Week 12 Study Guide
Disclaimer: This study guide should NOT be your only study tool, and does not necessarily
cover all of the material you need to know for your exams in the detail you need to know it
in.
Recitation: 1) the different ways in which species can be grouped (morphological species
concept, biological species concept, the lineage species concept), and 2) the different speciation
types (sympatric and allopatric) and the possible barriers (geographical, mechanical, temporal,
chemical, behavioral, habitat, and gametic). .
Lecture:
● What is ecology? What is the ecological system hierarchy?
○ Ecology is the study of the interrelationships of organisms with their living
(biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) environments (i.e. their physical environments)
○ The ecological systems are hierarchical
○ Individual → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Landscape →
Biosphere
■ Population - population dynamics are the unit of evolution
■ Community - interactions among species
■ Ecosystem - added abiotic component, flow of energy and cycling of
matter
■ Landscape - interactions among ecosystems
■ Biosphere - global processes
● Ecology vs Environmentalism
○ Ecology - science that generates knowledge about interactions in the natural
world
○ Environmentalism - the use of ecological knowledge, along with economics,
ethics, etc. to inform decisions related to stewardship of the natural world
● What is the difference between climate and weather?
○ Climate is a long term weather pattern
■ Organisms can evolve due to climate, not weather
○ Weather is what you get every day
○ Solar radiation is the ultimate factor driving global climate patterns
● What is the greenhouse effect? Know about the process.
○ Incoming solar radiation warms the planet
■ The amount of solar radiation received changes with latitude
● Poles get less because of a higher absorption of solar radiation into
the atmosphere
● Equator gets more due to less absorption by at atmosphere
● Why is this the case? The Earth has a 23.5 degree tilt on its axis
■ The amount of solar radiation received changes during the year, which
causes seasons (earth itself rotates AND orbits around the sun)
● Higher latitude (north and south) gets greater seasonal variation
● At the equator there are more consistent temperatures
● The land-to-ocean ratio also influences temperature variability
○ The greenhouse effect is a natural process altered now by human activities
■ Some heat is trapped by the Earth’s atmosphere, keeping the planet warm
(exacerbated by humans)
○ Solar radiation patterns determine atmospheric circulation (pressure) and
precipitation
■ When air warms up (low pressure), expands, becomes less dense and rises.
When rising, it starts to cool down, and since it cannot hold as much
moisture when cool, the moisture falls as precipitation.
■ Global precipitation is maximum at the equatorial area
● Subtropical deserts are formed around 30 degrees North and 30
degrees South, as they have higher pressure (and cooler air)
compared to the equator
● Know what the Coriolis effect is and what effects it has on climate.
○ Coriolis effect - due to planet rotation, air and water deflect at different latitudes
■ In the northern hemisphere, air traveling north to south is deflected to the
right (east)
■ In the southern hemisphere, air traveling north to south is deflected to the
left (west)
○ Deflected air circulation and rotation create the prevailing winds
■ Prevailing winds generate ocean gyres (circular currents of water,
influenced by the prevailing winds and land masses that distribute heat
and nutrients across the oceans)
● What is the rain shadow phenomenon?
○ Occurs when mountain ranges are close to oceans
○ Wet conditions on the “windward/ocean side” of the mountain and dry conditions
on the other.
■ Windward side - side with wind, oceans produce a lot of wind
■ Ocean topography and winds can produce an upwelling
● Prevailing winds run parallel to the coast, and due to the Coriolis
effect, the warmer surface water is pushed away from the coast,
and it is replaced by deeper colder water very rich in nutrients.
● Know why deforestation is bad (what was discussed in lecture).
○ Deforestation leads to local higher temperatures and lower precipitation
■ With deforestation, there is more albedo (heat loss) and less
evapotranspiration
● Albedo - the amount of solar radiation that hits the Earth and can
bounce back into space (typically absorbed by trees)
● Evapotranspiration - the evaporation of ground water through
plants back into the atmosphere (uses heat)
○ Cities can create heat islands
■ Concrete, asphalt, and roofs absorb heat from solar radiation
● Absorbs more heat during the day and then radiating it at night
● The burning of fossil fuels will also increase the temperature
(especially in more urbanized areas)
● What can the current distribution of species tell us?
○ The current distribution of species is determined by evolutionary history
○ Where did the lineage originate? How have the land masses moved and/or
connected since then?
■ Species can be separated by physical barriers (vicariance), but they can
also disperse (cross a barrier)
■ Continental-scale areas known as biogeographic regions represent
assemblages of species, driven by continental drift
● Continental drift led to the current biogeographic regions
● Where does global biodiversity peak and dip? What are the hypotheses to explain the
biodiversity level in the tropics?
○ Peaks at the tropics and dips with latitude in land and sea
■ Not universal! Marine productivity is higher at polar areas, more diversity
of seabirds
○ Sevel non-mutually exclusive hypotheses can explain the higher diversity towards
the tropics
■ Speciation rate is higher than extinction rate in the tropics
● Larger geographic area
● Warm and stable climate
■ Tropics had more evolutionary time to diversify
● No ice ages like temperate latitudes to reduce speciation
● More accumulation of species over time due to stable climate
■ Higher productivity in the tropics
● More resources + less competition = lower extinction rates
● What influences species diversity? What is the theory of island biogeography?
○ Species diversity increases with area (size) and proximity to the source of species
(mainland)
○ Theory of island biogeography - diversity in the species on an island reflects the
balance between rates of colonization and extinction
■ Small islands will have less diversity due to higher extinction rates (less
resources and more competition)
■ More distant islands will have less diversity due to lower rates of
colonization (further from the mainland)
■ Effects of island size and distance to mainland can be combined to predict
number of species
● How are humans changing the landscape?
○ Humans induced an increase in the number of small “islands” of habitat
■ Due to:
● Agriculture
● Deforestation
● Urbanization
● Quick Chapter 52 Review: The amount of solar radiation changes with latitude
○ Far from equator: Oblique angle of radiation, spread over larger area, more
absorption by atmosphere/less reaches surface → colder temperatures
○ Close to equator: Direct/perpendicular angle of radiation, spread over smaller
area, less absorption by atmosphere/more reaches surface → warmer temperatures
● Global temperature decreases from equator to poles
○ Difference in temperature variation in Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere may be
due to differences in land-ocean ratio
■ Land heats and cools faster than the ocean does
■ More land = lower heat energy storage, more variable temperature
■ More ocean = more heat energy storage, more consistent temperature
● Know how solar radiation patterns determine atmospheric circulation (aka pressure
differences) and precipitation
○ In the tropics: warm, moist air rises → it expands and cools → drops moisture
(precipitation) → moves towards poles
○ At 30ºN or 30ºS: air is now cool and dry → sinks under high atmospheric
pressure → lowers to earth and makes these areas dry (this is why deserts are at
30ºN and 30ºS)
● Know what prevailing winds are and how they form
○ Prevailing winds: the dominant wind directions in specific regions (ex. Easterlies
in the tropics and westerlies in temperate regions)
○ These are formed by deflected air circulation and rotation (ex. the Coriolis effect)
● What are ocean gyres?
○ Gyres: large, circular systems of rotation ocean currents that are wind-driven (also
influenced by Coriolis effect and deflection of currents off of landmasses)
○ Generated by prevailing winds
○ Important for ocean circulation and climate regulation
○ Distribute heat and nutrients
● Deforestation leads to local higher temperature and lower precipitation
○ This is because deforestation reduces evapotranspiration
○ The warming effect from evapotranspiration loss outweighs the cooling impacts
that come from the increase in albedo and the changes in surface roughness that
increase heat loss from wind convection
● Start of Chapter 53
● Know what a population is
○ Population: A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area
and have the potential to interbreed
○ Populations change in size over space
■ Metapopulations are two or more populations that are connected by
dispersal (immigration/emigration, such as two islands that are close to
each other that regularly have birds travel between the each island’s
population)
■ Species that exist only in a certain area on Earth and nowhere else are
considered endemic
● Populations change in size over time—this change is referred to as “population
dynamics”
○ Shifts can be due to availability of resources or environmental conditions
● Population dynamics (changes over space and time) controlled by the physical
environment, biological interactions, and dispersal
○ Biological interactions:
■ Intraspecific competition for resources by individuals of the same species
(this chapter)
○ Dispersal
■ Active: Movement is controlled by the individual
■ Passive: movement is controlled by the physical environment
■ Active Agent: birds dispersing seed-laden fruits
■ Migration is a SPECIFIC TYPE of dispersal
● Involves round-trip movement (not necessarily by the same
individual).
● Estimating population size (directly and indirectly)
○ DIRECT
■ Full census = a count of EVERY individual in a population
● This is challenging in large populations whose full ranges are not
known
■ Population density = Direct count of a subset of individuals in the
population within a certain area
● extrapolate to estimate total population size
■ Approached:
● Area-based survey: sample within defined areas (plots or blocks)
● Line-transect survey: sample along a defined line within a
population’s range
○ Both ideal for sessile organisms
● Mark-recapture survey: capture, mark, and release several
individuals in a population; repeat after some time with another
subset to estimate total population size in the sampling area
○ INDIRECT
■ Indirect count of a subset of individuals in the population
● Uses feces, fur, footprints, etc.
● Population growth
○ Demography informs us of changes in population size over time
■ Increase: Nt = N0 + (B –D) + (I – E)
■ Growth rate: ΔN = (B –D) + (I – E)
○ If a population is considered closed (no I or E)
■ ΔN = (B –D)
● B = bN0 → b: per capita birth rate; N0 is population size at time
zero
● D = dN0 → d: per capita death rate; N0 is population size at time
zero
● ΔN = (b - d)N0 → ΔN = rN0
○ ΔN = rN0
○ If r > 0 more births than deaths, and N increases
○ If r < 0 more deaths than births, and N decreases
○ If r=0 then no change in N
○ Exponential growth: Assuming continuous population growth
■ Predictive formula: Nt = N0ert
● Assumes unlimited resources, no competition, predation, etc.
○ Logistic growth: assume that b and d are dependent on the population density =
intraspecific competition for resources.
■ At r = 0, births equal deaths, and the population size
does not change:
● Population levels off at the carrying capacity,
K
● Density-dependent and density-independent factors can limit population growth
● Density of a population can have effect on its growth rate and size over time
○ Density-dependent:
■ Limiting resources: more intraspecific competition as the population
grows.
■ Predation: higher densities of prey attract more predators (exception: Allee
effect).
■ Pathogens: faster spread with higher population density.
○ Density-independent: e.g., extreme weather events; can depress growth and keep
populations below their carrying capacity
● There are exceptions to this rule: Allee effect: when higher densities are better
○ Some populations grow BETTER (up to a limit) when population densities are
high
○ Better survival as part of a group
● Survivorship varies with the age, size, and sex of a population
○ Curve types
■ Type I: high overall survivorship thru adulthood; steep decline with age
■ Type II: constant risk of mortality at all ages
■ Type III: low survivorship early in life; higher during maturity
● Life histories describe the lifetime pattern of growth, reproduction and survival
○ Lifetime pattern of growth, reproduction, and survival
■ Based on “making decisions” on how to allocate finite time and resources
● Slow vs fast life history
○ Semelparity vs Iteroparity
○ Natural selection favors allocation of trade-offs among life history traits (growth,
reproduction and survival) to maximize individual fitness
● Conservation strategies should take life history and population dynamics into account
○ Black rockfish example
■ Larger females = more eggs = maintain population
■ But larger fish are preferred by fishermen
● Regulate number and/or size of fish caught
● Establish “no fishing” zones
○ Black ash and EAB example
■ EAB = invasive beetle that destroys ash trees
● Prefers mature trees (but ash trees don’t reproduce until 30-40
years of age)
○ Use biological controls to reduce the population density of
an economically damaging species
■ The parasitoid wasp comes from EAB’s native
range and kills the EAB, saving the ash trees
■ BUT the wasp has no natural predators and can
become a pest itself
Practice Questions:
1) How is species diversity likely to differ on the four types of
islands shown on the map to the right?
2) Scientists have proposed three hypotheses to explain the
patterns of species diversity at different latitudes. Using the
tropics as an example, explain how more than one of the
proposed hypotheses might account for species diversity in
this region.
3) All of these would be considered strictly ecological studies
except:
a) examining the winter diet of ducks.
b) examining the impact of sedimentation on coral reefs.
c) updating endangered species legislation pertaining to fish.
d) quantifying the level of competition between mussels and clams.
e) studying the impacts of temperature on overwinter survival of pine beetles.
4) The sun’s rays are most concentrated at the equator and least concentrated at the poles.
What is the main reason for this difference in solar intensity?
a) Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours.
b) The equator is farther from the sun than the poles are.
c) Day length is always shorter at the poles than it is at the equator.
d) Earth’s land masses are clustered closer to the equator than to the poles.
e) The sun strikes Earth directly near the equator and at an angle near the poles.
5) If the birth rate is 0.07 and the death rate is 0.14, then the per capita growth rate (r) in a
population (assuming that there is no immigration or emigration) is
a) –0.14.
b) –0.07.
c) 0.07.
d) 0.14.
e) 0.2
6) A population’s birth and death rates are approximately balanced, yet the population size
is declining noticeably. This decline must be due to
a) births.
b) deaths.
c) immigration.
d) emigration.
e) density-independent factors
7) If r = 1.0 for a given population, then the population is
a) growing slowly.
b) growing rapidly.
c) stable in size.
d) decreasing slowly.
e) decreasing rapidly.
8) Refer to the graph to the right. The size of a deer
population in an enclosed, protected area was
measured over several years and found to be
following the red (left) growth curve shown.
However after several years of drought, its
population size more closely followed the blue
(right) curve. What factor likely caused the change
in the deer’s population growth?
a) Emigration
b) Immigration
c) Genetic alterations
d) Food or water limitations
e) A flood or hurricane
Practice Questions: Answers
1) Species diversity would be highest on islands nearer to the mainland because immigration
from the mainland to those islands would be “easiest”. Moreover, the large island would have
greater diversity than the small island because larger islands have more resources and less
competition; therefore, extinction rates will be lower. The far islands will have lower species
diversity than the near ones because species from the mainland have farther to travel and are less
likely to reach these islands. The size of islands will have the same effects regardless of
distance—larger islands will have higher diversity, and smaller islands will have a higher
extinction rate, resulting in lower diversity
2) All three hypotheses (species diversification rate,species diversification time,and productivity)
seem to be operating in the tropics. Species diversification rates are higher, likely because the
area is very large, enabling organisms to move and reproduce freely. Additionally, the warm,
stable climate results in lower environmental stress and decreased extinction rates. The climate
also affects species diversification time. Without stressful climatic changes such as ice ages,
species can evolve over very long time periods with low extinction rates, increasing the
likelihood of speciation. Finally, the high productivity of the region leads to higher speciation
and higher species diversity.
3) All of these would be considered strictly ecological studies except:
1) examining the winter diet of ducks.
2) examining the impact of sedimentation on coral reefs.
3) updating endangered species legislation pertaining to fish.
4) quantifying the level of competition between mussels and clams.
5) studying the impacts of temperature on overwinter survival of pine beetles.
4) The sun’s rays are most concentrated at the equator and least concentrated at the poles. What
is the main reason for this difference in solar intensity?
1) Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours.
2) The equator is farther from the sun than the poles are.
3) Day length is always shorter at the poles than it is at the equator.
4) Earth’s land masses are clustered closer to the equator than to the poles.
5) The sun strikes Earth directly near the equator and at an angle near the poles.
5) If the birth rate is 0.07 and the death rate is 0.14, then the per capita growth rate (r) in a
population (assuming that there is no immigration or emigration) is
1) –0.14.
2) –0.07.
3) 0.07.
4) 0.14.
5) 0.2
6) A population’s birth and death rates are approximately balanced, yet the population size is
declining noticeably. This decline must be due to
1) births.
2) deaths.
3) immigration.
4) emigration.
5) density-independent factors
7) If r = 1.0 for a given population, then the population is
1) growing slowly.
2) growing rapidly.
3) stable in size.
4) decreasing slowly.
5) decreasing rapidly.
8) Refer to the graph to the right.. The size of a deer population in an enclosed, protected area
was measured over several years and found to be following the red (left) growth curve shown.
After several years of drought, its population size more closely followed the blue (right) curve.
What factor probably caused the change in the deer’s population growth?
1) Emigration
2) Immigration
3) Genetic alterations
4) Food or water limitations
5) A flood or hurricane
