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Ecology! Flashcards

1
Q

what is ecology?

A
  • science of how organisms interact with each other and their environment
  • abiotic and biotic components
  • must ensure ecosystems are sustainable
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2
Q

What is modern ecology?

A
  • uses approaches such as observational, experimental, data analytical, stats modelling, community engagement and verse knowledge systems
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3
Q

What two factors do ecologists examine?

A

Distribution and abundance

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4
Q

What is distribution?

A
  • limits to distribution and changing distribution
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5
Q

What is measured in abundance?

A
  • changes in abundance, are populations growing or shrinking
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6
Q

What types of problems are addressed by ecology? (5)

A
  1. Conservation and biodiversity - effectiveness of conservations strategies
  2. environmental issues - evaluate consequences of human activity
  3. wildlife and resource management : when does fishing become overfishing
  4. Pest control: strategies for reducing crop loss (without harming environment )
  5. Human health: How are diseases spread through animals ?
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7
Q

What is the organism level of ecological study?

A
  • how organisms adapt to environment
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8
Q

What is a population?

A

Same species

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9
Q

Community?

A

Multiple species

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10
Q

What is ecosystem?

A
  • organisms and abiotic environment
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11
Q

What is landscape/seascape?

A
  • connected ecosystems
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12
Q

What is global ecology?

A

Considers the biosphere

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13
Q

What is the most significant influence on distribution of organisms?

A

Climate

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14
Q

What is the climate?

A
  • long term prevailing weather condition in a given area
  • includes temperature, precipitation, sunlight, wind, seasonal patterns
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15
Q

What determines the climate?

A
  • input of solar radiation
  • earth’s movement in space
  • large bodies of water
  • mountain ranges
  • greenhouse gases
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16
Q

What are the main climate determinant?

A

solar radiation and earth’s movement In space

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17
Q

What are climate modifiers?

A
  • large bodies of water, mountain ranges, greenhouse gases
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18
Q

How does solar radiation impact precipitation and evaporation?

A

Heat from direct sunlight at equator drives evaporation, rising moist air cools and releases moisture as precipitation

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19
Q

Describe the evaporation cycle

A
  • rising air cools and release precipitation, depending air then absorbs moisture leading to arid climates
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20
Q

Why is there seasonal variation as a result of sunlight?

A
  • summer north hemisphere pointed towards sun
  • winter north hemisphere pointed away from sun
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21
Q

describe how air behaves on a mountain range

A
  1. cool, most water form offshore. Air warms as it crosses land.
  2. Air flowing over mountain cools and releases moisture as precipitation
  3. Dry air picks up moisture
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22
Q

Would there be more plant diversity before or after a mountain range?

A

Before, because it hasn’t yet lost its moisture and is not taking moisture from the ground, allowing for more plant life

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23
Q

What are the characteristics of northern coniferous forests ?

A
  • largest terrestrial biome on earth
  • winter cold, summer hot
  • dominated by cone bearing trees like spruce, pine, hemlock
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24
Q

Describe the temperature precipitation chart for biomes

A

tundra, north coniferous forest, temperate broad leaf forest, tropical forests

(increasing linearly on a chart of temperature and precipitation)

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25
Q

What are biomes ?

A

Major zones of life name for climactic features and predominant vegetation

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26
Q

What is disturbance?

A
  • event which removes individuals from a population
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27
Q

What are the two forms of disturbance? What are their impacts ?

A

1) large herbivore grazers
2) fire

Without fire and grazing, savannah would be woodland. instead trees and grass removed, grass grows back faster

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28
Q

Describe the biomes on a chart of precipitation and disturbance

A

tropical savannah: high disturbance, low precipitation (dry)
tropical forest : low disturbance high precipitation

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29
Q

will changing climate alter biomes?

A

as temperatures rise biomes and ecosystems are shifting towards poles

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30
Q

What is one example of the climate altering biomes ?

A
  • edge of boreal forest moving north and up mountain slopes (for cooler air in order to grow)
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31
Q

What are some impact on species?

A

Range shifts, impacts on people, distribution changes

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32
Q

What are range shifts ?

A
  • species redistribute to stay within climate
  • leads to movement away from equator and towards poles
  • deeper in oceans
  • pests may be more common in warmer climate
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33
Q

What are the reasons some species may not be able to shift to suitable temperatures ?

A

1) suitable habitat not available
2) some species may not migrate quickly enough to track suitable climate

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34
Q

What are some impacts on people of a changing climate?

A
  • increased vulnerability: food, water, health, habitat. infrastructure impacted
  • trend shows nations impacting climate greatest are least affected by climate change
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35
Q

what are some human causes for distribution ?

A
  • habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species
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36
Q

What limits distribution?

A

dispersal: organism couldn’t ge there
Abiotic factors: temperature, moisture, salinity, oxygen
biotic factors: resources, predation, competition, disease

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37
Q

In coyotes in the northern hemisphere, what are some reasons for their distribution?

A
  1. wolf disruption changed (less competition and wolf hunting makes easier expansion for coyotes)
  2. European settlement : agriculture leads to forest removal, habitat resembles grassland, small prey, enables coyote expansion

ie: can conclude biotic factors are the cause of this distribution

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38
Q

What are some primary causes of climate changes?

A
  • co2 and other greenhouse gases (methane) trapped in earth’s atmosphere
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39
Q

What is a population?

A

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area

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40
Q

How can population ecology be used?

A

Measuring population size, population growth, life history, and diversity

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41
Q

What are the 2 ways of measuring population size?

A

1) census: direct measurement of population
2) indirect indicators

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42
Q

Why is a census impractical?

A

Not all species can be easily counted (too small, too many)

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43
Q

Why are indirect indicators effective?

A
  • can be applied to small/many species
  • less resources, less time, less costly
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44
Q

What are some examples of indirect indicators?

A

of nests, burrow, tracks
- CPUE : catch per unit effort
- mark recapture methods

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45
Q

What is a catch per unit effort?

A
  • can demonstrate how many ish are caught per 100 hooks, represents whether populations are declining
  • in class graph shows that overexploitation is occurring
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46
Q

What is the process of mark capturing techniques in mobile animals?

A

initial sample caught, later remeasured to see how many are in second sample to determine population growth

S = initial
N= number in 2nd sample
x= total number of individuals previously marked in 2nd sample
N (population size) = (s x n) / x

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47
Q

What are the assumptions of the mark recapture technique?

A
  • no individuals born, die, immigrate, emigrate
  • marked and unmarked have same probability of being caught
  • marked individuals mixed completely back into population
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48
Q

What does a large r mean on an exponential growth model means?

A

faster growth

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49
Q

What is an exponential growth model?

A

Describes population growth in an idealized, unlimited environment

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50
Q

What causes a population growth rate to slow?

A
  • resources limited, food and space limited, competition
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51
Q

What are the 2 kinds of competition?

A

Intraspecific and interspecific

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52
Q

What are some limits to population growth?

A
  • resources become less abundant
  • birth rate decline of death rates increase
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53
Q

Is birth rate density dependent or independent in sea otters?

A

density independant

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54
Q

Is death rate density dependant or independent in sea otters?

A

Pup death rate is density dependant (thin mothers, pups die)

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55
Q

What is a carrying capacity?

A
  • the number of individuals of a population that an environment can support
  • density dependant regulation
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56
Q

Are death rates always density dependant like in otter pups?

A

NO, it depends on the species
ie: dune grass death rate independent of density, birth rate declines due to water and nutrients being limited

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57
Q

What is the logistic growth model?

A

Has a carrying capacity
- N (population) = K (carrying capacity)

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58
Q

What does small N, high K mean for r?

A

large r

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59
Q

What does large N, small k mean for r?

A

Low r

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60
Q

What are some oversights with the logistic growth model in applying it?

A
  • doesn’t account for influence on other populations,
  • carrying capacity is not necessarily static,
  • how environment changes
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61
Q

What is the term for when a population is regulated by a food source?

A

Bottom up

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62
Q

What is the term for when a population is regulated by predators?

A

top down

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63
Q

What is life history?

A

traits that affect and organisms schedule of reproduction and survival

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64
Q

What are the 3 variable of life history?

A
  • age of first reproduction
  • how often reproduces
  • how many offspring
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65
Q

What are R strategists?

A
  • maximize # of offspring, no parental care, smaller offspring,
  • disturbed / open, temporary, unpredictable habitats
  • invading species
  • strength in numbers: can survive harsh and unpredictable environments
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66
Q

What are K strategists?

A
  • maximize offspring survival, larget, parental care
  • permanent crowded habitats
  • strong competitors, number increase over time
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67
Q

Describe the survivorship curve

A

-K: low death rate, many live to old age
R: high death rate, many die young

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68
Q

Are all organisms K or R strategists?

A

No

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69
Q

What is population diversity?

A
  • there are 220 distinct populations per species
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70
Q

What are the forms of species interactions?

A

Competition, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, predation, and herbivory

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71
Q

Describe competition

A
  • individuals of 2 species competing for resources required for growth and survival
  • both species do better without the other
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72
Q

What is competitive exclusion?

A

One will eventually outcompete the other

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73
Q

What are interspecific competitors?

A
  • use the same resource, resource is limited
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74
Q

what was the 1st experiment performed with the barnacles?

A

experiment 1: balunus removed, chthamalus settles and remains
- balanus present, chtamalus nearly gone
Conclusion: Balanus excludes chtamalus from the lower shore (interspecific)

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75
Q

What was the 2nd experiment performed with the barnacles?

A
  • chthamalus present, balanus moves in, balanus dies
  • chthamalus not present, balanus moves in, still dies

Conclusion: Chtamalus does not exclude balanus, not suited for environment

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76
Q

What is an ecological niche?

A

The position of a species within an ecosystem
- conditions necessary for its survival, the role played in an ecosystem

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77
Q

What are the 2 forms of ecological niches? What do they do?

A
  • realized niche: the ‘observed’ niche that it occupies in the wild
  • fundamental niche: the conditions in which it can survive and reproduce
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78
Q

What is the niche of the balanus?

A

realized = fundamental (resides where it can survives)

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79
Q

What is the niche of the chtamalus?

A

Realized < fundamental (infraspecific competitions makes it such that the niche it naturally inhabits is not viable)

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80
Q

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

A
  • if two species compete for one resource, the better competitor will eliminate the other
  • species must occupy somewhat different niches
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81
Q

Can two species with the same niche exist?

A

cannot coexist

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82
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A
  • two species can coexist if one or more significant differences in their niches are present,
  • May arise from character displacement
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83
Q

What is character displacement?

A
  • evolution of differences in morphology and resource use as a result of competition
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84
Q

Do green crabs and rock crabs undergo resource partitioning?

A
  • they eat similar sizes of prey so it is not resource partitioning: interspecies competition
85
Q

Which of the relationships are defined as symbiosis (living together)?

A

mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

86
Q

What is mutualism?

A

both benefit
ex: zooxanthellae live within Corals

87
Q

what is commensalism?

A
    • / 0
      Marram grass and sea rocket facilitate formation of dunes
  • other plants that grow benefit, sea rocket not impacted
88
Q

What is parasitism?

A
  • (-/+)
  • One organism get nourishment from host
    -host harmed, rarely killed,
89
Q

What is an endoparasitism and ectoparasitism?

A
  • endoparasitism: Parasite lives within body of host
  • ectoparasitism: parasite feeds on external surface of host
90
Q

Describe Lyme disease (transmission, facets, etc)

A
  • caused by spirochete, indirect transmission
  • Ticks take 3 blood meals from hosts, may get bacteria when feeding and pass pathogen onto new host
  • small mammals influence tick abundance: more mice = more infected ticks, more human Lyme
  • spreads through migratory birds
91
Q

What is direct and indirect transmission?

A

Direct: Pathogens move from one host to the next
Transmission: pathogens use another organism (vector) to help them move (ex: Lyme disease)

92
Q

What are the ecological interactions of Lyme disease?

A
  1. Deer necessary for ticks - forest recovery left to more deer
  2. small mammals can increase tick numbers
  3. Migratory birds facilitate tick dispersal
  4. climate change can expand tick range (climate warms, black legged tick range expected to expand)
93
Q

What is brood parasitism?

A
  • parasitic birds lay their eggs in the nest of others
  • benefits to parasite: more resources for mating, producing more eggs, no child rearing
  • cost to host: reduced nestling growth rate, abandonment of broods, killing of host hatchlings by parasitic hatchlings
94
Q

What is the evolutionary arms race?

A
  • species evolve to ‘outdo’ the other
95
Q

What are the facets of evolutionary arms race with brood parasitism?

A

Host evolution: detect foreign eggs/chicks based on visual or other sensory cues
Parasitic evolution: Mimicry, harder shells, shorter incubation times

96
Q

What is predation?

A

Species interactions where predators kills and eat prey

97
Q

How does the evolutionary arms race impact predation species?

A

-Predators have adaptations for eating
- prey have adaptations to escape/avoid being eaten

98
Q

How do bats and moth represent evolutionary arms race?

A

In a predator relationship, bats detect prey by echolocation
moths grow longer tails to throw off bat echolocation

99
Q

What is herbivory?

A
  • exploitative interaction where organism eats part of a plant or algae
100
Q

What is an example of herbivory considering otters and kelp?

A

no otters = sea urchins which eat kelp
- otter introduced = fewer herbivores = more kelp = fish species richness

101
Q

Describe the relationships associated with changing coral reefs

A

Consider: coral and micro algae compete for space (competition, similar niche)

overfishing (predation) –> excess urchins keep micro algae small until massive die out (disease) –> macro algae take over on some reefs
- absence of herbivores macro algae are superior competitors and outcompete corals

102
Q

What are some other factors that influence coral decline?

A
  1. increased coral disease rates
  2. sewage and agricultural run off –> high nutrient levels enhance microalgal growth
  3. warm temperatures (coral bleaching)
103
Q

What does a food web represent?

A
  • trophic interactions
  • made up of food chains
104
Q

What are the base level producers called in a food web?

A

primary producers

105
Q

What are the species which have large impacts on ecosystems called? (4 names)

A

focal species, dominant species, ecosystem engineers, keystone species

106
Q

What is a focal species?

A

some species play a disproportionate role in the food web (predator to lots, prey to lots)

107
Q

What type of species is the collared lemming ?

A

Focal and dominant

108
Q

What is a dominant species?

A

high biomass

109
Q

What are ecosystem engineers?

A
  • alter the physical environment
    eg: beavers, ants, woodpeckers
110
Q

What are keystone species?

A
  • despite low biomass and abundance usually top predators
    eg: starfish, sea otters
111
Q

What is top down control?

A

Higher trophic level reduce abundance or biomass of lower trophic level
eg: sea urchins eat kelp

112
Q

What is a trophic cascade?

A
  • impact of top predators “cascades” to lower trophic levels
  • ex: high otter population eats sea urchins, more kelp
113
Q

In an example of otter prevalence on the pacific coast, describe the two instances of top down control and trophic cascade

A

top down control: No otters, sea urchins eat kelp
trophic cascade: otters return, eat urchins, more kelp

114
Q

In an example of otter prevalence on the pacific coast, what is the keystone species and its impact on the environment?

A

otters are keystone species,
impact: fewer herbivores, more kelp

115
Q

What is a regime shift?

A
  • abrupt shift to a very different and persistent community
  • often difficult to reverse
116
Q

What is an example of a regime shift, and why might it be difficult to reverse?

A

Coral and macro algae
- as water heats, macro algae more abundant, takes over coral
- difficult to reverse because retuning it to initial temp does not necessarily shift it back + difficult to change temperature of the ocean back

117
Q

What are some causes of regime shifts?

A
  • usually external drivers
  • removal of keystone species, arrival of disease, climate change. nutrient inputs
118
Q

What is the difference between top down control and bottom up control?

A

Top Down: high trophic levels control abundance of lower trophic levels
Bottom up: low trophic levels. control abundance of higher trophic levels

119
Q

Which of the trophic controls is more common?

A

generally a mix of both

120
Q

What is biodiversity?

A
  • variability among organisms and the ecological complexes of which they are part.
121
Q

What is species richness?

A

Number of species present in a community
- generally more rich mammals and birds in rainforests etc
- amphibian richness greater in nootropics

122
Q

What does the latitudinal gradient in species richness look like?

A

more diversity closer to equator

123
Q

Why might there be more diversity closer to the equator?

A
  • origin of life = more time to diversify
  • historical adaptation to tropical environments = less species at higher altitudes
  • higher and stable temperatures = shorter generation times, higher mutation rates
  • stable environment - lower extinction
124
Q

How does disturbance affects species richness?

A

Consider pyramid shape
- low disturbance = low species diversity
- medium disturbance = highest species diversity
- high disturbance = low diversity

125
Q

Why might a ‘middle’ disturbance result in high species diversity?

A
  • continuous takes away certain species form over dominating, allows for other species to develop and exist
126
Q

What are the primary drivers of species decline?

A
  • climate change, pollution, invasive species, overexploitation, habitat destruction
  • irreversible, occurring at a fast rate
127
Q

Why should we care about biodiversity Lilly?

A
  • tied to ecosystem services, which benefits people
  • more carbon sequestration in biodiverse ecosystems
  • provide natural coastline protection, livelihoods, sense of place + well-being
128
Q

What is one in class example which demonstrates the benefits of biodiversity in protecting the earth?

A

Biodiversity enhances fish reef biomass and resistance to climate change!

129
Q

What is the relationship between organisms and the physical environment?

A
  • organisms to organisms
  • organisms to the physical environment
130
Q

What factors are ecosystem functions characterized by?

A
  • ecosystem function is characterized by the connections between components and the flow of energy and nutrients
131
Q

Describe how radiant energy is absorbed?

A
  • primary producers capture radiant energy and store chemical energy in organic compounds
132
Q

Where is the chemical energy in primary producers stored?

A
  • in molecular bonds in organic compounds
133
Q

How do ecosystems transfer chemical energy?

A

Through consumption (transfer to consumers) and death (transfer to detritus)

134
Q

Why do ecosystems lose heat?

A

Ecosystems lose heat energy through respiration

135
Q

Describe energy flows in ecosystems

A

one-way energy flow in ecosystems : enters as radiant energy, stored and transferred as chemical energy, leaves as heat energy

136
Q

What is the energy transfer efficiency between trophic levels?

A

from sun to primary producers, primary producers to primary consumers is 10% of that energy

137
Q

What is ecosystem nutrient cycling?

A

–> circular flow of nutrients: nutrients most retained, cycle between organisms and physical environment

138
Q

How can we compare ecosystem nutrient cycles?

A
  • nutrient stores in physical environment
  • efficiency of nutrient uptake
  • transfer rates
139
Q

Why do decomposers play an important role in nutrient cycling?

A
  • obtain chemical energy and nutrients from detritus
  • return some nutrients to physical environment
140
Q

What is the carbon cycle?

A
  • plants get CO2 from atmosphere and convert to organic carbon.
  • organic carbon transferred among organisms
  • CO2 retuned to atmosphere through respiration
141
Q

What is a carbon reservoir?

A
  • Carbon is mostly stored in rocks and sediments
  • the rest is located in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms
142
Q

What are some effects of climate change?

A

increasing temperatures, melting sea-ice, extreme events, changes in precipitation, changes in ocean circulation

143
Q

What levels of biology are impacted by climate change?

A
  • impacts at all levels: individual, population, species, ecosystem
  • consequences for ecosystem services and humans
144
Q

What is the impact of climate change on species?

A

Range shifts

145
Q

What are range shifts?

A
  • species redistribute to stay within climatic niche
  • generally leads to movement away from equator towards poles
  • deeper and higher
146
Q

Why do range shifts tends towards the poles?

A
  • cooler, to stay away from hotter temperatures
147
Q

What is coral bleaching?

A

-climate change on ecosystem
- warming causes corals to lose symbiotic algae
- repeated bleaching alter coral community permanently
- unclear whether corals can adapt fast enough

148
Q

What is ocean acidification?

A
  • climate change reduces PH and carbonate ion concentration
  • calcifying organisms have trouble building and maintain calcium carbonate skeletons
149
Q

Why is nitrogen essential for life?

A
  • forms of organic nitrogen : DNA, RNA, proteins
  • requires for photosynthesis
150
Q

Why is nitrogen considered a limited nutrient?

A
  • plants can use ammonium but not nitrogen - terrestrial plant growth is nitrogen limited, - bacteria and lighting necessary to turn nitrogen into ammonia
  • agriculture increases rate of N fixation
151
Q

What impacts of agriculture increase rates of N - fixation ?

A
  1. growing legumes
    - mutualismL root nodule contain N-fixing bacteria, both organisms benefit
  2. manufacturing fertilizer
152
Q

What are the long term impacts of excessive nitrogen inputs ?

A
  • high nitrate levels in soil water - can be toxic
  • pollution of aquatic ecosystems (blocks sunlight, deoxygenates, toxic water)
153
Q

What is eutrophication?

A
  • excessive primary production due to overload of nutrients
  • Decomposition of algae leads to oxygen (O 2 ) depletion.
    Dead zone: low O 2 , fish and others die
154
Q

What is the dead zone?

A

Area of low oxygen due to excess nutrients in the water
- causes low O2 levels, fish and others die

155
Q

Why might an ecosystem be considered unhealthy?

A

if it is less able to:
- obtain or transfer energy
- cycle or retain nutrients

156
Q

Describe how an ecosystem processes and transfers energy and nutrients?

A
  • fuelled by energy from outside the ecosystem
  • cycle and recycle nutrients from and to the physical environment
  • less healthy if it’s less able to do so
157
Q

What are the primary reasons to care about ecosystem health and function?

A
  1. feeding ourselves
  2. natural ecosystem
  3. we are changing the rates
158
Q

What are the 3 measures of ecosystem function?

A
  • rate of primary production: are that primary producer biomass is built
  • rate of secondary production: rate that consumer biomass is built
  • rate of decomposition: rate that inorganic nutrients are release from detritus
159
Q

What is net primary production? (NPP)

A
  • rate that plant biomass increases in an ecosystem
  • biomass= mass of organic matter present in an ecosystem
160
Q

What limits NPP in terrestrial ecosystems? (NPP)

A
  • temperatrue
  • moisture
  • soil nutrients
161
Q

Why is there more NPP near the equator?

A

More moisture, more nutrients, higher temperature

162
Q

What is the calculation for NPP for plant growth rate?

A

NPP = GPP - Ra
NPP: plant growth rate (energy accumulated as biomass)

Autotrophic respiration (Ra) = energy lost due to plant respiration

Gross primary production(GPP): total light energy captured by plants

163
Q

What is Net Ecosystem Production? (NEP)

A
  • energy (biomass) accumulated in all ecosystem components (per unit time)
  • plants capture energy
  • energy stored as biomass in all organisms
  • heat energy lost from all organisms
164
Q

What is positive NEP?

A
  • ecosystem biomass is increasing
  • ecosystem absorbs more CO2 than it releases
  • helps lower atmospheric CO2 (climate change)
165
Q

What is the difference between NEP and NPP?

A

NEP : net ecosystem production : rate that energy (biomass) accumulated in all ecosystem components

NPP: Net primary production: rate that plant biomass increases in an ecosystem

166
Q

What is the equation for NEP?

A

NEP = GPP - Rt
Rt= total respiration (heat (biomass) lost from all components
GPP: total light energy captured by plants

167
Q

Which ecosystems would you expect a post NEP?

A

Grasslands, forests

168
Q

What is a negative NEP?

A
  • biomass decreasing, release more CO2 than it absorbs, increases atmospheric CO2
  • loses carbon to the atmosphere because
169
Q

What are the 3 types of mating systems?

A

a) monogamous - single pair bond
b) polygamous - one individual mates with several of the other sex
c) promiscuous - no strong mating bonds

170
Q

How do mating systems and parental care relate?

A
  • the needs of young linked to the evolution of mating systems
171
Q

What are the mating systems and parental care of birds?

A
  • most birds are monogamous
  • newly hatched birds cannot care for themselves
    -require a large continuous food supply
  • male that stay with and helps single mate = more viable offspring
172
Q

Describe mating systems and parental care in spotted sandpipers?

A
  • polyandry, polygamous
  • females first to arrive at breeding ground, compete for males, desert nest after eggs are laid, produce eggs with another male
173
Q

What are the environmental conditions which impact spotted sandpipers ?

A
  • enough food for one parent to rear chicks
  • no more than 4 eggs at a time
    -long breeding season = time for more than one clutch of eggs
    ie: good conditions for polygamy
174
Q

What are the four types of social behaviour?

A
  • recipient and actor have:
  • cooperative
  • selfish
  • altruistic
  • spiteful
175
Q

What is altruism?

A
  • you don’t benefit but the organisms around you do
    -behaviour should have fitness advantage
176
Q

What is a real life example of an altruistic behaviour?

A

the Pika
- warning call which wants other but increases risks to self
- cost of alarm is small, related to neighbours: likely follows Hamilton’s rule

177
Q

What is inclusive fitness?

A

total effect in number of genes passed one
1) produce offspring
2) aid relatives to produce more offspring

178
Q

What is kin selection?

A
  • selection for an act that enhances relative’s reproductive success
179
Q

What is Hamilton’s rule?

A
  • Natural selection favours an act if C < r x B
    C= cost to altruism
    r = relatedness
    B: benefit to recipient
180
Q

How is spiteful behaviour measured?

A
  • Hamilton’s rule rearranged
  • spiteful behaviour favoured when C < (r<0) x (b<0)
  • negative relatedness x negative benefit to recipient
181
Q

what is a spiteful relationship?

A

negatively impacts both organisms

182
Q

What is positive relatedness?

A
  • two individuals share more genes than average
  • two individuals share less genes than average
183
Q

When can we expect spite? What traits must and organism have ?

A
  • individuals able to identify positive vs negative relations
  • individuals interact with kin and non kin in highly competitive environments
184
Q

What is an example of spite fratricide in ants?

A
  • workers kill brothers to increase production of more related sister queens
185
Q

What is kind discrimination?

A

A gene that enable workers to identify non-gene carriers
(allows ants to recognize when to kill queen)

186
Q

What are the benefits of being social?

A
  • cooperative feeding
  • defines of group
187
Q

What are the costs of being social?

A
  • disease/parasites
  • restricted production
188
Q

considering benefits and costs, when does group living evolve?

A

benefits > costs

189
Q

What are the two components of restricted reproduction and social organization?

A
  1. cooperative breeding
  2. eusocial societies
190
Q

Describe wolves in cooperative breeding

A
  • wolves live in packs, restricted reproduction
  • social hierarchy, alpha males and females
191
Q

Why do helpers stay in wolf packs?

A

win-win
Benefits:
Kin selection: sibling survival, pups survive better in packs with helpers
Individual fitness: get stronger and gain experience, more likely to survive when they leave, higher lifetime reproduction

192
Q

What are the benefits of Florida scrub jays staying to help ?

A
  • breeding pair: builds nests, incubate eggs
  • mature young stay on territory: feed younger siblings, defend territory, warn of predators
  • juvenile males help more than juvenile females
193
Q

Why do juvenile Florida scrub jaw males stay if they do more work?

A
  • scrub oak habitat very limited
  • few chances of finding an open territory
  • oldest juvenile male gets female territory if father diet, territory partitioned
  • juvenile females never inherit family territory (gains experience, increase reproductive success)

Kin selection: sibling survival
Indvidual reproductive fitness: inherit territory in the future

194
Q

What are eusocial insects?

A
  • division of labour and behaviour into reproductive and non reproductive groups
195
Q

Explain eurosocial societies in army ants?

A
  • reproduction: one queen, several males
  • Workers: all sterile females - defence, foraging, care of young
  • Benefits of staying to help for workers
    1) kin selection: sibling survival
    2) individual reproductive fitness: none
196
Q

Describe eurosocial societies in naked mole rat?

A

Arid habitats, horn of africa
Colonies live in underground burrows
Reproduction: 1 female, 1-3 males
Coercion: queen suppresses reproduction in the colony - behaviour, chemicals

→ Male and female workers (dig tunnels, gather food and nest material for young)
-> soldiers: defend burrow

197
Q

Q: Why don’t naked mole rats leave the colony and reproduce on their own

A

Harsh environment, food is scarce
Can’t survive in small groups
Leaving fitness = 0
If they stay, inclusive fitness > 0

198
Q

What are the benefits of staying to help with naked mole rats?

A

Kin selection: sibling survival
Individual reproductive fitness: none

199
Q

when does group living evolve?

A

total fitness for staying in the group > independent reproduction

200
Q

When is it beneficial to give up or delay independent reproduction?

A
  • chance of independent reproduction is low
201
Q

When is the chance of independent reproduction low?

A

When the benefits of group rearing are greater

202
Q

Where do we find the deserts?

A

30N and 30S of the equator?

203
Q

What is the difference between nutrient flow and energy flow in ecosystems?

A
  • nutrient flow is circular, transmits between physical and organism environment
  • energy is one way flow, must constantly be replenished
204
Q

Describe energy flow in ecosystems

A

One-way flow - compartments
Radiant → Chemical → Heat
Processes: Photosynthesis, consumption, respiration

205
Q

Describe nutrient flow in ecosystems

A

Circular flow - compartments
Inorganic → Organic → Inorganic
Processes: photosynthesis, assimilation,
consumption, respiration, excretion

206
Q

What is the difference between NEP and NPP?

A

NPP: Energy (or carbon) accumulated as primary
producer biomass (per unit time)
NEP: Energy (or carbon) accumulated as organism
biomass (living and dead) per unit time

207
Q

What are the 4 types of social behaviour?

A
  • cooperative
  • altruistic
  • selfish
  • spiteful
208
Q

What is the formula for NPP?

A

NPP = GPP - Ra

209
Q
A

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