Temple University Ecology BIOL 2227 Exam 1 Flashcards

Define Ecology

the branch of biology that studies the interactions between organisms and their physical environment

What is the biological scale of ecology

Ranges from genes to ecosystem

What does Levels of Organization mean

range from individual organisms to global scale processes

What are 2 components of Ecology

Abiotic and Biotic

What does the Abiotic component of ecology include

Temp, water, oxygen, wind, anything nonliving

What does the biotic component of ecology include

physiological processes (growth/metabolism), life-history events (birth, death, migration), species interaction (competition, predation), evolutionary processes (adaptation, selection)

name the levels of ecological organization (smallest to largest)

individual, population, community, ecosystem, landscape, biosphere

what is the focus of physiological ecology (individual scale)

what physioloical processes must an organism undertake to survive

what is the focus of population ecology

what influences population structure and dynamics

what is the focus of community ecology

how do multiple species interact in a shared environment

what is the focus of ecosystem ecology

study the intricate relationships between living organisms and their environment

what are ecosystem services

any positive benefit that wildlife or ecosystems provide to people.

give examples of ecosystem services

mushrooms: decompose, recycle nutrients, lead to plant growth and soil formation
pollination: enables plants to produce fruit, leads to biodiversity and food

what is the focus of urban landscape ecology

the study of organisms and their urban surroundings

what is the focus of evolutionary ecology

how evolutionary processes shape ecological interactions
ex. hummingbird bill size evolved to match flower shape

what is the focus of conservation ecology

protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem function

what is the focus of global (biosphere) ecology

how life on earth shapes (and is shaped by) global processes

what are the 3 steps to how ecologists do science

observation (collecting data), experimentation (manipulation of variables), modeling (used to make predictions)

Who was considered the first ecologists

Aristotle and Theophrastus

who is Alexander von Humboldt

pioneering naturalist, travelled in South America, documented plants, animals, climate. first to describe local impacts of human0induced climate change

who is George Washington Carver

professor to researched ways to restore nutrients back to agricultural area. crop rotation

who is Margret Bryan Davis

American paleoecologist who used polled preserved in sediments to study the vegetation history of the past 21,00 years (since the last ice age)

How many trees removed annually

10 billion

why do we need forests

forests absorb carbon from atmosphere and store it, purify water and air pollution, reduce temperatures locally, regular rainfall, prevent erosion, natural resources of timber, food, and medicinal plants, being in forests improved mental health

how to expand forests

protect remaining ancient forests, sustainable and careful use of remaining forests, sustainably farm trees, restore forests on developed and degraded land

what are biomes

natural divisions of the terrestrial environment as determined by how temp and precipitation influence the types of plants and animals found within ecosystems.

important latitude zones

topics- 0deg, subtropics 0-23.5deg, temperate 23.5-66deg, polar 66deg+

what is a microclimate

when temp and precipitation differ from the prevailing climate
ex. mountains create microclimates due to their height which changes temp and the rain shadow effect which changes precipitationw

what is the rain shadow effect

a dry area on the side of a mountain that faces away from the wind.

what determines biomes

• Climate (temperature + precipitation) is the main driver, and it's mostly a function of latitude.

• Atmospheric circulation creates predictable global patterns: warm equatorial air rises → cools → drops moisture as rain (explains rainforests near the equator) → dry air moves poleward → sinks around 30°N/S (explains deserts at these latitudes) → cycle repeats toward the poles.

• Seasons result from Earth's tilt and cause uneven heating → wet/dry seasons in the tropics.

• Microclimates (mountains, rain shadows) create local exceptions to the general latitude pattern.

  • Soil type matters too, but less than temperature/precipitation

name soil horizons from top to bottom

• Organic horizon — loose plant litter (upper) to highly fragmented litter (lower)

• Horizon A — mineral soil + organic matter; materials leach downward out of it

• Horizon B — depositional horizon; receives what leached from A, can form bands

  • Horizon C — weathered parent material, often sits on bedrock

what are functional traits

morphological, physiological, and phenological characteristics of an organism that affect fitness through their influence on growth, reproduction, and survival

what is endemism

a species (or taxonomic group) that only exists in one specific geographic area in the world. highest endemism in marine ecosystems

What are things that are easier about living in aquatic environments

density (higher than air), buoyancy (higher than air), specific heat (water resists change in temp)

what are things that are harder about living in aquatic environments

light penetration (lower in water, less photosynthesis), conductor of heat (higher in water, warm-blooded organisms lose heat faster- need more fat), viscosity (higher in water, more energy required to move)

what is the hydrologic cycle

dynamic movement of water among reservoirs at the global scale and the processes that cause water to move among reservoirs

what are reservoirs

locations that hold water within the hydrologic cycle- total amount of water on earth remains constant

what is reservoir turnover time

time required for the entire volume of a reservoir to be renewed. varies with size and rate of water exchange

what is reservoir turnover time for the atmosphere

every 9 days

what is the reservoir turnover time of rivers

12-20 days

what is the reservoir turnover time for lakes

days to centuries

what is the reservoir turnover time for oceans

over 3000 years

what is coral bleaching

corals lose their symbiotic algae due to stress such as elevated temp. as the algae provide most of the coral’s energy through photosynthesis, bleached corals are more vulnerable to disease and death

what is ocean acidification

Oceans become more acidic due to absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere. This harms marine life, especially those that build calcified skeletons, disrupting ecosystems and food webs.

what is eutrophication

when high amount of nutrients (usually from agricultural run off) in water cause a dense algae bloom. the algal bloom uses up oxygen, causing deoxygenation and death of animal life

what is evolution

the change in gene frequencies within populations across time (generations)

what is evolution by natural selection

occurs when the interactions organisms have with their environment lead to changes in the traits of populations of organisms over generations

what are the tenants of evolution by natural selection

1. variation exists- individuals in a population differ in traits

2. variation has a genetic basis- some traits are passed from parents to offspring through genes

3. more individuals are born than survive to reproduce- therefore not all genetic material is passed on

4. survival is non-random- some trains increase organism fitness and survival rates

5. survivors reproduce- therefore advantageous trains are more likely to be passed on to offspring

   1. speciation- given enough time and changes, population can diverge into new species

what is a phenotype

the observable characteristics of an organism that result from the interactions between the genetic makeup of the individual and its environment

what is a gene

a sequence of DNA or RNA which codes for a molecule that has a function

what is an allele

a variant form of a gene

what is a genotype

the genetic makeup of an individual

what is heritability

the extent to which individuals with the similar genotypes has similar phenotypes

what is natural selection

refers to differential survival/ reproduction among phenotypes

what is fitness

the measure of he individual’s contribution of offspring, or genes, to future generations. measured as the number of offspring that survive and reproduce

what is speciation

the process by which one population splits and evolves into two or more distinct groups due to accumulated genetic differences over time

what is temperature

the measure of avg kinetic energy of molecules (heat) in the mass of a substance

organisms are best adapted to a narrow range of temps (thermal window)

what is macroclimate

prevailing climate conditions over large areas and long time periods. interacts with local landscape to produce microclimatic variation

what is microclimate

climate variation over smaller spatial scales. typically influenced by landscape featuers

what creates microclimates

• Altitude — higher altitude = lower temperature (low air pressure)

• Aspect — direction a slope faces; affects sun exposure (e.g., moss favors shaded north-facing sides in the Northern Hemisphere)

• Vegetation — creates cooler, less variable temperatures

• Ground color — dark surfaces absorb/retain more heat than light ones

• Boulders/burrows — moderate temperature, minimize variation (e.g., animal burrows stay more thermally stable than open air)

• Microclimates can be extremely localized — even within a single flower (e.g., Dryas integrifolia tracking the sun to warm its interior

what is the principle of allocation

Organisms have limited energy/resources — allocating more energy to one function (growth, reproduction, survival) reduces what's available for others. Explains trade-offs when organisms are outside their optimal temperature range.

why do most species perform best in a narrow range of temps

enzymes- have optimat temp at which they work best. can shift their optimal temp through evolution

• Below optimum: fewer collisions between enzyme and substrate → slower reactions.

• Above optimum: enzymes denature → reaction rate falls rapidly.

what is an heterotherm

species whose body temp caries with the environment

what is a homeotherm

species that maintain a relatively stable body temp

what is an ectotherm

species who rely on external sources of energy for regulating body temp (lizard sunbathing)

what are endotherms

species that rely on internally derived metabolic heat energy (warm-blooded animals)

ectotherms regulate via:

body size, body shape, pigmentation (dark = retains more heat), behavior (basking, shade-seeking)

endotherms regulate temps via:

anatomical/behavioral changes + metabolic rate changesw

what is a thermal neutral zone

range of ambient temperatures where no regulatory change in metabolic heat production/evaporative loss is needed. Tropical species have a narrow thermal neutral zone; Arctic species have a wide one.

most aquatic animals are ectothermic or endothermic?

ectothermic

why are very few aquatic animals endothermic

water absorbs heat too fast for endothermy to be efficient.

exceptions: marine mammals and birds, which use countercurrent heat exchange to conserve heat (e.g., dolphin flippers

small birds and mammals are endothermic or ectothermic?

heterothermic

what is torpor

state of low metabolic rate and lowered body temperature

what are the challenges of water regulation on land

reduced access to replacement water, evaporative loss to environmentwha

what does hyper arid mean

extremely dry

what is water potential

the measure of potential energy in water that determines the direction water will flow

what does evaporation depend on

temp and water content in air

does warm air or cold air have greater water-holding capacity

warm air

describe water balance in marine environments

higher concentration of water inside organism than outside- high water loss

describe water balance in freshwater environments

higher concentration of water outside organism than inside- high water gain

what is diffusion

when two environments differ in water or salt concentrations, substances will tend to move down their concentration gradients

what is osmosis

the diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane

what direction does water move if there is a difference in concentration

high water concentration to lower water concentration

what is isosmotic

body fluids and external fluid are at the same solute concentration

what is hypoosmotic

body fluids are a a lower solute concentration than external environment (organisms lose water)

what is hyperosmotic

body fluids are at a higher solute concentration than external environment (organisms gain water)

marine invertebrates are _________

isosmotic

what is isoconformer

conforming to the environment

marine vertebrates are _________

hypoosmotic

what is osmoregulater

regulating water amount in body→ expending energy

freshwater fish are _____

hyperosmotic

produce large amount of dilute urine bc H2O continually enters body from environment