NRES 407 Wildlife Population Ecology Final Study Material

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

No two species can occupy the same exact niche at the same time; one species will always outcompete the other

What is a fundamental niche?

A niche that a species could utilize without considering competition or resource scarcity

What is a realized niche?

A niche that a species actually uses considering competition & resource scarcity

What is niche partitioning?

Differentiation of resource use between species to establish different niches & avoid interspecific competition

What is character displacement?

A unique, morphological character trait that describes the species' niche

What is a trophic cascade?

An indirect interaction between species that cascades through a shared food web and affects other individuals in the chain

What are the four focal species concepts?

1. Flagship species: charismatic species selected to attract attention from the public for funding conservation

2. Umbrella species: species whose conservation protects other co-occurring species

3. Indicator species: species whose presence or absence can reveal quality of environment

4. Keystone species: species whose impact on the whole of the ecosystem is significant relative to its numbers or biomass

What are the two types of indicator species?

1. Biodiversity indicator species

2. Ecosystem health indicator species

What is the primary reason for cyclic population changes?

Time lags

In the context of population cycles, what is a period?

The amount of time it takes a population to complete a cycle

In the context of population cycles, what is amplitude?

Difference between maximum population size and the midpoint (or lowest point in some cases)

Between periods and amplitudes of population cycles, which tends to be more consistent?

Periods

What are the three hypotheses for population cycles?

1. Abiotic cause

2. Biotic intrinsic cause

3. Biotic extrinsic cause

What are some options for controlling invasive species?

- chemicals or poisons

- physical removal

- introduce another species

- hunting or trapping

What is additive mortality?

Total mortality increases with increases in harvest mortality

What is compensatory mortality?

One or more mortality factors is offset by another factor, such as hunting offsetting winter starvation (not additive)

In compensatory mortality, what happens to the mortality rate when harvesting is added?

It stays the same

What is superadditive mortality?

When harvest causes extra mortalities of a species beyond the harvesting itself

What are some potential problems with the simple maximum sustainable yield harvesting strategy?

- assumes that managers know the true population size

- does not account for age or age structure

- does not account for environmental stochasticity & assumes populations are deterministic

How can harvesting act as a selective force?

Hunters can overexploit individuals with certain traits and eliminate them from the gene pool

What are the four potential responses of wildlife to climate change?

1. Acclimatization/phenotypic plasticity

2. Evolutionary adaptation

3. Move

4. Decline/die

What is phenotypic plasticity?

The ability of an organism to change its phenotype in response to changes in stimuli or inputs in the environment

What is Bergmann's rule?

Within a species, body size will increase in colder environments; surface area to volume ratio decreases with increasing body size

What is a latitudinal range shift?

Populations move northward (typically in response to climate change)

What is a range shift?

The loss of range in one region and the gain in range in another

What is an altitudinal range shift?

Populations move to higher elevations/towards mountaintops

Which species face the greatest extinction risk due to climate change?

Cold-adapted and high altitude species

Will predator programs be effective at managing prey species if the mortality is compensatory?

No

What are the three predation response types?

1. Linear

2. Hyperbolic

3. Logistic

What is hyperpredation?

The increase in predation pressure upon a native prey species following the introduction of another prey species that shares a common predator

What were some of the primary topics of discussion?

- Genetic restoration (like reintroduction) of inbred, isolated, & declining populations of panthers & peregrine falcons

- Landscape of fear in the trophic cascade

- Effects of disease (mange) in a trophic cascade

- Life history strategies shaped by the environment

- Effects of climate change on migratory bird populations

- Effects of interspecific competition on bird species

What is spatial competition theory?

In a metapopulation environment, there is a tradeoff between competition & colonization

What is resource based competition theory?

Resource limitations and availability determines competition

What is contiguous allopatry?

When two species occupy distinctly different geographical areas adjacent to each other