Biosphere/Ecology/Conservation Biology

Question 1

define ecology

Answer 1

The study of organism interactions with others and environment

Question 2

What do biotic and abiotic factors determine in a population?

Answer 2

1. Distribution of species
2. Abundance and diversity of organisms
3. Evolutionary processes
4. Movement of energy and materials in ecosystems
5. Successional development of ecosystems

Question 3

What is a community?

Answer 3

A group of populations in an area

Question 4

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 4

A community of organisms in an area and the physical factors that interact with them

Question 5

What is a landscape?

Answer 5

a mosaic of connected ecosystems

Question 6

What is the biosphere?

Answer 6

sum of all planets ecosystems and landscapes

Question 7

What is organismal ecology?

Answer 7

How organism structure/behavior responds to environmental changes.

Question 8

What is community ecology?

Answer 8

How interactions between species affect community structure and organization.

Question 9

What is population ecology?

Answer 9

How biotic and abiotic factors affect population sizes.

Question 10

What is ecosystem ecology?

Answer 10

How energy and chemicals cycle through organisms/environment.

Question 11

What is landscape ecology?

Answer 11

What factors control these cycles of chemicals and energy.

Question 12

What is global ecology?

Answer 12

How the regional exchange of chemicals/energy affects organisms across the biosphere.

Question 13

What are the 4 determinants of climate?

Answer 13

Temperature, precipitation, light, wind

Question 14

Why is climate important to consider for evolution?

Answer 14

It was the first cause of organism distribution on earth.

Question 15

What is a biome?

Answer 15

It is a major ecosystem type

Question 16

How do we classify biomes?

Answer 16

By predominant vegetation (terrestrial), the physical environment (aquatic), and adaptations of organisms to that environment.

Question 17

What do biomes differ in?

Answer 17

Average temperature and precipitation, seasonal variations, and soil nutrient composotion

Question 18

What do we call a lake that doesn’t mix the top and bottom like Pink lake?

Answer 18

A meromictic lake

Question 19

What prevents a meromictic lake from mixing? (give the name and describe the phenomenon)

Answer 19

Thermoclines are when the vertical temperature gradients prevent mixing.

Question 20

What is the name of a lake where the top and bottom layers mix in the spring? What is this movement of water called?

Answer 20

holomictic lakes turnover in the spring

Question 21

Why do species occur in different areas? (3)

Answer 21

Evolutionary history, biotic factors, abiotic factors

Question 22

Why did cichlids diversify in Africa?

Answer 22

to ecologically speciate to deep or shallow lakes

Question 23

What is species richness?

Answer 23

The number of species in a biological community

Question 24

Why would there be an increase in species richness in an area?

Answer 24

More speciation or less extinction

Question 25

What 3 theories based on evolutionary history can explain the pattern of species richness across the globe?

Answer 25

During ice ages, temperate areas were vulnerable to glaciations, therefore: 1. Tropical areas receive much more energy from sunlight (longer growing season) 2. There are fewer seasonal changes, and therefore more niches and less competition. 3. Tropical communities are older and stay undisturbed for longer due to the lack of ice age glaciations

Question 26

What are the two types of species according to their resource usage? Describe them

Answer 26

1. A generalist is when a species thrives in a wide variety of conditions. Eg. switching food types when presented with lack of one food type. 2. A specialist is a species that thrives under a narrow range of conditions eg. an animal that only eats one thing.

Question 27

How can we describe the performance of species as their resource abundance goes up?

Answer 27

Both generalist and specialist species reach a theoretical maximum at some point, with the specialization one being higher than the generalist one, however the generalist one is less low farther away from the maximum.

Question 28

Why do actual resource abundance curves differ from potential abundance curves?

Answer 28

Actual abundance curves are lower because of biological interactions

Question 29

What is dispersal of populations?

Answer 29

The movement away from origin centers or areas of high population density.

Question 30

What animal is an example of distribution? How can we describe its realized distribution vs its potential suitable range?

Answer 30

The wood turtle expanded its range after glaciers retreated, however new urban areas made it so that the realized distribution area is smaller than its potential suitable range.

Question 31

What are the 6 ways a species can respond to climate change?

Answer 31

1. Its natural range is limited by physiological factors and it cannot migrate 2. The natural range is shifted north 3. There is a shrinkage in the natural range due to limited number of habitats in the north and southern limit moving up. 4. Dispersal barriers like landscape prevent the colonization of potentially suitable habitats 5. Limited dispersal abilities prevent keeping up with rapidly changing conditions 6. Adaptation happens to the new range and the population expands into this new range.

Question 32

What do species interaction affect in a population?

Answer 32

survival, reproduction, population sizes, evolutionary changes

Question 33

What is a niche

Answer 33

The abiotic and biotic factors used by a species

Question 34

What is competition?

Answer 34

Two individuals of different species compete for the same resource

Question 35

How can we describe the effect of competition on niches?

Answer 35

The realized niche is always smaller than the fundamental niche.

Question 36

What is competitive exclusion?

Answer 36

It is when populations compete for the same resource, and the one that uses it more efficiently effectively wipes out the other population.

Question 37

What is resource partitioning?

Answer 37

The differentiation of ecological niches that decreases competition.

Question 38

Can ecological interactions drive evolutionary change?

Answer 38

Yes! An example is Darwin's finches!

Question 39

How would we describe large beaked birds vs small beaked birds after a drought event that only leaves tough shelled seeds to eat?

Answer 39

The large beaked birds have a higher relative survival.

Question 40

What are the two ways a population of an intermediate trophic level could be controlled?

Answer 40

Bottom up (dependence on food available in lower levels) Top down (dependence on predation)

Question 41

What is a keystone species?

Answer 41

A species that has a large influence on species richness.

Question 42

What is commensalism?

Answer 42

One individual from a species that gains benefit from an individual of another species that is not positively or negatively impacted by the relationship.

Question 43

Give a rough example of commensalism.

Answer 43

Whales and barnacles