Midterm Flashcards
(54 cards)
Ecology
The scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environment
Ernst Haeckel
Coined term ecology (oekologie)
The science of ecology
Rooted in the Darwinian concept of natural selection
Natural selection was a critical cornerstone for the emergence of ecology as a science
Scientific method steps
Make observation, hypothesis, prediction, and testing
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)
Way of knowing, including ecological, utilitarian, social and spiritual values
What is a trade off
Benefit of one item, cost of another
ex) sleeping in, missing class
ex) an animal eats something, survive or reproduce
Trade-offs and fitness
One of the great predictions of the theory of Natural Selection is that individuals will possess traits that are fitness optimizing
Optimal foraging
-The theory
-Examples and extensions
-Theory meets reality
-Scaling up to habitat selection
The theory
An individual will act to gain the energy for the least amount of cost when making foraging decisions, with the overall goal of maximizing its evolutionary fitness
Habitat selection
Hierarchical process of behavioural responses that may result in the disproportionate use of habitats to influence survival and reproduction of individuals
What is a niche
A species defined space where it can survive, grow and/or reproduce is in response to n-dimensional environmental factors
Delvil’s hole pupfish
Found only in the upper reaches of a single deep limestone cave in the Mojave desert in the western U.S state of Nevada.
lives on a shallow rock shelf measuring 3.3 by 4.8 meters
What is a population
A group of individuals of the same species that can mate
group of the same species that is spatially distinct from other groups of individuals of the same species
Discrete- time population growth
The geometric growth equation, also known as finite rate of population increase
Birth and death rates
b= the proportion of organisms producing a new individual per unit time (per capita birth rate)
d= the proportion of individuals dying per unit of time (per capita death rate)
Rate of change
Best described by the derivative of the equation = dN/dt = (b-d)N
Intrinsic rates of population growth
When a population is small and population density so low that intraspecific competition is near non-existent, a species can grow at a maximum r, called the Malthusian parameter
Fitness
Natural selection favours individuals that produce the maximum number of reproducing offspring in a lifetime
Parental care
Precocial= active, mobile at birth
Altricial= helpless, naked, blind, require more care from mother
Parental investment
Costs of reproduction are high
Semelparous
Invest all into growing up to reproduce once in a suicidal effort
Iteroparous
Spend energy on reproduction in bouts over the lifetime
ex) large mammals
When to reproduce
In general higher rates of adult mortality select for early age at first reproduction and vice versa
Life history classifications- r strategists
Species that live in environments that do not often exist at population carrying capacity
ex) random weather events play a large role in determining no. of individuals who survive
