apes study guide

Natural Selection

traits that enhance survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently than others. Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace came up with it.

Directional Selection

drives a feature in one direction, feature → faster/slower/larger/smaller

Stabilizing Selection

produces intermediate traits, preserving status quo

Disruptive selection

traits diverge in two or more directions

Mutations

"mistakes" in DNA that may be passed on to the next generation
Non-lethal mutations provide a genetic variation on which natural selection acts
Reproduction also leads to mutations

Speciation

process by which new species are generated

Allopatric speciation

species formation due to physical separation of populations due to geographic distance (main mode of speciation)

Sympatric speciation

species from population become reproductively isolated within same geographic area

Convergent evolution

when unrelated species acquire similar traits as they adapt to selective pressures from similar environments

Divergent evolution

related species diverge (split) in traits due to differential selection pressure, leads to speciation after a while.

Bottleneck effect

population experiences drastic decrease in size, some genotypes will be lost and genetic composition of survivors will differ from the compositions of the original group

Founder effect

part of a population migrate to another area → some genotypes will not be present in the new population

Genetic drift

the disappearance of particular genes as individuals die, variation in genes.

Biodiversity

an area's sum total of all organisms
Species diversity, genes, populations, communities

Species

a population or group of populations whose members share characteristics and can freely breed with one another and produce fertile offspring

Population

a group of individuals of a species that live in the same area

Population ecology

investigates quantitative dynamics of how individuals within in a species interact with one another

Population size

number of individual organisms present at given time

Population density

# of individuals within a population per unit area
Higher density = higher number of infections spread and not enough resources and higher vulnerability to predators

Population distribution/dispersion

spatial arrangement of organisms within an area

Factors on successful adaptations

can't find this ****ing thing on the slides idk someone figure it out.

Extinction

disappearance of a species from Earth
Small populations/ species narrowly specialized on some particular resource are more vulnerable to extinction

Extirpation

Extinction but at one place

Endemic

occur nowhere else in the world

Habitat

specific environment in which an organism lives (living and nonliving things)

Specialists

species with narrow breadth and very specific requirements

Generalists

able to use wide array of habitats or resources

Age distribution/structure

describe relative number of organisms of each age in population

Population growth or decline determined by

natality, mortality, immigration, and emigration

Natality

births in population

Mortality

deaths in population

Immigration

arrival of individuals from outside of population

Emigration

departure of individuals from outside of population

Growth rate

(crude birth rate+immigration rate)
exponential growth: something increases by fixed percent each year. Occur when small population and its ideal for organism

Limiting factors

physical, chemical;, biological characteristics of environment that restrain population growth

Force of limiting factors

environmental resistance
Stabilizes population size and carrying capacity

Density independent factors

limiting factors, influence not affected by population density. Natural disasters: flood, earthquakes

Density-dependent factors

factors with influence that waves and wanes with population density. Rate of infections, competition

Survivorship curves

show likelihood of death can vary with age
Type I: higher death rate at older ages (human)
Type II: higher death rate at young ages (axolotl)
Type III: intermediate and indicate = death at all ages

K-selected

species that devote large amounts of energy and resources to care for offspring
Prefer higher quality offspring
Stabilize near k (carrying capacity)
(dogs, elephants, whales, etc.)

R-selected

focuses on quantity
Higher biotic potential
R denotes ration at which population increase in absence of limiting factors
Often well below carrying capacity and population fluctuates greatly
(rats, mosquitos, weeds, etc)

Preserving biodiversity

preserve = $$$ (ecotourism)

Competition

when multiple organisms seek the same limited resource
Involving consequences of 1 organism's ability to match or out do others in pocurring resources

Interspecific

the competition between individuals of different species

Intraspecific

the competition between individuals of same species

Predation

process which individuals (a predator) hunt, capture, kill and consume individuals of another species (prey)

Parasitism

relationship in which 1 organism, parasite, depends on host for nourishment/benefit while harming host (not immediate death)

Mutualism

relationship in which 2+ benefit from interaction with one another (occur between organisms that lie in close physical contact)

Symbiosis

mutualism but physically close

Pollination

bees/birds/bats/others transfer pollen form 1 flower to another, fertilizing egg

Amensalism

relationship which 1 organism is harmed and other is unaffected (hard to prove bc could be considered competitor)

Commensalism

one species benefit and other is unaffected

Allelopathy

phenomenon where certain plants release poison that harm others nearby (amensalism)alo

Niche

reflects its use of resources and its functional role in a community
Summary on everything an organism does

Resource partitioning

adapt to competition by evolving to use slightly different resources or use shared resources in different ways
Called partitioning bc species device resource they use in common by specializing in diff way
Can lead to character displacement: occur when competing species evolve physical characteristics that reflect their reliance on portion of resource they use

Coevolution

predators and prey evolve in response to one another
Hosts and parasites can be locked in a duel of escalating adaptations (evolutionary arms race)

Food web

map of feeding relationships and energy flow

Trophic level

energy move through community from one trophic level to another

Producer

plants, produce energy through different sources (sun, geothermal vents, etc.)

Primary consumers

herbivores

Secondary consumer

prey on primary consumers

Pyramids

levels of eating stuff

Herbivore

eat only plants

Carnivore

eat only animals.

Omnivore

eat plant and animal

detritivores/decomposers

consumer nonliving organic matter
Only 10% of energy transfer from each trophic level up
Lower to higher trophic level energy pass through food chain

keystone species

species that has strong/wide reaching impact out of proportion to abundance EX: sea otter, wolves

Trophic cascade

predators at high trophic levels indirectly promote populations of organisms at low trophic levels buy keeping species at intermediate trophic levels in check

Ecosystem engineers

If lost the entire structure of an ecosystem can change

Succession

disturbance severe enough to eliminate all or most species in community

Primary succession

follow disturbance so severe that no vegetation or soil life remain from community

Secondary succession

when disturbance drastically alters, but does not destroy all living things/organic matter in the soil.

Pioneer species

species that arrive first to colonize the substrate

Introduced species

species introduced

invasive species

new species spreading wildly and becoming dominant in a community

Zebra Mussels story, Asian Carp story

they spread everywhere and everything up and shows why we shouldn't have invasive species.

Restoration ecology

scientific study supporting the practice of restoring the ecosystem.

Biome

depends on variety of abiotic factors- temperature, precipitation, atmospheric circulation, and soil characteristics (largely a function of climate)

Temperate deciduous forests

characterized by broad-leafed trees that are deciduous (mean when lose leaves each fall and remain dormant during winter when hard freeze endanger leaves)

temperate grasslands

when temp. Difference between winter and summer become more extreme and rainfall diminishes

temperate rainforest

heavy rain fall, forest interior shaded and damp, soil usually fertile

Tropical rainforest

characterized by year round rain and uniformly warm temperatures

Tropical dry forest

tropical areas that was warm year round but less rainfall and highly seasonal

Savanna

tropical grassland interspersed with acacias or other trees
Rain arrive during distinct rainy season and concentrate grazing animals near widely spaced water holes

Desert

sparse rainfall, temperature vary widely from day to night

Tundra

at very high latitudes along north edges of Russia, Canada, and Scandinavia. Very cold winters, little daylight, and moderately cool summers with lengthy days

Permafrost

underground soil remain more or less frozen

Alpine tundra

at high mountains in temperate and tropical regions

Boreal forest (or taiga)

cooler drier regions than temperate forests, and experience long cold winters and short cool summers, soil are nutrient poor and somewhat acidic

Chaparral

highly seasonal, mild wet winters, warmly summers
Often termed Mediterranean bc induced by oceanic influence

Species diversity

number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region

Richness

number of species

Evenness

extent to which numbers of individuals of diff species are equal/skewed. Immigration, emigration, local extinction may increase/decrease it

Latitudinal gradient in species richness

Species richness generally increases as one approaches the equator (geographic area/solar energy/relative stability of climate/history of filiation in temp and polar regions), a pattern.

Food source

Different sources for animals or humans

Drugs & medicine

Medicine for disease

Ecosystem Services

essential services supports the life that makes economic activities possible i.e. air quality, water runoff, nutrient cycling, etc.

Biophilia

Human beings share an instinctive love for nature and feel an emotional bond for other living things.

Extinction

When the last member if a species dies and the entire species ceases to exist

Extirpation

The loss of a species from one area but not the entire world