Ecology 2023

Animal Behavior and Ecology Unit Overview

1. Animal Behavior

  • Components: Fixed action patterns, migrations, behavioral rhythms, communication, learning.

  • Example: Wildebeest Migration in Africa.

2. Types of Animal Behavior

Fixed Action Patterns (FAPs)

  • Developmentally fixed, unlearned behaviors common to all species members.

  • Triggered by a sign stimulus.

  • Ensures critical survival-related activities are performed correctly.

Kinesis and Taxis

  • Kinesis: General change in movement rate in response to a stimulus.

  • Taxis: Directed movement towards (+) or away (-) from a stimulus (e.g., phototaxis).

Learning

  • Definition: Modifications in behavior based on experience.

  • Social Learning: Changes in behavior through observation and imitation (e.g., Vervet monkey alarm call).

3. Learning Types

  • Habituation: Decrease in response to non-significant stimuli.

  • Imprinting: Learning linked with innate components during a sensitive period (e.g., greylag geese).

  • Associative Learning: Associating a stimulus with another (e.g., Pavlov's dogs, operant conditioning).

4. Territorial Behavior

  • Definition: Space and resource control; involves marking and defending territories.

  • Patterns of Dispersal: Clumped (resource-based), Uniform (aggression), Random (rare).

5. Ecology Overview

  • Definition: Study of interactions between organisms and the environment.

  • Involves biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors.

6. Levels of Organization in Ecology

  • Hierarchy: Organisms > Population > Community > Ecosystem > Biosphere.

7. Biomes

  • Types include coniferous forests, tundra, deserts, grasslands, etc.

8. Population Ecology

  • Dynamics involve births, deaths, immigration, and emigration.

  • Key concepts: Life tables, survivorship curves, demographics.

9. Population Growth Patterns

  • Zero Population Growth: Births = Deaths.

  • Exponential Growth: Rapid increase under ideal conditions.

  • Logistic Growth: Incorporates carrying capacity (K).

10. Community Ecology

  • Interactions: Interspecific competition, predation, symbiosis.

  • Niche Concept: Fundamental vs. Realized niches.

11. Predation and Symbiosis

  • Predation: One species benefits at the other's expense.

  • Symbiosis Types: Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism.

12. Community Structure and Disturbances

  • Structure: Influenced by species diversity and abundance.

  • Disturbances: Impact community composition (e.g., fire, flood).

  • Ecological Succession: Changes over time after a disturbance.

13. Ecosystem Ecology

  • Definition: Sum of all organisms + abiotic factors.

  • Involves energy flow and chemical cycling.

14. Trophic Structures and Energy Flow

  • Trophic Levels: Feeding relationships and energy transfer.

  • Food Chains and Webs: Complex energy paths in ecosystems.

15. Primary Production

  • Gross Primary Production (GPP): Total light energy transformed into chemical energy.

  • Net Primary Production (NPP): Chemical energy left for consumers (NPP = GPP - R).

16. Biogeochemical Cycles

  • Cycles involve both biotic and abiotic components, including water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.

17. Human Impact on Ecology

  • Threats to Biodiversity: Habitat loss, invasive species, overharvesting.

  • Acid Precipitation: Harmful effects on ecosystems from industrial emissions.

  • Biological Magnification: Increasing concentration of toxins in food webs.

  • Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change: Rising CO2 levels and implications on global temperatures.

  • Ozone Layer Depletion: Impact of human activities on UV protection.