Lecture 1 -- Ecology

Question 1

basic definition of ecology

Answer 1

science of how organisms interact with one another and their environment

Question 2

what two componenets does ecology include

Answer 2

abiotic and bitotic

Question 3

abiotic

Answer 3

non-living things like environment, nutrient cycles, soils, temperature

Question 4

biotic

Answer 4

all living organisms

Question 5

modern ecology vs natural history/ecology

Answer 5

in modern ecology, we use approaches that involve technoliogy, which help attain data, and pictures, we also use experiments and natural observations. The technology and experiments are what differ from natural history/ecology.

Question 6

what do ecologist often examine

Answer 6

distribution and abundance.

distribution: they examine the limits, and how distribution is changing.
Abundance: they examine changes in the abundance, and if populations are growing or shrinking

Question 7

the importance of ecology in YOUR world

Answer 7

climate change, mass extinction, biodiversity loss

Question 8

types of problems addressed by ecology.

Answer 8

• conservation and biodiversity
• environmental issues
• wildlife and resource management
• pest control
• human health

Question 9

conservation and biodiversity `

Answer 9

evaluate effectiveness of conservation strategies (do marine protected areas work)

Question 10

environmental issues

Answer 10

evaluate consequences of human activities (pollution, fishing, hunting) (what effect is climate change having on biodiversity)

Question 11

wildlife and resource management

Answer 11

evaluate effectiveness of management strategies (when does fishing become overfishing) for humans this is a loss of job because lack of fish and for fish this could mean extinction

Question 12

pest control

Answer 12

strategies for reducing crop losses

Question 13

human health

Answer 13

how diseases spread through animals (lyme disease)

Question 14

levels of ecological study

Answer 14

organism, population, community, ecosystem, landscape/seascape, global

Question 15

organismal ecology

Answer 15

how organisms adapt to environment, maybe look at the genetics

Question 16

population ecologyu

Answer 16

looking at how same species interact w each other.

Question 17

community ecology

Answer 17

multiple species interacting; multiple population

Question 18

ecosystem ecology

Answer 18

both organisms and abiotic environemnt.

Question 19

landscape/seascape ecology

Answer 19

connected ecosystems, for example how organisms ca move between ecosystems via lakes..

Question 20

global ecology

Answer 20

the biosphere, all life on earth.

Question 21

limits to distribution: concept

Answer 21

concept of biomes. why there are no trees in the far north (tundra)

Question 22

terrestrial biomes

Answer 22

major ecosystem type, classified by dominant vegetation. it starts near the poles and makes way to equator.

Question 23

tundra

Answer 23

terrestrial biomes.
far north, ~60º N, expansive area of ARCTIC. it is treeless, because the ground is permanently frozen. therefore there is no nutrients for the roots. ON SCALE (cold and dry)

Question 24

northern coniferous forest.

Answer 24

examples include Canada and Russia. latitude is ~50-60º N. it is evergreen, needles. these evergreens are retained all year round because the leaves (needles) are energetically worth it and prevent the loss of water. strong seasonal signals (cold long winters, warm short summers)
ON SCALE they are in the middle, near more cold weather

Question 25

temperate broadleaf forest

Answer 25

broad leaves, deciduous which means they drop their leaves in the fall because they are not energetically worth it. in the summer the leaves grow again, these leaves change colour,. around latitude of 30º N. ON SCALE they are just above coniferous as they differ slightly in seasonal changes.

Question 26

tropical froest

Answer 26

evergreen, broadleaves, these leaves photosynthesize all year round, therefore they are energetically worth it. hot and humid. ON SCALE at the very top right, high in temperature, and very wet. EQUATOR

Question 27

distribution is correlated with latitude

Answer 27

the hypothesis is that the climate drives the observed biome patterns.

Question 28

what are some tradeoffs for the hypothesis of terrestrial distribution

Answer 28

energy, adaptations, vegetation cannot dominate, no organism is perfectly adapted to environment.

Question 29

Savanna

Answer 29

grass land with very few, scattered trees. Difference seasonally compared to tropical rainforest. its precipation has dry/wet seasons, but tropical is always wet. Its temperaturte is always hot just like tropical. this is near EQUATOR.

Question 30

disturbance

Answer 30

an event that reomves individuals from a population -- stops ecosystem from reaching equilib rium

Question 31

why is there only grass in savannas

Answer 31

deisturbances such as large herbivore grazers that graze the trees which limits them from growing, and fires. Grass can grow more rapidly which is why it is domiant over trees.

Question 32

temperate grasslands

Answer 32

grasslands, differ in precipitaton, compated to temperate broadleaf. the grassland is much drier than the broadleaf but the temperature is the same for both (cold/warm). latitude is around 30º N

Question 33

changing distributions; what limits distributions

Answer 33

dispersal, abiotic factors, biotic factors.

Question 34

dispersal; limiting distribution

Answer 34

organisms didnt / cant get there. an example is islands. Islands's biodiversity id very unique because it id isolated so organisms have a hard time entering or leaving.

Question 35

abiotic factors; limiting distribution

Answer 35

enviornment - temperatutre, moisture, salinity (ocean), oxygen (ocean) -- if an organism is not adapted to the specific environment it cannot thrive and persist

Question 36

biotic factors; limiting distribution

Answer 36

resources (food), competition, predation, disease.

Question 37

coyote example ; why did coyote distributiuon change?

Answer 37

1. the wolf distribution changed. the wolves moved out of the south into the north, which lead to wolf extermination where coyotes were still present. This extermination decreased the biotic interaction between the coyote and grey wolf (predation on coyote by wolf). therefpre more coyotes survived. 2. european settlement. The agriculture led to forest removeal, which is why wolves moved. this means there was an abundant amount of rodents and other small prey for the wolves, as the habitat started to resemble grassland. this conversion enabled the coyote expansion`

Question 38

what is a population

Answer 38

a group of individuals of a single species living in the same area.

Question 39

interspecific interaction

Answer 39

interactions between different speciesi

Question 40

intraspecific interactions

Answer 40

`interactions within the same species

Question 41

potential to interact examples

Answer 41

mating, socialize, compete for food.

Question 42

population dynamics

Answer 42

when population changes -- abundance and density can change overtime.

Question 43

popuylation size

Answer 43

number of individuals

Question 44

density

Answer 44

number of individuals per unit area.

Question 45

Desert

Answer 45

latitude is 30º N and S, it can be hot or cold. it is defined by dry, low precipitation. organisms should be able to tolerate hot and dry conditionds and be able to deal well with sudden heavy rainfalls.

Question 46

why are deserts at 30º latitude (explain using sunlight direction)

Answer 46

sun light directly hits the equator. The warm, moist air rises, and releases moisture via rain. in doing so, it will dry the air out, and will get pushed away from the equator (30º latitude). The dry air will absorb moisture, contributing to the dry conditions at the latitude before being recirculated. This circulated process is the Hadley cells.

Question 47

Desert locusts life cycle, and nutrition and problems they bring

Answer 47

they are herbivores, and eat their own weight in plants each day. they have a life span of about 4 months. - egg (100 / female) - juvenile (hopper) - adult a problem that comes from a large number of locust is food security for humans because they can clean out vegetation in an area.

Question 48

outbreaks definition

Answer 48

a rapid increase in the population abundance, -- something allowed the population to grow rapidly.

Question 49

exponential growth model

Answer 49

dN/dt = rN where dN/dt is the rate of change in population over time. r = per capita growth rate N = popluation size.

Question 50

how r contributes to population

Answer 50

when r = + then population increases when r = - then population decreases when r = 0 population is constant, doesnt change. larger r = faaster growth smaller r = slower growth

Question 51

exponential growth

Answer 51

unlimited growth; unlimited resources/environment/

Question 52

what is per capita growth rate determined by

Answer 52

birth rate b, death rate d, immigration rate i, andn emmigration rate e. r = b+d+i-e

Question 53

closed population

Answer 53

example is islands, individuals are isolated, therefore closed population -- no immigration or emmigration (r=b-d)

Question 54

open population

Answer 54

per capita population growth (r) depends on m (i-e), b, and d. r=b-d+m

Question 55

what causes a desert locust outbreak

Answer 55

has to do wit birth rates increasing. the bir rates depend on the environment, because resource availability will increases therefore more eggs are able to survive. The desert has very low, variable rainfall, so when it does rain it is very intense. The heavy rainfall leads to new vegetation which is new energy source for the female locusts. But whats so special about locusts? this is truwe for many animals. because of the new vegetation and increased birth rates, the locusts will start to clump, this is just individual locusts clumped together in groups for various reasons like social, mating, and defence against predators. then they crowd. and the last step that is unique is gregarization which is a change in behaviour from solitary to social creatures that aggregate together.

Question 56

what happens when the locusts are gregarized

Answer 56

because they are so close, the hairs on their arms and legs will brush against one anothewr and this stimulates hormones to be released (serotonin)

Question 57

low density vs high density

Answer 57

low = solitary, pale green, fly alone at night high = gregarious, strong colours, fly in swarms during the day

Question 58

how does the outbreak end

Answer 58

the rain ends therefore no more new vegetation, the locust will eat everything, and they will revert back to solitary form because it is no longer crowded.