Term
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Definition
| The study of how organisms interact with the environment; understand distribution and abundance of organisms, recognize/explain patterns on nature |
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Term
| Abiotic vs Biotic environment |
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Definition
Abiotic: non-living components of an environment
Biotic: living components of an environment |
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Term
| Biotic vs. Abiotic interactions |
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Definition
Biotic interactions: between organisms
Abiotic interactions: between organism and non-living environment
ex. moisture loss; meteor crushed you |
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Term
| Levels of ecological studies* |
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Definition
| organismal ecology; population ecology; community ecology (all species together); Ecosystem ecology (all species with abiotic interactions |
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Term
| Climate & weather definitions* |
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Definition
Climate: prevailing long-term weather conditions
Weather: short-term atmospheric/aquatic conditions (temp., precipitation, wind, sunlight) |
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Term
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Definition
-focus on interactions between individual and the environment
-considers morphology, physiology, bahavior |
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Term
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Definition
-focus on the population (heritable traits, selection)
-goal: understand mechanisms regulating population growth
-Also looks at interactions between members of a population |
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Term
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Definition
-Community: all the organisms that interact within an area
-Focus: interspecific interactions; community structure; community response to disturbance |
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Term
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Definition
-Includes both biotic and abiotic interactions
-ecosystem: all organisms in an area + abiotic environment
-Areas of focus: Nutrition cycles; energy flow |
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Term
| Relationship between climate and weather |
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Definition
| "Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get" |
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Term
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Definition
-Directly influencing organisms: temp. affects metabolism
-Indirectly influencing organisms:??? |
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Term
| Causes of global variations in climate |
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Definition
-Equator: Sun hits it at 90* (warm temp.)
-Sun beams are focuses together
-Sun hits earth at wider angles going towards the poles
-Temp. driven largely by solar radiation |
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Term
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Definition
| Precipitation is influenced by temp. AND air circulation |
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Term
| Hadley Cell (look in text for graphic explanation) |
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Definition
-A cyclical cell created by moving air (warming and cooling air)
-Air heats at the equator
-Warm air holds more moisture
-Rising air cools, causes rain
-Cool air flows north and south
-Cool air sinks
-At 30*, warm air descends, picks up moisture from ground-> world's deserts |
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Term
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Definition
| The middle cell between Hadley and polar cells |
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Term
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Definition
| The cyclical cell at the poles of earth between the poles and Ferrel cells |
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Term
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Definition
Due to the earth's 23* tilt and the revolution around the sun-- we have seasons
-leads to boreal and austral summers/winters and transitional spring/fall |
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Term
| Causes of regional variation in climate* |
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Definition
Topographic influence: mountains
-causes air to rise cool and release moisture
-slopes facing water (oceans and lakes), are the wet sides of mountains
-opposite side is drier
--causes a rain shadow
--why we ski on western sides of mountains |
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Term
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Definition
| -modify temp due to high specific heat... How does it cause variations in global climate? |
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Term
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Definition
-A climatically and geographically defined condition on earth
-Defined by plant structures, placing, leaf types, climate |
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Term
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Definition
Temp: annual avg - very low; variation - high
Precip: annual avg - low; variation - low
-Short low lime vegetation
-Growth restricted by cold temp. and growth period of sunlight |
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Term
| Biome: Boreal Forest (Taiga) |
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Definition
Temp: avg - low; variation - high
Precip: avg - low; variation - low
-Trees (evergreen, conifers), shrubs and perennial herbs
-occurs in northern strip of hemisphere |
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Term
| Biome: Temperate Deciduous Forest |
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Definition
Temp: avg - moderate; variation - high
Precip: avg - moderate; variation - moderate
-Broad leafed deciduous forests |
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Term
| Biome: Temperate grasslands |
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Definition
Temp: avg - moderate; variation - moderate
Precip: avg - low to moderate; variation - moderate
-Perennial grasses and herbs |
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Term
| Biome: Subtropical deserts |
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Definition
Temp: avg - high; variation - moderate
Precip: avg - very low; variation - low |
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Term
| Biome: Tropical wet forests |
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Definition
Temp: avg - high; variation - low
Precip: very high; variation - high
-Lots of vegetation and living things |
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Term
| Factors regulating terrestrial ecosystems* |
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Definition
-temperature
-precipitation
--Both work at average and variation from average |
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Term
| Factors regulating aquatic ecosystems* |
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Definition
-sunlight (water filters light)
-nutrients (sink down deep; lose nutrients near surface) |
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Term
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Definition
-Soil retains nutrients
-large regions characterized by distinct vegetation types
-each has distinctive temperature and precipitation regime (avg & var) |
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Term
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Definition
| Tundra, boreal forests, temperate deciduous forests, temperate grasslands, subtropical deserts, tropical wet forests |
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Term
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Definition
-nutrient easily lost either by sinking or avection
-Productivity limited to regions of adequate light
-limiting factor = light |
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Term
| Freshwater Ecosystems: Lentic Systems* |
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Definition
-still or slowly flowing water
-lakes and ponds
-swamps, marshes, and bogs |
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Term
| Freshwater Ecosystems: Lotic systems* |
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Definition
-LOTS of SPEED
-rapidly flowing water
-streams and rivers |
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Term
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Definition
-horizontal structure: litteral (shallow) zone, lementic (deep) zone
-vertical structure: photic (light) zone, Aphotic (no light) zone
-Benthic (bottom) zone |
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Term
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Definition
-Marshes: NO woody plants, slow water
-Swamps: HAS trees/woody plants, slow water
-Bogs: stagnant and highly acidic due to decomposition |
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Term
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Definition
-rapid unidirectional water flow
-streams are any lotic body of water
--rivers and creeks are streams |
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Term
| Lotic Systems: linear progression* |
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Definition
Springs to major rivers
-early: low temp, low nutrient, high oxygen
-mid: warmer, higher nutrient, lower oxygen
-late: warmest, highest nutrients, lowest oxygen, slowest and largest body |
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Term
| Major Marine Biomes: 3 Zones* |
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Definition
-intertidal: covered and uncovered by tides, animals here must tolerate erosion
-neritic: portion of the ocean that sits over the continental shelf
-Oceanic: off the continental shelf, vast majority of ocean |
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Term
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Definition
covered and uncovered by tides
(intertidal organisms must be able to tolerate erosion) |
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Term
| Neritic Zones* REMEMBER THIS ONE! |
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Definition
| Portion of the ocean that sits over the continental shelf |
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Term
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Definition
| Portion off the continental shelf (vast majority) |
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Term
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Definition
Proximate cause: How a behavior happens
Ultimate cause: Why a behavior happens |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Innate vs. learned behavior |
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Definition
-Innate behaviors: unmodified by learning
ex. baby chimp's grip
-Learned behaviors: Only acquired through learning
ex. watching mother forage for berries |
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Term
| Stereotyped vs. flexible behavior |
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Definition
-Stereotyped behaviors: no variation in behavior
-flexible behaviors: behaviors that depend on conditions, very malleable and with variations |
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Term
| Fixed-Action Patterns (FAP's)* |
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Definition
-Highly innate, stereotyped behaviors
-3 characteristics:
--once initiated, it runs to completion
--inflexible (almost no variation)
--species specific
ex. spiders know how to weave their webs |
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Term
| Simple Learning: conditioning |
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Definition
training an unconditioned response to an natural stimulus, to become a conditioned response
ex.metronome and salivation |
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Term
| Simple Learning: imprinting |
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Definition
learned fast and irreversible
ex. learning how mom is |
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Term
| Learning: spatial learning |
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Definition
-partially learned through observations
-partially learned through innate influences
ex. Song birds learn to sing from hearing others, but isolated song birds can sing as well, but improperly |
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Term
| Learning: behavior modified by life |
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Definition
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Term
| Learning: Mistake-based learning |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
-recognition and manipulation of facts about the world
-ability to form concepts and gain insights
-observational learning: very high level of learning |
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Term
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Definition
-Not affected by population size
ex. Tsunami or meteor crashing |
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Term
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Definition
-becomes more pronounced with increasing density
ex.spread of an infection- more dense, faster; less dense, slower infection |
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Term
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Definition
-refers to intrinsic growth rate
-rapid growth
-good dispersal of offspring
-short life span
-never reaches a carrying capacity |
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Term
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Definition
-refers to carrying capacity
-slow growth
-long lifespans |
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Term
| Community Ecology: species interactions |
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Definition
-Community = interacting species within a given area
-Pop. < COMMUNITY < biome
--Species interactions: interactions between 2 species; affect fitness of both species (+ or - or 0) |
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Term
| Direct interactions: 5 kinds*(if time) |
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Definition
Fitness effects on interacting species
1)Mutualism: mutually benefiting
2)Commensalism: one benefits while no effect on the other
3)Amensalism: Lowers one fitness while no effect on the other
4)Consumption: benefit for one, negative effect for the other
5)Competition: Negative on both species |
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Term
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Definition
+/0
Soldier bird waits for army ants to march, which causes insects to move. The soldier birds then eat the insects
+soldier bird, 0 army ants |
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Term
| Competition: niche concepts |
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Definition
-/-
Niche concept: (1) sum total resources used by a species, and (2)the range of conditions a species can tolerate
--when two species have overlapping niches, they compete |
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Term
| Competition: competitive exclusion |
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Definition
G.F. Gause
-Two species cannot occupy an identical niche because evolution would have driven one species to extinction from competition
-Cannot coexist |
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Term
| Fundamental niche vs. Realized niche* |
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Definition
Fundamental: total possible use of environment by a species
Realized: actual observed use of the environment by a species
-Do the graph |
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Term
| Types of competition: Asymmetric vs. Symmetric* |
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Definition
-Asymmetric: One species has worse fitness decrease than the other
--more common in nature
--no few monopoly species: niches do not completely overlap, ensures survival of the suffering species
-Symmetric: each species experience the same decrease |
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Term
| Consumption: herbivory vs. parasitism |
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Definition
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Term
| Consumption: Constitutive vs. Inducible defenses |
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Definition
Inducible defenses: set on by a previous encounter with competitor/predator
Constitutive defenses: always active, innate defenses
-ex. porcupine? |
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Term
| Consumption: Mimicry (Batesian vs. mullerian)* |
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Definition
Mullerian: Looks bad, IS bad
Batesian: looks bad, but it's fine |
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Term
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Definition
+/+
clown fish and anemones: clown fish protect anemone from fish that eat them, anemones protect the clown fish by protecting them from other fish that eat clown fish. Stings them |
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Term
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Definition
multi-level influences of predators prey and prey's prey.
Sea otter, urchins, kelp |
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Term
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Definition
-disproportionally valuable to its community compared to its biomass
-small part of the ecosystem, but big impact |
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Term
| Community Diversity: species richness vs. species diversity* |
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Definition
Species richness: total # of species
Species diversity: weighted measure that includes spp. # and its abundance |
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Term
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Definition
0/-
an elephant stepping on grass
accidental effect |
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Term
| Global patterns of species diversity |
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Definition
-at increasing latitude, there is decreasing species diversity
-Many theories |
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Term
| Global patterns in spp. diversity: productivity hypothesis* |
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Definition
-high productivity supports more species
-highly fertile areas have a lot of animals
-contradicted by experimental studies |
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Term
| Global patterns of spp diversity: Area hypothesis* |
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Definition
-large area, can support more species
-Tropics only area with adjacent N/S hemisphere regions
-More area = more spp. because of more resources
-supported by observational and experimental studies |
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Term
| Global Patterns of species Diversity: Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis* |
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Definition
-disturbance: anything that removes biomass
-frequent disturbance = low # spp.
---r selected species dominated
-----quick turn-over rate
-Rare disturbance = low #spp.
---K selected species
-----Strong established species
-Intermediate disturbance = high #spp.
---mix of r and K selected species |
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Term
| Ecological diversity: effect on NPP**! |
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Definition
Community Productivity: Net Primary Productivity (NPP) = amt of plant material available to herbivores and decomposers
-Effect from diversity: plots with more spp. diversity were more productive and varied less |
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Term
| Ecological Diversity: Community Stability: resistance/resilience |
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Definition
Two measures: resistance and Resilience
-Resistance - measure of how much disturbance affects a community
-Resilience - measure of how quickly a community recovers from a disturbance
----Diverse communities are able to use more of their resource base resulting in higher productivity; more like to have redundant spp. so if one spp is reduced/lost, the other can fill the similar role/function |
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Term
| Community Dynamics: Clements vs. Gleason**! |
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Definition
-Clements: (collective) communities are superorganisms, species worked cooperatively
-Gleason's: (individualistic) communities are collection of individual spp. with unique physiological tolerances |
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Term
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Definition
| Recovery of a community after disturbance |
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Term
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Definition
ALL species and soil/propagules removed
e.g glacier, lava flow |
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Term
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Definition
some or all species removed, but soil/propagules remain intact
e.g. fire or strong storm |
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Term
| Early vs. Late vs. Climax successional communities* |
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Definition
-Early: Pioneer species -meaning, high dispersal, fast growing, short lived
-Late: long-lived, slow growing, superior competitors
-Climax: Stable, persistent "final" community |
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Term
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Definition
(Collective)
-Primary succession like embryology
-secondary succession like wound healing CONSISTENT AND ORDERLY
-Follows order sequence of distinct communities = seres (series)
-Initially wide acceptance |
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Term
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Definition
succession result of individual spp. responses
community SEQUENCES CAN VARY following disturbance
-DATA SUPPORTS (KEYSTONE SPP. HISTORICAL DATA)
-Glacier Bay |
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Term
| Species interaction during Succession: Facilitation |
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Definition
-Facilitation:
--one species makes condition more tolerable for another
--one species facilitates the survival of another |
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Term
| Species interaction during succession: Inhibition |
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Definition
| One species prevents the establishment of another |
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Term
| Species interactions during succession: Tolerance |
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Definition
| existing species do not influence the arrival of a new spp. |
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Term
| Eltonian Pyramids: sustainable system**! |
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Definition
Graphic flow of energy/matter through food chains
-Depicts trophic transfer efficiency
-Pyramid can be constructed by: abundance, biomass, energy productivity
-Doesn't take into consideration of life span and generation time of each trophic level |
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Term
| Trophic levels: Autotrophs. vs. heterotrophs |
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Definition
Autotrophs:
-self-feeders (produce their own food)
-fix carbon (inorganic form to organic form=fuel)
-most (not all) use photosynthesis
-most energy goes to respiration
Heterotrophs
-consumers in food chain
-eats other animals to get carbon
-herbivores, predators, parasites |
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Term
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Definition
Decomposers consume non-living organic matter
-key role in recycling matter
-Fungus
Consumers eat other organisms
-Primary consumers: herbivores
-Carnivores: secondary, tertiary, etc.. |
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Term
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Definition
Autotrophs
produces biomass from inorganic material |
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Term
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Definition
top predator
not prey to anything |
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Term
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Definition
Web: all possible path of energy flow in an ecosystem
Chain: 1 path of energy flow in an ecosystem
Each strata of a chain = trophic level |
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Term
| grazing vs. decomposing food webs* |
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Definition
grazing energy flow: primary producer> herbivores> carnivore
decomposing energy flow: dead organisms/waste> primary consumers (DETRITIVORES)> secondary etc. consumers |
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Term
| Food Web Energy Transfer: production efficiency |
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Definition
% of assimilated material that becomes biomass
-NET PRODUCTIVITY divided by biomass assimilated)x100
-varies between taxa |
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Term
| Food Web Energy Transfer: Trophic transfer efficiency |
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Definition
Amt (%) of trophic level n, that becomes biomass in trophic level n+1
typically ~10% |
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Term
| What regulates productivity in ecosystems?** |
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Definition
NPP - Net primary productivity - amt of biomass available for grazers/decomposers
NPP varies = varying productivity
---What regulates NPP?
-NPP exists due to photosynthesis: sun, temp. water, nutrients |
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Term
| Ecosystem Productivity Regulators: Terrestrial Ecosystems |
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Definition
-Main factors: temperature, water
-Soil acts to retain nutrients |
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Term
| Ecosystem Productivity Regulators: Aquatic Ecosystems |
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Definition
-Main regulatory factors: light, nutrients
-Coastal upwelling: wind drives water, replaces colder, nutrient rich water from deep, to the surface |
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Term
| Biogeochemical cycles: Nutrient cycles |
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Definition
Recycling nutrients
chemicals and molecules moving through abiotic and biotic compartments |
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Term
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Definition
| Oceans and lakes are reservoirs, evaporation, snow and ice become reservoirs, snow melts, runoffs, ground water |
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Term
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Definition
Atmosphere fixation
Biological fixation
... let this go |
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Term
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Definition
In atmosphere as carbon dioxide
As coal and graphite as rocks
In everything
Perfect cycle: quick cycle and efficient |
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Term
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Definition
How many offspring will be produced
-usually limited to how many females exist in pop. |
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Term
| Survivorship, Equation for figuring out population rate |
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Definition
How many survived the succeeding year
R0 = (lx)(mx) |
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Term
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Definition
| simple orientation using light, sound and gravity |
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Term
| 3 basic types of migration: Piloting, compass navigation, bi-coordinate** |
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Definition
Piloting: using VISUAL references
Compass navigation: use of stars, sun, and magnetic fields to navigate
Bi-coordinate: compass navigation and the knowledge of where you are
ex. gray whales use visual references from the coastline to migrate |
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Term
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Definition
Altruism when the cost on the individual is less than the benefit of the recipient
-relatedness matters |
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Term
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Definition
Br>C
(Benefit)(degree of relatedness)>(Cost) |
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Term
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Definition
Self-sacrificing behavior with unrelated individuals more common between individuals with past history of altruism
ex. Bats hack up blood food for each other, esp if the other has helped them before |
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Term
| Reproductive Strategy: Semelparity* |
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Definition
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Term
| Reproductive Strategy: Iteoparity* |
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Definition
-multiple breeding in a lifetime (most mammals)
-can be seasonal or continuous |
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Term
| Demography: Factors that influence pop. size and structure over time |
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Definition
1)birth = increase
2)death = decrease
3)immigration = increase
4)emigration = decrease |
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Term
| Demography: factors needed to predict pop growth |
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Definition
-(Pop. now and then)need to be able to measure how many individuals alive NOW
-(survivorship)Estimate how many are likely to survive
-(fecundity)how many offsprings will be produced
-immigration/emigration rate
-(generation time)time from birth to first reproduction |
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Term
| Survivorship types (I, II, III) |
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Definition
Type I: High survivorship in young, stable mid, low survivorship in old
ex. Humans
Type II: Linearly decreasing
ex. Birds
Type III: Low survivorship in young, stabilizes in the middle, then survivorship is high in old age |
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Term
| Survivorship and Fecundity |
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Definition
finite amt of energy
-trade off between growth and reproduction
-Selection favors optimum allocation for fitness
----have kids young, not the strongest most viable but can have them sooner, ensuring pop growth quicker
----have kids older, stronger, more and larger kids, but need to wait longer to get pop. growth |
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Term
| Discrete growth vs Continuous growth |
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Definition
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Term
| Intrinsic rate of growth* |
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Definition
(r max)
-highest possible r for a species
-different species have diff. max intrinsic rate of growth |
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Term
| Exponential growth vs. logistic growth |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
Ro = generational growth rate
Ro = net reproductive rate
r = per capita growth rate at any particular instance |
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