be able to identify examples of:
imprinting
stimulus response chain
fixed action pattern
imprinting - a long-lasting behavioral response to an individual, happens during a sensitive period of development usually very early in life
example: ducks following their mother
stimulus response chain - when a response to a stimulus serves as the next stimulus for a behavior
example: seen in animal courtships
fixed action patterns (FAPs) - a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a stimulus, actions are unchangeable, carried out to completion, triggered by a sign stimulus (external cue) (
example: stickleback fish
define food web
linked food chains
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includes topics from unit 8
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be able to identify examples of:
imprinting
stimulus response chain
fixed action pattern
imprinting - a long-lasting behavioral response to an individual, happens during a sensitive period of development usually very early in life
example: ducks following their mother
stimulus response chain - when a response to a stimulus serves as the next stimulus for a behavior
example: seen in animal courtships
fixed action patterns (FAPs) - a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a stimulus, actions are unchangeable, carried out to completion, triggered by a sign stimulus (external cue) (
example: stickleback fish
define food web
linked food chains
define primary production
the amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy
primary producers set a “spending limit” for the entire ecosystems energy budget
gross primary production (GPP): total primary production in an ecosystem
new primary production (NPP): the GPP minus the energy used by the primary producers for respiration (Ra)
define secondary production
the amount of chemical energy in a consumer’s food that is converted to new biomass
the transfer of energy between trophic levels is at around 10% efficiency
explain the significance of keystone species
not usually abundant, but other species in an ecosystem rely on them because of their important ecological niches
keystone species, produces, and essential abiotic and biotic factors contribute to maintaining the diversity of the ecosystem
if keystone species were to be removed from an ecosystem it would have a rippling effect (often ecosystems collapse)
define ethology
the study of how evolutionary processes shape inherited behaviors and the ways that animals respond to specific stimuli
define community
a group of populations or different species living closely and capable of interacting
define population
a group of individuals of the same species living in an area
Population ecology - analyzes the factors that effect population size and how and why it changes overtime
define species
a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring under natural conditions, they share common characteristics and genetic similarities distinguishing them from other groups
transfer of energy between trophic levels
species can be grouped into trophic levels based upon their main food source of nutrition and energy
energy cannot be recycled
primary producers - (autotrophs) use light energy to synthesize organic compounds
heterotrophs - rely on autotrophs because they cannot make their own food
primary consumers: herbivores
secondary consumers: carnivores that eat herbivores
tertiary consumers: carnivores that eat other carnivores
decomposers: get energy from detritus (nonliving organic material; leaves, wood, dead organisms)
the trophic structures of a community are determined by the feeding relationships between organisms
any changes to the availability of energy can disrupt ecosystems
explain phototropism
a directional response that allows plants to grow towards (and in some cases away from) a source of light
explain the WHY of higher vs lower organismal metabolic rates
metabolic rates - the total amount of energy an animal uses in a unit of time, can be measured in calories, heat loss or by amount of oxygen consumed, an animal’s metabolic rate is related to its body mass
smaller organism = higher metabolic rate
larger organisms = lower metabolic rate
WHY?
organisms use different strategies to regulate body temperatures
endotherms = use thermal energy from metabolism to maintain body temperatures '
ectotherms: use external sources to regulate their body temperature
differentiate between learned and innate behavior
learned behaviors - depend on environmental influence
experience DO affect these behaviors
high variation in a population
innate behaviors - developmentally fixed
hereditary, born behaviors, do not need to learn them; instinctive
experience during growth has no obvious effect
Note: while behaviors may lean one way more, many behaviors have both innate and learned components
be able to identify dispersion patterns given i information about an organism (dispersed, random, uniformed or clumped)
Dispersion - the pattern of spacing among individuals within a population
clumped: individuals gather in patches
uniform: evenly spaced individuals in population (can be due to territoriality)
random: unpredictable spacing; not common
define ecological succession
the gradual process which species composition of a community changes and develops over time after a disturbance
primary succession: a series of changes on an entirely new (previously lifeless) habitat that has been colonized
secondary succession: a series of changes that clears an existing community, but leaves the soil intact
summarize the impacts of invasive species
a nonnative species that can occupy a wide range of habitats and competitively exclude native species from those habitats
be able to identify survivorship curves by description
type I curve: low death rate during early/middle life and high death rate later in life (starts at top, goes across the top and ends at bottom)
type II curve: constant death rate over the lifespan of the organism (diagonal line from top to bottom)
type III curve: high death rate early in life and lower death rate from those that survive early life (starts at top, lowers to bottom, goes across the bottom)
be able to analyze experimental results and come to conclusions. (multiple examples of this on the test!)
be able to analyze experimental results to make conclusions about the “hierarchy of behaviors”
identify the effects of specific human activities on organisms
human activity is the strongest disturbance to an ecosystem
the main threats to biodiversity are:
habitat loss
invasive species
overharvesting
global change
use the (+ / -) to describe the interspecific interactions, then describe them in detail:
facilitation
parasitism
predation
herbivory
mutualism
commensalism
competition
facilitation - (+/+ or 0/+) when one species has a positive effect on the survival and reproduction of another without intimate association of symbiosis, common in plant species
parasitism - (+/-) when one organism (parasite) derives nourishment from another (host)
predation - (+/- ) relationship where one species (predator) kills and eats the other species (prey), adaptations for both predators and prey have been refined by natural selection
herbivory - (+/-) relationship where one organism eats part of a plant or alga
mutualism - (+/+) when both organisms benefit from the relationship
commensalism - (+/0) when one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited
competition - (-/-) relationship where individuals of different species compete for limited resources, competitive exclusion principle two species competing for the same resource cannot coexist permanently
describe the mechanisms of protection from herbivory in plants
physical defenses: thorns, trichomes (small plant like hairs)
chemical defenses: production of toxic or distasteful compounds
analyze a chart describing food sources among organisms in an ecosystem and create a representative food web