AP Biology Unit 8: Ecology

Innate behaviors

Innate behaviors

based on instinct(not learned)

Learned behaviors

behavior developed from experience

classical conditioning

associate involuntary response with stimulus(I.e. pavlov experiment, dog salivating at ringing bell)

operant conditiong

specific consequences associated with voluntary behavior(mice press lever to get food, avoiding level to avoid getting shocked)

imprinting

specialized form of learning that happens during brief period in young animals(duckling imprinting on mother duck)

habituation

learning NOT to respond to stimulus after repeated exposure to same stimuli

Group behaviors may relate to fitness and ability of population to survive

ex. meerkats have “watchdogs” to warn of predators

altruism

behavior of an individual animal that increases the fitness of another individual or group while decreasing their own

energy in ecosystems

endotherms: use metabolic heat to maintain stable body temperature I.e. mammals like mice

ectotherms: generate some internal heat but body temperature changes with the environment I.e. reptiles

metabolism

describes how quickly fuel broken down to make usable energy

Temperature regulation

behavioral strategies: huddling, basking, seeking shade

shivering

Large SA:V ratio to allow more SA to release heat to environment

insulation(fur, feathers, blubber)

flow of energy through an ecosystem

heat lost to the environment

Energy transfer from one trophic level to the next is NOT 100% efficient. Only 10% available energy in each level is passed onto next level… energy lost as heat to environment

*energy used to live, some parts not digested or consumed, waste released, etc.

trophic cascades

cause and effect that happens when a trophic level in an ecosystem is changed

keystone species

organism that helps hold the system together. without it, the ecosystem would likely look very different.

ex. otters control the urchin population, which normally eat kelp. WITHOUT otters, urchins would overpopulate and consume all the kelp. the kelp forests serve as other food resources and a home to other organisms.

Limiting factors of population growth

density-dependent: competition, predation, disease

density-independent: natural disasters, fire, flood, drought

communities: measuring diversity

diversity is measured based on: species richness (# of species) + species evenness ( how evenly #s are distributed across species

diverse ecosystems

diverse ecosystems = more resilient to change. genetic diversity within populations is key.

ecosystem resilience

ability of an ecosystem to withstand change after a disturbance has occurred

niche

“role” that organism plays in that ecosystem(organisms occupy a “niche” in their ecosystem)

niche/resource partitioning

helps explain why similar species can coexist in the same community without pushing others to extinction throughout competition

they use different resources or same resources in different places/times

symbiosis

ecosystem interactions

competition(-/-) predation(+/-)

ammensalism(-/o) herbivory(+/-)

mutualism(+/+) parasitism(+/-)

commensalism(+/o)

carrying capacity

how many organisms the environment can support/carry

disruptions to ecosystems: invasive species

may predate on/compete with native species and harm local biodiversity

successful because they reproduce quickly, no natural predators, habitat generalists that will eat anything

disruptions to ecosystems

• land use changes

• habitat fragmentation

• pollution/biomagnification

• resource exploitation

• global factors: burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gas increase, global warming, climate change

metabolic rate can be measured…

as oxygen consumed or carbon dioxide produced per unit time

group/cooperative/altruistic behavior

penguins huddling together to stay warm

lions hinting together

school of fish schooling together to confuse predator

population

organisms of the same species that live in that area(they can mate and produce fertile offspring)

community

individuals of different species living together in same area

carbon cycle

process by which carbon gets cycled through ecosystem via any different chemical reactions