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BIO311D: Biology > COMMUNITY ECOLOGY > Flashcards

COMMUNITY ECOLOGY Flashcards

1
Q

What is community ecology?

A

Community ecology studies the interactions between populations and how community structure is affected by different factors (e.g. disease, predation)

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2
Q

What is a niche?

A

A niche is the tole of an organism in their environment, or the total of a species’ use of biotic and abiotic resources

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3
Q

What are interspecific interactions?

A

Interspecific interactions are the relationships between species in a community

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4
Q

What are examples of interspecific interactions?

A
  1. Competition
  2. Predation
  3. Herbivory
  4. Symbiosis (parasitism, mutualism, commensalism)
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5
Q

What is competition?

A

Competition (-/-) is when 2+ species compete for a resource that is in short supply

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6
Q

What is competetive exclusion?

A

Competetive exclusion is the local elimination of a competing species, where 2 species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist in the same niche

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7
Q

Under what conditions can ecologically similar species coexist in a community?

A

Where there is 1+ significant differences in their niches

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8
Q

What is a realized niche?

A

A realized niche is the niche an organism can only inhabit due to competition

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9
Q

What is a fundamental niche?

A

A fundamental niche is the niche an organism can typically inhabit when a competitor isn’t present

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10
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A

Resource partitioning is an alternative outcome to competition in which the niche of what would otherwide be competing species are differentiated in a way that direct competition is avoided (e.g. temporal, spacial), enabling 2 similar species to coexist in a communtiy

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11
Q

What is predation?

A

Predation (+/-) is when 1 species, the predator, kills and each the other, the prey

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12
Q

What is aposematic coloration?

A

Aposematic coloration warns predators to stay away

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13
Q

What is herbivory?

A

Herbivory (+/-) is when an herbivore eats part of a plant or algae

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14
Q

What is symbiosis?

A

Symbiosis occurs when individuals of 2+ species live in close contact with one another

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15
Q

What is parasitism?

A

Parasitism (+/-) is a type of symbiosis where the parasite derives its nourishment from a secondary organism, its host, which is harmed

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16
Q

What is mutualism?

A

Mutualism (+/+) is a type of symbiosis in which both species benefit

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17
Q

What is commensalism?

A

Commensalism (+/0) is a type of symbiosis in which 1 species benefits while the other is unaffected

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18
Q

What is Batesian mimicry?

A

Batesian mimicry is when a palatable or harmless species mimics an unpalatable or harmful model

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19
Q

What is Mullerian mimicry?

A

Mullerian mimicry is when an unpalatable or harmful species resemble one another so neither is preyed upon

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20
Q

What determines trophic structure?

A

Feeding relations between organisms

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21
Q

What are primary producers?

A

Photosynthetic species

22
Q

What are primary consumers?

A

Herbivores

23
Q

What are secondary consumers?

A

Carnivores

24
Q

What are tertiary consumers?

A

Carnivores which eat other carnivores

25
Q

Why are food chains limited to 4 or 5 trophic levels?

A

Because of the energy loss between levels

26
Q

What is the percent of production transferred from 1 trophic level to the next?

A

10%

27
Q

What is a food web?

A

A food web is food chains hooked together, where species can operate on more than 1 trophic level

28
Q

What is a dominant species?

A

Dominant species are those in a comunity that have the highest abundance or highest biomass (the sum weight of all individuals in a populations)

29
Q

What happens when we remove a dominant species from a community?

A

The entire community structure changes

30
Q

What is a keystone species?

A

Key stone species may not be dominant in number, but can affect structure because of their role (niche)

31
Q

What happens when we remove a keystone species is removed from a community?

A

Community structure is greatly changes

32
Q

What is species diversity?

A

Species diversity is the variety of organisms which make up a community?

33
Q

What is species richness?

A

Species richness is the total number of species in the community

34
Q

What is relative abundance?

A

Relative abundance is the abundance of different species

35
Q

What are the 2 components of biodiversity?

A
  1. Species richness
  2. Relative abundance
36
Q

Can 2 species have the same richness?

A

Yes, but they have to have a different relative abundance

37
Q

Explain the latitudinal gradient for diversity:

A

Species richness generally declines along an equatorial-polar gradient

38
Q

What other factors affect a community’s biodiversity?

A
  1. Size and biogeography
    1. The bigger the area the greater the species number
  2. Evolutionary history
    1. “Older” communities are generally more diverse
39
Q

What type of habitat supports the most species?

A

Tropical habitats

40
Q

What is ecological sucession?

A

Ecological succession is the sequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance

41
Q

What is primary succession?

A

Primary succession occurs where no soil exists when succession begins

42
Q

What is secondary succession?

A

Secondary succession begins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance

43
Q

What are the effects of early-arriving species?

A
  1. Facilitate appearance of later species by making the environment more favorable
  2. May inhibit extablishment of later species
  3. May tolerate species but have no impact of their establishment
44
Q

What influences species diversity and composition?

A

Disturbance

45
Q

What is disturbance?

A

Disturbance is an event that changes a community, removes organisms from it, and alters resource availability

46
Q

What is the nonequilibrium model?

A

The nonequilibrium model describes communities as constantly changing after a disturbance

47
Q

How is disturbance characterized?

A

By frequency and intensity (both have to vary together)

48
Q

What is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis?

A

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis states that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater diversity

49
Q

What do high levels of disturbance do to species?

A

High levels of disturbance may excluse many slow-growing species

50
Q

What do low levels of disturbance do to species?

A

Low levels of disturbance allow dominant species to exclude less competetive species

BIO311D: Biology (14 decks)

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