2.4 Ecological Tolerance, 2.5 Natural Disturbances, & 2.6 Adaptations

abiotic

nonliving (temperature, PH)

biotic

living

niche

role of organisms’ in the environment

fundamental niche

only abiotic factors, full potential range of conditions and resources a species could potentially use.

realized niche

consists of both abiotic and biotic factors. Its realized niche is part of the potential niche that allows a species to survive and avoid competition with other species for the same resources.

mass extinctions

tornados, hurricanes, floods, droughts, forest fires, etc

timing

periodic disturbances, episodic disruptions, random disruption

periodic disturbances

occur on a regular cycle (tides)

episodic disruption

somewhat regular (el nino & la nina, they are two opposing climate patterns that break these normal conditions)

random disruption

have no regular pattern (hurricanes, volcanic eruptions)

duration

length of time

spatial

area affected by disturbance (thunder storms-small area & short duration ) (hurricane-weeks & larger area)

resistance

a measure of how much a disruption can affect flows of energy and matter (productivity, nitrogen cycle)

high resistance

no overall effect

resilience

rate at which ecosystems return to original state after disruption

high resilience

returns to original state quickly

earth’s climate and sea level

changes over a long time (100,000 years)

earth’s climate

composition of foraminifera, ice cores

foraminifera

played a crucial role in developing our understanding of the evolution of life and the environment on earth. microscopic, single-celled organisms.

primary succession

starts from nothing, everything is destroyed (gravel), no soil. Bare rock, such as after a volcanic eruption, over time becomes a climax community. Moss or lichen usually inhabit first, break down rock to make soil, and afterward larger and larger plants move in. This is a slow process.

secondary succession

starts from gravel and sprouts, stuff destroyed, but have some. Bare rock, such as after a volcanic eruption, over time becomes a climax community. Moss or lichen usually inhabit first, break down rock to make soil, and afterward larger and larger plants move in. This is a slow process.

species richness

number of animals in species in a habitat. The number of species per sample. The more species present in a sample, the “richer” the sample.

species evenness

evenness of species (how evenly distributed is a species)

what is HIPPCO

Habitat loss, Invasive species, Pollution, Population (human), Climate change, Overharvesting

what are the four ecosystem services?

Provisioning, Supporting, Cultural, Regulating

Provisioning

stuff we use from nature (food, medicine, wood)

Cultural

when we enjoy nature (art, photgraphy)

Supporting

provide support for the ecosystem. photosynthesis, cycling, biomass production

Regulating

protect public health and the environment from pollution by industry and development. pollination, purify, pest control, water

what is this and what does it mean?

optimal range, everything is functioning . climate conditions an organism thrives at. range where organisms survive, grow, and reproduce

what is this and what does it mean?

zone of intolerance. environmental factors where it is impossible for a species to survive.

what is this and what does it mean?

zone of stress. range where organisms survive, but experience some stress such as infertility, lack of growth, decreased activity, etc

how is length and area related?

the longer something happens, the more area it’ll affect. (forest fires cover more area if they go on for a week rather than a day)

artificial selection

Humans choose which traits are desirable, Selective pressure exerted by humans in order to improve or modify certain traits Examples: Selective Breeding

natural selection

Describes the process of change in the characteristics of a population of organisms over many generations. (pressure, individuals with certain inherited traits survive local environmental conditions and pass on these alleles to offspring Can only occur if there is genetic diversity in a population Mutations create diversity Without diversity extinction is more likely to happen)

bottleneck

most of the population die, however a small amount survive. loss in genetic diversity.
A population that has been reduced because of an environmental event. Ecosystems with many different species are more likely to recover from an environmental event than ecosystems with fewer species.

founder effect

small part of the population is isolated, but the rest is still alive. small group of individual establish a new population that has less genetic diversity than the original population

speciation

evolution of a new species, new species are added. (population is split, biodiversity)

pioneer species

• Earlier successional plants, generalists. (mosses and lichens)