Communities & Conservation Flashcards
(29 cards)
What are communities?
group of organisms living together the interact directly and indirectly
What are the dominant/foundation species?
they can have a large effect on other species in the community and biodiversity by virtue of high abundance or biomass
Why might the dominant species be dominant?
high abundance, good competitors, ecosystem engineers (create, modify habitat for themselves and others)
What are keystone species? What effect can removing a keystone species have on the ecosystem?
have a strong effect because of their role in the community (larger than expected given relative abundance or total biomass)
ecosystem collapse
Can keystone species be anywhere on the food chain?
yes
What is a food chain vs a food web?
food chains are an abstract representation of feeding relationships and food webs summarize the feeding relationships in an entire community
What are trophic levels?
the number of steps down the food chain an organism is
What are the 5 trophic levels?
primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, apex predators
What are primary producers?
autotrophs, organisms that can produce their own food
ex. plants
What are primary consumers?
herbivores, organisms that eat primary consumers
What are secondary consumers?
animals that eat animals that eat plants
eat herbivores
What percent of the calories from plants survive from the 1st to 2nd trophic layer?
10%
Why do apex predators need such a large territory?
to make sure they are able to find the resources they need to survive
What is are examples of community regulation? Explain them.
top-down regulation
consumers control the system and the population is limited by consumers
bottom-up regulation
resources control the system and the population is limited by resources (abiotic factors limit plants which limit everything else)
What can happen in top-down regulation is the predators are removed?
over grazing of plants
What are some of the main threats to biodiversity?
habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation and unsustainable use, increased pollution, invasive species, climate change
What is overexploitation?
hunting, fishing, and collecting organisms at a faster rate than they an be replenished
What are the two conservation approaches at the species level?
in-situ conservation and ex-situ conservation
What is in-situ conservation? Examples?
protection of an organisms within its natural habitat
protected areas, reserves, national parks
What is ex-situ conservation? Examples?
off site conservation, taking animal out of natural habitat and placing it in human care
zoos, aquarium, botanical gardens
What are some limitations of ex-situ conservation?
works well for species that are easily bred in captivity but they are expensive and have had limited success in restoring wild populations, can only protect one species at a time,
Pandas eat primarily bamboo so they would be considered a?
primary consumer
What is the general evolutionary significance of mutualism?
Interaction increases the survival and/or population growth rate(s) of mutualistic species
What are the 5 types of symbiotic relationships?
mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, parasitism, predation
