Biodiversity
What is species richness?
How many different species are present in an area.
Which ecosystem service is the one that provides humans with what they need to survive (ex: water, timber, etc.)?
Provisioning
For species that cannot adapt to new conditions quickly, what are many species doing instead?
Moving towards the poles to maintain similar climate conditions.
What are 2 differences between primary and secondary succession?
Primary - starts on rock (cooled lava, glacier retreat, new island); pioneer species = lichen & mosses; takes a long time
Secondary - ecosystem was previously there, so soil is present (natural disasters typically cause this); pioneer species = annual grasses & herbs; takes less time than primary succession
What type of island would most species end up on if they emigrate from the mainland?
Near and large island
What is species evenness?
The relative abundance of each species.
Because they absorb vast amounts of human-generated carbon dioxide and produce over half of Earth's oxygen, marine phytoplankton provide what type of ecosystem service that moderates global climate and atmospheric composition?
Regulating
Darwin came up with the Theory of Natural Selection. Explain the theory.
The Theory of Natural Selection is that animals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.
When do smaller plants like shrubs and grasses start to compete for sunlight?
Intermediate community
RANDOM: Originally, when Amazon launched in 1995, it only sold 1 kind of product. What was it?
Books!
Forest X contains 50 maples and 50 birches, while Forest Y contains 99 maples and 1 birch. Which species is more biodiverse?
Forest X because it has greater species evenness.
What has happened to the concentration of carbon on Earth throughout hundreds of thousands of years?
Also, what is happening to the concentration of carbon now, and why?
Carbon levels have increased and decreased in a cyclic manner over the past several hundreds of thousands of years.
Now, the amount of carbon is increasing dramatically due to increased anthropogenic activities.
RANDOM: Affectionately nicknamed "Ant Man," this Harvard professor won two Pulitzer Prizes and dedicated his life to studying these tiny, social insects.
E. O. Wilson! - He was the guy from the video "From Ants to Grizzlies"
List the order that these species would enter an area after a glacier retreats:
-Annual grasses & herbs
-Shade-intolerant trees
-Mosses & lichen
-Large canopy trees
-Perennials & shrubs
1. Mosses & lichen
2. Annual grasses & herbs
3. Perennials & shrubs
4. Shade-intolerant trees
5. Large canopy trees
What island would extinction happen most frequently, and what island would extinction happen least frequently?
Near, large
Near, small
Far, large
Far, small
Most frequent: Far, small
Least frequent: Near, large
Ecologists are encouraging the building of wildlife corridors in Florida for the panther population. Why are they doing this?
The Florida panther population has gotten very low, and there is a lot of inbreeding. With wildlife corridors, they will be able to mate with other panthers throughout the state to increase genetic diversity. They are also bringing in panthers from other states to introduce additional genes.
Label what type of ecosystem service each of the following scenarios represents:
1. A dolphin cruise at the beach while on vacation.
2. Butterflies pollinating flowers.
3. Human hunting a deer for dinner.
4. The nitrogen cycle.
1. Cultural
2. Regulating
3. Provisioning
4. Supporting
Why does evolution happen faster in some species than others?
They have a faster life cycle and have lots of offspring frequently.
What is the difference between annual and perennial plants?
Annuals only survive 1 growing season.
Perennials survive for many years, even if they go dormant in the winter.
What can happen to islands if climate change continues the same path it currently is on?
The islands may either shrink or completely be submerged under water. Glaciers melting increases the sea level.
An ecologist monitoring three distinct aquatic zones calculates Simpson's Index of Diversity values of 0.78, 0.45, and 0.12. Which one is the most likely to be extremely vulnerable to ecological disturbances?
The aquatic zone with a Simpson value of 0.12. Low biodiversity = low resistance to disturbances.
Explain and give an example of periodic, episodic, and random events in nature.
Periodic: events happen on a predictable schedule (ex: ocean tides)
Episodic: events happen occasionally and repeat, but there isn't a clear schedule (ex: volcanic eruption)
Random: unpredictable events (ex: lightning)
Evolutionary scientists observe how speciation has occurred throughout history by observing fossils, embryos, DNA, and morphology. Then, they create a diagram to show how these species diverged. What is this diagram called?
A phylogenetic tree.
What is the difference between r-selected and K-selected species?
Also, when would they appear in ecological succession?
r-selected: quick life cycle; lots of offspring (usually pioneer community; sometimes beginning of intermediate community)
K-selected: long life cycle; fewer offspring (climax community)
What can happen when an invasive species is introduced to a new island?
Key words to include: generalist & specialist
They usually are generalists, so they are able to adapt easily to new niches/habitats. Also, they have no natural predators, so are able to reproduce rapidly and kill many island species. Most island species are endemic and specialized to their island, and they struggle when met with competition or predation which ultimately leads to their demise.