Mammalogy Lecture 2 Exam

What is biogeography?

Biogeography is study of the distribution of organisms, both extinct and extant.

What is included in the study of biogeography?

The study of biogeography includes documenting patterns, building hypothesizes to explain those patterns, and building further understanding of species evolution and the future.

What is the basic unit of biogeography?

The basic unit of biogeography is the species range.

What are the two branches of biogeography?

The two branches of biogeography are historical and ecological biogeography.

What is historical biogeography?

Historical biogeography studies the changes in species distributions over evolutionary time.

What is ecological biogeography?

Ecological biogeography studies current distributions in context of ecological dynamics.

What concepts can be included in historical biogeography?

• Endemism

• Disjunct distribution and plate tectonics

• Dispersal

• Long-term climate patterns

• Extinction and diversification

What is endemism?

Endemism refers to species found specifically in one place or region and nowhere else in the world.

What is Refugia?

Refugia are areas within a larger biome that preserved biodiversity during periods of environmental change.

What are nunataks?

Nunataks are specific types of refugia within continental ice sheets during glacial periods that were ice free.

What is continental drift and who coined the term?

Wegener (1915) coined the term continental drift which refers to the slow movement of the Earth’s continents.

What are the ten major plates separated by?

The ten major plates are separated by fault lines, trenches, or ridges.

Bitesize history of Plate tectonics:

• Pangea

• Gondwanaland

• Laurasia

What is vicariance and how does plate tectonics play a role?

As plate tectonics move, the carry the biota with them which can sometimes create barriers and separate species into two or more isolated groups. This can lead to the once one species evolving separately.

What are the two means of dispersal in biogeography?

1. Movement away from the natal area (ecological dispersal).

2. Movement away from a historical range and/or expansion of range (species dispersal.)

What is the corridor route?

The corridor route provides minimal resistance to the movement of animals (ex: animals moving between Europe and Asia).

What is filter route?

Filter routes permits only certain species to pass (ex: Bering Land Bridge).

What is the sweepstakes route?

The sweepstakes route is when animals move to some unusual occurrence.

What is background extinction?

Background extinction is the incidental loss of species due to local factors (ex: competition).

What is mass extinction?

Mass extinction is the simultaneous, catastrophic loss from many
taxonomic groups.

What are the 6 mass extinctions?

1. Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (440 MYA)

2. Late Devonian Extinction (365 MYA)

3. Permian-Triassic Extinction (252 MYA)

4. Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (201.3 MYA)

5. Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (66 MYA)

6. Holocene Extinction (present)

What is diversification?

Diversification is the origination of a new species by speciation followed by genotypic and phenotypic divergence.

What can diversification sometimes produce?

Diversification can sometimes produce convergent morphologies.

What is GABI?

GABI stands for the Great American Biotic Interchanged that happened about 3.5 MYA ago when the American continents reunited due to the Isthmus of Panama.

What are the 4 major pulses of GABI?

1. 2.6-2.4 MYA

2. 1.8 MYA

3. 1.0-0.8 MYA

4. 700,000-12,000 YA

What topics may be included in ecological biogeography?

• Habitat Requirements

• Effect of recent climate

• Community assembly

• Island biogeography

What were the ice ages caused by?

The ice ages were caused by a combination of a decreased in temperatured which caused CO2 levels to fall, glaciers advanced.

What is the island biological theory and who coined it?

MacArthur and Wilson (1965) coined island biological theory which states that Species number influenced mainly by island area, but also immigration (i.e. distance from mainland or source population) and extinction rates.

What is the island rule?

The island rule is that small mammals on larger body sizes than predicted and large mammals on islands tend to have smaller body sizes than predicted.

What is Bergmann’s Rule?

Bergmann’s rule that the body size of mammals increases with increasing altitude.

What is Allen’s Rule?

Allen’s Rule states that mammals living in colder climates tend to have shorter appendages.

What is Gloger’s Rule?

Gloger’s Rule states that the pelage color of mammals correlates with relative humidity of the habitat.

What is Rapoport’s rule?

Rapoport’s rule states that latitudinal breadth of a species range increases with latitude.

What is the latitudinal gradient?

The latitudinal gradient measures species diversity in relation to distance from the equator.

What is the elevation gradient?

The elevation gradient states that species diversity decreases with increasing elevation.

What is a zoogeographic realm and how many are there?

Zoogeographic realms are large areas of the Earth that are divided by their unique groups of animals. There are 11 realms.

Palearctic:

• Largest faunal region

• Northern old world (Eurasia)

• Separated from others by Sahara Desert, Himalayas, and Bering Straight

• 28 families of land mammals

Palearctic habitat and climate:

• Large distribution of coniferous forests

• Variability in temperature

• Variation in rainfall

Nearctic:

• Extends from Arctic in Northern Canada into central Mexico (and Greenland)

• Separated by Bering Straight and Mexican-Central American transition zone

• ‘Few mammal families and only 2 are endemic

What is Holarctic?

Species found in both the Palearctic and Nearctic include Catoridae.

Nearctic climate:

• Northern mainly tundra and taiga

• Temperate decideus forests in southeast

• Grasslands in south-central

• Desert-chaparral in the southwest

Neotropical:

• Central Mexico to Central America

• Mostly isolated by oceans except for transition area in north

• Large number of mammal families many endemic

• Highest species diversity

Ethiopian:

• Madagascar and sub-Sahara Africa

• Includes a strip of tropical rainforest and savannas

• Shares many mammal families with other nearby regions

• Madagascar endemic forms include primates and tenrecs

• Ethiopia includes 31 endemic forms like the aardvark.

Oriental:

• Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia

• Isolated from others due to deserts and mountains

• Isolated from Australia due to a transition known as Wallace’s Line

• Only 5 endemic forms like hog-nose bat

Australian:

• Australia and New Guinea

• Surrounded by ocean

• Most of Australia is desert, but diverse ecosystems along coast

• Endemic animals include some monotreme and marsipuals

Oceanic:

• Oceanic mammals

• Include fully marine animals and those on remote islands

What do kill traps do?

Kill traps are used to remove pest species and collect specimens.

What mammals can a Stephenson box trap capture?

Stephenson box traps can capture larger mammals like deer.

What mammals do Havahart traps capture?

Havahart traps capture smaller mammals like skunks.

What are pitfall traps?

Pitfall traps can be used as kill traps or live traps (must check regularly) and they are useful for small mammals.

What are netguns?

Netguns are used to capture highly mobile animals like deer.

What are the types of markings?

• Natural

• Ear tags

• Dyes

• Fur clipping

• tattoos or brands

• Freeze-branding

What is powder tracking?

Powder tracking is fluoresce dust that leaves a trail that can be tracked with UV light. It is used to study things like space use.

What are Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags?

PIT tags are implanted beneath skin and activated with a receiver. They are used to study things like activity patterns.

What is radiotelemtry?

Radiotelemetry includes a radio transmitter attached to the animal and a receiver which triangulates the position of the animal. It is used to study things like home range.

What are Mark Recapture Studies?

Mark Recapture Studies mark animals and count them in following surveys. It is used for things such as estimating population size.

What is focal animal sampling?

Focal animal sampling records specified behaviors of a group or individual to help determine things like movements.

What is scan sampling?

Scan sampling is recording behavior states of an individual in a small group at specified intervals in a pre-determined time block (Bearzi and sea lions)

What is Basal metabolic rate (BMR)?

BMR is rate of energy conversion when resting, with no food in its intestine, at an ambient temperature that produces no thermal stress.

What is Field metabolic rate (FMR)?

FMR is rate of energy use in an animal engaging in normal activities under natural conditions.

What are other methods for observing/collecting data?

• Stable Isotope methos (mainly diet)

• Reproduction fitness in both male and female

• Chromosomes

• Karyotype

• Protein Electrophoresis

• DNA sequencing

What is male-based dispersal?

Male-based dispersal is when male leave their natal site more often than females to reduce competition and inbreeding.

What is a home range?

Home range is the area traversed by an individual on its daily searches for food, shelter, mates, etc.

What is a territory?

A territory Contains all resources necessary for growth and reproduction.

What are the different types of signalling?

• Auditory

• Chemical

• Visual

What is a Lek?

A Lek is a territory where the only resource that the organism defends is the space where mating takes place.

What is a habitat?

The natural home or environment where a mammal lives, grows, and reproduces.

What is natal-dispersal?

Natal-dispersal is when animals leave area where they were borne and “strike out on their own.”

What is post-breeding dispersal?

Post-breeding dispersal is when animals move between
successive bouts of reproduction.

What is pre-saturation dispersal?

Pre-saturation dispersal is common in small mammal; juveniles leave the maternal home range even when population density is low.

What is saturation dispersal?

Saturation dispersal occurs when the population reaches a threshold
density resulting from food limitation.

What is emigration?

Emigration is the movement out of a location (risky and lower survival rates).

What is transfer?

Transfer is movement between locations.

What is immigration?

Immigration is movement to a new location.

What is an obligate migrator?

An obligate migrator tend to respond to cues such as photoperiods.

What is a falculative migrator?

A facultative migrator respond more flexibly to weather conditions, and may migrate some years and not others.

What is a population?

A population is a group of individuals of the same species occupying the same place and time.

What is Type 1:

Type 1 is high survival after first year until a certain age when mortality rates increase (most mammals).

What is type 2?

• Type 2 is constant mortality rate regardless of age (small mammals)>

What is type 3?

Type 3 is highest mortality rates early in life (rarely in mammals).

What is regulation?

Regulation is the process hat allows
population to return to its equilibrium size.

What is intrinsic rate of growth?

Intrinsic rate of growth (r ) is the rate of growth of a population at any exact moment.

What is finite rate of growth?

Finite rate of growth (lambda) is the rate of population growth over discrete time intervals.

What is exponential growth?

Exponential growth is “J shaped” DN/dt=rN

What is logistic growth?

Logistic growth is “S shaped” DN/Dt=rN(K-N/K)

What is the inflection point?

The inflection point is the point where population growth is highest, exponential growth turns into logistic growth, and population growth begins to slow.

What are life history traits?

Life history traits are traits that directly influence fecundity
and survival such as size at birth.