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Bio 94 Midterm 4 Flashcards

1
Q

What is ecology?

A

The study of how organisms and the environment interact

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2
Q

What are the 5 levels of ecology?

A
  1. organisms
  2. populations
  3. communities
  4. ecosystems
  5. the globe
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3
Q

What is Organismal Ecology?

A

studies morphological, physiological, and behavioral ADAPTATIONS

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4
Q

What are Adaptations?

A

heritable traits that increase an individual’s fitness

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5
Q

What is Population Ecology?

A

studies number and distribution of individuals & pop. change over time

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6
Q

What is a Population?

A

a group of individuals of the same species, same area, same time

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7
Q

What is Community Ecology?

A

“food webs”/ interactions between species
eg. predation, parasitism, competition, natural disaster responses

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8
Q

What is Ecosystem Ecology?

A

studies ALL organisms and abiotic factors
eg. nutrient or energy pathways

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9
Q

What is Global Ecology?

A

studies everything encompassed by the biosphere, focusing on the effects of human impacts on the biosphere

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10
Q

What is a Niche?

A

the range of conditions a species can tolerate and resources it can use; product of abiotic & biotic factors

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11
Q

What are Fitness Trade-offs?

A

-evolutionary compromises between traits that cannot be optimized simultaneously
–> limits environmental conditions in which a species lives
eg. rocket commuter

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12
Q

What is Dispersal?

A

an organism’s movement from place of origin to the location where it lives and breeds as an adult

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13
Q

What is Weather?

A

short-term atmospheric conditions

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14
Q

What is Climate?

A

long-term weather conditions

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15
Q

Why are the tropics are warm and the poles are cold?

A

-angle of incidence of the sun
(tropics more concentrated, poles same amount of E over a larger distance–> weaker per sq ft)

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16
Q

What is the cause of the seasons?

A

the tilt of the Earth (southern hemisphere vs. northern hemisphere)

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17
Q

What is a Hadley Cell?

A

-air warms up at equator, rises, replaced by sunken cool air, forms a convection current

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18
Q

What area receives the most moisture?

A

the equator

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19
Q

What areas are the driest?

A

30° N/S latitude

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20
Q

What is the Coriolis effect?

A

the Earth’s rotation causes wind and ocean currents to deflect in a spiral pattern
eg. Westerlies & Northeast trade winds

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21
Q

Which direction does the Northern Hemisphere’s air and water currents flow?

A

CLOCKWISE; leftward deflection

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22
Q

Which direction does the Southern Hemisphere’s air and water currents flow?

A

counterclockwise; rightward deflection

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23
Q

What is a Rain Shadow?

A

when moist air blows up from a mountain range, cools and produces rain; cool, dry air passes over –> desert

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24
Q

How does a Rain Shadow affect climate?

A

can modify climate patterns

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25
How do Oceans modify climate?
moderating effect due to high specific heat 1. absorb summer heat, release winter 2. coastal areas--> moderate climate 3. gyres (circulate warm & cool water)
26
What are biomes?
regions characterized by distinct abiotic characteristics and dominant vegetation types; determined by precipitation and temp.
27
NPP stands for
Net Primary Productivity: total biomass (organic matter available)
28
Arctic tundra
low precipitation, low temps.
29
Boreal forest
low precipitation, low temps.; presence of trees
30
Temperate forest
mid precipitation, higher temps.; presence of trees
31
Temperate grassland
mid precipitation, higher temps.
32
Desert and dry shrubland
low precipitation, high temps.
33
Tropical wet rainforest
high precipitation, constant temps., presence of trees
34
What are simulation studies?
computer models
35
What are observational studies?
long-term monitoring
36
What are historical studies?
historical events
37
Experiments
simulate changed climate conditions and record organisms' responses
38
Tipping Points
cause abrupt changes in biomes eg. Amazon rainforest--> grassland (feedback loops--> stability--> effect on biodiversity) -Very dangerous OR very good
39
Abiotic factors (aquatic biomes)
1. Salinity 2. Water depth (light) 3. Water flow 4. Nutrient availability
40
Coastal runoff
streams into estuaries into oceans; carry nutrients
41
Ocean upwelling
Coriolis forces (wind blows, surface water moves, filled by nutrient dense "under" water)
42
Lake turnover
seasonal mixing events caused by temperature gradients THERMOCLINE (winter-colder surface, summer- warmer surface)
43
Intertidal zone
submerged @ high tide, exposed @ low tide (extreme environment)
44
Neritic zone
continental shelf (coral reefs)- nutrient dense w/ sunlight
45
Oceanic zone
"open ocean" (deep water); nutrient scare, sunlight available
46
Benthic zone
bottom of the ocean (nutrient sink)
47
Photic zone
regions that are sunlit
48
Aphotic zone
areas that do not receive sunlight
49
Littoral zone
lake "seashore"; plants can rooT
50
Limnetic zone
lake, sunlight, too deep for plants to root
51
What is behavioral ecology?
under organismal, studies behavioral adaptations
52
Proximate causation
aka mechanistic HOW ACTIONS OCCUR
53
Ultimate causation
aka evolutionary, WHY ACTIONS OCCUR
54
Optimal foraging
choosing what, how and when to eat (usually to avoid competition)
55
Evolutionary Game Theory
behavioral strat of one player depends on how it perceives the behavior of others (in relation to others)
56
promiscuity
each individual has multiple mates
57
Intersexual selection
between sexes eg. peacocks
58
Intrasexual selection
within a sex eg. rams
59
Deceit
only works when it is relatively rare
60
Altruism
a behavior where survival or reproduction is sacrificed for another’s gene to succeed
61
Hamilton’s Rule
Br>C if the benefit > cost then likely to engage in behavior (r=coefficient of relatedness) more related—> more likely to benefit “your” genes
62
Inclusive fitness
both direct and indirect fitness
63
Direct fitness
from an individual’s own offspring
64
Indirect fitness
derived from helping relatives; not your genes, but from your gene pool
65
Kin selection
natural selection that acts through benefitting your relatives —> indirect fitness
66
Reciprocal altruism
“down payment” an exchange of fitness benefits separated in time
67
Mutualism
cooperations between individual of different species
68
metapopulation
populations of populations connected by migration
69
what adds to a population?
births and immigration
70
what subtracts from a population?
deaths and emigration
71
age structure
number of individuals of each age; lots of young—> grow; lots of old—> decline
72
Life table
probability that an individual will survive and reproduce at any given time
73
fecundity
number of female offspring produced by each female in the pop.
74
Type I curve
——| | eg. humans
75
Type II curve
\ \ \ eg. song birds (steady survivorship)
76
Type III curve
\ \ ———- eg. insects, plants mortality early on, high survivorship once established
77
r (population growth)
births—deaths
78
When can exponential population growth occur?
when r does not change
79
When does a population size stop changing?
1) deltaN=0 (doesn’t exist) 2) b=d (r=0) inviable 3) when k=N (@ carrying capacity)
80
Discrete pop. growth equation
N(total)= N(0)r^t
81
Continuous pop. growth equation
N(total)= N(0)e^rt
82
exponential growth is density independent
population size does not limit growth rate
83
When does exponential growth occur in nature?
1) colonization of a new habitat 2) recovery after a disaster
84
Why do some populations crash?
overshoot (go over k), can degrade the environment
85
Competition
use the same resources (-/-)
86
consumption
(+/-)
87
Commensalism
one species benefits, but the other is unaffected (+/0) eg. epiphytic orchids
88
Mutualism
mutual benefit (+/+)
89
amenalism
(-/0) eg. stepping on a bug, OR tree shading grasses (blocks sun)
90
Intraspecific competition
within a species
91
Interspecific competition
between diff. species
92
Niche overlap
—> competition, fundamental niche—> realized niche
93
Compete niche
stronger competitor drives other to extinction
94
Competitive exclusion principle
better competitor wins
95
fundamental niche
theoretical range of conditions a species can tolerate
96
realized niche
portion of fundamental niche the species actually occupies (what actually occurs)
97
Niche differentiation—> character displacement
natural selection favoring one part of the niche—> can evolve to avoid competition of resources
98
Types of consumption
1) Predation 2) Herbivory 3) Parasitism (endo, ecto, parasitic- free living as an adult, but lay eggs/larvae in host)
99
succession
recovery after a severe disturbance
100
Primary succession
grow back with nothing
101
Secondary succession
some organic material left over
102
What determines succession?
1) Dispersal (which species arrive first?) 2) Pioneering (which species thrive in disturbed/no soils?) 3) Community development (What happens to the composition as time passes?)
103
Facilitation
occurs when early-arriving species make conditions favorable for later species
104
4 nutrient cycles
water, phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon
105
GPP
gross primary productivity; total chemical energy produced in a certain area
106
NPP in deserts v coral reefs
low high
107
NPP tropical wet forests (rain forests)
incredibly productive, modest amount of Earth’s surface
108
NPP open ocean
low productivity, but occupy the majority of earth’s surface; largest share of NPP
109
grazing food chain
primary consumers and those that eat primary consumers (herbivores—> predators)
110
decomposer food chain
decomposer that feed on plant detritus
111
Energy through trophich levels
decreases 90% (used for life of organism); only 10% transferred
112
water table
upper limit of the underground layer of soil saturated with stores water
113
nitrogen cycle is affected by
eutrophication (over fertilization)—> algae blooms and “dead zones”
114
What is the major reservoir of nitrogen?
aquatic organisms and terrestrial
115
Major reservoir of water
ocean
116
major reservoir of carbon
ocean
117
Fossil fuels are?
1) energy dense 2) easily burned to produce energy 3) accessible 4) CO2 waste product
118
How to measure diversity?
1) Species diversity (richness/evenness) 2) Phylogenetic Diversity (across the tree of life) 3) Functional Diversity (roles eg. primary producer, decomposer, etc.)
119
How does diversity affect NPP?
increased diversity, increases NPP
120
How does species richness positively impact NPP?
1) increases resource use efficiency 2) facilitation 3) change inclusion of high-productivity species (increases chance to find highly successful organisms)
121
Horizontal diversity
number of species in each trophic level
122
Vertical diversity
number of trophic levels
123
Diversity increases
resistance AND resilience (how much resist getting knocked down) (how quickly can return)
124
Ecosystem Services
1) Provisional (food, medicines) 2) Regulating services 3) Cultural services 4) Supporting services
125
Major Threats to Biodiversity
1) Habitat Destruction 2) Overexploitation 3) Invasive species/Disease 4) Pollution 5) Climate Change
126
Conservation Strategies
1) Education campaigns 2) Ex situ conservation (captive breeding) 3) Genetic restoration (intro. gene flow) 4) Wildlife corridors (tunnels/bridges) 5) Seed bankers 6) Designating effective protected areas (national parks) 7) management plans for invasive species 8) Ecosystem restoration 9) Management plans for threatened species 10) Quantifying ecosystem services (tourism)

Biology (3 decks)

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