Chapter 16: Evolutionary Ecology

4 type of evolutionary ecology interactions

1. physical environment 2. direct interactions 3. reciprocal interaction --> co-evolution 4. indirect effects

Flamingos obtain their pink color from the prey they eat, which consists of shrimp and algae with high levels of carotenoid pigments. Humans often target bright, flashy birds for collections. Imagine that humans collect 200 of the pinkest flamingos from a population of 1,000 individuals in a single harvest. What is the most likely pattern in average "pinkness" of the flamingo population over time after this harvest?

It was decrease at the time of the harvest, but increase to regular levels within one generation

African cichlid fishes (direct interactions)

*loss of species*: agriculture run-off --> reduced water clarity --> reduce color discrimination --> interbreeding (reduction of species diversity)

Barbara Block's endothermy study in fishes (example go physical interaction)

- mitochondria size is larger in warm tropical predatory fishes - large mitochondria = more heat production - regional endothermy

Trinidadian guppies (Reznick and Endler) (Direct interaction through prey and predator)

-higher predation in lower streams = reduce guppy survival - high predation= shorter guppy bodies, more offspring but smaller - lower stream guppies = more offspring than upper stream guppies

trophy hunting

-hunting "big" animals with the "best" genes = decrease that gene

Impala (Adam Ford)

-indirect effect - impala decreases non-thorny acacias but increase thorny acacias b/c they don't feed on the thorny ones

Silverside (Munch & Conover)

-large silverside remove = decrease in growth rate over generation -small silverside remove = increase in growth rate over generation -"cross generational studies"

Steinberg's Macro algae

Australasia= stronger co-evolution between herbivore and plants due to no carnivores (plants have stronger phlorotannin)

Which description best represents the effect of nutrients on East African cichlids?

Nutrients lead to algal blooms, which decrease water clarity. Cichlids are unable to identify mates of the same species by color, so species are lost through interbreeding

In high predation rivers, Trinidadian guppies...

SMALLER AND MORE OFFSPRING

Which type of interaction is most likely to result in coevolution?

reciprocal interactions