ENVS 200 Midterm Flash Cards

Define Ecology

• The scientific study of organisms distribution, abundance interactions & Energy movement

Define Environmentalism

• Proposes policies, actions, ethical guidelines for protecting & managing natural resources

Define Empiricism

• Knowledge comes from sensory observation amplified by tools

• Ex. Field surveys, Remote Sensors

Define Scientific Method

• Observation → Question → Hypothesis→ Prediction → Data → Analysis → Publication

Define Observational focus

• Most ecological studies are non experimental, capturing natural variation across space & time

Define Skepticism & Replication

• Healthy doubt, peer review, repeat studies guard against error

Define Confirmation bias

• Favouring data that fit expectations

Define Replication Crisis

• Shows many findings fail to reproduce, highlighting that need for independent crisis

Define Scepticism

• Acts as a corrective, challenge results, revise theories when evidence demands it

What was Natural History like in late 1800s

• Field observation, pattern spotting, descriptive catalogues

What was Natural History like in early 1900s

• Application of the formal scientific method to these observations

• Created ecology as a distinct discipline

Why does field work still remain vital to this day

• Direct observation, generates questions & hypothesis that pure data mining can’t

Define Biological Species Control

• Organisms that can interbreed & produce fertile offspring being to the same species

What are limitations to Biological Species Control

• Wolves, Coyotes, Domestic Dogs Interbreed

What’s the levels of Taxonomy (in order)

• Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species

Why ecology matters in a human dominated world

1. Anthropocene

2. Ecosystem Services

3. One Health

Define Anthropocene

• The current age of dominant human impact.

• Rapid biodiversity loss, planetary boundaries (nitrogen) now exceeded

Define Ecosystem Services

• The free material and environmental benefits nature provides to humans

• Food production, flood regulations, Pollination & Essential for human well-being

Define One Health

• Connecting human, animal, environmental health together

• Health of people, wildfire, ecosystems are interlinked, disease dynamics (ex. west nile) show this

Define Mutualism and Example

• Both species help & benefit each other

• Ex.The Nut cracker gets seeds for food, while the pine gets help spreading its seeds

Define Co-adaptation and Example

• Species develop traits that help them work well together

• Ex. Nutcracker has a strong bill to open pine cones, while the pine cone’s make seeds accessible

Define Tropic ripple and Example

• A change in one species can effect other species in the food web

• Ex. Fewer pine seeds means less food for grizzly bear, which increases bear and human conflicts

Define Cascading Threats and Example

• A problem effecting one species can spread through the ecosystem

• Ex. Climate warming beetles & disease hurt white bark pine which effects nutcracker, bears & human

What lichen actually is

• 2 organisms partnerships

What are the 2 organisms partnership involved in the lichen

• Nycobiont: Fungal partner, builds the visible body & structure

• Photobiont: Algae or cyanobacteria, conducts photosynthesis, providing carbon to the fungus

• It’s mutualism

Define Pikilohydric

• Ogranisms can’t regulate internal water & match water levels to the humidity around them

How lichens gain & loss water

• When dry they turn grey → no photosynthesis

• When moisture (rain) turns green in minutes→ photosynthesis resumes

• Allows lichen to survive drying our & act as natural “sponges” on surface

Why lichens matter ecologically

• Biodiversity: Contribute measurable biomass despite slow growth & support micro fauna (tiny species)

• Food & Habitat: Nesting material for birds & diet for Caribou’s & Invertebrates

• Storm Water retention: Absorb water - body mass, reducing runoff & flood peaks

How does Lichens relate to air quality

• Regions with high lichens species richness show lower lung cancer mortality

• Low lichen species richness correlates with higher lung cancer mortality

What’s the 4 steps for identifying lichens

1. Growth form: Crustose, Foliose, or fruticose

2. Substrate: Tree bark, rock, metal

3. Structures: Apothecia, Soralia, Cilia, Thallus texture

4. Field guide observation: Match observation to guide pictures

Describe the Lichen growth form of Crustose

• No lower cortex

• Tightly on surface hard to remove

Describe the Lichen growth form of Foliose

• Distinct lower + upper cortex

• Leaf like lobes

• Can be lifted

Describe the Lichen growth form of Fruticose

• Tubular cortex

• Often Hallow

• Stalk like

What are the sexual reproductive structure for Lichen

• Apothecia (Spore: Sexual propague, promoted genetic diversity

Define Apotheica reproductive structure of Lichen

• Disc or cup shaped body shape, release spores that require pre-existing photobiont on the substrate to form a new lichen

What are the asexual reproductive structure for Lichen

• Soratia (Asexual propagule, by pass need for free living)

Define Soratia reproductive structure of Lichen

• Powdery patches containing Soratia (bundles of fungal hyphen wrapped around algal cells)

• Disperses asexually needing only surface to land on

What are the non reproductive structure for Lichen

• Cilia

Define Cilia reproductive structure of Lichen

• Hair like marginal Structure

What are the 8 Campus species

Orange - yellow group:

• Xanthoriaparientina; apothecia only

• Xanthomendozafallax; Apothecia + Soralia

• Candelaria Concolor; Soralia

Larger Lichens:

• Flavorparmelicaperata; Greenish-yellow wrinkled surface

• Parmeliasulcala; Greyer, Smoother, Soredita

Small grey physic (hand lens needed):

• Physciaascendente; Cilia (only one)

• Physciaadscendends & physciamilegrina; no cilia, varied Soralia

What are 2 kinds of factors

• Abiotic (non living): temperature, moisture, disturbance, toxins, nutrients

• Biotic (living): plants & animals, Decomposition & Soil bacteria

• Both can be indirect and direct

What are indirect and direct examples of abiotic factors

• Direct example: Sun gives plants energy for photosynthesis

• Indirect example: The same sun warms the air & dries our water

What are indirect and direct examples of biotic factors

• Direct example: Beaver builds a dam

• Indirect example: Trees soak up the soul water

• Biotic factors often work by changing abiotic ones

What are the 2 types of Abiotic factors

• Resources: Can be used up (water & nutrients)

• Conditions: Can’t be used up (Temperature & pH)

Example of how does Rock influences soil

• Grantic rock (Canadian Shield): Acidic (lower pH)

• Limestone rock (Niagara Esearment): Basic (higher pH)

Where can the pink lady’s slipper be found

• likes acidic soils → Canadian shield area (Northern Ontario)

What are the 2 warnings when predicting where a species lives based on just one environmental factor (like soil)

1. Correlation isn’t causation

2. The match isn’t prefect

Define Correlation Isn’t Causation using Pink Lady Example

• Just because the pink lady & acidic soils are found in the same place (Correlation)

• Doesn’t mean the soil acidity is the only reason the plant grows there (Causation)

Define The Match Isn’t Prefect using pink lady example

• You can’t rely 100% on a soil map to find this flower

What are the 3 zones in the ecological response to environmental diagram

• Zone of Intolerance: The organisms can’t survive

• Zone of Stress: The organisms survives but poorly

• Optimal: At it’s best performance

Examples of how different species differ a lot in their optimum & range of tolerance

• Arctic Tundra Plants: must handle long cold winters

• Tropical Forests need warm, wet conditions

Define Genotype

• The gene it has

Define Phenotype

• How those genes actually show in real life

What are organisms in good condition able to do

• Grow faster have more babies & reach their genetic potential

Define the principle of limiting factor

• A process is controlled by the one resource in the shortest link (as strong as your weakest solider)

True or False: Two places can have the same average temperature but different swings

• True

Define “swing”

• The difference between a high and low temperature over a given time period (Variance)

What are some strategies when coping with harsh conditions

• Avoid: get out of the way (mitigating like birds flying south)

• Tolerate: Change your body so you can handle it

• Specialize: Live in harsh niches where others can’t (Extremophiles bacteria like heat)

How do wood frogs survive the winter and being frozen

• Antifreeze

• Its a type of portent that protects their cells → tolerance

True or False: Plants are primary producers and autotrophs (self feeding)

• True

True or False: Animals are heterotrophs (“eat others” & depend on plants)

• True

Define Biomass

• Structure mass per area

How can Biomass be measured

• Energy (joules/m3)

• Dry organic matter (g/m2)

• Mass of carbon (C/m2)

Define productivity

• How fast its being made

Define standing corps

• The living bodies

Define Primary Productivity (“function”) & Example

• The rate of biomass production per area per time

• (g of Carbon/m2/day)

• Sunlight is the energy base of life on earth

Define Gross Primary Production (GPP)

• The total energy fixed by photosynthesis

Define Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

• What’s left over growth, reproduction & feeding other organisms

Define Respiration

• Is the energy plants use for themselves (growing roots)

Formula to find NPP

• NPP = GPP - Respiration

Define Human Appropriation Of NPP (HANPP)

• The % of NPP that humans use for economic purposes

• Around 20% of NPP is lost through harvest, land-use change & fire

What are factors limiting NPP on land

• Co2

• Solar Radiation

• Water

• Nutrients (Sometimes)

Define the relationship between terrestrial NPP & Temperature

• On land, NPP is the highest in the tropics (warm & wet)

• Lower in cooler temperature areas

Define the relationship between terrestrial NPP & Seasonality

• NPP changes with the season

• It surges in each hemisphere’s summer, making a global “greenware”

Define the relationship between terrestrial NPP & CO2

• Co2 is rarely the main limit because it’s well mixed in the air

• Rising Co2 has had a “fertilizer” effect but doesn’t explain differences between places

Define the relationship between terrestrial NPP & Solar Radiation

• Light varies systematically (daily, yearly by location) & non-systematically

• It sets the upper limit on photosynthesis

Define the relationship between terrestrial NPP & Water

• Plants need water, water controls how much they can photosynthesis

Define Plants challenge

• Photosynthesis needs Co2, which comes in through stomata but open stomata lose water

Whats a stomata

• Tiny leaf holes

Define Liebigs law of the minimum

• Growth is limited by the nutrient in the shortest supply

What is the primary limiting nutrient for plant growth (NPP) in Boreal forests and northern ecosystems

• Nitrogen

What nutrient typically limits NPP in tropical ecosystems?

• Phosphorus

Define C3 plants in terms of How common, Efficiency, Stomata, Best Conditions, Examples

• How common: Most plants

• Efficiency: Very productive but wastes water

• Stomata: Open a lot

• Best Conditions: Max photosynthesis at a low light

• Examples: Rice, Wheat, Trees

Define C4 plants in terms of How common, Efficiency, Stomata, Best Conditions, Examples

• How common: Relatively Rare

• Efficiency: More efficient with Co2 and water

• Stomata: Don’t need to be open as much

• Best Conditions: How & dry conditions (not low light)

• Examples: Corn, sugar cane, some prairie grass

Define CAM plants in terms of How common, Efficiency, Stomata, Best Conditions, Examples

• How common: Mainly desert plants

• Efficiency: Even more Water efficient

• Stomata: Open at night

• Best Conditions: Deserts

• Examples: Cactus

Define Habitat

• The place or setting where an organism survives & grows (forest, steam, desert, lake)

Define Joseph Grinnwell niche

• All sites where a species can live

• About Abiotic factors

Define Charles Elton niche

• The function the species does in its community (predator or pollinator)

• About Biotic factors

Define George Hutchinson idea

• A niche is a region in a multidimensional space of all the environmental factors that affect the species welfare

Define Fundamental niche

• Conditions & resources that let a species live, grow, reproduce in isolation

Define Realized niche

• The conditions & resources it can use in the presence of other species (competitors & predators)

Define Terrestrial biomes

• A biome groups similar ecosystem by physiognomy (appearance) based on conditions & resources

• Water & temperature are critical for plants

What are Ontario’s global parallels that it has

• Tundra (A cold desert)

• Boreal forest

• Grasslands

• Temperature forest

Does Ontario “fit” the biome chart

• Ontario’s mean annual precipitation is about 47-125 cm

• Mean annual temp is -6 to 10 Celsius

• Ontario’s ecosystem land in tundra, grasslands, forest zones the chart

Define Savannah

• A biome with grass & scattered trees

• Ex. Australia

Explain Anthropogenic Biomes

• More than 75% of ice-free land has been altered by humans

• About 55% is still considered low impact

• Any Biome with lots of people has human-made habitats in it (cities, farms, industry)

Define “La Praire”

• Meadow/Grassland

What are natural grasslands

• Tallgrass Praire, Meadow, Savanna

Describe Ontario and it’s prairie scene

• Isn’t a prairie province but still as some of the richest tall grass prairie and Oak savanna in north America

• < 2% of Ontario’s original praises remains

• Ontario’s praise has rich soul & mostly corn field

Difference between Tallgrass, shortgrass, and Mixed-grass

• Tallgrass: deep roots, more rain

• Shortgrass: shallower roots drier

• Mixed-grass: in between the 2