Species Interactions, Population Dynamics, and Natural Selection

Flashcards covering species interactions, population dynamics, the influence of interspecific competition, species' niche and natural selection.

Autotroph interactions vs heterotroph interactions

Interactions classified based on reciprocal effects (+, -, 0); examples are crucial for understanding.

Species Interactions Influence Population Dynamics

Interactions with different species impact population growth; predator-prey relationships exemplify this effect, where an increase in predators decreases prey population growth.

Logistic Growth with interspecific competition

Models interspecific competition, like grazing antelope, where the population growth of one species is affected by another sharing resources, influencing carrying capacity.

Interspecific Competition

Competition between different species for resources, affecting population sizes and carrying capacities.

Species Interactions as Agents of Natural Selection

Species interactions catalyze natural selection as they differentially affect population members, driving evolutionary changes.

Coevolution

Process where two species undergo reciprocal evolutionary changes through natural selection, often seen in mutualistic (+/+) relationships like pollination.

Competition in Coevolution

Negatively affects involved species, leading to divergence of phenotypic characteristics to reduce direct competition.

Character displacement

Divergence in morphology between two competing species, driven by natural selection to minimize competition for resources.

Species Interaction Variation

The nature of species interactions can vary across geographic landscapes due to factors like toxicity, resistance, and environmental conditions.

Mycorrhizal Fungi

Illustrates a type of interaction with qualitative responses of plants and fungi varying at different nutrient levels.

Diffuse Coevolution

A network of species undergoes reciprocal evolutionary change, involving multiple pollinators/plants and plants/pollinators.

Ecological Niche

A species' range of required resources and physical/chemical conditions, including fundamental and realized niches.

Fundamental Niche

The entire set of conditions under which an animal (population, species) can survive and reproduce.

Realized Niche

The actual space that an animal inhabits and the resources it can access due to limiting pressures from other species (e.g. superior competitors).