Studied by 139 peopleIn the absence of disturbance, does succession increase horizontal complexity, vertical complexity or both?
Vertical Complexity
What ecosystem characteristics increase in an ecosystem with time?
Horizontal Complexity Resistance Shade Tolerant Trees Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Biodiversity Resilience Vertical Complexity
A one square-mile landscape that includes contains only grasses will have more horizontal complexity than a one square-mile landscape that includes early successional trees like red alder, but nothing else. True or false?
False
Do you think the current populations of early-successional trees like red alder and willows are higher or lower than they were pre-eruption in the on MSH? Why?
Higher
More young forest than there was in the past because the regenerating forest may not yet have reached climax community
Why is water unlikely to to be the thing that limits plant growth in the pumice plain?
a) The pumice that makes up the soil is dense and holds onto water well
b)Plants get their water from the air, not through the soil
c)The region receives a lot of rain since it is in the temperate rainforest biome
C
Which nutrient do you think is most likely preventing the establishment of more plants like Fireweed and Pearly Everlasting?
N, nitrogen
Which of these is not a component of the Mount St. Helens pre-eruption biological community?
a) The nitrogen content of the soil
b)The black bears that hibernate in large, hollow logs
c) The woodpeckers (birds) that eat the pine seeds from the alpine trees
d) The pocket gophers that burrowed underground mixing soil layers and adding a diversity of habitats for amphibians
e) The decay fungi that break down and decompose fallen trees
a
what is the relationship between seeds produced per parent (fecundity) and per capita seedling survivorship?
Negative linear slope
This last year wildlife biologists in Kenya have observed a new trait in gazelle. Some gazelle are being born with extra long legs which allows them to run fast enough to avoid all predation and survive up to 20 years (gazelle lifespan is usually between 12 and 15 years). However, the offspring of these long-legged gazelle are sterile and are unable to pass on their genes. As a result, this long-legged mutation ______________ the fitness of long-legged individuals.
Decreases
A plant that lives in a very dry place where suitable conditions for germination happen infrequently would most likely have evolved to have a _________ seed coat and a ___________ cotyledon.
thick : large
Which of these statements are TRUE regarding the Mount St Helens landscape following the eruption of 1980? [Select all that apply]
a) The pumice plain is a small portion of the affected landscape.
b) In all affected areas, no organisms above ground survived the blast.
c) The southern slopes of Mount St. Helens were impacted very little by the eruption.
d) The pumice plain was devoid of life immediately following the eruption.
e) The tephra deposited by the volcano is nutrient rich.
a, c, d
The plants that will be able to reach the interior of the pumice plain first are likely to be seeds with __________ cotyledons and have __________ dispersed seeds.
small : wind
Evolutionary tradeoffs explain why _______________.
large-seeded plants produce relatively few seeds
Which species will likely be the last to reach the interior of the pumice plain?
a) Cedar Trees b) Warblers (songbird) c) Chipmunks d) Elk e) Painted Lady Butterfly
a
Which of these are examples of proteins? [Select all that apply]
a) nitrate (NO3) found in soils which is absorbed by plats through their roots
b) helicase that is an enzyme that unwinds DNA and prepares it for DNA replication
c) digestive enzymes like amylase that breakdown food into absorbable forms
d) starch, which acts as a sugar storage molecule made of lots of glucose molecules (C6H12O6) bound together
e) muscle fibers that contract when stimulated
b, c, e
Peptide bonds connecting amino acids in primary protein structure are ___________.
polar covalent bonds between C and N where electrons are shared between C and N
What is the charge of the central P atom?
partial positive
A hydrogen bond is likely to form between which 2 atoms if this molecule were dissolved in water (H2O)?
The O of water and one of the H's in phosphoric acid
and
An H of water and one of the O's in an OH group on phosphoric acid
If all of the hydrogen bonds in a protein were broken, which levels of protein structure would be altered?
Secondary structure Tertiary structure Quaternary structure
If 2 atoms share electrons in a covalent bond and their electronegativity difference is 0.3, what does that mean?
They do not share electrons evenly, but it's close enough that we consider the bond to be non-polar
Are carnivorous plants autotrophs or heterotrophs?
autotrophs
How would we define competition as a species interaction
(-/-)
Do you believe altruism exists in nature?
no
The Chinese team of astronauts that landed on the moon a few years ago brought back moon samples that included a protein that contained a new amino acid! The amino acid binds to the H of tyrosine via an H-bond when it is in a tertiary folded protein. Which of the following things must be true of this new amino acid?
a) It is not important to the tertiary folding of the protein
b)It has a region of the R-group that has a partial negative charge
c) It is short one electron, giving it a -1 charge
d) It bonds via iconic bonds
e) It has a nonpolar R group
b
Which species interactions represent (+,-) interactions between species taking the order of those designations into considerations
Herbivory Predation Parasitism
Which of these is NOT a place where primary succession will take place
a) A newly cooled lava field on The Big Island of Hawaii
b) The granite outcrop on top of Yonah Mountain in Georgia
c) Rock wall in a pasture in England
d)The old Toys R Us parking lot
e)Mount St. Helens pumice plain
e
Which of these does interactions represents the clearest example of a symbiotic interactions between species (look back at the definition)?
a) Prairie Dog families have lookouts while they are foraging above ground who will alert other members when a hawk or other predator is nearby. This alert exposes the lookout to increased predation, but saves the rest of its family. [Prairie dog scouts and foragers]
b)Dolphins corralling a school of fish are joined by a group of sea lions. Both organisms help to keep the school of fish contained to make feeding easier for both predators. [Dolphins and sea lions]
c)Mistletoe is a plant who sends root-like structures into the bark of a host tree like an oak in order to intercept and absorb the sugars and nutrients from its host. [Mistletoe and Oak trees]
d)A field full of sun-loving (shade-intolerant) blackberries whose stems are covered in sharp thorns, prevents deer from crossing the field. In the middle of the field, cedar waxwing birds land and leave hawthorn tree seeds in their droppings. Deer usually love to eat hawthorn tree seedlings, but can't get to them in the middle of the field because of the blackberries. The hawthorns will eventually form a thick canopy that shades the ground below them, preventing blackberries from growing. [Blackberries and Hawthorns]
e)Wild boars use their tusks to dig in the dirt for tubers and roots and nuts in the ground. This overturned soil provides an ideal place for the seeds of early successional trees like alders to grow. [Boars and Alders]
c
Which of these does interactions represents the clearest example of facilitation?
a) Prairie Dog families have lookouts while they are foraging above ground who will alert other members when a hawk or other predator is nearby. This alert exposes the lookout to increased predation, but saves the rest of its family. [Prairie dog scouts and foragers]
b)Dolphins corralling a school of fish are joined by a group of sea lions. Both organisms help to keep the school of fish contained to make feeding easier for both predators. [Dolphins and sea lions]
c)Mistletoe is a plant who sends root-like structures into the bark of a host tree like an oak in order to intercept and absorb the sugars and nutrients from its host. [Mistletoe and Oak trees]
d)A field full of sun-loving (shade-intolerant) blackberries whose stems are covered in sharp thorns, prevents deer from crossing the field. In the middle of the field, cedar waxwing birds land and leave hawthorn tree seeds in their droppings. Deer usually love to eat hawthorn tree seedlings, but can't get to them in the middle of the field because of the blackberries. The hawthorns will eventually form a thick canopy that shades the ground below them, preventing blackberries from growing. [Blackberries and Hawthorns]
e)Wild boars use their tusks to dig in the dirt for tubers and roots and nuts in the ground. This overturned soil provides an ideal place for the seeds of early successional trees like alders to grow. [Boars and Alders]
d
On the south side of Mount St. Helens (the unaffected side), white-tailed deer and elk are both limited by the same food resources (grass forage). This means that they exhibit a ________type of interaction.
, -
This pitcher plant provides a cup of nectar that these small marsupials like to drink from as they perch on the "pitcher". As they sit and have a drink, they also tend to defecate into the pitcher. This gives the pitcher the Nitrogen and other nutrients that it lacks in its environment. (This is true and it is one of the weirdest things I've ever run across.) Could this species interaction be defined as altruism?
No
Which of these statements is FALSE regarding succession?
a) Soil depth and the amount of carbon stored in the soil increases as succession proceeds
b) Shade-tolerant trees are generally the last plant species to arrive at a site undergoing succession
c) Primary succession will happen on a peanut field after it has been tilled (turned over)
d) Succession is driven by facilitation
c
Which characteristics increase as time goes on in an ecosystem? [Select all that apply]
Vertical complexity Horizontal complexity Biodiversity Shade-tolerant trees Soil carbon and nitrogen
Carrie has been spending more time than she should trying to start a vegetable garden and she has planted a bunch of basil in planters outside on her porch. The basil grew to be about 5 inches tall with a single set of leaves and then stopped growing. Thinking "I have a PhD in plants, I can figure this out", she did a soil test and found no free N for the plants to take up. "They are nitrogen starved!" She then added a good amount of nitrogen to the soil, fully expecting the plants to shoot up so that there could be pesto in the near future. But the plants grew a tiny bit but then didn't grow any taller or put on any more leaves. A second soil test showed plenty of available N in the soil. Based on Liebig's Law of the Minimum, what is the most likely explanation for this?
The basil had enough N, but needed a different nutrient instead
A researcher at Mt.St. Helens has been surveying communities around the base of the mountain this year. What is the Simpson's biodiversity index of the community pictured above using the data table below?
Between 0.6 and 0.8
Maple syrup is made from the sap of sugar maple trees. In Vermont, syrup producers tend their maple forests, called sugarbushes. One of these farmers, Mr. Bennington, noticed his trees hadn't produced any syrup last spring, so he set out to improve his crop by fertilizing the forest with Calcium. This year, the northern part of his sugarbush has been producing syrup, but the southern part still hasn't. Based on these results and Liebig's Law of the Minimum, which statements MUST be true
The southern forest is not Ca-limited
The northern forest is no longer Ca-limited
What are CO2 concentrations around the globe a result of?
biochemical processes such as photosynthesis and respiration
Are species a good way of defining organisms?
NO
How can we tell that 2 species are the same?
They can produce offspring together (biological species context), their looks, genetics(DNA)
What is a population?
all of the individuals of a single species that interact
at which level of an ecosystem does evolution act
population
define community
all of the populations of LIVING things that interact in a place
do communities include non-living factors?
no
define an ecosystem
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment (abiotic and biotic)
What are some abiotic factors that can define an ecosystem?
climate- averages and seasonality (variability)
geology- bedrock, water, soils, topography
disturbance- natural and human (can include diseases) and their scale/frequency
a few others are elevation, CNP concentrations, sunlight level
what are some biotic factors of an ecosystem?
biodiversity species interactions types of vegetation (BIOMES) presence of invasive/keystone species
Do ecosystems have a defined size? why does this matter?
no, therefore you cannot define ecosystems by size. there are no boundaries.
what is the biome of mt st helens
temperate rainforest biome (very humid and wet but not as hot)
what happens as you go up in elevation?
oxygen and pressure changes temperature drops precipitation increases
does diversity increase or decrease with elevation?
increasing elevation compresses diversity much smaller than moving latitude
does mt st helens have frequent disturbances?
no, there are infrequent fires and very infrequent volcanic events
what was the soil like in mt st helens before the eruption?
it was very rich and had lots of available nutrients for plant growth
what kind of forest was mt st helens
an old growth forest, it had never been logged
was mt st helens a homogeneous ecosystem?
no because of the changes in elevation
how did mt st helens erupt (out of the top, side, bottom?)
it was a lateral explosion and came out of the side instead of the top
describe the southern slopes of mt st helens following the blast
almost identical to before the eruption because of the lateral blast
what did the southern slopes serve as for researchers
a baseline to the ecosystem before the eruption
describe the scorch zone after the eruption
furthest from blast
trees with no branches and leaves (defoliation) because of the air from the blast
low level vegetation was still healthy
why was the lower level vegetation of the scorch zone of mt st helens still healthy?
most likely because of a lot of snow insulating the plants
describe the debris avalanche post eruption
river beds where meltwater washed tree branches, etc down
a lot of sediment
describe the pyroclastic flow/pumice plain after the eruption
most heavily impacted
closest to impact
no life left after eruption
feet of volcanic ash
what area of mt st helens was most heavily impacted
the pumice plain
describe the blow down zone post eruption
trees are all fallen over (closer proximity than scorch zone)
not as much vegetation could survive but some did
describe spirit lake post eruption
flooded with muddy ash water and floating logs
changed water chemistry and amount of light available for organisms in the water
What is tephra?
rock fragments and particles ejected by a volcanic eruption.
was there nutrients or life in the pumice plain post eruption?
there was very little nutrients but no life
what does it mean for an organism to be the first to be reestablished?
they were the first organism able to survive in the environment
why do plants come first to MSH after the eruption?
seeds are able to be dispursed by wind
define dispersal
how seeds/spores are spread from the parent plant
why do plants spend energy to disperse seeds?
because then offspring will no longer be able to compete with the parent for resources
name 6 ways seeds are dispersed
wind animal poop water natural disasters gravity ballistic dispersal
how are seeds dispersed through the wind
wind disperses seeds randomly and can take them very long distances
is animal feces random dispersal?
no
how does water disperse seeds
either in splashes or long distances
how does gravity disperse seeds?
seeds roll downhill
what is ballistic dispersal
seeds are dispersed by plants that when touched explode with seeds
what is a seed coat
the protective outer coat of a seed that can impact dispersal
why is a thick seed coat beneficial
it protects from predators
why is a thin seed coat beneficial
its lightweight and takes less energy to make
what is a seed cotyledon
a seed lead that serves as food storage as fats and oils (like peanuts), describes the size of the seed
5 Pros of Large Cotyledon
seeds can delay germination because of excess stored energy
able to store more energy
more likely to survive
can grow quickly to overtop competitors
cant disperse far (can sometimes be an advantage)
2 pros of small cotyledon
takes less energy to disperse, can make many more
longer distance dispersal
define evolutionary tradeoffs
a condition in which an increase in the performance of one trait causes a decrease in the performance of another, given the limited amount of available resource (energy, time, space, etc.)
relationship between per capita survivorship and seed size
positive correlation
per capita means
per individual
per capita survivorship means
the probability of survival for any seed
fitness definition
the ability to pass genes to later generations
what is the relationship between fitness and seed size
they do not affect each other
do all animals migrate at the same rate
no, animals can migrate at different rates
will plants or animals be able to reach the pumice plain first?
animals
what is generally the slowest organism to migrate?
plants
what does the rate of reestablishment depend on and why?
plants because they serve as food
which plant dispersal strategy will make it to the pumice plain first?
wind
which plant size will reach the pumice plain first?
small
which type of seed has the best chance of survival?
large seeds
why do large seeds have the best chance of survival?
they have a lot of stored energy (but short dispersal distances)
what is a lupin?
a member of the pea family that has large seeds in pods and other unique capabilities
what plant was the first to reestablish on MSH
lupin
what allowed lupins to be one of the first plants to reestablish in MSH?
their survival capabilities
where do plants get their carbon?
as CO2 FROM THE AIR
where do plants get their h2o
their roots
Note
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