Renne Exam 3

Behavioural Ecology

Behavioural Ecology

The study of behavioural responses that contribute to the survivorship and/or reproduction of organisms

EXAM QUESTION: What is behavioural ecology?

Study of behavioural responses that contribute to the survivorship and/or reproduction of organisms

Habituation

One of the simplest forms of learning (can be modified in the future)

EXAM QUESTION: What is habituation?

One of the simplest forms of learning (can be modified in the future)

Cognitive Learning

The ability to solve problems with conscious thought and without direct environmental feedback

EXAM QUESTION: What is cognitive learning?

Ability to solve problems with conscious thought and without direct environmental feedback

Three compass systems birds use in their navigational toolkit

Position of sun by day/ stars at night, landmarks, earth's magnetic field

EXAM QUESTION: How do birds migrate?

position of the sun and stars, landmarks, earth's magnetic fields

Defending a territory has costs and benefits

Territory is expected when benefits exceed costs

EXAM QUESTION: Where do we expect territoriality?

When the benefits exceed the costs

Four ways animals communicate

chemical, auditory, visual, tactile

Altruism

Behaviour that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself

EXAM QUESTION: What is altruism?

Behaviour that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself. Most altruistic acts serve to benefit an individuals close relatives

Kin-Selection

Acts that lower the individual's fitness but increases the fitness of relatives

EXAM QUESTION: Why does group selection fail?

Selfish non-sharers displace altruistic sharers

Hamilton's Rule

Used to explain the evolution of bright coloration being advertised for distastefulness

Sexual conflicts among females and males

The higher the variance in offspring production, the greater the degree of sexual dimorphism

EXAM QUESTION: When you have a high variance in the sex of offspring, what would you expect?

Strong sexual dimorphism

Sexual selection

Driven by intrasexual competition (male-male) and/or intersexual choice (choice for specific traits)

EXAM QUESTION: What is sexual selection driven by?

intrasexual competition (male-male) and/or intersexual choice (choice for specific traits)

Mating system types

monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, polygamy

Monogamy and its conditions

Marriage to a single person under the conditions that neither sex can monopolize resources, and shared parental care maximizes the fitness of both parties

EXAM QUESTION: What factors are required for monogamy to occur?

Neither sex can monopolize resources, shared parental care maximizes the fitness of both parties

Polygyny

One male has many females

Polyandry

Many males to one female

Polygamy

Many spouses

Mating system structure is primarily driven by

ecological conditions

EXAM QUESTION: (T/F) Ecological conditions dictate mating system structure

True

Population

A group of interbreeding individuals that occupy the same habitat at the same time

Interbreeding

Two members of the same species mate frequently to produce offspring through the exchange of genes

EXAM QUESTION: What is the definition of population?

A group of interbreeding individuals that occupy the same habitat at the same time (Q)

EXAM QUESTION: Why is demographic analysis important?

age classes can be resolved, population growth, focus management on driving growth

Logistic growth; density-dependent term

K-N/K

Density dependent factors

factor that limits a population more as population density increases

EXAM QUESTION: What are density dependent factors?

1. Mortality factor whose influence varies with the density of the population

2. Parasitism, predation, and competition for limiting resources

3. Predators kill few prey when the prey population is low, they kill more prey when the population is higher

Density independent factors

limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size

EXAM QUESTION: What are density independent factors?

1. Mortality factor whose influence is generally not affected by changes in population size or density

2. Primarily physical factors (Weather, drought, flood)

EXAM QUESTION: What are life history strategies or life history tradeoffs?

How, when, and where to allocate limited resources to an organism's fitness

R-Selected traits

R selected traits maximize reproductive output. R selected individuals are poor competitors.

Not competitive

Rapid development

Early Reproduction

Small body size

K-Selected traits

K selected traits are those that maximize competitive ability. K selected traits individuals tend to occur when resources are stably limited. They allow organisms to grow large, be very competitive, and produce few well bred offspring.

Very competitive

Slow development

Late Reproduction

Large body size

EXAM QUESTION: How do selective pressures change?

Natural disasters disturb growth or trait prevalence and reset the clock

Population Inertia

Continued population growth despite a reduction in reproduction rates

EXAM QUESTION: What is population inertia?

When survival rates exceed death rates

Intraspecific Competition

competition between members of the same species (the strongest form of competition)

EXAM QUESTION: What is the strongest form of competition?

Intraspecific Competition

Interspecific Competition

competition between members of different species

Ecological Niche

all of the ecological factors that influence the survivorship and reproduction of a species

Realized Niche

most often smaller than the fundamental niche; invokes biotic factors

Fundamental Niche

The full potential range of the physical, chemical, and biological factors a species can use if there is no competition from other species.

EXAM QUESTION: Fundamental vs Realized Niche

The specific value of n defines the fundamental niche. The restricted ecological range of a species is called the realized niche

EXAM QUESTION: What are innate behaviors?

Behaviors that are driven by genetic programming (not learned)

EXAM QUESTION: What is Gause's competitive exclusion principle?

Two species cannot occupy the exact same niche and coexist (Q)

Character Displacement

Driven by interspecific competition

Mullerian Mimicry

Two or more unpalatable species resemble each other. Since any mutant gets samples, the morph would be stable

Batesian Mimicry

A palatable prey avoids predators by looking like a distasteful species which puts selective pressure on the distasteful model to look different and have unstable morphing

EXAM QUESTION: What are the two main differences between Mullerian and Batesian Mimicry?

Mullerian morphs remain stable and both species are distasteful. Batesian morphs are constantly evolving and palatable species develop to look like a distasteful species

EXAM QUESTION: What is masting?

synchronous production of progeny satiate (make full) predators

EXAM QUESTION: What three factors may be involved in mutualism?

transportation of gametes, nutrient reward, and/or protection

EXAM QUESTION: What are the two hypotheses for latitudinal gradient diversity?

The time stability hypothesis and the productivity hypothesis

Which hypothesis does not describe the latitudinal gradient diversity?

The area hypothesis

EXAM QUESTION: What is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis?

Few species persist under high and low disturbance while most species occur in areas of intermediate disturbance

What is succession?

Gradual and continuous change in species composition and community structure over time

Primary Succession

succession on a newly exposed surface that has essentially no organic matter (volcanoes, glaciers)

Secondary Succession

succession on a site that has already supported life but has undergone a disturbance (fire, hurricane, flood)

Bottom-up model

food limitation controls population density

Top-down model

natural enemies control population density

EXAM QUESTION: Are top predators important in ecosystem function? Why?

Yes. Cascading trophic effects describe that removal of any predators in the food chain completely changes it

TRUE/FALSE: Diversity causes (begets) Stability

True

Why is biodiversity important?

it contributes to ecosystem function, diversity begets diversity, diversity begets stability

EXAM QUESTION: What is the energy transfer between organisms?

Because of respiration, energy flow to the next trophic level is approximately 10-20%. Top predators are always low of abundance

Positive Feedback

ice sends most of the suns energy back to space

EXAM QUESTION (TRUE/FALSE): There can be significant energy inputs to regulate fuel

True (E)