Ch. 54 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a biological community?

A

biological community:
the assembly of various specie populations living close enough for potential interaction

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2
Q

Give an example of a biological community.

A

the animals and plants that surround a water hole in South Africa are part a savanna community

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3
Q

What are interspecific interactions?

A

relationships between species in a community;
they affect species survival and reproduction

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4
Q

Give some examples of interspecific interactions.

A

competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis (parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism), and disease

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5
Q

What is the competitive exclusion principal?

A

that two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place

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6
Q

What is interspecific competition?

A

when species compete for a resource in short supply; it can be detrimental to both species (–/–)

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7
Q

What is competitive exclusion?

A

the local elimination of competing species;
can occur as a result of strong competition

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8
Q

What is an ecological niche? (aka how does the specie survive?)

A

The total of a species’ use of biotic and abiotic sources

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9
Q

What is a fundamental niche?

A

A place where a species COULD survive

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10
Q

What is a realized niche?

A

A place where a species actually survives/resides

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11
Q

Are fundamental and realized niche always the same?

A

No, because of competition

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12
Q

Can similar species coexist in a community?

A

Yes, if there are one or more significant differences in their niches and with the help of resource partitioning

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13
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A

The differentiation of ecological niches; it enables similar species to coexist in a community

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14
Q

Predation

A

The interaction where one species, the predator, kills and eats the other species, the prey

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15
Q

What adaptations do prey species develop?

A

Defensive adaptions, or behavioral defenses; includes hiding, fleeing, self-defense, and alarm calls

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16
Q

What adaptations do predator species develop?

A

Feeding adaptations; includes claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, and poison

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17
Q

What are the four types of adaptations?

A

Defensive (prey), feeding (predator), morphological (structural), physiological defense (cells or tissues)

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18
Q

What trait do animals with effective chemical defense exhibit?

A

Aposematic coloration - bright warning coloration; makes predators cautious of them as preys

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19
Q

Herbivory

A

An interaction in which an herbivore eats part of a plant or alga; caused evolution of plant mechanical and chemical defenses, and the resulting adaptations by herbivores

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20
Q

Parasitism

A

Where one organism, the parasite, derives nourishment from another organism, the host, which is harmed in the process

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21
Q

Pathogens

A

Disease-causing agents that are typically bacteria, viruses, or protists

22
Q

Mutualism (mutualistic symbiosis)

A

An interspecific interaction that benefits both species

23
Q

Commensalism

A

Where one species benefits and the other is unaffected; not as common in nature

24
Q

What is coevolution?

A

Evolutionary adaptations done in response to two interacting species; little evidence for this in most interspecific interactions

25
Q

Name two fundamental features of a community structure.

A

Species diversity and feeding relationships

26
Q

Species diversity

A

the variety of organisms that make up the community; has two parts - species richness and relative abundance

27
Q

Species richness

A

the total number of different species in the community

28
Q

Relative abundance

A

the proportion each species represents of the total individuals in the community

29
Q

What is a monoculture

A

a community with no species diversity

30
Q

True or False: if two species have the same species richness, they must have the same relative abundance

A

False, they can have different relative abundance

31
Q

Trophic Structure

A

the feeding relationships between organisms in a community; a key factor in community dynamics; link by food chains from producers to top carnivores

32
Q

What are the five levels of a general food chain? (smallest to largest)

A

Primary producers (plant)
primary consumers (herbivore)
secondary consumers (carnivore)
tertiary consumers (carnivore)
quaternary consumers (carnivore)

33
Q

Food webs

A

a branching good chain with complex trophic (feeding) interactions

34
Q

What is the arrow rule?

A

the arrows go the way the energy flows

35
Q

Difference between a food chain and a food web?

A

Food web is the entirety of the energy transfers (through consuming) in a community, but a food chain is usually only a few links of a food web long

36
Q

What is the energetic hypothesis?

A

says that length is limited by inefficient energy transfer

37
Q

What is the dynamic stability hypothesis?

A

says that long food chains are less stable than short ones

38
Q

Is there more data that supports the energetic hypothesis or the dynamic stability hypothesis?

A

the energetic hypothesis

39
Q

Dominant species

A

those that are most abundant or have the highest biomass; they exert powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species; said to be most competitive in exploiting species and most successful at avoiding predators

40
Q

Compare and contrast keystone and dominant species

A

Similarities: both exert strong control on a community
Differences: keystone species are not necessarily abundant in a community like dominant species are

41
Q

_____ influences species diversity and composition.

A

disturbance

42
Q

what is the nonequilibrium model

A

describes communities as constantly changing after being disrupted by disturbances

43
Q

What is disturbance?

A

an event that changes a community, removes organisms from it, and alters resource availability; can often times be necessary
ex: fire

44
Q

Intermediate disturbance hypothesis

A

suggests that moderate levels of disturbance can foster higher diversity than low levels of disturbance

45
Q

Ecological succession

A

the sequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance

46
Q

Where does primary succession occur

A

where no soil exists when succession begins

47
Q

Where does secondary succession occur

A

in an area where soil remains after a disturbance

48
Q

Pioneer species

A

species that are early arrivals to the ecosystem and have remained there for long periods of time

49
Q

Name three ways that pioneer species can affect later-arriving species

A
  • can facilitate appearance of later species by making the environment favorable
  • can inhibit establishment of later species
  • can tolerate later species but have no impact on them
50
Q

Areas with periodic fires are most likely to have what kind of succession?

A

secondary

51
Q

Areas affected by a volcanic eruption are most likely to be have what kind of succession?

A

primary

52
Q

Name 2 key factors correlated with a community’s species diversity

A

geographic location and size