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Macro-climate Radiation, wind, precipitation, Coriolis force Effects of latitude, land & water, maritime climate, topography, etc. Rainshadow effect Major biome: desert, grassland, forest, taiga, tundra What aspect of environmental factors is relevant? Maximum, minimum, averages, or the level of variability? synergistic effect? Micro-climate thermal profile Aquatic ecosystem light, thermocline, salinity, etc. Physical resources and limiting factors Range of the optimum Liebig's law of minimum Shelford's law of tolerance Limiting factors Effects of abiotic factors on distribution and abundance Temperature - treeline and coral bleaching Water and salinity - fog belt and tidal flooding Nutrient - lemming cycle Phenotypic plasticity-- environmentally induced phenotypic variation Acclimation (vs. acclimatization) -physiological adjustment to a changed environment Principle of allocation: trade-offs in allocating time, energy, and other resources among various conflicting demands Homeostasis--Maintenance of relative constant internal conditions in the face of a varying external environment Adaptation to heat, cold, dry, wet, pressure, low oxygen supply, etc. Principle of heat transfer Hs =Hm ± Hcd ± Hcv ± Hr ± He Hs = heat storage by the organism Hm = metabolic heat production (always + for a living organism) Hcd, cv = conductive (and convective) heat exchange Hr = radiation heat exchange He = evaporate heat exchange Temperature regulation in plants Desert plant – ↓ heating by conduction, ↓ rates of radiative heating, ↑rates of convective cooling Hs =Hcd ± Hcv ± Hr Foliage far enough above the ground, small leaves, open growth form, reflective surface or dense hair, changing orientation of leaves and stems Arctic and alpine plant – ↑ rates of radiative heating, ↓ rates of convective cooling Hs = Hcd ± Hcv ± Hr Dark pigment, cushion growth form, hug the ground, change orientation Tropical alpine plant – little annual but much daily temperature fluctuation Giant rosette growth form retain dead leaves dense and thick pubescence retaining large amount of water to store heat close over the apical buds at night ectotherm vs. endotherm poikilotherm vs. homeotherm E = cm0.67 Body mass ~ metabolic rate ~ food habits ~ foraging behavior ~ home range ~ social organization morphological, physiological, behavioral specialization Morphological Behavioral Bergman's rule, Allen's rule, pigmentation, fur, blubber, … Basking, hiding, shivering, huddle, … Physiological Hypo-, hyper-thermia, countercurrent heat exchange, torpor… Other factors Moisture, nutrient, light, pH, soil, etc. Tolerance of pollution Fire Types of fire: surface, ground, crown Effect of fire removal of plant cover removal of litter effects on minerals effects on animals Effect of typhoon Responses to climatic changes Ecological indicators Distribution of snail and ground temperature Herbivory and plant defenses morphological defenses chemical defenses associational resistance enemies hypothesis resource concentration hypothesis Effects of herbivory Individual, population, communities, types of animals, productivity Direct effect: survival, fecundity, and growth Indirect effect: changes in competition between species and microclimate At ecosystem level Structure and plant composition Redistribution of nutrient through droppings erosion Antipredator Individual strategies Hiding Making prey location more difficult, e.g. freezing, camouflage, mimicry (Batesian vs. Mullerian), removing evidence Making predator hesitate Making capture more difficult, e.g. vigilance, stotting, fleeing, misdirecting Fight back: physical resistance or chemical warfare Cooperative defense increase vigilance selfish herd dilution effect group mobbing Alarm call Optimal theory The theory used to generate hypotheses about the adaptive value of characteristics which analyzes the costs and benefits of alternative decisions in terms of their fitness payoffs Behavioral strategies be analyzed in terms of cost and benefit in affecting Darwinian fitness (survival and reproduction) Selecting what to eat (optimal diet) Profitability of prey = E/h When encounter prey 1, eat prey 1. When encounter prey 2, eat prey 2 if gain from eating prey 2 > gain from rejecting prey 2 and searching for another prey 1 E1/ h1 > E2/ h2, eat E2 if E2 / h2 > E1/(S1 + h1) or S1> (E1h2 / E2) - h1 Prediction Predator should be either a specialist or generalist. The decision of specializing depends on S1 (or the availability of prey 1) The switch should be sudden Examples: bluegill sunfish, great tit, crows, oystercatchers, etc.