BIS2B (Gerhart) MT I Study

Covers:

Ecology

Ecology

The study of how living things interact with one another, and their enviornment.

Acclimation

Change in phenotype occurs within individuals and over a short period of time. Response to environment and often reversible.

Adaptation

Change in genotype, occurs within generations and over a long-period of time

Type I Survivorship Curve

Most individuals survive to old age.

Type II Survivorship Curve

Most individuals face a constant risk of mortality at all ages.

Type III Survivorship Curve

Most individuals die early.

Endotherm

Body temperature is primarily controlled by the internal metabolic processes.

Ectotherm

Body temperature is primarily controlled by external factors

How do plants retain heat?

Dark leaves, low growth, and horizontal leaves.

How do plants lose heat?

Reflective leaves, vertical, and taller.

What is life history?

How individuals within a species allocate resources to growth, reproduction, and survival based on genetic and environmental factors.

Semelparous

Organisms that reproduce once and die.

Iteroparous

Organisms that reproduce many times throughout life-time.

R-Species

organisms that produce many offspring, less-intense parental care, and have a shorter life-span. (insects, type 3 relationship)

K-Species

organisms that produce few offspring but provide intense parental care and have a longer life span. (larger mammals, type 1 relationships).

Hadley Cell

The atmospheric process is driven by the differential heating of the sun across the face of the earth. It drives patterns of high precipitation in the thermal equator, forming the ITCZ and very low precipitation 30 deg. north and south.

Rainshadow Effect

body of water causes precipitation to fall on the windward side of a mountain range, while creating dry conditions on the leeward side, driven by topography and solar enegy.

What is an equinox?

Must of the sun’s solar energy is over the equator, causing an equal length in night and day.

What is a solstice?

Most of the sun’s path is farthest north or south, causing either longest day/shortest night or shortest day/longest night depending on which solstice.

Autotrophs

self-feeding

Heterotrophs

other-feeding

Principle of Allocation

resources devoted to one body structure, physiological function, or behavior, cannot be allotted to another

Photosynthesis

process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches

Optimal Foraging Theory

Maximizing the energy benefit to cost ratio of different feeding choices

Mycorrizae

symbiotic associations between plants and fungi. . The fungi form a network of threads that extend into the soil and effectively increase the surface area for nutrient absorption by the plant roots, facilitate the uptake of nutrients soil and transfer them to the plant. the plant provides the fungi with sugars and other organic compounds produced through photosynthesis.

Rhizobia

A symbiotic bacterium that lives in the nodules on roots of specific legumes and that does a fixation of nitrogen into ammonia. rhizobia receive sugars from plants.

Fundamental Niche

Abiotic conditions in which a species can survive and reproduce, determined by physiological tolerance.

Realized Niche

Biotic conditions in which a species can survive and reproduce, based on species interactions.

How do we measure diversity?

Species Eveness and Speciess Richness

D index

D = (p1^-p1)(p2^-p2)…

Survivorship

The amount of individuals in a species that survive from birth to age x

Name a few Trade-Offs:

reprod. many small vs reprod. few large
metamorphisis early to not be prey vs. shorter legs (frogs)
foraging alot vs. being eaten from being out much

What is a limiting Nutrient?

the relationship between the nutrient and the growth that was caused by it. That relative growth that u find to be higher in the graph is due to the fact that the nutrient was essential but previously limiting.

Atmosphere

The gases and air that surround a planet

Cryosphere

All water that is temporarily frozen in polar ice caps, snow, permafrost, and glaciers

hydrosphere

all the water on earth

Weather

specific events, conditions in atmosphere over a short period of time

Climate

Avereage weather conditions over a long period of time

What drives diversity?

Earth’s Shape, Axial Tilt (Global Factors)
Rainshadow Effect (Reigonal Factors)

what is ITZC? (Intertropical Convergence Zone)

A band of clouds that form due to the thermal equator, or having the most sunlight intensity and moves as the earth rotates around the sun.

Thermal Equator

Area with the most intense solar energy

What is Root:Shoot Ratio

As the amount of sunligh increases, plants will invest more in the roots, increasing the root:shoot ratio.

Exceptions to optimal foraging theory?

Safety, nutrition and health

What is functional diversity?

How organisms vary in adaptadions in order to survive.

What are the three photosynthetic pathways?

C3, C4, and CAM

What is Liebig’s Law?

Plant growth is based by the amount of the resource that is most scarce compared to how much the plant needs.

Predator/Prey Formula

P(predator eating prey) = P(Detection) x P(Capture) X P(Consumption)

When is it beneficial to invest all your resources in reproduction and save none for survival?

When the chances of successfully reproducing again are low.

What Factors Affect Population Growth, the formula?

Births, Deaths, Immigrants and Emigrants. (BDIE)

R represents?

Growth Rate

K represents

Carrying Capacity

Density Independent

Factors affecting population size that DO NOT depend on the number of organisms in the population, usually abiotic factors.

Density Dependent

Factors affecting population size that DO depend on the number of organisms in the population, usually biotic factors.

C3

The most common pathway, is about 85% of plants.
Mesophyll takes in carbon and produces sugar.
Energy efficient, but water ineff. (tree)

C4

About 3% of all plants, separate CO2 uptake and building sugar in space (mesophyll cells take CO2 and bundle sheath cells build sugar) water eff. but energy ineff. (grass)

CAM

Separates CO2 uptake and sugar building in time. Opens pores at night to lose less water and fixes carbon. Closed pores in the day to release CO2. As energy ineff. as c4, but super water eff. (cactus)

Cost (OFT)

Energy spent , capturing, consuming and digesting food also injuries from physical and chemical defenses

Benefits (OFT)

Energy content of prey

Influence Population Growth Formula

Nt = N0+B-D+I-E

Exponential Growth Formula

dN/dt=rN

Predicting Population Size Under Exponential Growth Formula

Nt = N0*e^rt

Evolution

Genetic changes in populations over time

Species-Area Curves

How the number of species found changes with area sampled

Rarefaction Plots

How the number of species found changes with number of individuals sampled

Photosynthesis

using light energy to convert water and CO2 into oxygen and carbos like sugars

What is the def. and formula of Fecundity

Average number of offsrping an individual will produce at age class x, (# of offspring / age class)

What is the def. and formula for R0?

The net reproductive rate; the average number of offspring produced per individual across their lifetime. (summation of lxmx)

What is the def. and formula for G / Generation?

Generation time; average age of parents across all offspring produced. (summation of Xlxmx / summation lxmx)

Glacial Melts —> Ocean Levels

Glacial Melts increase the rising of ocean levels because it is frozen water from land to liquid water in the ocean

Ice Sheets —> Ocean Levels

Ice Sheets increase the rising of ocean levels because it is frozen water from land to liquid water in the ocean

Sea Ice —> Ocean Levels

Sea ice slightly increase the rising of ocean levels because this water has already been in the ocean, but the salinity between causes a slight increase.

Ocean Warming —> Ocean Levels

As a liquid warms, the molecules expand and take up more space, increasing (in this case) ocean levels.

Relationship between ITZC, Thermal Equator, Geological Equator and Hadley Cells

The thermal equator is the center of the Hadley Cell, which produces the ITCZ, (which is also directly above the thermal equator) and is centered around the geological equator.

Species Richness

The amount of species in an ecosystem

Species Eveness

Relative abundance of each species

Geographic Equator

0 degrees latitude, the widest circumference on earth between the two poles, does not move.

Density Dependent Example

Trees involved in a wild-fire, amount of trees will determine whether or not the species will survive.

Density Independent Example

Formula for Growth Rate ( r )?

r (growth rate) = (ln r0) / generation

Mark and Recapture Formula (Explain Each Term)

M/N = R/C

M = Marked in 1st Sample
C = Number Caught in 2nd
R = Number Remarked during Recapture in 2nd sampling.