Lecture 4 Resource Acquistion

Question 1

Trade-off

Answer 1

the relationship between the benefits of a trait in one context and it’s cost in another context.

Question 2

Principle of allocation

Answer 2

Each organisms have a limited amount of time and energy that can be used for all life processes.
-obtaining food
-escaping predators
-growth and metabolism for body functions
- Reproduction

Question 3

How do organism utilize carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

Answer 3

These elements, especially carbon, make up the bulk of an organism’s mass.

Question 4

How do organisms provide Nitrogen, Phosphorus and other macro and micronutrients.

Answer 4

Make up the bulk of organisms metabolic machinery (proteins, enzymes, and cofactors)

Question 5

How does organisms use Energy?

Answer 5

Required to run the machinery and build the infrastructure

Question 6

How do organism use water

Answer 6

The medium in which biological reactions occur.

Question 7

Autotrophs “self-feeding”

Answer 7

can live exclusively on inorganic sources of carbon, nitrogen, and other essential resources.
Photoautotrophs
Chemotrophs

Question 8

Heterotrophs “other feeding”

Answer 8

using pre-formed organic molecules as food (source of carbon, nitrogen, energy and other essential resources)

Question 9

How can you measure rate of photosynthesis?

Answer 9

NET photosynthesis = Photosynthesis-respiration

Question 10

primary productivity

Answer 10

total carbon fixed by plants per unit time.

Question 11

net primary productivity

Answer 11

It is primary production - respiration = rate of new biomass appearance)

Question 12

How does plant obtain resources?

Answer 12

Through a network of roots mine the soil for water and nutrients

Question 13

Example of trade-off in plant

Answer 13

Plants can get help from bacteria where they would create root nodules that will fix the nitrogen converiting N2 to ammonia. In return the Rhizobium bacteria will get the amino acids from the plant

Question 14

Liebig’s law of minimum

Answer 14

production can only occur at the rate of the most limiting factor; i.e sunlight, water, nutrients. Ex: in order to make 1 unit of sugar. You need 1 unit of sunlight, 1 unit of water, and 1 unit of sugar.

Question 15

individual organisms may change to how much they are specialists or generalists.

Answer 15

Why: In order to maximize the energy intake with the least amount of energy lost
Reward: energy content
Cost: handling time: time it takes to pursue, capture, eat, and digest the prey, effects of toxins

Prediticiton: predators choose prey that maximize the ratio of rewards to cost i.e energy per unit time.