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271 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Fire
natural part of our world;
enhance transition from organic to inorganic material
long-leaf pine
fire dependent;
cones only open at high heat
surface fires
much more common than other types of fire
prescribed burns
foresters choose to burn certain forests to help the forests;
happened a lot in the 70s
Galveston, Texas
worst natural disaster was hurricane there; kiled 6000
Johnstown Flood
second worst natural disaster; killed 2200
Great Peshtigo Fire
third worst natural disaster; killed at least 1200; same day as Chicago Fire
Generalist
species that eat a wide array of foods; ex) Bluejay
Specialist
species that only eat one or two species; ex) Snail Kite
Optimal Foraging
predators try and minimize energy spent foraging while mazimizing energy gotten from prey
Stalker Type Predator
has to keep moving; uses a lot of energy; ex) coyote
Ambush Predator
uses moderate energy; ex) bass w/ minnows
Steady Pursuit Predator
uses low energy; ex) whale with krill
Predator Choices
bigger is better; lower search time is better; lower handling time is better
Assimilation efficiency
the more energy that can be absorbed from eating prey is optimal
2 variations in eating
energy contained in prey; number of prey eaten
Search Image
simplified mental picture of prey that helps the forager find it more quickly and readily; go after item that appears biggest
Secondary Plant Compounds
some are poisonous and unpalatable and used as defense mechanism; animals that eat these plants can become protected
milkweed
contains toxic digitalis; the milkbug can still eat it; retains digitalis as protection from predators
Aposemetic Coloration/Marking
marking that warns of danger; ex) skunk, poisonous dart frog
Bates
worked with butterflies to study mimicry;
Mimicry
species make self look like something that is harmful so that it won't be attacked
Batesian Mimicry
the model is actually harmful but the mimic is harmless
Butterflies
Viceroy is mimic; Monarch is model
Mollerian Mimicry
different species mimic each other but they are all harmful
Competition
degree to which niches overlap determines how much species compete
Gause
worked w/ protozoans of genus paramecium
Competitive Exclusion
when two species are separate they floursih but when put together they compete and cause population decreases
Resource Partitioning
when there are niche differences species are able to split resources and coexist
Gause Theorem
in order for 2 species to coexist they need to be different in regard to one or more niche parameters
Four C's
complete competitors cannot coexist
Warblers
studied by MacArthur; split Spruce trees into 15 parts so can have RP bc of differing locations
Guild
a group of similar species ecologically
Comorant vs. Shag
they have different hunting locations and nest locations; breeding and feeding locations are crucial to RP
Sympatric
having the same geographic range; ex) Ctenotus lizards
Allopatric
having different geographic ranges
Hawaiian Cone Shells
some are sympatric; those that are have different sizes of prey; those that aren't are sometimes the same size
Tropical Pigeons
divide into four subguilds of food preference and into many locations on trees in order to have RP
Niche
all the ways in which a species fits into or interacts with its environment including it's position in space and time
n-dimensional hypervolume
graphical depiction of a nice in which the various niche parameters are plotted as a function of each other in a multi-coordinated system
Evolutionary Mechanism
must exist so that organisms can reduce competition
Darwin's Finches
species differ morphologically; different structure and food habits led to different beaks
Character Displacement
evolutionary change in sympatric areas or areas where the niches overlap; involves structural change in teh organism
Competitive Release
when ther eis an absence of competition, an organism will expand its niche and habitats until it meets competition
Keyston Predator
a predator that keeps down the population of a certain species; ex) starfish w/ mussels in tidepools
Species Diversity
the number of species in a community
Habitat Complexity
places with more complexity have greater species diversity and opportunity for RP
Niche Differentiation
more species can coexist w/o competing when there are more differences in niche parameters
Primary Production
more PP leads to more species diversity; more PP leads to more steps in the food chain
Levels of Primary Production
grassland:500; shrubland:600; coniferous: 800; upland deciduous: 1000; flood plain: 2000; desert:70; marshland: 2000
Bird Population
goes up when PP goes up except for deserts which have higher populations than marshlands
Timing during the Year
the time when PP is high dictates reproduction and ability to RP; when there is more PP throughout the year, RP is easier
Tropics vs. Artic
Tropics have high PP year round so can breed whenever; Artic has high PP only in short time= must breed then
Intermediate Disturbance
a factor that prediodically reduces a population of a competitive species before it outcompetes others; ex) storms wash out mussels
Humans and forests
Deciduous forests have been reduced by 99% due to human foresting
Fragmentation
the division of habitats into small plots; causes lower primary production; causes edge effects
Edge Effects
there is often disturbance at the edge; edge species enter into the habitat and can take larger percentages bc the plot is small to start with
Neotropical Migrants
population has declined by 50% bc of destruction of habitats in the south in tropical forests; bad fragmentation
Brood Parasitism
lays eggs in the nests of other species of birds and leaves them; fragmentation allows for greater penetration of brood parasitism
Malnourishment
1/3 world malnourished; half are too fat; half are too thin
Poverty
50% people never will receive or make a phone call; 1 billion don't have clean water; 3 billion do not have sewers
Coral Snakes vs. King Snakes
coral are dangerous and king are mimics; when fake king and coral put into non-coral areas, 50% king are attacked; in coral areas 6% attack; mimicry works
Pfennig and Horcombe
the Dr's who conducted the experiment at UNC with the fake snakes; prove that when dangerous snake removed, the mimic fails
Convergent Evolution
sharks and dolhins look the same because it is a good structure for swimming; not mimicry
Salvage Logging
trying to salvage wood from decayed or burnt forests for use; doesn't help prevent fire
Seedlings
70% seedlings removed when salvage logging occurs; harms natural regrowth
Biscuit Fire
50,000 acre area studied by Oregon State for salvage logging information
"carbon sinks"
Industry wants to salvage log and replant to make new forests that are carbon sinks for global warming
Hoover experiment
Illinois study shows that cowbirds retaliate when warblers remove cowbird eggs from their nests; 56% warbler eggs smashed w/o egg, 6% smashed w/ egg
Cowbirds
Brood parasitism; retaliate when eggs removed; smash warbler eggs
Jablonksi
macroevolutionist who looked at past 600 billion years and mass extinctions
Mass Extinction
Ordovician: 85% lost
Devonian: 85%
Permian: 95% (worst)
Triassic: 90-95%
Cretaceous: 76%
Endemic Species
species that are unique and localized; in danger of extinction
Causes of Extinction
habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, overkill, invasive species, and secondary effects of other extinctions
Extinctions
by 2040 17-35% tropical rainforest species gone; in next half century 50% forest-bird species gone
Landscape Conversion
four stages: wildlands, extensively used areas, intensively used areas, degraded land
Protected Areas
9800 areas exist; make up 6.3& planter's area
Population growth
9.4 billion by 2050; 10.8 billion by 2150; 9.7 billion will be in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Caribbean
Factors that Impact Earth
population size, consumption, technology
Invasive Species
species that are brought somewhere they don't belong and win out in natural selection and take over native species
Weeds
reproduce quickly, hard to eradicate, do well in bad areas
Harmful Weeds
15% of all weeds cause severe harm
Humans and Weeds
Humans are weeds; humans will kill off helpful plants and leave weeds; life will become much harder
Wealth Divide
the gap between rich and poor is going to become worse and worse
detritus rain
causes organisms to consume detritus-> use O2; determines amt of O2; more in eutrophic lake
ammonia
w/o O2, ammonia is in lakes rather than nitrates
hypolimnion
more eutrophication->run out of O2 in hyplimnion; whitefish and lake trout like cold->go to hypolimnion; no O2 in hypolimnion-> cold water community dies
copper sulfate
right amount added to a lake-> kill algae without killing fish
optimal foraging standpoint
small fish eat big zooplankton; big fish eat small fish; zooplankton eat phytoplankton
bottom-up communities
more nutrients @ bottom-> more big fish
trophic cascade
top-down effect; higher levels can impact lower; more big fish-> less algae
weed harvesting
machines cut down macrophytes
grass carp
add to lakes to eat weeds
Greenhouse gasses
CO2, CH4; H2O=0-4% at anytime
positive feedback loops
1 variable reinforces another variable
negative feedback loops
1st variable lessens the 2nd variable; self-limiting
stratocumulous clouds
reflect>absorb; reduce warming
cirrus clouds
absorb>reflect; enhance warming
Albeto
reflectance of light by polar ice caps; as caps melt, less Albeto= more absorbed and more warming
photsynthesis
might help absorb extra CO2; human activities mean plant is source and not sink
oceans
CO2 reacts w/ H2O or CaCO3 to make sink; doesn't happen much bc limestone is deep so CO2 not there; as H2O warms, ocean is source
permafrost
melting; biggest change is in coldest areas; organic material below becomes active->release CO2
prairie pothole region
many ponds there; ponds for breeding; ponds dry=fewer ducks
polar bears
ice caps melt=swim until die; can't wait by seaholes for seals=starve
coral reef
bleaching=organisms dying; CO2 dissolves limestone=coral; pH down causes coral structure to decline
coccoliths
photosynthetic organisms w/ limestone shells; dissolved by CO2
proximal vs ultimate
proximal reasons are immediate; ultimate are evolutionary
photal period
proportion of light to dark
diapause
dormant state in winter for moths; look for 8 hrs of night to know if emerge or not; only need 10 mins of light in bt dark to think it's summer
limits of tolerance
index of well-being varies depending on environmental factors; highest with certain temp, light, nutrients, salinity
eury
prefix meaning wide range of toleration; euryphagus=eats wide range; euryhaline=wide range of salinity; desert popfish can handle wide temps
steno
narrow range of toleration; antartic fish and temp; blue crab babies and salt
factor interaction
change in 1 variable as a result of a change in a different variable; ex) less humid-> handle higher temps
factor compensation
change in one variable as a result in a change in that same variable; adaptation
Crookes
Nitrogen is limiting nutrient; must add it to soil; need N2-> NO3-
Haber
react N w/ H2O=NH4 if the temp and pressure is really high; need Uranium as catalyst
dead zone
N in water up 4 times in 20th century; too much algae->areas where all is dead; EPA says use less fertilizer
blue baby syndrome
N in H2O-> blood not carry O2 well
intercropping
alternate standard and N-fixing crops
average rainfall
WM=40 in; Death Valley=0-4; Calcutta=65; spread out evenly at WM; most in summer at Calcutta
Mediterranean climate
found in Cali; rains in Winter most
soil H2O holding
sand holds badly like in desert; clay holds better
climograph
shows temp vs precipitation; can show other variables; temp and precip have correllation; maybe causation
acid rain
pH under 5 (sometimes 5.5); dominated by NOx or SOx
acid lakes
pH bt 4.5-6; acid rain and low buffering cause acid lakes; free H+ will release metals in soil into lake and kill fish
buffers
limestone is good buffer; granite is not
Forest decline
reduced growth and gradual deterioration; worse at higher elevations; 50% trees in Black Forest are dying; acidic soil goes up roots
Fridely Run
added 50 tons limestone to raise pH and help wild trout; 30-40% fish still threatened
St. Mary's River
propose dump 140 tons limestone; liming can cause long-term problems; must lime once every 4-6 yrs
Gulf of Mexico
1999: 7728 sq miles of dead zone; 2001: over 8000; problem is from Illinois and Iowa farms; need 20% cut back in N; make 5 million areas of wetlands
Conservation Reserve Program
reduce N discharge by 30% in 15 years is goal
Chesapeake Bay
5.1% dead; deep channel:30% dead; below 5 parts per million O2; wind and high temps cause problems
piscivores vs planktovorous fish
piscivores=largemout bass; piscivores eat planktovorous fish who eat zooplankton who eat phytoplankton
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
humans are cause; fastest change in 1000 years
National Academy of the Sciences
2002 report on rapid charges; oceans remove 29% excess CO2 for unknown amt of time; might give it back
Gulf Stream
may slow down= north gets cold; fresh water will move to higher altitudes
contrails
may be cause of 1/2 troposphere warming; left by planes
sea level rise
high projected rise is 88 cm; would wipe out major world cities
3 schools of thought on warming
1) do more research
2) act now as precautionary
3) act w/ no regrets
Scientists' Statement on Global Climate Disruption
in 1997 2500 scientists agreee on act now as precautionary principle
Siberian Permafrost
70 billion tons of methane from Siberia bogs; methane warms 20 times more than CO2
Conference in Paris
humans are reason for warming; 2005: see slowing trend; cause monsoon, drought
overturning circulation
current that brings warm water to north; circulates warm and cold water; could slow down w/ warming
round-scale spearfish
looks like white marlin; mistake-> think more whitefish are alive; whitefish might be endangered
polar bears
Interior Dept wants them labeled threatened; gas and oil don't; problem is can't label without a recovery plan and hard to remake polar ice caps; more a question of limiting emissions than saving bears
Pastor Anderson
need to protect God's Earth; hurting the poor; need to stop warming; 86 evangelicals sign to lower CO2
epilimnion
top of lake; lots of biomass there; warmer bc closer to top; biomass dies and is detritus which settles through thermocline
stratification
gradient where warm water is on top; hypoliminion is below thermocline and is colder; strat-> too dark for photsynthesis-> low O2
limnology
oceanography applied to freshwater like lakes
secondary treatment
do what would happen if went in H2O; allow bacteria and other organisms to eat organic material; will take care of O2 demand problem
primary settling tank
removes undissolved solids; solid materials settle and make sludge; helps but still lots of O2 demand; lots of organic material dissolved and won't settle
oxygen sag curve
amt of oxygen decreases with addition of sewage; goes up after long distances
oligotrophic
low nutrients, low algae, low biomass, more light, sufficient O2; deeper water
1972 Clean Water Act
significant progress made on point-source pollution
NPSP
non-point source pollution; general run-off from land or agriculture
PSP
point-source pollution ; comes from specific entry point; ex) factory
sources of nutrient input
general run-off, storm water systems collect H2O on streets and drain into stream
macrophytes
larger plants in water; aquatic weeds; non-native vegetation; grows densely; can be 10-12 ft tall; produce lots of O2 in day but use all in night; prefer cold temps
eutrophication
algae bloom bc high nutrients; mats produced=trap O2; when die, mats float to top
epidemiological data
info on H2O and bacteria
coliforms
ex) E Coli; prime component of sewage waste; occur in the guts of birds and mammals; max level in water is 200/100mL
lift station
not always flat going to sewage plant; need pump to lift it up then go for gravity; put water under pressure->enough P ti naje leaks harder
H2O pollution: health concerns
contamination by bacteria or pathogens; contamination by harmful compounds like pesticides or metals
cultural eutrophication
nutrient enrichment of H2O caused by humans
Nutrient pollution
1 cause of pollution bc causes eutrophication; more nutrient->more primary production->excess algae
5.5 pH
sometimes considered the lowest pH possible to still be safe in rain
Yorktown Formation
at WM by Matoaka; lots of shells crammed together; lots of limestone=buffers lake
limestone
CaCO3; buffer for acids; added to lakes to reduce effects of acid rain
Ecology
the scientific study of the interaction of organisms and their environments; study of the abundance and distinction of organisms
environments
physical/chemical environment; also biological/interaction component
interaction
environmental impact of organisms; predator vs prey; 2 way process; community change over time
species
group can breed; work w/ populations in same area; niche=how fit
communities
collection of species; levels, food chain, structure;
biomes
terrestrial term for largescale regional communities; grassland, tundra, etc
ecosystem
organism + community processes; big or small
Water Loss/Drying
organisms exchange gases with environment at the surface; organisms max SA to V ratio; problem is that H2O also is exchanged; dry out animals
Diffusion
water is diffused under low pressures; leads to drying; organisms keep internal breathing apparati in order to avoid diffusion
temperature stabilty
aquatic organisms don't adapt to temperature change well
oxygen availability
less O2 in water than in air; high temps and high salt=low O2; pollution= low O2
metabolism
total of internal chemical reaction quantified by looking at O2 needed for organism; warmblooded have constant metabolism; cold-blooded chagne metab with temp
Q10
factor by which metabolic rate increases when the temperature rises 10 degrees Celsius
trophic levels
levels on the food chain
efficiency of transfer
amount of energy that makes it from one level to the next; some is always lost as heat etc.
Factors affect photosynthesis
1. light: more light=more photo to a point
2. temperature: hotter=more photo to a point
3. more water=more photo
4. nutrients
photo inhibition
too much light and can no longer have photosynthesis; plants close up
denature
too much heat and protein structure changes
trade winds
winds with equator go horizontal
equatorial dolgram
point at which winds go vertical
rain shadow
rains on one side of the mountain but not the other
exploitation
captured and caught biomass
photosynthetic efficiency
amt of energy converted divided by the amt energy in sunlight; usually 2-5%
gross primary production
total biomass made
net primary production efficiency
net primary production divided by gross primary production
exploitation efficiency
amt exploitation divided by amt available
assimilation/digestion
enzymes break down materials to get them into organism; can't break down fiber
assimilation efficiency
amt assimilated divided by amt exploitated
net production efficiency
amt stored divided by amt assimilated; hard for warmblooded and small organisms
ecological efficiency
amt at level 2 divided by amt at level 1
standing crop
amt of organisms when you go measure them
turnover rate
amt produced divided by standing crop
detritus
organic material that isn't going up in chain
decomposers
organisms that decompose detritus
bycatch
30 x 10^6 lbs is lost in bycatch; fish not supposed to be caught
bottom trawl
pulled behind a boat along the bottom of the ocean; environmentally deadly
purse seine
locate schools of tuna and wrap net around whole school; gets the dolphins
longline
lots of baited hooks; 60 miles of line; lots of bycatch
most harvested fish
clupeoid, menhaden, shad, herring
Sustainable Fisheries Act
8 councils set rules on amt fish can be caught in NE
Atlantic Salmon
basically extinct bc of pollution
Alaskan Halibut
limits set; new rules work to control population decline; safe to eat
Colombia Drainage Systems and Lower Snake River Dams
destroy 90% of salmon population for mining, and electricity
salmon farms
make Atlantic Salmon aquaculture; may outsrip beef industry; given antibiotics; hurts native populations; water pollute
canthaxanthin
color used to dye fish; could hurt vision
Menhaden
devastated bc used as food for bass
Shrimp
farmed; need animals for food; pollute waterways
Good Fish Choices
Tuna, Tilapia, Channel Catfish; vegetarians; use safe catching methods
Maximum Sustainable Yield
amount can be taken away from a population where it still comes back to normal levels through reproduction; usually 40%
Effort
F; fraction of fish you can catch; low when using cyanide or dynamite
George's Bank
fishers had better tech, sonar, motorboats, frozen food; catch way too much kill pops; internat'l agreement sets quotas
escapement
areas where fish are safe from fishers
Marine Stewardship Council
tells consumer which fisheries are sustainable
limiting nutrient
nutrient that runs out and limits amount of growth of organisms; primary producers hit equilibrium and stop growing; P and N are most common
macronutrients
needed in large amounts; C, H, N, O
micronutrients
needed in small amounts; Cr, Cu
in between nutrients
in between macro and micro; Iron (needed more by mammals)
nitrogen fixation
N2 + H2O-> NH3; cycle;
Acid Rain
nitric acid, sulfuric acid, formic and acetic acids
Buffers
neutralize acids; limestone is good buffer
Yorktown Formation
shells at Matoaka that formed together and have limestone to buffer and keep lake neutralized
nutrient pollution
1 of causes of pollution bc eutrophication leads to nutrient enrichment in water
fuel embargo
1973 war bt Israel and Arab nations; we support Israel; get embargoed by Arab nations
Corporate Average Fuel Economy
Congress pass regulation for mileage standards; passenger car must get 27 mpg; light trucks get 20 mpg
decrease in fuel efficiency
since 1987 there has been a 22% decrease in fuel efficiency; avg 20.4 mpg; SUVs, vans, trucks are problem
Dodge caravan
first minivan in 1984
Jeep Cherokee
first SUV also in 1984
Proposals for gas mileage
light trucks must be 21-24 mpg by 2011; this includes all SUVs
signoidal
s-shaped curve; used to show most population growth graphs; occurs in density dependent populations
density-dependent regulation
as population gets denser the restrictive forces on growth get stronger; strength of regulation is function of numbers in population
growth rate
symbolized by R; change in number over time divided by number itself
Ri
intrisic or inherit growth rate under good conditions;
logistic equation for growth
dN/dt=Ri*N*(K-N/K)
variation
some kind of oscillation around carrying capacity due to lag time
density independent regulation
factors independent of population size have impact; example is weather; kills same percentage of populaiton independent of population size
J-Shaped curve
occurs in density independent regulated populations
Spruce Budworm
kill Spruce trees; respond to moisture and rainfall; don't like wet years; density independent
kangaroo rat
needs to reproduce when there is lots of rain which creates food; density independent bc can only reproduce when it rains a lot; density dependent because higher populations mean fight for the food needed
deer in Wisconsin
harder to forage when there is a lot of snowfall; snow is density independent; higher populations determine how much of an impact the snow has bc density dependent when competing for food
upside-down U curve
sometimes density dependent will have an upside down U curve for population; if fast growth, U is narrower
Asterionella
phytoplankton; attacked by fungi; if population gets dense enough the disease will make population drop off
Bass and predation
looks dependent but is independent; as population goes up the bass will focus on prey and takes out a larger proportion of population
demographics
structure of populations; descriptors are age classes, sex ratio; allows for prediction of population changes
elk
single male gets many females; breeding biology, males w/o good territory won't get girls, die, so there are more females in population; isn't a problem though
Canada Goose
one male mates w/ 1 female; ratio is 1:1 for sexes
age structure
sometimes look at pre-reproductive, reproductive, and post-reproductive as categories;
stable population
similar sizes for each age group
pyramidal age structure
results in population growth because more reproductive than people dying
inverted pyramid
declining population because more die than are born
Human population R
r= difference in birth and death divided by 1000; is about 1.2%; lower than before but applied to larger population so still lots of people
Human population growth
80 million people per year; 220,000 per day
doubling time
the amount of time it takes for a population to double; humans will double in 56 years at current rate
rule of 70
take 70 in numerator; put rate of increase in denominator; gives you the years for doubling; if have fraction for increase, make it a percent
Europena population
has more deaths than births; developed countries have lower growth rates
developing countries growth
97% of new population will be coming from developing countries; China is low for developing
US growth rate
US has .6% growth rate; highest of all developed countries; doubles in 125 years
US immigration rate
highest; get 1.2 million people from immigration last year vs. 1.8 million from births
fertility rate
number of children a woman produces in her lifetime; 2.1-2.5 on average; higher in developing; declining everywhere
demographic transition
birth rates down sharply, death rate gradually goes down and plateaus, population levels off then declines in post-industrial time
pre-industrial
developing countries are stuck in pre-industrial age where they have higher birth rates than deaths and therefore increasing population
most important factor affecting population growth
number of people aged 15 or less; 30% of pop of world; in developed it's low at 17%; high in developing which is why they have more growth
Country with biggest population problem
the US has the most problem with population and growth and immigration
Impact
Impact=Population*Afluence/ Consumerism* Technology; I=PAT