprint on a parent during a certain critical period

who discovered imprinting

Konrad Lorenz

what are the plastic or flexible development systems

learning. examples of learning are trial and error learning, associative learning, cognitive learning

describe trial and error learning

operant conditioning

describe associative learning

many animals can learn to associate one stimulus with another. for example Paylov trained dogs to associate a ringing bell with food

what is cognitive learning

problem solving

what us social behavior

the interaction between two or more animals. the study of sisal behavior from an evolutionary viewpoint is called sociobiology

what are Eusocial insects

Ants, some bees, some wasps, and termites. the eusocial insect colonies only have a single breeding female.

what are the different castes of social insects

workers, soldiers, drones, and queens

what is an example of a eusocial mammal

naked mole rat

describe tool use

not strictly a human behavior, now it is known that many animals make and use tools

what is density

the number of individuals per unit area

what is dispersion

the pattern of spacing among individuals within the population. examples are clumped, uniform, random distribution

what are sampling techniques for measuring distribution

cannot make an exact count. to determine density, you have to take a sample of a population. the larger and more random the sample the better

what are the three patterns of dispersion

clumped, uniform, random

describe the clumped pattern of dispersion

individuals are arranged in clumps. examples are schools of fish, termite colonies

describe the uniform pattern of dispersion

A uniform, or evenly spaced, pattern of dispersion results from direct interactions between individuals of a population. Uniform patterns are rarer than clumped patterns. for example sea birds peek at each other until their nests are very uniform in their distance

describe the Random pattern of dispersion

no pattern to the distribution. for example the distribution of trees in a tropical rainforest

describe demography in population ecology

the study of vital statistics that affect the population. populations have an age structure(age distribution) the coexistence of individuals of different generations. e

populations have an age structure)age distribution)

the coexistence of individuals of difference generations. each age group has a certain birth rate and death rate

what is sex ratio

relative populations of each sex

what do survivorship curves show

shows the number of individuals surviving to a certain life span

describe the type 1 survivorship curve

most individuals die late in life. usually large species, few offspring, large mammals, protective over babies. ex:hippo

describe type 2 survivorship curve

• Constant death rate over the organism's life span

• Probability of dying does not change throughout life

-uniform rate of decline

Describe a type 3 survivorship curve

huge decline in young, no parental care, die young, low survival rate of the young. ex:moths

explain life history

the life history of a species is the traits that affect reproduction and survivorship. varies highly among different species and within species

What is semelparity?

organisms that save energy to reproduce just once. they produce large numbers of offspring, tend to have short lives. examples include annual plants, mayflies, and salmon.

what are Iteroparty

organisms that reproduce many times over their life span. they produce relatively few offspring at one time

when does exponential population growth happen

happens with many species, as R increases, a population grows more rapidly. happens with reproduction of a population into a habitat.

describe carry capacity

the carry capacity(k) is the maximum stable population that an environment can support

explain exponential versus logistic growth

logistic growth incorporates carry capacity(k)

describe k-selected population

some populations are k-selected, they tent to maintain an equilibrium near the carrying capacity, slower reproduction rate, large long lived species. ex:mammals

describe R-selected populations

they have rapid growth and their population often fluctuates. many insects and small mammals

Describe K and r selected species

the weedy, annual, dandelion is r selected, the long lived oak tree is K-selected

examples of k-selected species

large mammals, whales, humans, birds of prey, long-lived plants, oak trees

what is intraspecific competition

competition within a species. mutualism

What are density dependent factors?

competition for resources increases with increasing population density

what are density independent factors

natural disasters, whether, natural catastrophes

what does this sign mean on a graph \

inverse-density dependent factors

what does this sign mean -

density independent factors

what does this sign mean /

density-dependent factors

describe a community

a community consists of populations of different species living in the same area

what does the species diversity of a community consist of

• species richness-number of species

-relative abundance of different species

-the distribution of populations in a community is influenced by abiotic factors and by interaction between species

What are intraspecific interactions?

interactions between members of the same species. interactions between species affects the evolution of the species

what are the different types of intraspecific competition and interspecific competition

• intraspecific competition between individuals of the species

-interference competition for each caterpillar physically intimidates the other

-exploitation compeition is when each caterpillar chews as much leaf as it can

what does coevolution involve

involves the interactions between species, coevolution involves reciprocal genetic change

interspecific interactions

can have a positive, negative, or neutral effects on a populations density

describe the defensive tactic cryptic coloration and behavior

camouflage

describe the defensive tactic deceptive coloration

misleading shapes or colors. ex: zebras

describe the defensive tactic called startle defenses

temporarily startles predators

describe the defensive tactic called mechanical and chemical defenses

examples are porcupines, and skunks. this is modified hairs

what are the types of mimicry

batesian mimicry and mullerian mimicry

what is mimicry

one species evolves to resemble another species

Describe Batesian mimicry

a harmless species that resembles a dangerous or unpalatable species. harmless species mimics harmful species

Describe Mullerian mimicry

unpalatable or dangerous species resembling one another. ex: yellow jacker wasps mimicking one another

Examples of Batesian Mimicry

a harmless king snake mimicking a venomous coral snake, flies that mimic snakes, the harmless newt mimicking the toxic newt

what is the competition exclusion principle

some species will completely exclude another species in a habitat