Bio 1B Ecology Flashcards

Front 1

natural history

Back 1

study of nature, natural objects, and natural phenomena through observational and descriptive study over long periods of time

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hypothesis

Back 2

assertion/working explanation that leads to a prediction

Front 3

Karl Poppper

Back 3

demonstrated the assymetry between falsification and verification

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fact

Back 4

truth known by actual experience/observation

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theory

Back 5

set of propositions explaining a whole class of phenomena

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experimental science

Back 6

involves making predictions and testing in lab/field

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historical science

Back 7

posing hypotheses that postulate particular past causes for currently observablephenomena (ex. cladistics)

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controlled variables

Back 8

those that are held constant during experiment

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ecology

Back 9

comprehensive science of relationship of organism of environment, concerned with individual, population, community, and biosphere

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macroclimate

Back 10

large scale features (within planet, continent, or country)

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microclimate

Back 11

fine scale

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macroclimate features

Back 12

1. latitudinal variation
2. seasonal variation in sunlight
3. global air circulation and precipitation
4. global wind patterns

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coriolis effect

Back 13

apparent deflection of winds and ocean currents as a result of rotation of the earth

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ethology

Back 14

scientific study of animal behavior

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behavior ecology

Back 15

emphasizes evolutionary hypothesis for animal behavior based on assumption that animals increase their fitness by optimal behavior

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ultimate behavior

Back 16

evolutionary reason for exitence of behavior

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proximate behavior

Back 17

immediate cause and/or mechanism underlying behavior

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optimal behavior

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behavior that maximizes fitness

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monogamy

Back 19

prolonged pair bond

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polygamy

Back 20

one/both sexes has mor ethan 1 mate

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polygyny

Back 21

one male and many females

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polyandry

Back 22

one female and many males

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promiscuity

Back 23

both sexes have many mates

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reciprocal altruism

Back 24

expectation that favor will be returned in future

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apparent altruism

Back 25

looks altruistic but not altruistic

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ecophysiology

Back 26

study of individual performance in context of their immediate environment

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population

Back 27

group of individuals of same species that can freely interbreed and is partly/wholly isolated from other populations of that same species

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density

Back 28

number of individuals per unit in area/volume

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age structure

Back 29

proportion of individuals in different age groups

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ways of measuring population density

Back 30

1. count directly
2. use a quadrat and scale up
3. Mark-Recapture Method
4. PIT tags

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Mark-Recapture method

Back 31

mark a sample of the population, release back into population, and take another sample to calculate total population size. then calculate density.
N=(m x n)/x
assumes marked population will completely intermix back into population with no emigration/immigration
BEST for moving populations

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PIT tags

Back 32

"Passive Integrated Transponder" that is inserted into organism and tracks movement of organisms. movement recorded to infer population size and density.

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random

Back 33

most rare distribution in nature, where location of one organism does not affect the location of another organism

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uniform

Back 34

even spacing that can be caused by antagonistic behavior that is why they repell each other

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clumped

Back 35

individuals grouped together following flocking behavior that can include environmental heterogeneity, where resources clumped so distribution clumped

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demography

Back 36

study of factors that influences growth and decline of a population

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fecundity

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reproductive rate

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mortality

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death rate

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cohort

Back 39

group of individuals of same age

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census

Back 40

acquiring information from every individual in population

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survivorship

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proportion of individuals of a given age group that survive

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survivorship curves

Back 42

type 1 = mortality tends to be low when they are young
type 2 = constant proportion of individuals dying regardless of age
type 3 = high mortality in early age, survivors live a long time

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life history

Back 43

significant features of populations regarding the life cycle

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life history traits

Back 44

characters that have an important influence on life scale

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traits of life history

Back 45

size
rate of growth
reproduction
frequency of reproduction
number of offspring

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semelparous

Back 46

reproduces in one episode

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iteroparous

Back 47

reproduces in multiple episodes

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clutch

Back 48

amount of offspring in one episode of reproduction

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trade-offs

Back 49

every trait could be better, but making it better could make somehthing else worse

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limitations of trade-offs

Back 50

allocation to growth/activity/maintenance/reproduction compromises time/energy/nutrients tot he others

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bet-hedging

Back 51

when an organism faces a trade-off, one possibility is to diversify strategy to gaurd against loss

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factors affecting population size

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[+] births + immigration
[-] deaths + emigration

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BIDE equation

Back 53

N(t+1)=Nt+B+I-D-E

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discrete time

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change in N = rN

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continuous time

Back 55

dN/dt = Nt + rN

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competition

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interaction between individual brought about by a shared requirement for a resource in limited supple, leading to a reduction in survivorship, growth, and/or reproduction of competing individuals

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intraspecific competition

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competition within a species

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logistic growth

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population grows intil reaching a limit

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carrying capacity

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K; maximum number of individuals a given environment can support

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logistic growth

Back 60

dN/dt = rN(K-N/K), where as N approaches K, there is no growth & if N is small, approaching 1 and exponential growth

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exponential growth

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dN/dt = rN

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time delay logistic

Back 62

dN/dt = rN(K-Nt-x/K)

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allee effect

Back 63

negative consequences to having a small population size

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r-selected organisms

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selected for traits advantageous at low population density, organisms that are better colonists

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K-selected organisms

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selection for traits advantageous at high population density, organisms are better competitors

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limitation

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almost exactly like carrying capacity

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regulation

Back 67

period of fluctuation around the limit

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density dependent

Back 68

factors whose influence on birth and death rates vary according to population density, providing negative influences that prevent a population from growing infinitely

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density independent

Back 69

factors that have same effect regardless of population density

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density dependent factors

Back 70

competition
disease
predation
etc...

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density independent factors

Back 71

drought
weather/climate

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population dynamics

Back 72

fluctuation/variation in a population over time

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metapopulation

Back 73

group of smaller populations that are linked by immigration and emigration

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replacement rate

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number of children each woman needs to have to maintain current population levels

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community

Back 75

group of interacting population of different species that co-occur in space and time

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community classification

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structure
dominant species
-at each level
all the species(association)
relatively similarity

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individualistic hypothesis

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species are distributed along gradients and community is an assemblage of species with same abiotic needs

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integrated hypothesis

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communities are discrete groupings of species that are closely interdependent and almost always co-occur

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inter-specific interactions

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interactions between different species

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Gause

Back 80

studied competition through paramisium living independently and together; when together, one dies out

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competition exclusion principle

Back 81

two species with identical ecological requirements cannot coexist indefinitely

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ecological niche

Back 82

multidimensional space that represents range of conditions within which an organism can function

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niche differentiation

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change in each specie's requirements so that not completely competing and cause the extinction of the other

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fundamental niche

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niche potentially occupied by two species

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realized niche

Back 85

portion of niche a species occupies in presense of other species

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resource partitioning

Back 86

dividion of environmental resources such that co-existing species differ from each other by at least one factor; "ghost of competition past"; similar to niche differentiation

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character displacement

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tendency for enhanced character divergence in sympatric population

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exploitative competition

Back 88

2 species use same resource but differ in efficiency obtaining resource

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interference competition

Back 89

competition resulting from direct behavioral interaction (fighting)

Front 90

competition for enemy-free space

Back 90

copetition mediated by increasing risk from a common predator

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Lotka-Volterra equation

Back 91

Species 1:
dN1/dt=rN1(K-N1-alphaN2/K)
Species 2:
dN2/dt=rN2(K-N2-betaN1/K)

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competition coefficients

Back 92

alpha, beta; proportional effect on the competing species

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true predator

Back 93

many hosts and always lethal

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coevolution

Back 94

2/more species that evolve in reponse to one another

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true predator prey evolved esponses to predation

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defense
cryptic coloration/camoflauge
poison
mimicry

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aposematic coloration

Back 96

warning signal to predators that they're poisonous

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Batesian mimicry

Back 97

a palatable mimic resembles an unpalatable one

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Mullerian mimicry

Back 98

when a number of unpalatable species evolve to look alike

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grazers

Back 99

many hosts BUT rarely lethal

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grazer prey evolved responses to predation

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physical
chemical
"getting help"

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parasite

Back 101

have 1/few hosts BUT rarely lethal

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parasitoid

Back 102

have one host and always lethal; take over host's body

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altruism

Back 103

benefits other organisms with no benefit to themselves

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inclusive fitness

Back 104

sum of an individual's fitness quantified as the reproductive success of an individual and its realatives

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kin selection

Back 105

selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives

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determinance of mating system

Back 106

anisonomy- sex with bigger gamete chooses
parental care by both- monogamy
parentaly care by females- polygyny
parental care by no one/males- polyandry if male stays to look after offspring but polygyny if men protects his area with his offspring, not just caring for them
males close together- polygyny
males far apart- monogamy

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mutualism

Back 107

type of interaction that is beneficial to both species involved

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obligate

Back 108

necessary

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facultative

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possible, not necessary

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symbiosis

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when 2 organisms live in direct sontact

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commensalism

Back 111

one organism benefits and the other is unaffected by the interaction

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impact of different species

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dominant species is the greatest biomass within the community and has a high impact
keystone species very influencial on other species even if biomass not as significant
ecosystem engineers greatly effect the abiotic but have a undominant biomass

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trophic structure

Back 113

feeding relationship between organisms

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food chain

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sequence of organisms on succssive trophic levels

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food web

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network of food chains

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autotrophic

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organism that makes own energy

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heterotrophic

Back 117

organism that get their energy from other trophic levels

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omnivores

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organism that eat at multiple trophic levels

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primary production

Back 119

amount light energy converted to chemical energy

gross PP - respiration = net PP

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second production

Back 120

amount chemical energy consumed that is converted to biomass

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ecological efficiency

Back 121

percent productivity transfered from one trophic level to the next, typically 10%

Front 122

top-down

Back 122

consumer limited

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bottom-up

Back 123

resource limited

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biomagnification

Back 124

increase in concentration of pollutants as you go up

Front 125

reasons for food chain length being 2-3 steps

Back 125

inefficient energy transfer between trophic levels
size/physical consraints on top predators
short food chains more stable
there is an energetic advantage to feeding on lower trophic levels

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top-down/bottom-up factors

Back 126

relative abundance of individuals in each trophic level
number of trophic levels

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succession

Back 127

the non-seasonal, directional and continuous pattern of colonization and extinction on a site by species populations

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primary succession

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on truly bare space, essentially barren of life

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secondary succession

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space has been depopulated, but some residual biota still remains (usually soil is intact)

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degraditive succession

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succession on decomposing things/any organic resource, aka heterotrophic succession

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facilitation

Back 131

early species change environment and create favorable environment for future species to grow in

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inhibition

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early species create a situation where later colonization can't occur

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tolerance

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later successional species unaffected by early species

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climax community

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late successional stage in which dominant species replace themselves ("end-point" of succession)

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disturbance

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a discrete event that frees resources and opens up habitat by killing/removing organisms

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immediate disturbance hypotheses

Back 136

high frequency of disturbance and/or large disturbance leads to low specie diversity, however intermediate levels of disturbance can create greater diversity within a community

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biogeography

Back 137

geographic distribution of organisms

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migration

Back 138

a regular, long distance change in location (often a large number, often a "return-trip")

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dispersal

Back 139

movement of individuals away from their parent location

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consequences of migration and dispersal

Back 140

ECOLOGICAL:
demography
distrubution

EVOLUTIONARY:
reproduction
genetic variation
global climate change

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island biogeography

Back 141

application of study of biogepgraphy of an island environment to biogeogpahy of land in general

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predictions of MacArthur and Wilson's theory of Island Biogeography

Back 142

1. number of species will reach an equilibriumvalue
2. with constant turnover (some species going extinct and other species immigrating)
3. lage islands have more species than small islands
4. near islands have more species than far islands

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patterns in biodiversity - latitude

Back 143

species richness increases as you move closer to equator

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why is tropical diversity high?

Back 144

higher PP = higher species richness
longer growing seasons = faster evolution
low seasonailty = finer niche division
greater structural complexity = increase in specie richness
"intermediate" levels of disturbance
refuge and speciation

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refugium hypothesis

Back 145

vicarious events with glaiers cause allopatric speciation and increase in number of species

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area

Back 146

larger area has more species and less increase in total number species there

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species-area curves

Back 147

plot species anf area on a log scale

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alpha diversity

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species richness within a local area/community

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beta diversity

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difference in species division between communities (usually indicates how "unique" different communities are)

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gamma diversity

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overall measure of total species richness of all communities in a large region

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ecosystems

Back 151

all organisms living in a community/communities as well as the abiotic factors they interact with

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water cycle

Back 152

reservoir = mainly in oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers
processes = evaporation, precipitation, transpiration (evaporative loss of water from plants)

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carbon cycle

Back 153

reservoir = atmosphere, sedimentary rock (limestone), fossil fuels
processes = cellular respiration, photosynthesis, burning of fossil fuels

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nitrogen cycle

Back 154

reservoir = atmosphere
processes = many mediated by bacteria (nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification)

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phosphorous cycle

Back 155

reservoir = sedimentary rock
processes = geologic weathering

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biomes

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major ecological associations that occupy broad regions of land/water, classified according to vegetation (terrestrial)/physical conditions (aquatic)

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lentic vs. lotic

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still vs. flowing

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photic zone

Back 158

with enough light precipitation for photosynthesis

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aphotic zone

Back 159

litle light penetration

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benthic zone

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bottom sediments of aquatic biomes

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eutrophic

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high nutrient availability

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ologotrophic

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low nutrient availability

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canopy

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upper layer

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understory

Back 164

lower layer

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biodiversity

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biological diversity

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genetic diversity

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diversity within/among populations (within a species)

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species diversity

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alpha, beta, gamma diversity

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ecosystem diversity

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variation in number of different ecosystems

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estimating species number

Back 169

ask an expert
body size/abundance relationship
ratio of known:unknown
sub-sample host specific species

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threats to biodiversity

Back 170

habitat destruction
overpopulation
introduced species
disruption of interaction networks

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edge effects

Back 171

effects at boundary between habitats

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"tragedy of the commons"

Back 172

take advantage of unrestricted finite species to cause that specie's extinction

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introduced species

Back 173

non-native species to environment brought about by humans

consequences:
competition = crowding out native species
disease = bring disease upon native species
predation = eat natives and cause their extinction

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consequences of species loss

Back 174

economic
moral
rivet argument
canary argument
ecosystem services

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rivet argument

Back 175

one last rivet can cause major damage to ecosystem