Ecology

the movement of individuals away from their areas of origin or away from centers of high population density

greater seaweed coverage

climate patterns on the global, regional and local level

very fine climate patterns, like under a log or within a certain lake

southern = more sunlight than northern

top most layer of water, where there is sufficient light for photosynthesis

little light penetrates

basically the "ground" of any water environment; made up of sand & organic/inorganic sediments; occupied by communities of organisms called benthos, that feed on detritus (dead organic matter)

the portion of the benthic zone that lies between 2,000 and 6,000 m below the surface

lake; also know the distances from shore

marine, same, know it

rain forests = constant rainfall, while in tropical dry forests precipitation = seasonal; vertically layered and intense light competition; have millions of animal species, including many not yet described

low/variable precipitation; can be hot or cold; plants are adapted for heat, desiccation tolerance, water storage, and reduced leaf surface area; many animals are nocturnal

seasonal precipitation/temperature; grasses and forbs make up most of ground cover; wildebeests, zebras, lions, and hyenas

seasonal climate with cool/rainy winters and hot dry summers; has shrubs, small trees, grasses, and herbs; many plants adapted to fire & drought; animals = amphibians, birds and other reptiles, insects, small mammals and browsing mammals

found on many continents; cold winters and wet hot summer; plants = grasses and forbs, and are adapted to droughts and fire; mammals = large grazers/small burrowers

taiga; extends across northern North America and Eurasia; largest terrestrial biome on Earth; long cold winters and hot summers

cool winters, humid/ hot summers; year round precipitation falls year round; rain and snow has vertical layers dominated by deciduous trees in the Northern Hemisphere and evergreen eucalyptus in Australia

covers expansive areas of the Arctic; alpine tundra exists on high mountaintops at all latitudes; cold long winters and cool summers; precipitation varies; has a permanently frozen layer of soil = permafrost; there's some mineral and oil extraction

oxygen-rich and nutrient-poor

nutrient-rich and often depleted of oxygen if ice covered in winter

the influx of individuals from other new areas , while emigration is the movement of individuals out of a population

age-specific summaries of the survival patterns of a population

a group of individuals of the same age

• Type I: flat at the start (low deaths in early/middle age), then steep drop at old age; humans/large mammals
• Type III: steep drop at the start, high death rates for young, but then flattens out to show that those who survive young death live (oyster)
• Type II: intermediate curves, constant death rate over organisms life (squirrels; just a straight line down)

when an organism produces all ofspring in one event; ex: salmon, reproduce once in large reproductive events; ticks reproduce once and then die

reproduction than occurs more than once over a period of years (mammals, humans)

focuses on the interaction of a single species with its environment. (Structure, physiology, behavior, etc.)

focuses on how spatial arrangement of habitat types affects the distribution and abundance of organisms and ecosystem processes

the area of transition between biomes; get something in between when transferring between two

when the position of individuals is independent of other individuals, is rare. It occurs in the absence of strong attractions or repulsions among individuals. Ex: dandelions (cause seeds are blown by wind)

• traits that affect an organism’s schedule of
• reproduction and survival; made up of 3 variables 1) age of first reproduction
• 2) frequency of reproduction
• 3) number of offspring per reproductive episode

number of births or immigrations MINUS (-) number of deaths or emigrations

• the number of offspring produced per unit time by an average member of the population;
• b = number of births in a population / number of individuals in the population

• expected number of deaths per unit time (using something like the cohort study) in a population
• of any size;
• d = number of deaths in a population / number of individuals in the population

r = b – d; if r > 0 population growing; opposite; and if r = 0 there is no population growth

describes a population as it reaches the carrying capacity (k), which is the maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain

birth or death rate vary because of density; as density increases, either reproduction slows or mortality increases

study of how interactions between biotic and abiotic factors influence variations in population size

all organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them; ecosystem ecology focuses on energy flow and chemical cycling within ecosystems

much is absorbed or reflected by other surfaces (soil, rock, ice...); and only certain wavelengths of the solar radiation is actually used for photosynthesis, about 1%

the total primary production of an ecosystem; the amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis per unit time; measured using carbon per area per unit time

the gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by the producers for cellular respiration; amount that’s converted to biomass; NOT the same as the total biomass (which can be accumulated over multiple years) or standing crop; essentially GPP - energy used by primary producers (for respiration, R); important because it represents the amount of energy available to consumers

high; low

harvesting (only tells you above ground NPP), allometric equations (especially forestry), correlate it to leaf biomass (as it increases so does NPP), LAI (leaf area index, # of leaves on the ground), remote sensing, physical and empirical models

because chlorophyll (and therefore vegetation) uses visible light more often than near-infared, differences in light reflection can be used to estimate NPP; the larger the difference (or number), the more vegetation there is

are therefore most likely primary producers

used by primary producers to create the organic matter used by consumers; comes from fossil fuels, soils, biomass, ocean, the atmosphere and sedimentary rock

= a gigaton of carbon = 1 billion metric tons of carbon or 10⁹

= petagram = 10¹⁵ grams = GtC?????

increase in atmosphere means there's an increase in the amount that is taken up by the oceans

as it increases it’s correlated with the temperature so that increases as well; however there’s more variability with temperature change

the annual amount of water transpired by plants and evaporated from a landscape; increases with the amount of precipitation in a region and solar energy available

the amount of chemical energy in consumers' food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given time period

percentage of energy stored by an organism that ISN'T used for respiration or feces or whatever

percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next; are ALWAYS less than production efficiencies (b/c takes into account energy lost through feces/respiration AND the energy not passed on to the next trophic level); usually around 10%

SMALL standing crop compared to production

nitrogen

the amound of added nutrient (usually phosphorous or nitrogen) that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem integrity

fossil fuels, fertilizers and industrial, and N-fixation in agroecosystems (F.F.N.); burning fossil fuels, producting of fertalizer AND soy beans (cause they’re nitrogen fixing) ALL impact the nitrogen cycle

low-oxygen areas in the oceans that occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is very concentrated; also present in large lakes

SO₂ (sulfate), NOx and NH₃ (nitrate); specifically electric power generation that relies on burning fossil fuels (like coal), cars, as well as animal waste and fertilizers (primary source of NH₃)

a group of populations of different species living close enough together to interact

the study of how interactions between species affect community structure and organization

interactions with individuals of other species LIKE competition, predation, herbivory, or symbiosis

when individuals of different species compete for a resource that limits growth or survival; ex. plants will compete for sunlight, water, and nutrients (resource must be limited); neither species benefits!

when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population

differentiation of niches which enables similar species to coexist; ex: species of Anolis lizards live in close proximity & eat same insects and small arthropods BUT! have different perch preferences

the sum of a species’ use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment (their "profession"); species can coexist if there are one or more differences in their niche

fundamental = the niche potentially inhabited by a species; realized = the portion of the fundamental niche that the species actually occupies; fundamental niche can be identified by removing competitors; ex: barnacle species! (chthamalus and balanus)

the tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations that compete for resources (allopatric = geographically separate, sympatric = geographically overlapping)

camouflage; makes the prey hard to see; ex: canyon tree frog

warning coloration; indicates to predators that this is not good food; ex: poison dart frog (so it's coloration that ACTUALLY indicates danger)

is when a harmless or palatable species mimics an unpalatable or harmful model; ex: when a hawkmoth larva imitates a (poisonous) parrot snake

when two or more unpalatable (yucky) species resemble each other; ex: bee and yellow jacket!

invertebrates

when individuals or two or more species live in direct and intimate contact with each other; 3 types are: Parasitism, Mutualism, Commensalism (PMC)

a symbiotic interaction that benefits both species; obligate mutualism = at least one species can not survive without the other; facultative mutualism = both species can survive on their own

the feeding relationships between organisms

long food chains are less stable; population fluctuations at lower trophic levels are magnified at higher levels and could cause local extinctions of top predators

most abundant species, or have the highest biomass in a community; become the dominant species by 1) being the best at exploiting limited resources (water, nutrients) or 2) are the best at avoiding predators or disease

not most abundant species but one that exerts strong control on community structure because of a necessary ecological role; ex: how when the otter population decreases the sea urchin (their food) population increases and therefore kelp can't grow

exert their influence by causing physical changes in an environment; called ecosystem 'engineers'; ex: beavers, who can easily change a landscape

Bottom-up model: mineral nutrients influence community organization by controlling plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control herbivore numbers, which in turn control predator numbers

Top-down model: predation influences community organization by controlling herbivore numbers, which in turn control plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control nutrient levels; also called the trophic cascade model

concept that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance

transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; the establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life

type of ecological succession that occurs in an area where there were originally no organisms present and where soil has not yet formed

type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil or substrate intact; ex. the reforestation of abandoned agricultural land

disease-causing agents transmitted to humans from other animals;3/4 of today’s emerging human diseases are caused by them

how many animals become infected by a certain pathogen (compare to the density of the pathogen and such); ex: mice are highly reservoir competent in terms of lyme disease