Ecology Test 3 – Flashcards
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Unlock answers______ flows through ecosystems, whereas ______ cycle. |
| Energy. Nutrients. |
| _________ ________ is the term for the cycling of nutrients. |
| Biogeochemical cycles |
| What can explain how one can have an upside-down biomass graph? |
| Recycling |
| Name two types of biogeochemical cycles and discuss where their resevoirs are located. |
| Gaseous and Sedimentary. Gaseous has reservoirs of O2, CO2, and N2 in the atmosphere and ocean, while Sedmentary has reservoirs of P, S, and NO3 in soil and rock. |
| Name three types of Gaseous cycles. Name two types of sedimentary cycles. |
| oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Sulphur and Phosphorus |
| 70% of O2 is obtained from photosynthesis on/in/at/near .... _________. |
the ocean |
| How is it that oxygen can come from water? |
| Photodissociation of H20 vapor releases O2. |
| List three main sources of the carbon cycle. |
| Respiration, decomposition, and combustion of fossil fuels. |
| Oxygen is reactive. When it reacts with ammonia it produces |
| N02 and subsequently N03. |
| What is the purpose of ozone. Is ozone good or bad and where is it found? |
| To absorb UV. It is good in the atmosphere, bad near the earth's surace. It is found in the atmophere, but depleted near the earth's poles. |
| What is a major compenent of smog? |
| ozone |
| The turnover time (release rate) for tropical rain forests, grasslands, swamps, and tundra is ______, _______, _______, and _______, respectively. |
| fast, moderate, slow, very slow. |
| Is the concentration of CO2 increasing or decreasing in the atmophere and what are its effects? |
| Increasing. It acts as a greenhouse (light comes in and heat is trapped). |
| What are some sources of extra CO2? |
| combustion of fossil fuels- cars, factories, etc. As well as cutting and burning of trees. |
| What are some ramification of carbon cycle? |
| termites release CH4 (methane). This traps 25X more heat than CO2 and has cuased a 12% of global warming in last 10 years. Also produced as gas from cows. |
| What are some possible actions that could be taken to lower CO2 in atmosphere? |
| Plant more C4 plants which are better able to fix (hold onto) CO2 in the atmosphere. Conserve fossil fuels. Make more effecient cars and machines. Destroy less of the tropical rain forest. Fertilize the open ocean with iron (catalyst in chlorophyll synthesis and limiting nutrient in ocean). |
| What composes 79% of atmospheric gas? |
| Nitrogen |
| What are some ways that N2 is fixed? What is it fixed into? |
| Lightning and symbiotic bacteria in legumes and soil have ability to convert N2 to NH4 and NO3. |
| Define ammonification |
| conversion of organic N (urea) to NH4 |
Define mineralization in the context of the nitrogen cycle. |
| Conversion of amino acids in organic matter to ammonia. |
| Define nitrification |
| the oxidation of ammonia to nitrites and nitrates. Conversion of NH4 to NO2 and NO3 |
| Define denitrification |
| the reduction of nitrates to gaseous nitrogen. Conversion of NO3 to N2. |
| Give a couple of examples of genera that convert NH4 into nitrites or nitrates. |
Nitrosomas converts it into NO2. Nitrobacter converts it into NO3. |
| What are some sources of Sulphur? |
| coal, oil, and peat. |
| Acid rain ocurrs when..._______. What is the formula for the conversion? |
water in the atmosphere interacts with carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and sulphur dioxide and forms carbonic acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid.
CO2 + NO + SO2 + H20 --> H2CO3 + HNO3 +H2SO4 |
| What is the formula for the formation of carbonic acid? |
| What is the normal pH of rainwater? Acid rain is considered water below a pH of what? |
| 5.6 due to carbonic acid. 5.0. |
| S02 and CO2 are responsible for about ________ % of acid rain, wheras nitrogen dioxide is worth _____%. |
| 65%. 30% |
| What is the impact of acid rain on environment? |
| Releases AL in soil, which is harmful to calcicoles. Lowers pH of lake water, which retards growth and reproduction of fish. |
| Why do some plants eat insects? |
| It is their source of nitrogen. |
| Downwind areas are poorly able to do what? |
| Buffer |
| What are the fertilizer contents and ratios for spring vs. summer? |
| Spring- 10N:20P:10K vs. Summer- 34N:0P:0K |
| what is the limiting nutrient in most lakes |
| phosphorus |
| Define evolution. Define microevolution and macroevolution. |
| change in th gene pool overtime. minor changes within a species. Major changes that occur when one species evolves into another species. |
Genotype |
| Genetic makeup of individual |
| phenotype |
| phsycial makeup of individual |
| What are some sources of genetic variation and what do they mean? |
recombination- most important source of variation. Involves crossing over and independent assortment in meiosis.
Mutation- Usually deleterious. About 0.01% beneficial. |
| Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium equation is? What is the principle of Hardy Weinberg? |
| p2 +2pq + q2 = 1. Genotypic frequencies remain unchanged if random mating and other factors. |
| Definition of Natural Selection |
| Differential reproduction and survival of individuals that results in loss of maladaptive traits from population. |
| Define fitness |
| ability to produce viable offspring |
| List three modes of selection |
1. Stabilizing 2. Disruptive 3. Directional |
| Group and Kin Selection |
| Social insects ex. worker vs. reproductive ants |
| altruism |
sacrificial behavior. Give up fitness for population |
Define adaptive radiation |
| speciation from founders |
| Genetic Drift |
| Change or random fluctuations in allele frequencies over time. Important in small populations |
| Define population |
| Groups of individuals of same species; can interreproduce |
| There are three types of spacing of plants and animals in nature. What are they? |
1. uniform (pisaster) 2. random (fairly rare naturally) 3. clumped (more often) |
| What can plants do to prevent overgrowth? |
| Plants can give off compounds that inhibit other plant growth. |
| What is the difference between immigration and emigration. |
Immigration- entering a population Emigration- Leaving a population |
| Define habitat density |
| Number of individuals per habitat area |
Anadromous vs. Catadromous |
Anadromous- ascent rivers to reproduce. ex. salmon. Catadromous- descend rivers to reproduce. ex. american eel |
| Give examples of when you will find uniform, random, and clumped distributions |
Uniform is found with agricultural crops and with allelopathy (ex. creosote brush in desert). Random is found where environmental conditions are constant. Clumped can occur if environmental conditions are patchy, reproductive patterns favor clumping, or behavioral patterns favor clumping (ex. herons) |
| What is a life table? |
| Table of columns describing aspects of mortality statistics for members of a population acording to age. |
| List the components of a life table and what they mean? |
x=age class lx= # of individ. in cohort that live in age interval dx= # individ. in cohort that die in age interval qx= probablity of dying ex= life expectancy |
| What is the difference between type I, II, and III survivorship curves? |
Type 1= all individuals in population realize physiologically possible longevity. Low initial mortality; all die at once near end. Ex. starved fruit flies; humans. Type 2= Mortality rate at all ages is constant. Ex. Hydra Type 3= High initial mortality (young), but if live, have good chance of surviving for long time thereafter. Ex. oyster |
| Explain an exponential population growth curve. What is the equation for this kind of growth? |
It is theoretical. It assumes that all descendants survive to adulthood and reproduce. It is density-independent. Equation I=(b-d)N I= Projected rate of increase (different from "r") b= birth rate (fecundity=actual # of ind.) d= death rate N= # of ind. at given time (b-d)= r (Rate of incrase). Therefore I=rN |
| What is the shape of the logistic growth curve? What is its equation? |
It is S-shaped. Equation is I=r[(K-N)/K] N
K= Carrying Capacity
|
| Describe the shape of the Boom and Bust Curve |
| It's a J-shaped curve. Denisty independent. |
| Name two types of Intraspecific Competition |
| Scrample (Exploitative) and Contest (Interference) Competition. In Scramble, all organisms have equal acces to resources. In Contest, only ;successful; individuals get resource. |
| What are the two most common types of population fluctuations in nature? Give exaples of animals for both types. |
3-4 year interval. ex. Lemmings/Arctic Wolf and Snowy Owl ; 9-10 year interverals. Ex. snowshoe hare/lynx |
| Define Ethology |
| Study of natural behavior of organisms in natural habitat. |
Define social behavior |
| Interactions between members of a group |
| In animal communication the organism is the ________, the sensory modality is the _________, and the organism that receives the message is called the _________. |
| emitter, signal, recipient |
| There are three sensory modes, or ways to communicate between organisms. What are they? |
| Visual, Auditory, Chemical |
| Give an example of flash coloration. Give an example of agnostic behavior. Give an example of a mating behavior. |
eyes on moth wings; fighting, threats, postures; bioluminescene in fireflies |
What are some advantages of auditory over visual sensory modes? |
| longer distance, can hear around a corner, difficult for predator to find |
| When would auditory signals be used for animal communication? |
| territorial acts, mating, alarm, assembly, etc. |
| Auditory signaling is common in what? |
| crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas. The yellow fever mosquito has female wings buzz differently between mature and immature individuals. |
| What are intraspecific chemical signals called? |
| Pheremones |
chemical signal releasers cause immediate behavioral response to chemicals. Give an example of what uses it, as well as when it is used. |
| Used in ant trails, bees to make queen bee. Used in mating, attraction, alarm |
| Give two example of primer chemical signals |
1.) queen bee releases primer pheramone that attracts her ;court; and prevents ovaries in other imm. females from developing 2.) Male mice urine contains pheramone that cuases overies in imm. females to develop more quickly |
| Define allomone. Give examples. |
a chemical released by an emitter (that benefits) and which is detrimental to the receiver. Ex. Bombadie beetles, sting in wasp |
define kairomones |
chemicals;released that attracts recipient (which benefits). Ex. CO2 emitted by humans attract mosquitos. |
| Define apneumone |
| chemical signal from dead organism |
| Give an example of integration of all modalities |
| Honey bee dance complete with sounds and taste of pollen |
| What are three types of spacing behavior and what about them? |
individual space- maintains individual space territoriality- fixed, exclusive, and defended area (with some resource, ex. water) dominance- partition space within a cooperative group |
| Give an example of animals/insects that are territorial and another example of those that are dominant |
| male dragonflies are territorial. Social wasps and chickens are dominant (have a particular pecking order) |
Give types of grouping behaviors |
| Simple aggregations (for survival), colonial and breeding groups (involve parental care), and cooperative social groups (most highly organized); |
| Give example of colonial and breeding groups |
| mother saw fly, stinkbug, father waterbug carries eggs on back. |
| Define Eusociality. Give examples. List 3 characteristics of it |
| Reproductive division of labor. Ex. workers and reproducers. 1.) division of labor, 2.) overlap of generations, 3.) Cooperative broad care (ex. sisters caring for sisters). |
| What is another word for bird manure deposits? |
| guano |
Define tropholaxis |
| Feeding by regurgitation |
| 1.) Lead and Mercury, two heavy metals, are deleterious to health. Name where lead can be found and a disease that mercury can cause. 2.) Name two chlorinated hydrocarbons that are also deleterious to health. 3.) What are radionucleotides? |
| 1.) Lead found in ;Tar Creek;. Mercury neurological damage and Minamata's disease. 2.) DDT and PCB are two chlorinated hydrocarbons that are bad for health. 3.) Radionucleotides are not easily broken down and concentrated in fatty tissue and liver. They interfere with calcium metabolism |
| In relation to time, primer signals are ______ and releasers are ________. |
| Territory is a _______ area and is either _____ ______ territory or _______ and _____ territory. |
| Defended. General Purpose. Mating and Nesting. |
| Define home range |
| an area in which an animal normally lives |
| Define fecundity |
| birth rate |
| Name life history patterns that affect fitness |
| Fecundity; Survival; Physiological adaptations; reprodutive models; age at first reproduction; # of eggs, young or seeds; parental care |
| Define "success" |
| # viable offspring |
| Name types (patterns) of reproduction |
| asexual, sexual, monoecious (hermaphroditic), dioecious |
| What percent of all bird species are monogamous? List examples of animal species that are monogamous. |
| over 90%. Geese, beavers, sea horses, penguins, wolves |
| Define polygamy and give examples |
| Mating of one male with several females. Ex. Northern elephant seals, elk, humming birds, lions, prairie grouse |
| What are leks? |
| communal courtship areas used by males to attract and mate with females. |
| Define Polyandry and give examples. |
| Mating of one female with several males. Ex. smal arctic shoebirds, jacoma |
| Define parental care and list two basic types. |
| Kind and amount of care parents give to young. Precocial, altricial. |
Define Precocial. Define Altricial. Which one are mammals? |
Precocial- Independent at birth- Down (feathers); eye open Altricial- No down; eyes closed. Trick question... Mammals are altricial and semi-precocial (seal is exception). |
| Define clutch size, semelparous, and iteroparous. Give examples for semelparous, and iteroparous. |
clutch size- # of eggs per brood. Semelparous- One major reproductive effort per lifetime. (salmon, instects) Iteroparous- Reproduction at several times per lifetime (ex. perennial plants) |
If + = beneficial, - = harmful, and 0 = no effect, what is mutualism, commensalism, predation, parasitism, competition, and ammensalism. Give examples for mutualism, commensalism, and ammensalism. |
| ++, +0, +-, +-, --, -0. Mutualism- zooxanthellae and coral. Commensalism- Renora and shark. Ammensalism- BG algae and dinoflagellates. |
| Define "competitive exclusion principle" or "gause's principle;. Define habitat |
| No 2 species can occupy the exact same niche at the same time and the same place. Habitat= physical address where an organism lives. |
Give factors that define niche. |
| habitat characteristics; food, temp; moisture; time; parasites; where, how, when, and with whom reproduction occurs; all behavioral traits; n-dimensional |
Of Asterionella and Cyclotella, which does better at low P, and which does better at low Si? |
| Ast does better at low P. Cyc does better at low Si. |
Define predation |
| one organism feeding on another living organism |
| Define parasitism |
| One organism living in (endoparasite) or on(ectoparasite) another living organism (host) of another species and deriving its nutriment from that organism. |
| Define Parasitoid |
| One organism (parasitoid) attacks the host (prey) by laying eggs in or on the host and the hatched larva feed on the host. Ex. wasps |
| Define cannibalism |
| Predation of one organisim on another of the same species |
| Define herbivory |
| ;predation; of animal on plant (including seeds and leaves) |
| Define biophagy |
| General term for any organism that feeds on living material. |
| In the prey and predator formulas, give the meanings of the following symbols... N1, N2, r1, P, P2, d2 |
N1=Prey density N2=Predator density r1=Prey intrinisc rate of increase w/out predation P= Predation coefficient P2= Effectiveness of predator d2= density-independent mortality of predator |
| Give the two responses of predator to change in prey density |
1.) Functional response- as prey increase in numbers, the predator can take more prey and take them sooner. 2.) Numerical response- predators increase in numbers through increased reproduction and immigration. |
| Give Holling's three types of functional responses (describe curve) |
Type I- the number of prey eaten/predator increases linearly to a maximum as the prey density increases Type II- the number of prey eaten per predator increases at a decreasing rate toward a maximum value. Type III- the number of prety eaten per predator is low at first and then increases in sigmoid fashion. Predator attacks prey that are most abundant and switches to new prey species when first prety species becomes less abundant. Predator can form a search image to help recognize and capture preferred prey. |
| Give the strategy of optimal foraging theory |
| Maximum caloric input and minimizing caloric output |
| For an optimal diet, the consumer should... |
| prefer the most profitable prey, feed more selectively when profitable prey are abundant, include less profitable items in diet when most profitable are scarce, ignore unprofitable items when profitable prety are abundant |
| For foraging efficiency, consumer should... |
| concentrate foraging activity in most productive patches, stay with those patches until their profitability falls, leave those patches when their profitability falls below average, and ignore patches of low productivity |
