WIS 3404 Exam 2 Study Guide (New Update) Questions and Verified Answers (GRADED A)

Define the term biodiversity - diversity of important ecological entities that span multiple spatial scales, from genes, to species to communities - biological diversity encompasses all species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, and the ecosystems and processes of which they are part Explain how the terms species, richness, evenness, and diversity are related Species richness: a count of all the different species in a prescribed area Species evenness: a measure of the rareness or commonness of species in a community - relative abundance of species (how many of each species) Species diversity: a measure that takes evenness and richness into account (ex. Shannon Index) Brainpower Read More explain the difference between a community and ecosystem Community: a group of interacting species that co-occur in time and space (biotic entities) - community character and function result from interactions of species - communities can be delineated at many scales (ex. amphibian community on isolated wetland vs. all species in desert biome) Ecosystem: all species in a given area at a given time plus their physical environment (abiotic and biotic) - can encompass numerous communities) List and describe numerous values of biodiversity Pharmaceutical: plant-derived drugs for human use (digitalis for heart disease, salicilin (aspirin) for pain and inflammation, quinine for malaria, morphine for pain killer, ephedrine for asthma and colds, vinblastine for cancer, penicillin) - Merck medicine names derived from microorgs Food: staple food for nutrition (rice, wheat, corn) - ~7000 species of food plants - subsistence hunting and commercial fishing - bushmeat Misc: wood uses (building, paper, utensils, light poles, fuel), taq polymerase (natural rubber, barnacle glue), cannabis and tobacco, ornamental plants (orchids, house plants, flowers), pets Tourism: nature based - whale watching, safaris, sea turtle tour, scuba diving (500B/yr global) - bird watching, photo - wildlife recreation (hunting and fishing - declining while wildlife watching - rising) Ecosystem services: pollination, soil development, pollutant breakdown, flood/storm protect, carbon sequestering Aesthetic: simply existence - destress Biofuel: renewable energy for transportation and electricity Recognize the potential ecological benefits of biofuels as compared to burning of fossil fuels - alternative to fossil fuel - generated from biomass: "recycling" carbon active in global carbon cycle (atmos C - terrestrial C - atmos pool = no net increase in atmosphere C) while fossil fuels release more - can use leftover waste (wood waste) Types of Biofuel biodiesel: vegetable oils modified for fuel (soybean, flax, sunflower, hemp, palm oil) Sugar-based ethanol: sugars (wheat, corn, sugar cane) fermented to produce ethanol Cellulosic ethanol: cellulose (wood, switchgrass, corn stalk) chemically broken down to less complex sugar and then fermented Synfuel: biomass converted to synthetic fuel {LIHD (low input high diversity) prairie biomass} Discuss how production of biofuels in the US can impact animal diversity and how to potentially mitigate those impacts Fletcher et al. - row crop and tree plantations had reduced vert. diversity and abundance - convert row crops to grassland biofuels and increase habitat heterogeneity Describe the process of habitat fragmentation a larger expanse of similar habitat is transformed into numerous patches of less total area; patches are isolated from each other (landscape scale phenomenon) - land between original is called matrix Major implications of habitat fragmentation - habitat loss - increase in habitat patches as original is fragmented - decrease in size of habitat patches - increase in patch isolation Overall has neg. impact on biodiversity Biotic and abiotic edge effects Abiotic - temp and light penetration increase - solar radiation and heat can dry out habitat or rain can expose to more moisture - wind can penetrate edge - louder noise coming from outside of patch Biotic - Predators can increase at edges - Brood parasitism (birds lays egg in nest of other bird to mother will incubate with her children - bird steals food) - invasive species (easier to enter habitat) - organisms reluctant to cross open habitat to patch (some can't - seeds and small animals) - small pops can go extinct or become inbred Smaller patches experience more edge effects than large Discuss how roads fragment animal populations Commonly fragment habitats - habitat is lost - increase in edge effects - barrier or filter to dispersal Roads affect 20% of land Describe specific effects of roads on movement of selected herpetofauna - Clark et al: snakes from dens isolated by roads had lower genetic diversity and higher genetic differentiation than snakes with contiguous habitats (restricted gene flow), fewer mating between individuals separated by road - Shepard et al: box turtles and rattlesnakes crossed roads less often than predicted by chance (animals avoid bc significant barrier) - Gibbs and Steen: male bias in turtle sex ratios, greater road mortality for females than males (would expect more female with climate change bc increase incubation temp) Explain why and how natural resource managers should and can deal with road impacts on wildlife Dodd et al. - dead animals before and after barrier wall and culverts - very beneficial (crocs 29 to 1, turtle 374 to 7, snakes 1291 to 149, hylid frog exception) - animals use culverts and barrier walls reduced deaths Define the concept of life history Lifetime pattern of growth, development, and reproduction (reproductive mode, mating system, age at first repro, clutch size, egg size, # of repro bouts, parental care, senescence) Describe phenotypic plasticity and polyphenism and give examples of each Phenotypic plasticity- ability of a single genotype to give rise to different phenotypes under different environmental conditions (plant size, leaf shape) Polyphenism - ability of a single genotype to give rise to different, discrete, phenotypes under different environmental conditions (hornworm and spadefoot toad) Explain the difference between simple and complex life cycles Simple: 3 stages - before birth, young, and adult Complex: involves at least 2 discrete stages that differ considerably in habitat, physiology, or morphology - often associated with metamorphosis and ontogenetic niche shifts List 3-4 characteristics of r and k selected species R-selected: high rates of pop growth, large fluctuations in pop size, early maturation, rapid development, low parental care K-selected: slow rates of pop increase, more stable pop near carrying capacity, late maturation, slow development, high parental care Explain the life cycle of the striped newt - Breeds in isolated wetlands where the female lays eggs individually attaching them to vegetation or matter on bottom of pond - eggs hatch into larvae - grow until minimum size to initiate metamorphosis (drying pond - head to uplands and become eft, wet pond - forgo metamorphosis and mature into paedomorph) - eft grows and feeds into a terrestrial adult and isn't able to breed until it migrates back into the pond and develops a tail fin (no gills) where it can breed and then move back into upland - paedomorph can reproduce and metamorph into terrestrial habitat and then come back to breed again List specific life history traits of striped newts from Johnson S.A. 2002 Sexual reproduction in ephemeral ponds lacking predatory fishes Iteroparous (multiple repro cycles over lifetime) No parental care and little investment in egg Clutch size - prolonged oviposition More r-selected than k-selected in the continuum The first age of repro varies based on development pathway (paedomorph - about 6 months, efts much longer) Complex life cycle with indirect development variable metamorphic size (phenotypic plasticity) Facultative paedomorphosis (polyphenism) define various terms associated with population dynamics of species population demography - study of the factors that contribute to a populations growth or decline effective population size (Ne) - the number of individuals that contribute offspring to the next generation population density - number of individuals of a specified population per unit are birth rate = natality - number of births per number of individuals per year death rate = mortality - number of deaths per number of individuals per year population sex ratio - the proportion of females to male in a population fecundity - realized reproductive output of an individual or population, measured by the number of offspring recruitment - the number of individuals entering a population in a specific generation recognize the population age structure of stable, increasing, and decreasing populations Population Age Structure: the distribution of numbers of individuals in different age classes with a population write the formula for change in population size and explain each variable N(t+1) = N(t) + B(t) + I(t) - D(t) - E(t) population size in future = current population size + births between now and future + immigration between now and future - deaths between now and future - emigration between now and future Factors affecting population dynamics Abiotic: physical and chemical parameters in the environment (soil type, rainfall, temp., fire frequency, salinity, pH, water current, hydroperiod, dissolved oxygen) Biotic: interactions like predation, competition, parasitism, disease Management actions: human manipulation of populations through biotic and abiotic factors recognize the formulas for exponential and logistic population growth Exponential -