Exam 2 Flashcards

(206 cards)

1
Q
  • describes how environmental conditions change over time
  • some is predictable, such as the changing conditions that occur during the day versus during the night or the changes in seasonal conditions that are typical for a given climate
A

temporal environmental variation

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2
Q

occurs from place to place due to large-scale variation in climate, topography, and soil type

A

spatial environmental variation

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3
Q
  • the position of each individual is independent of the position of other individuals in the population
  • not common in nature
A

random dispersion

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4
Q

why are random dispersions not common in nature

A

abiotic conditions, resources, and interactions with other species are not randomly distributed

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5
Q
  • a type of dispersion in which each individual maintains a uniform distance between itself and its neighbors
  • arises from direct interactions between neighbors
A

evenly spaced dispersion

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6
Q
  • individuals are aggregate in discrete groups
  • a result of social groups, clustered resources, or offspring that remain close to their parents
A

clustered dispersion

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7
Q

describes the spacing of individuals with respect to one another within the geographic range of a population; can be clustered, evenly spaced, or random

A

dispersion

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8
Q

true or false:

A population can exhibit one pattern of dispersion at a large scale but a different pattern of dispersion at a smaller scale

A

true

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9
Q

the total number of individuals that exist within a defined area

A

abundance

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10
Q

why is the total abundance of a population important

A

it provides a measure of whether a population is thriving or on the brink of extinction

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11
Q
  • the number of individuals in a unit of area or volume
  • a valuable measure because it tells ecologists how many individuals are packed into a particular area
A

density

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12
Q

what happens if a habitat can support a higher density than currently exists

A

the population can continue to grow in the area

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13
Q

what happens if the population density is greater than what the habitat can support

A

either some individuals will have to leave the area or the population will experience lower growth and survival

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14
Q

where is the highest concentration of individuals located across a large geographic area

A

the center of a population’s geographic range

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15
Q

what happens as one moves closer to the periphery of the geographic range

A

biotic and abiotic conditions become less ideal and support fewer individuals

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16
Q
  • a measure of the total area covered by a population
  • includes all the areas its members occupy during their life
  • an important measure because it tells us the size of the area a population occupies
A

geographic range

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17
Q

why don’t individuals of a species or population often don’t occupy every location within their geographic range

A

climate, topography, soils, vegetation structure, and other factors influence the abundance of individuals

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18
Q

which type of temperatures are more hospitable to a greater variety of species

A

warmer

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19
Q

the more suitable the habitat,

A

the larger a population can grow within that habitat

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20
Q

The process of determining the suitable habitat conditions for a species

A

ecological niche modeling

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21
Q

The range of ecological conditions that are predicted to be suitable for a species

A

the ecological envelope of the species

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22
Q

The habitat in which an organism lives is determined by the organism’s

A

niche

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23
Q

includes the range of abiotic and biotic conditions it can tolerate

A

niche

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24
Q
  • elaborate male secondary sexual characteristics act as handicaps
  • argues that the greater the handicap and individual carries in terms of a more extreme trait, the greater its ability to offset that handicap with the other superior qualities
A

handicap principle

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25
* a situation in which selection for preference of a sexual trait and and selection for that trait continue to reinforce eah other * continues until males run out of genetic variation for the trait or until the fitness costs of possessing extreme traits begin to outweigh the reproductive benefits
runaway sexual selection
26
* individuals choose the healthiest mates * could be the outcome of either superior genetics or a superior upbringing with abundant resources
good health hypothesis
27
* an individual chooses a mate that possesses a superior genotype
good genes hypothesis
28
hypotheses that would cause a female to choose a male based on his traits
good genes hypothesis
29
physical items that a male can provide a female, including a site for raising offspring, a high-quality territory, or abundant food
material benefits
30
types of female preferences for male traits
material and nonmaterial benefits
31
* a difference in the phenotype between males and females of the same species * includes differences in body size, ornaments, color, and courtship behavior
sexual dimorphism
32
Traits related to fertilization–such as gonads
primary sexual characteristics
33
traits related to differences in body size, ornaments, color, and courtship
secondary sexual characteristics
34
how does sexual dimorphism evolve
* differences in life history between the sexes, contests between males, or mate choice by females * humans (hunting)
35
a behavior in which one partner prevents the other partner form participating in extra-pair copulations or makes breeding physically impossible
mate guarding
36
mating systems are shaped by
* natural selection * ecological conditions under which each species lives
37
when is monogamy favored
when males can make important contributions to raising the offspring
38
While a given female hsa a social bond by spending most of her time with only one male, she is actually breeding with other males
extra pair copulation
39
a mating system in which a social bond between one male and one female persists through the period that is required for them to rear their offspring
monogamy
40
a mating system in which a single individual of one sex forms long-term social bonds and mates with more than one individual of the opposite sex
polygamy
41
a male mates with more than one female
polygyny
42
a mating system in which a single female breeds with multliple males
polyandry
43
when does polygyny evolve
* when males compete for females and the females all prefer only the best few best males * when a male is able to defend a group of females from other males or when a male can control access to a resource that is attractive to multiple females
44
when does polyandry evolve
when the female is in search of genetically superior sperm or has received material benefits from each male with whom she mates
45
* a mating system in which individuals mate with multiple partners and do not create a lasting social bond * most common mating system
promiscuity
46
which takes more energy to produce sperm or egg
egg
47
what does a females reproductive success depend on
* number of eggs she can produce * quality of mates she finds
48
occurs when competition for mates takes place in a limited area and only a few males are required to fertilize multiple females
local mate competititon
49
what does a male's reproductive success depend on
how many females he can fertilize
50
* describe the number of mates each individual has and the permanence of the relationship among mates * subject to natural selection * promiscuity, polyandry, polygyny, and monogamy
mating systems of species
51
when mating options are restricted such that the only mates available for daughters are their brothers, mothers that produce a higher proportion of daughters than sons will have
more grand offspring and therefore greater evolutionary fitness
52
why do individuals of the less abundant sex enjoy greater reproductive success
because they compete with fewer individuals of the same sex for breeding ## Footnote whenever the population has an abundance of one sex, natural selection will favor any parents that produce offspring of the less abundant sex
53
54
the best sex ratio strategy depends on
the frequencies of males and females in a population
55
occurs when natural selection favors the rarer phenotype in a population
frequency-dependent selection
56
a process of sex selection in which sex is determined largely by the environment
environmental sex selection
57
Because the genotype has the ability to produce multiple phenotypes, temperature-dependent sex determination is a type of
phenotypic plasticity
58
environmental sex determination that depends on temperature
temperature-dependent sex determination
59
mechanisms of sex determination
* gametic * environmental
60
benefits of asexual reproduction
* 100% of genes passed * no investment on sexual organs or behaviors
61
costs of asexual reproduction
* accumulation of mutations over generations * no new allele combinations * higher chances of extinction
62
benefits of sexual reproduction
* mutations can be purged * new allele combinations (meiosis and fertilization) * lower chances of extinction
63
costs of sexual reproduction
* 50% of genes passed * sexual organs and behaviors are costly (resources, time, exposure to predator and parasites)
64
when a mate can be found, the individual prefers to breed by outcrossing to avoid the costs of inbreeding
mixed mating strategies
65
* occurs when an individual uses its male gametes to fertilize its own female gametes * poses a fitness cost due to inbreeding depression
self-fertilization
66
should selection favor individuals that use selfing when they have an opportunity to breed w/ other individuals
NO
67
when hermaphroditic species do not use selfing when they have an opportunity to breed with other individuals
outcrossing
68
how do some hermaphroditic species avoid the problems of selfing
by being sequential hermaphrodites
69
If a male individual can invest in female function and gain a great deal of female fitness while only giving up a small amount of male fitness, then selection will favor
the evolution of hermaphrodites
70
# true or false the total fitness achieved from being a hermaphrodite (i.e. fitness through male function plus female function) exceeds the fitness of being only a male or only a female
true
71
When male and female structures function at the same time
simultaneous hermaphrodite
72
Plants that have separate male and female flowers on the same individual plant
monoecious
73
When an individual plant contains only male flowers or only female flowers
dioecious
74
When an individual possesses one sexual function and then switches to the other
sequential hermaphrodite
75
The hypothesis that sexual reproduction allows hosts to evolve at a rate sufficient to counter the rapid evolution of parasites
the red queen hypothesis
76
when progeny inherit DNA from two parents through the union of two gametes
sexual reproduction
77
* produced through meiosis within sex organs called gonads * contains a single full set of chromosomes
gametes
78
* inherit DNA from a single parent * occurs via vegetative reproduction or parthenogenesis
asexual reproduction
79
occurs when an individual is produced from the nonsexual tissues of a parent
vegetative reproduction
80
* Individuals that descend asexually from the same parent and bear the same type * produced when germ cells develop directly into egg cells without going through meiosis
clones
81
a process in which bacteria and some species of protists reproduce by duplicating their genes and then dividing the cell into two identical cells
binary fission
82
* reproduce asexually by producing an embryo without fertilization * arise from diploid eggs * composed entirely of females
parthenogenesis
83
* germ cells pass through the first meiotic division, but suppression of the second meiotic division results in diploid egg cells * differences arise from recombination and independent assortment of chromosomes
partial meiosis
84
gamete-forming cells of the female are haploid then fuse to form a diploid embryo
complete meiosis
85
* a 50% reduction in the number of a parent’s genes passed on to the next generation via sexual reproduction vs asexual reproduction * ounterbalanced in hermaphrodites * can be offset when an individual is either male or female and the male helps the female take care of the offspring
cost of meiosis
86
individuals that possess both male and female function
hermaphrodites
87
* The schedule of an organism’s growth, development, reproduction, and longevity * Represent the combined effects of many morphological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of organisms, all of which interact with environmental conditions to affect survival, growth, and reproduction
life history
88
which is the number of offspring produced per reproductive episode
fecundity
89
the number of episodes of reproduction
parity
90
the amount of time and energy given to offspring
parental investment
91
the life span of an organism
longevity or life expectancy
92
how do life history traits vary
* consistently with respect to life form, habitat, or conditions in the environment * variation in one life history trait is often correlated with variation in other life history traits
93
* long life spans, low numbers of offspring, and a high investment in the energy the parent gives to the offspring, such as parental care, the amount of yolk in an egg, or the amount of energy stored in a seed * slow
K-selected
94
* short times to sexual maturity, higher numbers of offspring, little parental investment, and short life spans * fast
R-selected
95
conceptualized the relationship between life history traits and environmental conditions as a triangle, with each of the three points representing an extreme environmental condition: abiotic stress, competition, and the frequency of disturbances
Grime
96
can survive and reproduce under extreme environmental conditions, such as very low water availability, very cold temperatures, or high salt concentrations
stress tolerators
97
* compete for nutrients * can grow relatively quickly, because they often spread by vegetative reproduction * tend to grow to larger sizes and exhibit long life spans
competitors
98
* low stress and high frequency fo disturbance * colonize disturbed patches of habitat, exhibit fast growth and earl maturation, and use a high proportion of their energy to make seeds * typically have seeds that are easily dispersed and that can persist in the environment for many years as they wait for favorable environmental conditions to germinate
ruderals
99
* reflects the genetic makeup of the organism * the result of how an organism allocates a finite amount of time, energy, or nutrients
trade-offs
100
when resources are devoted to one body structure, physiological function, or behavior, they cannot be allocated to another
principle of allocation
101
selection favors what type of offspring size
a uniform, perhaps even optimal, offspring size and that an individual able to acquired additional energy can use it to make greater numbers of offspring
102
As the number of offspring increases, the efforts of the parents to provide food and protection will be
increasingly spread thin
103
neither phenotype does well in both environments
phenotypic trade-off
104
the ability of a single genotype to produce multiple phenotypes
phenotypic plasticity
105
when does the fitness advantage of phenotypic plasticity occur
whenever environmental variation in space or time occurs frequently
106
an environmentally induced change in an individual's physiology
physiological plasticity / acclimation
107
induced changes in what are more difficult to reverse
morphology and life history
108
When environments fluctuate rapidly relative to the length of an individual’s lifetime, selection should favor
plastic behavioral and physiological traits because these traits can often respond rapidly and reverse rapidly
109
the seasonal movement of animals from one region to another
migration
110
Where environmental variation shifts the food supply from feast to famine and migration is not a possibility, what can be an adaptive strategy
storing resources
111
a condition in which animals dramatically reduce their metabolic processes
dormancy
112
types of dormancy
diapause hibernation torpor aestivation
113
a type of dormancy that is common in insects and other animals in response to unfavorable environmental conditions
diapause
114
a less extreme type of dormancy that occurs in endotherms, in which animals reduce the energetic costs of being active by lowering their heart rate and decreasing their body temperature
hibernation
115
a brief period of dormancy during which the animal reduces its activity and its body temperature decreases to help conserve energy
torpor
116
the shutting down of metabolic processes during the summer in response to hot or dry conditions
aestivation
117
The idea that animals should strive for the best balance between the costs and benefits of different foraging strategies
optimal foraging theory
118
responses to food variation in space and time
central place foraging, risk-sensitive foraging, optimal diet composition, and diet mixing
119
acquired food is brought to a central place, such as a nest with young
central foraging theory
120
The total time it takes to obtain the food depends on the time needed to fly round-trip to the food site
traveling time
121
time spent obtaining food once the animal arrives at the site
searching time
122
Animals that incorporate the risk of predation into their foraging decisions
risk-sensitive foraging
123
why does natural selection occur
because of differences in survival or reproduction among individuals endowed with different phenotypes in a particular environment
124
favors any combination of traits that collectively provide improved survival or reproduction to an individual
natural selection
125
a type of seleciton in which humans decide which individuals will breed and the breeding is done with a preconceived goal for the traits desired in the population
artificial selection
126
* the evolution of populations * pervasive * affected by both random processes and selection * can be divided into artificial and natural selection
microevolution
127
what types of populations tend to experience more genetic drift
small populations
128
* individuals with extreme phenotypes at either end of the distribution can have higher fitness than individuals with intermediate phenotypes * increases genetic and phenotypic variation within a population
disruptive selection
129
occurs when an extreme phenotype experiences higher fitness than the average phenotype of the population
directional selection
130
* individuals with intermediate phenotypes have higher survival and reproductive success than those with extreme phenotypes * sweeps away harmful genetic variation
stabilizing selection
131
the nonrandom process by which certain phenotypes survive and reproduce better within a given environment than other phenotypes
selection
132
how can selection influence the distribution of traits in a population in three ways
* stabilizing selection * directional selection * disruptive selection
133
occurs when genetic variation is lost due to random variation in mating, mortality, fecundity, or inheritance
genetic drift
134
why is genetic drift more common in small populations
because random events can have a disproportionately large effect on the frequencies of genes in the population
135
ways genetic drift occurs
* bottleneck effects * founder effects
136
* when a population experiences a severe reduction in population size * the survivors carry only a fraction of the genetic diversity that was present in the original, larger population * smaller population will possess different gene frequencies than the earlier, larger population
bottleneck effect
137
A substantial barrier that prevents dispersal between suitable habitats
dispersal limitation
138
what is a common dispersal limitation
the presence of large expanses of inhospitable habitat that an organism cannot cross
139
strips of favorable habitat located between large patches of favorable habitat
habitat corridors
140
* When all individuals have perfect knowledge of habitat variation and they distribute themselves in a way that allows them to have the same per capita benefit * tells us how individuals should distribute themselves among habitats of differing quality
ideal free distribution
141
resources available to each individual
per capita benefit
142
Lack's hypothesis
* life history traits not only contribute to reproductive success, but also influence ecolutionary fitness * life histories vary consistently w/ respect to factors in the environment * number of offspring parents can successfully rear is limited by food supply
143
which types of birds contradicted Lack's hypotheses
tropical birds | more food per nestling
144
145
what diminishes benefits to the parents in terms of the number of offspring that survive
increasing the number of offspring
146
how do we determine the optimal food decision
balance the energy obtained from the prey and the handling time ## Footnote energy benefit / handling time
147
the time required to subdue and consume the prey
handling time
148
* occurs when a small number of individuals leave a large population to colonize a new area and bring with them only a small amount of genetic variation * genetic variation remains low until enough time has passed to accumulate new mutations
founder effect
149
if several genes influence body size
an individual's size will depend on the mix of alleles for all of these genes
150
the tendency for individuals to be concentrated toward the center of the distribution reflects
the relative improbability of an individual inheriting mostly alleles that code for large body size or mostly alleles that code for small body size
151
a phenomenon when females do not grow anymore after initiating reproduction
determinate growth
152
continued growth after initiating reproduction
indeterminate growth
153
what is the key feature of shaping the trade-off between growth and reproduction is that
larger females commonly produce more offspring
154
increased fecundity during one year occurs at the cost of
further growth that year
155
an organism with a long life expectancy should favor what during the early years of its life
growth over fecundity
156
the number of new individuals that are produced in a given amount of time minus the number of individuals that die
growth rate of a population
157
when individuals reach maximum reproductive rates and minimum death rates under ideal conditions
intrinsic growth rate (r)
158
* growth is exponential under ideal conditions * when conditions are ideal, the size of the population in the future (Nt) depends on the current size of the population (N0) * the population’s intrinsic growth rate (r), and the amount of time over which the population grows (t) * e = base of natural log (2.72)
exponential growth rate
159
populations with higher intrinsic growth rates or a larger number of reproductive individuals will
experience a greater rate of increase in population size ## Footnote applies to humans
160
the exponential growth model produces what shaped curve
J
161
how do we determine the rate of growth at any point in time using the exponential mdoel
dN/dt = rN ## Footnote * this equation tells us that the rate of change in population size at any particular point in time depends on the population’s intrinsic growth rate and the population’s size at that point in time * The derivative form of the equation tells us the slope of the line relating population size to time at any given point
162
the time required for a population to double in abundance
doubling time
163
which animals grow more rapidly: endotherms or ectotherms
endotherms
164
for species that breed once...
physiological decline and death follow rapidly
165
for species that breed many times...
the decline in physiology comes more gradually
166
* the phenomenon of an organism reproducing only once * relatively rare in vertebrate animals, more common in insects and many species of plants * live under more extreme ecological conditions
semelparity
167
* the phenomenon of an organism reproducing multiple times throughout their life * a common life history that occurs in most species of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians
iteroparity
168
variable environment + variable phenotype =
better survival
169
# true or false: plastic individuals are usually fitter than a non-plastic individual in their own environment
false ## Footnote Plastic individuals aren’t usually fitter than a non-plastic individual in their own environment, it’s the ability to react that increases fitness
170
* micro + speciation * descent with modification, speciation
macroevolution
170
requirements for evolution to occur
* phenotypic varaiton * traits are heritable * differential reproductive success * success determined by heritable traits
171
have similar gamets in both parents
isogamy species
172
have different gametes in each parent | smaller ones - male, larger ones - female
anisogamy species
173
how individuals try to maximize their own reproductive fitness
* mate guarding * copulatory plugs * infanticides * traumatic insemination
174
sex ratio in a population is controlled by
frequency-dependent selection
175
* a sexual trait and selection for that trait reinforce each other * might impose a handicap on the bearer
runaway selection
176
the result of diverse sex determination systems
sexual dimorphisms
177
save up resources to "finance" reproduction
capital breeders
178
reproduction depends on available resources in current environment
income breeders
179
higher latitude =
better clutch size
180
the decrease in fertility and increase in probability of death over the course of a lifespan
senescence
181
live only in one specific are
endemic species
182
live in a wide range of geographic areas
cosmopolitan species
183
density varies by
body size, resource availability, location within range
184
higher population density has negative effects on population growth (disease)
negative density dependence
185
higher population has positive effects on population growth (mating and allee effects)
positive density dependence
186
a phenomenon characterized by a correlation between population size or density and the mean individual fitness of a population or species
allee effect
187
methods to measure abundance
* subsampling (line transect and area/volume search) * indices (indirect counts of evidence) * mark-recapture
188
M/N = R/C ## Footnote M = # caught in first sampling N = total # in population R = # recaptured (in second sample) C = # captured in second sample
mark-recapture method
189
how do we measure indices
indirect counts of evidence
190
the rate of deterioration can be modified by
* a variety of physiological mechanisms that either prevent or repair damage (take time, energy, nutrients, and tissues * depends on the expected life span of the individual
191
when a population has a low survival rate, selection should favor
improvements in reproductive success at young ages and selection to delay senescence should be weak
192
in a population with a high survival rate, selection for ... should be strong
delayed senescence
193
* compares population sizes at regular time intervals * expressed as a ratio of a population’s size in 1 year to its size in the preceding year (or some other time interval) ## Footnote N1=N0λ
geometric growth model
194
195
λ > 1 means
the population size has increased from 1 year to the next because there have been more births than deaths
196
when λ > 1,
the population size has decreased from 1 year to the next because there have been fewer births than deaths
197
why is the value of λ always positive
there cannot be a negative number of individuals
198
Nt=N0λt where t equals time.
geometric growth model
199
how are geometric and exponential growth related
by λ=er which can be rearranged to loge​λ=r ## Footnote λ and r are directly related to each other
200
when a population is decreasing,
λ<1 and r<0
201
202
when a population is constant,
λ<1 and r<0
203
When a population is increasing
λ>1 and r>0
204
equation for doubling time (the exponential model)
e^(rt) = Nt/N0
205
doubling time equation (geometric model)
loge2/logeλ