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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
