IX - Community Processes: Species Interactions & Succession Flashcards
1
Q
Niche
A
role that an organism plays in an ecosystem.
2
Q
Niche can also be defined by
A
range of conditions & resources within
which an organism can live
3
Q
Conditions
A
many physical attributes of the
environment, though not consumed, that influence
biological processes & population growth
4
Q
Conditions examples
A
temperature, salinity, acidity
5
Q
Resources
A
substances or parts of the environment used
by an organism & consumed or otherwise made
unavailable to other organisms
6
Q
Resources examples
A
food, water, &
nesting sites for animals; water, nutrients, & solar
radiation for plants
7
Q
Niche is not the same as
A
Habitat
8
Q
Habitat
A
Actual place an organism lives
9
Q
fundamental niche
A
the full range of conditions & resources that an organism could theoretically use in the absence of competition with other species.
10
Q
realized niche
A
the portion of the fundamental niche that an organism actually occupies; actual range of conditions & resources that an organism uses.
11
Q
Nich overlap between species leads to
A
Competition
12
Q
Competition causes organisms to not be able to
A
occupy the full fundamental niche
13
Q
Generalists
A
Broad niches
14
Q
Specialists
A
Narrow niches
15
Q
Examples of generalists
A
cockroaches,
coyotes, dandelions, humans
16
Q
Examples of specialists
A
spotted owls, which require old–growth forests in the Pacific Northwest; giant pandas, which eat primarily bamboo in bamboo forests of China
17
Q
Generalists may have advantage when
A
environmental conditions change
18
Q
Specialists may have advantage when
A
environmental conditions remain constants
19
Q
Native species
A
species that normally live
& thrive in a particular ecosystem
20
Q
Nonnative/exotic species
A
originate in other
ecosystems; may enter an ecosystem
by migration or by deliberate or
accidental introduction by humans
21
Q
Example of nonative species
A
"killer bees", wild bees from Africa were imported to Brazil to increase honey production, but instead displaced native bees, decreased honey production, spread, & posed threat because of aggressive behavior
22
Q
Indicator species
A
species that
serve as early warnings that a
community or ecosystem is being
damaged
23
Q
Examples of indicator species
A
Decline of migratory songbirds in North America indicates loss & fragmentation of habitat in mesoAmerica & South America Presence of trout in mountain streams is an indicator of good water quality Presence of spotted owls is indicator of healthy old– growth forest.
24
Q
Keystone species
A
species that play a
critical role in an ecosystem
25
Keystone species examples
Sea otter -> prevent sea urchins from depleting kelp beds
dung beetles -? remove, bury, & recycle animal waste
Beavers -> build dams & create habitat for other species
26
Major types of biotic interactions includes
Interspecific competition
Predation
Symbiosis
27
interspecific competition
when
two or more species use the same
limited resource (food, space, etc.)
and adversely affect each other
28
interspecific competition example
fire ants and native species
of ants in North America; fire ants
are better competitors & sharply reduce populations of up to
90% of native species.
29
predation
members of one
species (predator) feed on another
species (prey)
30
predation example
lion feeding on gazelle
31
Symbiosis
a long–lasting
relationship in which species live
together in intimate association
32
Types of symbiosis
parasitism
mutualism
commensalism
33
Parasitism
one organism
| (parasite) lives on part of another organism
34
Parasitism example
flea living on a dog
35
Mutualism
two species interacting in a
| way that benefits both
36
Mutualism example
flowering plants and
| insects
37
Commensalism
one organism benefits from
| another, but neither helps nor harm that other organism
38
Commensalism example
```
epiphyte
growing on a tree (epiphyte
benefits & tree not
effected, unless there are
many epiphytes
```
39
Lichens and mycorrhizae has a
symbiotic relationship
40
Types of interspecific competition includes
interference competition
| exploitation competition
41
interference competition
one species limits another
| species' access to a resource
42
Interference competition example
hummingbirds defending
| feeding territories
43
exploitation competition
competing species both have
access to a limited resource,
but one exploits the resource
more quickly or efficiently
44
Principle of competitive exclusion
In a classic experiment
(1934), Gause showed
that two species with
identical niches cannot coexist indefinitely.
45
Examples of competitive exclusion
Paramecium aurelia outcompetes Paramecium caudatum
46
Resource partitioning
```
Species with similar resource
requirements can coexist
because they use limited
resources at different times,
in different ways, or in
different places.
```
47
Resource partitioning example
Five species of insect–eating
warblers are able to coexist
in spruce forest of Maine.
48
Character displacement
```
Over many years
coexisting species
with similar niches
tend to evolve
physical &
behavioral
adaptations to
minimize
competition.
```
49
Character displacement example
```
on islands
where they co–
occur, species of
Darwin's finch have
evolved different bill
sizes & eat different
size prey.
```
50
Succession
gradual & fairly predictable change in
| species composition with time
51
What are the possibilities of succession?
Some species colonize & become more abundant;
| Other species decline or even disappear
52
Two kinds of succession
Primary succession
| Secondary succession
53
Primary succession
gradual establishment of biotic communities in an area where no life existed before
54
Secondary succession
gradual
| reestablishment of biotic communities in an area where a biotic community was previously present
55
Primary succession example
```
Primary
succession
over several
hundred
years on
bare rock
exposed by
a retreating
glacier on
Isle Royal in
northern
Lake
Superior.
```
56
Primary succession occurs with
Time in lifeless areas
57
Primary succession examples include
succession newly formed islands &
| succession after the retreat of a glacier
58
Primary succession progression
Lichens & mosses first colonize bare rock
Small herbs & shrubs colonize
Tree species colonize
59
Pioneer species
first species to colonize
60
Primary succession in a newly created pond
```
Bare bottom
Submerged vegetation
Emerging vegetation
Temporary pond & prairie
Wetland red maple forest & swamp
```
61
Successional changes in animal community accompany
Successional changes in plant community
62
Early successional species
```
Raddit
Quail
Ringneck pheasant
Dove
Bobolink
Pocket gopher
```
63
Mid Successional specie
```
Elk
moose
deer
Ruffled grouse
snowshoe hare
Bluebird
```
64
Late successional species
Turkey
Martin
Hammond's flycatcher
Gray squirrel
65
Wilderness species
```
Grizzly bear
Wolf
Caribou
Bighorn sheep
California condor
Great horned owl
```
66
Both primary & secondary succession
Are driven by three mechanisms
67
Three mechanisms
facilitation
inhibition
tolerance
68
facilitation
a process by which an earlier successional species makes
the environment suitable for later
successional species
69
facilitation example
legumes
fixing nitrogen can enable later
successional species
70
inhibition
a process whereby one
species hinders the establishment &
growth of other species
71
Inhibition example
shade
of late successional trees inhibits
the growth of early successional
trees;
72
tolerance
a process whereby later
successional species are unaffected
by earlier successional species.
73
During succession
species diversity & stratification tend to increase, while growth rates & primary productivity tend to decrease.
74
Plant size during early & late succession
Early - small
| Late - large
75
Species diversity during early & late succession
Early - Low
| Late - High
76
Trophic structure during early & late succession
Early - mostly producers
| Late - mixture of producers, consumers, & decomposers
77
Ecological niches during early & late succession
Early -few, more generalized
| Late -many, more specialized
78
community organization during early & late succession
Early - low
| Late - high
79
Biomass during early & late succession
Early - Low
| Late - high
80
Net primary productivity during early & late succession
Early - High
| Late - Low
81
Food web during early & late succession
Early - Simple
| Late - Complex
82
Efficiency for nutrient cycling during early & late succession
Early - Low
| Late - high
83
Efficiency of energy use during early & late succession
Early - low
| Late - high
84
Disturbance
discrete event
that disrupts an ecosystem or
community
85
examples of natural
| disturbance
fires, hurricanes,
| tornadoes, droughts, & floods
86
examples of human–caused disturbance
deforestation,
| overgrazing, plowing
87
What is the role of disturbance in succession?
disturbance initiates
secondary succession by eliminating part or all of the existing community, & by
changing conditions &
releasing resources
88
Secondary succession occurs where the
natural
community of organisms has been disturbed, removed,
or destroyed
89
Secondary succession example
"old field succession" in eastern North
America, where agricultural fields go through
succession from herbaceous plants, to shrubs & early
successional trees, to mid–successional forest, to
oak–hickory forest;
90
according to the classic view, succession proceeds
until an area is occupied by a climax community,
however recent views recognize that succession is
influenced by
variability & chaotic events such that a
| single climax is not predictable.
91
```
In the species
equilibrium model of
island biogeography
(developed by
Robert MacArthur &
Edward O. Wilson)
the number of
species on an island
is determined by t
```
he
balance between
immigration &
extinction.
92
Small islands are
| expected to have
```
lower immigration
rates & higher
extinction rates, &
hence less
species than
large islands.
```
93
Far islands are
expected to
have
```
lower
immigration
rates, & hence
less species
than near
islands
```
94
large habitat patches tend to have
more species
95
habitat patches that are near larger intact habitat
| areas tend to have
more species
96
Stability has three aspects
Inertia
Constancy
Resilience
97
inertia (or persistence)
the ability of a system to resist
| being disturbed or altered;
98
constancy
the ability of a living system to maintain a
| certain size or state
99
resilience
the ability of a living system to recover after a disturbance
100
Signs of poor health or stressed ecosystems
* decrease in primary productivity;
* increased nutrient losses;
* decline or extinction of indicator species;
* increased populations of pests or disease organisms;
* decline in species diversity;
* presence of contaminants.
