Species Interactions
What is a predator-prey relationship
Predator (hunter) eats prey (hunted)
What is ecological succession?
The normal gradual change in species composition
What is the carrying capacity of a species?
The maximum population of a species that a habitat can sustain indefinitely
When P. aurelia and P. caudatum grew seperate it was..
Intraspecific competition
Give the scientific definition for population
A group of interbreeding individuals of the same species.
What is commensalism
When one species benefits and another is unharmed
Which type of succession has soil?
Secondary
What is the most prevalent limiting factor for the growth of a population on land?
Precipitation
When P. aurelia and P. caudatum grew together it was...
interspecific competition
What is primary and secondary succession?
Primary - The gradual establishment of communities of different species in mostly lifeless areas.
Secondary - When communities or ecosystems develop in an area where an ecosystem has been disturbed or destroyed but some soil or bottom sediment remains.
What is mutualism, give an example we did not talk about in class.
When both species benefit. Answers may vary
What is the difference between ecological inertia and ecological resilience?
Ecological inertia - Ability of an ecosystem to survive moderate disturbances
Ecological resilience - Ability of an ecosystem to be restored through secondary ecological succession after a severe disturbance
What is the equation for population change?
Population change = (Births + immigration) - (Deaths + emigration)
From the packet, why does population size affect the number of weeks before metamorphosis of the tadpole occurs?
The more population size, the greater the intraspecific competition and less food availability.
What is interspecific competition and intraspecific competition?
Competition between 2 or more different species
Competition between the same species
Explain how predator-prey interactions can drive evolution
Through coevolution as predator and prey interactions occur over a long period of time, genetic changes can occur in both species in response to each other.
What is the pattern in which an ecosystem will succeed?
From smaller to larger organisms. From simple to complex.
What does a range of tolerance mean in the population of species? Give an example.
A range of variations in its physical environment under which it can survive. In a trout population, most individuals can survive within the moderate temperature range. Very few can live slightly higher and slightly below the moderate and none can survive where it is too hot or too cold.
In the packet. Considering that P. caudatum is 50% larger than P. aurelia. Why would interspecific competition impact P.caudatum more?
Because they need more food to survive.
What are the 3 types of symbiotic relationships?
Commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism
In the book, how did bats and moths coevolve?
Bats us echolocation to find moths. Over time, certain moth species evolved hearing that is especially sensitive to those sound frequencies.
Give a brief and descriptive example of primary succession. (Include how it happened, time frames, and species)
An intense disaster (volcano) completely destroys an ecosystem. All that is left is barren rock. It will take hundreds to thousands of years to build up fertile soil. Only then it will take hundreds to thousands of more years for it to completely bounce back to a fully functional ecosystem.
What type of growth does J-cure show, what about an S-curve.
Exponential growth. Population is growing rapidly.
Logistic growth. The population has hit its carrying capacity and is fluctuating.
From the packet, why was the percentage contribution of the B. madritensis grass species greater the longer the delay before planting B. rigidus
The earlier the B. rigidus was planted, the less of an effect. This is because the B. madritensis was able to colonize and dominate most of the pot the longer the delay was.
Describe r-selected species and k-selected species and give an example of each.
R- selected species - Short life span, many offspring, usually small in size (frogs)
K-selected species - Reproduce later in life, have few offspring, and long life spans (humans)