BIOL 215 - midterm 1 content

define monomorphic in terms of genetics

if all individuals are “aa” (both alleles the same), the population is referred to as ‘monomorphic’ for that locus (homozygote)

define polymorphic in terms of genetics

if one or more individuals in the population are “ab” (alleles are different), the population is referred to as ‘polymorphic’ for that locus (heterozygote)

what is MVP?

minimum viable population size – smallest possible size at which a biological population can exist without facing extinction.

- Retention of 90% of genetic variablility after 200 years

• Current estimate 2500

what is MVA?

minimum viable area – Minimum land area required to maintain genetic variability after 200 years

solutions (2) to increase MVA and MVP?

1. bigger and more parks

2. geneflow from immigration

natural selection vs adaptation

natural selection is when organisms have helpful traits that help them survive and persist in the genepool. whereas adaptation is a physical, body, or behavioral change that helps an organism survive and reproduce better.

anagenesis vs caldogenesis?

Anagenesis is the gradual transformation of a single species into a new form within a linear sequence, while cladogenesis is the branching evolution where an ancestral species splits into two or more distinct descendant species

does anagenesis lead to species diversity? why or why not?

no, because it’s only one species not the formation of new ones

what is OFT and what are the basic rules (3)

Optimal Foraging Theory – basic rules in optimizing choice of food/prey

a) Preference for food/prey with the greatest net energy gain

b) Feed more selectively when food/prey are abundant

c) Include low quality food/prey only when profitable food/prey are scarce

meat has many calories but is defiecient in?

vit c, vit E, fiber, folate, Mg

rice has many calories but is deficient in?

lysine and vit B12

land plants are deficient in what nutrient?

sodium

why would animals prefer to forage in costal regions (in terms of plants?). any downsides?

there is more macrominerals such as Na and Cl, and also trace minerals. but aquatic plants are lower in calories than terrestrial plants

Basic rules (2) for optimizing foraging time among patches

a) Concentrating foraging activity in the most productive patches and ignore patches of low productivity (if they are known)

b) Stay with the patch until the profitability falls to a level equal to the average for all foraging patches combined

Optimal foraging time for a mouse differing in hunger and risk of predation

what is Territoriality?

active exclusion of resource use by others through display, advertisement or defense of an area

what is Home Range?

the area over which an animal travels in search of food/mates/resources and which is not defended

what is the driving factor that effect territory size?

competition with others

what are the two categories of sexual reproduction? define each one.

Dioecious – two separate sexes

Monoecious – bisexual/hermaphrodite

what are the two types of monoecious hermaphrodites?

Simultaneous hermaphrodite

• both sets of reproductive organs at the same time

Sequential hermaphrodite

• - Male and female reproductive parts develop at different times during ontogeny (growth)

what are the three types of mating structures?

1. Panmixis

2. polygamy

3. monogamy

what is Panmixis and with whom?

• unrestricted random mating with opposite sex

• sexes usually look alike (monomorphic)

  

  
  

what is Polygamy?

• ‘many marriages’, multiple partners

• sexes look different from each other (dimorphic)

• males typically larges, more elaborate ornamentation

what is polygyny and the two subtypes?

• a specific type of polygamy where a male has multiple female partners simultaneously

  • female defense polygyny – individual males defend groups of females (eg, elephant seals)

  • resource defense polygyny – individual males defend valuable resources (territory) which females seek out

what is polyandry?

• females mate with many males, but males mate with a single or few females

• males incubate eggs and become sexually inactive

what is Monogamy? what are some traits of it

• high fidelity to a single partner

• sexes usually look similar

• young require extensive investment

what are the general criteria’s (7) for mate choice by females?

a) nuptial gift

b) dominant/strong male preference

c) handicapped male hypothesis

d) parasite-free male hypothesis

e) symmetrical male hypothesis

f) display evaluation

g) inbreeding aviodance

what is the handicapped male hypothesis?

• proposed by Zahavi

• if the male can survive to adulthood with a ‘handicap’ it is an honest signal of fitness (eg, peacock)

  • the male produces a costly display to provide the female the information about their genetic quality

what is the parasite free hypothesis?

• proposed by Hamilton and Zuk

• males with no parasites may have better immunological genes and therefore improved physiological ability

eg, there is lice that diminishes the colours on pigeons feathers, so males with no lice or recovered from lice have brighter feathers signalling better health.

what is the symmetrical male hypothesis?

• females preferring symmetry in males because of how it can affect performance such as in hunting

what is the many eyes theory?

More eyes means less likely to be attacked by predators

what is the selfish-herd theory?

Each individual is looking out only for themselves

list three disadvantages of living in a group

• Shared limited resources, resource depletion

• Increased transmission of disease/parasites

• Conflict/stress

what is Life Histories? name the 5 types?

• Set of rules and choices to an individual's schedule of reproduction

• Reproductive effort is the total allocations that an individual makes for reproduction

1) categories of reproductive effort

2) frequency of reproduction

3) occurrence of parental care

4) clutch/litter size in K-selected species

5) age of first reproduction

what are the two categories of reproductive effort? define them

R-selected

• high numbers of offspring

• boom or bust cycle

• maximum reproductive capacity ( r )

K-selected

• low number of offspring

• stable populations, usually long-lived individuals

• populations near carrying capacity (k)

define the two types of reproduction frequency semelparous and iteroparous

semelparous - single reproduction (eg, most insects)

iteroparous - repeated reproduction (usually anually)

what is the difference between precocial and altricial parental care

precocial is minimal care and altricial is lots of care

what is Lack’s Hypothesis?

birds will have a smaller clutch size than they can actually produce. They do this to maximize survival of the parent and their offspring

look at it

what is the different between cosmopolitan (2 subtypes?) and highly restricted ecology movement

cosmopolitan could be in all oceans or continents

• widespread eg, human

• limited eg, sitka spruce - wide range but limited to the West Coast

highly restricted - eg, spirit bear, Vancouver Island Marmot

what are the three types of dispersion (population ecology - movement)

a) hyperdispersion (fish school)

• equal distant from each other

b) random (beach clams)

c) aggregated or clumped (most common)

what is the difference between the two subtypes of aggregated/clumped dispersion?

coarse-grained are clumps segregated by large areas, and fine-grained are clumps segregated by short distances

immigration vs emigration

Emigrate means to leave your home country, while immigrate means to enter and settle in a new country

define dispersal movement of individuals

movement of individuals away from the immediate environment of the place of birth (common)

go over the monarch butterfly migration pattern

what are the three types of absolute densities?

1. Total counts

• Photogrpahic

2. Quadrat sampling

3. Mark, release, recapture estimates

Peterson/Lincoln

what is M, N, m and n

• M is number of marked individuals in the population

• N is the population size

• n is the number of individuals in the new sample

• m is the number of marked individuals in the new sample

Essential assumptions for reliable population estimates in mark-recapture studies

1) the population (N) is stable (only possible in short time frames)

2) marked individuals have the same chance of getting caught as unmarked individuals

3) marked individuals do not incur greater mortality as a result of the capture or mark

4) marked individuals don’t lose their mark

what is a life table used to determine

estimate mortality rate, survival rate, survival ship curves and average life expectancy

what are the two types of life tables? when would you use them

age and time specific

• age is useful for short lived species

• time is useful for long-lived animals

  • requires age distribution of a population

what is qx?

• the proportion of animals that die during the age interval

what is e x?

what is fecundity?

an ecological concept which is the number of offspring/seeds produced

what is fertitlity?

physiological concept that indicates a females ability to produce offspring/seeds per unit period of time

what are the four population parameters?

• B number of offspring/seeds produced

• D (death) number of individuals that die per unit period of time

• I (immigration) movement of individuals into the population from other regions

• E (emigration) movement of individuals out of an area