Marine Ecology Test 1

ecology

study of the interactions between organisms and their environment and the effects of these interactions on the distribution and abundance of organisms

biotic

living

abiotic

nonliving

origins of ecology

1. cave drawings

2. ancient stories

3. agriculture and hunting

binomial nomenclature

system for naming, ranking, and classifying organisms is still in widespread use today (with many changes)

Carolus Linnaeus

father of taxonomy

Julian Huxley

'evolutionary synthesis' - unified fields of taxonomy, genetics, and evolution

Herbert Andrewartha

distribution and abundance of insects related to density independent forces

Charles Krebs

experimental study of mammal distributions

E. O. Wilson

'father of biodiversity'

inductive approaches

1. accumulate observations

2. generalizations will result from such accumulation

hypothetico-deductive approach

1. determine general properties & hypothesize relationships among components

2. formulate hypotheses into a simple mathematical model

3. manipulate model, deduce new productions

4. attempt to verify prediction by observation

deductive approach

1. develops a hypothesis based on existing history

2. then designs a research strategy to test that hypothesis

3. has advantages in that there is possibility to explain casual relationships, provide a quantitative comparison, and generalize findings to a certain extent

BACI

where sampling occurs before/after and at control/impact sites

treatment

the independent variable manipulated (or not) by the experimenter

control

treatment in which no manipulation has occured

replicate

experimental units of a treatment

artifact

when an experimental setup or apparatus gives a researcher information that's seemingly about the thing that they are interested in but, for one reason or another, is misleading or about something else entirely

plankton

diverse collection of organisms that are found in water that are unable to propel themselves against current

phytoplankton

- microscopic plants

- perform photosynthesis

- found near the water's surface

zooplankton

- microscopic animals or larval stages of invertebrates and fish

- eat zooplankton

- are major food sources for larger animals

nekton

living organisms that are able to swim and move independent of currents

salinity

measure of salt content in the ocean; measured as a ratio of salt (in grams) to liter of water

estuary

area where rivers and freshwater meet the sea resulting in a gradient of freshwater (river) to brackish intermediate salinity to full strength salinity (marine) conditions

halocline

layer of water in which the salinity increases rapidly with depth

salinity stratification

results from a combination of various mechanisms such as precipitation, oceanic advection, and mixing conditions, as well as freshwater input from rivers runoff, melting of sea ice, and removal of freshwater through evaporations

Bergmann's rule

within a broadly distributed taxonomic group, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, while populations and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions

thermocline

the layer of water in which the temperature decreases rapidly with depth

sea level is connected to climate by:

1. melting ice

2. thermal expansion of water

electromagnetic radiation

light transported from sun to earth

wavelength

the way light energy is distributed

photons

small discrete packages of energy

diel vertical migration

light used for foraging and predator avoidance

hypoxia

low dissolved oxygen

anoxia

no dissolved oxygen

Keeling Curve

measurement of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

ocean acidification

oceans absorb carbon dioxide which is converted to carbonic acid lowers the pH

pH

a measure of how acidic/basic water is

individual

a single living organism of a species

species

fundamental unit of biological classification

biological species concept

Ernst Mayr defined species as individuals that can interbreed

phylogenetic species concept

descendants from a common ancestor and who all possess a combination of certain traits

morphological species concept

morphologically similar and distinct individuals

ecological species concept

species are a set of organism adapted to a particular set of resources in the environment

population

organisms of a particular species living in a given area:

- can interbreed

- geographic boundaries may or may not be easy to establish

community

interacting populations of the species in a particular area

community ecology

study if the organization and functioning of communities

biodiversity

the number of interacting species in these communities and their complex relationships

food webs

complex network of interconnecting food chains showing feeding relationships within a community

ecosystem

the complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular area

landscape

spatially heterogeneous geographic areas characterized by diverse interacting ecosystems

biosphere

parts of earth where life exists

resources

time, space, energy, matter

Liebig's law of the minimum

the rate of biological process is limited by whatever factor/element/resource is least available relative to requirements

Shelford's law of tolerance

distribution of an organism determined by the environmental factor that an organism has the narrowest range of tolerance

competition

direct or indirect interaction of organisms that leads to a change in fitness when the organisms share the same resource

intraspecific

within a species

interspecific

among species

predation

energy is transferred from living animal to living animal based on the capture and consumption of that animal

disease

host0pathogen interactions can have negative effects

dispersal

practical limits on the distribution of larvae may limit an organism

ideal free distribution

as a population fills up the "best" habitat, resources will decile; eventually the quality of this habitat will be the same of the less preferred habitat

ideal despotic distribution

- territorial animals

- best habitat may be less dense because others are unable to inhabit or takeover

- less favored habitats may be more crowded or have a higher density

transplant experiments

often used to answer "if an organism is not found in a particular location, is it because it cannot survive there?"

diffusion

gradual movement of a population over several generations

jump dispersal

movement of individual organisms into new habitats followed by successful establishment of a new population (within one generation)

secular dispersal

similar to diffusion but occurs over evolutionary time

anadromous

breed in freshwater and living in seawater

catadromous

adults live in freshwater then migrate to seawater to spawn

oceandromous

migrate totally in seawater

life history

the age and stage-specific patterns and timing of events that makeup an organism's life

life history strategies

combinations of life history traits and life events

r-selected organisms:

- mature rapidly and have an early age of first reproduction

- have a relatively short lifespan

- have a large number of offspring at a time, and few reproductive events, or are semelparous

- have a high mortality rate and low offspring survival rate

- have minimal parental care/investment

k-selected organisms:

- mature more slowly and have a later age of first reproduction

- have a longer lifespan

- have few offspring at a time and more reproductive events spread out over a longer span of time

- have a low mortality rate and a high offspring survival rate

- have high parental investment

foundation species

species that create habitats and modify the environment with positive effects on the diversity, distribution, and abundance of associated organisms

facilitation

interactions between two or more species in which at least one species benefits and none are negatively impacted

ecosystem engineering

modification of the physical environment by living organisms

facilitation cascade

occurs when a species benefits a second species that in turn has a positive effect on additional species

ecosystem services

benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy ecosystems

marine protection areas (MPAs)

a defined region designated and managed for the long-term conservation of marine resources, ecosystem services, or cultural heritage

population ecology

characterizing distribution, abundance, and demography of individuals within a species

distribution

spatial arrangement of individuals in a population

abundance

numbers of individuals per area in a population

metapopulations

a population of populations

extinction

disappearance of a species; a species having no living members or no longer in existence

primary factors for a species to go extinct:

1. size of geographic area

2. tolerance to conditions

3. population sizes

semelparous

an organism that only breeds once during its lifetime

iteroparous

an organism that can undergo many reproductive events in its lifetime

lifetables

estimate populations based on mortality, growth, reproductive success

type 1 survivorship curve

high survival of young and low survival for old ages

type 2 survivorship curve

constant rate of mortality at all ages

type 3 survivorship curve

high juvenile mortality and low thereafter

purposes of statistics:

1. summarizing and plotting data

2. prediction

3. hypothesis

sample

subset of population

statistical inference

estimate, prediction, or other generalization about a population based upon a sample

variable

any observation that is not constant

functional response

the relationship between an individuals consumption rate and food density

type 1 response

the consumption rate of the predator rises linearly as density increases

type 2 response

consumption rate increases at a decreasing rate until a plateau is reached, after which consumption remains constant regardless of prey density

type 3 response

at low densities an increase in prey density leads to less than linear increase in consumption rate