Physical and chemical features of an environment. light temperature, water (availability, composition, flow), atmosphere (pollution), soil factors (nutrients; porosity). Affects living elements of the environment. Differ from area to area.

Determining if an abiotic factor is affecting species dispersal: field observation, ecological tolerance, environmental gradients, species optimum range, and experments (transplant, controlled environment).

"Different place"

Species are split due to a geographic barrier or because some individuals move to a separate place.

aka Species richness

A measure of diversity within a habitat or region. The number of species in a defined area such as a community or ecosystem. The number of sampled plots is increased until the number of total species found plateaus.

Cornus alternifolia

A tree found on campus.

165 ha

A woodlot on campus. Part of the university since 1970. An urban forest. Has a mandate to promote education, research, and outreach. Has areas with collections, gardens, and natural areas. Has two large woodlots: Victoria Woods and Wild Goose Woods. Has six staff members, 38 mammal species, 188 bird species, 39 butterfly species, 18 reptile/amphibian speices, 1700 tree/shrub species, and 100 lichen species.

A measure of diversity within a habitat or region. A measure of how different diversity is between two habitats.

S is the number of species in a habitat

c is the number of species total across both habitats

β = (S₁ - c) + (S₂ - c)

Apiosporina morbosa

A pathogenic fungus that has infected some choke cherry in the Dairy Bush.

Juglans nigra

A tree found on campus.

Sanguinaria canadensis

A species of plant that comes up after the snow. An understory community plant. Can resist garlic mustard. Produces sanguinarine. Seeds have elaiosomes that attract ants which then transport the seeds.

1.31 ha

A woodlot on campus. Named after William Brown. Founded in 1887, but it was called "Field Number 3". It was planted by undergraduate students of William Brown. Some garlic mustard. A Provincial Heritage designation.

Arctium minus

A species of plant on which Formica exectoides ants tend to aphids. Found in the Dairy Bush.

7.32 ha

A woodlot on campus. The "Natural Laboratory". The name is because it used to be used to pasture dairy cattle. A forest ecosystem. Used to be a plantation a hundred years ago. The oldest tree germinated in 1775. Has rare species. In the Campus Master Plant there is a plan to repurpose the field adjacent to it into housing, leaving a space of 10 m away from the tree line. Garlic mustard is evident. Blue Ash is found here, a provinciall significant tree. A Natural Heritage woodland.

Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire

An insect that kills trees in the Fraxinus genera. First detected in North America in 2002 near Detroit and Windsor. Reached Guelph by 2011. The most destructive and costly forest insect to invade North America. Could extirpate ash completely. The University of Guelph has already inoculated their ash trees against EAB.

Rhamnus cathartica

A non-native tree species found on campus. Originated in Europ. Introduced to North America in the 1880's.

Hemiptera

A species of insect that is tended to by Formica exectoides ants on the stem of goldenrod. Found int he Dairy Bush.

Alliaria petiolate

A successful non-native species. An understory forest plant. Shade tolerant. Sticky seeds that spread easily. First signed in the 1800's. Several introuctions from Europe; an edible plant native to Ireland. Produces a chemical that kills forest floor fungi, which other plants depend on for survival. Herbivores do not like the flavour of garlic mustard. It sprouts early in the season. Invasion of garlic mustard leads to decreased plant diversity, growht, mycorrhizzae abundance, and native butterfly survival. Alters soil nutrient cyclin and forest composition. There are only three species of insect that eat garlic mustard.

Heracleum mantegazzianum

A highly toxic invasive species. Its sap gives people painful rashes on the skin. Grows on roadsides, ditches, and streams. Invades fields and woodlots. Seeds are winged and can float away as far as 10 meters; they are viable for 15 yers. My shade out native plant species. Found in North Campus Ravine.

Solidago

A species of plant on which Formica exectoides ants tend to spittlebugs an froghoppers. Found in the Dairy Bush.

aka End Permian Event

The largest mass extinction even in history. Up to 95% of species were lost. Occurred over a period of 1 million years 251 million years ago. Took 100 million years for global biodiversity to recover.

Ariseama trophyllum

A species of plant.

65 million years ago

Opened up niches for mammals by eliminating dinosaurs (except birds).

Acer negundo

A tree found on campus.

aka Environmental space

The space an organism occupies, confined by environmental variables. The set of biotic and abiotic conditions in which a species is able to persist and maintain stable population sizes. Includes fundamental and realized niche. Phrase coined by G. Evelyn Hutchinson in 1975.

Polydrysus

Found in the North Campus Ravine.

1.43 ha

A woodlot on campus. Early succession. Weedy species. There are plans to turn it into a parking extension.

The change in the number of individuals during some period of time. Calculated using demographic data.

Population growth = [birth rate] - [death rate] + [immigration] - [emigration]

The final population size. Pt₁ is the original population sie. 

B is the number of births

D is the number of deaths

I is the number of immigrants

E is the number of emigrants

Pt₂ = Pt₁ + B - D + I - E

Vireo olivaceus

A native bird species.

Used to describe the evenness of a habitat.

p_i is the number of individuals of a species divided by the total number f individuals of all species.

H' = -Σ(p_i x ln(p_i))

aka Cladogenesis

The formation of a new species. An ancestral species splits into two descendent species. Occurs when there is a barrier to gene flow. Includes allopatric speciation and sympatric speciation.

Auchenorrhyncha

A species of insect that is tended to by Formica exectoides ants on the stems of goldenrod. Found in the Dairy Bush.

"Same place"

Species are split by reproductive speciation. There is no geographic barrier.

Erythronium americanum

Abundant in the Dairy Bush.

aka Woodlot

An isolated forest in an urban setting. A type of green infrastructure. Connected to other forest only by rivers and creeks. Subject to encroachment by pets and invasive garden species. Litter, paths, fire pits, forts, removal of vegetation. Has  edge effects. 80% of people live in urban areas with urban forests.

6.82 ha

One of the large woodlots in the Arboretum. Lines along Victoria road. There are plans to transition this area over to the turf grass institute across Victoria Road.

Fraxxinus americana

A tree found on campus.

Ulmus americana

A large tree species that was planted in monoculture across Ontario. Affected by Dutch Elm Disease.

20.3 ha

One of the larage woodlots in the Arboretum. Adjacent to the entrance from the main campus. Plans to develop across from Stone road.