The Ecology Review: Abiotic factors: non-living, chemical factors Biotic factors: living factors

1. The Ecology Review: • Abiotic factors: non-living, chemical factors • Biotic factors: living factors

2. Levels of organization: • 6. Biosphere: sum of all planet’s ecosystems • 5. Ecosystem: abiotic + community • 4. Community: all species in area • 3. Population: individuals of same species • Organism

3. Species transplants: intentionally or accidentally transplanting a species where previously absent • ex. Zebra mussel • The Tens Rule: • average of 1/10 introduced species become established & 1/10 established species become common enough  pests

4. Climate: prevailing weather conditions in an area, determines makeup of biomes major components: • -temperature • -water • -light • -wind Tilt responsible for seasons of the Earth

5. Intense solar radiation near the equator initiates a global circulation of air, creating precipitation and winds. • This creates prevailing air currents. Tropics

7. Turnover brings oxygenated water from the surface of lakes to the bottom and nutrient-rich water to the top.

8. Photic zone: • Aphotic zone: • Thermocline: separates warm & cold layers • Benthic zone: • Detritus: dead organic matter • Littoral zone: • Limnetic zone: • Profundal zone: • Aquatic biomes:

9. i. Oligotrophic: lakes are deep, nutrient-poor and do not contain much life • j. Eutrophic: lakes are shallower and have increased nutrients

10. Tide pools: submerged and exposed twice daily by tide cycles • Coral reefs • 13. Oceanic pelagic zone: • includes most • of ocean’s water, constantly mixed, lots of plankton and fish

11. Terrestrial Biomes:

12. Tropical forests: • -close to equator • -high amounts of rainfall (can vary from region to region) • -great variety of plants and animals • The vegetation is layered, with the canopy being one of the top layers

13. Savannas: • -grasslands with scattered trees • -distinct seasons (wet and dry) • -have many types of plants and animals • -Fire  important abiotic factor

14. Deserts: • -low rainfall • -generally hot • -Vegetation is usually sparse (cacti and succulents) • -Many animalsare nocturnal,so they canavoid the heat

15. Chaparrals: • -mild wet winters and dry hot summers • -dense spiny, evergreen shrubs • -have periodicfires, some plantsproduce seedsthat will onlygerminateafter a fire

16. g. Temperate grasslands: -exhibit seasonal drought -occasional fires -usually used for grazing and agriculture

17. Temperate deciduous forests: • -dense stands of trees • -very cold winters and hot summers • -trees loseleaves and godormant in winter • -large variety of plants and animals • -humans havelogged many ofthese forestsaround the world

18. i. Coniferous forests: -largest terrestrial biome on earth -long cold winters and short wet summers -home to various animals, some of whichhibernate

19. Tundra: • -contains low growing plants • -windy and cold (short growing season) • -layer of permafrost is found below 1 meter and does not thaw, which prevents root growth (not many animals) • -two types: • arctic, Alaska and the Arctic circle alpine, very high mountaintops

20. Ethology: the study of how animals behave in their natural habitat • Karl von Frisch • Konrad Lorenz • Niko Tinbergen

21. Fixed action pattern: A sequence of behavioral acts that is essentially unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated • Sign stimulus: external sensory stimulus

22. learning: modification of behavior resulting from specific experiences • *Versus* • 21. maturation:situation in which a behavior may improve because of ongoing developmental changes in neuromuscular systems • ex. As a bird continues to develop its muscles and nervous system, it is able to fly. • *It is not true learning*

23. 22. habituation: a loss of responsiveness to unimportant stimuli or stimuli that do not provide appropriate feedback • “cry-wolf” effect • imprinting: recognition, response, and attachment of young to a particular adult or object • Konrad Lorenz

24. 24. Associative learning: ability of many animals to learn to associate one stimulus with another • ex. Classical conditioning  Pavlov’s dog • 25. Operant conditioning: trial-and-error learning - an animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or a punishment

25. 26. Cognitive ethology: study connecting nervous system function with behavior • a. Kinesis: change in activity rate • b. Taxis: movement to/away from stimulus • c. Cognitive maps: internal codes • of spatial relationships of • objects in the environment • d. Migration: regular movement of animals over relatively long distances

26. Social behavior: • a.agnostic behavior: • contest of threats • b. reconciliation behavior: • c. dominance hierarchy: • “pecking order” • d. territoriality: defending • particular area • e. courtship:

27. f. mating systems: • promiscuous: no strong bond between mates • monogamous: 1 female, 1 male • polyandry: 1 female, many males • polygamous: • g. pheromones: • ants & honey bees • h. altruism: behavior that might decrease individual fitness, but increase the fitness of others • i. kin selection:

28. Population density: • mark-recapture method: sampling technique • Patterns of dispersion: • a. Clumped: • b. Uniform: • c. Random:

29. Life table: • 33.Semelparity: reproduce once in lifetime • 34.Iteroparity: repeated reproduction

30. Population growth: • Change in population = Births during – Deaths during • size during time interval time interval time interval • exponential population growth: • Population grows rapidly • logistic population growth: • carrying capacity: (K) • K-selection: • r-selection: • population limiting factors: • population cycles: • predator/prey relationship

31. Human population growth: • ecological footprint: • -Land suitable for crops • -Pasture -Forest • -Ocean -Built-up land • -Fossil energy land • age structure:

32. 37. individualistic hypothesis: • 38. interactive hypothesis:

33. 41. Interspecific interactions: • a. Competitive exclusion principle: • two species cannot coexist in a community if their niches are identical • b. Ecological niche:

34. predation: • parasitism: • cryptic coloration: • deceptive markings • Batesian mimicry: • Harmless mimics harmful • Mullerian mimicry: • similar warnings • Mutualism: • Commensalism:

35. 42. trophic structure: feeding relationships • food chain: • trophic levels: • food webs: • dominant species: • biomass: • keystone species: • bottom-up model: • nutrients and vegetation control community organization • top-down model: • predation that controls community organization

36. 43. primary succession: begins in a lifeless area where soil has not yet formed; Mosses and lichens colonize first • 44. secondary succession: where an existing community has been cleared by some event, but the soil is left intact; • Grasses grow first, then trees and other organisms

37. Gross primary production (GPP): This is the amount of light energy that is converted into chemical energy • net primary production = GPP - energy used by the primary producers for respiration • 52.Pyramids of biomass: represent the multiplicative loss of energy from a food chain

39. 55. Biological magnification:

40. 58. Introduced species: The Nile perch was introduced into Lake Victoria as a food fish, but led to the extinction of several native species

41. Restoration ecology: applies ecological principles in developing ways to return degraded areas to natural conditions • Bioremediation: use of living organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems