biology lions/nature test review

Was historic distribution of lions greater than the present distribution in India?

Yes

What is the difference between the red and the blue areas?

• Historic range is much larger than present

Why is historic range or distribution of some species like lions greater than those in the present?

Human interference

• Biodiversity loss

• Overhunting

Why are there gaps in the historical range?

• Different biomes

  • Lions live in grasslands + wooded areas (northern Africa + middle east are desert; central Africa is rainforest)

What causes different environments/ habitats?

Different combinations of temperature and moisture (precipitation, freshwater availability)

Why would lions like these areas?

• Lions are camouflaged for grasslands

• Need large amount of prey

  • Grasslands provide large grazing animals

What does that make a lion or an animal needing to feed on prey?

A predator

What do lions hunt in?

Prides

Population

An area where all of the same species/animal are (ex: lions)

Community

These populations of different species together

What else lives in the areas where lions live?

Grass, antelopes, zebras, etc.

Are there other predators where lions live?

Yes, but they typically don’t eat the same thing or in the same place

What would happen if lions were removed from the ecosystem?

Other predators would start eating their prey so the ecosystem would survive, but it would look a bit different

What is the dominant species?

Grass

What determines the dominant species in an ecosystem?

• Generally, biomass and abundance

• Most dominant species are plants that support the consumers

What determines the kinds of plants that grow to be dominant species?

Temperature/sunlight and moisture/precipitation

Biotic

Living

Abiotic

Nonliving

what is the most important species in the African grasslands besides grass?

Wildebeest

What are Wildbeest’s contributions that make them the most important species?

• Keep grass managed, minimizing fire + maintaining plant health

• Allowing for trees to grow providing habitat/ shade

Keystone species

Though they may not be the most numerous or dominant species in an ecosystem, their role is critical to maintaining the balance and health of that ecosystem.

Sub species

A species that differs from a certain species but not different enough to be recognized as a different species

Species

A group that breeds in the wild producing viable offspring

Similar biome in the US and Africa

Grassland biomes

What do biomes have?

Species that have adapted to similar conditions and fill similar niches

Biomes

A large, distinct ecological community of plants, animals, and other organisms that exist in a particular climate and geographical area.

Ecosystem

All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factor with which they interact

What are bitotic factors?

Animals, plants, bacteria, algae, fungus, etc.

What are abiotic factors?

Rock, wind/air, water, temperature, sunlight, ptl, etc.

Are all organisms in an ecosystem the same?

No

How can organisms in an ecosystem be organized?

By the different ways they acquire food

Autotrophs

Producers in an organism that can make their own food using abiotic factors such as light, water, CO2, etc. (plant is an example of this producer)

Heterotroph

Consumers in organisms that get food by eating other organisms

Detritivores

Decomposers that break down + feed on dead and decaying material

Trophic levels

The group of organisms within an ecosystem which occupy the same level in a food chain

What does solar radiation do?

Provides the input of energy which is used by primary producers

Primary producers

Usually plants + algae

Primary consumers (second trophic level)

Herbivores (only eat plants) that gain energy by eating primary producers

Trophic levels 3, 4, and 5

Carnivores (eat only animals) and omnivores (eat animals + plants)

How are the components of an ecosystem tied together?

Biotic and abiotic factors linked together by nutrient and energy cycles

• Plants pull nutrients from the soil

• Primary consumers gain nutrients by eating the plants

• The nutrients pass up to higher trophic levels as secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers eat lower levels

• Those consumers and producers will die, and nutrients are released by decomposers as they break down the dead organism

Do all nutrients move through the ecosystem in the way?

No

Water

All organisms need this resource because it is the structure of body, temp. regulation, chemical reactions, etc.)

Nitrogen

This is the most abundant gas in atmosphere and is essential to the formation of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids

Carbon

This is the basic building block of all organic material and of all organisms on earth

Phosphorus

This element is essential for the formation of cell membranes, ATP, and nucleic acids

Where does the world’s water cycle through?

Lakes, rivers, oceans, the atmosphere, and the land in an ongoing cycle

What state is water when it cycles through?

It can be any state (solid, liquid, or gas)

What does nitrogen form?

Froms a triple bond with another nitrogen to make N2 (a very nonreactive compound)

What must occur for nitrogen to be used?

Nitrogen fixation

What can microorganisms taking atmospheric nitrogen make?

Can be converted to ammonia and ammonium which is then converted to nitrates and nitrites

Nitrates and nitrites

Can be used by the plants

How do carbon dioxide and carbon connect?

Through photosynthesis, carbon dioxide can be pulled from the air to produce food made from carbon for plant growth

How is carbon moved up the food chain?

Carbon in plants moves to the animals that eat them

What happens each time you exhale?

You are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere

What happens when animals and plants die?

Their bodies decay, bringing the carbon into the ground

• Some is buried and will become fossil fuels

What happens when humans burn fossil fuels to power factories, cars, etc.?

Most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as CO2

Why is it bad when carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as CO2?

CO2 is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere (the recent increase in greenhouse gases is significantly warming the planet) - GLobal Warming

Why is it also bad when too much CO2 gets into the ocean?

Too much can have negative impact like ocean acidification where it disintegrates shells because of the acid

What do humans need to survive?

Resources (food, water, shelter, etc.)

How do humans use resources?

Share, collect, store, fight for resources, etc.

Do animals interact with resources in the same way as humans?

Different animals need various resources and most (if not all) resources are limited

What resources do lions need?

Food, water, shelter, territory, etc.

Are there any other animals that need the same resources?

Yes, other predators need the same shelter and water

If an animals takes a resource…

It takes that resource away from another animal

Competition

Interactions between organisms where both require a resource that is in limited supply

Is all competition the same?

No, there can be direction competition or indirect competition

Do lions only compete with other species?

No (Intraspecific competition and Interspecific competition)

Intraspecific Competition

Different individuals and groups of the same species will compete with each other for the same resources

Interspecific competition

Individuals + groups of different species compete for resources

Interference Competition

A direct form of competition where organisms enter into direct conflict for resources

Is all competition direct?

No, there can be indirect competition where they do not interact with each other

Exploitation Competition

Indirect competition between individuals for a common limiting resource

Apparent Competition

Indirect competition where prey species compete for survival against a shared predator

Do all animals mature the same way?

No

Type 1

Most individuals will survive until old age & tends to be k-selected

Type 2

Constant loss (individuals die @ all ages) & can exhibit both k-selected and r-selected

Type 3

We see a massive portion die off @ a young age & tends to be r-selected

K-Selected reproduction strategy on curve

The animals produce fewer offspring and provide more long term care for said offspring → usually defined by a more stable environment (ex: humans)

R-Selected reproductive strategy on curve

The animals produce large numbers of offspring and provide little to no long term care after birth *usually by unstable/fluctuating environment (ex: trees)

Are all species still alive?

No, species become extinct for many reasons

Have any species gone extinct in the recent past?

Yes (ex: passenger pigeons from hunting and habit loss, Levana moth from pesticides, mexican grizzly bear from nuisance species, and more

When are animals considered extinct?

When there are no more individuals

“Extinct in the wild”

There are no more individuals in the wild, but some in captivity for example

Do species go extinct all at once?

No, their population decreases

Endangered species

An organism that is threatened by extinction

What do endangered and extinct species have in common?

• Could have trouble finding mates

• Slow reproduction and growth

• Low ability to adopt to changing enivronnments

• Specialists who have a narrow niche

Specialists

Have a narrow niche with incredibly specific needs to survive

Niche

The specific set of environmental conditions required by an organism or the function it performs in nature

What external factors cause species to become endangered or extinct?

HIPPO - (Habit Loss, Invasive Species, Pollution, Human Population, and Overexploitation)

Are there characteristics that would help a species thrive?

Yes

• Being highly adaptable (wide range of tolerance)

• Generalist

Generalist

A species with a broad niche that is easily adaptable to many environmental conditions

What happens when a nonnative species moves into a new ecosystem?

Competition

What 3 options do poor comepititors have?

• Shift strategies (exploit different resources/same resources but at different times, or a smaller subset of resources but better at getting them than their competitor

• Move

• Go extinct

What factor is most responsible for threatened and endangered species?

Habitat loss but also invasive species too

Red important fire ants

Infest 2/3rds of eastern texas counties

• Impact: damage crops, displace native ants, eliminate food sources, kill newborn livestock, etc.

Feral hogs

Destruct species, damage crops, transmit disease, etc.

Nutria

• Economic impact: destroy nice crops and sugarcane

• Ecological impact: Destroy habitats by rooting and digging

Which of the following is not a reason why invasive species are successful in an ecosystem?

Specialized niche

Why are invasive species successful in an ecosystem?

Not natural predators, high biotic potential, ability to live ina variety of habitats

What happens when people release pets into the wild?

• If enough are released, self-sustaining, breading populations can take over

• Can have negative impacts