Ecology midterm 2

Ace your homework & exams now with Quizwiz!

In the case with snowshoe rabbit and lynx, why did their population show oscillation from year to year?

"bust and boom" A lot of rabbits means that there's a lot of lynx because the rabbits are the food so if there is a lot of rabbits as food then the lynx eats the rabbits and the rabbit population goes down so the lynx don't have any food so the lynx population will go down, then once the lynx population goes down (predators) then the rabbit population goes back up This is an example of density independent factor because the population of the lynx depends on the population of the rabbits and vice versa

What is allopatric speciation?

"other" geographic isolation which results in speciation

limiting reproductive success for females

# of eggs and/or pregnancies

limiting reproductive success for males

# of females mated

Density

# of individuals/ unit area -density goes down with body size - few larger things because less energy in these organisms and require more resources than smaller organisms

commensalism/facilitation

(+,0) an interaction where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

Male lions

(1) Higher ranking male lions sire more young. (2) The larger the coalition, the more likely the male lions are related.

What are the benefits of territoriality?

- access to food - foraging time - reproductive success

What are examples of life history traits?

- age of maturity - life span - number of offspring - gestation

Describe how the age of a population influences its distribution

- all distributions vary with age ex: *young and small shrubs establish in high densities and produce a clumped distribution *mortality as the shrubs grow reduces clumping and produce a random distribution among medium shrubs *competition enforces a regular distribution among large shrubs

Why is sexual reproduction advantageous?

- allows population survival in various environmental conditions - provides allelic diversity

What are the costs of living in groups?

- competition for food - increased predation (visibility) - disease transmission

Discrete and continuous time growth comparison.

- continuous time is steeper (estimating in between)

What are the costs of territoriality?

- energetic costs of defense - predation risk

What can dispersion patterns tell us about a population?

- environmental/social conditions - population dynamics

Why do scientists think that we are in the 6th mass extinction?

- extinction rate currently 10-100x times faster than the "big 5" extinction events - currently loosing 18,000-50,000 species each year - in the next 5 centuries, 75% of the species inhabiting earth will go extinct

What are the benefits of living in groups?

- finding food - decreased predation (vigilance) - finding mates

Why is dispersal important for the long term persistence of most organisms?

- helps regulate population size and density (more dispersal, greater change to increase population) -drives spatial and temporal redistribution of genotypes

What kinds of factors can contribute to population collapses?

- hunting - habitat destruction - habitat fragmentation - critical flock size

Random Distributions

- individuals distribute themselves randomly -an individual has the same probability of dispersing anywhere *ignore other individuals

Why is cooperation advantageous?

- more durable, repeated interactions - better recognition and recall - be nice (never defect first) - don't try to "beat" each other - be forgiving, generous

What is an open access system?

- no user group - no excludability - no rules to prevent free-riding - resources users can't change rules

What is the likely purpose of plant secondary compounds?

- pesticides and anti-grazing agents -pigments, hormones and chemical agents

What factors help avoid the Tragedy of the Commons?

- private ownership - top down control - cooperation

What are the implications of a meta population structure for conservation?

- probability of local extinction decreases - MUST CONSERVE CORRIDORS BETWEEN HABITATS

When are animals likely to maintain territories?

- resource is defensible - benefits outweigh the costs of defense

What factors could contribute to a spaced dispersion pattern?

- resources widely available - limited social interactions

What are the conditions of eusociality?

- several adults living together in groups, most sterile - cooperation in nest building and brood care - reproductive dominance by one or a few individuals

What factors promote coexistence of competitors? (3)

- spatio-temporal variation/heterogeneity in resources -competition for multiple resources for which competitive abilities vary - predation or disease pressure that keeps competing species well below K

What are common pool resources?

- subtractive resource - defined user pool - users cannot/are not efficiently excludable

Describe the story of the black footed ferrets.

- thought to be extinct in the wild for 50 years - farmers poisoned prairie dogs, which were a food source for ferrets - ferrets bred in captivity, and the ones most well suited were reintroduced to the wild

What factors could contribute to a clumped dispersion pattern?

- uneven distribution of resources - social patterns - organisms that don't move much (plants) stay close to parents

What are the advantages of semelparity?

- waits for the right opportunity - massive effort increases success - energy is stored for the big moment - common in deserts - needs good adult survival while waiting

Geographic Range

- within a species range the habitat quality will be patchy- not uniformed - range of tolerance determines your range of living ex: 3 different types of Kangaroos live in eastern, southern, and western australia

What are the variables that affect the change in population size (growth or decline)?

-Birth -Death -Immigration -Emigration

in the Lotka-Volterra equation for competition, what are some factors that may determine whether species 1 or species 2 wins a competitive interaction?

-Defense mechanisms -Fecundity -Speed -Abundance -Predatory advantage -What your carrying capacity and how you can get there while also preventing your competitor from reaching their carrying capacity

Hansson looked at how the populations of fish, zooplankton, and algal and flagellate producers were related. What did he find?

-Fish control the density of their zooplankton prey, indicating top-down control -When zooplankton are reduced, algal ad flagellate producers increase in density in response to increased nutrient input, indicating bottom-up control

What are the L-V assumptions? (6)

-Growth of vitim population is limited only by predation -predator is a specialist - individual predators can consume an infinite number of victims -alpha and beta do not change -predator and victim encounter one another randomly in a homogeneous environment -no density dependence and no time delays

Know the six invasive species examples in the U.S. and their ecological and economic impact (if the monetary value is provided)

-Kudzu Plant ($500 million each year) they overtake other plants and kill off shrubs and trees by growing over it and smothering them and cutting of their oxygen -Zebra Mussels ($5 billion each year) they can grow a huge density and are very successful filter feeder which decreases food available for other aquatic organisms; also clog pipes -Water Hyacinth ($500,000 to 3 million per state per year) they choke river channels and irrigation pipes; they form dense mats that reduce light of other aquatic plants and algae, reduce water oxygen content, and kill aquatic animals because of decreased light, oxygen and food availability -Sea Lamprey (caused the plummet of other fish in the Great Lakes, amount of money it cost cannot be determined) because of the sheer volume it affected the Great Lake fishery greatly. -Chestnut blight (3.5 billion) microscopic fungus that can grow under the tree trunks and grow into the tree and blocks the nutrient and water transportation within the tree Blight damaged American chestnut trees in the 1950's -Emerald Ash Borer is a beetle that the eggs of the beetle lives in the tree trunks and once the larva hatch they create tunnels in the tree trunks and blocks the nutrient and water transportation within the tree and kills the tree in a couple years

What are the different species interactions?

-Mutualism -Commensalism -Competition -Predation -Parasitism

What are the three types of spatial structure of population?

-Random -clumped -spaced

how did Simberloff set up his experiment determining number of species present over time on islands of different distances away from the colonizer population? what did they find?

-Scientists went to the island with insecticide and killed all the arthropods on each of the four islands and then observed the increase in speciation from 0 species onward. -new speciation curves were very similar to the original speciation data prior to defaunation, and this showed that the equilibrium of colonization and extinction holds. *Small scale experiment*

What are the parameters (characteristics) to describe a population?

-Size -Density -Age Structure -Life History -Population Growth Rate

How are metapopulations interdependent?

-The probability that each population in the set exists is linked to the states of the other populations in the set. - populations are linked through extinction and recolonization

what is ecological niche modeling and how is it used?

-Tool to predict where you see different species -Where conditions exist, species could exist -Current distribution could reflect something that happened thousands of years ago, or could reflect current conditions (like competition) -->determine if biological or environmental driver?

What is a deterministic model?

-a model that is designed to predict a result without accounting for random variation in population growth rate -is a model that gives you the same exact results for a particular set of inputs, no matter how many times you re-calculate it.

What is the two-fold cost of sex?

-an asexually reproducing population will grow at twice the rate as a sexually reproducing population. -The reason for this is simple: members of a sexually reproducing population must produce both sexes, but effectively only half of them can "give birth" to offspring to their own. -In contrast, all offspring of an individual from an asexually reproducing population can potentially "give birth"

What are the 3 simplifications of the fundamental equation of population ecology?

-assume no density dependence -assume no heterogeneity -assume a closed population

What is functional response type I?

-assumes there is a linear increase in the intake rate with food density -assumes that the time needed by the consumer to process a food item is negligible, or that consuming food does not interfere with searching for food

What are the limitations of dispersal?

-barriers (such as distance or something physical) can limit geographic ranges even if a suitable habitat is available elsewhere

How is it possible for many species to coexist in an unstructured environment while all competing for the same resource?

-becuase competition exclusion principle is equilibrium based -non-equilibrium conditions is a potential mechanism

What are some additional costs of sexual reproduction? (3)

-break up of co-adapted gene combinations (would remain linked in asexual offspring) - sexes fecundity depends on the ability to bring gametes into contact with those from the opposite sex (hard at lower densities) -energy and risk (tramitted diseases, predation)

What are examples of mixotrophs?

-carnivorous plants -mycoparasites -hemiparasites -photosynthetic protists that are also predatory -

How could the L-V competition model incorporate facilitation or mutualism?

-change the sign of alpha or beta to postive and the other to neutral for facilitation -change the sign of both alpha and beta to positive for mutualism

What is the evidence for coevolution in the form of character displacement? (4)

-character displacement does not occur where either species occurred by itself - co-evolution response occurred when species are together -directional vs stabilizing selection -the evolutionary divergence of competing populations

What are the characteristics of the spaced spatial structure of populations?

-competition

What does the L-V model of interspecific competition demonstrate?

-complete competitors should not exist -coexistence of 2 competing species is mostly likely when inter<intraspecific competition or when competition coefficients alpha and beta < 1

explain the consumer-resource relationship seen in renewable resources?

-consumers reduce the immediate availability of resources but not their supply -by reducing populations of their resources, consumers potentially reduce the rate of renewal of their food supply

give an example of interference competition

-consumption -preemption (something gets there first) -overgrowth (blocks sunlight) -chemical interactions (allelopathy) -territorial (exclusion) -encounter

When is it important to consider population growth in discrete vs continuous time?

-continuous: properties of population include overlapping generation times

Experiment testing for host evolutionary response to parasitoid results?

-control cage: populations oscillated dramatically (host population cannot evolve) -host population evolved and remained high/constant while wasp (parasitoid) population remained low

Describe the correlation between body size and density

-density goes down with body size -there are more individuals in a given area if they are smaller

what are the two views on the subject of high biodiversity in the tropics?

-diversity increases without limit over time -diversity reaches an equilibrium in which factors adding species balance factors removing species

Why isn't the environmental heterogeneity theory explaining why there are so many trees in the tropics appealing?

-does not work for trees, edaphic (tree response to soil composition) and geologic heterogeneity does not appear to be unusually high in the tropics

What does Lotka-Volterra model for predator prey dynamics assume?

-doesn't have any density dependent factors -assumes predators are the only thing limiting prey

How does horizontal gene transfer occur in eukaryotes?

-endocytosis of bacterial cell -a gene escapes degradation and inserts into the chromosome

What are the different types of parasites? (4)

-endoparasites -ectoparasites -kleptoparasites -brood parasites

what is the relationship between speciation rate / extinction rate and number of species on continent

-equilibrium occurs when all niches on continent are filled -speciation flattens out as less niche available -extinction grows exponentially bc continents are larger with more resources and less competitions

What is a cohort life table?

-follow group of organisms born at same time (cohort) until death

What 3 factors affect the maintenance of genetic variation?

-genetic recombination -mutation -horizontal gene transfer

what influences local diversity? what can local diversity lead to?

-habitat selection from regional diversity -predators, pathogens, extinction; competitive exclusion; stochastic extinction

What are the workarounds to higher reproductive costs to females in resources to produce eggs, seeds, gestation? (6)

-hermaphrodites -fewer males -males help -females eat males -asexual reproduction most of the time (sexual only in times of environmental stress) -change sex with size or resource availabilty

What is the term (1-N/K)?

-how far below you are from the max carrying capacity

describe the reduced competitive exclusion theory explaining why there are so many kinds of trees in the tropics?

-if being rare is an advantage, competitive exclusion may not be as important -high speciation, low extinction -tree species may have been accumulating for millions of years

what influences regional diversity? what can regional diversity lead to?

-immigration and species production -mass extinction

why do the two species of clams live inhabit different regions of the rock? what ecological phenomenon does this display?

-in the upper intertidal zone, extreme dryness limits 1 species from living there, allowing species 2 to thrive -in the lower intertidal zone, species 1 limits species 2 by outcompeting it for space -asymmetric competition

Regular Distributions

-individuals are uniformly spaced through the environment *antagonistic interaction- tend to repel others

Clumped Distributions

-individuals live in areas of high local abundance, separated by areas of low abundance * attract other individuals

What are some key aspects to migration?

-involves directional movement of individuals of one species between distinct locations -not only follows specific routes and timing schedules, but also requires remarkable navigation abilities -across species, time scales span from diurnal to multi generational

what did Simberloff's test on number of species present over time show?

-islands closer to sources of colonists recovered more species faster than more distant islands -at the end of a year, species richness leveled off, suggesting that equilibrium had been reached -the new equilibrium numbers of species were similar to the numbers of species before defaunation

Keough investigated the colonization of artificially created bare patches by various sessile subtidal invertebrates that grow on hard surfaces. He created large or small proximate or isolated patches which were then occupied by colonists. Given competitor and ruderal species, which would dominate where and why?

-large/small proximate patches dominated by competitors (gap size didn't matter because they were easily filled by growth) -large, isolated patches dominated by competitors (easy target for colonization) -small, isolated patches dominated by ruderal species (competitors don't disperse well, allowing ruderal species to gain a foothold here and prevent colonization by competitors)

What factors lead to coexistence between predator and prey? (8)

-limitation from density-dependent controls on predator poppulation sizes unrelated to prey availability -predator self-limitation (territoriality or competition for prey) -migration or dispersal of prey -environmental heterogeneity refugia for prey (structural complexity) -prey swamping of predator or predator satiation -prey switching by predator -limits to predator numerical response -prey defense

What are the characteristics of the clumped spatial structure of populations?

-limited dispersal -clustered resources -group living

How can the logistic model incorporate environmental stochasticity?

-logistic model - r and K are normally constant -logistic model with environmental stochasticity- r and k are not constant and drawn from a distribution

Why would the Atlantic include 7 species of mangroves, while the West Pacific includes ~40?

-mangrove species are not genetically linked, but live in similar environments due to convergence. -isolation drives speciation in the West Pacific (more islands) so there are more species

How can individuals within a population interact?

-mating -social interactions -cooperative behaviors -competition for resources

The incredibly long distance migrations between fixed foraging and nesting sites result in large geographic ranges, how so?

-migrating across entire ocean basins -laying their eggs on tropical nesting beaches, but then migrating to foraging areas to feed on jellyfish -high use areas pose as potential danger zones in the pacific ocean

How does sympatric speciation happen mechanistically?

-must be an advantage to go in one direction -need to isolate themselves reproductively

Name two groups of endoparasites.

-mycoplasmas ( small bacteria that invade cells, pneumonia) -trypanosoma and malaria (protozoans)

Examples pf mutualistic symbioses critical to history of life? (4)

-mycorrhizae: essential for plans to colonize land -coral: reproductive area -gut flora: vitamin, breakdown, immune -N fixation: govern nitrogen availability

Ultimately how do positive and negative feedback differ?

-negative is immediate -positive is a build up over time with a eventual return to baseline

What are some examples of epigenetic effects?

-nutrition -exposure to toxins during development - developmental effects -maternal and paternal effects

explain the home-home, home-foreign experiment using plants and fungi

-plants/fungi from the same area show the strongest parasitism and mutualism effects -in some cases, even the direction of the effect depended on whether the two species came from the same or different areas

Are spiders good bio-controls?

-population growth should track victim growth in order to be a good bio-control -spiders reproduce once a year so not really (can't produce more spiders in response to an increase in prey)

What do you need to know to project future population size for age- or size-structured populations?

-population structure -age-specific fecundity and mortality

What are the conditions for predator-prey dynamics to generated Lotka-Volterra type stable limit cycles? (3)

-predators moderately efficient -feedbacks to predator and prey population sizes are rapid -refuges exist for prey

What are some mechanisms for non-equilibrium conditions? (3)

-predators or other natural enemies -presence of mutualists -environmental flucuations or spatio-temporal heterogeneity

What are the advantages of sexual reproduction? (4)

-prevent build up of harmful mutation - breaking up linked genes that contain positive and negative elements -maintain genetic diversity to keep up with pathogens -few clades asexual over deep evolutionary time

What are the characteristics of random spatial structure of populations?

-rarest in nature -null hypothesis

What is coexistence of predator and prey enabled by?

-refugia -immigration -mutual negative feedbacks

Knight looked at trophic cascades across system by studying the impact of fish on dragonflies. In a separate study, he looked at the impact of fish on pollinators such as flies, butterflies, and bees. What were the findings / significance of this study?

-removing fish led to more medium sized larval and adult dragonflies as well as a decrease in large dragonflies. -the absence of fish led to less pollinator species (fish eat dragonflies, which eat pollinators)

What does Tilman's resource ratio theory also depend on?

-resource level (supply rate and consumption rate of the resource) -population growth rate

What are the assumptions of L-V model of interspecific competition?

-resources are in limited supply -competitive coefficients (alpha and beta) and carrying capicities are constant -density dependence is linear

Describe three factors that influence a species' rarity and vulnerability to extinction

-restricted geo range -narrow habitat range -small population sizes ex: passenger pigeons have a narrow nesting area, once area destroyed by humans, decreased population size

Describe L-V and predator-prey cycles:

-rise in prey population -followed by rise in predation -increase predators cauases decline in prey population -as prey falls it will support fewer predators -fewer predators causes prey population to rise again

What is functional response type III?

-similar to type II but search activity increases with prey density -not as good at hunting prey in the beginning but the rate of capture increases

What is population viability analysis?

-simulates temporal population changes -estimates extinction risk over a time period

how does number of species change based on island size? distance of islands?

-small islands support fewer species than large islands -islands near the mainland have more species than those farther away

Why is it important to understand the spatial structure of individuals within a population?

-spatial structure can reflects variation in habitat quality of patches

Hutchinson Niche

-specialization of a niche can increase biodiversity -considers all abiotic factors such as pH, sunlight, moisture, salinity, and temp -fundamental/realized niche

what determines whether a given member of the species pool can be a member of a given community?

-species must be able to tolerate conditions of the environment and find suitable resources (must fall within fundamental niche) -must also be able to persist in face of competitors, predators, and parasites (realized niche) -species sorting

in what level of the community structure are guilds found? what are they?

-species richness -group of organism that share a trait, even though they are taxonomically removed ex) nectar sippers

How do you estimate the intrinsic rate of increase from data?

-take the log of both sides of N(t) = N(0)e^rt which then looks like y = mx+b so plot it -r is the slope

What are some examples of density independent effects?

-temperature -floods -pollution

What are the different mechanisms of the pre-zygotic barriers?

-temporal isolation -habitat isolation -behavioral isolation -mechanical isolation -gametic isolation

what did Tansley conclude from his experiment with competition between species?

-the presence or absence of a species could be determined by a competition with other species -the conditions of the environment affected the outcome of competition -the present ecological segregation of species might have resulted from competition in the past

Linked 16-cell population cages to study competition. What were the results of this experiment? (3)

-there is a clear genetic basis for competitive ability that responds to natural selection -interspecific competitve ability can evolve rapidly at low density -sudden reversal in competitive superiority can occur

what is another theory for why there are more species in the tropics, looking at environmental stress?

-there is less abiotic stress in the tropics, meaning it is a more conducive habitat. -greater importance of species interactions than abiotic factors

Theoretical Model of Ideal Free Distribution

-there is no limit to the # of competitors who can exploit the resource. -every individual is free to choose where to go - 1st arrivals will go to rich habitat- too many then, then move to poor- rewards turn equally attractive - stickleback example

Genotype-genotype interaction experiment results?

-transplants within a tree were more fit than transplants between trees -evolution seems to be occuring between scale insect populations on adjacent trees -coevolution with the host in control (tree)

Why is it often important to incorporate age or size structure into population models?

-you are better able to predict population growth

In ecosystem development, growth and Pn/Pg approach ________ as maintenance uses all available energy

0

Neither exponential growth/decline, r is ?

0

What is polyandry?

1 female, many males

What is polygyny?

1 male, many females

Monogamy in animals

1 mate for a lifetime

Describe two factors that determine the total size of a population

1) Geographic Range 2) Density

What are David Lack's 3 proposed generalizations about life history traits?

1) Life history traits contribute to reproductive success, so they influence evolutionary fitness 2) Life histories vary in a consistent way with respect to factors in the environment 3) Hypotheses about life histories are subject to experimental tests

What are the three ways ecologist explain the patchy distribution of individuals?

1) Metapopulation models 2)Source-sink models 3)Landscape models

Why organisms don't go to free distribution

1) incomplete information- check out line example 2) lack of free choice- physically excluded ex: someone living in your front yard

Lyme disease positive feedback

1) mice eat moths 2) moths eat trees 3) trees make acorns 4) mice eat acorns 5) mice feed ticks 6) ticks spread Lyme disease more mice --> less gypsy moths --> more trees --> more acorns --> more mice --> more ticks and Lyme disease

What are the assumptions of the ideal free distribution?

1) patch quality is determined by resource amount 2) individuals move freely between patches (free move to highest quality patch) 3) All individuals have perfect knowledge of patch quality 4) increase number of individuals decreases patch quality

What are four conditions that support source-sink dynamics?

1) population is split into many small patches 2) risk of extinction 3) variation in survival between patches 4) recolonization

Actual Distributions

1) random 2) regular 3) clumped

What are the two different approaches to a sensitivity analysis?

1) stimulate small changes and see which has the biggest affect on lambda 2) stimulate BIG changes and see if they bring lambda above one

How do you detect density dependence (2) ?

1)Plot change in population size (lamda) against population size. If there is a linear decrease that is indicative. 2) Compare vital rates (birth/death/movement) to abundance. Would show a linear decline.

What are the top causes of population decline and ultimately extinction?

1. Habitat degradation 2. Invasive species 3. Pollution 4. Overexploitation 4. Disease

What are potential methods of preventing extinction?

1. Species approach (focus on one species in the wild) 2. Zoo-botanic garden approach (focus on one species in captivity for eventual reintroduction) 3. Ecosystem approach (preserve large tracts of land, manage them, allow natural ecological processes) 4. Habitat restoration 5. Protect keystone species

The population responds by growing when...?

1. carrying capacity or resource availability increases 2. size of the population falls below carrying capacity due to predation, disease, or a density independent event

What are some important features for a population?

1. genetic units that define the gene pool 2. requires a defined spatial boundary 3. structures defined by characteristics of the collective 4. Dynamic in time due to the continuous birth, death, and movement of individuals

How do corvids do this?

1. seed selection by avoiding seeds spoiled with fungi or insect larvae. Choosing viable seeds. 2. Seed transport by transporting seeds 20+ miles across a landscape 3. seed deposition by trying seeds underground. suitable habitats favor seedling establishment

Why do smaller populations have a higher risk of extinction?

1. vulnerable to random events 2. loss of genetic diversity 3. allee affect

Green Woodhoopoes live in territories defended by flocks of how many

2-16

How many species definitions are there? Despite the difference, what do all these definitions agree on?

26 All concepts agree that a species is a distinct, evolving lineage of organisms

If fitness is a representation of your genes in the next generation, what is an asexual "female"'s fitness?

2x greater

How many female lions does a pride include?

3-6 adults, but many contain as many as 18

the earth is approximately how old?

4.5 billion years

What is the percent of genes in full siblings

50 % genes

With geometric decline, lamda is <,=,> 1 ?

< 1

Neither geometric growth/decline, lamda is <,=,> 1 ?

= 1

With geometric growth, lamda is <,=,> 1 ?

> 1

Where is most of the human genetic diversity?

>75% is within populations (individual variation) -modern humans quite closely related due to recent expansion over the 70,000 years

How do you use an age structure graph to predict the future change of a population (increase, decrease, or stable)?

????

Population Pyramid

A bar graph representing the distribution of population by age and sex.

A pathogen dependent on the continuing survival of its host will evolve towards what relationship with its host?

A benign relationship (not harmful in effect)

What does density "dependent" and "independent" mean?

A density-dependent factor is one where the effect of the factor on the size of the population depends upon the original density or size of the population. A density-independent factor is one where the effect of the factor on the size of the population is independent of and does NOT depend upon the original density or size of the population.

Intrasexual selection

A direct competition among individuals of one sex (usually the males in vertebrates) for mates of the opposite sex.

negative feedback loop

A feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring.

interference competition

A form of competition involving direct antagonistic interactions between individuals

ratio-dependent functional response

A functional response in which the rate of feeding by a predator is a function of the ratio of prey population size to predator population size, i.e., the number of prey per predator.

What is a generalist? What is their adaption advantage and disadvantage?

A generalist uses a variety of environmental resources Advantage: unlimited supply Disadvantage: more competition

cohort

A group of individuals of the same age.

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

What is a population?

A group of interacting individuals from the same species.

What is a phylogenetic species? What is the limitation?

A group of organisms that all share common ancestor and who all share common traits Limitation: Over-categorization of species; although, it provides leverage for conservation biology The features can include color, shape, behavior or genetic (nucleus or mitochondria DNA)

What is a morphological species? What is the limitation?

A group of organisms that share common measurable physical traits Limitation: the species can look the same but be different OR look completely different but be same species

What is a biological species? What is the limitation?

A group of populations whose members that can produce fertile offspring Limitation: it is hard to know these species without a lab or zoo Only experiments show biological species

metapopulation

A group of spatially separated populations of one species that interact through immigration and emigration.

What is hypovirulence?

A kind of biological control in which the virulence of a pathogen (its ability to infect, grow or produce spores) is reduced by being infected with a virus.

What is a stochastic model?

A model that incorporates inherent randomness.

What is symbiosis?

A mutual relationship in which the two species have a close association

Type II survivorship curve

A pattern of survivorship characterized by constant rates of survival throughout life.

Type III survivorship curve

A pattern of survivorship in which a period of extremely high rates of mortality among the young is followed by a relatively high rate of survival.

Type I survivorship curve

A pattern of survivorship in which there are high rates of survival among young and middle-aged individuals followed by high rates of mortality among the aged.

What is meant by population regulation?

A population is regulated if its long run population size is drawn from a stationary probability distribution (staying within fairly narrow bounds). -the mean doesn't change over time

What is phylogeny?

A proposal of how organisms are related by their evolutionary history It is based on the evidence that all living things are related by common descent.

vesicle

A small cavity or sac that contains materials in a eukaryotic cell

What is a specialist? What is there adaption advantage and disadvantage?

A specialist uses a narrow range of resources Advantage: less competitors Disadvantage: if their special resource gets used up, they can't survive

Disease

Abnormal condition

What did Huffaker's experiment with orange-eating mites and predatory mites show?

Adding barriers to dispersal allowed predators and prey to coexist. -predator prey coexistence without immigration

What are the advantages and possible drawbacks of using natural enemies for invasive control?

Advantage: It can effectively get rid of the invader Disadvantage: The new predator could get out of control

When does a diversity of evoluntionary solutions (forms) result?

Against biological forces (competition, mutualism, and predator-prey)

When does a convergence of evoluntionary solutions (forms) result? (not coevolution)

Against physical forces (physical and chemical environment)

What is an example of a population experiencing a large fluctuation?

Algae

Positive density dependence is also called BLANK.

Allee effects

Lotka-Volterra model for predator prey dynamics: What is alpha? dV/dt = rV - alphaVP

Alpha is capture efficiency which is the rate that the victim population is reduced by the addition of a single predator

Eusociality

An extreme form of sociality in which there is cooperative brood care, division of labor, and multi-generation groups. Exp: Ants, bees, naked mole rat, etc.

Commensalism

An interaction between two species in which one species benefits without harming the other; a type of symbiosis.

commensalism

An interaction between two species in which one species benefits without harming the other; a type of symbiosis.

Photoheterotrophs

An organism that uses light to generate ATP but that must obtain carbon in organic form.

What is a guild?

Any group of species that exploit the same resources, often in related ways, and are not necessarily related evoluntionarily

BLANK is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating.

Aposematism

Changes in Creosote Bush Distribution

As plants grow, some individuals in clumps die, reducing clumping; distribution becomes more random. Competition among remaining plants produces higher mortality. >Eventually creates regular distributions. >Competition for water and nutrients reduces overlap in root distribution between adjacent plants.

BLANK are "self feeding" and capture their own energy and maker their own complex compounds.

Autotrophs

Change in population number = ?

B+I-D-E

What is lamda in a closed population?

B-D+1

If each individual gives birth to B offspring then B(N) = ?

BN(t) -birth rate times the number of individuals

Why are many of the global biodiversity hotspots around the world located on islands?

Because they are on islands, populations of island species are isolated

Patterns on Large Scales

Bird Populations Across North America. >Root found at continental scale, bird populations showed clumped distributions in Christmas Bird Counts. >Clumped patterns occur in species with widespread or restricted distributions. >Brown et al. found clumped distributions of bird species found in Breeding Bird Surveys (summer season). >at large scales, birds are clumped

what is the reasoning behind the holistic concept of community?

Body analogy unique emergent properties of a community

Abiotic and Biotic Influences on Distribution

Both abiotic and biotic factors are important in determining the distribution and abundance of a species. >Balanus appears to be more vulnerable to desiccation, excluding it from the upper intertidal zone. >Chthamalus adults appear to be excluded from lower areas by competition with Balanus.

Does population size or population density vary across space due to variation in species interactions and habitat suitability?

Both population size and density vary

Sociobiology/Ethology

Branch of biology concerned with study of social relations. Exp: Dominance, reproductive interactions, cooperation, etc.

How are populations thought to be regulated?

By a combination of density-dependent and density-independent processes.

Patterns on Small Scales

Can map the distribution of a species, showing the presence/absence of the species. Knowing how individuals are distributed across their range is also important.

Kangaroo Distributions and Climate

Caughley et al. found a close relationship between climate and distribution of the three largest kangaroos in Australia. >Eastern grey (Macropus giganteus) in the eastern >Western grey (M. fuliginosus) in southern and western regions. >Red (M. rufus) in arid / semiarid interior. Northern Australia is too hot, too wet, and/or too dry in winter for these 3 species.

character displacement

Changes in the physical characteristics of a species' population as a consequence of natural selection for reduced interspecific competition

What is the nutritional mode of nearly all aminals?

Chemoheterotrophs

What are the examples of mutualism and symbiosis relationship? In each example, what kind of benefit do the two players receive, respectively?

Clownfish and Sea anemones. The anemone provides protection for the clownfish, and the fish provides circulation, bringing in fresh water for cleaning services

Example of clumped spatial structure of a population?

Clumped oak trees or clumped coral reef

In metapopulation models BLANK and BLANK change the overall population.

Colonization Extinctions

What is the aposematic color? What is the evolutionary significance of this color?

Colors and / or patterns that act as a warning to predators that a potential prey species is unpalatable, toxic or dangerous. Gain protection

BLANK is the use or defense of a resource by one organism that reduces the availability of that resource to other individuals.

Competition

what's the difference between constancy and resilience?

Constancy: a measure of the ability of a system to resist change in the face of outside influences (resistance) Resilience: the ability of a system to return to some reference state after a disturbance

What scales can be limited?

Continental and local

Exponential populations (instantaneous population growth) occur in BLANK time.

Continuous time

What is beta?

Conversion efficiency

Where and what did Packer and Pusey study ?

Cooperation among African lions in the Serengeti

Lion Pride

Cooperation among related female lions to obtain food, raise young, and protect the group.

Evolution is accompanied by..

Cooperative feeding, defense of the social group, and restricted reproductive opportunities.

What is mechanical isolation? Give an example.

Copulation is attempted, but transfer of sperm does not take place (ex: Damselfly - shape of the male genitalia among different damselfly species)

What is an example of passive dispersal?

Corvids; they act as seed dispersers for oak and pine populations

BLANK the ability of an organism to conceal itself especially from a predator by having a color, pattern, and shape that allows it to blend into the surrounding environment.

Crypsis

If each inidividual has a chance of dying of D then the number of deaths is D(N) = ?

DN(t) -Death rate times the number of individuals

Animal Size and Population Density

Damuth found the population density of herbivorous mammals decreased with increased body size. Peters and Wassenberg looked at broader group of animals and found same pattern. >Aquatic invertebrates tend to have higher densities than terrestrial invertebrates of similar size. >Mammals tend to have higher population densities than birds of similar size.

The realized quality of a good patch __________ as its population increases.

Decreases

The creation of sub-populations Increase or decrease genetic diversity? Increase or decrease the risk of extinction?

Decreases genetic diversity increased risk of extinction

What is population cycling caused by?

Delays in feedback between population density and population growth rates.

What is the fundamental equation in a closed population?

Delta N = N(t+1) - N(t) = B(N) -D(N) -N(t+1) population at time step 1

Organism Size and Population Density

Densities of organisms in natural environments vary greatly. Densities of many are highly correlated with body size. >Small plants and animals generally live at higher population densities than larger ones. >Quantifying this relationship provides information about divergent environmental requirements. >Also provides a standard against which we can compare measured densities.

BLANK effects are a negative feedback on population growth.

Density dependent effects

What are the density dependent and density independent factors that can regulate population growth?

Density dependent factors: impact depends on current population, diseases, competition, predation *The higher the population, the higher the competition Density independent factors: environmental resources, stressors, and catastrophe (pollution etc) *the impact size is NOT dependent on current population size -doesn't depend on the population, depends on the environmental factors

Sexual selection

Differences in reproductive rates among individuals as a result of differences in mating success.

What do the set of parameter values and initial conditions lead to in a stochastic model?

Different outputs

___________ this is the movement of an individual or individuals away from the population in which they were born to another location, or population, where they will settle and reproduce

Dispersal

Populations can be characterized by

Distribution - the size, shape, and location of the area it occupies. Pattern of spacing of individuals, the number of individuals (abundance), and their density. Age distributions, growth rates, etc.

What follows a logistic population growth model (2 example)?

E.coli 3 phases: -slow acceleration -maximum acceleration -reduced acceleration Paramecium aurelia -20 paramecium -added constant number of bacteria (food) every day

What is ecological speciation?

Ecologically-based divergent selection process by which ecologically based divergent selection between different environments leads to the creation of reproductive barriers between populations.

Populations

Ecologists usually define a population as a group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a specific area.

What are maternal and paternal effects?

Effects of the genotype and environment of a parent on offspring phenotype

Distributions of Plants Along a Moisture-Temperature Gradient

Encelia leaf pubescence corresponds to distribution on a moisture-temperature gradient. >E. frutescens has little pubescence while E. farinosa has pubescence and therefore E. Farinosa absorbs less radiant energy. >Both live in hot deserts and have similar leaf temperatures. >E. frutescens avoids overheating via evaporative cooling.

What's the difference between opportunistic and equilibrial life histories?

Equilibrial (tolerator) life history: tolerate harsh environment by adapting; quantity < quality Opportunistic life history: take immediate advantage of favorable conditions; quantity > quality

BLANK is the state of a system in which population size is not changing.

Equilibrium

Explain how species 1 wins in the Lotka-Volterra equation for competition using a graph?

Even when species 2 achieves K, density of species 1 increases; species 2 goes to extinction

Why do we stay host-parasite interaction is "ubiquitous"?

Every plant and animal has parasites; even parasites have parasites

Give examples of predator and prey species engaging in a "evolutionary arms race" or Red Queen Hypothesis

Evoluntionary escalation of the bat and moth and their ability to detect each other.

What animals/plants have the equilibrial life history? What are the characteristics of these examples ?

Example Elephants/Seals/Polar Bears etc Birth Rate - low Sexual Maturity - late Overall Lifespan - long Parental Care - lots Youth Survivorship - high Ability To tolerate - high

T/F All predators are animals

F They can be plants too (venus fly trap, amoeba)

T/F: "non-native" always means "foreign"

F "non-native" does not necessarily mean "foreign"

T/F defining an individual cannot be challenging

FALSE

T/F modules can look like individuals but are not actually genetically identical to the parent

FALSE

T/F: the incorporation of time lags between resource consumption and reproduction can cause populations to not go through cycles of population growth and decline

FALSE

T/F; density dependent factors are abiotic factors

FALSE

T/F; density independent factors affect and do regulate populations

FALSE

T/F; environments cannot influence population growth by affecting birth and death rates

FALSE

T/F; life tables cannot follow a cohort (a group of individuals in a population born in the same period of time)

FALSE

T/F; population increase is a function of the number of males in the population

FALSE

T/F; populations in nature regularly follow a smooth approach to their carrying capacity

FALSE

What are density independent effects?

Factors limiting the size of a population regardless of the density of the population.

Prides are always made up of close relatives.

False

True or False: Symbiotic means mutalistic.

False, this is how its properly used but does not necessarily imply this. Symbiosis can be mutualistic, commensal, or parasitic.

Logistic growth with regular population cycles: Know how to draw graph. Is feedback immediate?

Feedback is immediate. See lecture 3 power point

Physiological and population processes are regulated by what?

Feedbacks

Trends in R0

For disease to spread, R0 must be >1 ------------- epidemic: Lower R0 --> balance of people who have been sick and who hasn't Higher R0 --> more recovered individuals and less susceptible individuals -------------- endemic: Lower R0 --> lots of susceptible individuals, and balance of recovered and infected people Higher R0 --> decrease susceptible individuals and increase recovered and infected

BLANK is alpha x V.

Functional response

BLANK is the entire set of conditions under which a species can persist.

Fundamental niche

runaway selection

Genes for female choice and preferred male attribute can be inherited together. Females that show a preference for a particular trait will have sons with that trait, and daughters that have a preference for that trait (like their mothers). Eventually forces of natural selection will stop the positive feedback cycle.

What are 2 examples of evolutionary change via random processes?

Genetic drift Mutation

disturbance

Grime (1977): any process that limits plants by destroying plant biomass Sousa (1984): any discrete, punctuated killing, displacement, or damaging of one or more individuals that directly or indirectly creates opportunity for new individuals to become established White and Pickett (1985): any relatively discrete event that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources, substrate availability, or the physical environment

What is population?

Groups of individuals belonging to the same species that live in the same region at the same time -individuals of one species -occupy the same general area -rely on same resources -affected by the same environmental factors -potential to breeds

Adult scorpion flies

Guard a dead arthropod to attract females. Salivate profusely when offering arthropod as gift to potential mate. Size of male fly and size of arthropod influence mating success.

competition

Harm,harm

Explain how competition can go either way in the Lotka-Volterra equation for competition using a graph?

Here, K2/β < K1 K2/β is the density of species 1 equal to carrying capacity of species 2 Final outcome depends on initial conditions

BLANK are "other feeding" and capture energy/complex organic compounds from other organisms.

Heterotrophs

Distributions of Tropical Bee Colonies

Hubbell and Johnson predicted regular distribution of aggressive bee colonies, and random or clumped distribution of non-aggressive species. >Potential nest sites were randomly spaced. Found four highly aggressive species had regular distributions. >Pheromones attract bees to nest sites. Found one non-aggressive species with random distribution.

Hutchinson's Niche

Hutchinson defined niche as an n-dimensional hyper-volume. >n is the number of environmental factors important to survival and reproduction.

What are the three types of functional responses?

I II III

What is a "mixed motive game"?

If A gets benefits, B's choice affects outcome; common interests; pure cooperation doesn't work (think Barney)

What is a "zero-sum game"?

If A gets gains, B gets losses; opposed interests; 100% competitive (think godzilla)

When is a population said to exhibit density dependence?

If present per capita population growth rates depend on past and/or present population size.

When can a long term population trend be negative even with positive r?

If the variance in growth rate is high.

What is the competitive exclusive principle? How do similar species co-exist?

If two ecological niches (roles) are too similar, they cannot coexist in the same place. Similar species use resource partition, which means they share resources

Learning experience

Improve future reproduction chances

How does the logistic model of population growth make the exponential population growth model more realistic?

In the exponential model the population will continue to grow exponentially (not realistic). In the logistic model the population grows exponentially first then levels off at a carrying capacity.

Lotka-Volterra Model

Incorporates oscillations in the abundances of predator and prey populations and shows predator numbers lagging behind those of their prey

What do we mean by no heterogeneity?

Individuals in a population have equal birth and death rates.

What is habitat isolation? Give an example.

Individuals mate in their preferred habitat, and therefore do not meet individuals of other species with different ecological preferences (ex: Blue Ghost Firefly - male firefly flash patterns in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

What is temporal isolation? Give an example.

Individuals of different species do not mate because they are active at different times of day or in different seasons (ex: Northern Red-Legged Frog, Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog; Fall Field-Cricket, Sand Field-Cricket)

What are the three major characteristics of eusociality?

Individuals of more than one generation living together. Cooperative care of young. Division of Individuals into nonreproductive and reproductive castes

Intersexual selection

Individuals of one sex consistently choose mates among members of opposite sex based on a particular trait.

Intersexual Selection

Individuals of one sex consistently choose mates among members of opposite sex based on a particular trait. birds, feathers or song quality

What do helpers gain?

Inherited territory, inclusive fitness, and learning experience.

Leibold measured phytoplanton biomass and how it affected zooplankton biomass. Then, fish, a predator of zooplankton, was added. What were the findings and what did they suggest?

Initially, the relative sizes of the two trophic levels are positively correlated, indicating bottom-up control. When fish were added, zooplankton decreased and phytoplankton increased, indicating top-down control -primary consumer density is controlled by both top-down and bottom-up control

BLANK competition is a among individuals of the different species.

Interspecific competition

BLANK competition is a among individuals of the same species.

Intraspecific competition

What is invasive species?

Invasive species - NON-NATIVE species that has established in a novel environment and causes environmental or economic damage by colonizing and dominating suitable habitats

What is ecological niche modeling?

Is a conservation tool used to predict the population sizes and distributions of a species by assessing the physical conditions of suitable niches.

What is the landscape model and what does it account for?

It builds on metapopulation and source-sink models by accounting for the impacts of the nearby habitat matrix on patch quality. -Actual movement and routes of individuals depends on the surrounding landscape and habitats found along the way

If the Grandmother effect is true, what role could it have played. in human evolution?

It could have allowed for the evolution of longer lifespans in human females, so that they may care for their offsprings offspring, allowing for the grandparents offspring to reproduce more

How is demographic stochasticity problematic for small population sizes?

It increases the risk of population extinction because it skews age structure and sex ratios.

What is hybrid speciation?

It is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species

What is delayed density dependence causes by?

It is caused by time lags (tau in the equation) in the negative feedback on population growth from population density

What is functional response type II?

It is characterized by a decelerating intake rate, which follows from the assumption that the consumer is limited by its capacity to process food (satiation)

What is a population?

Its a group of individuals of the same species that inhabit a given area

Explain how coexistence is reached in the Lotka-Volterra equation for competition using a graph?

K1 < K2/ β Therefore, species 1 cannot achieve density to eliminate species 2 (i.e., N1 cannot equal K2/β) neither species excludes the other intraspecific competition inhibits growth of each population; species limit themselves before one species limits the other

N1*=

K1-(alpha)N2

When N1*=0, N2=

K1/alpha

N2*=

K2-(beta)N1

When N2*=0, N1=

K2/beta

An individuals inclusive, or overall fitness is determined by its survival and reproduction rate, plus the survival and reproduction rates of family members

Kin Selection

High quality suitable patches are expected to have LARGER/SMALLER population density than low quality suitable patches of similar size.

Larger

SEE SLIDE on Lotka-Volterra competition model equilibrium solutions.

Lecture 7

If a pathogen spreads environmentally, hypovirulence is LESS/MORE LIKELY to evolve.

Less

Climate and Distributions

Limited distributions may not be directly determined by climate, but indirectly. >food >water >parasites >habitat Relationship between climate and species distribution can be stable for hundreds to thousands of years.

Sousa's controlled access to patch through the use of limpets and then measured structure of algal community with and without grazing. Due to limpets' grazing nature, are large or small patches more heavily impacted and why?

Limpets keep to the edge of patches to avoid predators. Therefore, small patches more heavily impacted; Tri-trophic situation.

linkage disequilibrium

Linkage disequilibrium (nonrandom association) between female choice genes and male expression genes

This model incorporates K into the exponential growth model..

Logistic model of population growth

hyphae

Long filament of cells that makes up the body of fungus.

What model can be used when two species need the same resource?

Lotka-Volterra competition model

HIGH/LOW quality patches are referred to sinks.

Low

What is an example of a population cycle?

Low prey abundance (hawks on iguanas) in one year would result in decreased birth rates the following year and population declines; abundant food in one year would result in increased birth rates the following year and population growth

Carrying capacity (K)

Maximum population of a particular species that a given habitat can support over a given period.

What allows sink populations persist in source-sink models?

Migration from source populations allows sink populations to persist.

What is the Lotka-Volterra competition model?

Modification of the logistic model for each species to include the competitive effect of one species on the population growth of another -alpha: effect an individual of species 2 has on the population growth of species 1 -beta: effect an individual of species 1 has on the population growth of species 2

immigration (+)

Movement of individuals into a population

What is polyploidization? Does this mechanism happen more often in plants or animals?

Multiplication of the whole chromosome complement and has occurred frequently in vascular plants Polyploidization happens more often in plants because

What is the origin of most genetic variation?

Mutation

What are the sources of genetic variation in prokaryotes?

Mutation Horizontal gene transfer

What is mutualism?

Mutualism is a species interaction in which both species benefit from each other

arbuscular mycorrhizae

Mycorrhizae in which the fungal partner grows into the soil, extending some distance away from the plant root, and also grows between some root cells while penetrating others.

Stable Predator Population (predator isocline)

N = m/ac

Formula for N(t) with r incorporated = ?

N(t) = N(0)e^rt

What is the formula for N(t) it is generalized for more than one time step?

N(t) = lamda^tN(0) Number of individuals at time t = population growth rate raised to time t times the number of individuals at time 0

Population growth equation

N=(B+I)-(D+E)

At what point does a population growing, logistic growth model, reach its maximum intrinsic rate of increase (r)?

N=K/2

What are the equilibria for logistic model of population growth?

N=k N=0

Fundamental equation in population Ecology

N_(t+1)=BN_(t)-DN_(t)+N_(t)=lambda*N_(t) B_(N): births in a population size N D_(N): death in population size N Assumptions: no density dependence, no heterogeneity, closed population

Field Test

Natural environment confirms that predators decrease abundance of colorful guppies.

neutralism

Neither species benefits or is harmed

Niches

Niche - summarizes environmental factors that influence growth, survival, and reproduction of a species. A niche consists of all the factors necessary for the existence of a species. Niche concept developed independently by Grinnell and Elton. >Grinnell focused on the effects of the physical environment. >Elton included biotic and abiotic factors.

Are all populations that are composed of subpopulations metapopulations?

No

Is there a feedback mechanism for development of a benign relationship?

No

Is human carrying capacity constant? Why or why not?

No Changes in agriculture productivity and treatment of infectious diseases.

Are population models that incorporate time lags necessarily stochastic? If not why?

No IF r and tau are a certain value you can get oscillations but they are predictable because you set the parameters and they don't change.

Do we expect the assumptions of the ideal free distribution to be commonly met in nature?

No, cost of spending the time to figure out which patch has the highest quality is too high. -also animals cant always move freely between patches

Do single males have a chance of claiming and defending a pride?

No, most form coalitions with other males. Probability of siring young depends on rank within coalition

How do you use "+" and "-" to show the different interactions?

One species (+) kills and consumes the other (-) AKA One side gains benefit (+) the other side loses their life, ability to reproduce etc (-)

What animals/plants have the opportunistic life history? What are the characteristics of these examples?

Opportunistic life history: take immediate advantage of favorable conditions; quantity > quality Ex: Mice/Rats Birth Rate - high (12+ offspring) Sexual Maturity - early Overall Lifespan - short (12 months) Parental Care - little to no care Youth Survivorship - therefore very low Ability To Tolerate - low

Distributions of Barnacles Along an Intertidal Exposure Gradient

Organisms living in an intertidal zone have evolved to different degrees of resistance to drying. Barnacles show distinctive patterns of zonation within intertidal zone. >Connell found Chthamalus stellatus restricted to upper levels while Balanus balanoides is limited to middle and lower levels.

Photoautotrophs

Organisms that use light as a source of energy to synthesize organic substances.

BLANK occurs in logistic growth when there are density dependent delays.

Oscillations

Inclussive fitness

Overall fitness of an individual is determined both by its own survival and reproduction as well as that of its family. Kin selection drives this behavior.

What is the equilibrium solution for predator prey population dyanmics?

P(hat)

How do most species make a living?

Parasite

What are endoparasites?

Parasites that live within the body of their host.

What does "reciprocal selective pressure" mean in parasitism? How does it lead lead to co-evolution in parasites and their hosts?

Parasites want to use the host, but there is pressure because if the parasite kills the host, then the parasite dies as well. The evolution is the host figuring out how to deal with the parasite, and the parasite effectively using the host

Rarity II: Extensive Range, Large Populations, Narrow Habitat Tolerance

Passenger pigeon. Harelip sucker.

Rarity I: Extensive Range, Broad Habitat Tolerance, Small Local Populations

Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus. Tiger, Panthera tigris.

What is direct competition?

Physical contact, direct fighting

Plant Size and Population Density

Plant population density decreases with increasing plant size. Underlying biology is different from animals, as one tree species can have range of sizes. >Tree seedlings often live at high densities. >As trees grow, density declines progressively through self-thinning. >Mature trees live at low densities.

What is polyploid speciation?

Polyploidy is when the number of chromosomes in an organism's cell doubles. This means that the organism has more chromosomes than other individuals of the same species, meaning it cannot mate with other individuals.

geometric population growth

Population growth in which generations do not overlap and in which successive generations differ in size by a constant ratio.

What are allee effects?

Population growth increases with population size in some cases

What is the the numerical response of the predator population?

Population growth of predators as a function of victim abundance -ability to turn victims into more predators

exponential population growth

Population growth that produces a J-shaped pattern of population increase. In ___________ growth, the change in numbers with time is the product of the per capita rate of increase, r, and population size, N. Assumptions: no density dependence, no heterogeneity, closed population

What do we mean by no density dependence?

Population size cannot feedback on population growth

Introduction

Populations vary in distributions and dynamics. >Some are small with restricted distributions. >Some are abundant with broad distributions.

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE density-dependent effects occur if a vital rate increases as density increases.

Positive

What is behavioral isolation? Give an example.

Potential mates meet, but choose members of their own species (ex: Vogelkop Bowerbird, Satin Bowerbird, Flame Bowerbird)

What's the difference between a pre-zygotic barrier and a post-zygotic barrier?

Pre-zygotic refers to any stage of the reproductive process before the formation of the zygote, while post-zygotic refers to any point of life after the ovum has been fertilized. Both terms are used when describing the fertilization and conception processes. AKA Pre-zygotic isolation is before the union of gametes(before fertilization) post-zygotic is after the union of gametes

What are the general time scales from most oldest to most recent?

Precambrian Paleozoic (early life forms) Mesozoic (middle life forms) Cenozoic (recent life forms)

What are phase graphs?

Predator density as a function of prey density

Type II Functional Response

Predator's rate of prey consumption begins to slow down as prey density increases and then plateaus when nation occurs takes longer to consume prey when density increases

Type I Functional Response

Predator's rate of prey consumption increases in a linear fashion with an increase in prey density until satiation occurs time to consume doesn't change when density changes

How else can population cycles be generated?

Predator-prey dynamics

What does the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model demonstrate?

Predator-prey dynamics have the potential to generate population cycles- predator-prey coexistence is enabled by mutual negative feedbacks

What are the different kinds of strategies adapted by predators and preys to increase their fitness?

Predators: sharp teeth, claws, venom, speed, acute sensory organs, cryptic colors/shapes Preys: shells/quills, cryptic colors/shapes, apparent death, distraction (surprise predators), toxicity, mimicry

What is a real word application of ecological niche modeling?

Predicting the potential distribution of an invasive species to develop appropriate responses.

What is a pre-zygotic barrier?

Prevents mating or fertilization between different species (prevent formation of zygotes) SO the isolation happened between groups of the same species before an egg even thought about getting fertilized

What is the 2 person social dilemma we discussed in class?

Prisoner's Dilemma

Thermoregulation

Process of maintaining an internal temperature within a tolerable range.

What does (1-N(t)-tau /K) represent in logistic population growth with delayed density dependence?

Proportion of carrying capacity remaining from tua time steps ago.

What is r defined as with regards to linear density dependence?

R is still birth rate - death rate

net reproductive rate formula is?

R(0)= sum of l(x)b(x)

Applications: Rarity and Vulnerability to Extinction 1

Rabinowitz devised classification of rarity and commonness based on (3) factors: >Geographic range (extensive/restricted). >Habitat tolerance (broad/narrow). >Local population size (large/small). Populations least threatened by extinction have extensive ranges, broad habitat tolerances, and some large local populations. >All seven other combinations include some attribute of rarity.

What are the three modes of dispersion?

Random, Uniform and Clumped

At small scales, distribution patterns may be

Random, regular, or clumped. >Individuals in a population may attract, repel, or ignore each other. >Social interactions can be reinforced or damped by environmental structure.

BLANK is the set of conditions that are actually used by a species (may vary between individuals).

Realized niche

Species living in groups often cooperate how?

Rearing offspring

What is coevolution?

Reciprocal evolution in two or more interacting species of adaptations selected by their interaction

Density Dependent Death Rate

Refer to Image

Density Dependent Birth Rate

Refer to image

Density Dependent Death and Birth Rate

Refer to image

What is dispersal?

Refers to the movement if individuals from their birth site to a breeding site (natal dispersal) or from one breeding site to another (breeding dispersal)

What is migration?

Refers to the movement of large numbers of individuals from one suitable niche to another for a portion of their annual cycle or life history.

Density dependence is not a sufficient condition for a population to be regulated. Why?

Regulation may often be the result of the interaction between density-dependent and density-independent effects.

Sociality

Relationships among individuals change when they live in groups.

iteroparity

Reproduction that involves production of an organism's offspring in two or more events, generally spaced out over the lifetime of the organism.

What is a post-zygotic barrier?

Reproductive barrier that operates should interspecies mating occur and form hybrid zygotes (fertilized egg cannot survive or divide due to mechanisms that are chromosomal, biochemical etc) SO the parents can form a zygote together but after that it's all over for their lineage because the new baby is infertile Ex: Mule

BLANK is any substance or factor that is both consumed by an organism and supports increased population growth rates as its availability increases.

Resource

SEE POWER POINT FOR LINEAR DENSITY DEPENDENT EQUATION

Second power point towards the end

Logistic growth with large oscillations: Know how to draw graph.

See lecture 3 power point

What is character displacement caused by?

Selective effects of interspecific competition

What is the meaning of the "life-dinner principle"?

Selective pressure to evolve better adaptations to avoid being eaten or to better eat other individuals

What are metapopulations?

Sets of populations that are interdependent over time

Why are Daphnia parthogenetic (alter between sexual and asexual)?

Sexual reproduction is triggered by environmental stress so at the end of season they do sexual reproduction (bet hedging).

How does it reproduce?

Sexually via bee pollination, but also through asexual modular spread

How does positive density dependent factors affect populations?

Small populations usually suffer from these; its when the rate of population growth increases as population density increases

Hosts

Some animals are better hosts than others Ex) ticks and Lyme disease - opossums are better at removing ticks than mice are

What is a specialist?

Some predators, parasites, herbivores, mutualists, are restricted to one or very few species as prey, host, or partner

What are the 4 possible outcomes of the Lotka-Volterra equation for competition?

Species 1 wins Species 2 wins Eventually species 1 or 2 wins, depending Coexistence

Cooperative Breeders

Species living in groups often cooperate in process of producing/rearing offspring.

Extreme Rarity: Restricted Range, Narrow Habitat Tolerance, Small Populations

Species with these attributes are the rarest of the rare. California condor, mountain gorilla, giant panda. Many island species have these attributes. Many birds that have gone extinct since 1500 were from islands. Ash Meadows, a small area of desert wetlands, has many rare species.

What is gametic isolation? Give an example.

Sperm transfer takes place, but egg is not fertilized (ex: Sea Urchin Spawning - three different urchin species live in proximity but with different gamete traits)

Logistic growth with large oscillations represents what type of limit cycle?

Stable limit cycle

Geographic Range and Population Size

Strong positive correlation between size of geographic range and size of population for most organisms.

What are the examples of successful and unsuccessful invasion control using natural enemies?

Successful: Cardinal ladybug to attack cottony cushion scale Unsuccessful: Indian mongoose to control rats

What's the difference between survivor rates and survivorship?

Survival rate: probability of surviving to the next stage Survivorship: proportion of starting population that makes it to stage x (probability of surviving from 1 to x)

T/F: In allopatric speciation, natural selection or genetic drift could be the mechanisms that eventually cause speciation

T

T/F The reproductive isolation is the key to speciation

T Collection of mechanisms, behaviors, and physiological processes that prevent the members of two different species that cross or mate from producing offspring, or which ensure that any offspring that may be produced is not fertile Ex: liger

describe a climax

THEORETICAL endpoint of a sere, the final seral stage

What is inclusive fitness?

TOTAL fitness of a GENOTYPE responsible for a particular phenotype Inclusive = direct + indirect

T/F if we have a lateral structure, then it can produce vertical stems and a root system

TRUE

T/F individuals move within a population

TRUE

T/F within the geographic range of a population, individuals inhabit only locations where all factors fall within their range of tolerance

TRUE

T/F; density independent factors are not affected by population density

TRUE

T/F; individuals have a limited amount of resources that can be allocated to specific aspects of their life history

TRUE

T/F; population age or size structure have direct implications for population growth

TRUE

T/F; positive and negative dependence function to regulate populations

TRUE

T/F; some populations can exhibit large fluctuations

TRUE

What is conversion efficiency?

The ability of predators to convert each new victim into additional per capita growth for predator populations

life history

The adaptations of an organism that influence aspects of its biology such as the number of offspring it produces, its survival, and its size and age at reproductive maturity.

Equation for predator population growth: dP/dt = beta x V x P -qP What is qP?

The background mortality rate of the predator.

combined response

The combined effect of functional and numerical responses by consumers on prey populations; determined by multiplying the number of prey eaten per predator times the number of predators per unit area, giving the number of prey eaten per unit area. Combined response is generally expressed as a percentage of the total number of prey.

Distribution Limits

The environment limits the geographic distribution of a species. >Organisms can only compensate so much for environmental variation. >Compensation (regulating body temperature, water content, etc.) requires energy. No single species can tolerate the full range of earth's environments.

What is discrete time in population dynamics?

The evolution of some quantity does not occur continuously over time but at certain periods or time steps (every year, every month, every mili-second).

What is continuous time in population dynamics?

The evolution of some quantity does occur continuously over time.

What is allelopathy?

The excretion of chemicals by plant of some species that are toxic to plants of other species.

What does speciation mean?

The formation of new species

What's the difference between a generalist and a specialist?

The generalist can use a variety of resources and specialists are picky when choosing resources

What is the "hygiene hypothesis"?

The hygiene hypothesis says that more auto immune diseases are happening because we're "too clean" and aren't exposed to enough pathogens

What is r ?

The intrinsic rate of increase.

What is the net reproductive rate R(0)?

The mean number of offspring produced by a female over her lifetime.

What are B(N) and D(N)?

The number of births and deaths in a population of size N.

Fitness

The number of offspring (genes) contributed by an individual to future generations is influenced by social relations.

What is the mutualism relationship between the Euglossa bee and orchid flowers? Does the Euglossa bee benefit by obtaining nectar? If not, what is the benefit they obtain?

The orchid gets pollinated, but because they release the nectar, female bees are attracted as well, therefore the bees can mate

In a deterministic model what is the output of the model determined by?

The output of the model is fully determined by the parameter values and initial conditions.

How can births per women (per capita fecundity) be low and birth rates be high in a particular country?

The population is younger. Less old people = higher natural rate of increase.

Greehouse Test

The presence of a true predator decreases fitness of colorful guppies.

What is the demographic transition?

The process of change in a society's population from a condition of high crude birth and death rates and low rate of natural increase to a condition of low crude birth and death rates, low rate of natural increase, and a higher total population.

What is functional response?

The rate of victim capture by a predator as a function of victim abundance.

Geometric growth/decline ?

The rate with which population increases or decreases is exponential.

How does the example of the Plethodontid salamanders provide evidence to this mechanism?

The salamanders evolved based on their environment In some places they were dark with spots in order to blend in and hide from their predators In other places they became bright orange in order to resemble the deadly newt to try to scare off predators The hybrids between the two were unsuccessful because since they had spots and were bright orange they were not able to blend in with the environment and hide or scare away their predators

Behavioral ecology

The study of the evolution of and ecological basis for animal behavior.

phenology

The study of the relationship between climate and the timing of ecological events such as the date of arrival of migratory birds.

Grinnell's definition of niche

The sum of the habitat requirements and behaviors that allow a species to persist and produce offspring.

What is character displacement?

The tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species.

What is a biological control?

The use of a predator or parasite to control a pest species.

Lobster hierarchy (Jordan Peterson)

The winning lobster "flexes" because of influx of the neurotransmitter serotonin. If the loosing lobster is injected with serotonin, he too will "flex" and challenge the opponent again. Connection to humans: Hierarchy (winning and loosing) is part of the human nature. Victory or defeat can reshape the brain.

What to metapopulation models account for?

They account for the unoccupied patches and unsuitable habitat (habitat matrix). -subpopulations occupy patches of suitable habitats SEE POWERPOINT FOR PICTURE

How are sub-populations formed?

They are formed when there is barrier that reduces but does not eliminate interactions between individuals of a larger population.

What are source-sink models and what do they account for?

They build off metapopulation models by accounting for differences in patch quality and reproductive success in high and low quality patches.

What is an overshoot?

This is when the population grows beyond its carrying capacity (K)

A Tiger Beetle of Cold Climates

Tiger beetle (Cicindela longilabris) lives at higher latitudes and elevations than most other tiger beetles in North America. Schultz et al. found metabolic rates of C. longilabris are higher and preferred temperatures lower than most other species. >Supports hypothesis that species is adapted to boreal and montane forests. >Similarity across populations supports generalization that physical environment limits species distributions.

discrete time

Time thought of as advancing in distinct finite increments.

continuous time

Time thought of as advancing in extremely small increments.

Distributions of Desert Shrubs

Traditional theory suggests desert shrubs are regularly spaced due to competition. Phillips and MacMahon found distribution of desert shrubs changes from clumped to regular patterns as they grow. Young shrubs clumped for (3) reasons: >Seeds germinate only at safe sites. >Seeds not dispersed from parent areas. >Asexual reproduction.

What is the n-person dilemma we discussed in class?

Tragedy of the Commons

True or False: Genetic variation in a host may parallel genetic variation in pathogen/parasite/herbivore.

True

True or False: Heritable variation exists between populations according to Darwin's natural selection.

True

True or False: Heterogeneity among individuals have the potential to influence demographic processes.

True

True or False: Predators can influence the outcome of competition between prey species.

True

True or False: Species differ in their ability to adapt (through genetic change) and acclimate (through phenotypic plasticity) to human-induced environmental change.

True

True or False: Specific habitats can create sub-populations even on small scales.

True

True or False: The relationship between population size and per capita birth rate/ per capita death rate could be linear or nonlinear.

True

True or False: A heterotroph is any single or mulitcellular organism that preys on, parasitizes, or eats the decaying remains of other organisms.

True -includes animals, fungi, some plants (Dodder), many microbes, and non-photosynthetic protists

What is apparent competition?

Two or more species appear to be competing when in fact they share a common predator that suppresses both species. The abundance of one species increases the likelihood of consumption of other species.

This survivorship curve shows the survival rate as high throughout the lifespan, with most mortality at the end; convex look

Type I

What type of functional response is assumed by the Lotka-Volterra model?

Type I

This survivorship curve shows the survival rates not varying much with age

Type II

This survivorship curves shows the mortality is very high early in life

Type III

What type of survivorship curve would we select for marine turtles? why?

Type III curve; based on small amounts of data of survivorship of life stages for marine turtles, the curve looks like a type II. However, based on biological survivorship the curve is likely a type III.

Lotka-Volterra model for predator prey dynamics: What is VP? dV/dt = rV - alphaVP

VP is the probability of a random encounter between victim and predator

What is demographic stochasticity?

Variability in population growth arising from sampling random births and deaths.

What free floating aquatic plant is native to the tropical regions in South America?

Water hyacinth

How can we represent the population cycles mathematically?

We can represent these by using the logistic growth model. dN/dt=rN(1-N/k)

What is genetic bottleneck?

When a sudden environmental change drastically reduces the size of the population.

How does age structure affect population growth rates?

When birth and death rates vary with age, contributions of younger and older individuals should be calculated separately

What is allopatric speciation?

When one species diverges into two different species because of geographic isolation The two populations of the species may end up evolving differently because of the conditions are different in each geographic region Ex: Think of squirrels in CO vs squirrels in FL it might be colder so the animals in that geographic region may grow thicker hair and thicker layers of fat whereas in a warmer geographic region the animals may lose some fur and add a lot of sweat glands Given enough time, and given a complete lack of gene flow between the two populations, thick coated animals will only be able to breed with thick coated animals and thin coated animals will only be able to breed with thin coated animals

What is sympatric speciation?

When one species diverges into two different species without being geographically isolated because they are reproductively isolated in some other way Ex: Think of different types of dogs mating with each other and making a different type of dog so like poodles and lab and then they mate and make a labradoodle SO after enough time, labradoodles can't mate with labs or poodles, they have to mate with other labradoodles The gene flow between two populations would stop and they would become reproductively isolated and over time they would become different enough that they could no longer successfully breed together at all and thus become different species

assuming top down control, how do consumers affect the lower trophic levels?

When predators are removed from a community herbivore populations often increase so rapidly that they decimate the plant resources they feed on

What is predation?

Where a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its prey (the organism that is attacked) Example: snakes prey on and eat mice

What is competition?

Where both the species are harmed Example: cheetahs and lions; since both species feed on similar prey, they are negatively impacted by the presence of the other because they will have less food

What is commensalism?

Where one organism benefits from the other without affecting it The commensal (the species that benefits from the association) may obtain nutrients, shelter, support, or locomotion from the host species, which is substantially unaffected Example: the birds that stand on other animals such as rhinos

What is parasitism?

Where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host Example: tapeworms, fleas etc

What is mutualism?

Where two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other Example: bees and flowers

Plant Distributions Along Moisture Gradients

Whittaker examined distributions of woody plants along moisture gradients in several North American mountain ranges. Documented gradients from moist canyon or valley bottoms up drier southwest-facing slopes. >Trees had highly clumped distribution on these gradients. >Distributions reflected moisture requirements of each species.

n the video we watched, Dan Janzen discussed which one of the following as being a major obstacle to forest restoration efforts in Costa Rica where he works?

Wild fires burning park property

Roads serve as movement barriers for some animals and create sub-populations. How is this overcome?

Wildlife crossing structures

Is density dependence a necesary condition for a population to be regulated?

Yes

N(t) = lamda^tN(0) What is the assumption with this formula?

You have the same population growth.

sociobiology

a branch of biology concerned with the study of social relations, founded in Darwin's theory of evolution

arbuscule

a bush-shaped organ on an endomycorrhizal fungus that acts as a site of material exchange between the fungus and its host plant

competition coefficients

a coefficient expressing the magnitude of the negative effect of individuals of one species on individuals of a second species

growth form

a combination of plants structure and its growth dynamics

define asymmetric competition

a competitive relationship between two species in which each has an advantage with respect to different limiting factors in the environment

predator satiation

a defensive tactic in which prey reduce their individual probability of being eaten by occurring at very high densities; predators can only capture and eat so many prey and so become satiated when prey are at very high densities

regular distribution

a distribution of individuals in a population in which individuals are uniformly spaced

positive feedback loop

a feedback loop in which change in a system is amplified

aril

a fleshy covering of some seeds that attracts birds and other vertebrates which act as dispensers of such seeds

prey-dependent functional response

a functional response in which rate of feeding by a predator is a function of prey population size only

survivorship curve

a graph that represents the distinct patterns of species survival as a function of age

Caste

a group of individuals that are physically distinctive and engage in specialized behavior within a social unit, such as a colony

What is Batesian mimicry?

a harmless species mimics a harmful one

predator

a heterotrophic organism that kills and eats other organisms for food; usually an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food

static life table

a life table constructed by recording the age at death of a large number of individuals; the table is called static because the method involves a snapshot of survival within a population during a short interval of time

define a life table..

a life table is an age or stage specific account of survivorship and mortality

cohort life table

a life table that follows a group of individuals born at the same time from birth to the death of the last individual

polymorphic locus

a locus, or gene, that occurs as more than one allele, each of which synthesizes a different allozyme

What do we get if rT is small?

a logistic growth when rT<0.37

Comparative Method

a method for reconstructing evolutionary processes and mechanisms that involves comparisons of different species or populations in a way that attempts to isolate a particular variable or characteristic of interest, while randomizing the influence of confounding, or confusing, variables on the variable of interest across the species or populations in the study

facultative mutualism

a mutualistic relationship between two species that is not required for the survival of the two species

obligate mutualism

a mutualistic relationship in which species are so dependent upon the relationship that they cannot live in its absence

clumped distribution

a pattern of distribution in a population in which individuals have a much higher probability of being found in some areas than in others; in other words, individuals are aggregated rather than dispersed.

logistic population growth

a pattern of growth that produces a sigmoidal, or S-shaped, population growth curve; population size levels off at carrying capacity (K) Assumptions: no fluctuations in environmental conditions, linear density dependence, no delays in the feedback between density and population growth rate, closed population, no heterogeneity

What does having a stable limit cycle (rT>1.57) mean?

a pattern of population growth in which the population continues to exhibit large oscillations over time

What does having damped oscillations (0.37<rT<1.57) mean?

a pattern of population growth in which the population initially oscillates but the magnitude of the oscillations declines over time

What are hemiparasites?

a plant that may obtain part of its food from parasitism

stable age distribution

a population in which the proportion of individuals in each age class is constant

What is the key point about the logistic growth?

a populations per capita growth rate gets smaller and smaller as a population size approaches a maximum imposed by limited resources in the environment

subpopulation

a portion of a larger population, with which it sustains a connection through immigration and emigration

Amensalism

a relationship in which one organism is harmed and the other is unaffected

What is a tradeoff?

a resource used for one function cannot be used for another function

-3/2 self-thinning rule

a rule resulting from the observation that plotting the average weight of individual plants in a stand against density often produces a line with an average slope of approximately -3/2

describe primary succession

a sere beginning with chemical and mineral precursors, but NO biological precursors. autotrophic needs only

describe a sere

a series of stages of community change in a successional sequence leading to a climax condition

priority effect

a situation in which a species establishing itself in greater numbers in a place before the establishment of potential competitors wins in competition with species arriving later

elaisome

a structure on the surface of some seeds generally containing oils attractive to ants, which act as dispersers of such seeds.

food web

a summary of the feeding relationships within an ecological community

life table

a table of age-specific survival and death, or morality, rates in a population

fecundity schedule

a table of birthrates for females of different ages in a population

scatterhoarded

a term applied to seeds gathered by mammals and stored in scattered caches or hoards

adhesion-adapted

a term applied to seeds with hooks, spines, or barbs that disperse by attaching to passing animals

K selection

a term referring to the carrying capacity of the logistic growth equation; a form of natural selection that favors more efficient utilization of resources such as food and nutrients. K selection is predicted to be strongest in those situations where a population lives as densities near carrying capacity much of the time. (Low birth rates, long life span)

r selection

a term referring to the per capita rate of increase; a form of natural selection favoring higher population growth rate. r selection is predicted to be strongest in disturbed habitats. (High Birth rates, short lifespan)

Philopatry

a term, which means literally "love of place," used to describe the tendency of some organisms to remain in the same area throughout their lives

disturbance

abiotic event that kills or damages some individuals and thereby creates opportunities for other individuals to grow and reproduce

density-independent factor

abiotic factors in the environment, such as floods and extreme temperature

Are density independent effects most biotic or abiotic?

abiotic or nonliving, "Exogenous"

ecological niche

abiotic+ biotic conditions that the species needs to grow, survive, and reproduce

This describes the number of individuals in the population but provides no information on their characteristics

abundance

competitive plant

according to Grime (1977) _______ occupy environments where disturbance intensity is low and the intensity of stress is also low, must compete with others for resources

What are the three types of dispersal?

active dispersal, passive dispersal, migration

ramet

actually or potentially independent members of a genet

If life history strategy is __________, we expect higher _________ than other strategies

adaptive; fitness

indirect fitness

additional reproduction by relatives that is made possible by an individual's helpful actions

Who do we see having a type II survivorship curve?

adult birds, rodents, reptiles, many perennial plants

Why is it important to determine if a situation is a zero sum or mixed motive game?

affects whether or not cooperation or competition will be more effective

What is an example of semelparity in plants?

agave -> payoff for reproduction highly dependent on variable environment, greater energy investment leads to better success

___________ is the number or proportion of individuals in different age classes of a population

age structure

reproductive effort

allocation of energy, time, and other resources to the production and care of offspring

What are the two types of speciation?

allopatric and sympatric

what's the ecological significance of the panama canal?

allowed movement of organisms between pacific and atlantic oceans, allowing marine genetic movement and slowed evolution -broke up terrestrial mobility (mix of different animals that colonized, now groups evolve again since no movement)

whats the difference between alpha and gamma diversity?

alpha: local diversity gamma: regional diversity

allozyme

alternative form of a particular enzyme which differs structurally but not functionally from other allozymes coded for by different alleles at the same locus

what is potential evapotranspiration?

amount of water that could be evaporated from soil and transpired by plants

sigmoidal population growth curve

an S-shaped pattern of population growth, with population size leveling off at the carrying capacity of the environment.

what are dominant species?

an abundant species in the community ex) "oak community"

granivore

an animal that feeds chiefly on seeds

population dynamics

an area of population ecology concerned with the factors influencing the expansion, decline, or maintenance of populations, including rates of births, deaths, immigration, and emigration

Ectomycorrhizae

an association between a fungus and plant roots in which the fungus forms a mantle around roots and a netlike structure around root cells

niche partitioning

an evolutionary process whereby organisms decrease direct competition by differentiating in their use of resources by altering which, how, or when resources are used

Gonadosomatic Index (GSI)

an index of reproductive effort calculated as ovary weight divided by body weight and adjusted for the number of batches of offspring produced per year

Hermaphrodite

an individual capable of producing both sperm or pollen and eggs or ova

What is frequency-dependent selection?

an individuals fitness can depend on what others are doing often occurs through interactions with other organisms (predators, pollinators)

parasitoid

an insect whose larvae live as parasites that eventually kill their hosts

exploitation

an interaction between species in which one species benefits while the other is harmed

indirect commensalism

an interaction in which one species benefits another species indirectly, through an intermediary species, without itself being helped or harmed

Hutchinson definition of niche

an n-dimensional hypervolume, where the dimensions are environmental conditions and resources that define the requirements of an individual or a species... for its population to persist

parasite

an organism that lives in or on another organism; one who lives off another person

what is iteroparity?

an organism undergoes multiple reproductive cycles in their lifetime

what are keystone species?

an organism which has a disproportionate effect of ecosystem structure or function

the cenozoic era is dominated by

angiosperms, mammals

Territoriality

animals defend food, nesting resources and mates

pathogen

any organism that can cause disease

what is a resource?

any substance or factor that is both consumed by an organism and supports increased population growth rates as its availability increases

Smith treated different species of coral with antibiotics and compared their viability to untreated samples. what ecological phenomenon does this display? what did he find?

apparent competition -although coral without antibiotics showed varying growth patterns, most (but not all) of the coral species survived better when treated with the antibiotic

Density independent effects affect population size and ARE/ARE NOT themselves affected by population size.

are not

Small-scale phenomena

areas over which there is little significant environmental change.

large-scale phenomena

areas over which there is substantial environmental change.

what are the general trends given by species-area curves?

as area increases, number of species also increases

what is the relationship between size of the regional species pool, abundance, and local species richness?

as the size of the regional species pool increases, average species abundances and numbers of habitats occupied by species in local communities decrease while local species richness increases

Emery observed zones dominated by different species of species. what ecological phenomenon does this display? what did he find?

asymmetric competition -lower boundaries (towards increasing physical stress, such as soil salinity and anoxia) were set by physical stress -upper borders set by competition

When do allee effects generally occur?

at small populations

In ecosystem development, at what point of the sere is biodiversity the highest?

at the intermediate stages, then drops slightly at the end

In ecosystem development, at what point of the sere is community complexity the highest?

at the intermediate stages, then drops slightly at the end

What is K with regards to linear density dependence?

b(0) - d(0) / a + c -a + c = density dependent decrease in births and increase in deaths

What represents what they will contribute to the next generation while living?

b(x) which is the fecundity rate; the average # of female offspring produced per female per time period; R(0) is the net reproductive rate

What are the equations for linear density dependence that add density dependence for birth rate and death rate?

bN = b(0) -aN a is some density dependent deduction in births dN = d(0) + cN c is some density dependent increase in deaths

Why do these reductions in population growth come about?

because of increases competition and stress, decreased reproduction and increased dispersal

Name 2 groups of ectoparasites.

bed bugs ticks

how do we begin using the model for population cycles?

begin by defining the amount of time delay (T) between resources consumption and reproduction for your particular consumer

describe secondary succession

biological precursors at the beginning of the sere, including organic materials in the soil, detritus, seeds, etc ex) tree falls, fire, flood, and anthropogenic causes

density-dependent factor

biotic factors in the environment, such as disease and competition

What are vital rates?

birth death movement

What determines net reproductive rate?

birthrate and survivorship

What increase population density?

births and immigration

What causes changes in population size?

births, deaths, immigration, emigration

mutulaism

both organisms benefit

What are the two types of genetic drift?

bottleneck effect and founder effect

in ______________ control, increased production results in greater productivity at all higher trophic levels

bottom-up

Sociobiology

branch of biology concerned with stuyd of social relations

when given a choice female guppies will mate with..

brightly colored guppies

How is a realized niche determined?

by abiotic and biotic factors

How is the population structure defined for unitary organisms?

by age or developmental stages

How are fundamental niches determined?

by habitat suitability and tolerance

How do birds of paradise avoid competing with each other?

by living in different parts of the jungle

How can the estimation of birthrate be improved?

by separating males and females in a population in which only females give birth; determining the birthrate for females by age class (age specific birthrate)

How is the population structure defined for modular organisms?

by size or genetic unit

So how is population growth controlled?

by; 1. rate at which new individuals are added to the population 2. rate at which individuals leave the population

What are altruistic behaviors?

can increase fitness of relatives while decreasing your own fitness ex: protecting babies, territory defense

What is K?

carrying capacity (population size that resources can support)

What does K represent in logarithmic growth?

carrying capacity of the population

Infectious disease

caused by pathogenic agent

balanced growth

cell growth in which all cell constituents, such as nitrogen, carbon, and DNA, increase at approximately the same rate

numerical response

change in the density of a predator population in response to increased prey density

"Continental drift" has resulted in

changes in ocean currents rising of sea levels an overall warming of the planet

describe community development

changes in the structure and function of a community

What are secondary sex characteristics?

characteristics of sexes that appear during puberty

pheromone

chemical substance secreted by some animals for communication with other members of their species

in lowland rivers what preys on adult guppies

cichlid

what is limited in the continental scale?

climate including temperatures and precipitations

what community occurs at the end of succession

climax comunity

In ecosystem development, nutrient cycles become progressively _____________

closed

What describes populations in which movement into and out of the population does not occur?

closed populations (rates of movement in and out are equal; births=deaths)

contrast the closed and open community approaches

closed: Clements recognized 14 climax communities in NA open: a multitude of climax community possibilities depending on the location of the disturbance along the environmental continuum of interest

intrasexual competition leads to the evolution of . . .

combat, sperm competition, infanticide, alternative male reproductive strategy(sneaker males)

What are mixotrophs?

combine photosynthesis and heterotrophic nutrition (get carbon by consuming)

describe the individualistic concept of community

community structure and function simply express the interactions of individual species, and do not reflect any organization above the species level

interspecific competition

competition between members of different species

intraspecific competition

competition between members of the same species

Tansley's experment where he grew two species alone and then together displayed what ecological phenomenon? what were the results of this experiment

competition between species -the species grew best on the type of soil that it was found in nature, but was able to grow on the other type of soil when alone. -when grown together, the species found in nature on that type of soil outcompeted the other species

define apparent competition

competition between two or more species that is mediated by their consumers

what is the competition coefficient β?

competition coefficient that quantifies the per capita effect of species 1 on species 2

what is the competition coefficient α?

competition coefficient that quantifies the per capita effect of species 2 on species 1

What is pre-emptive competition?

competition for reusable resources

Gause grew two species of bacteria separately and together, which showed what ecological phenomenon? what were the results of this experiment

competitive exclusion principle -both species thrived when grown separately -one species died out in the presence of the other

What is eusociality?

complex social system where non-breeding adults raise offspring of one/few reproductive individuals

Why did naked mole rats evolve eusociality?

conditions to reproduce are slim because burrows are deep and extensive, so only queen becomes reproductively mature and causes stress that produces hormones that prevent puberty

What methods constitute horizontal gene transfer?

conjugation (F factor) transformation (environment) tranduction (viral)

stress

consists of and strong negative environmental conditions that induce physiological responses in an organism or alter the structure or functioning of an ecosystem

what are the two essential concepts of stability?

constancy and resilience

in a life table, what tells us when they will die?

d(x) and q(x) where d(x) is our age specific mortality and its the difference between the number of individuals alive for the age (n[x]) and the next older age class (n[x+1]); q(x) is our age specific mortality rate that is determined by the number of individuals dying during a given time interval (d[x]) divided by the number alive at the beginning of that interval (n[x])

What is the logistic equation for regulated population growth?

dN / dt = rN(1-N/K)

What is an alternate form of the fundamental equation of population ecology when there is instantaneous population growth?

dN/dt = bN-dN change in # of individuals over the change in time = (birth rate -death rate) # individuals

Prey Population Equation

dN/dt = rN-cNP

What will the time delay formula look like?

dN/dt=rN(1-N[T]/K)

logistic equation

dN/dt=rN(K-N/K)

Predator Population Equation

dP/dt = acNP-mP

Equation for predator population growth:

dP/dt = beta x V x P -qP

What is the formula for the Lotka-Volterra model for predator prey dynamics?

dV/dt = rV - alphaVP -V is victim (prey) -P is predator -rV rate of growth x victim population

What do we get if rT is intermediate?

damped oscillations when 0.37<rT<1.57

mortality (-)

death rate

what decreases population density?

deaths and emigration

What mechanisms lead to density dependent decreases in birth and increases in deaths?

decreases in birth: - less energy is put into reproduction -longer to get to reproductive maturity -smaller litter sizes increases in death: -disease

delayed density dependence

delays in the effect that density has on population size caused by time lags in the negative feedback loop on population growth

What are the two types of limiting factors?

density dependent & density independent

Define density dependent limitations

density dependent limitations effect the influence a population in proportion to its size

Define density independent limitations

density independent factors can limit population sizes regardless of the populations density

What is an example of the structures defined by characteristics of the collective?

density, age distribution, spacing

allopatric

describes the condition in which populations or species have nonoverlapping geographic ranges

sympatric

describes the condition in which populations or species have overlapping geographic ranges

Positive feedbacks are inherently STABILIZING/DESTABILIZING and AMPLIFYING/DAMPENING.

destabilizing,amplifying

What do realized niches determine?

determines geographic range of species or various populations

What is the objective of a sensitivity analysis?

determining what is the effect of changing an element in the projection matrix A

In ecosystem development, grazing food chains shift towards __________ food chains

detritus

Simple metapopulation model

df/dt=pf(1-f)-pe(f) -Assumptions: homogenous patches, no spatial structure, no time lags, constant pe and pi, pi and/or pe are functions of f, large number of patches -colonization rate=higher the better -extinction rate=lower the better -habitat patches available=more the better

Sexual Selection

differences in reproductive rates among individuals as a result of differences in mating success

How can life history traits be plastic?

different environments have different abilities to support eggs because of resource limitation

Why do different plants have different mating systems?

different strategies can reduce costs or enhance success, depending on environmental conditions

define interference competition

direct antagonistic interactions between competitors over shared resources (usually by behavioral or chemical means)

Why females prefer certain male characters?

direct benefits, good genes model, sensory bias, runaway selection

Geometric growth occurs in BLANK time.

discrete

From early to late successional species, a shift occurs in strategies away from adaptations promoting ____________ toward adaptations enhancing __________________

dispersal, competitive ability

What defines the spatial extent of a population?

distribution

What reflects realized niche of a species?

distribution

_________ is the spatial boundary in which all individuals reside at a defined scale local or regional

distribution

random distribution

distribution in which the location of members in a population is totally random, location of each individual is determined by chance

In what ways is asexual reproduction advantageous?

doesn't need gonads, don't have to find mates, all genes passed to the next generation

Describe the example with the 3 grasses in relation to functional diversity?

each grass has a different tolerance for rainfall; in drought conditions, some individuals still survive to reproduce

describe Whittaker's Gradient Analysis

each species has its greatest abundance at a different point on the moisture gradient

distinguish ecoclines and seres

ecoclines are changes along a spatial gradient seres are along a temporal gradient

structural complexity of habitat is included in what type of diversity?

ecological diversity

The parasitism-mutualism continuum is context-dependent (checks and balances) in BLANK time.

ecological time

what are ecotones? give an example

edges of communities with rapid replacement of species along a gradient (closed community concept) -edaphic, climatic, fire, physical/chemical.

describe the herbivore and pathogen pressure theory explaining why there are so many kinds of trees in the tropics?

efficient predator specialists in the tropics reduce prey to rare levels, allowing many autotroph species to share limited resources -being a rare tree in tropics is a selective advantage (less attraction to herbivores, pathogens, and predators) -survival of seedlings is highest at distance from parent bc not competing, although density is highest close to tree

intersexual competition leads to the evolution of . . .

elaborate coloration, exaggerated secondary male characteristics, courtship behavior

what is the functional web's approach to depicting trophic relationships?

emphasizes the influence of populations on growth rates in other populations

SEE POWER POINT FOR STATIONARY VS. NON-STATIONARY SERIES

end of power point 2

geographic range

entire geographic region over which a species is found

what is an example of habitat suitability?

environmental conditions, resource availability

example; K=100, r=1.1, T=1. 10 plants in year 1, 20 plants in year 2. What will the expected change be in population size for year 3 and 4?

equation should look like this; for year 3, dN/dt=rN[yr2](1-N[yr1]/K)=20 as the expected change for year 4, dN/dt=rN[yr3](1-N[yr2]/K)=35 as the expected change

absolute population size

estimate of populations actual abundance

What is sexual selection?

evolution of traits that increase mating opportunities

Zahavi's handicap hypothesis

exaggerated male traits are essentially handicaps, but females prefer males with these handicaps because males have demonstrated an ability to survive in spite of these handicaps Ex: Peahens prefer peacocks with absurdly long tails because such males have demonstrated an ability to survive despite such tails

Cooperation generally involve..

exchanges of resources or other forms of assistance

hermaphrodites

exhibit both male and female function. most common in plants

Reproductive ratio (R0)

expected number of secondary infections per infected individual when introduced into a susceptible population the # of people that one sick person will infect on average R0 = ß/ (d+v+re) Slower re (recovery rate), higher v (virulence) or higher ß (more infectious) --> higher R0 Assumes an immune response

What type of growth are we to get with closed populations?

exponential growth

What type of growth cannot continue indefinitely?why?

exponential growth; because of limited resources

What is the difference between extinction and extirpation?

extinction: disappearance of a species from earth extirpation: loss of a species from a local area or part of its natural range

What are the 3 categorical processes of community development?

facilitation inhibition tolerance

true or false: keystone species are the most abundant species in an ecosystem

false! just have a disproportionate effect

true or false: diversification and speciation are synonymous

false: diversification is influenced by speciation but also relative importance of extinction

What ideal conditions are exponential growth observed under?

favorable environments; maximum reproductive rates, minimum death rates, highest per capita growth rate, low population density

How does competition determine relative fitness?

favors organisms that are large, self investing, and have similar offspring

How does predation determine relative fitness?

favors organisms that are small, higher numbered, and have small offspring

What is b(x)?

fecundity b(x)=F(x)

In the net reproductive rate R(0) formula what is m(x)?

fecundity at age x

strong interactions

feeding activities of a few species that have a dominant influence on community structure

intersexual competition

female choice

How do secondary sex characteristics play a role in sexual selection?

female choice: females pick more fit males male-male competition: more fit males earn the mate

Maternal effect example?

female desert locus alter the trajectory of their offspring in response to their own experience of crowding

why is there such a range of coloration in male guppies?

females love coloration in guppies, however colorful guppies are easily seen by predators

fisher's runaway model

females prefer males with extreme traits, giving rise to sons with extreme traits and daughters with a preference for extreme traits

How are most animals unitary?

fertilized zygote grows into a genetically unique organism, organism passes through a series of predictable life stages

How does lower survival rates affect reproductive strategy?

few individuals survive to old age, and there is little selection to delay senescence

In what ways is sexual reproduction costly?

first you have to attract a mate, then meiosis, gamete formation, fertilization, and zygote formation must occur

what is an example of clumped dispersion?

fish colonies

Explain the Prisoner's Dilemma?

for either of B/A's decisions, A/B is better off betraying, resulting in a worse outcome for both than if they both remained silent

as flock size increases what happens to foraging efficiency, food availability, and energy spent foraging?

foraging efficiency increases food availability decreases energy spent foraging increases

what is the reasoning behind the individualistic concept of community?

fortuitous assemblage Natural selection acts on individuals, so each to its own

What aspects of a mussels fundamental and realized niches contribute to their endangerment?

fundamental: lives in stream beds (susceptible to toxins) realized: depends on the presence of a specific host fish species

how is biodiversity measured within populations?

genetic diversity (genetic variation among individuals)

clones

genetically identical copies of oneself

distribution

geographic area where individuals of a species are present

____________ is the broad scale distribution in which the defined area encompasses all individuals of a species worldwide

geographic range

How do graphs of a population with a stable growth rate vary between geometric and logarithmic?

geometric: exponential curve logarithmic: straight line

graminoid

grasses and grass-like plants, such as sedges and rushes

What is the energy-diversity hypothesis?

greater energy --> shared by more species, and more individuals, so less chance of extinction

what does greater resource diversity mean for niche diversity potential?

greater niche diversity potential; greater community niche volume potential

sociality

group living generally involving some degree of cooperation between individuals

population

group of individuals of the same species that live within a particular area and interact with one another

lamda and r both represent = ?

growth constants

How are the amplitude of a population cycle predicted?

growth model

What is the growth rates of sinks?

growth rate < 1

What is the growth rate of sources?

growth rate > 1

the mesozoic era was dominated by

grymnosperms, angiosperms, mammals, birds

BLANK is a physical area where an organism can live.

habitat

habitat vs niche

habitat= abiotic (address) niche= biotic (job in the community)

What can low densities lead to?

harmful effects of inbreeding and a higher predation risk

Schistosomiasis

has a snail reservoir Things that increase snail prevalence (damming rivers, eutrophication by nutrients, etc.) increase disease prevalence in people -------------------- experiment: shrimp eat snails take out shrimp --> peak in snails then decrease --> decrease to less infected snails Decrease snails = decrease disease

dioecious plants

have male and female reproductive structures on different plants

Dawn Chorus

heightened volume of bird song at dawn, advertises fitness, less ambient noise, better sound travel, no other activities

forb

herbaceous plants other than graminoids

What are epigenetic effects ?

hertiable changes in gene activity not cause by changes in DNA

HIGH/LOW quality patches are referred to source.

high

what were the three groups john endlers used in his experiment

high predation, low predation, and no predation

What is the survivorship of an individual with a type I survivorship curve?

high survival later in life

Ebola

high virulence so doesn't infect too many people (they die too soon) R0: Hep C < Ebola < HIV < Measles

Will genotype carried by more offspring have a higher or lower inclusive fitness?

higher

Eusociality

highly specialized sociality generally including 1. individuals of more than one generation living together 2. cooperative care of young, and 3 division of individuals into sterile, or nonreporoductive and reproductive castes

Red Queen hypothesis

hosts evolve resistance, pathogens involve infectivty hosts have to evolve to keep up with their diseases why sexual reproduction may be favored over asexual reproduction - shuffles the genome

What is l(x)*b(x)

how many offspring each individual born is likely to contribute at each stage

What are deterministic models?

how r applies to all organisms, all the time (doesn't show variation); if r is positive, population can't fail

Who do we see having a type I survivorship curve?

humans, other mammals and some plants

What is a social dilemma?

if an individual acts in self interest, everyone is worse off

Herd immunity

if everyone else is vaccinated, you don't have to be (protected)

How do life history traits affect fitness?

if heritable, they are subject to natural selection ex: having 20 offspring increases your genetic representation only if others have fewer than 20

Why would a plant use selfing as a mating system?

if there is a sizable distance between individuals and fertilization between individuals is unlikely

In David Lack's experiment, how might clutch size contribute to fitness?

if you have more eggs and thus more individuals will survive and reproduce, you increase your fitness

What is the Red Queen Hypothesis?

if your enemies can adapt, you must be able to adapt too

What is a proximate explanation?

immediate mechanism; what triggers the response ex: snowshoe hares change color in response to day length -> color change provides camouflage and increases survival

Coinfection

immune response of one disease increases or decreases response to another disease Ex) Giardia infection reduces worm infection Ex) nematodes increase cape buffalo susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis

Inclusive fitness

improve survival and reprodcutve rates of family members

Where are organisms denser?

in areas with better conditions

what is the evidence for the "diversity reaches an equilibrium in which factors adding species balance factors removing species" view on tropical biodiversity?

in the tropics, factors adding species weigh more heavily, or factors removing species weigh less heavily.

what increases chances of genetic disease?

inbreeding

self-incompatibility

incapacity of a plant to fertilize itself; such plants must receive pollen from another plant in order to develop seeds

Simple epidemic models

include host, pathogen and maybe environment

Zoonoses (animal borne diseases) epidemic models

include human, pathogen and reservoir and maybe environment Ex) rabies, schistosomiasis Ex) people living close to farm animals

vector borne diseases epidemic model

include human, pathogen, reservoir, vector (need other species to transmit it) and maybe environment Ex) malaria (mosquitoes), dengue, Lyme disease (ticks)

What are the tradeoffs between growth, survival, and fecundity for plants?

increased survival -> increased competition -> decreased growth increased growth -> increasing disturbance -> decreased fecundity increased fecundity -> increased stress -> decreased survival

In ecosystem development, efficiency of nutrient cycles __________

increases

species richness (increases/decreases) going towards equator

increases

How does kin selection affect fitness?

increases inclusive fitness by assisting others who carry your own genes

In ecosystem development, as B/Pg increases, R/Pg ___________

increases toward one

Environmental Enrichment

increasing the complexity of the environment of captive animals to foster behaviors characteristic of the species in the wild; may be critical to the survival of captive bred animals reintroduced to the natural environment

define exploitation compeititon

indirect competition through use of shared resource

What is the Tragedy of the Commons?

individuals act of their own self interest, which negatively affects the population

clumped dispersion

individuals grouped together (most common)

Allee effect

individuals have a more difficult time surviving or reproducing if the population size is too small

Intrasexual Selection

individuals of one sex compete among themselves for mates.

How can you describe a random dispersion?

individuals position is independent of those of the others; typically solitary animals

regular dispersion

individuals relatively evenly spaced throughout habitat

What are ectoparasites?

infest the outside of the body

the most abundant type of organism is

insects

mutualism

interactions between individuals of different species that benefit both partners

define allelopathy

interference competition among plants by means of toxic secondary compounds

distinguish infraspecific and interspecific competition

intra: among individuals of the same species inter: among individuals of different species

resource competition

intraspecific or interspecific competition for limited resources, generally not involving direct antagonistic interactions between individuals

What is the relevant growth constant in a population with instantaneous population growth (exponential populations)?

intrinsic rate of increase

Example of enemy release: green crabs

invaded all around the world have a lot of parasites in Europe - parasitic castrators, parasitoids, egg predators, trophically-transmitted parasites in Australia, only have trophically-transmitted parasites

what is the general relationship between colonizing and competitive abilities?

inversely related

What is refugia?

is a location which supports an isolated or relict population of a once more widespread species.

What is the enemy release hypothesis?

is among the most widely proposed explanations for the dominance of exotic invasive species. In its native range, a species has co-evolved with pathogens, parasites and predators that limit its population. When it arrives in a new territory, it leaves these old enemies behind, while those in its introduced range are less effective at constraining them.

what is the driver of speciation?

isolation

How long does an overshoot last?

it depends on how many stored resources there are to support inflated numbers

What does seed selection do for the dispersing?

it increases the quality of dispersed seeds relative to available crop on trees

Carson and Root removed a beetle species from a community, resulting in a decrease in plant species richness. What does this imply about the beetle?

it is a keystone predator

What is unique about the water hyacinth?

it is able to clone itself and large patches are likely to all be part of the same genetic form

What does it mean for a species to be threatened?

it is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future

What does it mean if R(0)=1?

it means that the females on average produce one daughter, replacing themselves; population is stable

What does seed deposition do for dispersing?

it reduces the seed predation risk

What results from the logistic model?

it results in a decreased rate of population growth as the population approaches the carrying capacity (K)

What does it mean for a species to be endangered?

it's in imminent danger of going extinct

What is a die-off?

its a substantial decline in density that typically goes well below the carrying capacity

What is life history?

its an organisms pattern of growth, development and reproduction

define population size...

its the absolute number of individuals present

Define a realized niche...

its the actual range of conditions under which a species persists

What is the gross reproductive rate?

its the average number of female offspring born to a female during her lifetime

What is diurnal?

its the daily movements of individuals

Define a fundamental niche..

its the entire set of conditions under which a population or species survive and reproduce

define active dispersal..

its the movement of the entire organism through its own ability

What is the MVP (minimum viable population)?

its the number of individuals necessary to ensure the long-term survival of a species (100+ years)

define population density...

its the number of individuals per unit area or volume (120 individuals/m^2)

What is carrying capacity (K)?

its the population size that particular environments can support

Define migration...

its the round trip movements of individuals among subpopulations

Because of population cycles, there is delayed density dependence, what is this?

its when the population density changes based on a population density at some time in the past

Peace & Grubb grew plants with and without the presence of fertilizers. what ecological phenomenon was displayed? what were the results of this experiment

joint influence of light levels and nutrients (synergy) -fertilized plants used light resources more efficiently than unfertilized plants -N and P were synergistic in promoting plant growth (together > each alone)

How does frequency dependent selection affect sex ratios?

keeps sex ratio 1:1 if males are less common, selection favors parents that produce more of them

In Sousa's marine succession, limpets (a grazing predator) acted as a _________

keystone species

what preys on juvenile guppies in headwaters

killifish

What forms of cooperation do lions exhibit

kin selection and inclusive fitness

in a life table, what represents how long with they be around?

l(x) which is the number (or %) of individuals alive at the age x interval; this is our survivorship. it is determined as a proportion of the original cohort (n[x]/n[0])

What are the values of lamda and N when a system is at equilibrium?

lamda=1 N=0

Logistic growth with large oscillations population cycles: size of r?

large

Levin's Classical metapopulation

large network: -of similar small patches -with local dynamic occurring at a much faster time scale than metapopulation dynamics -sometimes used to describe a system in which all local populations have a high risk of extinction

in Sousa's marine succession study, how were the patches colonized

large patches colonized by edible algal species, small patches by inedible algal species. Mussels ultimately dominated the large patches

What is the Endangered Species Act?

law intended to reverse the trend toward species extinction "whatever the cost"

To help us, what provides us a schedule of age or stage specific mortality and survival?

life tables

What is a ultimate explanation?

lifetime fitness consequence, evolutionary "explanation", what makes that response advantageous ex: snowshoe hares can reproduce once a month in warm weather -> ensures reproductive success if there's a late freeze or an early winter

resource limitation

limitation of population growth by resource availability

what limits male reproduction

limited by mate access

what limits female reproduction

limited by resource access

dispersal limitation

limited capacity for dispersal prevent species from reaching areas of suitable habitat

What is the relationship between life history traits and environmental conditions?

limited time and resources impose constraints and generate trade-offs environmental conditions may make life history traits more or less successful

What are some common factors for negative density dependent?

limiting resources such as food, nesting sites, physical space

isoclines of zero population growth

lines, in the graphical representation of the Lotka-Volterra competition model, where population growth of the species in competition is zero

In ecosystem development, _________ becomes more supportive of life

litter

How do you relate lamda to r?

log lamda = r

What is an example used in class for age specific birthrates?

loggerhead sea turtles

what are the concepts of ecological release?

low gamma diversity -density per species should be higher -habitats used per species should be higher -constraints on species are lifted

What is the survivorship of an individual with a type III survivorship curve?

low survival when young and high survival until later in life

stamen

male organ of a flower

Evolution of the sneaky male sunfish from parasite to mutualist

male sunfish mimic female sunfish and fool other male sunfish

intrasexual competition

male to male competition for mates among species

What is sexual dimorphism?

male-female differences, often due to sexual selection

What is haplodiploidy?

males are haploid; females are diploid present in bees to form social structures with drones (males produced by direct development) and queen/workers (females produced by sexual fertilization)

What is a great example when studying life history of a species?

marine turtles

Inherited Territory

may increase helper's probability of future reproduction and recruiting helpers

Do diseases cause extinctions?

may not be likely because disease transmission is density dependent - reduce infection when hosts are rare may be likely if reservoirs maintain parasites (either in the environment or alternate hosts)

What is generation time G or T ?

mean age of parents of all offspring produced by a single cohort See power point for formula

what does it mean when R(0)<1?

means that females on average produce less than one daughter; population is declining

what does it mean when R(0)>1?

means that females on average produce more than one daughter; population is growing

What does having a logistic (rT<0.37) mean?

means that the rate of population growth slows as population reaches carrying capacity. Populations remain stable at their carrying capacity unless some disturbances occur

selection coefficient

measure of the relative intensity of selection against a genotype; equals 1 minus fitness

Logistic growth with damped oscillations in population cycles: size of r?

medium

grandmother hypothesis

menopause evolved to switch women from investing in offspring production to investing in kin

What are examples of frequency dependent selection?

mimicry, prey search images

SIR model

models the spread of infectious disease Susceptible (hosts that aren't affected but could be) Infected Resistant (used to be sick, can't get sick again) -------------------- dS/dt = rS - ßSI dI/dt = ßSI - dI - (re)I - vI dR/dt = (re)I - dI -------------------- r = birth rate - death rate S = susceptible hosts I = infected hosts R = recovered individuals ß = infection rate v = virulence (how much infection elevates your death rate) d = death rate (not considering infection, just regular death rate) re = recovery rate = 1/infection duration

What type of organisms are plants? Meaning they are developed by branching or repeated units of structure

modular

what is limited at the local scale?

moisture availability and pH at the base of host conifer trees

What is considered multigenerational? (also seasonal)

monarchs in eastern N america. They fly from Canada and US to winter sanctuaries in the mountains of central mexico every fall. Populations return in the spring and summer for breeding. It usually involved 3 or 4 generations

Eusociality

more complex level of sociality

What is functional diversity?

more different roles makes a system work better because different tasks are getting done, making the system more EFFICIENT

describe the biodiversity patterns of mammals from west --> east in the US?

more species of mammals occur in the topographically heterogenous western mountains than in the more homogeneous east; decrease in diversity down the peninsula indicates the effect of dispersal distance

higher structural complexity supports (more/less) species

more! creates more habitats habitats with simple vegetation structure tend to have fewer species than more complex habitats with similar productivity levels

In the bat diversity study, how did they determine niche diversity from the local species?

morphological diversity in the bat community reflect the evolutionary response of the bats to this opportunity

what is most prominent in other age classes?

mortality

What's Robert Axelrod's explanation of "Tit for Tat" in evolution of cooperation?

most robust: 1. Cooperate first 2. Do what opponents did in last round

Chemoautotrophs

mostly prokaryotes that derive energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds

negative phototaxis

movement of an organism away from light

positive phototaxis

movement of an organism toward light

emigration (-)

movement of individuals out of a population

What is functional redundancy?

multiple individuals fill a single role; makes populations more RESILIENT because if you lose one organism the function is still fulfilled

polygamy in animals

multiple mates at one time

How do you calculate a coefficient of relatedness?

multiply probability from each sex recombination

What is the major source of variation in prokaryotes?

mutation

What is lambda?

n(t+1)/n(t) value tells you the population growth rate

What's the difference between sexual selection and natural selection?

natural selection passes down traits by selecting by trait sexual selection passes down traits by selecting by mate

extrafloral nectary

nectar-secreting glands found on structures other than flowers, such as leaves

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE density-dependent effects occur if a vital rate decreases as density increases.

negative

With exponential decline, r is ?

negative

what are the two types of density dependent factors?

negative and positive density dependent

apparent competition

negative effects as a result of two species sharing a predator or herbivore or as a consequence of one species facilitating populations of a predator or herbivore of a second species

How can you describe uniform dispersion?

negative interaction among individuals; typically competition, territory between individuals

direct interaction

negative or positive interaction between two species, including competition, predation, herbivory, and mutualism, that occurs without the involvement of an intermediary species.

indirect interactions

negative or positive interaction between two species, including trophic cascades, apparent competition, and indirect mutualism or commensalism, that is mediated through a third species.

Evolution and influenza-a

new strains emerge every year from an animal reservoir (usually pigs in China) new strain is closely related to previous year's Host (human) immune response prevents outbreaks of old strains

Is density dependence a sufficient condition for a population to be regulated?

no

Is the habitat for most species continuous across the landscape?

no

What is indirect competition?

no actual contact, just using the same resource

Would we expect species that are closely related to coexist locally?

no- most closely related species tend to occur in different habitats

What does it mean for a species to be of special concern?

not a legal definition, but populations are declining for reasons that may not be understood

population size

number of individuals in a population

relative population size

number of individuals in one time interval or place relative to the number in another

abundance

number of individuals of a species that are found in a given area

population density

number of individuals per unit area

fitness

number of offspring (genes) contributed by an individual to future generations

What is fecundity?

number of offspring in a reproductive episode

what does the outcome of plant competition usually depend on and why?

nutrient levels in soil bc nutrients control growth of plant shoots and their ability to shade competitors

Heffaker's Predator-Prey Lab Experiment

o Manipulated number and distribution of oranges in a tray with oranges and rubber balls and observed dynamics of predator prey relationships between mites in different environmental conditions o Findings: ♣ If a predator has too easy of a time obtaining prey, prey populations plummet, eventually causing predator populations to plummet ♣ Stable population cycles can be achieved when the environment is complex enough that predators cannot easily find scarce prey ♣ Delays causing populations to cycle: • Result of predators moving more slowly between food patches than their prey • Result of time needed for predator numbers to increase through reproductions

In David Lack's experiment, how can we test whether a certain clutch size is associated with higher fitness

observational: compare survival of birds with different clutch sizes manipulative: manipulate the number of eggs in a clutch and see how many chicks fledge successfully

line transect approach

observer travels along a transect line and each individual that the observer can see from the line is counted and its perpendicular distance from the line is recorded

What is negative frequency dependent selection?

occurs between enemies one does better by avoiding the other

What is positive frequency dependent selection?

occurs between friends one does better when found by the other (partner fidelity and co-dependence_

Sweaty T-Shirt Experiment

odors influence human mate choice Females not on oral contraceptives sniffing the T-shirts recently worn by males favored the scent of those whose immune response genes were different from their own. Odor preferences of women on oral contraceptives were reversed as they favored the scent of men whose immune response genes were similar to their own, women prefer the scent of unrelated men

predation/parasitism

one species benefits and the other is harmed or affected

What are temporary parasites?

only on host to feed

What are permanent parasites?

only on the host to disperse

What is unique about woodhoopoes and breeding

only one pair breeds

Which is more likely to fall victim to the Tragedy of the Commons, common pool resources or an open access system?

open access system because there's no monitoring of the resources

What describes populations in which emigration and immigration occur?

open populations

how did continental drift lead to speciation

opening and closing of passage ways bridge for land mammals

What can be applied to life history?

opportunity cost, allocation and trade-offs

describe succession

orderly change in a community through time

In ecosystem development, progressively larger proportion of nutrients are held in ___________ rather than _________________

organic tissue; inorganic reservoirs

What is semelparity?

organism breeds once and dies, most are short lived

what are endemic species?

organisms that are only found in specific localities

What are mycoparasites ?

organisms that have the ability to parasitize fungi

dominant species (foundation species)

organisms, such as abundant forest tree species or coral reef species, that substantially influence community structure as a consequence of their abundance

What if a environment is very complex and predator can't get to prey what happens to the predator-prey population cycles?

oscillations in the cycles are damped

the second most abundant type of organism is

other arthropods

what maximizes genetic diversity?

outbreeding

deterministic model

output fully determined by parameter values and initial conditions

Inclusive Fitness

overall fitness, which is determined by the survival and reproduction of an individual, plus the survival and reproduction of genetic relatives of the individual

Who do we see having a type III survivorship curve?

oysters, fish, many invertebrates and many plants

Stable Prey Population (prey isocline)

p = r/c

Enemy Release Hypothesis

parasites and species invasions species have co-evolved pathogens in their native range and leave them behind when they invade (may have higher fitness outside of their native range because they leave all the pathogens behind)

Example of red queen: snails and parasites

parasites from native lake infect snails better than parasites from other lake lakes with more parasites --> sexual reproduction favored

What are hyperparasitoids?

parasitoids have their own parasitoids

beta =

per capita effect of species 1 on the population growth of species 2

alpha =

per capita effect of species 2 on the population growth of species 1

What does (1/N)(dN/dt) mean?

per capita growth rate

What is the allee effect?

per capita growth rate becomes smaller as the population becomes smaller; chance of extinction rises faster

direct fitness

personal reproduction

large-scale phenomena

phenomena of a geographic scale rather than a local scale

small-scale phenomena

phenomena that take place on a local scale

What is the nutritional mode of nearly all plants?

photoautotrophs

define passive dispersal..

plants and animals that can't move themselves use dispersal units to exploit new habitats

stress-tolerant plant

plants that live under conditions of high stress but low disturbance

BLANK occurs when one gene influences multiple unrelated phenotypic traits.

pleiotropy

loci

plural of locus

even though marshes have high productivity, why do they have low diversity in general?

poor vegetation structure

What is N(t)?

population at time t

What is N(t+1)?

population at time t+1 (the next generation)

What is lamda?

population growth rate

The logistic model growth tracks the current population size, but for population cycles....?

population growth tracks density relative to K at T units back in time

What is an example of abundance?

population of red deer in scotland remaining relatively stable for 30 years. The population of 200-400 individuals

Why are climate envelope models usually overly optimistic?

population range and distribution changes are not always predictable

What will happen if the A matrix remains constant?

population swill settle into a stable age distribution and a constant population growth rate (lambda)

What is interference competition?

populations behave in a way that reduces the exploitation efficiency of another individual or population

What is exploitation competition?

populations depress one another through use of shared resource

How does higher survival rates affect reproductive strategy?

populations have an older age structure, and hence they have a greater chance of selection for changes in survival or fecundity

define trophic levels

position in the food web determined by the number of energy transfer steps from primary producers

With exponential growth, r is ?

positive

how is species diversity correlated with niche diversity?

positively

stochastic model

possess some inherent randomness (same set of parameter values and initial conditions will lead to an ensemble of different outputs

Dilution effect and Lyme Disease

possible hosts: mice, opossums, squirrels, etc. How many infected ticks are removed by each host? - mice are the best hosts because others get rids of ticks or aren't capable of hosting the bacteria

The Dilution Effect

predator effects (removing infected individuals) - if predators make prey stay in one place, less likely to infect others - predators can prey on susceptible hosts - etc. Community interactions can affect any stage of epidemic more diverse hosts decreases infection rate because have more noncompetent hosts

Type III Functional Response

predator exhibits low prey consumption under low prey densities, rapid consumption under moderate prey densities, and slowing prey consumption under high prey densities

Phase graphs: What is q/beta in words ?

predator mortality rate/ predator growth rate per victim population

What were the results of Gause's experiments?

predator prey coexistence only possible with immigration of predators

What is a parasitoid?

predator that acts like a parasite but kills its host

Moran's study involved the effect of the number of predatory newts per pond on the relative weight and survival of different species of tadpoles. What did he find?

predators can influence the outcome of competition between prey species -at high predator numbers, the 3 tadpole species grew equally well -in the absence of predators, one species dominated the ponds and another species was nearly eliminated

What is P(hat)?

predators will maintain the victim population at 0 growth at victim per capita growth rate r and predator functional response (capture rate) alpha P(hat) = r/alpha

What is climate envelope modeling?

predicting the future of the climate using correlations between existing species distributions and environmental variables to define a species tolerance

plants are where in the food web?

primary producers

competitive exclusion principle

principle that states no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time

What does a straight line in a logarithmic scaled survivorship curve represent?

probability of dying doesn't change with age

describe facilitation. give an example.

process by which one species increases the probability of a second species becoming colonized N2 fixing by alder

Females

produce larger, more energetically costly gametes.

Monoecious plants

produce male and female flowers on the same plant

males

produce small, less energetically costly gametes

the precambrian era was dominated by

prokaryotes, protists, fungi, and invertebrate animals

What is the coefficient of relatedness

r quantifies kinship; shows probability of sharing a genotype

For the alternate form of the fundamental equation of population ecology you assume a closed population. What is redefined?

r = b-d

What is the r in stage or size-structured populations?

r = lnR(0) / G can be inserted into N(t) = N(0)e^rt

What does (1/N)(dN/dt) equal?

r(1-N/K)

What does dN/dt equal?

rN(1-N/K) r = per capita growth rate N = number of individuals K = carrying capacity

What doe stochasticity mean?

randomly determined

What is a realized niche?

range of ecological limitations ex: predators, diseases, food resources, competitors, mutualists, pollinators

What is a fundamental niche?

range of physical conditions of a population ex: climate, soils, water pH

ruderal plants

rapid growth, produces seeds quickly, good dispensers, high intensity disturbance, low stress, can easily disperse to newly disturbed environments

What does dN/dt mean?

rate of population growth

Phase graphs: What is r/alpha in words ?

rate of population growth of victims / loss of victims to predators (capture rate)

Which imposes stricter limits on a species' distribution: fundamental or realized niche?

realized

What is smaller? fundamental niche or realized niche?

realized niche; b/c of dispersal, competition, disease, herbivory, predation

ritualized antagonism _______ costs

reduces

self-thinning

reduction in population density as a stand of plant increases in biomass, due to intraspecific competition

What is a metapopulation structure?

regional group of connected populations of a species

What are population cycles?

regular oscillation of a population over a long period of time (overshoots and die offs)

What is Liebig's Law of the Minimum?

regulation of populations limited by the single resource that is most scarce.

define Liebig's law of the minimum

regulation of populations limited by the single resource that is most scare

What determine how quickly or slowly a population grows?

relative proportions of each age group

"Biodiversity Hotspots" are defined as areas which have

relatively high levels of both endemism and diversity of species

What does r represent in stage or size-structured populations?

represents the distribution of survivor ship and reproduction across a population

What are the tradeoffs between survival and fecundity for animals?

reproducing more NOW reduces chance of surviving to breed AGAIN

What is restricted in certain age classes?

reproduction

semelparity

reproduction that involves production of all an organism's offspring in one event, generally over a short period of time

what affects the biodiversity patterns of reptiles in the US?

reptiles are strongly influenced by the temperature gradient from south to north

What is R* in the R* model?

resource level at which population growth balanced by population loss

What is Hamilton's rule

resources will be diverted to kin when benefit to helper exceeds cost to help

sexual selection

results from differences in reproductive rates among individuals as a result of differences in mating success due to intrasexual selection, intersexual selection, or a mixture of the two forms of sexual selection

what did "the world is green" initially say when trying to figure out what controls the number of herbivores?

said it was top down since the world is green, there is plenty of food for them

What is an example of semelparity in animals?

salmon -> cost of migrating to breeding site is huge

Describe the colonization of Krakatau after a volcanic eruption caused a primary succession event

sea-dispersed species appear first, then wind-dispersed, then animal-dispersed after ~100 years, the highest number of species are the reverse

early successional species produce a ____________ of opportunistic seed waiting for the right moment for germination

seed bank

the paleozoic era was dominated by

seedless plants, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles

What is an example of uniform dispersion?

segulls

Kin Selection

selection in which individuals increase their inclusive fitness by helping increase the survival and reproduction of relatives (kin) that are not offspring

serial monogamy

several mating partners, but only one at a each mating period

A pathogen NOT dependent on its first host to spread to its second host will tend to maintain?

severe virulence

Haplodiploidy

sex inheritance in which males are haploid and females are diploid

What is Fisher's principle?

sex ratios tend toward 1:1 See power point for explanation

Male

sex that produces smaller, lest costly gametes (sperm or pollen)

Female

sex that provides larger, more energetically costly gametes (eggs or ova)

What are the sources of variation for eukaryotes?

sexual reproduction mutation horizontal gene transfer transposable elements

Intrasexual Selection

sexual selection in which individuals of one sex compete among themselves for mates

Intersexual Selection

sexual selection occurring when members of one sex choose mates from among the members of the opposite sex on the basis of some anatomical or behavioral trait, generally leading to the elaboration of that trait

"Phylogenetic effects" refer to

shared characteristics, which are not driven by environmental factors, of a lineage of organisms

Vaccinations

shift infection to older individuals since they do not acquire immunity May only alter the amplitude and period of cycle (how severe and how often epidemics occur), not eliminate epidemics Begin vaccination --> decrease susceptible individuals until increase again --> infection (cycles)

how did continental drift influence climate

shifted from more arid to more humid

what is the energy flow web's approach to depicting trophic relationships?

shows connections quantified as energy

what is the connectedness web's approach to depicting trophic relationships?

shows feeding relationships among organisms

What are stochastic models?

shows natural variation in success, can predict extinction even when you have a positive r

What is a life cycle graph?

shows what happens in a population from one year to the next using fecundity and survivorship

random dispersion

similar to what would occur if individuals were positioned at randomly selected locations

genet

single genetic individual

Why does haplodiploidy favor the evolution of mating system in which female workers help rear their sisters?

sisters are more related than mothers and daughters; helps in passing on their genes

What can be more appropriate descriptors of a populations structure?

size structure/developmental stage classes

what are drivers for recolonization?

size, how close you are to what colonizes you

What is an example of a random dispersion?

slothes

Logistic growth with regular population cycles: size of r?

small

what was a huge issue for Darwin

sociality

What island did we focus on in the sea turtle lecture?

soloman islands

Garter snake female mimicry

some males release female pheromones that attract other males, which increases the mating success of the faker

Why do disturbances like flood and fire help in conserving species?

some species are dependent on these disturbances to survive fire: prevents underbrush from taking over; some species require heat/smoke for seeds to begin growing

dispersion

spacial arrangement of individuals in a population

What is a stolon?

specialized stems that grow above the ground surface

what is a rhizome?

specialized stems that grow below the ground surface

Tilman's Resource Ratio Hypothesis

species ability to maintain itself in a civility determined by level of limiting resource that results in zero net population growth

What is Tilman's resource ratio theory?

species ability to maintain itself in a community determined by level of limiting resource that results in zero net population growth (ZNPG)

what were the results of the resource diversity study using stream fish?

species diversity increases as a stream becomes larger and has more habitat and food diversity

What is PET thoery?

species richness increases with PET up to a certain threshold

What species survives when the resource ratio theory is applied to 2 competitors for a single resource?

species that can survive while driving resources below R* of competitor wins

What is a critical habitat?

specific area that has essential features for conservation of a species

Negative feedbacks are inherently STABILIZING/DESTABILIZING and AMPLIFYING/DAMPENING.

stabilizing, dampening

What do we get if rT is large?

stable limit cycles when rT>1.57

What does F stand for in a life cycle graph?

stage-specific fecundity; number of offspring per individual (probability of going from an adult to a seedling)

What does P stand for in a life cycle graph?

stage-specific survivorship (probability of going from one stage to the next)

heterogeneity

state of being dissimilar, composition from unlike elements

What is the survivorship of an individual with a type II survivorship curve?

steady decline in survival throughout life

What are kelptoparasites?

steals food from other organism

How do asexual modular organisms spread?

stolons and rhizomes

What is cyclic succession driven by?

stressful environmental conditions

SIR model and influenza

strong seasonal driver (temperate zones, etc.) --> consistent peaks (why we know when flu infections are likely to pick up) Weakly seasonal driver (close to equator) --> inconsistent peaks

describe seral stage

structure of a community at a given moment during the sere

What is demography?

study of changes and distributions of population sizes

Behavioral Ecology

study of social relations. interactions between organisms and the environment mediated by behavior

Behavioral Ecology

study of the relationships between organisms and environment that are mediated by behavior

The life table and fecundity tables from lecture (in the powerpoint) shows us which stage is least effective to focus on conservation and protection?

sub adults?(can't remember)

spate

sudden flooding in a stream

describe the disturbance and gap dynamics (aka intermediate disturbance hypothesis) theory explaining why there are so many kinds of trees in the tropics? why isn't this theory appealing?

suggests that moderate disturbance would increase environmental heterogeneity, increase opportunities for gap pioneer specialists, etc. -trees die at same rate in other systems -gap invaders were not primarily gap specialists

What is s(x)?

survival rate s(x)=P(x-1,x)

What can negative density dependence impact?

survival, fecundity and dispersal

What is l(x)?

survivorship l(x)=l(x-1)*s(x-1)

In the net reproductive rate R(0) formula what is l(x)?

survivorship at age x

What is endosymbiosis? Example?

symbiosis in which one of the symbiotic organisms lives inside the other. -mitochondria and chloroplast

mychorrhizae

symbiotic association of plant roots and fungi

parasitism

symbiotic relationship between a parasite and its host

source sink

system where at low density, there are subpopulations with negative (in the absence of dispersal) and positive growth rates

What is a open population?

takes into account immigration and emigration along with births and deaths

What do male lion contribute

territory defense

natal territory

territory where an individual was born

drift

the active or passive downstream movement of stream organisms

realized niche

the actual niche of a species whose distribution is restricted by biotic interactions such as competition, predation, disease, and parasitism

net reproductive rate (R0)

the average number of female individuals produced by a female in her life span

what is an example of diurnal?

the coast jellyfish individuals migrate about 600 meters per day tracking plankton prey

Hamilton's Rule

the conditions under which helping kin should be favored by natural selection: RgB-C>0 Rg: genetic relatedness of the helper and the recipient of the help B: reproductive benefit gained by the recipient C: reproductive cost to the helper of giving aid

Why os polygyny more common than polyandry?

the cost of making eggs higher than making sperm

What does the decreased growth rate in the logistic model result from?

the decrease in birthrates and increase in mortality

how is diversification measure?

the difference between extinction and speciation

age distribution

the distribution of individuals among age groups in a population; often called age structure

describe the continuum concept

the distribution of species along an environmental gradient

niche

the environmental factors that influence the growth, survival, and and reproduction of species

pistil

the female organs of a flower, comprising the stigma, style, and ovary.

sexual selection

the fitness advantage that some individuals have over the same sex solely with respect to reproduction

Distribution

the geographic range of an organism or the spatial arrangement of individuals in a local population

Clements supported which concept of community?

the holistic concept

Fundamental Niche

the hypervolume, the physical conditions under which an organism can live.

Gleason supported which concept of community?

the individualistic concept

amensalism

the interaction between two species whereby one species suffers and the other species is not affected

What is the amplitude of a population cycle dependent on?

the intrinsic rate of growth (r) and the time late between resource use and reproduction (T)

describe tolerance

the lack of influence by one species on another; poor competitors can tolerate each other

What is frequency dependent selection?

the less common phenotype has an advantage helpful in avoiding predation and diseases

what does active dispersal depend on?

the local population size, resource competition, and habitat quality and size

what is defaunation?

the loss of animals from ecological communities

intrinsic rate of increase

the maximum per capita rate of population increase; may be approached under ideal environmental conditions for a species

what is beta diversity?

the measured turnover in species competition from one habitat to the next within a region

What is ecological time?

the minute-to-minute time frame of interactions between organisms and the environment

MacArthur and MacArthur used foliage height of plants to look at bird species diversity. What did they find?

the more diversity in foliage height, the more bird species that can be supported

What is the relationship between phylogenetic relatedness and resource portioning?

the more related you are, the more you partition resources -->Evolve to use different resources

Senescence

the natural physical decline brought about by aging, accumulation of molecular defects and harmful mutations

what is species richness?

the number of different species represented in an ecological community

clutch size

the number of eggs laid by a bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish. The term is also sometimes applied to the number of seeds produced by a plant.

fecundity

the number of eggs or seeds produced by an organism

density

the number of individuals in a population per unit area

birthrate

the number of individuals produced in a population generally expressed as births per individual or per thousand individuals in the population

What is ideal free distribution?

the number of individuals that aggregate in an area is proportional to the resources available there

What is fitness?

the number of offspring that survive and reproduce; involved passing on +/- genes to future generations

describe local diversity?

the number of species in a small area of homogenous habitat

What is parity?

the number of times an organism reproduces during its lifetime

Equation for predator population growth: dP/dt = beta x V x P -qP What is Beta x V?

the numerical response of the predator population

allelopathy

the phenomenon of an organism producing a substance that is harmful or lethal to another organism

fundamental niche

the physical conditions under which a species might live, in the absence of interactions with other species

What is habitat complexity and why is it important?

the physical structure of an environment, influences community composition in a number of ways. Complex habitats can promote species coexistence by providing a wide range of niches, thereby reducing niche overlap and increasing diversity

What is an example of age structure?

the population of red deer in scotland contain many 2-8 year old females

What is sympatric speciation?

the process through which new species evolve from a single ancestral species while inhabiting the same geographic region

Reproduction (+)

the production of offspring

geometric rate of increase (lambda)

the ratio of the population size at two points in time lambda=N_(t+1)/N_(t) N_(t+1)=size of the population at some future time N_(t)+ size of pop at earlier time

What is the founder effect?

the reduced genetic diversity that results when a population is descended from a small number of colonizing ancestors.

What happens when a population size increases with negative density dependent factors?

the resources would be divided among more individuals and per capita resources will decline to a level at which individuals find it difficult to grow and reproduce

Realized Niche

the restricted conditions under which an organism does live due to interactions with other organisms.

Eltonian niche

the role of a species in its community

What are life history traits?

the schedule of an individual's life include behavioral and physiological adaptations; ultimately affect fitness

describe character displacement

the shifting of a realized niche depending on the other organisms inhabiting that area

colonization cycle

the situation in which stream populations are maintained through a dynamic interplay between downstream drift and upstream dispersal

define a species pool

the species that occur within a region

germination

the sprouting of seeds

Grinnellian niche

the sum of the habitat requirements that allow a species to persist and produce offspring

describe inhibition

the suppression of one species by another (can create the "priority effect")

Abundance

the total number of individuals, or biomass, of a species

lifetime reproductive success

the total number of offspring produced by an individual over the course of a lifetime

describe regional diversity?

the total number of species observed in all habitats within a barrier-free geographic area

describe ecological diversity

the variety of habitats, niches, trophic levels, and community interactions

describe species diversity

the variety of species present in an area; includes the number of different species that are present as well as their relative abundance

red to far red ratio

the wavelengths at which a plant's photoreceptor pigment react

human carrying capacity

theoretical estimates of the number of humans who could inhabit Earth at the same time, increases with improving technology

another paper rejected "the world is green." what did they say?

there are a lot of things herbivores can't eat, so it has to be bottom-up control

How does negative density dependent factors affect populations?

these factors decrease the rate of population growth as a population density increases

what affects the biodiversity patterns of trees and amphibians in the US?

these species are strongly influenced by the moisture gradient from east to west

What are the soloman islands important for in regards to sea turtles?

they are important nesting sites for endangered marine turtles; its the longest single species monitoring effort in the south pacific

what do adult male scorpionflies do to attract mates

they collect dead arthropods and guard them. and then show them off to females as skilled to show off their collection skills

philopatry

they do not move much

When do die-offs occur?

they occur when a population overshoots its carrying capacity

Why do we use log scales for survivorship curves?

they tell us about proportions, and show what proportion is still alive

How do ecologists use life tables?

they use them to examine systematic patterns of mortality and survivorship within populations

How can we think of populations to better understand them? why?

think of them as being analogous to a swinging pendulum; populations are only stable at their carrying capacity (K) when dN/dt=0. The momentum of the increasing and decreasing in a population relative to K causes it to oscillate in size

explain the MacArthur-Wilson Equilibrium Model for Island Biogeography?

this model compares immigration and extinction rates as a function of patch size and patch isolation; heterogeneity of the habitat is not considered

How many types of survivorship curves are there?

three types

meristematic tissue

tissue made up of the actively dividing cells responsible for plant growth

niche model

tool that predicts a species' geographic distribution based on the environment conditions at locations the species is known to occupy

in ________________ control, consumers depress the trophic level on which they feed, indirectly increasing the next lower trophic level

top-down

What factors are considered density independent factors?

tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, and droughts

what is the evidence for the "diversity increases without limit over time" view on tropical biodiversity?

tropical habitats, being older than temperate and arctic habitats, have had time to accumulate more species

true or false: temporal variation in the environment can influence competitive interactions

true competition can exist because of temporal changes in conditions

define the competitive exclusion principle

two species cannot coexist indefinitely on the same LIMITING resource

What is the competition exclusion principle?

two species cannot coexist indefinitely when the same resources limits both

what are complete competitors? do they exist?

two species that live in the same place and that possess exactly the same ecological requirements no

How can you describe a clumped dispersion?

uneven distribution of resources asexual reproduction and social groups; typically the most common mode of dispersion

spatial heterogeneity

uneven distribution of various concentrations of each species within an area

Most animals are what type of organisms which exist as unique individuals?

unitary

What is environmental stochasticity?

unpredictable spatiotemporal fluctuation in environmental conditions

environmental stochasticity

unpredictable spatiotemporal fluctuation in environmental conditions

alturism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

What can we do to get the birthrate?

use a fecundity table

define competition

use or defense of a resource by one individual that reduces the availability of that resource to other individuals

fecundity tables...

use the survivorship column l(x) from the life history table in addition to b(x); multiply b(x) by l(x) that gives us mortality; the value l(x)b(x) is the mean number of females born in each age group adjusted for survivorship

How does population viability analysis estimate extinction risk over a time period?

using data on the age or size structure of population of threatened species

per capita rate of increase (r)

usually symbolized as r, equals per capita birthrate minus per capita death rate: r=b-d

reproductive value

v(x)=(number of offspring produced by individual of age x or older)/(number of individuals of age x)

demographic stochasticity

variability in population growth arising from sampling random births and deaths, in small populations it risks extinction

describe biodiversity

variety among organisms and ecological systems at all levels of organization

What is a generalist?

versatility with prey, host, or partner

total fitness

viability+fecundity+longevity+mating success

after endlers experiment what where the results?

water without predators resulted in colorful males.

describe the holistic concept of community

we can only understand each species in terms of its contributions to the dynamics of the entire system assumes discrete communities

the more crowded a population, the (stronger/weaker) the effects of competition

weaker

"The World is Green" was used to describe

what determines the number of herbivore individuals

When does an overshoot occur? why?

when K of a habitat decreases from one year to the next ( a delay between a change in environmental factors and the time the population reproduces) because resource availability varies

So when is a population stable?

when a population is at its carrying capacity; dN/dt=0

What is ideal free distribution?

when individuals distribute themselves among different habitats in a way that allows them to have the same per capita benefit -as more individuals increase, patch quality decreases -at one point poor patch with few individuals and good patch with alots of individuals can be equal

What is a dominance hierarchy?

when individuals order themselves by social rank or status (within a group)

describe a trophic cascade

when the indirect effects of consumer-resource interactions extend through additional trophic levels of a community

When does positive density dependence occur?

when the population is at low densities; making it order for individuals to find mates (the sex ratios are uneven)

When will altruistic behaviors evolve?

when they give greater inclusive fitness than purely selfish behavior

What is coevolution?

when trait evolution depends on interactions with other species species fitness depends on its phenotype AND phenotype of other organisms

What is Mullerian mimicry?

when two species are poisonous and they look similar to reinforce the effects of each other (cuckoo bee and yellow jacket)

what is senescence?

when you loose reproductive output over time and become weak and die

according to the MacArthur-Wilson Equilibrium Model for Island Biogeography, where does the number of species on an island occur?

where there's a balance between extinction and colonization

what dispersal units do passive dispersal use?

wind, water, animals capable of active dispersal

who often controls sexual selection

women

In a life table, what determines who's in our population?

x and n(x) where x is the age of the individual and n(x) is the number of individuals alive at the beginning of the age x interval

What is on the axis of a survivorship curve?

x: time y: number of individuals

Can factors be limiting at different scales?

yes

Can the parasitism-mutualism continuum shift over evoluntionary time?

yes

Is birthrate age specific?

yes

T/F; you're going to pass this exam

you know it's true.

what is the modification of the Lotka-Volterra model for each species that takes into account the competitive effect of one species on the population growth of another?

α= coeficcient of competition N2= number of species 2 αN2= effect of species 2 on species 1 (same with β and N1)

What is a closed population?

○ Can only grow through natural increase (difference between births and deaths at a given time) -no immigration or emigration

Top Predators:

♣ Consume both herbivores and mesopredators ♣ Ex: wolves, mountain lions, sharks

Mesopredators

♣ Relatively small carnivores that consume herbivores ♣ Ex: coyotes, weasels, feral cats


Related study sets

Neuro and MusculoSkeletal Socrative

View Set

Chapter 3 - Cells: The Living Units

View Set

Networking - Chapter 13: Hardening and Update Management

View Set

ENGLISH 3: MLA Essay Writing Questions

View Set

Chapter 30: Eating Disorders Practice Questions (answers and explanation at the end)

View Set