OSU Biology 1101 Exam 3

Parasities

doesn't kill host, any organism that is getting a benefit at the cost of another (mosquitos benefit from biting humans but they are negatively affected)

Parasitism includes:

predators, parasites (doesn't kill host), and parasitoids (kills host)

Commensalism

positive for one and seemingly neutral for the other (spider web made on the antelopes horns)

competition

negatively affects both groups --> plants competing for light, those that could grow taller have an advantage. These plants are all being negatively affected by each other.

mutualism

Both individuals are positively affected. Crocodile looks like its going to eat bird but it has flesh and other debris in his mouth --> bird is getting a meal and crocodile is getting his teeth cleaned

Variation for a trait

Running speed in rabbits can vary from one individual to the next

Heritability

The trait of running speed is passed on from parents to their offspring

Differential Reproductive Success

-Rabbits with slower running speeds are eaten, their traits are not passed on to the next generation

-The predator will evolve to become faster as well because the slower foxes are not able to catch the rabbits

Mycorrhizae fungi

grow in association with the roots of plants, receiving sugar from the plant while transferring nitrogen and phosphorous from the soil to the plant

Fungus

-many plants have a mutualistic relationship with it

-this and other microbes recycle organic matter

-breakdown detritus (body of an organism) so living producers can utilize the nutrients that formed the organic matter

Detritus

body of an organism/waste product

autotroph

makes food using photosynthesis

plants, algae (bacteria) --> single cell prokaryote

they create the chemical energy they need to respirate

Heterotroph

requires external source of chemical energy (food)

Animals, fungus, most bacteria

-need to find chemical energy to power ATP production

Chemoorganotrophs

feed on organic molecules

Chemolithotrophs

feed on inorganic molecules

Photoautotrophs

Use energy from sunlight to produce via photosynthesis

Community

populations of different species that interact with each other within a locale

Producers

plants convert light from the sun into food through photosynthesis

primary consumers

herbivores are animals that eat plants

Secondary consumers

carnivores are animals that eat herbivores

Tertiary consumers

top carnivores are animals that eat other carnivores

The 10% rule

Only about 10% of the biomass from each trophic level is converted into biomass in the next trophic level. The rest of the available energy is lost to the environment, a consequence of several factors, including non-predatory deaths, incomplete digestion of prey/food, and respiration

3 consumers

eats other carnivores

2 consumers

eats herbivores

1 consumers

eat producers

lowest trophic level

the highest biomass

trophic levels

subjective to the specific ecosystem

Mosses (Bryophytes)

No vascular system or true roots, very short, reproduces via spores

Ferns

Can grow to the size of trees, vascular system, no flowers but produces by seeds

Gymnosperms

Can grow to the size of trees, vascular system, produces flowers and seeds

Angiosperms

can grow to the size of trees, vascular, produces flowers and produces seeds covered by fruity flesh

Co-evolution

When two species influence the evolution of each other

Mutualism

-when both species benefit

-ex: flower and a moth

Parasitism

-when one species benefits at the expense of the other

-ex: pronghorn and extinct cheetah

Natural Selection

the most influential evolutionary mechanism

Bribery

utilized by plants to ensure the flower is pollinated

Population Ecology

The study of how populations of species interact with their environments

individuals

individual organisms

populations

groups of individual organisms that interbreed with each other

ecosystems

All living organisms, as well as non-living elements, that interact in a particular area

biotic

living

abiotic

Non-living

exponential growth

-when each individual produces more than the single offspring necessary to replace itself

-never lasts long in nature

-growing more and more/ faster and faster

-nothing is reducing its ability to reproduce

R

growth rate

N

Current population

R * N

new individuals

Logistic growth

-population growth that is gradually reduced as the population nears the environment's carrying capacity

density dependent factors

limitations on a population's growth that are a consequence of population density

Influences on Carrying Capacity

-reduced food supplies due to competition

-diminished accessibility to places to live and breed due to competition

-increased incidence of parasites and disease

-increased predation risk

maximum sustainable yield

the point at which the maximum number of individuals are being added to the population

Density independent forces

fires, floods, and earthquakes; can dramatically reduce population size

life-dinner hypothesis

not being eaten > not eating

Defensive Adaptations

-physical defenses for reducing predation

-ex: mechanical, camouflage, chemical, and warning coloration

Mechanical defenses

Physical structures- such as the quill of the Cape porcupine- can help protect an organism from predation

Camouflage

Cryptic coloration- such as that seen in the praying mantis- can enable an organism to blend into its surroundings and avoid predation

Chemical defenses

Toxins- such as those found within the strawberry poison dart frog- can make an organism poisonous or unpalatable to a predator

Warning coloration

Organisms that produce toxic chemicals- such as monarch butterflies- frequently have bright color patterns, warning predators to stay away.

Mimicry

pretending to be another (more dangerous) organism

ways to increase human carrying capacity

-expanding into new habitats

-increasing the agricultural productivity of the land

-finding ways to live at higher densities

-ecological footprint

demographic transition

a pattern of population that is experienced as a country industrializes. It is characterized by slow growth, then fast growth, and then slow growth again

Niche

Where a species fits into the environment

Fundamental Niche

The extent of a species without competition, or external factors. Where it could grow

Realized Niche

Where a species is actually found as a result of competition and external factors. Where it does grow

nice features

-the space an organism requires

-the type of food an organism utilizes

-the timing of an organisms reproduction

-an organisms temperature and moisture requirements and other necessary living conditions

-The organisms for which it is a food source

-its influence on competitors

competitive exclusion

One species within the niche utilizes resources more efficiently, driving the other species to local extinction

resource partitioning

each species alters its use of the niche, dividing the resources

character displacement

occurs when natural selection reduces the competition between two species by producing an evolutionary divergence in one or both species

results of competition

-competitive exclusion

-resource partitioning

Biotic environment

the living organisms within an area, often referred to as a community

physical (abiotic) environment

The chemical resources and physical conditions within an area, often referred to as the organisms' habitat

ecosystem

a community of biological organisms plus the non-living components in the environment in which the organisms interact

climate

the major abiotic drivers of ecosystems (temperature/precipitation), especially terrestrial

soil

considered a living component of ecosystems, as long as it hasn't been severely disturbed

3 most important element (chemical) cycles

carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous

4 types of energy in biological systems

kinetic, solar, chemical, heat

natural sources of CH4(Methane)

wetlands, lakes oceans

anthropogenic sources of CH4

landfills, livestock, refining/transport of fossil fuels

natural sources of CO2

respiration, forest fires, volcanos

anthropogenic sources of CO2

landfills, livestock, refining/transport of fossil fuel

succession

the change in species composition in a community overtime

primary succession

begins in an area with no life and no soil

carbon source

source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere

carbon sink

pulls carbon out of the atmosphere and stores it

biomes

large ecosystems that cover huge geographic areas

biological hotspots

area with very high biodiversity, usually many endemic (found in one place) species. These areas are a focus for conservation and research

biological diversity

a measure of the amount of species and relative abundance in a given area

factors that influence biodiversity

-solar energy available

-evolutionary history in an area

-communities diversity over time

-rate of abundance

ecosystem diversity

many different ecosystems in one area

biodiversity

a measurement of the distribution of species, basic assessment of ecosystem health. Many species and a relative even distribution results in high

extrinsic (utilitarian) value

The value of biodiversity to humans, often described as ecosystem services, can be grouped in four categories of services

Enthobotany

studying traditional medical practices to determine active chemicals

exotic

species is foreign

invasive

the species has the potential to take over an ecosystem

exotic invasive

a foreign species that is invasive, no natural predators, other species haven't evolved defenses

positive feedback loop

when "A" causes "B" which results in "C", and "C" limits or reduces "A"

negative feedback loop

When "A" causes "B", which results in "C", and "C" limits of reduces "A"

biochemistry

chemical interactions between organisms (bio) and the abiotic environment (geo)

phosphorous

great lakes (microcystis algae) ATP, DNA, phosphlipids