SDSU Research
Which SDSU faculty member studies marine microbiology?
Liz Dinsdale
Hughes et al. (2014) studied the effect of what factor on crab foraging?
Predatory fish sounds/auditory cues
What famous marine ecosystem exists off the coast of Australia?
Great Barrier Reef
What does TMII stand for?
Trait-mediated indirect interactions
What is an extinction vortex?
When the number of individuals and genetic diversity of a species are so reduced that it can no longer recover, and will inevitably spiral towards extinction
What is the name of the terrestrial research reserve owned by SDSU?
Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve
Paine 1966 featured three food webs, two of which had seastars as apex predators. Give the genus of each of these seastar species.
Pisaster and Heliaster
Name an ecosystem that exists at the interface between land and sea.
Salt marsh, rocky intertidal, littoral zone.
What is the difference between a generalist and a specialist predator? Give an example of each.
Generalists consume many different prey species.
Specialists consume only one or a few prey species.
Why is the invasive Kudzu plant a nuisance to the American Southeast?
Their climbing vines grow fast enough to engulf trees, powerlines, and even houses.
Also, their invasion changes the soil chemistry leading to a reduction in carbon content of soil
Which SDSU faculty was a graduate student of Jim Estes?
Matt Edwards
According to Cohen 1995, why was Thomas Malthus wrong about human population growth and food supply?
Did not account for human ability to expand Earth's carrying capacity.
Which countries include parts of the Amazon Rainforest? Name at least 4.
Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
What is a trophic cascade?
When the addition or removal of top predators from an ecosystem affects the abundance of species in all the lower trophic levels
Why did the Atlantic cod population collapse?
It was fished out of existence by factory fishing vessels.
Early European explorers said cod were so plentiful you could walk along their backs all the way to England (or something like that).
What area of research is done in the lab of the professor teaching this course?
(the one I mentioned in my presentation)
Marine Ecology & Predator-Prey Interactions
In Estes et al. (1998), why did the researchers pay attention to otter survival at the protected Clam Lagoon compared to the exposed Kuluk Bay?
They suspected killer whales attacks were driving sea otter decline. Whales cannot access Clam Lagoon, so comparing the lagoon with Kuluk Bay could let them know if whales were influencing otter survival.
What is the name of the ecosystem shared between California, South Africa, central Chile, and the Mediterranean?
The chaparral
What is the difference between a Type I and Type II predator response to prey densities?
Type I - response is linear. As prey density increase, predation increases proportionally.
Type II - predators become satiated, and at certain prey density, predation levels out, and stops increasing even as prey density continues to increase.
How does ocean acidification harm marine mollusks with shells, such as snails?
Snails and other marine mollusks make their shells by harvesting carbonate ions to make calcium carbonate. Carbonate ion concentration is reduced in acidified water, making it more difficult for mollusks to create strong shells.
Name a professor whose research does not conform to strictly marine or terrestrial ecology?
Rebecca Lewison, Walt Oechel, Donatella Zona
In the paper by Donlan, the authors suggested we "rewild America" and restore it to the state of which geologic era?
Pleistocene
In general, which type of ecosystem dominates the central African continent? How about north Africa?
Rainforest, desert
How did the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone help streams recover?
When wolves were extirpated, elk populations grew unchecked and overgrazed the willow trees at stream banks, which caused erosion of the banks. Reintroduction of wolves reversed this process.
Describe the physiological mechanism that causes coral bleaching (i.e. what is happening within the coral when it bleaches?)
When water temperature is too high, corals become stressed and expel their symbiotic algae, which provide them with food and color. Without these colorful algae, the coral appears white, has no food source and may die.