question

*There are several methods animals use to orient themselves as they migrate, including the north star, magnetic fields, and piloting. What is piloting?

answer

Piloting is when the animal remembers specific landmarks that help orient its movements during migration.

question

*The pH of a solution is 7.4. What is the concentration of protons (H+) in the solution?

answer

3.89 × 10?8 M

question

*The annual growth rate (r) of a population is 0.02. The initial population has 550 individuals. How many individuals would be in the population after 12 years?

answer

699

question

*Examine the figure. Why was the island area plotted on a log scale?

answer

So that graph of the number of species versus the log island size (km2) would be linear.

question

*In the figure below, Mb equals mammal body mass and fH is the heart rate. What is the average heart rate of a mammal with a mass of 400 g?

answer

262 beats per minute

question

*Radioactive decay occurs exponentially. The equation A = Ao e(?0.693t/T1/2) where Ao is the initial amount of radioactivity, t is the time between the initial and final measurement, and T1/2 is the half-life. You purchased 10 microcuries (10 ?Ci) of radioactive phosphorus, 32P. The half-life of 32P is 14.29 days. You use the phosphorus 8 days later to label DNA. How many ?Ci of 32P did you use?

answer

6.78 ?Ci

question

*Why might a decorated nest in bowerbirds be a reliable signal of male quality?

answer

Individuals must invest high amounts of energy to produce such a nest.

question

*Why does altruism seem paradoxical?

answer

Alleles that cause an organism to behave altruistically should be selected against since these alleles should lower the organism's fitness.

question

*The Sun is difficult to use as a compass because its position changes during the day. How do birds that navigate by the Sun adjust for this change?

answer

They use an internal clock that tells them the time of day.

question

*QUANTITATIVE Hamilton's rule states that an altruistic allele could spread in a population if Br > C, where B represents the fitness benefit to the recipient, r is the coefficient of relatedness between altruist and recipient, and C represents the fitness cost to the altruist. If r = 0.5 between the altruist and the recipient, what would the ratio of costs to benefits have to be for the altruistic allele to spread?

answer

C/B< 0.5

question

*The study of the Laceta vivipara lizard showed that _____.

answer

the low-elevation Netherlands population was intermediate for fecundity and survivorship when compared with other populations

question

*Why are biologists convinced that the sex hormone testosterone is required for normal sexual activity in male Anolis lizards?

answer

Male Anolis lizards whose gonads had been removed did not court females.

question

*Which of the following statements about the waggle dance of the honeybee is not correct? Sounds and scents produced by the dancer provide information about the nature of the food source. The speed of waggling is proportional to the distance from the hive to a food source. The length of a waggling run is proportional to the distance from the hive to a food source. The orientation of the waggling run provides information about the direction of the food from the hive, relative to the Sun's position.

answer

The speed of waggling is proportional to the distance from the hive to a food source.

question

*What is the measure of relatedness (r) between first cousins?

answer

1/2 × 1/2 × 1/2 = 1/8. For example, your father's (1/2) brother's (1/2) son (1/2).

question

*According to the competitive exclusion principle, two species cannot continue to occupy the same _____.

answer

Niche

question

*Which concept(s) for identifying species CANNOT be applied to asexual or fossil species?

answer

Biological species concept

question

*In what respect do hominins differ from all other anthropoids?

answer

Bipedal posture

question

*Which lake zone does not receive sunlight?

answer

The aphotic zone

question

*Fixed action patterns are examples of _____.

answer

Innate behaviors.

question

Behavioral ecology

answer

- action or reaction of individuals in response to a stimulus (internal or external) Examples: • feeding / hunting • reproduction • orientation • predator avoidance • communication

question

Proximate causation (mechanistic)

answer

- how actions occur - mechanisms within the individual that make the behavior possible

question

Ultimate causation (evolutionary)

answer

- why actions occur - evolutionary causes: why has the animal evolved those mechanisms in the first place

question

FAPs = fixed action patterns

answer

- a sequence of behavioral acts that is unchangeable and usually carried out to completion once initiated

question

Nurture: learned behavior

answer

- flexible behavior - experience-based modification of behavior - cost-benefit analysis ex: birds that get bugs from holes with sticks

question

Conditioning

answer

- Associative learning: associating one stimulus with another 1. Classical conditioning associating arbitrary stimulus with reward or punishment 2. Operant conditioning trial ; error learning

question

Foraging behavior

answer

- can be inherited (e.g., fruit-fly larvae) Rovers - offspring of rovers tend to be rovers Sitters - offspring of sitters tend to be sitters - optimal foraging • maximize energy intake • minimize cost of finding and ingesting food • weighing risk of being eaten

question

Question: Do gerbils "weigh" the costs and benefits of foraging?

answer

Hypothesis: Gerbils reconcile the risk of predation and the benefits of extra food availability Null hypothesis: Foraging activity is independent of predation and food availability. 34 gerbils Treatment 1: No owl fly-overs, no extra seeds Treatment 2: Owl fly overs, No extra seeds Treatment 3: Owl flyovers, extra seeds #1 more time in the field, #2 less time in the field, #3 about even

question

Sex hormones

answer

Control mating behavior

question

Courtship

answer

Often complex, ritualized behavior

question

Nature: innate or instinctive behavior

answer

- inflexible and stereotypical behavior patterns - developmentally fixed, not based on experience - e.g., baby bird begging for food

question

Sexual activity

answer

Can be affected by multiple stimuli

question

Territory

answer

Habitat density and quality affect fitness

question

Migration

answer

Why do animals migrate? Increased food access higher reproductive success but high cost

question

Navigation

answer

How do animals navigate? Piloting - familiar landmarks Compass orientation - specific direction True navigation - location of specific place ex: Green sea turtles use magnetic map orientation to navigate

question

Communication

answer

Signal received and acted on

question

Social process

answer

e.g., honeybees food location round dance (food within 80-100 m from hive) waggle dance (food over 100 m from hive)

question

Deceitful communication

answer

- deceiving another species - deceiving own species ex: Hognose snakes play dead to avoid being eaten. Female footers fireflies flash the courtship signal of another species and then eat males that respond. idea of female "mimics"

question

Altruism

answer

Fitness cost associated with fitness benefit to recipient (self-sacrificing behavior)

question

Hamilton's rule

answer

Br > C B - fitness benefit to beneficiary r - coefficient of relatedness (0 - 1) C - fitness cost to actor altruistic behavior favored when B high, r high and C low

question

Kin selection

answer

Altruistic behavior favored when B high, r high and C low

question

Direct fitness

answer

Derived from individual's own offspring

question

Indirect fitness

answer

Derived from helping relatives produce more offspring

question

Inclusive fitness

answer

Combination of direct and indirect fitness

question

Eusociality

answer

- involuntary altruism - colonies e.g., bees, wasps, ants - workers sacrifice reproduction to rear queen's offspring

question

Reciprocal altruism

answer

- fitness exchange separated in time - non-related individuals e.g., vervet monkeys, vampire bats

question

Population

answer

Group of individuals from same species that live in the same area at the same time

question

Metapopulation

answer

Populations connected by migration

question

Size

answer

Number of individuals

question

Range

answer

Geographic distribution

question

Density

answer

Number of individuals per unit area

question

Dispersion

answer

Pattern of spacing individuals (clumped, uniform, random)

question

Demography

answer

Study of size and structure of populations through time populations grow due to birth and immigration populations decline due to death and emigration

question

Life table

answer

Probability for survival and reproduction (age class, survivorship, age specific fecundity)

question

Survivorship curves

answer

Type I curve - high survivorship throughout life, most individuals reach maximum life span (humans) Type II curve - relatively constant survivorship throughout life (songbirds, squirrels) Type III curve - high death rates early in life, high survivorship after maturity (many plants)

question

Life History strategies

answer

Fitness trade offs

question

Growth rate

answer

- change in numbers of individuals (?N) per unit time (?t) - without immigration or emigration: ?N/?t = r * N

question

Per capita rate of increase (r)

answer

- difference between birthrate (b) and death rate (d) per individual: r = b - d b > d, r > 0 (population grows) b < d, r < 0 (population declines)

question

Exponential growth

answer

?N/?t = r * N - r does not change over time - density independent population

question

Carrying capacity (K)

answer

- maximum number of individuals that can be supported in a particular habitat - can change depending on conditions (food, space, water, soil quality, resting/nesting sites)

question

Logistic growth equation

answer

?N/?t = r * N ((K - N) / K) - density dependent

question

Density dependence

answer

• If N is far from K, acts like exponential growth • If N is close to K, very little (to no growth) • Generates logistic curve (s-shaped), approaching K

question

Limitations to growth rates

answer

- density-independent factors (weather patterns, environmental disasters) - density-dependent factors (predation, competition, parasites, diseases)

question

Population cycles

answer

Regular population size fluctuations Density-dependent factors

question

The Passenger Pigeon

answer

The Passenger Pigeon, once were billions, is extinct since 1914

question

Antarcic "krill" populations have decreased 40 - 80% since 1979

answer

Deceased krill populations have led to over 50% decline in populations of Adélie and Chinstrap Penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula

question

Brown tree snakes

answer

Brown tree snakes, unintentionally introduced to Guam have caused the extinction of 12 bird and 6 lizard species

question

What is demography?

answer

Study of size and structure of populations through time populations grow due to birth and immigration populations decline due to death and emigration

question

What are the three types of survivorship?

answer

Type I curve - high survivorship throughout life, most individuals reach maximum life span (humans) Type II curve - relatively constant survivorship throughout life (songbirds, squirrels) Type III curve - high death rates early in life, high survivorship after maturity (many plants)

question

What are the differences between exponential growth and logistic growth?

answer

Exponential growth does not change over time and has a density independent population Logistic growth is density dependent

question

What are density dependent vs. independent mortality factors?

answer

- density-independent factors (weather patterns, environmental disasters) - density-dependent factors (predation, competition, parasites, diseases)

question

Community

answer

Interacting species within a certain area • depend on historical features, landscape features, abiotic and biotic factors

question

Commensalism

answer

One species fitness benefit, other species unaffected (+/0) Can be conditional, e.g., antbirds Ants stir up insects while hunting, the ant bird tags along and benefits

question

Competition

answer

Both species use the same resources, lower fitness for both (-/-) Intraspecific - between same species Interspecific - between different species

question

Competitive exclusion principle

answer

Two species with exactly the same requirements cannot live together in the same place

question

Niche

answer

Total sum of an organisms use of abiotic and biotic resources in its environment Interspecific competition occurs when niches of two species overlap natural selection acts on both sides to avoid competition (niche overlap) - niche differentiation / resource partitioning (change in resources) - character displacement (change in traits)

question

Fundamental niche

answer

Total environmental space in which a species can exist

question

Realized niche

answer

Actual environmental space in which a species does exist

question

Consumption

answer

One species benefits by eating or absorbing nutrients from another species, which fitness declines (+/-)

question

Herbivory

answer

Plant consumption by herbivores

question

Parasitism

answer

Tissue consumption of host by parasite

question

Predation

answer

Prey consumption by predator

question

Constitutive defenses (always present)

answer

- armor and weapons - toxin or defense chemicals - cryptic coloration - escape behavior - schooling / flocking

question

Mimicry

answer

Close resemblance of other species

question

Müllerian mimicry

answer

Harmful species resembles harmful species Looks dangerous...is dangerous

question

Batesian mimicry

answer

Innocuous species resembles harmful species

question

Inducible defenses

answer

- defense trait only produced in response to predator presence - e.g., mussel shell thickness and attachment adhesion changes in presence of crabs

question

Mutualism

answer

Two species interact with fitness benefits for both (+/+) Involve variety of species and rewards (eg: cleaner shrimp and fish)

question

Community structure

answer

Stable in final stage (climax community) Keystone species

question

Keystone species

answer

More impact on community structure than its abundance and biomass would suggest

question

Keystone predator: Pisaster (starfish)

answer

Intertidal communities in the Pacific northwest When Pisaster experimentally removed, species diversity greatly reduced

question

Succession

answer

Community development after disturbance (depends on type of disturbance, frequency and severity)

question

Primary succession

answer

- no soil present, lifeless area - e.g., glacial recession, surface of lava flow

question

Secondary succession

answer

- soil largely intact, existing community removed - e.g., abandoned agricultural fields

question

Facilitation Species interactions affect succession

answer

Early arriving species creates favorable condition for later arriving species

question

Tolerance Species interactions affect succession

answer

Existing species have no effect on subsequent species

question

Inhibition Species interactions affect succession

answer

Presence of species inhibits establishment of another species

question

Species richness

answer

Total number of species present in community

question

Species diversity

answer

Incorporates species relative abundance

question

Richness and diversity depend on

answer

Habitat size Isolation Latitudinal gradient

question

Habitat size

answer

Species richness and diversity declines with decreasing habitat size

question

Isolation

answer

Species richness and diversity declines with increasing remoteness

question

Latitudinal gradient

answer

Species richness and diversity declines with increasing latitude

question

Ecosystem

answer

- all species communities present in a region along with abiotic components such as soil climate, water, and the atmosphere - biotic and abiotic components are linked by energy flow and nutrient cycling Can be small (pool in a cave), can be large (global ecosystem)

question

Source

answer

Energy flow through the ecosystem sun, geothermal energy

question

Primary producers (autotrophs)

answer

- convert energy to chemical energy (compounds) - chemical energy supports all other living organisms

question

Gross primary productivity (GPP)

answer

Total amount of chemical energy produced

question

Net primary productivity (NPP)

answer

NPP = GPP - R (R - energy used for cellular respiration)

question

Trophic levels Heterotrophs

answer

- primary consumers (eat primary producers) - secondary consumers (eat primary consumers) - tertiary consumers (eat secondary consumers) - decomposers (eat detritus)

question

Food chain

answer

Connects trophic levels in an ecosystem Describes how energy flows

question

Food web

answer

- more accurate description than food chain - consumers often feed on multiple levels

question

Biomass eaten alive or dead - herbivores versus decomposers

answer

Typical forest: 5-7% live leaves to primary consumer 93-95% dead leaves to decomposers Typical marine system: 35-40% live algae to primary consumer 60-65% dead algae to decomposer

question

Productivity pyramid

answer

- energy availability declines with higher trophic levels - only about 10% of biomass transferred between trophic levels Agriculture could support a larger human population if we were all "vegetarians"

question

Biomagnification

answer

Certain molecules increase in concentration as they are transferred between trophic levels (e.g., heavy metals like mercury, organic pollutants such as herbicides or pesticides)

question

Top predators

answer

Sometimes predators regulate entire ecosystems

question

Top-down control

answer

A consumer limits a prey population

question

Trophic cascade

answer

Changes in top-down control cause effects on multiple levels in a food web (e.g., keystone species)

question

Global productivity

answer

NPP higher on land than in oceans (more light) Marine NPP highest along coastlines Terrestrial NPP highest in wet tropics (temperature, water)

question

Global nitrogen cycle

answer

- nitrogen fixation (NH3) by humans -- increased productivity of terrestrial ecosystems - pool of molecular nitrogen (N2) in atmosphere - over-fer tilization leads to "dead zones" in aquatic ecosystems

question

Global carbon cycle

answer

- photosynthesis, respiration - reservoirs (ocean, fossil fuels, biomass, atmosphere)

question

Human impacts on global carbon cycle

answer

Burning of fossil fuels releases CO2 into the air Only 64% of US adults think that climate change is happening... Ice core data highest CO2 in ~650,000 years Global temperatures increased ~0.8oC since 1860

question

Current and future impacts

answer

- CO2 concentrations continue to rise - average global temperature increases - polar ice caps melt - sea level rises - change in precipitation pattern - increased storm intensity

question

Are human activities causing global climate change?

answer

- the available data support the conclusion that the answer is "yes" - our best current data indicate that at least 74% of the warming in the past 50 years is due to human activity

question

Biodiversity

answer

- summarized in the tree of life - measured in species richness and species diversity - changes drastically depending on the region or biome

question

Biodiversity hotspot

answer

A region with high number of endemic species A region of urgent conservation need

question

6th mass extinction

answer

- increasing extinction rates - faster extinction rates than ever before - International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species: vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered 13% Birds threatened 25% Mammals threatened 41% Amphibians threatened

question

Habitat destruction and fragmentation

answer

- deforestation - grazing livestock - filling in wetlands - building housing

question

Overexploitation

answer

Unsustainable removal of species

question

Invasive / introduced species

answer

Non-native species introduced in new area and disrupts native species Biodiversity threats

question

Pollution

answer

Changes in both abiotic and biotic environments due to release of chemicals

question

Climate change

answer

Loss of coral reefs due to "bleaching" Loss of habitat in arctic and alpine tundras Slow dispersing or sessile species unable to track climate changes Ocean acidification due to carbon dioxide increase

question

Biological benefits

answer

- more productive ecosystems due to higher resource use efficiency and facilitation - increased community stability due to higher resistance and resilience

question

Economic and social benefits (ecosystem services)

answer

- provisioning services (raw materials, food, medicine) - regulating services (soil, climate, erosion, water, air) - cultural services (recreation, health, living quality) - supporting services (primary production, nutrient cycling, pollination)

question

Conservation

answer

Protect the biological diversity

question

Sustainability

answer

To live off resources that are being produced continuously

question

Invasive species management

answer

Plans to limit spread and prevent introduction

question

Ex situ conservation

answer

Preservation of species in zoos, aquaria, ranches, and botanical gardens for potential reintroduction

question

Sees banks

answer

Long-time storage to protect loss of genetic diversity

question

Wildlife corridors

answer

Encourage gene flow and allow recolonization

question

Wildlife refuges

answer

Protective areas

question

Genetic restoration

answer

Creating artificial gene flow in endangered species

question

Ecosystem restoration

answer

Restore or reforest heavily degraded or lost ecosystems

question

What can we do?

answer

- be informed - be mindful about your use of energy and resources - reduce, re-use and recycle - think globally and act locally

BIO 211: Unit 6 – Flashcards

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