NEW WQ - Biodiversity and State Info

What's life history?

The pattern of survival and reproduction events typical for a member of the species.

What's an age structure?

The proportions of pre-reproductive, reproductive, and post-reproductive age individuals in a population.

What are the types of biodiversity?

Genetic: Variety of genetic information within a population; leads to natural selection. Species: Variety of species in an area (both # of species and # of individuals within each relative to other species, aka relative abundance) Ecosystem: The variety of ecosystems in a given place

What's a keystone species? What's an aquatic example?

Have a disproportionately large effect on the community relative to their abundance. Their presence can greatly affect the structure of a community. Beavers

What's an exotic species? What's an aquatic example?

Not native to an area but doesn’t cause harm (e.g. eucalyptus). Pacific oysters

What's an umbrella species? What's an aquatic example?

Species whose conservation protects a large number of other species in the same habitat (e.g. tiger). Salmon

What's a flagship species? What's an aquatic example?

Used as symbols or icons for conservation efforts. River dolphins

What's a dominant species?

Most abundant or have the most biomass in an ecosystem (oak trees). Algae

What's a generalist vs specialist species? Give an aquatic example for each.

Generalist: Have a broad niche (e.g. horseshoe crab). Specialist: Have a narrow niche (e.g. river otter).

Why isn't energy flow cyclic?

Energy is lost to the environment as heat, movement, and undigested foods, and isn't used by plants again.

Why is acid rain harmful?

It removes nutrients from soil, corrodes steal structures, corrodes rocks (which might release CO2), etc. The effects are most prevalent in aquatic ecosystems-- kills fish/ecosystems. Aluminum from soil is leeched into acid rain, which can harm plants/animals.

What's an ecological niche? Examples?

The interrelationship of a species with all the biotic and abiotic factors affecting it. Fish species such as trout and salmon have adapted to various niches within aquatic environments, occupying roles as predators, herbivores, or scavengers.

What's population density?

The average number of individuals in a population per unit of area or volume.

What's species eveness?

A community is considered "even" if the relative abundance is similar among different species. In a forest, there may be a large number of different species (high species richness) but only a few members of each species (low species evenness).

What's carrying capacity, and what happens when it's reached? Exceeded? Why does it exist?

The maximum population that a given area can sustain. Reached: The population doesn't grow. Exceeded: The ecosystem may become unsuitable for the species to survive. If the population exceeds the carrying capacity for a long period of time, resources may be completely depleted.Populations may die off if all of the resources are exhausted.

What's biotic potential, and what does it depend on?

The maximum reproductive capacity of an organism under optimum environmental conditions (max water, food, space, etc.)

Why might a species migrate? Give three reasons.

• To exploit high amounts of food/resources someplace else - To find breeding locations - Due to local climate

What's the relationship between climate change and global warming? How do they affect ecosystems?

“ Global warming ” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “ Climate change ” includes global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening, e.g. rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers, shifts in flower/plant blooming times, etc…

What's eutrophication?

When nutrients accumulates in water, causing the growth of autotrophs that deplete the water's O2 levels. Causes: sewage, industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, etc. Effects: algal blooms and death zones (water w/ low O2, aka hypoxia )

How can invasive species be good?

Can provide resources/cover/habitats for native organisms.

What's species richness?

The number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region.

What are the main types of mimicry? Tell me about them.

Batesian: When a harmless species mimics a dangerous one to deter predators. (e.g. hoverflies) Mullerian: When two already well-defended species mimic each other. Aggressive/Wicklerian: When a predator, parasite, or parasitoid mimics their prey so that they're not found out. Browerian/Automimicry: When an animal mimics its same species.

What are the main causes of erosion?

Water, wind, glaciers, and gravity.

R vs K strategists Nickname

aka opportunistic life history strategy vs equilibrium life history strategy R (aka opportunistic life history strategy): Produces many offspring with high growth rates; nowhere near carrying capacity, so can grow in population. Low probability of surviving to adulthood, small body size, and minimal parental care. K (aka equilibrium life history strategy): Invests more heavily in fewer offspring (due to being near carrying capacity) with high probability of surviving to adulthood; can compete successfully for limited resources. Long life expectancy, larger body size, and extensive parental care.

Primary vs secondary succession and relevance in aquatic ecosystems

Primary succession : Pioneer species like red algae or seagrass colonize a previously uninhabited site (e.g. hardened lava flows from a volcano), typically with no soil. (on-land. Lichen, grasses, perennials, etc's decomposing bodies create new soil.)As dirt etc accumulates, intermediate species (shrubs, grasses, and shade-intolerant trees e.g. pines) appear,and over more time: the climax community e.g. shade-tolerant trees like oak or hickory. Secondary succession : Primary succession, except the area was once inhabited, but has since been disturbed via wildfire, flood, etc.

Tell me about the 3 survivorship curves.

Type 1 : Basically k-selected species. High lifespan (dies off near older age); few offspring and high parental care. Type 2 : Population that is not affected by age. Mortality rates are constant regardless of age. Type 3 : Basically r-selected species. Early on in life, very high morality rates, and lower rates later on (aka only some survive to adulthood); high offspring amounts and low parental care.

2 examples of: R and K strategists

R : - Jellyfish - Frogs K : - Sharks - Whales

2 examples of organisms with: Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Survivorship curves

Type 1 : Amazon river dolphin, hippos Type 2 : Beavers, platypus Type 3 : Muskrats, naiads

What's the growth curve look like for r-selected species? Why? Include the names of areas on the curve.

Exponential growth w/ J curve; they can grow very rapidly, but also decreases quickly as carrying capacity is reached, and lack of resources/overpopulation occurs. Boom-burst sequence.

What's the growth curve look like for k-selected species? Why? Include the names of areas on the curve.

Logistic growth w/ S curve; under consistent conditions, population & growth is slower (exponential phase)/becomes sustained (plateau phase) at carrying capacity. Due to this, competition is pretty high.

What can age structure tell you about/how can it effect a freshwater ecosystem? (2)

Recruitment rate : Many young = high recruitment (reproduction) Cohort resonance : When the age structure causes a population to be very sensitive to specific frequencies of environmental variability. E.g., "echo" effect, where many fish are borne during an environmentally suiting year, creating a moving "echo" when growth is shown over time

Factors negatively effecting age structure

Overfishing - Larger fish (which are often older) are prioritized, causing an imbalance toward the younger portion of the pop. Habitat alteration e.g. dams/worse water quality : Younger fish are more sensitive to being hurt/killed by it.

OLD: Hydrosere

A form of freshwater succession . The process where a freshwater body gradually transforms into a terrestrial habitat through a series of plant community stages (as a freshwater body becomes gradually shallower from sediment) Starts with phytoplankton and ends with a climax forest, filling the body in with organic matter and soil over time.

OLD: First 3 hydrosere steps, how they occur, and examples of organisms in each.

Phytoplankton : Spores are carried by air to the pond. The organisms settle to the bottom of the pond after death, and decay into humus that mixes with silt and clay particles (from e.g. runoff) to form soil, which builds up. III Phytoplankton e.g. cyanobacteria, diatoms, algae Submerged : More submerged rooted species grow due to increased light in the shallower water. Now, the succession is even more rapid (sediment keeps accumulating, especially with the net of plant roots.) The pond becomes~2–5 ft. III Eurasian water milfoil, waterweeds Floating : (Floating plants are rooted in the mud, but some or all their leaves float on the surface.) The leaves of floating plants create shade, which causes submerged plants to start decreasing. The plants decay to form organic mud which makes the pond even more shallow (1–3 ft). III Water hyacinth, watermeal

OLD: Last 4 hydrosere steps, how they occur, and examples of organisms in each.

Reed-Swamp (Emergent ): The pond is now invaded by emergent plants to form a marsh. Their rhizomes (horizontal stems) knit the mud together to produce large amounts of decay-resistant leaf litter (--> peat.) III cattails, wild rice Sedge Meadow (Fringing) : Less water helps trees grow. Rhizomes knit the soil further. They transpire (lowering water more), and keep adding leaf litter. Eventually the peat becomes so thick the soil isn't totally waterlogged. Mesic (well water-balanced) conditions develop and marshy vegetation begins to disappear. III cereals, mint Woodland : The soil is now drier for most of the year. Shrubs/trees produce shade, transpire, build up the soil, and accumulate humus with microorganisms. This type of wet woodland is aka a carr. III willows, alders Climax (Forest) : May be a forest, grassland, or desert, based on humidity. Has all types of vegetation (and decomposers.)

Allogenic vs autogenic succession

Allogenic : The main driver of change is by a community's abiotic components, e.g. flooding, climate change, or volcanic eruptions, and other factors OUTSIDE the subject commuity. It's mostly a form of primary succession.
Autogenic : The main driver of change is by a community's biotic components, in some way or another, the entire time. Because of it, it's a form of secondary succession

Gleasonian model vs Clementsian model

Gleasonian : Made in rejection of clementsian; more complex and less deterministic. Plant communities are the coincidental overlap of individual species each responding independently to local environmental conditions and chance dispersal.
Clementsian : Vegetation composition isn't permanent, but gradually changes with time, in a unidirectional sequence of stages called a sere . After a complete or partial disturbance, vegetation grows back (under ideal conditions) towards a stable "climax state". Both compared it to the development of an individual organism.

Types of life tables

Cohort life table
Follows the survival and reproduction of all members of a cohort from birth to death.
Static life table
Records the # of living individuals of each age in a population and their reproductive output.
Age-based life table
Individuals that have lived less than one full year are assigned age zero; those that have lived one year or more but less than two years are assigned age one; and so on. Age=x, and x is used as a subscript to refer to survivorship, fecundity, etc for each age.

Fecundity schedule
Survivorship schedule

1 : the number of offspring born to individuals of each age. Total # in the age divided by # of individuals in it.
#2 : The number of individuals that have died (compared to a starting place in time) per year until there are none left.

Cohort

a group of individuals of the same species, born or recruited into a population during the same, specific time interval.

Life table

a systematic, numerical record of birth, death, and survival rates for a population, typically broken down by age, size, or developmental stage

Types of competition

Interference : Organisms interact directly by fighting for scarce resources. Larger organisms favored.
Exploitative : Indirect; organisms both use a common limiting resource or shared food item. Smaller organisms favored.
Apparent : Two otherwise unrelated prey species indirectly compete for survival through a shared predator. (e.g. between A and B, predator C chooses B to eat. A's pop increases, and C increases alongside it, further decreasing B's pops.)

Completely symmetric vs Perfectly size symmetric vs Size asymmetric Competition

Completely symmetric : all individuals receive the same amount of resources, irrespective of their size
Perfectly size symmetric : all individuals exploit the same amount of resource per unit biomass
Size asymmetric : the largest individuals exploit all the available resource

Biomagnification/bioaccumulation substances

Persistent, toxic substances that accumulate in organisms' tissues faster than they can be eliminated (metabolized). Usually starts at base (phytoplankton), who absorb it directly. Notable : Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) e.g. DDT and PCBs (flame retardants), because they're persistant, move across water, and dissolve into fatty tissue. Others : Mercury e.g. from volcanoes or human pollution, heavy metals, microplastics

Loss of biodiversity = the ecosystem can't perform its 4 services to humanity, What are they?

Support : Processes that maintain an ecosystem (e.g. nutrient cycling, soil formation, primary production, habitat supply). Provisioning : Material resources we obtain like food, raw materials, water, and medicine. Regulating : Help moderate Earth’s natural phenomena, like: air quality, water runoff and flooding, erosion, water quality, and decomposition. Cultural : Non-material benefits like tourism, recreation, beauty, inspiration, and spiritual/ religious values.

What are the sources of pollution?

Industrial, residential, commercial, or environmental.

Tell me about ozone depletion.

Deterioration of the ozone layer due to contact with chlorine and flourine. When exposed to UV light , e.g. CFC's HCFC's release chlorine, and halons release bromine.Ozone-depleting substances are called ODS.

Tell me about acid rain and its types.

Rain pH of 5.6 or lower. Wet deposition: rain, fog, and snow. Dry : acidic gasses and particles. Acid rain leeches important minerals out of soil, makes water bodies acidic, affects human health, and damages forests and buildings.

What's extirpation?

When a species is locally or regional extinct.

What's biomass?

Comes from organic materials (plants/ waste), which can be burned for heat or converted into biofuels (reduces waste.)

What's point source vs non-point source pollution? Examples

Point source : Pollution that comes from an obvious source. (e.g. factories) Non-point source : Pollution that comes from many sources (e.g. agricultural runoff)

What's the "evil quartet"?

The four major causes of biodiversity loss: Habitat loss and fragmentation (via deforestation, urbanization, agriculture, etc) Overexploitation - When a biological system is over-exploited by man for the natural resources Alien species invasion - invasive species Co-extinction - When a species becomes extinct, the species associated with it in an obligatory manner also become extinct.