Clumped Distribution

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a.       individuals are aggregated in patches; the most common in nature; often results from an unequal distribution of resources in the environment. Often associated with uneven food distribution or with mating or other social behavior.

Uniform Distribution

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a.       even pattern of dispersion. Results from interactions between the individuals of a population. May be exhibited as a result of territorial behavior

Random Distribution

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1.       adaption to erratic climate. It grows and stores nutrients until an unusually wet year and then puts all its resources into reproduction.

Survivorship curves Type II

1.       Population Ecology: the study of how and why populations change

Exotic Species: sometimes called induced species; disrupt communities by competing with or preying on native species. Starlings, rock doves (pigeons), house sparrows are introduced species that have replaced native birds in many areas of North America. Kudzu vine, was brought into the southern U.S. in the 1930s to help control erosion but now covers vast expanses of the landscape.

1.       a group of individuals of a single species that occupy the same general area.

b.      Two important characteristics: density and dispersion patterns

Population Demographics

a.       Prereproductive: ages 0-14

b.      Reproductive: ages 15-44

c.       Postreproductive: ages 45 +

Growth Pyramids

a.       ZPG: zero population growth; when birth rates equal death rates

b.      In the developed countries, populations are nearing equilibrium, with birth rates at or below the replacement level of 2.1 children per female.

c.       Rapid growth rate is when the prereproductive population is high

1.       10% of the energy available at each trophic level becomes incorporated into the next higher level. The cumulative loss of energy with each transfer in a food chain.

Mimicry (mullerian)

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1.       a “copycat” adaptation in which one species mimics the appearance of another

a.      Mullerian mimicry: two unpalatable species that inhabit the same community mimic each other. Ex. bright and bold colors signifying “poisonous”

1.       the breakdown of organic materials to inorganic ones

a.       Microscopic fungi and prokaryotes in the soil and in mud at the bottom of lakes and oceans convert most of the community’s organic materials to inorganic compounds that plants or phytoplankton can use

b.      The decomposition by prokaryotes and fungi links all trophic levels and is essential for all communities

returns CO2 to the atmosphere; banks energy in ATP molecules

1.       at the bottom of the trophic level; supports all others consists of autotrophs. Plants are the main producers on land. In water, the producers are protists and cyanobacteria (phytoplankton)

Consumer

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 all organisms in the trophic level above the producers are heterotrophs (consumers) and all are directly or indirectly dependent on the output of producers

a.       Primary consumers: they eat the plants, algae, or phytoplankton. Includes grasshoppers, insects, snails, certain vertebrates(birds), zooplankton. Herbivore

b.      Secondary Consumers: above the primary consumers. Carnivores. Eat the primary consumers. Includes small mammals, mice, small birds, frogs, spiders, lions, small fishes.

c.       Tertiary Consumers: eat secondary consumers. Includes snakes, tuna.

d.      Quaternary consumers: eat the tertiary consumers; Includes haws and killer whales

Detritivore

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Omnivores

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animals that ingest both plants and animals. Includes crows, cockroaches, raccoons, and humans

1.       outcome of competition between species having identical niches

Coevolution

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Energy Flow

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Chemical Cycling

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1.       the amount of solar energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) by an ecosystem’s producers for a given area and during a given time period. Sets the energy budget for ecosystems. The primary production of the entire biosphere is 170 billion tons of biomass per year.

a type of symbiosis; when both partners are benefiting from each other. Ex. mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots, ants and trees.

1.       “Proteins are converted into ammonia by

1.       “In an ecosystem, one would most expect to find interspecific competition between

1.        depends on the weathering of rock

f.        Phosphates are used in natural fertilizers and are a common ingredient in pesticides

 major change in a terrestrial ecosystem disrupts chemical cycling, too much bacterial growth and human- caused eutrophication may cause a pond or lake loose many species because most of the oxygen is gone.

1.        an assemblage of all the populations or organisms living close enough together for potential interaction. Includes all the organisms inhabiting a particular area.

a.       The key characteristics are species diversity, dominant species, response to disturbances, and trophic structure.

Biological Magnification

1.       the accumulation of persistent chemicals in the living tissues of consumers in food chains.

a.       Occurs because the biomass at any given trophic level is produced from a much larger toxin-containing biomass ingested from the level below.

   Biodiversity includes:

a.       The CO2 concentration has increased about 17% in the 45 years

b.      Greenhouse gasses are one of the causes of global warming

c.       CO2 that has flooded the atmosphere in the industrial age is turning this natural process from a protection to a danger

d.      An increase of less than 2*C would melt polar ice and raise sea levels significantly

e.      A warming trend would also likely alter patterns of global rainfall and plant life

f.        Butterflies in the northern hemisphere have sifted their range northward as the climate warms

g.       Waves will become more common

h.      Tropical diseases may broaden their ranges into temperate regions

i.         Less productive farms could increase food prices and decrease supply

j. the increased burning of wood and fossil fuels(coal and petroleum) is raising the level of CO2 in the atmosphere

Endemic Species

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1.       a species of organism whose distribution is limited to a specific geographic area. Limited to specific areas

a.       Are highly sensitive  to habitat degradation

Biodiversity Hot Spots

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1.        relatively small areas that have a large number of endangered and threatened species and an exceptional concentration of endemic species.

a.        Has a disproportionate number of species.

c.       Can also be hot spots of extinction. Rank high on the list of areas demanding strong global conservation effort.

1.       “regulate the populations of their prey.”

1.      Top-level producers, marine mammals, animal species.

Movement Corridors

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1.       a narrow strip or series of small clumps of high-quality habitat connecting otherwise isolated patches.

1 . maintaining a commitment to conservation in the face of a growing population.

1.       “ a ecoregion or a landscape”

1.       the long-term prosperity of human societies and the ecosystems that support them.

a.       Zone reserves contribute sustainable development

b.      Is a long-term goal—longer than a human lifetime

1.       “ requires that researchers carefully dissect the causes of a decline before recommending or trying corrective measures.

a.       Confirm that the species is presently in decline

b.      Study the species’ natural history to determine its environmental requirements

c.       Develop hypotheses for all the possible causes of the decline, and list the predictions of each hypothesis

d.      Test the most likely hypothesis first

e.      Apply the results of the diagnosis to the management of the threatened species

1.       : area or space.

1.       Denitrifying bacteria convert:

Prairie

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a.       temperate grasslands;

b.       fire is necessary (cuts down on woody vegetation);

c.       the grasses are the most nutritious plants;

d.      found in Iowa;

e.      bread baskets of the world

1.       increasing skin cancers and cataracts among humans, harms crops and natural communities, especially phytoplankton that are responsible for a large proportion of primary production.

The Kissimmee River Project is intended to

Components of the hydrologic cycle driven by solar energy

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1.       : precipitation, evaporation, and transpiration.

1.       “The feeding relationships among the species of a community is: .”

1.       Eutrophication of a lake could occur if: 

  “What is the ‘greenhouse effect’?” What contributes to it?

a.       Molecules that absorb heat and slow its escape from Earth

Bioremediation

1.       In the small-population approach to studying endangered populations, the key factor driving the species toward extinction is:

a.       Downward spiral toward smaller population size

b.      Inbreeding (not breeding) ; genetic drift (no genetic variation)

1.       uses ecological principles to develop ways to return degraded ecosystems to conditions as similar as possible to their natural, predegraded state.

1.       a description of idealized population growth that is slowed by limiting factors as the population size increases.

a.       Equation: G=rN (K-N)

d.      Predicts that population growth slows and eventually ceases as population density increases

e.      As the size of the population increases, rate of reproduction decreases

f.        When population reaches carrying capacity, population growth ceases

g.       Population size is limited by carrying capacity

b.      Increasing population results in a decrease in birth rate, an increase in death rate, or both.

c.       Influences the health and thus the survival of organisms

a.       Over 200 people are added each day.

b.      The population increased relatively slowly until about 1650

c.       It projected to reach 7.3 billion by 2025

d.      The rate is projected to continue its decline, slowing but not stopping population growth over the next decades

e.      Because so much space will be needed to support this expanding human population, many thousands of other species are expected to become extinct

f.        Scientists believe that food will be the main factor of limiting our growth.