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Population Ecology
Community Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
Conservation Biology
Random
100
Name and describe the 3 patterns of population dispersal.
Clumped - gathered in groups (around clumped resources), most common, defense against or helps predation Uniform - results from direct interactions with other individuals (territoriality) Random - position of individual independent of other individuals, when resources and conditions are constant in space.
100
What is a community?
A group of populations of different species living and interacting within the same geographic area.
100
What are the 1st and second laws of thermodynamics?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed. Every exchange of energy increases the entropy of the universe.
100
Name the 3 levels of diversity.
Genetic diversity in a population, species diversity in an ecosystem, and community/ecosystem diversity in a landscape.
100
Define keystone and dominant species. What are ecosystem engineers?
keystone species - necessary to maintain ecosystem (otters) Dominant species - the most abundant species in the ecosystem (or possesses the most biomass) Ecosystem engineers dramatically alter their environment (beavers)
200
Sketch and describe the 3 types of survivorship curves.
I - low mortality in early life, high mortality near end of life II - constant mortality rate throughout life III - high mortality rate in early life, low rate near end of life
200
What's the difference between a fundamental niche and a realized niche? What is the competitive exclusion principle? How do species reduce competition? Competition causes what in sympatric populations?
A fundamental niche is the theoretical niche a species has, while a realized niche is the actual niche a species occupies (due to competition, etc). Competitive exclusion principle - 2 species with the same niche cannot coexist in a community Species use resource partitioning (use different parts of habitat, awake at different times, use different food sources, etc.) Competition causes eventual character displacement - the sympatric populations of different species are more different than allopatric populations of those same species.
200
What is the difference between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity? Which ecosystem has the greatest net primary productivity? What factors limit productivity?
GPP - total biomass produced by photosynthesis NPP - total biomass minus energy used in respiration. Rainforests. light, oxygen (in aquatic environments), nutrients, moisture, weather.
200
Describe the ecosystem and species approach to conservation.
The ecosystem approach looks to maintain populations of species in their habitat - restores degraded ecosystems, gets rid of nonnatives, protects habitat from encroachment/use The species approach looks to save individual species from extinction - reintroduction of species, captive breeding, legal protection.
200
What are the causes, consequences, and ways to combat habitat loss?
Encroachment by human beings, use of habitat (mining, logging) loss of habitat for species, endangering or causing extinction for species. bioreserves, protected areas.
300
The equation for the change in population size over time is: ∆N/∆t=B −D=bN −mN=(b−m)N= rN If the birth rate is 0.56 and the death rate is 1.07 for a population of 1000 blue jays, what is the population size in the next year?
∆N/∆t=B −D=0.56N −1.07N=(0.56−1.07)N= -0.51N -0.51(1000) = -510 1000-510 = 490 blue jays in year 2
300
Name and describe the 3 types of mutualism.
Trophic mutualism - between creatures on different trophic levels (feeding) dispersive - helping spread seeds/gametes defensive - helping to protect a species in return for shelter/food, etc.
300
What is secondary productivity? What is trophic efficiency? Give the equation for trophic efficiency.
Secondary productivity is the amount of energy in food that is converted to the consumer's own biomass. Trophic efficiency is the percent of production transferred from one trophic level to the next. Trophic efficiency = net consumer production / net prey production
300
What is an extinction vortex?
Small species, due to inbreeding and loss of genetic variability, have lower fitness, a lower reproduction rate and a higher mortality rate and thus have a decline in population, which spirals down into extinction.
300
How are human beings altering the nitrogen cycle?
fertilizer runoff, loss of nitrogen in soil due to deforestation and unsustainable agriculture, nitrous oxide pollution.
400
Explain the difference between semelparity and iteroparity. Describe the differences between r-selected and k-selected species.
Semelparity - one big-bang reproductive event iteroparity - many reproductive events over a lifetime r-selected - tend to be semelparous, produce many offspring at once, little parental care, high mortality rate, short-lived, short maturation time k-selected - iteroparous, produce only a few offspring at one time, lots of parental care, lower mortality rate, long lifespan and maturation time
400
Name and describe the 6 types of species interactions. Define symbiosis.
competition - - predation + - herbivory + - parasitism + - mutualism + + commensalism + 0 Symbiosis is when 2 individuals of different species live in direct and intimate contact with each other. Parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism are all examples of symbiosis.
400
If trophic efficiency averages around 10%, and the mouse consumed by the snake has energy of 500 Joules, what is the net consumer production?
500 x 0.1 = 50 Joules
400
What are the effects of habitat fragmentation and what are ways to combat those effects?
Increase in edge species and decrease in interior species, decrease in habitat and greater edge area. Movement corridors, protected areas, biosphere reserves.
500
Name density-dependent population regulators and density-independent population regulators.
density-dependent - competition, disease, territoriality, predation, intrinsic factors, toxic wastes density-independent - weather, natural disasters, human activity
500
What is the difference between Batesian and Mullerian mimicry?
Batesian - harmless species imitates a harmful one. Mullerian - 2 harmful species imitate each other
500
What is the effect of nitrogen pollution?
Nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems result in growth of algae, and decomposition of the algae remove oxygen from the water, creating a dead zone. Also contributes to toxic algae blooms.
500
Climate change - describe the greenhouse effect. What are the causes of climate change? What are its effects?
Greenhouse gases trap heat from earth's surface and reflect it back to earth. Both humans and natural factors (positive feedback loops from melting glaciers) are the causes of climate change. It results in ocean levels rising and ocean acidification, more extreme weather patterns (precipitation, etc), and may cause extinctions, spread of disease, etc.