Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards
(33 cards)
what abiotic factors impact global patterns of animal distribution?
climate, temperature, precipitation, salinity, pH, sunlight
What is a biome? And what are they characterized by in both aquatic (water) and terrestrial (land) areas?
biome: large scale communities characterized by climate
aquatic biome: differences in temperature, salinity, oxygen content, water depth, current strength, availability of light, freshwater or saltwater
terrestrial biome: differences in vegetation type, temp, and precipitation
Understand the three-cell model and how to predict the latitude biome position.
- 0 to 20 degrees: warm and wet air = tropical rainforest
- 20 to 30 degrees: dry and hot descending air = deserts
- 45 to 55 degrees: air warms and gets moisture = temperate decidious
- above 60 degrees: dry and cold = polar regions
- from North to South pole starting at equator*
What are the biotic factors that impact animal distribution?
food, competition, reproduction, habitat preferences
Be able to explain how and why a mountain can show several major biomes from the bottom to the top of the mountain.
adiabatic cooling
- windward side: air increase through elevation, warmer air becomes colder and drops water (forest), at the top could snow
- leeward side: air begins to descend as it becomes dry/warm (deserts)
What is the definition of a population and how are populations studied?
population: group of interbreeding individuals occupying the same habitat at the same time
population ecology: studies factors affecting population size and how it changes over time/space
Explain the different ways that ecologists measure populations for specific organisms.
line transect: line that expands and you count how many plants/sessile organisms are touching it
quadrat: square of specific measurements thats places randomly and you count in there
pitfall trap: trap in the ground used for mobile small animals
mist nets: nets high up to catch birds/bats
mammal type: baited for small and big mammals
What are the different types of dispersion patterns of organisms and which is most common?
clumped: resources are clustered in nature, social behavior promotes this pattern
uniform: competition may cause this pattern, animals defend their territories
random: rare but may occur where resources are common and abundant
Define population density.
number of organisms in a given unit are or volume
Be able to identify the 3 different survivorship curves. Also, explain and give an example organism that exhibits each type of curve.
type 1: die late in life, parental investment, less offspring
type 2: uniform rate of decline
type 3: huge decline in young
Understand the variables that go into a life table and how to interpret those variables in a life table.
n0= # alive at year zero
# of dying: prev pop - new pop
age-specific survivorship: nx/n0
age-specific fertility: survivorship x fertility @ that age
net reproductive rate: =1 (stable), < 1 (decrease), > 1 (increase)
Be able to distinguish between exponential and logistic growth models. Understand the mathematical model for each and what the terms mean.
exponential growth: population grows faster and gets larger
logistic growth: populations will be limited by carrying capacity (will have K in the mathematical model)
What is the definition of and factors that are density dependent and density independent?
density dependent: high density = low birth rate = high death rate = stable/decline
density independent: abiotic factos
What is meant by carrying capacity? What is it that causes a population to have a carrying capacity?
carrying capacity: max population size sustained by the environment
cause: limiting resources (food, habitat, etc), or species interactions
Be able to explain the competitive exclusion principle & how resource partitioning affects this principle.
competitive exclusion principle: if two species have an ecological niche that is too similar, the two species can’t coexist
resource partitioning: differentiation of niches, both in space and time that enables similar species to co-exist
Interactions between species can be defined by the effect on the populations concerned. Be able to name and identify the + or – interactions between species.
mutualism: +, +
commensalism: +, 0
amensalism: -, 0
competition: -, -
predation, herbivory, parasitism, parasitoid: +, -
Understand the different adaptations that prey species have gained to reduce predation on the population and be able to give an example of each.
chemical defense: skunks
aposmatic coloration: warning color to advertise they are toxic, that one frog from rio
camouflage: blend into environment, that stick animal
display of intimidation: make them bigger, puffer fish
mullerian mimicry: look similar and both are toxic, some butterflies
batesian mimicry: look similar but only one is toxic, snakes
armor/weaponry: shells, stingers, horns
Explain the patterns of species richness and how they vary.
- species richness increase from polar regions to the tropics
- species richnnes increase with topographical variation, more habitat
- # of species in influences by peninsular effect ( decrease away from mainland)
How do you calculate species diversity?
using the shannon diversity index
Hs: - SigmaPilnPi
What is species richness? species diversity? What is the difference between the two?
species richness: # of species in a community
species diversity: the variety of species that make up a community (includes species richness and relative abundance)
What is the name of the process that occurs after disturbances that is the system trying to reset itself? Be able to distinguish between primary and secondary when it comes to this process.
succession (recovery)
primary: area with no soil, volcanic eruption or glacial retreat
secondary: soil is left intact, fires and floods
Understand the feeding relationships among the various species in a community and how they impact each other. They can be represented by chains or webs.
food chains: trophic structures that determines the flow of energy and nutrients
food webs: more complicated relationships with multiple links among species
Be able to explain the 3 different successional models: Facilitation, Inhibition & Tolerance.
facilitation: one species positively impacts the fitness of another
inhibition: first colonist prevent others from colonizing, first come
tolerance: species replacement is unaffected, anyone can come in
When it comes to food chains and webs understand the following terms: Producers, consumers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, decomposers.
producers: plants or phytoplankton, make the food
consumers: eats the producers or other consumers
primary consumers: only eat the producers, mainly herbivores
secondary consumers: eat the primary consumers
tertiary consumer: eats the secondary consumer
decomposers: consume dead plants and animals, eat waste products
