Our Changing World Quiz 2 Overview

r selected traits

Low parental care, short lifespan, fast growth, smaller body size, lower intellect, sexual maturity is reached quickly

k selected traits

High parental care, longer lifespan, slower growth, fewer offspring produced at a time, higher intelligence, longer gestation period

Principle of Allocation

Resources/energy allotted to one biological function, bodily trait, or behavior cannot be allotted to another; the law of tradeoffs

What is the Difference between endemic and cosmopolitan species?

Endemic: Seen only in certain parts or a certain part of the world; Ex: Panda bears

Cosmopolitan: Seen across most of the world; Ex: Flies

What is the purpose of a survivorship curve? What does it show?

Shows the mortality rates of a species at certain points in their lifespan,

Describe the shape of a type I survivorship curve + the mortality rate

starts high, and then curves down; low infant mortality rate, example: elephants

Describe the shape of a type II survivorship curve + the mortality rate

constant/straight line; consistent mortality rate across lifespan, example: birds

Describe the shape of a type III curve + the mortality rate

starts high and sharp downward curve; high infant mortality rate that levels out, example: sea turtles

Mutation Acumulation

The body accumulates deleterious mutations in the body as time goes on

Why do deadly degenerative diseases like alzheimers exist so commonly?

Genes expressed later in life are difficult for natural selection to eliminate; traits not apparent during reproduction

Antagonistic Pleitrophy

Genes beneficial in early years become deleterious in later years, example CDKN2A gene is a tumor suppressor but can cause Glaucoma and Type II Diabetes

Wilson and McArthur Island Theory

Islands that are larger and close to the mainland (they branched off of) will have more biodiversity than smaller, farther islands; relates to genetic drifts and bottlenecks

Equation for Population Growth

dN/dt=rN

What does r stand for?

per capita growth rate, or intrinsic growth rate

r>0, r=0, r<0 meaning?

population growing, constant, and declining

Population Density Independent factors

weather, droughts, natural disasters, freeze, precipitation

Population Density Dependent factors

food, water, space, predators, pathogens, competitors

Subpopulation

Small groups of a species that live in isolated patches/habitats

Metapopulation

Spatial model of subpopulations in a matrix of suitable/unsuitable habitats

Capital breeder

Save up resources to breed; offspring # & survival depend on parent condition, example: Harbor Seals gain weight to reproduce

Income breeder

Depend on resources available NOW to reproduce; shorter gestation pd., offspring # & survival depend on reproduction, example: White Faced Mouse

Principle of Allocation

Resources allocated to certain body structure, physiological function, or behavioral cannot be allocated to another; environmentally dependent

Lower Mass of seeds indicates….

Higher number of seeds; vice versa

Niche

range of biotic and abiotic factors/conditions an organism can handle

Fundamental Niche

Abiotic factors/conditions under which a species can exist, example polar bears in snowy, Arctic climates

Realized Niche

Abiotic and biotic conditions an organism ACTUALLY lives under

Adaptations

a product of natural selection, genetic basis, gives a species maintained or higher fitness, heritable traits. Example: Populations in the Andes mountains have adapted to have a higher lung capacity

Plasticity

Product of environmental stress, one genotype can lead to many phenotypes, which can be developmental and permanent (ontogenetic) or flexible and ongoing (acclimating) Example: Holly trees getting spiky leaves when eaten by deer

Adaptations v. Plasticity

Adapatations are genetic changes across generations that are selected; Plasticity is an individual’s ability to change their physical traits due to stress in their environment

When does exponential growth happen in a population?

When resources are not limited

What is N?

N=Population size

What does carrying capacity K stand for?

the maximum population size that can be supported by the environment

Expanded population equation

dN/dt=rN(1-N/K)

Muller’s Ratchet

the process by which genomes of an asexual population irreversibly accumulate deleterious accumulation (because they don’t get the benefits of gene variation that sexual reproduction provides)

Dioecy (related to plants)

“two houses” sexes are divided into two different bodies with different gametes

Monoecy (related to plants)

“one house” sexes are on the same plant body

sexual dimorphism

condition where males and females of the same species have wildly different traits (physical, behavioral and physiological) beyond just their reproductive organs or gametes

Examples of sexual dimorphism

size difference between Black Widows(m&f), colorful male birds doing extravagant dances

Intrasexual Selection

occurs when mating success is determined by within-sex interactions (male on male competition)

Intersexual Selection

occurs when mating success is between-sex interactions (females choice after judging male’s qualityz)

Sexual Selection

Individuals with certain heritable traits are more likely to acquire mates than other individuals; this leads to sexual dimorphism

Can sexually selected traits reduce average fitness?

Yes! An example is male crabs having extremely large claws that make it hard to move around, but females prefer this quality. Why? Good genes hypothesis, Good health hypothesis, Handicapped principle

Can Runaway selection lead to traits that lower survival odds?

yes! Definition: Genetic correlation between a male trait and a female preference for a trait

Are species with equal parent care likely to have sexual dimorphism?

No! They’re likely to look very similar. Example: penguins and geese

Homo vs Heterothallic Fungi

Homothallic can self-fertilize but this is still considered sex, Heterothallic is when they must outcross to reproduce

Why is sexual reproduction favorable?

Potential mates have different allele combinations from each other so the more possible combinations the better. Species with more genetic diversity have a higher likelihood of resisting extinction because they have a higher variety of genes that could survive more situations(temp changes, diseases, intelligence, etc.) .

What are Tinbergen’s four questions?

1. Mechanism of behavior

2. Development/Ontogeny of behavior

3. Function/Adaptive value of behavior

4. Evolution/Phylogeny of behavior

What are the two types of behavior?

Innate: born with these traits, inherited; Example: egg retrieval in geese

Learned: acquire these traits during lifetime; Example: Blue Jay learns to avoid bright-colored bugs because they taste gross (poisonous)

What are the four types of learned behaviors?

1. Spatial Learning: Forming a mental map of food, water and shelter location

2. Associative Learning: bird tastes bad, I had to throw up me no like these bugs

3. Social Learning: Alpha male eats first or I get attacked

4. Insight Learning: Crows learn to drop dense rocks in water to get buoyant treats

Intraspecies Social Interactions

Cooperation, Selfishness, Altruism, Spitefulness

Coefficient of Relatedness r

Probability two individuals share an allele due to recent common ancestry

Can fitness be gained indirectly through relatives?

Yes, because nieces and nephews still share some of their DNA to be passed onto the next generation

indirect fitness benefit= Bxr

B=benefit to recipient(additional offspring they can rear)

Eusociality

Some individuals in a group give up the ability to reproduce entirely, but are still involved in caring for young and support for the group; indirect benefits of helping close relatives reproduce outweigh the direct cost of foregoing one’s own reproduction Example: bee colonies

Benefits and Costs of living in a group

Benefits: defense, dilution effect, vigilance, access to mates, resource sharing, information center

Costs: Increased visibility to predators, disease transmission, increased competition to fight off predators

Group Vigilance Benefits

Group living decreases the time for individual vigilance, which increases the time available for other tasks (example feeding)

Reproductive Conflict

individuals attempt to maximize their own fitness at the expense of their prospective partners’ or relatives’ fitness. Example: infanticide or postcoital selectiveness

Parental-Offspring Conflict

occurs when parents and offspring differ in the optimal level of parental investment Example: baby birds and their mother

Herbivory

eating of plant material usually does not kill the plant immediately (except seed predation)

Predation

eating of other animals, secondary consumers or higher, results in the death of the consumed prey animal

Top-Down V. Bottom-Up Regulation

Top-Down: Carnivores eat herbivores and more plant life can exist as a result

Bottom-Up: Plant abundance limits the herbivore population thus limiting the consumer population

Functional V Numerical Predator Response

Functional: rate of prey eaten per predator

Numerical: Change in number of density of predators

Crypsis

A method for organisms to avoid predation: blending into their environment Example: stick bugs and leaf-looking bugs

Aposematic Coloration

a natural warning sign where dangerous or toxic animals use bright colors to tell predators to stay away Example: Monarch butterflies

Batesian Mimicry

mimics evolve to look like a dangerous model species; mimics create a deceptive message. Example: Sweat bees, Scarlet Kingsnakes

Müllerian Mimicry

dangerous mimics form similar aposematic coloration; mimics advertise an honest message Example: Bees, wasps, hornets with similar colors

Secondary Compounds (in plants)

A defensive strategy of plants to make organic compounds for defense, signaling, or survival Example: Caffeine, tannins, Nicotine(technically a neurotoxin)

Pathogens

Typically small endoparasites. Example: fungi, viruses, bacteria, prions

Specialists V. Generalists

Specialists: Can only eat certain foods. Example: aphids or other very small herbivores, parasites, parasitoids

Generalists: Can eat many different types of food. Example: large mammalian herbivores, predators

Parasites

diverse, ubiquidous organisms that can have a large effect on host fitness Examples: lice, tapeworms, parasite eating fishes tongue to sit there and replace it then eating the food

Horizontal V. Vertical Parasite Transmission

Horizontal: between species Example: dog to cow, monkey to human

Vertical: from parent to offspring

The two can happen to the same animal

Parasite kills host?

Either kill hosts very slowly or not at all

Parasite Avoidance

constant mixing of genotypes increase chance of avoiding parasites Example: red queen game

Suseptable-Infected-Resistant (SIR Model)

model of infectious disease transmission; predicts population dynamics for parasites and their host

R0 meaning

Reproductive rate of pathogen or parasite or the ratio of the number of new infections to the number of recoveries, the likelihood of an epidemic is dependent on this,

R0>1 and R0<1 Meaning

Epidemic, parasite spreads quickly through population

Non-Epidemic, parasite will not spread fast enough before recovery

Species common for Zoonotic diseases?

Bats, have a high body temp. that is a great home for pathogens

Optimal level of vaccinated for Herd Immunity?

95% vaccinated; the less total vaccinated, the quicker the disease spreads