Ecology Unit Flashcards

Question

What is an atmospheric suture?

Answer 1

two sides doing opposite things but are connected to each other ex: 100th meridian goes down the US where it is much drier on one side and much wetter on other side due to moutain formations and air masses. Most air comes from the gulf of Mexico and because of the Coriolis Effect so the right side of the Meridian has higher precipitation. As prevailing winds go up the sides of the moutain and moist air moves northwards and is deflected torwards east due to Coriolis effect, resulting in not a lot of moisture reaching the left side of the 100th meridian

Answer 2

climate dipoles are these climatatic patterns that appear at two different locations but undergo the opposite effect-creating this opposite polarity. For example: one place may be warmer and experience heavier rains while another place at the same time is experiencing a drought

Answer 3

regular fluctuations in weather and precipitation thats annual, smaller scale than climate but bigger than weather Ex:ENSO, el Nino

Answer 4

phenotype no longer matches as adaptive traits in changing conditions ex: snowshoe hare, has brown coat in warmer season and white coat in colder to blend in with environment,bc snowfall varied leads to periods of mismatch -no snow but white--@ end of winter/beginning of spring -snow on ground but brown- @ start of winter -projected longer period during fall + spring season

Answer 5

organisms attempting to track historic climate conditions, a lot of organisms doing this

Answer 6

1. Extinction 2. Expiration (not fully extinct but gone from historic parts of the distribution) 3. Range- shifts (by this seeing no-analog communities, species that normally don't interact start interacting)

Answer 7

a biome is a region of distinctive plant and animal groups well adapted to physical environment of its distribution area

Answer 8

1. Terrestrial Biomes: characterized by vegetation type | 2. Aquatic Biomes: characterized by physical environment

Answer 9

a climograph is a graphical representation of the basic climate parameters including avg. temp and precipitation at certain locations (usually shows seasonality)

Answer 10

an ecotone is a transition zone or area of integration between 2 biomes (these houses lots of species that overlap)

Answer 11

1. primary production (NPP): production of organic compounds from atmospheric or aquatic CO2 by autotrophs 2. Biodiversity (B): variation of living world, ranges from variability of species to diversity of dif ecosystems or biomes, usually refers to species richness OR # of species

Answer 12

1. Tropical Rain Forest 2. Deserts 3. Savanna 4. Grasslands 5. Chaparral 6. Northern Coniferous Forest 7. Temperate Deciduous Forest 8. Tundra 9. Anthrome

Answer 13

anthropogenic biomes/human-caused biomes such as urban areas and agriculture - have capacity to shift climate characteristics (temp and precipitation) - urban heat island effect: idea that we have anthromes, new biomes, featuring predictable NPP and B patterns, also exhibit unique abiotic characteristics, most urban areas have reduced vegetative color + pavement leading to high solar radiation

Answer 14

when a piece of land is force to become a desert since the surrounding mountains have blocked precipitation. The wind goes up the mountain from the ocean this leads to rain-out events on the windward side and suchs out all of the moisture so when the wind flows on the leeward side it is much dryer since all the water had been wringed out on the other side

Answer 15

Coriolis effects impact the weather patterns in Earth as it deflects wind as warm air rises near the equator and flows towards the poles, warm air currents are deflected to the right (east) as they move to the North

Answer 16

the ocean covers 71% of the Earths surface - NPP is quite low since phytoplankton are photosynthetic organisms capturing carbon to photosynthesize, leaving small amount of energy after - B (very low) since the scale for size (ocean very big) so its very low - GPP (gross primary productivity): rate @ which producers within an ecosystem capture and store an amount of chemical energy as biomass in given length of time and given area, meaning carbon capture and converted into chemical energy bu time and area

Answer 17

1. Oceanic Pelagic Zone 2. Abyssal Zone (hydrothermal vents) 3. Coral Reefs and Kelp Forest (shallow marine biomes) 4. Ecotone (interface of terrestrial and freshwater systems with marine environment) 5. Freshwater systems

Answer 18

moving freshwater and river continuation, rivers at headwaters look dif at the different regions headwaters: thin, heavily shaded, nutrient inputs from terrestrial systems - as go down see increase in producers emerge - community shift - at lower water quality shifts

Answer 19

is rate at which autotrophs produce net useful chemical energy -while pelagic ocean most abundant biome, low overall NPP bc of scale for time and size

Answer 20

while some places change a lot with seasons others don't have much variability (high NPP year around)

Answer 21

we can't pinpoint an exact region as increased NPP does not entirely explain biome diversity

Answer 22

there is an increase in species richness that occurs from the poles to the tropics; so the greatest level of diversity at 0 latitude but this pattern does not apply to all species

Answer 23

1. Biome productivity (energy hypothesis) 2. Biome Size (area hypothesis) 3. Climate Stability and Predictability of Biome 4. Age of Biome 5. Geographic Area/ Mid-Domain effect (null-model) - ecologist believe that LDG is generated by several factors

Answer 24

the energy hypothesis, if biome more productive= can support more species; not always the case

Answer 25

greater area=house for more species; however many breaks in this theory as some systems at high latitudes with high species diversity

Answer 26

tropical systems have very stable + high NPP, precipitation temperature and not strongly seasonal (as t and p control how productive a place is); although most species tend to occur at lower latitudes it is still insuffiencient at explaining

Answer 27

historic climatic features warmer which led to the distribution of diversity, tropics are a holdout for lineages and thats why high in diversity, lower latitudes are older than high; however some biomes break this pattern of LDG

Answer 28

species occupy distributional range which is limited to abiotic and biotic factors, so expected in a contained environment that there will be a lot of overlap in the middle leading to this latitudinal gradient + random chance

Answer 29

disturbances have filtered out many species so species that were strongly sensitive to disturbance-created edges have likely either undergone local extinction or adapted. Meaning: regardless of species, as increase in latitude become less sensitive and more resilient to disturbances, so core species less resiliant to "filter"

Answer 30

1. Causation: what are the stimuli that elicit a response and what physiological mechanisms mediate response? (more proximate cause-scientific) 2. Ontogeny: how does behavior change with age and what early experiences are necessary for animal to display the behavior? (more proximate cause) 3. Function: how does behavior affect animal's chances of survival and reproduction? Why does animal response that way instead of some other way? (more ultimate cause-ultimate implication of behavior) 4. Phylogeny: how does behavior compare with similar behavior in related species and how might it have begun through process of evolution? (more ultimate cause)

Answer 31

1. innate behavior: developmentally fixed, virtually all individuals in population exhibit nearly identical behaviors despite individual and environmental differences 2. learned behavior: modification of behavior based on previous experiences 3. mixed behavior: behavior innate but requires some learning to make it work well

Answer 32

an innate behavior sequence that is indivisible and runs to completion, invariant and produced by neural network known as the innate releasing mechanisms in response to an external stimulus, sign stimulus (ex: Male stickleback fish will attack anything with right form +color--representing another stickleback until it goes away)

Answer 33

innate behavior response to directional stimulus or gradient of stimulus intensity, difers from tropism (growing torwards or away from stimuli) bc organisms has motility and can guide its own movements from or away from the external stimuli

Answer 34

innate behavioral response to stimulus provided is NON-DIRECTIONAL (unlike taxis which is directional) 2 main types: - Orthokinesus: Speed of movement dependent upon intensity of stimulus - Klinokinesis:sinuosity (not linear) of movement is proportional to stimulus intensity

Answer 35

innate behavioral responses signal: stimulus transmitted from 1 animal to another communication: transmission and reception of signals ex: honey bees

Answer 36

direction and duration of waggle dance are closely relayed to the direction and distance of patch of flowers

Answer 37

learned behavior, any kind of phase-sensitive learning thats rapid and independent of consequences of behavior -filial imprinting: young animal acquires behavioral characteristics from parents (ex:chicks)

Answer 38

learned behavior, strong selective pressures to estimable memory that reflects spatial distribution of resources ex: wasp use landmarks to memorize location of nest

Answer 39

learned behavior, able to continously compute present location from its path trajectory and as consequence is able to return to starting point ex: desert ants can go long distances and return back- seem to use chemical cues from salt pans and landmarks

Answer 40

learned behavior, an internal representation of landscape in users brain, allows animal to visualize a direct and efficient pathway between 2 points in mapped area, even if it hasn't previously used that pathway--not just humans ex:clark's nutcrackers

Answer 41

learned behavior, association of one stimulus with another one example includes: classical conditioning: arbitrary stimulus becomes associated with particular outcome operant conditioning: an animal first learns to associate one of its behaviors with a reward or punishment and they tent to repeat or avoid pattern ex: coyote gets spikes by porcupine, knows to avoid it from now on

Answer 42

learned behavior, cognition is the process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, judgement of

Answer 43

learned behavior, same species teaching other members a certain behavior ex: praire dogs and songbirds can teach one another alarm calls (dogs) or songs (songbirds)

Answer 44

food-obtaining behavior including not only diet but also activities that an animal uses to search, recognize, capture, and consume food

Answer 45

behavior leading to creation of offspring, including all activities that animals use to seek, identify, choose and compete for a mate

Answer 46

profit= energy in good/ (searching time+handling time) -not only about energy but macro/micro minerals needed for animals (like sodium)

Answer 47

Non-consumptive effects are those that reduce prey fitness, unrelated to death by consumption. Some of these effects include prey defensive and behavioral mediated effects

Answer 48

hardwired/innate behavior, species subject to past election for anti-predator behavior will retain anti-predator behavior if it is not too costly to do so

Answer 49

- camouflage, timing/location of activity, random distribution rather than clumped OR clumped distribution to flood predator - run or swim away, taste bad/poison or mimicry, increase handling time (exoskeletons), protective surfaces like shells

Answer 50

predators can instill fear in prey so it affects later on where and how these prey behave ex: elk and wolf, elk avoid these vegetative clear lansdcapes bc of threat

Answer 51

Biomes usually drier at 30 degrees N and S bc these places are generally very warm with high sun and little precipitation bc Hadley Cells move and suck out moisture

Answer 52

1 female mates with 1 male; however range of levels of monogamy (how long mated), evolution of monogamy argued to have been driven by duel parental investment. - Species with altrical young ( not well-developed when born) - long juvenile periods - usually distributed in resource-limited systems

Answer 53

pattern of reproductive variance greater in males than females, meaning regardless of mating system females are MORE selective sex (lot more extreme in monogamous relationships). This means that some males successful, most are not. -due to anisogamy

Answer 54

Anisogamy refers to different size gametes, females usually invest more energy to produce offspring + limited as opposed to males who have unlimited supply * differential investment, gamete size, limited #, all contribute to females being choosier (more to lose/gain depending on mate male) ex: 90% birds monogamous

Answer 55

EPF: extra pair fertilization- meaning promiscuous mating behavior in monogamous species meaning monogamy more SOCIAL than genetic EPF is beneficial to females bc gives them greater choice (of male mate) and increases genetic variability to choose from --however this sometimes decreases participation of parental duties of males (don't know if they are parent or not)

Answer 56

polygyny is when one male mates with many females, there are 3 kinds of polygyny: resource defense polygyny, mate-guarding polygyny, lek polgyny

Answer 57

males look for the best territories with the best resources and protect them before females arrive; can also use man-made features ex: Red Wing Blackbirds are extremely territorial and will move and attack anything with an orange/red color bc they think its another male bird

Answer 58

if males not able to protect territory or resources, they can follow and guard a group of females. These males will protect the female group from other male groups, do this by going on these circuits and circling the female groups. Males have big territory while females have very small territory ex: Bighorn Sheep/Porcupines

Answer 59

males will gather together rand show off their decorative features or dance in front of a group of females or one female so they can pick their mate. one defining feature of this is that 1 dominant male usually gets to mate with the most females in a lek ex: Sage Grouse

Answer 60

when one female mates with multiple males, rare. 2 forms cooperative polyandry and resource defense polyandry

Answer 61

several males will protect a females territory, many males with one female

Answer 62

reverse of cooperate, females protect smaller territories of groups of males, many males with one female

Answer 63

polyandrous mating strategy offer direct (nuptial gifts, paternal care, reduced male harassment) and genetic benefits to offspring (male genes, bet hedging (likelihood of infertile or recessive alleles less costly bc lots of males), offspring niche partitioning (if offspring reared together, might have dif resource needs), disease resistance)

Answer 64

members of both sexes mate non-exclusively with multiple partners ex: 2-toed sloths, mate with each other cuz territories are close together/ overlap ex: 3 toed sloths mate via polygny so have distinct female and male territories (when u look at distribution)

Answer 65

male guppies very colorful when no predators present but were black and white when predators present. Represented an important trade-off of risk of guppies from predation and sexual ornamentation, as ornamentation attractive + increases reproductive output BUT @ same time presented risk w/ predators that can detect them

Answer 66

rare species are common; common species are rare, majority of species that exist on earth are rare (and opposite is true-very few species are common) -one reason so many rare species can exist is that organismal communities have been overwritten many times, however they are not insignificant as they can add to long-term exosystem sustainability

Answer 67

is one species, in one place at one time; or a biological unit where rates and attributes occur at the individual level but have emergent properties at the level of a population. Birth, death, immigration, emigration, population size, dispersion etc. Viewed as dynamically chaning reservoirs. 1. spatially 2. genetically 3. demographically

Answer 68

pattern of individuals across space, spatial patterning. Categorize/ quantify dispersion by counting # of individuals found in the quadrants and then comparing observed frequency distribution of #'s of individual per quadrat to expected under random distribution (H0=random disperson) - random - clumped - unform

Answer 69

movement of individuals

Answer 70

discrete probability of distribution that expresses the probability of a given # of events occurring in a fixed interval of time or space - if random distribution:mean= variance (observed distribution matches the distribution expected under Poisson) - if clumped distribution: mean < variance (most quadrats will have values FAR from the mean, quadrats have either many or 0) - if unform distribution: mean> variance (most quadrats have values close to the mean, few quadrats with 0 or many) Mean (x)=(x1+x2+x3...Xn/ n) Varriance (how dif are our values of each observation)= summation ( x1-mean)^2..+ (xn-mean)^2 / n-1

Answer 71

usually use: indices: an index of density is any measurable correlative of density, correlated with count, if count low, population low (vice versa) ex:harvest records, tracks/signs, count surveys Distance sampling: often cannot count all individuals in population but can count reasonable proportion. So if you randomly layout transsects and assume that you can detect all individuals in a landscape, you can estimate density with ``` D=(n)/(2)(w)(L) D=density n= total # observed species w= effective half-width of transect L=lenght of transect ```

Answer 72

function of abundance but also function of variables associated with: - environment: maybe ability to detect nest was dif. on plantation that rain forest= bias, so density off - time: behavioral components where animals more/less detectable during certain periods - observer: not seeing organisms, variation + quality of observer may difer - population: maybe @ low density, index low, at higher density able to detect more (cuz know what they are looking for) -relationship between index and true density not ALWAYS a linear function

Answer 73

bc we cannot count all individuals in a population but can catch a reasonable proportion; capture random sample and mark as unique individuals, allowing those individuals to mix back into population and then recapture a 2nd round of individuals 2 equations: r/c= m/N or N=mc/r (just rearranged) ``` r= # marked (t1) and recaptured (t2) c= total # captured in t2 m= # marked (t1) N= population size ```

Answer 74

estimates density has 3 assumptions: 1. Marked and unmarked have equal probability of capture - excludes trap shy-reluctant to go back (overestimate population size) or opposite trap happy (underestimate population size) 2. Complete Mixture after release 3. Closed population - no births, deaths, immigration, emigration - usually shorter time periods (not longer bc cannot fulfill assumption) r/c= m/N or N=mc/r (just rearranged)

Answer 75

dN/dt= rN , equation shows instantaneous growth of population @ a specific point in time so: when r= -∞ = declining; r=0=stationary; r=+∞=growing

Answer 76

N(t+1) = N(t)λ λ=B, I, D, E λ<1=declining λ=1=stationary λ>1=growing N(t+1)=N0e^rt r= -∞ = declining r=0=stationary r=+∞=growing

Answer 77

r is called the intrinsic/instantaneous increase, able to express balance between inflow and outflow (b-d). Used in continuous differential equation formulation λ is called the finite rate of increase. It is a factor by which the population is multiplied per (chunky, discrete) time unit, used in discrete population projections r=ln(λ) and λ=e^r

Answer 78

1. when invading or colonizing a new + highly favorable environment (ex:invasive, non-native species) 2. when rebounding from massive crash 3. at the start of a bounded population (ex: logisitic population growth) 4. when develop novel adaptation to cope w/ habitat

Answer 79

1. no immigration or emigration 2. constant birth and death rates across time (every year the same) and individuals (no selection, no age structure) 3. no time lags- population responds instantly to changing N --many populations do NOT grow exponentially

Answer 80

decline in population growth with increasing population size bc of reduced survival and reproduction - habitats can't support infinite amount of organisms bc limited resources - competition for resources (intraspecific-among same species) leading to: predation, physiological (intrinsic) factors, territoriality, disease

Answer 81

population growth rates low when population size is small (low reproductive success + survival) so an increasing population size is required to see increasing growth rates - usually associated w/ disruption of social or mating systems avoiding predation, food axquisition, due to impacts of low number of individuals - ex: too few individuals to find mates and at low densities population growth slow bc hard to reproduce - ex 2: survival decreases with lower number of individuals in a population

Answer 82

accounts for density dependence (crowding) which makes it more realistic than exponential model however does NOT take account: 1. Stoichasticity ignores "unpredictable variations"- it is deterministic 2. Demography/ Age-sex structure: b and d are constant across ages- NOT realistic 3. Emigration/ Immigration (dispersal): I and E are ignored, why could that be ok for some systems but not others logistic model growth equations: Nt=(N0e^rt)/ (1+(e^rt-1)* N0/k dN/dt= rN (K-N)/K

Answer 83

stochastic model: include less predictable changes (like weather, food supply) changes and uncertainty around growth rates that alter population factors, like random events leading to uncertainty (ex: carrying capacity changes) Deterministic: outcome determined only by inputs, nothing left to chance or incorporates uncertainties or changing conditions (outcome always the same)

Answer 84

1. Environmental stoichasticity: annual changes in population due 2. Catastrophes: fire, floods, intense droughts, storms occur occasionally + have large impact on individuals and environment ex: carrying capacity changes, resets population to low level 3. Demographic stochasticity: natural and unpredictable, fluctuations in b and d and sex ratios ex: Last 6 dusky seasides sparrows were all male (unpredictable, random chance lead to extinction) 4. Genetic stochasticity: unpredictable changes in populations due to inbreeding and inbreeding depression - changes in genetics have important implications of population ecology

Answer 85

1. patterns of morality in species (dif organisms have dif mortality curves) - type 1: survival high in beginning until reach max lifespan - type 2: constant proportion of individuals dying @ same time - type 3 lots of early on mortality @ infanthood/right after birth 2. patterns of mortality in same species, bc of fig patterns in survivorship (ex:males and females dif survorship) - difs between male and female survivorship (f live more) is universal in most organisms 3. Sex ratios: skewing of sex ratios 4. Patterns of Natility:peak age in reproductive output

Answer 86

females skew sex ratio according to maternal conditions - F push torwards males in good conditions, F in bad - skewing of sex ratio @ birth by females ultimately bc of mating systems in mammals as most are polygnous - F can produce fit male to make more and more offspring - sex ratio. skew tends to increase w/ age - bird skew toward male, mammals to female

Answer 87

1. Chromosome hypothesis: heterogametic sex is likely to experience high mortality, in mammals heterogametic sex is males (XY) vs females (XX), while birds M (XX) and F (XY); so heterogametic sex susceptible to deleterious recessive alleles causing increased mortality 2. Reproduction/Dispersal: female birds spend more time in nest so subject to greater mortality rates - mammals, polygonous mating system so males undergo competition for access to reproductive output which increases mortality rates 3. Intraspecific competition: mammals polygonous mating system, sexual dimorphism increases in mammals (m bigger than f) so large body creates more energetic cost which increases mortality

Answer 88

permanent movement away from an existing population or away from parent organism, not migration ( as thats the seasonal movement from breeding to wintering grounds + return to breeding)

Answer 89

assemblage of multiple local populations connected by immgration + emigration/dispersal

Answer 90

set of individuals with a high probability of interacting | -metapopulations pull local populations together via dispersal

Answer 91

a matrix is an area of unsuitable habitat surrounding patches

Answer 92

in a classic metapopulation, each individual of subpopulation has a non-trivial risk of extinction (chance of going locally extinct), so operate in viable system, if one population goes extinct it can be rescued (reinforce persistence of 1 another) -b,d,i,e all vary in subpopulations- have own independent demographics and trajectory

Answer 93

have one large source: 1 large growing subpopulation, but that population cannot keep up with birth rates due to limited resources, so individuals disperse to smaller subpopulations where birth rate is LESS THAN death rate - source patches (b>d), (ie),, have space to recieve individuals bc not growing -

Answer 94

like classic but a lot of exchange of individuals that demographic fate of overall metapopulation linked, so dispersal between sub-populations so tight so b and d rates difficult to distinguish; operate more like structured population but still metapopulation bc of dispersal linking them together (like single unit basically)

Answer 95

there is weak connectivity between subpopulations, distance very large, so emigration and immigration rates very low (approaching 0), * not assured if 1 subpopulation goes extinct that it will be rescued

Answer 96

dispersal is an important to process that links populations, illustrates the importance of spatial configuration of a population and landscape features, and why metapopulations can persist even if local populations go extinct

Answer 97

``` # of species on an island reflects a balance between rate @ which new species colonize and rate @ which populations of established species become extinct -islands that far away have least colonization, smaller islands have greater extinction, big islands near mainland have most species ```

Answer 98

relationship between two species, can be good or bad - predation: (+,-) - mutualism: (+,+) - competition: (-,-) interactions negative between species, use same resources so presence of 1 isn't good bc use same resources - commensalism: (0,+) benefit to one, no cost/neutral to other - amensalism: (0,-) interaction of one species has negative cost to other, neutral to other ex:allelopathy: walnut tree exude toxins into soil, stunt growth of nearby trees (negative effect on other neighboring trees, none to walnut trees nearby or itself)

Answer 99

involves using up a resource but species don't interact directy, but presence of one has negative affects on other ex: cattle and prairie dogs, both consume grasses/ bushes/shrubs

Answer 100

involves behavioral interractions that keep others from gaining access (like interspecific killing in carnivora)-among similar species (both carnivores) ex: hyena and lion, wolf and coyote

Answer 101

occurs when individuals use space that then becomes unavailable to others (barnackes in rocky intertidal and cavity nesting birds), ex: European starlings nest prior to other cavity nesting birds, starlings get there earlier so preemptively prevent other birds from nesting in those cavitites

Answer 102

if 2 species have almost completely overlapping niches, they cannot continue to coexist- one of the 2 species will be driven to extinction ex: Paramecium bacteria

Answer 103

the sum total uses that a species makes of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment

Answer 104

niche occupancy in absence of competition

Answer 105

niche occupancy in presence of competition - if realized niche smaller than fundamental niche means that competition is limiting species distribution ex: two baracles species

Answer 106

given competition, species should be under selection by evolving niches with lower overlap - competition drives resource us apart for 2 competing species - efficiency drives species together, if too far apart a whole resource is not being used, so effieiency of resources reinforce competition - so reason why species don't go extinct when competing is bc they diverge in resource use but competition still maintained bc of effieicent use of resourcs

Answer 107

characteristics changing in absence of competition, expand niche breathe

Answer 108

competition displaces characters, so non-overlapping morphological characteristics limit competitive interactions

Answer 109

phenotype is mallable/flexible/changeable according to environment, not phenotype or phenological mismatch as phenotype is CHANGING bc of ecological reality. Not character displacement either as displacement caused by competitive interactions are heritable (ex: Galapagos finches), while plasticity is not heritable (Lamarkian heresy, ex: marine iguanas shrink to survive el nino)

Answer 110

1. Herbivory: eating plants, monophagy-eating 1 plant, polyphagy eating multiple plants 2. Insect Parasitoids: insects lay eggs on/near host that is then consumed by larvae 3. Parasites: tapeworms, mistletoe, ticks; often high specialized 4. Cannibalism: consumption of conspecific (eat same species), very rare, have great risk 5. Classic Predation: consumption of heterospecies (dif species)

Answer 111

predation is mechanisms of natural selection, leading to 1. crypticity (snowshoe hares turning white) 2. cost/benefit balances in sexual selection (ex: guppy coloration) 3. Life history evolution (age of 1st breeding, nesting strategies) 4. anti-predation adaptations: unprofitable prey 5. indirect effects of predation like vigilance, habitat selection, grouping, inducible effects

Answer 112

type 1: kill rate directionally proportional to prey density, meaning as population increases so does rate of killing before reaching predation cap ex: orb weaving spiders type 2: kill rate limited @ high densities by handling time, limiting how much is consumed type 3: kill rate limited @ very low prey desities (absence of search image-limited search time) accelerated at moderate prey densities and slowed at high prey desnties (handling time caos)

Answer 113

keystone predators hold community together, presence increases overall species diversity by competitive dominance

Answer 114

if factors that limit population removed, population may experience an ecological release (similar to character release); may lead to trophic cascade; usually when 2 preadots in system, apex removed so secondary predator increases and affects lower trophic levels

Answer 115

how energy flows through ecological system taking into account biotic and abiotic factors

Answer 116

1. 1st law of thermodynamics: energy cannot be created nor destroyed only transferred or transported 2. 2nd law: in energy exchanges if no E enters or leaves the potential energy of state will always be less than that of the initial state (entropy) - for ecology, each transition from autotrophs to hetertrophs is inefficient and loses energy

Answer 117

a lot of plants are indigestible to organisms leading to a loss of energy/biomass as move up pyramid, however for aquatic systems they are much more efficient in these transfers (algae more digestible), this leads to an inversion caused by the overall efficiencies of digestion and rate that zooplankton eat phytoplankton

Answer 118

true in both terrestrial and aquatic biomes however accentuated in aquatic biomes as most predators need to engulf prey or else they will sink or be swept away; in terrestrial size constraints are less pronounced bc of hard surfaces allowing predators to catch larger prey (ex: pack hunters, parasitoids, hunting tools)

Answer 119

face competitive interactions usually between SAME species or 2 equal species

Answer 120

the simple linear hierarchy of monophagous consumers

Answer 121

bc autotrophs in aquatic systems have greater rate of productivity and are more digestible (as don't have to fight against gravity like terrestrial plants which use cellulose that's not as digestible and grow much slower)

Answer 122

complex network of interactions between producers and consumers

Answer 123

form of interference competition, where competitors are interfered/killed but NOT eaten

Answer 124

predators hunt one another for nutrition and energy | ex: lizards and spiders

Answer 125

Now know that world is green bc of top-down forcing. top-down forcing: top consumers limit the secondary consumers which allow autotrophs to thrive however used to believe reason for green was bc bottom up-limited theory: autotrophs/primary producers dictate how many herbivores which didtate how many predators

Answer 126

reciprocal predator-prey effects that alter the abundance, biomass, or productivity of a population, community, atrophic level across more than 1 link in a food web; the enemy of my enemy is my friend ex: absence of sea otter (primary predator) caused sea urchins to each and eat lots of kelp; when otters present they regulate urchins and thus kelp able to grow. Reason otters declining bc of killer whales that hunt them to local extinction bc historic food source (seals and sea lions) are now less abundant and have increased search time

Answer 127

1. Global-nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfur | 2. Local- phosphorous, potassium, calcium, too heavy to occur as gas

Answer 128

size of reservoir, where inorganic or organic materials is available for organisms

Answer 129

rate of movement between reservoirs, pool turnover/ exchanged rate

Answer 130

"dynamic" bc water is moving from dif reservoirs and fluxing BUT is in equilibrium bc the equal size of inputs and outputs keeps system in balance

Answer 131

photosynthesis in aquatic and terrestrial biomes, into:215 Gt/year out: 219 Gt/year means fluxes are not in balance; dif number being put into and being released as human C emissions are adding more and changing overall pool size and atmospheric pool increase

Answer 132

forest deforestation, ultimately harvesting fossilized carbon are main drivers of shifts of C in atmosphere and pools causing cumulative effect

Answer 133

terrestrial biomes need lots of C to build structures to fight against gravity, for aquatic autotrophs don't have that problem and instead use C for carbonate rxn - once in dissolved form, CO2 reacts w/ water in what are known as carbonate rxns - shells are made from calcium carbonate

Answer 134

ongoing decrease in pH of Earth's oceans, caused by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from atmosphere -but increasing CO2 prevents CaCO3 from forming and creating more and more bicarbonate as creating more H+ ions which increase acidity

Answer 135

shellfish, corals, phytoplankton experience reduced calcification or enhanced dissolution when exposed to elevated CO2 -C levels not at state of equilibrium:CO2 building in atmosphere, but rate @ which it is accumulating is less than rate @ which its being emitted

Answer 136

Nitrogen fairly abudant in Earths atmosphere it is generally unstable/unusuable unless converted (N2) organic: N found in compounds like aa, proteins inorganic: include ammonium (NH4+), ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3-), Nitrite (NO2-)

Answer 137

include fixation, ammonification (mineralization), nitrification, and dentrification Fixation: when atmospheric nitrogen is converted to ammonia (NH3) by enzyme- nitrogenase -Rhizobia and Frankia are symbiotic bacteria and can fix nitrogen in soil Ammonification: degree to which ammonia forms ammonium ions depends on acidity of soil pH, if pH low more ammonia (NH3) molecules will be converted into ammonium (NH4+) -when a plant/animal dies or expels waste, initially organic N, so bacteria/fungi can convert organic N within the remains back into ammonium (NH4+) Nitrification: conversion of ammonium (NH4+) to nitrite (NO2-) - other bacterium oxidize nitrites into nitrates (NO3-) - many plants have mutualisms with mycorrhizal fungi that degrade N compounds and in aa absorption Denitrification: reduction of nitrates back into inert nitrogen gas (N2), completing nitrogen cycle, performed by bacterial species

Answer 138

guiding human development on a changing planet -many processes operating outside of historic means: genetic diversity, phosphorous, nitrogen

Answer 139

biodiversity is the variation of living world, ranging from genetic variability w/in a species to diversity of dif. ecosystems or biomes on earth

Answer 140

midst of mass extinction, recent extinction caused by humans, 6 periods of extinction - Ordovician - Denovian - Permian - Triassic - Cretaceous - Holocene/Anthropocene:geological era where humans dominate

Answer 141

4 major drivers of extinction wave 1. Habitat destruction: changing historic biome to anthrome very rapidly, species can't co-evolve fast enough, leading cause of biodiversity loss 2. Introduced species: bringing new species into non-historic areas, where they may have no predators and increase in frequency, may drive local species to extinction 3. Second Extinctions: when 1 species plucked from biome, other species affected 4. Overkill: humans most effective predator/hunter, harvest for decor/consumption

Answer 142

instead of 4, there are 6 drivers (2 additional ones) 5. Climate Change: rapidly changing abiotic conditions, species reaching latitude or longitude limits under threat of extinction 6. Extinction Synergies: 5 extinction threats don't occur independently, can occur w/ and reinforce one another - drivers of extinction work together and heighten extinction probability MORE than sum of individual threats

Answer 143

projected extinction rates 10x higher than current