Bio Quiz #5 and 50 Questions of Final Section

Ecology and the Biosphere, Population Ecology. Community Ecology, Ecosystems, Conservation Biology

ecology definition

the study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environment

abiotic factors

climate

• sunlight

• temperature

• precipitation

• wind

water

oxygen

salinity

soil nutrients

biotic factors

competition

predation

herbivory

symbioses

levels of ecological organization arranged in the correct sequence from most to least inclusive

ecosystem, community, population, individual

broad to specific types of ecology

global

landscape

ecosystem

community

population

organismal

climate definition

long-term prevailing weather conditions

Macroclimate

patterns on the global or regional level; affected by global patterns of air movement and precipitation

microclimate

fine scale weather patterns; affected by small bodies of water, landscape, local sunlight patterns

does does latitudinal location affect average temperature

north pole and south pole = low angle of incoming sunlight

equator = sun overhead

what drives global air circulation/precipitation

variation in temperature

coriolis force

coriolis force

the effect that earth’s spinning has on the deflection of air and ocean currents

An apparent force caused by Earth’s rotation that makes moving objects (like air or water) follow a curved path instead of a straight line

• changes the direction of air movement

• without it, warm air would rise at the equator, move straight toward the poles, and sink there

• instead, what happens is the air is deflected right in the Northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere

why do bodies of water have … impacts on climate

bodies of water have large impacts on climate because of the breezes

they help circulate cool/hot air depending on the temperature of the water and the land

cool water will go onto the hot land and become hot air

cool land air will go into the warm ocean and come out warm

why do mountains have large impacts on climate

air flow over and down the mountain

what causes Earth’s seasons (seasonality)

Earth's tilt on its axis

march and sepember equinox

june and december solstice

biomes

major life zones characterized by vegetation type (terrestrial biomes) or physical environment (aquatic biomes)

Terrestrial biomes

tropical forest (near equator, like costa rica)

savanna

coniferous forest (north, like norway and canada)

desert (midlands and equator, like arizona and northern africa)

tundra

polar ice

temperate grassland (midlands, like mongolia and midwest us)

temperate broadleaf forest (midlands, like jersey and france)

etc

Aquatic biomes

oceanic pelagic zones

oceanic benthic zones

intertidal zones

estuaries

coral reefs

rivers

lakes

oligotropic vs eutrophic

These terms describe nutrient levels and productivity in lakes or bodies of water:

oligotropic → low nutrients and low productivity, characterized by clear water, low algae growth, high oxygen levels, supports fewer organisms

eutrophic → high nutrients and high productivity, characterized by murky/green water, lots of algae, low oxygen levels (low O2 can lead to dying fish)

biomes are stratified

there is zonation:

• littoral zone (shallow, near-shore area of a lake or pond where sunlight reaches the bottom, allowing plants to grow)

• limnetic zone (open surface water away from the shore in a lake, where light penetrates and photosynthesis occurs (but no rooted plants))

• photic zone (upper layer of water that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis.)

• aphotic zone (deeper water that does not receive enough sunlight for photosynthesis)

• benthic zone (bottom of a body of water, including sediments, where organisms live on or in the substrate)

• pelagic zone (open water of oceans or lakes, not near the bottom or shore)

• intertidal zone (area of the shore that is between high tide and low tide, sometimes underwater and sometimes exposed)

• abyssal zone (very deep part of the ocean (usually 4,000–6,000 m deep) that is cold, dark, and under high pressure)

biomes can undergo season changes (turnover)

there are ebbs and flows

more turnover is spring and autumn

population

group of individuals of a single species living in the same general area

demography

study of the statistics of a population and how they change over time

population size

Size is often estimated

density

number of individuals per unit area

dispersion

pattern of spacing among individuals within the population

density and dispersion are affected by…

resource distribution, competition, and other biotic and abiotic factors

types of dispersion

clumped

uniform

random

In wild populations, individuals most often show a _____ pattern of dispersion.

clumped

travel in groups, sexual reproduction, packs, etc

why are small populations often at risk

• genetic drift

• homozygosity

• inbreeding depression

• extinction

what factors increase population size

births

immigration

what factors decrease population size

deaths

emigration

population dynamic equation

N_t+1 = N_t + births + immigration - deaths - emigration

can populations grow exponentially?

yes

when one organism produces more than one offspring

carrying capacity

maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support over time

life history traits

factors that influence the schedule of reproduction and survival

• Patterns of survivorship

• Age at which reproduction begins

• How often an organism reproduces

  • semelparity vs. iteroparity

• How many many offspring are produced

  • r selection vs. k selection

semelparity

reproduce once and die

iteroparity

produce offspring repeatedly

r-selection

density-independent selection; many offspring; little parental investment

many offspring; little parental investment; good in low-competitive environments or those that are environmentally unpredictable

insects, plants, etc

k-selection

density-dependent selection; few offspring; greater parental investment

few offspring; greater parental investment; good in environments near carrying capacity or those that are environmentally predictable

humans, mammals, whales, etc

survivorship curves

type I, type II, type III

type 1 are humans

type 1 die off later in life

type 3 die off early in life

type 2 are kinda linear

What environmental factors stop a population from growing indefinitely?

• Physical space

• Competition for resources

• Waste buildup

• Territoriality

• Disease

• Predation

global human carrying capacity

• 8.1 billion people

• Population ecologists predict a global population of 8.1−10.6 billion people in 2050

• Average estimate of carrying capacity is 10–15 billion

• Carrying capacity could be limited by food, space, energy or buildup of wastes

• Unlike other organisms, population growth in humans can be managed through social changes

• can effect birth rates, infant death, etc

human population density

most dense in china and india

seasonal turnover

refers to the mixing of the water column, which helps churn up nutrients

interspecific interactions

• competition

  • ecological niches

  • character displacement

• predation and herbivory

• symbioses

  • mutualism, parasitism, commensalism)

community structure

• species diversity

• trophic structure

• community (in)stabilty and disturbance

• ecological succession

interspecific interactions defintion

• interactions between species affect the survival and reproduction of each species involved

• Can be categorized as positive (+), negative (–), or no effect (0)

Interspecific competition

(–/– interaction) occurs when species compete for a limited resource

• Competitive exclusion principle

• Resource partitioning

• Ecological niches

  • resources

  • location

  • timing

resource partitioning

when different species use the same limited resource in slightly different ways so they can coexist without directly outcompeting each other

If two species use the exact same niche (same resources in the same way), one will usually outcompete the other (this is the idea of the competitive exclusion principle).

So instead, species evolve or adjust to use different parts of the resource → this is resource partitioning.

ecological niches : resources

how a species uses resources in its environment to survive, grow, and reproduceDifferent food within the same ecosystem

• Example: finches eating different seed sizes

ecological niches : location

Where a species lives and uses resources in its environment

• spatial

• Different parts of a tree, lake, or habitat

• Example: birds feeding at different heights in the same tree

ecological niches : time

describes the specific times a species is active, feeds, or reproduces in order to reduce competition

• temporal

• Same resource, different times

• Example: one species feeds during the day, another at night

Character displacement

when characteristics are more divergent in sympatric populations than in allopatric populations of the same two species

ex. darwins finches

allopatric vs. sympatric

sympatric = same

allopatric = different

Predation

(+/– interaction): an interaction in which one species (predator) kills and eats the other (prey)

Herbivory

(+/– interaction): an interaction where one species (usually animal) eats part or all of another species (usually plant or plant-like)

predation and herbivory drive…in predators and prey

adaptive evolution

anti-predator defenses

• mechanical defense

• chemical defense

• aposematic coloration (warning coloration)

• cryptic coloration (camouflage)

• batesian mimcry

• mullerian mimicry

mechanical defense examples

shells, thorns, spines, slippery mucus, claws, teeth etc

chemical defense examples

skunk musk, noxious odors, etc

aposematic coloration

warning coloration

ex. poison dart frog

cryptic coloration

camouflage

ex. canyon tree frog, lizards, penguin bellies

batesian mimicry

a harmless species mimics a harmful one

ex. hawkmoth larve body looking like snake head

ex. octopus mimicking a sea snake, fish, and stingray

ex. a nonvenomous snake that looks like a venomous snake

mullerian mimicry

two unpalatable species mimic each other

ex. yellow jacket and cuckoo bee

ex. two species of unpalatable butterfly that have evolved to have the same color pattern

anti-herbivore defenses

• physical structures (thorns, waxy cuticles, bark)

• chemical defenses (cyanide, etc)

• indirect defenses (attracting creatures that prey on their herbivores)

• induced defenses

• ex. some plants house ants that attack herbivores

parasitism

+/ - ecoli and humans, etc

mutualism

+/+, ants and plants

commensalism

+/0, water buffalo and birds

the benefit-or is the commensalist

approximately what percent of all species on Earth are parasites?

35%

species diversity

species richness

species abundance

species richness

how many species there are in an area

• Total number of all species, species diversity 

species abundance

how much of each species is in an area

• % of total that are each species