BIO Final Exam Review

generalist

can be in relationships with other species

specialists

only in relationships with the same species

obligate mutualist

only found in mutualistic relationships

facultative mutualist

only in relationships when beneficial

mutual relationship between plants and bacteria

bacteria in roots-plant gets nitrogen-bacteria is protected

mutual relationship between plant and mycorrhizal fungi

fungi extends from plant roots-plant gets increase in water/nutrients-fungi get glucose produced by the plant

[mutual relationship] explain endomycorrhizal fungi and ectomycorrhizal fungi

endo fungi penetrates the cells of root tissues and ecto fungi don’t enter the cells

[Animal Mutualism] animals and microbes

animals have bacteria in digestive tract-bacteria helps with digesting-bacteria gets protection and food

[Animal mutualism] animals w/ other Animals: Shrimp and fish

fish lives in a hole dug by shrimp-fish protects shrimp from predators-shrimp population increases-fish and shrimp live together in the hole

[defense mutualism] trees and ants

ants live in the tree holes-tree is protected from the herbivores-ants get a home and nectar from the tree

[defense mutualism] plants and endophytic fungi

fungi lives in plant tissues and produce toxic chemicals-fungi get protection and glucose-plant gets protection from herbivores

[defense mutualism] animals and parasite eaters: oxpecker and ox

the larger animal gets protection from parasites-parasite eater gets food

example of how mutualism can shift to negative

if there was a low amount of parasites, the wrasse will then start to eat the tissues of the larger fish making the relationship become parasitic

terrestrial zonation

diff. communities found at different elevations on a mountain

aquatic zonation

different marine communities found at different elevations from shore

natural ecotone

the border between a lake shore community and a forest community

humanmade ecotone

a border between farmland and the adjacent forest

why are ecotones oftentimes support higher species richness than the bordering regions?

they are the borders between 2 diff. communities and can support species from each of the adjacent communities

how to test for interdependent species distribution?

remove neighboring species and see if the individual does better or worse

what are the common trends between productivity and species richness

medium levels of productivity lead to the highest species richness

examples of common roles of keystone species, how they can act as ecosystem engineers?

keystone species play important roles in their community, and can often be predators, prey, or ecosystem engineers that make the environment more diverse

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

intermediate levels of disturbance like fire or grazing leads to the highest species richness

succession

one community shifting into a new community in a location

pioneer species

the 1st species to colonize an area after a largescale disturbance

climax community

the final community that develops after many rounds of succession

chronosequencing

mapping the communities that will follow each other in an area

direct observations of succession

the sequence of community change is visible, like insects on a dead corpse

indirect observations of succession

the changes are not observed, but diff. communities are visible in diff. aged regions of an area, like diff. aged sand dunes

terrestrial succession

the changing of plant communities over time in an area on land

primary succession

the first community to colonize an area without plants or nutrient rich soil

secondary succession

the 2nd community to colonize an area once there is nutrient rich soil

[aquatic succession] intertidal zone

diff. communities in an intertidal zone (diff. distances from shore)

[aquatic succession] shallow lakes

can eventually become terrestrial habitat

[characteristics of early vs late succession species] early

many small seeds, seeds are distributed by wind, short life, small adult size, low shade tolerance

[characteristics of early vs late succession species] late

few large seeds, distributed by gravity or eaten by animals, slow growth, large adult size, high shade tolerance

transient climax communities

succession happens quickly developing climax comm. that is short lived like seasonal ponds

climax comm. gaps

physical openings like a fallen tree in climax comms. allowing the presence of early successional species

landscape ecology

study of spatial arrangements of landscapes

habitat heterogeneity

habitat diversity, how diverse the habitat is

legacy effects

long lasting effects on the structure of the environment

habitat fragmentation

a larger connected piece of habitat becomes broken into smaller pieces

events that have influenced current habitat heterogeneity

natural recent events

human induced recent events

natural legacy effects

natural recent events

fire

human induced recent events

farming, construction

natural legacy effects

ancient human construction changing soil nutrients and affecting species richness

rock deposit left from glacier many years ago

how fragment size and amount of edge effect quality of fragment

large area of fragment=higher quality/species richness

explain the equilibrium theory of island biogeography

species richness is result of araea(size) and level of isolation (distance from mainland), with close larger islands having highest species richness

the effect of area and isolation on species richness

larger area=higher species richnss

how rate of extinction is related to area and why?

larger area=lower rate of extinction

larger area usually means more diverse available resources and larger populations

best characteristics for a nature reserve

better design=larger size, one large rather than multiple smaller ones, if fragmented then fragments close to each other and with corridors, circular shape meaning less edge/area

instrumental vs intrinsic value of biodiversity

intrsumental tied to economic gain, intrinsic identifies inherent value of species to exist

mass extinctions-how many have there been, when and why was the last?

5, last was caused by asteroid impact

the global status of conifers, birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and fish, which are in most trouble?

all groups have significant number of threatened/endangered species. conifers and amphibians have the highest percentage of threatened/endangered species

chickens and genetic diversity

Genetic diversity of crops

decrease of diversity due to large scale agriculture

the role of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault

safe storage of diverse food related seeds to preserve diversity

5 major human related activities that decrease biodiversity, which has most impact

Large scale agriculture, habitat loss (the most impactful), overharvest, invasive species, pollution

overharvest and collapsed fisheries

Overharvest from commercial fishing has led to collapsed fisheries around the world

Changes in amount of Arctic/Antarctic/Greenland ice mass, sea height

decreasing ice mass, increasing sea height

Sea Lions example of a reduced harvesting success story

US/Mexico governments restricted hunting this endangered species and now populations are larger

California Condors example of reintroduction success

Remaining condors collected and used for captive breeding programs which successfully rebuilt wild
populations