Download Flip Folder 8 KEY - Madison County Schools

Flip Folder #8 - Unit 9: Ecology KEY
1. Biotic and Abiotic Factors that Shape Ecosystems
a. Abiotic factors**
Nonliving (environmental) factors
b. Biotic factors**
Living factors
a. Rain - Abiotic
b. Wind - Abiotic
c. Predation - Biotic
d. soil nutrients - Abiotic
e. temperature - Abiotic
f. amount of sunlight - Abiotic
g. competition - Biotic
h. water availability - Abiotic
i. living organisms – Biotic
2. Terrestrial Biomes
a. canopy, ecotone, climograph
In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including
other biological organisms Sometimes the term canopy is used to refer to the extent of the outer layer of leaves of
an individual tree or group of trees.
An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes. It is where two communities meet and integrate. It may be
narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest
and grassland ecosystems).
A climograph is a graphical representation of basic climatic parameters, that is monthly average temperature and
precipitation, at a certain location. It is used for a quick-view of the climate of a location.GRAPH OF THE
CLIMATE.
b. latitude effect on biomes
Biomes receive less direct sunlight as you move away from the equator (so as latitude increases).
Hadley models describe how biomes alternate between wet and dry climates. This is because starting at the equator,
the intense sunlight evaporates lots of air. It moves outward away from the equator (up in latitude) and falls as it
cools over the tropical rain forests. This means the air that rises next to that is very dry (Savanna and Deserts). The
cycle repeats itself all the up toward the poles.
c. microclimate
These are small ecosystems /environments. (For example, under a log/ shady side of a house.)
3. Organizational Structure of the Biosphere
a. Species**
1 type of organism. Can produce viable, fertile offspring
b. Population**
I.
Same species of organism.
II.
Located in the same location.
III.
At the same time.
IV.
And showing signs of reproduction. (Offspring are present within the group.)
c. Community**
Interacting populations. All the living things in an area.
d. Ecosystem**
All the living things in an area PLUS ALL THE ABIOTIC
e. Biome**
The same ecosystem (biotic and abiotic features) over a broad geographic area.
Terrestrial Biomes: 1) Tropical Rain Forest, 2) Savana, 3) Desert, 4) Chaparral, 5) Temperature Grassland (prairie),
6) Temperature Deciduous Forest, 7) Coniferous Forest (Taiga), 8) Tundra
f. Biosphere**
The entire world from the highest bird to the lowest fish. Bio=life and sphere=circle
4. Exponential Growth
a. J-curve
b. r-selection**
Typically pioneer species. Environment has an abundance of resources.
Opportunistic
Think “r” for rapid growth. (A.K. A. Density – independent)
There population size is related to resources not number of organisms.
i. age at reproductive maturity, clutch size, frequency of reproduction, reproductive lifetime, survivorship of
offspring
ALL OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS ARE ABOUT REPRODUCING AS MUCH AND AS QUICKLY AS
POSSIBLE.
age at reproductive maturity – Short maturation and lifespan
clutch size – large. No parental care.
frequency of reproduction – usually 1 (early); So much energy put into reproduction that they die afterwards.
reproductive lifetime – Short (usually only reproduce once)
survivorship of offspring – Low. Have lots of babies with little parental care. Type 3 survivorship curve.
5. Logistic Growth
a. Carrying capacity
The maximum amount of organisms a habitat can handle based off of food, water, space, etc.
b. S-curve
c. limiting factors**
i. density-dependent**
These limiting factors only limit the population at a certain density. These are biotic factors (competition, predation,
parasitism, disease, etc.)
I.
Resources (This can be food, water, space…if it is a territorial species.)
A. Competition rises as resources become scares draining energy away from reproduction.
II.
Health conditions (Such as crowding and disease.)
III.
Predation by another species.
IV.
Intrinsic Factors (Such as aggression, stress, personality issues with humans.)
I-IV all add together to make the Carrying capacity for the given environment.
ii. density-independent**
These limiting factors impact the population regardless of its size.
• unusual weather
• natural disasters
• seasonal cycles
• certain human activities—such as damming rivers and clear-cutting forests
d. k-selection**
Density dependent. K = carrying capacity. These are more long term, stable organisms.
i. age at reproductive maturity, clutch size, frequency of reproduction, reproductive lifetime, survivorship of
offspring
ALL OF THESE CHARACTERISTICS ARE ABOUT MAKING LONG-TERM, STABLE OFFSPRING.
age at reproductive maturity – Older. Long maturation and lifespan.
clutch size – Few babies that grow to be a lot bigger. Lots of parental care.
frequency of reproduction – Several episodes of reproduction
reproductive lifetime – Long (because they can reproduce many times)
survivorship of offspring – Have a few babies that mostly all survive because there is lots of parental care.
6. Community Interactions
a. Predator/Prey Relationship**
+/Example of coevolution. Prey have better sense of smell, are faster, etc. because it helps them to avoid predators.
Predators have claws, teeth, etc. because it helps them catch prey.
Results in boom/bust cycles of population growth. The predator population will always be smaller than the prey
(Remember the Pyramids of Energy and Numbers). As the prey goes up, there is more food for the predator so it
goes up. As the predator goes up, the prey goes down because they are eaten more often. As the prey numbers
decrease because of this the predator numbers go down because there is less food. Repeat.
Ex. Snowshoe hare and arctic fox
b. Symbiosis**
Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association. It is usually used to describe a
situation where both benefit (mutualism) BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE TO THE BENEFIT OF BOTH.
Predation, commensalism, parasitism, etc. are all examples of symbiosis.
i. Commensalism**
+/0
One is benefitted while the other is neither helped nor harmed. This is the rarest form of symbiosis.
Ex. Shark and little fish
ii. Mutualism**
+/+
Both benefit.
Examples: endosymbiosis, bees/flowers
iii. Parasitism**
+/Feed off of host but host does not die.
Ectoparasite = live off the outside of the host (Ex. Tick, mosquito)
Endoparasite = lives inside the host (ex. Tapeworm)
c. Herbivory**
+/Could also be considered predator/prey because plants are living as well
d. Keystone Species**
Have a niche that is so important/impactful to the rest of the ecosystem that without this species the entire ecosystem
collapses.
Ex. Sea otters
e. Invasive Species**
A species that is not indigenous (natural) to an area. They can often take over new areas because they have no
natural predators/competitors so there is nothing slowing down their population growth.
7. Coevolution – the evolution of one organism impacts the evolution of the other. Occurs in all symbiotic
relationships (doesn’t have to be mutualism..predator/prey would also be coevolution)
a. defense mechanisms
i. cryptic coloration
camouflage (like encryption)
ii. aposematic coloration
Aposematic (warning) coloration – bright colors like reds or oranges
iii. mimicry
2 organisms looking alike through some sort of evolutionary benefit for one/both of them
I. Batesian
Batesian type – A harmless looks like a harmful organism.
This becomes an associative learning exercise for the attacking species. They become very scared to attack
organisms that look similar to that bad experience. This increases survival rates for the mimickers.
They would be “bait” without doing “Bate”sian mimicry.
II. Mullerian
Műllerian type – A harmful looks like another harmful even though they have nothing to do with each other. This
helps both of them because the other organisms learn not to mess with either of them once they’ve came into contact
with the other (so they don’t have to continually attack others to protect themselves).
iv. secondary compounds in plants to defend herbivore predation**
Compounds made by the plants that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical
defenses can act as repellents or toxins to herbivores, or reduce plant digestibility. Basically, making chemicals to
keep things from wanting to eat them.
b. flower color & structure to promote insect & mammal pollination
The reason flower petals are bright is to attract pollinators. If flowers were solely wind pollinated, they would have
no reason to have bright flowers. Below are pictures demonstrating their color/structure, and its impact on their
pollinators.
8. Global Human Population
a. demographic transition
Demographics are the study of a population based on factors such as age, race, sex, economic status, level of
education, income level and employment, among others.
Demographic transition (DT) refers to the transition from high birth and death rates to lower birth and death rates as
a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system. This is due to improved medical
practices to decrease death and better birth control to decrease birth rates.
1.
2.
3.
b. age-structure diagrams
These can show the number of individuals at each age group. (called cohorts)
These can be used to identify current trends/problems. (life expectancy or Infant mortality)
Can be used to identify future trends/problems.
More elderly and less young to support them or future unemployment for example.
c. Population Density
Population density = number of organisms / land area
i. Mark and Recapture (formula)
N= #Captured and marked in first group x total of second group that is caught
# Recaptured from first time
N is the estimated population size for that defined area.
If a high percentage of the captured organisms have been marked, the population is small (and vice versa).
d. Human impact**
i. greenhouse effect / global warming**
Rising Atmospheric CO2 levels
1. Deforestation and Fossil Fuels are major sources helping to increase the concentration in the
atmosphere. There are no trees to pull CO2 out of the air and fossil fuels are releasing it.
Average daily temperature of the Planet
1.
Blanket of CO2 around Earth traps in heat from the sun (rays strong enough to get through but not
strong enough to escape because they reflect at a weaker angle from the Earth).
2. C3 plants (Most are food producing plants.) vs. C4 plants (Few produce food, except corn.)
a. C3 plants don’t thrive in very warm climates; but C4 will. The warmer it gets, the less
food we will be able to grow, which will lead to famine on a larger scale.
3. The Greenhouse Effect and Greenhouse Gases increasing will help raise the Earth’s temperature.
ii. ozone depletion**
Ozone Depletion and CFC’s (Chloro-fluro-carbons are propellants found in aerosol cans and refrigerants.)
1. Each CFC can destroy up to 100,000 Ozone molecules (It is a chain reaction or positive feedback loop.)
2. Ozone helps block out harmful radiation from the sun, so we don’t burn up.
3. Ozone holes in Antarctica and Northeastern Canada exist. These holes are causing ice to
melt faster and also causing more health related issues.
iii. acid rain**
Fossil Fuels
1. Burning these can cause Acid Precipitation (Remember, It is Rain/snow/sleet/ice with a pH of < 5.6.)
a. Sulfur and Nitrogen oxides are the main causes; these are released by burning fossil fuels.
b. Effects? It kills plants and leaches the soil (nutrients moved away from the roots).
iv. pollution (air, water, land)**
I. biomagnification
Biological Magnification (the buildup of poisons and heavy metals in organisms) The higher up the
food chain you get, the poisons get more and more concentrated, which causes health and reproductive problems.
1. DDT and PCB, to name a couple, use has lead to organism extinct, health issues, and polluted water.
2. The book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson discusses these in depth.
a. This book led to the eventual banning of DDT in the U.S. in 1971.
b. The DDT was used to kill mosquitoes, but it was going up the food chain and killing the
Bald Eagle populations. The DDT caused the bird’s eggs shells to be paper thin. So when the
mother went to sit on the eggs to keep them warm; she ended up crushing them instead.
II. eutrophication**
Overfertilization leads to eutrophication. There is more nitrates, phosphates, and potassium in fertilizers (if too
much is used) for plants to use it all. The excess gets caught up groundwater and leeched from the soil. It runs into
lakes, ponds, etc. This results in algae blooms (green slime on ponds). They use more oxygen by their cell
respiration than they make through photosynthesis. It basically smothers everything below it to death.
v. desertification**
Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid,
typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as
climate change and human activities.
Four human activities represent the most immediate causes: over-cultivation exhausts the soil, overgrazing
removes the vegetation cover that protects it from erosion, deforestation destroys the trees that bind the soil
to the land and poorly drained irrigation systems turn croplands salty.
vi. deforestation**
Increases greenhouse effect (less trees to pull CO2 from the air adds to the total). Leads to desertification (destroys
trees that bind the soil to the land).
vii. loss of species diversity**
There is an extinction crisis currently occurring on earth due to over hunting, over consumption, and
habitat destruction. As biodiversity disappears, so does the stability of food webs.
9. Demographics
a. Birth Rate / Death Rate
Typically measured as number of births/deaths per 1,000 people.
b. Growth Rate
Population Growth (deltaN) = (births + immigration) – (deaths + emigration)
c. Population dispersion
How the density of the population is spread out.
i. Clumped
Any social organisms. They help one another to get food, survive, provide social companionship, etc. Most common
type of dispersion.
ii. Uniform
Territorial. Occurs in areas of low resources. They must keep others away from their area to maximize the resources
(food, water, space) they can get.
iii. Random
Organisms are independent of each other (can be close or far apart). Generally plants because they don’t choose
their dispersion (done by animals, wind, water). Least common type of dispersion.
10. Models of Population Growth
a. Survivorship Curves (Type 1, 2, and 3)
i. Graph
ii. Lifestyle
Type 1: Stable organisms. Low birth rates with high level of parental care. Typically top of food chain. Most babies
survive to maturity.
Type 2: Constant rate of decline. Typically prey. Can be eaten at any time (as young or mature).
Type 3: Opportunistic organisms. Have lots of babies with low levels of parental care.
iii. Examples
Type 1: Humans, sea otters
Type 2: Any prey. Some birds, lizards, etc.
Type 3: Plants, insects, sea turtles
11. Competition
a. competitive exclusion principle**
No 2 organisms can occupy the same niche. They will compete with one winning (occupying niche long term) with
the other losing (occupying a different niche or dying).
b. fundamental niche**
The fundamental niche of a species includes the total range of environmental conditions that are suitable for
existence without the influence of interspecific competition or predation from other species. In other words, the
niches it could possibly fill in a perfect world.
c. realized niche**
The realized niche describes that part of the fundamental niche actually occupied by the species. In other words,
the ACTUAL NICHE an organism occupies because of competition for food, space, water, etc.
d. resource partitioning and character displacement**
The word partition means to divide up. So it’s basically dividing up of resources to avoid competition
(remember competition is -/-). When species divide a niche to avoid competition for resources, it is called
resource partitioning. Sometimes the competition is between species, called interspecific competition, and
sometimes it's between individuals of the same species, or intraspecific competition.
Character displacement refers to the phenomenon where differences among similar species whose distributions
overlap geographically are accentuated in regions where the species co-occur, but are minimized or lost where the
species' distributions do not overlap. In other words, in areas where you find both species, their natural
characteristics are displaced (changed) because they partition resources (they change what they’d normally
do to avoid competition). In areas where they’re by themselves, you see more similarities between the species
because they’re not competing (so they can be what they’d normally be by themselves).
12. Trophic Structure
a. food webs
Shows all the interacting food chains in an ecosystem. Shows that organisms can be in many different trophic
levels (ex. You when you eat a salad with chicken or turkey in it).
b. food chains
Shows one way flow of energy in an environment. Arrow points in the direction of the flow of the energy (toward
the consumer).
c. trophic level
Food level (producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc.)
d. One Way flow of Energy
All energy starts with the sun in an environment, is converted to a useable chemical form by producers, and travels
through the food chain. It is lost (unusable form) as heat as it is used by each trophic level. This is what causes
the 10% rule/pyramid of energy.
Matter cycles, but energy flows.
e. 10% Rule
Only 10% of energy is passed on to the next trophic level because 90% of it is used (and released as heat) by the
organism doing homeostasis, reproduction, movement, etc.
f. producer - autotroph
Make their own glucose (food) through photosynthesis OR chemosynthesis.
g. consumer - heterotroph
Must eat others for food.
h. detritivore
Eat detritus (decaying organic matter). These are synonymous with decomposers. They break down the large
chunks of decaying matter while decomposers (bacteria) put it back into the soil for the food cycle.
13. Ecological Succession
Succeed means to change. So it’s the continuing change in a community until it reaches its CLIMAX
COMMUNITY.
a. primary
A community starting from scratch “bare rock” – no life whatsoever. Begins with pioneer species (opportunistic – r
selected, autotroph, small). As they live/die, decomposers (bacteria) would eventually create soil out of their
remains. This would provide a suitable living environment for any plants that may be dropped there by animals,
wind, or water. They then grow and die which creates even better soil for bigger plants. As the plant life grows,
bigger animal form also be here. Growth stops once it reaches Climax Community (biggest/most stable organisms
that the habitat can sustain long term).
b. secondary
An ecosystem “restarting” after a disturbance (fire, flood, etc). Same as primary succession, but it happens much
faster because soil to support larger life is already present (not bare rock).
c. the role of disturbance
Disturbance “restarts” ecosystem. Allows for secondary succession. It is necessary for some biomes to keep the
soil rich enough to support life.
d. pioneer species
The first organisms to start an ecosystem.
 Autotrophic
 Small
 Resilient (can support themselves and rely basically on nothing else)
 Lichen, bacteria, fungi
e. lichens
A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria (or both) living among filaments of a
fungus in a symbiotic relationship. The combined life form has properties that are very different from the properties
of its component organisms. Lichens come in many colors, sizes, and forms.
These are very common pioneer species (along with bacteria and fungi).
14. Primary Production
The amount of glucose made by producers.
a. gross vs. net primary production
Gross = total amount of glucose made
Net = amount of glucose available to the next trophic level. This is the STORED GLUCOSE to be used later.
NPP = GPP – R
R = respiration (glucose used to make ATP and thus lost)
May be shown an experiment to measure Primary Productivity. You’ll put water with photosynthetic plankton
(phytoplankton) in it. In this experiment, you would have an initial bottle where you would measure how much
dissolved oxygen is in the bottle before the experiment. There would then be a bottle that was in the dark (or was
covered with something so light couldn’t get to it). There would then be a bottle with extreme light. Measure
dissolved oxygen in these bottles to determine photosynthesis rates (remember photosynthesis makes O2 and
cellular respiration uses it). This allows you to measure photosynthesis rates because the availability of light
affects photosynthesis (happens when light is there and doesn’t when it isn’t) but does not affect cellular
respiration.
(Light - Initial) = (GPP - R) = NPP  This is because the excess oxygen that was made in the light was due to the
higher rate of photosynthesis than cell respiration. The extra oxygen is because more photosynthesis was happening
than respiration.
(Initial - Dark) = Respiration  This is because in the dark no photosynthesis is happening. O2 is only being used
by respiration. The amount the oxygen decreased is how much respiration was happening.
(Light - Dark) = GPP  This shows the difference in how much oxygen could be made versus the baseline oxygen
when no photosynthesis is happening. The difference in these is the total amount of photosynthesis that occurred.
b. STOMATA and TRANSPIRATION
Stomata are the holes in leaves that are designed to allow for the gas exchange required by photosynthesis
(CO2 in and O2 out).
Transpiration – loss of water through stomata (due to a combination of cohesion/adhesion with the sun pulling
water through the xylem).
Transpiration is an unwanted byproduct of stomata being open to do photosynthesis. Even so, it can be used to
measure primary productivity because for photosynthesis to happen, stomata must be open (thus transpiration would
happen to). More transpiration happens in wet areas (i.e. tropical rain forest) because they can afford to lose water
(and that’s why there is more biodiversity there  more transpiration = more photosynthesis = more biodiversity).
Areas of low transpiration indicate low photosynthesis because stomata are closed to conserve water (and thus less
photosynthesis is done)  Dry areas (C4 plants) or deserts (CAM Plants).
15. Production Efficiency
Essentially, this deals with how “efficient” are the producers in their energy. Examine the following scenario:


Plant A: GPP = 10, R = 6, NPP = 4
Plant B: GPP = 5, R = 1, NPP = 4
Both of these have the same net primary productivity (what can be passed on to the next trophic level) but
Plant B is more efficient.
a. trophic efficiency
Ecological efficiency describes the efficiency with which energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. It
is determined by a combination of efficiencies relating to organismic resource acquisition and assimilation in an
ecosystem. In other words, this says how much energy is used up versus what it takes in. Not every organism
actually stores 10% of the energy they eat (some more/some less). Organisms that don’t have to spend as
much energy hunting for their food and have a more leisurely lifestyle will be able to store more of this
energy (so store more than 10%) whereas extremely active animals would store less than 10% because they
use much more of it (i.e. birds because they use so much energy flying).
This exact picture was on an AP test a few years ago. The caterpillar eats 200 J of energy but loses 167 (100 J
through waste[feces] and 67 used and lost as heat [cell respiration]). This means that it stores 33/200 J (16.5
%). This is what would be passed on to the next trophic level if it is eaten. The 10% rule is just a
generalization of this (and what organisms pass on in general).
b. pyramids of biomass, numbers, and production
These pyramids are based off of the 10% rule. Only 10% of the energy is passed on because 90% is used (and lost as
heat).
This means the population size is typically also decreased by 90% because there is less food energy available at that
next level. For example, producers make 170 billion tons of glucose a year. After they use 90% of it, 17 billion tons
are left for primary consumers (so there is less food to support them). Sometimes there can actually be a higher
number of primary consumers than producers (in marine environments because consumers do not have to fight
against gravity so can spend more energy toward reproduction; when the producer is much bigger than the consumer
[1 tree can support thousands of ants])
Biomass = dry organic weight. Typically mimics the pyramid of energy for the same reasons discussed for the
pyramid of numbers. In marine environments, primary consumers can have more biomass than producers for the
same reasons discussed.
16. Biogeochemical Cycles
a. carbon
** Note: In all of the following cycles, producers are responsible for converting the element discussed from an
inorganic (abiotic) form to organic (biotic) form. Consumers then get the element by eating the producer;
therefore, producers not only are responsible for creating the energy discussed but also for the cycling of all
essential elements.

Why do we need carbon? All organic (living things) are made of carbon. Remember carbon has 4 valence
electrons so it can form 4 covalent bonds (so it can get to the desired 8 valence electrons). This makes it the
most versatile element on earth. All lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids have carbon
skeletons.
 Why does burning fossil fuels and emissions from factories / cars raise atmospheric CO2 levels while
burning the same amount of biomass (plants) would result in relatively stable atmospheric CO2
levels? The carbon that is in plants will already be cycled back into the air as they do cellular respiration
and release carbon dioxide. Burning this material simply releases this material back into their air more
quickly. The total amount of carbon dioxide in the cycle remains constant. Burning fossil fuels adds carbon
dioxide to the cycle that would not have otherwise been there. Eventually, there is more CO2 than plants
can pull out during photosynthesis. This leads to a buildup of CO2 and the greenhouse effect.
b. nitrogen cycles
 Important terms:
o Nitrite (NO2-) and Nitrate (NO3-)
o AMMONIA (NH3) and Ammonium Ion (NH4+)
o Atmospheric Nitrogen – N2 (78% of atmosphere but can’t be used by plants)
o Nitrogen fixation – beneficial bacteria converting atmospheric nitrogen to ammonium ions for
plant use
o Nitrification – bacteria converting ammonium ions to nitrite and nitrate
o Denitrification – bacteria converting nitrate back to atmospheric oxygen
o Assimilation – plants taking up nitrogen

Why do we need nitrogen? The nitrogenous base component of both DNA and RNA has nitrogen. The
amine group of amino acids (the monomer of proteins) has nitrogen.
 Why can using too much fertilizer be a bad thing? This creates an excess of nitrogen in the soil that
plants do not need. This nitrogen is caught up in ground water where it ends up in ponds, lakes, etc. Now
there is an excess of nitrogen in these bodies of waters that leads to an algae bloom (remember, algae is a
protist producer). There becomes so much algae that it produces a ”blanket” over the body of water that
prevents sunlight from getting into the water. This causes the producers (i.e. plants) to die because they
can’t do photosynthesis. This obviously leads to the death of all the animals because there are no producers
to feed upon. This entire process is referred to as eutrophication.
c. phosphorous

In very general terms, phosphorous is in rocks. Weathering causes the phosphorous to be leached from the
rocks to water. The phosphorous is then taken up by producers (plants, phytoplankton, etc.) where it is
incorporated into organic form (DNA, RNA, phospholipids, ATP, etc.). Consumers then get it whenever
they eat the producer.
 Why do we need phosphorous? Phosphorous is in the functional group phosphate. Phosphate is in
phospholipids (the hydrophilic head), DNA and RNA, and ATP (strands for adenosine triphosphate).
d. water

Why do we need water? Your body is about 70% water. This water plays a major role in many body
functions, including homeostasis where it helps maintain body temperature, blood composition, and cell
transport.
17. Disruption of Cycles - This whole card was already described in the human impact card (because humans
do it all)
a. greenhouse effect and global warming
b. ozone
c. biological magnification
18. Biodiversity
Typically defined by species richness (the number of different species) and relative abundance (the relative
percentages of each of the different species)
a. genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity
Genetic biodiversity  The different genotypes (or alleles) in a gene pool
Species  This is the normal description for biodiversity. It’s what I described above (species richness and
relative abundance).
Ecosystem  Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of ecosystems in a given place. Within any broader
landscape there is a mosaic of interconnected ecosystems. To conserve biodiversity, conservation at the landscape
level is critical.
19. Threats to biodiversity
Decrease in biodiversity means the ecosystem is much less stable and could collapse entirely.
a. Habitat destruction**
Destroying habitats also destroys the niches within them. This means that the living organisms die (or move to
another niche). This causes the extinction of many species and obviously a decrease in biodiversity.
b. Introduced Species**
Invasive species – Because they are not indigenous to the ecosystem, they have no natural predators or
competition. This means they can grow exponentially and take all of the resources (food, space, water) etc. from the
indigenous species. This causes the extinction of many of the indigenous specie.
c. Overexploitation**
We take all of the natural resources from an environment, and there isn’t enough resources left behind to support the
community. Also called overharvesting. It can lead to desertification.
i.e. Farms. We remove all the crops so the nutrients never get cycled back into the soil (so the soil becomes worse).
20. Behavioral Ecology – Purpose of…
a. Proximate vs. Ultimate**
Ultimate causation explains traits in terms of evolutionary forces acting on them. Big picture. Why is the trait
there in the first place.
Example: female animals often display preferences among male display traits, such as song. An ultimate
explanation based on sexual selection states that females who display preferences have more vigorous or more
attractive male offspring.
Proximate causation explains biological function in terms of immediate physiological or environmental
factors. Short term. What is the benefit right now.
Example: a female animal chooses to mate with a particular male during a mate choice trial. A possible proximate
explanation states that one male produced a more intense signal, leading to elevated hormone levels in the
female producing copulatory behavior
b. Fixed Action Patterns and Imprinting**
Fixed Action Patterns (FAP’s for short)
1. This is a behavior, that once it is initiated, it must be carried through to some fixed conclusion.
2. It is initiated by a trigger “sign” stimulus.
For example: Cardinal attacking red crate paper near its nest. (trickery)
Moth hit by bat radar plays dead to avoid capture.
Baby hand grasping an object put in its palm.
3. Survival? (Organisms that survive get to reproduce and pass on those DNA traits to the gene pool.)
Imprinting – This refers to learning that occurs during a critical/sensitive time period of development.
- It is permanent in that once it is learned it is not forgotten because it is associated with survival.
A. Ducks recognizing their mother or bird’s learning their species specific song.
c. Hibernation**
Going into long periods of rest (dormancy) when the environmental conditions are unfavorable hunting/living
conditions. In other words, they’d have to spend more energy than they were able to take in.
d. Nocturnal**
Functioning primarily at night. The benefits of this would be to avoid predators, avoid the heat of the day, etc.
e. Innate Behavior**
Behaviors that are so important to the survival of the species that all species are born exhibiting the behavior. These
are traits your born with, not learned.
i.e. Babies crying, grasping finger if placed in their palm, etc.
f. Estivation**
Sate of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is
entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions.
g. Pheromones**
Chemical signals responsible for long distance signaling OUTSIDE OF THE BODY (hormones are long distance
signaling instide the body). Many different types – sex (for attracting mates), trail (for leaving information for others
in the colony on how to get to food), etc.
h. Territorial Marking**
Marking a territory (usually with urine) to signify your dominance in that area. Marking the territory as yours.
i. Pack, Herd Behavior**
Herd behavior describes how individuals in a group can act collectively without centralized direction. The term can
refer to the behavior of animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools and so on, as well as the behavior of
humans in demonstrations, riots and general strikes, sporting events, religious gatherings, episodes of mob violence
and everyday decision-making, judgement and opinion-forming.
Essentially, organisms (including humans) performing an action because that’s what the majority of the
others in the population are doing.
j. Colony, Swarming Behavior**
From a more abstract point of view, swarm behaviour is the collective motion of a large number of self-propelled
entities. Essentially, it’s moving together as a pack.
21. Directed Movements and Communication
a. Kinesis vs. Taxis, Migration
b. Chemical and Auditory communication
Communicating through pheromones or through sound.