Ecology Test 1

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Ecology

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the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

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biotic

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interactions among living organisms

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abiotic

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interactions between organisms and their physical environment

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environmental science

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the application of ecology to real-world problems

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4 types of Ecology

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organismal, population, community, and ecosystems

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Organismal Ecology

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the study of how adaptations and choices by individuals affect their fitness

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3 types of Organismal Ecology

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evolutionary, behavioral, and physiological

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behavioral organismal ecology

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how an individual organism behaves in order to contribute to its survival and reproductive success.

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Population Ecology

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focuses groups of interbreeding individuals that occur in the same place at the same time

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species interactions

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competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism, herbivory, and paratism

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Ecosystem

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living, biotic community and its nonliving abiotic environment

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ecosystems ecology

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flow of energy and cycling of nutrients among organisms within a community and between organisms and the environment

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biodiversity crisis

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describes the elevated loss of species

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conservation biology

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studies how to protect the biological diversity of life at all levels

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invasive species

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spreading naturally and outcompeting native species for space and resources

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Scientific Method

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observation, hypothesis formation, hypothesis testing, data analysis, acceptance or rejection

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speciation

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formation of new species

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4 pathways of natural selection

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directional, stabilizing, balancing, disruptive

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directional selection

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favors individuals at one extreme of a phenotypic distribution that have greater reproductive success in a particular environment

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stabilizing selection

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favors the survival of individuals with intermediate phenotypes

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balancing selection

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maintains genetic diversity in a population

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disruptive selection

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favors the survival of individuals at both extremes of a range, rather than the intermediate

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Speciation occurs when

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distinct groups separate into species

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biological species concept

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"groups of populations that can actually or potentially exchange genes with one another and that are reproductively isolated from other such groups."

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Phylogenetic species concept

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members of a single species are identified by a unique combination of characters.

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evolutionary species concept

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species is distinct from other lineages if it has its own evolutionary tendencies and historical fate.

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ecological species concept

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each species occupies a distinct ecological niche

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2 Types speciation

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Allopatric and sympatric

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Allopatric speciation

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spatial separation of populations by a geographical barrier.

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sympatric speciation

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when members of a species that initially occupied the same habitat within the same range diverge into two or more different species.

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Continental Drift

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slow movement of the Earth's surface plates

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behavioral ecology

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the study of how behavior contributes to the different survival and reproduction of organisms

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proximate causes

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genetic and physiological mechanisms of behavior

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altruism

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behavior that appears to benefit others at a cost to oneself

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group selection

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the premise that natural selection produces outcomes beneficial for the whole group of species

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individual selection

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particular traits generally are selected for because they benefit the survival and reproduction of the individual rather than the group

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kin selection

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selection for behavior that lowers an individual's own fitness but enhances the reproductive success of a relative

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Hamilton's Rule

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rB>C

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Eusociality

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relating to species that possess nonreproducing castes that assist the reproductive individuals

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reciprocal altruism

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the cost to the animal of behaving altruistically is offset by the likelihood of a return benefit

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promiscuous

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each female and each male mating with multiple partners within a breeding season

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monogamy

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mates exclusively with one partner

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polygamy

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males or females mate with more than one partner

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polygyny

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one male mates with many females

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polyandry

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one female mates with many males

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male assistance hypothesis

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males remain with females to help them rear their offspring

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female-enforced monogamy hypothesis

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females stop their male partners from being polygynous

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Sexual selection

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selection that promotes traits that will increase an organism's mating success

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runaway selection

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female choosing based on plumage color or courtship display

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handicap principle

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ornaments function as a sign of genetic quality b/c the bearer must be able to afford the energetically costly trait.

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Countercurrent heat exchange

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a mechanism that conserves body heat by minimizing heat loss in the extremities and returning heat to the body core

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supercooling

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the ability to withstand freezing

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conduction

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body surface loses or gains heat through direct contact with cooler or warmer substances such as air or water

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convection

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transfer of heat by the movement of air or water next to the body

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microclimate

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local variations of the climate within a given area

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greenhouse effect

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solar radiation in the form of short-wave energy passes through the atmosphere to heat the surface of the Earth

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acclimation

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many species can adapt to slight changes in their environment within their own life-time

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urohydrosis

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some birds excrete urine on their legs, cooling themselves by evaporation

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halophytes

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species that can tolerate higher salt concentrations in their cell sap than regular plants

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strong acid

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completely dissociates into H+ and Cl minus ions when added to water; pH below 7

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base

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lowers the H+ concentration; alkaline pH above 7

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pH

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negative logarithm to the base 10 of the hydrogen ion concentration

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acid rain

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precipitation with a pH of less than 5.6, caused by release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere

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Humus

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finely ground organic matter, minerals eventually absorbed by plant roots

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soil profile (horizons)

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O, A, B, and C

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O horizon

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organic debris, partially decomposed

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A horizon

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surface horizon, dark colored soil with high mineral and organic content; sometimes with E or eluviation layer

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B horizon

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subsoil; iron, aluminum, clay, or organic material washed from A horizon may be depositied here

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C horizon

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substratum; weathered parent material from bedrock

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limiting factor

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most scarce in relation to need

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obligate aerobes

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require oxygen to live

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obligate anaerobes

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poisoned by oxygen

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facultative anaerobes

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may or may not use oxygen depending on its availability

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population ecology

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study of how populations grow

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types of dispersion

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clumped, uniform, and random

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types of habitat

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fragmented, perforated, and internal framgented

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landscape ecology

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subdiscipline of ecology that examines the spatial arrangement of elements in populations and communities

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matrix

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most extensive element of an area

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metapopulation

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a series of small, seperate populations in individual habitat patches that mutually affect on another

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nonequilibrium metapopulations

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local extinctions occur in the course of species overall regional decline, with fragmentation of their habitat reducing their population density

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cohort

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group of same-aged young which grow and survive at similar rates

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survivorship curves

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graphical representation of the numbers of individuals alive in a population at various ages

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static life table

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data is gathered on the age structure of a given population at one point in time

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net reproductive rate

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the average number of female offspring produced by all the females in a population over the course of a generation where a generation constitutes the reproductive life of a female