Ecology

Abiotic forces

No living and physical attributions

Biotic factors

Living parents of individual environment

Taxonomy

Classification and discipline or organisms

Tassel Formula

Morphological feature used to classify animals at the genus level

Morphological

Anatomy, size, shape

Ecological

Behavior with other organisms in its surroundings

Biological characteristics

Potential to interbreed

Phylogenetic characteristics

Comparing DNA sequences to show relatedness

Binomial Nomenclature

Genus is capitalized, species is lowercase, and scientific name is italicized

Polytomy

two lineages stemming from one branching point

reproductive isolation

Biological factor impeding interbreeding and producing viable, fertile offspring

Prezygotic barriers

Reproductive barrier impeding mating/hinder fertilization

Postzygotic barriers

Reproductive isolation after zygote is formed

Climate

long term prevailing weather condition; temperature, precipitation, sunlight, wind

Biomes

major life zones - climate and biota

Aquatic biomes

Life zones characterized primarily by physical and chemical environment

Estuaries

freshwater from streams and rivers mix with salt water from the ocean

Aquatic biomes are most influenced

by light and inorganic nutrients

Communities are distributed by

Water depth, light penetration, distance from shore, and ocean water vs bottom dwelling

Bodies of water are zoned

horizontally and vertically

Light intensity

decreases rapidly wIt’s depth reducing photosynthetic ability/products

Climograph

Plot of the annual mean temperature and precipitation in a region

In the middle to high latitudes

Earth’s tilted axis of rotation and its annual passage and the temperature

Because of the high specific heat of water

Aquatic environments have low temperature variation compared to terrestrial environments.

Coastal regions

are generally wetter than inland areas at the same latitude

A forest

absorbs more (and reflects less) solar energy than does a a Dorset or grassland, thereby contributing to a warming of Earth’s surface on forested areas.

A disturbance

Is an event such as a storm, fire, or furan activity that changes a community, removing organisms from it and altering resource availability

Photonic zone

The narrow top layer of an ocean or lake where light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.

Aphotonic zone

That part of an ocean or lake beneath the photonic zone where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur

Pelagic zone

The open water component of aquatic biomes

Benthic zone

The bottom surface of an aquatic environment

Thermocline

A narrow stratum of abrupt temperature change in the ocean an in many temperature-zone lakes

Organismal Ecology

Includes the sub-disciplines of physiological, evolutionary, and behavior ecology, is concerned with how an organism’s structure, physiology, and behavior meet the challenges posed by its environment.

Population Ecology

Analyzes factors that affect population size and how and why it changes through time.

Community Ecology

Examines how interactions between species, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and organization

Ecosystem Ecology

Emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and the environment.

Landscape Ecology

Focuses on the factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystem

Global Ecology

Examines how the regional exchange of energy and materials influences the functioning and distribution of organisms across the biosphere.

What is the tilt of the Earth

23.5

Why does the end of earth’s tilting toward the sun create different temperatures in these months?

Because tilted to the North Maryland is at a more direct angle to the sun, so there is more concentrated energy and an increase surface temperature, leading to longer days. Tilted to the South Maryland is at a more oblique angle to the sun, so there is less concentrated energy and a decrease in surface area , leading shorter days.

When a Beam of Sunlight of fixed width strikes the ground at 39 N in June and December, the June beam delivers more energy per square meter

Because the angle at which the Earth hits the Sun is more direct than oblique, so the greater concentration in energy increase the overall surface temperature per square meter.

Hadley Cells

At low latitudes, air moves toward the equator, where it is heated and rises vertically. In the upper atmosphere, air moves poleward. This forms a convection cell that covers tropical and sub-tropical climates. This cell is named for English physicist and meteorologist George Hadley, who proposed the single circulation for each hemisphere in 1735.

Ferrel Cell

In this mid-latitude atmospheric circulation cell, air near the surface flows poleward and eastward, while air higher in the atmosphere moves equatorward and westward. Proposed by William Ferrell in 1856, it was the first to account for westerly winds between 35° and 60° N/S, which are caused by friction, not heat differences at the equator and poles.

Polar Cell

In this mid-latitude atmospheric circulation cell, air near the surface flows poleward and eastward, while air higher in the atmosphere moves equatorward and westward. Proposed by William Ferrell in 1856, it was the first to account for westerly winds between 35° and 60° N/S, which are caused by friction, not heat differences at the equator and poles.

Direct sun rays hit at

The equator

The tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are near

The equator

At the poles

There is low intensity, so there’s low solar energy which causes the cold temperature and lack of vegetation

Wetland/Estuary - light

shallow water, little to no aphotonic zone, turbidity can reduce light penetrance

Wetland/Estuary - inorganic nutrients

Nitrogen and Phosphorous flow downstream, low dissolved Ow because of decomposition (oxygen used by bacteria)

Wetland/Estuary - location

Shallow basins, flooded riverbanks, lake coasts

Wetland/Estuary - Soil/Biotic Components

Water-Saturated, often anaerobic soil; Phytoplanktn, algae, cattails/sedges, salt marsh grasses, mangroves; Insect larvae, crustaceans, figs, seabirds frogs, alligators, and some marine mammals

Lake - light

Decreases with depth - photoic/aphotoic zones; Thermocline (temperate - seasonal, or tropical - year round)

Lake - inorganic nutrients

Oligotrophic lakes - low nutrients/high O2 (limiting the growth of algae/plants); Eutrophication lakes - high nutrients/low O2 (high rates of decomposition)

Lake - location

Standing water; littoral (shore), limnetic (open water), betnhic (floor), eutrophication (limnetic that sunlight penetrates), aphotoic (too deep for photosynthesis)

Lake - Soil/Biotic Components

Rooted/floating plants (littoral); PPhytoplankton/zooplankton (limnetic); Invertebrates and fish (limnetic/benthic)

Stream/River - light

Can be direct sunlight, or filtered due to tree canopy

Stream/River - Inorganic Nutrients

Salt/nutrients/temperature/turbidity tends to increase downstream

Stream/River - location

Headwaters:narrow, rocky, pools; Rivers:wider, meandering, silty

Stream/River - soil/biotic components

Grassland/desert headwater streams rich in phytoplankton/rooted plants; Forest streams rely on terrestrial organic matter for aquatic consumers; Diverse fish/invertebrates

Intertidal Zone - light

Filtered light through shallow water at high tide; I react sunlight during low tide

Intertidal Zone - Inorganic Nutrients

High O2/nutrients renewed by tides

Intertidal Zone - location

Coastal area above water at low tide and below water at high tide; Upper Strata > air exposure, more temp/salinity swings

Intertidal Zone - Soil/Biotic Components

Rocky - algae, attached plants, mangroves; Sandy/muddy - burrowing worms, clams, crustaceans; Also sponges, anemones, small fish

Coral Reef - Light

Photonic zone, clear tropical water

Coral Reef - Inorganic Nutrients

Oligotrophic; Needs high O2; harmed by excess freshwater/nutrients/hi-low temperatures

Coral Reef - Location

Near inlands/edge of continents; needs solid substrate

Coral Reef - Soil/Biotic Components

Formed from calcium carbonate skeletons of coral (animals); Coral (animal) - algae mutualism; High fish/invertebrate diversity

Water

Species living at the seashore or in tidal wetlands can desicate (dry out) as the tide recedes. Terrestrial organisms face constant threats of desication - distribution reflects water retaining ability

Oxygen

Because oxygen diffuses slowly in water, its concentration can be low in certain aquatic systems and soils, limiting cellular respiration and other physiological processes.

Salinity

Most aquatic organisms are restricted to either freshwater or saltwater habitats by their limited ability to osmoregulate

Sunlight

Provides the energy driving most ecosystems; too little sunlight can limit the distribution of photosynthetic species

Rocks and Soil

On land, the pH, mineral composition, and physical structure of rocks and soil limit the distribution of plants and therefore that the animals that feed on them.

Populations

Are often described by their boundaries and size (the number of individuals living within those boundaries)

Intertidal Zone

The shallow zone of the ocean adjacent to land and between the high and low tide lines

Territotriality

The defense of a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals

A life table

Summarizes the survival and reproductive rates of individuals in specific age-groups within a population

Cohort

Group of individuals of the same age

Survivorship Curve

A plot of the proportion or number in cohort still alive at each age

Highest Population Growth

Population size at half the carrying capacity; more reproducing individuals than at a lower population size; growth not yet slowing as N approaches K

Logistic model of population growth

Sigmoid (S-shaped curve)

Reproductive rates

Usually ignored because only females produce offspring

Stair-step Curve

Increases mortality during molts and lower mortality when the exoskeleton is hard

Life history

Organisms schedule of reproduction and survival

K-selection

Selection for traits that are advantageous at high densities

R-selection

Selection for traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments

Density independent

A birth rate or death rate that doesn't not change with population density

Density Dependent

A death rate that increases with rising density

Population dynamcics

Population fluctuations from year to year or place to place

Metapopulation

A group of one species that interact through immigration and emigration

Community Ecology

Study of interactions between species and factors that affect the number, type, and relative abundance of species in the community

Foundation Species

Provide habitats and food for other organisms

Species Interactions

Negative or positive interactions can influence survival

Disturbances

Climate events, human activity, and other factors can remove organisms or alter resource availability

Interspecific interactions

Relationships between species in a community

Interspecific interactions are grouped

Positive (+), negative (-), or no effect (0) on the survival and reproduction of interacting individuals

Ecological niche

Set of biotic and abiotic resources used by an organism in its environment

Ecologically similar species can coexist given one or more significant differences in their niches through

resource partitioning

Competitive exclusion

To very similar species, and given limiting resources

Competition

Resource depletion, energy costs, risk of injury

Exploitation

When a species benefits by feeding on (and thereby harming) another species; predation, herbivore, and parasitism