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Ecology > Chapters 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 > Flashcards

Chapters 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology

A

The Scientific study of how organisms affect and are affected by other organisms and their environment.

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2
Q

What species is considered to be “biological indicators” of environmental problems?

A

Amphibians

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3
Q

Why are amphibians good indicators of environmental problems?

A

Their skin is easily permeable- pollutants can pass through
Their eggs have no protective shell
They are exposed to pollutants and UV in both wet and dry environments

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4
Q

Controlled experiment

A

Experimental groups are compared with a control group that LACKS the FACTOR BEING TESTED

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5
Q

Replication

A

Performing each treatment more than once

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6
Q

What does replication in an experiment do?

A

Reduces the possibility that results are due to a variable that was not measured or controlled in the study

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7
Q

What happens when people alter one aspect of the environment

A

It causes other changes that we do not intend or anticipate

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8
Q

Ecology (def. #2)

A

Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

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9
Q

Ecology (def. #3)

A

Scientific endeavor, not environmental activism

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10
Q

Ecology (def. #4)

A

The study of interactions that drive the distribution and abundance of organisms

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11
Q

Environmental Science

A

the natural sciences with the social sciences and focuses on how people affect the environment and how to address environmental problems

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12
Q

What do ecological studies usually emphasize?

A

individuals
populations
communities
ecosystems

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13
Q

What do ecologists study?

A

Interactions across many levels of organization

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14
Q

Population

A

A group of individuals of a single species that live in a particular area and interact with one another

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15
Q

Community

A

an association of populations of different species in the same area

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16
Q

biotic

A

living

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17
Q

abiotic

A

physical components

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18
Q

Ecosystem

A

A community of organisms plus their physical environment

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19
Q

Landscapes

A

areas with substantial differences, typically including multiple ecosystems.

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20
Q

what is the world’s biosphere composed of?

A

All the world’s ecosystems

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21
Q

What is a biosphere?

A

all living organisms on earth, plus, the environments in which they live.

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22
Q

What do ecologists evaluate competeing hypotheses with?

A

observations, experiments, and models

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23
Q

What are the different methods ecologists use?

A

Observational studies in the field
Controlled experiments in the lab
Experiments in the field
Quantitative models

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24
Q

What are the two scales of studies?

A

spacial scales and temporal scalees

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25
Q

Organisms life history

A

Record of events relating to its growth, development, reproduction, and survival

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26
Q

Life history characteristics include

A

Age and size at sexual maturity
Amount and timing of reproduction
Survival and mortality rates

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27
Q

Life history strategy of a species

A

overall pattern in average timing and nature of life history events

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28
Q

Life history events is shaped by the way the organism divides its time and energy between

A

Growth
reproduction
survival

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29
Q

Although all organisms produce offspring, what two characteristics vary?

A

Number and size of offspring

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30
Q

Semelparous

A

species have a single reproductive event (can be many offspring - but all at once)

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31
Q

Iteroparous

A

species can produce multiple times

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32
Q

itero

A

to repeat

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33
Q

pario

A

to beget

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34
Q

r-selection

A

selection for high population growth rates; an advantage in newly disturbed habitats and uncrowded conditions.

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35
Q

R-selection (def.)

A

the intrinsic rate of increase of a population

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36
Q

K-selection

A

Selection for lower growth rates in populations that are at or near K; advantage in efficient reproduction is favored.

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37
Q

K-selection(def.)

A

Carrying capacity for a population

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38
Q

Conditions of r-selected organisms

A

short life spans
rapid development
early maturation
low parental investment
high reproduction rate

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39
Q

Conditions for k-selected organisms

A

Long-lived
develop slowly
late maturation
invest heavily in each offspring
low reproduction rates

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40
Q

Fitness

A

genetic contribution to future generations

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41
Q

Trade-offs

A

Organisms allocate limited energy or resources to one function at the expense of another

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42
Q

What are some investments considered trade-offs?

A

Energy
Resources
Time
Loss of other activities

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43
Q

Example of trade-off

A

Species without parental care, resources are invested into propagules

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44
Q

lack clutch size

A

Maximum number of offspring a parent can successfully raise to maturity

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45
Q

True or False: Dispersal will not reduce competition among close relatives but will allow colonization of new areas

A

False: Dispersal will reduce competition and allow colonization of new areas.

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46
Q

True or false: Dispersal can allow escape from areas with diseases or high predation

A

True

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47
Q

Dormancy

A

State of suspended growth and development in which an organism can survive unfavorable conditions.

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48
Q

Why are small seeds, spores, eggs, and embryos best suited for dormancy?

A

Less metabolic energy is needed to stay alive.

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49
Q

Sequential Hermaphroditism

A

Changes in sex during course of the life cycle

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50
Q

Behavioral Ecology

A

The study of the ecological and evolutionary basis of animal behavior

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51
Q

Proximate causes

A

How the behaviors occur

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52
Q

Ultimate causes

A

why the behaviors occur; evolutionary and historical reasons

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53
Q

What 4 key factors are necessary for natural selection to operate?

A

Variations among traits
heritable
reproductive
survival

54
Q

True or false: Animals make behavioral choices that enhance their energy gain and reduce their risk of becoming prey.

A

True

55
Q

What factors effect finding food?

A

How much energy
How difficult it is to get food

56
Q

optimal foraging theory

A

Animals will maximize the amount of energy gained per unit of feeding time and minimize risk involved

57
Q

What does foraging theory assume?

A

That natural selection acts on the foraging behavior of animals to maximize their energy gain

58
Q

In the equation P=E/t what does P stand for?

A

Profitability of a food item

59
Q

In the equation P=E/t, what does E stand for?

A

Energy

60
Q

In the Eequation P=E/t, what does t stand for?

A

time an organism spends obtaining the food

61
Q

True or False: an animals success in acquiring food increases with the effort it invests

A

True

62
Q

Marginal value theorem

A

was developed to address the question of how must an animal decide whether to stay in a patch or not?

63
Q

What other factors could affect the costs of foraging?

A

Predators
abiotic challenges

64
Q

What do anti-predator behaviors include

A

Those that help detect prey
avoid being seen
prevent attack
or escape

65
Q

Sexual Selection

A

Individuals with certain characteristics gain an advantage over others of the same sex solely with respect to mating success.

66
Q

teerritories

A

areas that they defend against intruders

67
Q

Handicap hypothesis

A

Male that can support a costly and unweildy ornament is likely to be a vigurious individual whose overall genetic quality is high

68
Q

Sexy son hypothesis

A

The female receives indirect genetic benefits through her sons, who will themselves be attracted to females and produce grandchildren

69
Q

Monogomy

A

a male with only one female. This pairing may last for one or more breeding seasons. In many cases, both parents care for the young

70
Q

Polygyny

A

One male mates with multiple females in a breeding season. The male may gain access to these females directly or indirectly. Female provides most-to-all parental care

71
Q

Polyandry

A

One female mates with multiple males in a breeding season. The female may defend these males directly or indirectly. the male will provide most-to-all parental care

72
Q

Promiscuity

A

both males and females mate with multiple partners in a breeding season.

73
Q

Distribution

A

Geographic areas where individuals f a speecies occur

74
Q

Abundance

A

number of individuals in a given area

75
Q

What are important factors in calculating distribution and abundance?

A

Harvesting and conservation

76
Q

Dynamic

A

distribution and abundance can change over time and space

77
Q

True or false: Populations are not dynamic entities that vary in size over time and space?

A

False: Populations are dynamic entities that vary in size over time and space.

78
Q

population

A

group of individuals of the same species that live in a particular area and interact with another

79
Q

What are the interactions within a population?

A

competition and sexual reproduction

80
Q

What is abundance reported as?

A

Population size or density

81
Q

Density

A

Number of individuals per unit area

82
Q

single genetic individual

A

ganet

83
Q

ramet

A

includes members of a ganet that are genetically identical and may even be competing with each other

84
Q

what are the limitations of distributions and abundances?

A

habitat stability
historical factors
dispersal

85
Q

Other factors that affect distribution and abundance

A

Disturbance
Historical factors
Dispersal

86
Q

Disturbance

A

abiotic events that kill or damage some individuals, creating opportunities for other individuals to grow and reproduce

87
Q

true or false: dispersal limitations can prevent species from reaching areas of suitable habitat

A

True

88
Q

What does dispersal of individuals in a population depend on?

A

Location of essential resources
competition
dispersal
behavioral interactions

89
Q

Dispersion

A

Spatial arrangement of individuals within a population

90
Q

Regular dispersion

A

individuals are evenly spaced

91
Q

Random dispersion

A

individuals scatter randomly

92
Q

Clumped dispersion

A

individuals are grouped together

93
Q

Absolute population size

A

actual abundance

94
Q

Area based counts

A

individuals in a given area or volume are counted
most often used to estimate the abundance of immobile organisms

95
Q

Mark-recapture studies

A

subset of individuals captures and marked or tagged and then released
Used for mobile organisms

96
Q

ecological nichee

A

abiotic and biotic conditions that a species needs to grow, survive, and reproducee

97
Q

Niche model

A

predicts a species distribution based on conditions at locations the species is known to occupy

98
Q

What do life tables show?

A

How survival and reproductive rates vary with age, size, or life cycle stage

99
Q

Life table

A

Summary of how survival and reproduction rates vary w age

100
Q

Survival rate

A

chance that an individual of age x will survive to age x+1

101
Q

Survivorship

A

proportion of individuals that survive from birth to age x

102
Q

fecundity

A

average number of offspring a female will have at age x

103
Q

cohort life table

A

follows the fate of a group of individuals all born at the same time

104
Q

Static life table

A

Snapshot in time: survival and reproduction of individuals of different ages during a single time period
requires estimating the age of individuals

105
Q

Survivorship curve

A

Plot of the number of individuals from a hypothetical cohort that will survive to reach different life stages

106
Q

Survivorship curve I

A

most individuals survive to old age

107
Q

Survivorship curve type II

A

Chance of survival remains constant

108
Q

Survivorship curve III

A

High death rates for young, those who reach adult hood survive well

109
Q

In what ways can survivorship curves vary

A

Among populations
between males and females
among cohorts that experience different environmental conditions

110
Q

Age structure

A

Proportion of the population in different stage classes

111
Q

Age structure diagram

A

Shows the distribution of age and sex in a population

112
Q

What two steps need to be calculated in order to predict population size for the following year?

A
  1. Number of individuals that will survive to the next time period
  2. Bumber of offspring those survivors will reproduce in the next time period
113
Q

Stable age distribution

A

A population with an age structure that does not change

114
Q

geometric growth

A

When a population reproduces in synchrony at discrete time periods

115
Q

lambda = ?

A

Growth rate

116
Q

Geometric growth =

A

Discrete growth

117
Q

Exponential growth =

A

Continuous growth (babies at any time of the year)

118
Q

Which unit is used for geometric growth rate?

A

Lambda

119
Q

Which unit is used for exponential growth rate?

A

r

120
Q

Exponential growth

A

When an individual reproduces continuously and generatios can overlap and the population changes in size by a constant proportion at each instant time

121
Q

What is the unit of exponential population growth rate?

A

r, r= (births-deaths)/ population size

122
Q

when do populations stay the same?

A

When lambda =1 or r=0

123
Q

In the equation dN/dt=rN, what does dN stand for?

A

difference in population size

124
Q

In the equation dN/dt=rN, what does dt stand for?

A

difference in time

125
Q

what does e stand for?

A

the base of growth shared by all continually growing proceesses

126
Q

Density independent factors

A

Effectts of birth and death rates are independent of the number of individuals in the population

127
Q

Density-dependent factors

A

birth death and dispersal rates change as the density of the population changes

128
Q

Population regulation

A

Density dependent factors cause population to increase when density is low and decrease when density is high

129
Q

Logistic growth

A

population increases rapidly, then stabilizes at the carrying capacity

130
Q

Carrying capacity

A

Max population size that the environement can support

131
Q

Carrying capacity is indicated by the letter

A

K

Ecology (9 decks)

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