Ecology & Populations
What is a meta population?
A group of separated populations of the same species that exchange individuals and resources.
These populations are prone to evolve.
Define a fixed action pattern.
A sequence of unlearned or innate behaviors completed once started.
ex. when an egg has rolled out of its nest, the mother goose will roll it back into the nest and reunite it with the other eggs.
What's mutualism?
Relationship between two species where they both benefit.
What is exponential growth?
Constant, rapid population growth (J-shaped curve)
Who is the founder of ethology?
Konrad Lorenz
Define gene flow.
Movement of genes into or out of a population due to migration.
What triggers a fixed action pattern?
A sign stimulus
What is commensalism?
Relationship between two species where one benefits and the other is unaffected / neutral.
What is logistic growth?
Population growth slowing down to near carrying capacity (S-shaped curve)
Who is the founder of behaviorism?
B.F. Skinner
What is the difference between migration and dispersal?
Migration is seasonal, while dispersal is a one time movement.
What is the difference between ultimate and proximate causality?
Ultimate explains why a behavior happens, proximate explains how a behavior happens.
What is parasitism?
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum sustainable population size - i.e. the max amount of individuals a habitat can hold/sustain based on limited resources and space
What was Ivan Pavlov's experiment?
He demonstrated classical conditioning with dogs, where the dogs salivated every time they heard the bell ring.
What is a life table AND a cohort?
Life table: chart summarizing survival and reproductive rates by age.
Cohort: A group of individuals of the same age.
Given an example of a sign stimulus.
- Red spot on a bird's beak triggering pecking.
- Egg rolls out of a mother goose's nest.
- When baby chicks recognize movement in the nest, they open their mouth.
Give an example of a predatory prey relationship and explain how predatory and prey species co-evolve.
Ex: lion hunting a zebra, hawk hunting a snake, fox hunting a rabbit, etc.
They can coevolve as they're constantly adapting to each other to improve their survival against the other.
What is a boom and a bust cycle?
Rapid growth followed by a sudden decline.
How does gene flow affect adaptation?
It can introduce new alleles, reducing local adaptation.
What does fecundity measure? Why is measuring fecundity important?
Fecundity: the number of offspring produced over time by a female.
By measuring fecundity, we can predict how the population will change over time.
How does conditioning relate to behavior?
Conditioning promotes learning of a behavior through association and reinforcement.
Define symbiosis.
A close, long term interaction between different species.
What is a survivorship curve?
Graph showing the number of surviving individuals at different ages.
Explain the importance of keystone species in maintaining ecosystem stability.
Keystone species play a huge role in their environment, and without them the entire ecosystem can be knocked out of balance. They usually control the populations of other species in their ecosystem, they can provide resources to other species such as food or habitat space, and overall support biodiversity.