1Define Ecology:
Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with and impact the environment in which they live.
2What sub-disciplines can ecology be divided into?
By type of habitat, type of organism, type of application/approach, and by level of ecological organization
3Dr. Jeff Wesner:
- Sub-disciplines are freshwater ecology and conservation. One question he might look at would be what kind of diet a specific fish has and what the benefits are of it.
- Sub-disciplines are aquatic, population, community & insect ecology. One question he might look at would be why the endangered Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly is considerably abundant in one area compared to another.
- Sub-disciplines are aquatic, disease, and community ecology. One question he might look at would be why salamanders have been steadily increasing the level of toxins in their skin.
4Dr. Kerby:
- Sub-disciplines are aquatic, population, community & insect ecology. One question he might look at would be why the endangered Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly is considerably abundant in one area compared to another.
- Sub-disciplines are aquatic, disease, and community ecology. One question he might look at would be why salamanders have been steadily increasing the level of toxins in their skin.
- Sub-disciplines are freshwater ecology and conservation. One question he might look at would be what kind of diet a specific fish has and what the benefits are of it.
5Dr. Dan Soluk:
- Sub-disciplines are aquatic, disease, and community ecology. One question he might look at would be why salamanders have been steadily increasing the level of toxins in their skin.
- Sub-disciplines are freshwater ecology and conservation. One question he might look at would be what kind of diet a specific fish has and what the benefits are of it.
- Sub-disciplines are aquatic, population, community & insect ecology. One question he might look at would be why the endangered Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly is considerably abundant in one area compared to another.
6Can evolution be ignored in studies of "real-time" ecological processes?
Evolution cannot be ignored in studies of "real-time" due to the presence of species that undergo rapid evolution.
7What are Pink Bollworms and Transgenic Cotton and what do they tell us about the time-scale of evolution and it's relevance to ecological processes?
Pink Bollworms are a major cotton pest and influenced the devolpment of Bollgard Cotton, which produces it's own insecticide. The organic insecticided stopped working because the pest qucikly became resistent too it. This is because Pink Bollworms go through about 5 gens. in 1 growing season, so the one's without the resistance mutation would quickly die to toxins and leave only the mutated ones to reproduce.
8What do Stickleback Fish in Lake Washington tell us about the time-scale of evolution and it's relevance to ecological processes?
Stickleback Fish have varying sets of bony plates in their skin that all come with their own trade-offs. More armor gives better protection but those with it grow slowly, have lower rates of survival in winter, and breed later. The opposite can be said for less armored. Sticklebacks are often more armored where they are more vulnerable to attacks, and less when there are smaller risks. Most likely due to the Lake Washington clean up, removing the murky cover used by the Sticklebacks against the Trout, those with less armor became more vunerable to attacks. This caused the population to shift considerably rapidly towards those with heavier armor.
9What do Invasive Plants & their Change in Defense/Repro Investments tell us about the time-scale of evolution and it's relevance to ecological processes?
When the Common Ragweed moved to Japan it left behind one of it's enemies, the ragweed leaf beetle. This allowed for the plant to invest more into growth and reproduction instead of defense.
10What do Finches on Daphne Major Island tell us about the time-scale of evolution and it's relevance to ecological processes?
There are a variety of beak sizes for Medium Ground Finches on Daphne Major Island. Because of this many Finches are only able to get nutrients from certain size seeds. So when the Daphne Major Island was hit with a drought they were able to see afterwards there was an increase in Finches with larger beaks. This was most likely due to the availability of food being reduced for those with smaller beaks.
11The Three Assertions to Evolve by Natural Selection:
1.) Individuals vary
2.) Offspring resemble parents/Variation is heritable
3.) Survival & reproduction are selective/non-random
12Is true to say that any population that satisfies all three assertions will evolve?
This is
13Difference between discrete & quantitative variation in phenotypic traits:
Discrete: trait expressed with distict, discontinuous categories. Usually controlled by one/few genes, with known phenotypes associated with different alleles (ex: humans ABO blood type: controlled by 1 gene & has 3 possible alleles).
Quantitative: character with continuous distribution. Phenotypes are typically determined by combinded influence of genotype and environment. Can only be assessed by taking measurements (ex: human skin color and running speed).
14Define Evolutionary "Fitness"De g
Lifetime reproductive success, genetice contribution to future generations
15Define evolution in terms of effects on genetics/changes in traits in populations:
The change in genetic composition of a population/chaning in relative frequencies of alleles across generations
16Define Natural Selection:
Mechanism of evolution. Systematic difference in the survival and reproductive sucess of individuals with different genotypes or phenotypes.
17Define Mutation:
Mechanism of evolution. Copying errors within an individuals DNA. Changes the genetic composition within a population (ultimate source of genetic variation).
18Define Migration:
Mechanism of evolution. Process of individuals either leaving or entering a population physically, via movement.
19Define Genetic Drift:
Mechanism of evolution. Change in the genetic composition from generation to generation that happens as a result of sampling error.
20Define Founder Effect:
Particular kind of genetic drift. The change in the frequencies of alleles that occurs by chance when a few individuals leave a population and establish a new one.
21How can having "refuge" areas of non-transgenic crop within transgenic fields reduce outbreaks & delay evolution of resistance in pests?
Having a refuge allows those without the resistance mutation a chance to survive and reproduce. Since the resistance agains the toxin is a mutation it would be considered a resesive trait. Also one of the main trade offs of being resistance to the toxin is they tend to mature and reproduce slowly. So giving the non-resistance pest a chance to survive will allow them to possibly reproduce faster with the mutated pests and possibly lower the amount of mutations within the population.
22Explain the Red Queen Hypothesis:
Is a coevolutionary concept that explains how species must evolve new adaptations to avoid extinction in response to other organisms. It also stresses the importance of sexual reproduction over asexual. This is due to the need of variation in a population in order to evolve.
23What is a Whittaker Diagram & what are its axes?
Is a graphical representation of terrestrial biomes categorized by temperature and precipitation, with temperature on the x axes and precipitaion on the y.
24Why do temperature & precipitation together largely determine the distribution of biomes?
This is because the amount of water and climate available determines what types of plants would be able to grow there and what type of animals could live in those conditions.
25Define Evaporation:
The conversion of liquid water to water vapor and is often considered the "engine" that drives the hyrologic cycle.
26Define Precipitation:
Process in which water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and falls to Earth in the form of rain, snow, sleet, hail, or even dew. Used to describe the amount of water that falls over an area in a given time.
27What do PET & AET mean?
Potential Evapotranspiration: Total amout of evapotranspiration that occurs if water is not limited. The maximum possible evapotranspiration for a location, which is determined by temperature.
Actual Evapotranspiration: Actual amount of evapotranspiration that takes place give temperature and water available.
28Define a species "niche":
Constellation of environmental conditions under which a species can survive. Often considered a multi-dimensional box that defines the limits to survival for each environmental factor.
29What factors constrain species ranges at broad scales?
Sunlight, tempature, and precipitaion.
30What factors may influence species distributions or abundances at finer scales?
I would say it might depend on what other species living in the area. Depending on the other species around there might be more competion for certain resources when compared to other areas. Could also have to do with they type of nutrient content/pH/salinity of the soils in that area.
31What is Liebig’s Law of the Minimum? What's a hypothetical example of how it can describe limits on abundance or distribution of plant species.
Growth and reproduction are limited by the most scarce resource. This means that plant growth is limited by the availablility of the nutrients that is in the shortest supply. An example would be how P would be more limiting to maples than to spruce. Spruce have the advantage at lower P levels when compared to maples.
32What are C3, C4, and CAM photosynthetic pathways? List benefits of the C4 and CAM pathways vs. the C3. Is C3 beneficial under certain situations?
33What is cavitation? Under which conditions is cavitation more or less likely to occur and why?
34Bergmann’s rule says that body size in members of a taxonomic group tend to be larger at higher latitudes (that is, farther away from the equator). How can this be explained in terms of changes in surface area to volume ratios with body size? What about Allen’s rule?
35What is water potential? What forces enable trees to move water up the xylem? What limits tree height in particularly arid (dry) environments?