APES Unit 2

Which ecosystem most likely experienced a recent population bottleneck?

Ecosystem A, because its low genetic diversity could have resulted from an event that reduced the variation in the gene pool; A population bottleneck occurs when a significant decrease in the population size reduces genetic variation within a population.

Which of the following ecosystem services is categorized as supporting?

Photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, and creation of soils are supporting services (services necessary for the production of the other ecosystem services).

Which of the following ecosystem services is categorized as regulating?

Pollination, decomposition, and water purification; Regulating services are benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes.

range of tolerance

Populations thrive within certain ranges of abiotic factors such as pH, temperature, light, amount of moisture, etc. (generalists have a broad range of tolerance and specialists have a narrow range)

Which of the following correctly describes the disruption of an ecosystem service by an anthropogenic activity?

Provisioning services are disrupted by increased combustion of fossil fuels, which leads to an increase in air pollution.

How could ecologists could determine when an ecosystem is approaching a climax community?

Record the number and type of producers present every year after the disturbance; A high number of late successional plant species would indicate that the ecosystem is approaching a climax community.

supporting services

Services necessary for all other ecosystem services to happen (pest control, pollination, water filtration)

Which of the following economic consequences to a provisioning ecosystem service will most likely result from increased global warming?

The collapse of local fisheries, because of the damage to coral reefs from ocean acidification; Many fish depend on coral reefs for habitat, and the carbon dioxide that largely causes anthropogenic global warming also causes ocean acidification, which does damage coral reefs.

Which of the following ecosystem services is categorized as cultural?

Recreation, education, and aesthetics are cultural services (nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystems).

examples of environmental stressors

poverty, pollution, crowding, noise, natural disasters

provisioning services

products obtained from ecosystems; goods from environment (food, raw materials, energy, genetic resources, medicines)

instrumental value

provisioning, regulating, support, and cultural

biodiversity

variety of life on earth

Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following would most likely experience the greatest decline of specialist species if an invasive species emigrated from the mainland?

A small island in close proximity to the mainland; Being close to the mainland increases immigration of species. A small island has fewer niches available and specialized food webs, which is most likely to cause substantial declines in specialist species.

climax community

A stable group of plants and animals that is the end result of the succession process

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem service that would provide protection from a hurricane storm surge?

An intact coastal wetland; An intact coastal wetland or marsh would offer natural protection from a storm surge categorized under regulating ecosystem service.

An island off the coast of Africa contains a larger percentage of specialist species than generalist species. Which of the following describes the most immediate effect if an invasive generalist species is introduced to the island?

As competition for resources increases, the population size of the island's specialist species will decrease; The invasive generalist species would most likely outcompete the island's species for food and other resources, as these are extremely limited on islands and specialists can thrive in a narrow range of conditions.

natural causes for habitat change

competition, predation, limited resources, natural disasters

anthropogenic

derived from human activities

fitness

differential ability to survive and reproduce

What does a low habitat diversity indicate?

ecosystem most likely has a low number of specialist species and few species that utilize large territories; Having a limited number of different habitats would inhibit the survival of different types of specialist species and those that control large territories.

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

ecosystems require a certain level of disturbance for maximum health and diversity

common descent/descent with modification

every living species has descended, with changes, from other species over time (genes mutate, individuals survive and reproduce, populations evolve)

genetic diversity

genetic variation among individuals in a population (one species)

indicator species

give early warning signs of damage or danger to a community (ex birds, butterflies, amphibians)

primary succession

happens in a place with out any soil (ex side of a volcano, landslides, flooding); starts with the arrival of airborne pioneer species such as lichens that do not need soil to survive

secondary succession

happens in an area that already has soil (ex after a forest fire); occurs faster and has different primary species than primary succession

keystone species

have a larger impact on the community, if removed, than other species

specialists

live under a very narrow range of conditions or feed on one or a very small group of species (ex panda, bears, koalas, salamander)

intrinsic value

moral/spiritual/religious/philosophical

ecological succession

natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; the gradual replacement of one plant community by another through natural processes over time

cultural services

non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems (recreation and tourism, aesthetic value)

limiting factors

the environmental factor that is most often in short supply; even if all the other factors are optimum, it's the one most likely to regulate population growth

species diversity

the number of species in a region or habitat (in a community or ecosystem)

island biogeography

the study of the ecological relationships and distribution of organisms on islands, and of these organisms' community structures

Habitat/ecosystem diversity

the variety of habitats that exist within a given region)

theory of natural selection

1. there is a struggle for existence among organisms 2. there is physical and behavioral variation in living organisms (even within the species level) 3. organisms with higher fitness (more helpful adaptations) are more likely to survive 4. over time, a "natural selection" will ensure that certain characteristics appear more and more often as they are passed through generations; entire species can change over time in this way

species richness

number of total species

Which of the following ecosystem services is categorized as provisioning?

Wood fuel, medicine, and potable water are provisioning services (products obtained from ecosystems).

bottleneck effect

a drastic and sudden reduction in the size of a population leads to a change in the gene pool

diversity index

a mathematical formula that measures species diversity by taking into account richness, abundance, and evenness

resilience

ability and rate of an ecosystem to recover from a disturbance and return to its pre-disturbed state

resistance

ability to remain unchanged when being subjected to disturbance

species evenness

abundance of individuals within each species

adaptation

any behavioral or physical characteristic that increase fitness

regulating services

benefits obtained from environmental regulation of ecosystem processes; water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles (clean air, purifying water, controlling erosion, etc.)

generalists

can live under a wide range of biotic/abiotic conditions (ex deer, wolf, raccoon, human)