Bio 213 Final
Terms
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- ethology
- -the study of how animals behave in their natural environments
- behavior
- -what an animal does, and when and how it does it
- ethogram
- -precise description of particular behaviors
- proximate causation
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-focus on immediate stimulus and mechanism for the behavior
-"how" a behavior occurs or is modified - Ultimate causation
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-How the behavior contributes to survival and reproduction
-"why" a behavior occurs in natural selection - action pattern
- -particular sequence of actions
- Fixed action pattern (FAP)
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-sequence of unlearned behaviors that are unchangeable
-usually carried to completion - sign stimulus
- -external sensory stimulus that triggers a FAP
- migration
- -long distance change in location that occurs periodically
- animals that migrate
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-birds
-whales
-lady bugs
-fish, etc - information used to guide migration
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-sun
-circadian rhythm (daily "clock")
-magnetic fields
-stars - communication
- -signal transmitted from one animal and received by another
- innate behavior
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-present at birth
-performed without learning - mating behavior
- -fixed set of behaviors in a fixed order (orienting, tapping, singing)
- pheromone
- -chemical signal that is used for communication between members of the same species
- learning
- -modification of behavior due to experience
- habituation
- -loss of responsiveness to stimuli that convey little or no new information
- imprinting
-
-special form of learning
-occurs during a critical period of development
-retained for life - associative learning
- -modification of behavior by making associations between experiences
- powerful associative learning
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-taste of a particular food
-getting sick after eating a particular food - operant conditioning
- -trial and error learning: learns behavior with a reward or punishment
- cross-fostering
- -young of one species placed in care of adults from another species (California mice and white-footed mice)
- mating system
- -reflects the number of mates that a male has and that a female has
- promiscuous mating
- -no strong pair bonds or lasting relationships
- monogamous relationships
- -one male mates with one female
- polygyny
- -one male mates with many females
- polyandrous
- -one female mates with many males
- inclusive fitness
- -the total effect an individual has proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enable close relatives to produce offspring
- altruism
- -selflessness
- kin selection
- -natural selection that favors behaviors that enhance the reproductive success of close relatives
- ecology
- -study of interactions between organisms and the environment
- biotic
-
-living organisms
-predation
-parasitism
-competition
-disease - abiotic
-
-non living components
-wind
-water
-sunshine
-dirt - climate
- -prevailing weather conditions in a particular area
- macroclimate
- -patterns on the global, regional, and local level
- microclimate
- -under a rock or log
- four major abiotic components of climate
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-temperature
-water
-sunlight
-wind - mountain effects on climate
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-amount of sunlight reaching an area
-local temperature
-rainfall - biomes
-
-major life zones
-shaped by biotic and abiotic factors - aquatic biomes
- -have characteristic physical environments
- terrestrial biomes
- -controlled primarily by climate and disturbance
- tropical rainforest
-
-equatorial and subequatorial regions
-rainfall: relatively constant (200-400cm annually)
-temp: high year round (25-29 C)
-plants: vertically layered
-animals: millions, diverse (amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals, arthropods) - savanna
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-equatorial and subequatorial regions
-rain: dry (30-50cm annually)
-temp: warm year round (24-29 C)
-Plants: scattered trees (thorny and small leaves)
-animals: large plant-eating mammals and predators - population
- -group of individuals (1 species) in the same area
- population ecology
- -study of populations in relation to the environment
- populations are described by
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-size
-density
-dispersion
-age structure - density
- -the number of individuals per area
- dispersion
- -distribution
- uniform dispersion
- -evenly spaced
- random dispersion
- -spaced unpredictably
- clumped dispersion
- -individuals aggregated
- age structure
- -relative number of each age in a population
- demography
- -study of statistics relating to births and deaths in populations
- life table
-
-age specific summary of the survival pattern of a population
-best constructed by following the fate of a cohort - cohort
- -group of individuals of the same age
- survivorship curve
- -graphic representation of a life table
- age specific mortality
- -number of a cohort still alive at each age
- types of survivorship curves
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-type 1: high survivorship for many years, then rapid decline (humans)
-type 2: relatively constant rate of survivorship for whole life (ground squirrels)
-type 3: huge drop in survivorship for young (oysters) - reproductive table
- -age specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population
- semelparity
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-"big bang" reproduction
-reproduce a single time then die - iteroparity
-
-repeated reproduction
-produce offspring repeatedly over time - trade-offs
- -between survival and reproduction
- exponential model
-
-describes population growth in an idealized, unlimited environment
-J shaped
-cannot be sustained for long - logistic growth
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-realistic
-the per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached
-sigmoid curve (s curve) - competition for resources
- -in crowded population, increasing population density intensifies intraspecific competition
- territoriality
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-may limit density
-cheetahs and oceanic birds - Afghanistan age structure
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-heavy bottom
-rapid growth - United States age structure
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-even at bottom through middle
-slow growth - italy age structure
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-little bottom
-decrease growth - community
- -an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough for potential interactions
- communities interactions include
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-competition
-predation
-herbivory
-symbiosis
-disease - interspecific competition
-
-when different species compete for a limited resource
-can lead to the local elimination of one of the competing species - competitive exclusion
- -the local elimination of one of the competing species
- competitive exclusion principle
- -two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place
- niche concept
- -two species cannot coexist in a community if their niches are identical
- resource partitioning
- -differentiation of niches that allows similar species to coexist in a community
- cryptic coloration
- -camouflage makes prey difficult to spot
- aposematic coloration
- -colors that warn predators to stay away from prey
- Batesian mimicry
- -a harmless species mimics a unpalatable or harmful model
- Mullerian mimicry
- -two or more unpalatable resemble each other
- herbivory has led to
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-evolution of plant mechanical and chemical defenses
-consequent adaptations by herbivores - parasitism
-
-parasite derives its nourishment from its host
-huge influence on populations and community structure - disease
- -similar to parasitism in its effects
- pathogens
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-disease causing agents
-bacteria, protists, or viruses - mutualism
- -benefits both species
- commensalism
-
-one benefits, one is unaffected
-difficult to document - species diversity
- -measure of the variety of different kinds of organisms that make up the community
- species richness
- -total number of different species in the community
- relative abundance
- -proportion each species represents of the total individuals in the community
- trophic structure
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-feeding relationships among organisms within a community
-key factor in community dynamics - food chains
-
-link trophic levels
-from producers to top carnivores - food web
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-branching food chain with complex trophic interactions
-can be simplified by isolating a portion of the community - dominant species
- -most abundant or have highest biomass
- keystone species
- -affect species diversity
- foundation species
- -physically change environment; facilitate presence of other species
- disturbance
- -an event that changes a community by removing an organism and/or altering resource availability
- human disturbance
-
-most widespread agent of disturbance
-reduces species diversity
-can prevent naturally occurring disturbances important to community - ecological succession
- -sequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance
- primary succession
- -no soil exist when succession begins
- secondary succession
- -an area where soil remains after disturbance
- species-area curve
- -all else being equal, larger areas have more species
- ecosystem
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-all organisms (one or more communities) plus abiotic factors
-range in size and complexity - energy flow
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-second law of thermodynamics
-through an ecosystem
-is transformed - chemical cycles
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-first law of thermodynamics
-within an ecosystem
-is processed - detritivores
- -recycle essential chemical elements by decomposing organic material
- trophic levels
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-primary producers
-consumers (primary, secondary, tertiary)
-detritivores - primary production
- -amount of light energy converted to chemical energy
- gross primary production (GPP)
- -total primary production in an ecosystem
- net primary production (NPP)
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-equal to GPP minus the energy used by the primary producers for respiration
-only available to consumers - actual evapotranspiration
- -amount of water annually transpired by plants and evaporated from a landscape
- secondary production
- -amount of chemical energy in consumers food that is converted to their own new biomass
- trophic efficiency
- -percent of production transferred from one trophic level to the next (10%)
- biogeochemical cycles
- -nutrients move between organic and inorganic parts of the ecosystem
- aquifer
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-a large underground source of water
-largest: Ogallala - genetic diversity
- -variety in the genetic makeup among individuals within a species
- ecological diversity
- -variety of forests, deserts, grasslands, streams, lakes and other biological communities
- functional diversity
- -biological and chemical processes needed for the survival of species and biological communities