Trophic Strategies and Consumer Behavior in Ecology

These flashcards cover essential concepts related to trophic strategies, ecological roles of parasites, and consumer behavior in marine biology.

What are the three basic antagonistic consumer strategies discussed in the lecture?

Predators, Micropredators/Browsers, and Parasites.

What is the definition of autotrophs?

Autotrophs are organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

What are heterotrophs?

Heterotrophs are organisms that consume food created by other life forms; live or dead food.

How do parasites impact ecosystems?

Parasites affect individuals, populations, and community interactions, similar to predators and competitors.

What does 'mixotroph' refer to in ecological terms?

Mixotrophs are organisms that can both produce their own food and consume others.

What distinguishes deposit feeders in terms of their feeding strategies? Why are they not fully considered detritivores?

Deposit feeders consume organic particles settled on the seafloor, often including bacteria and other microorganisms. In addition, their nutrition primarily comes from live microbes covering detritus and sediment; also predators.

What is a key characteristic of suspension feeders?

Suspension feeders feed on prey/detritus from the water, and they can be active or passive in their feeding methods.

How do trophically transmitted parasites increase their transmission rates?

These parasites often modify the behavior of their hosts to enhance their chances of being consumed by the next host.

What are the ecological roles of decomposers and detritivores?

Decomposers break down organic material, while detritivores consume dead organisms and feed on decaying organic matter.

What is the RRV in terms of the antagonistic consumer strategies?

RRV = residual reproductive value, i.e. the number of offspring the individual will have in the future 

Antagonistic consumer strategies:

(Know this for parasite/pathogen, parasitic castrator, trophically transmitted parasite, parasitoid, micropredator/browser, and predator.)

In terms of a parasitic castrator (takes over host total function), what is the victims RRV, is death of host required (Y/N), # of victims attacked in a life stage,

Ex: Rhizocephalan in crab, trematode in snail

Reproductive function controlled (0), death is not required, 1 victim.

What is the difference between a decomposer and a detritivore/scavenger

A decomposer feeds on material from a single dead organism, whereas a scavenger preys on more then 1 dead organism. 

What are the two feeding strategies performed by suspension feeders?

Passive = rely on water currents or food movements to bring food

Active = generate own feeding current either by moving water to them or they move body to capture water with food.

They can also be facultative and combined, in which the individual can do both either simultaneously or sequentially.

What are nectonic suspension feeders? Manta rays, anchovy, humpback whales etc.

Nectonic suspension feeders are organisms that actively swim in the water column to capture food particles suspended in the water, utilizing their swimming ability to optimize food intake.

What is a raptorial predator?

An organism that targets, kills, and eats a single prey individuals at a time.