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| The study of the physical feature of the earth and atmosphere and human activity and how it affects the world, such as distributions of populations, land use, resources, and industries. |
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| The study of the past and present geographic distributions of plants and animals and other organisms. It helps us understand and appreciate how great the diversity of life is, where we come from, and how to preserve things for the future. |
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| Taxonomy is a systematic study and sub discipline of biology concerning classification and naming of organisms. Division and ranking of life is based on morphology and evolutionary relationships of organisms. |
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| Phylogenic Species Concept |
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| A species as a group of sexually reproducing organisms that share at least one diagnostic character that is present in all members of the species but absent in other organisms. |
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| Biological Species Concept |
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| Species as a group of organisms that can interbreed freely under natural conditions. (Ernst Mayr, most widely used definition) |
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| Created by Carol Linnaeus. Every organism identified by a combo of a generic (genus) and specific (species) name. |
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| Ecologists and biologists concentrate on specific spatial and taxonomic scales of study organized into hierarchies reflecting increasing geographic and taxonomic scale. |
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| Individual organisms (trackable) |
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| All individuals of a given species in a prescribed area. Members of the same population are assumed close enough to interact and interbreed frequently. |
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| Groups of similar kind of individuals in different regions that only interact infrequently (artic foxes on different islands) |
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| All population's of organisms that live and interact within a prescribed area. |
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| Relationship between species of our community and physical actors of the environment examining flows of energy and matter through this biophysical system. Can extend all over the earth since smallest areas link to world at large by physical processes such as rainfall or biological processes like input of fine airborne organisms. |
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| Areas of similar climate and vegetation |
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| Highest broadest level of ecological research - other realms of earth are atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. |
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| Examining flows of energy through ecosystems and the various levels from initial capture until it dissipation. Autotrophs -> Heterotrophs. |
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| solar energy used to power the biosphere is captured through this process. |
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| CO2 enteres and leaves plants through openings by specialized set of cells. Allows release of oxygen and water vapor from interior of leaf. |
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| CO2 from atmosphere converted into a 3 carbon molecule. |
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| Sugar canes convert CO2 into 4 carbon molecules: malic and aspartic acid. |
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| CO2 is absorbed at night and stored as malic acid. During the light of day, the C3 pathway conducts photosynthesis. |
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| C4 - highest rate, CAM lowest rate. Only 1-3% of light on leaf is transformed into chemical energy. |
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| The style in which actual energy flow in an ecosystem is like. As opposed to a linear chain. |
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| All organisms use energy to function through this process. An oxidative reaction that breaks the high-energy bounds of carbohydrates to release energy for the organism's metabolism. |
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| (Phototrophs) Have the ability to fix energy through photosynthetic pathways rather than other organisms. |
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| Rely on other organisms to provide energy. Herbivores, Omnivores, Carnivores, Decomposers |
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| Organisms that eat plants |
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| Fall + Spring, when the days are equal lengths. Earth Axis is parallel to Sun. |
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| Summer + Winter. The shortest and longest day of the year. |
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| Point where sunlight is most focused on the earth. |
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| Air may be forced to rise when it encounters both physical barriers such as mountains. Ex: high rainfall encountered on western slopes of the Coast Ranges from Northern California to Alaska. |
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| When warm air masses rise up and over more dense masses of air. Ex. Winter storms occur through mid-latitudes. |
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| Occurs when warming of air at the surface causes the air to rise until it becomes cool enough for precipitation to occur. Ex. causes thunderstorms and rain showers in summer weather in the tropics. |
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| Air that also heats as it descends down the lee side of the mountains. Promotes drier conditions in combination with orographic trends on the other side. Reason why eastern Sierra-Nevada's are dryer. |
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| Rising air cools -> holds less water -> condensation/wet conditions -> Descending air heats -> holds more water -> dry condition. As temperature raises, the ability of air to hold water goes up. |
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| Causes of Global Moisture belts |
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Definition
| Coriolis effect, rotation of earth combined with high and low pressures of circulation where hot/cold air pushes up and down towards poles. At each belt of 30 degrees latitude, very dry air descends here and heats due to compression as it descends from upper trophosphere (where worlds deserts are located 30N S Sahara, Australia). This descending amss of air creates a high pressure zone at the surface, so difference in pressure between zone and equator sets up an equator ward flow fo surface winds "trade winds" from east to west, pushing circulating air. |
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| Plants that grow best in sunlight (obligate (needs to be in sunlight)/facultative (more chill) |
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| Plants that grow best in shade. |
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| Light induced decrease of photosynthetic capacity. Can be due to shrinking chloroplasts, loss of chlorophyll, due to photo-oxidation. |
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| Usually shade tolerant plants that live for more than one year. Tend to be woody, die back during the fall/winter. |
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| Usually heliophytes. Do everything in one year, grow, produce seeds, germinate, etc... |
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| Ectotherms, cold blooded. Plants and Animals that assume the outside environment as part of their temperature. |
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| Endotherms. Warm Blooded. Birds and Mammals that are able to maintain relatively stable body heat through metabolic generation of heat. |
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| tolerant to wide ranges of temperature conditions. |
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| restricted temperature ranges |
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| Animal Adaptations for sunlight |
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Definition
HOT: Sunning, shedding fur, sweating.
COLD: Hibernation, anti-freezing glycerol, migration, allan's rule |
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| Plant Adaptations for sunlight |
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Definition
High: More perpendicular leaf angle, high # of stomata's.
Cold: Broad leaves with lots of chlorophull, longer leaf lifespan, dormancy)
Moisture: Dimorphic leaves, sclerophyllous leaves, succulency |
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| body mass to surface area rato. ex. rabbit species |
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| different sizes of leaves in comparison to the air temperatures throughout the year. |
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| Leaves that retain water through waxy and hard cuticles and to decrease moisture loss. |
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| An entire area where the species can be found regardless of whether it is common or rare. Ex. bluebird extends from US Canadian border to Gulf Coast and Florida. |
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| Differences in abundance of species within its range. Lowest densities towards edge. |
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| A two dimensional representation of the environment that the species can survive on. |
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| Number of individuals in the environment that can be supported per meter or hectare. |
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| When one organism consumes another. |
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| very narrow range of prey species - selective predators |
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| Animals that have a wide range of potential prey. |
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| Prey-predator ratios and oscillations in populations. Hare and Lynx graph showing that predators are important in restricting and geographic distributions of species in nature. |
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| Interspecific competition |
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Definition
| interactions between individuals of two or more species in which growth and/or fertility is decreased or mortality is increased for both species (Intraspecific). |
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| One organism can be deleterious to another through chemical competition - major for plants. |
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| Close association between two species that generally develops through co-evolution. |
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Commensalism
Mutualism
Parasitism |
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Definition
positive symbiosis
neutral
one takes advantage of other |
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| When one species evolves in the appearance of another. Mullerian - poisonous species mimic each other. Batesian - One species evolves to look like a poisonous one. |
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| More restricted niche that occurs if competition excludes the species from certain portions of niche space. |
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| A broad niche of a species in the absence of competition |
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| short term physical or biological events that significantly alter ecosytems |
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| Classic Model of succession |
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Definition
(Frederic Clemens) Succession is the changes in physical and biological conditions that follow disturbances.
Primary - when previously lifeless surface first colonized by plants and animals.
Secondary - when existing ecosystems recovers from a distrubance such as fir or floor. Clemens was highly influence by Darwin and saw seres as highly predictable sequences controlled by facilitation. |
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| Process by which the established of one species changes the environment and allows the subsequent establishment of other species. |
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| Typical sequence of these stages for a given vegetation type. |
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| The final vegetation type developed during succession. |
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| Fire resistant bark, dormant seeds that need heat of fire to germinate... Soil seed bank, Serotinous cones. Fire is necessary for some communities to reproduce (lodgepole pine). Epicormic sprouting. |
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| Re-growth of foliage from trunks and branches after fire. |
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| Hollow and tubular stems and long cavities in woody plants (enables roots to obtain oxygen. Pneunotophores (swamp cypress roots send shoots upward above the water table). Adventitious roots (California Coastal Redwood). |
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| A spatial boundary between two communities |
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| (Clements) Species in a community co-evolve towards climax community. All depend on the functioning of each other. Not correct. |
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| Individualistic Community Concept |
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| (Henry Gleason) Biological communities as areas of of similar habitat. Species co exist because they have similar tolerances and resource demands. Supported by data. |
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| Benefits of using Plant physiognomy as an organizing concept |
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Definition
| Does not require a specialized knowledge of plant species. The structure of the vegetation provides insight into the requirements of the plant. Allows comparison between groups of vegetation on different continents without shared species. |
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| Widely separated, but physiognomically and structurally similar species. |
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| Assume that regional climates produce similar plant adaptations and vegetation structures. Similarity in morphological structure and function, not genetic relation. |
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Definition
* Between 25 North and South Latitude
* 50% South and Central America
* 30% Asia and Australia
* 20% Africa
* Little Seasonal moisture or temperature variation
* No freezing period
* Convection Rainfall all year
* Biggest Challenges?
o Leeched Soils from rainfall taking away nutrients
o Competition for sunlight
o Herbivores
* Common Adaptations
o Vines: Grow up things that are already in place to reach sunlight…takes less energy
o Buttress Roots (Stilt Roots): Give lots of support to allow trees to grow very tall
o Epiphytes: Hanging plants…Have roots that can absorb nutrients and water through the air…Grow on trees and never have to touch the ground
o Smooth Bark: Helps protect against vines
o Shallow Roots: Counters the process of leeching and water logging
o Sclerophyllous Leaves and High Leaf Angles (Upper Strata)
o Drip Tips (Lower Strata) – Removes water from the leaf to let the stomata intake CO2
o Animal and Insect Pollination (Lower Strata) – no wind on the rain forest floor
o Rainforests have the greatest amount of biomass, highest species diversity of any biome (40% of all plant species!)
o Rapid destruction of rainforest |
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Definition
o Centered on 30N and S ecotone
o High seasonality – wet summer, dry winter
o Warm to hot temperatures
* Two Types of Tropical Savanna
o Grassland – Closer to the desert regions
o Seasonal Forest – tend to be wetter
* Why is there Seasonality?
o Shifting solar energy à shifting convection rainfall
* Biggest Challenge
o Yearly Dry Season
* Some Adaptations – helps to survive drought period
o Thick Bark – Reduces water loss
o Deep tap root systems
o Enlarged trunks (Baobab)
o Sclerophyllous Leaves
o Deciduous trees lose leaves during the dry season to conserve water
* Savanna supports large numbers of grazers, browsers, and their predators |
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Definition
* 30% of Earth’s Land Surface
* Annual Average precipitation of less than 50cm (often less than 10cm)
* Tropical deserts vs Cold Deserts
* Freezing Nights
* Three Types of Deserts
o Global Deserts: Between 20 and 30 North and south latitude
o Rain Shadow Deserts
+ Adiabatic heating on leeward side of mountain: Air rises over windward side and it cools and it rains
o Isolation Deserts
+ Far from water sources
* Types of Vegetation
o Small shrubs, trees like Joshua Trees, or just sand dunes
* Common Adaptations
o Seed dormancy
o Hair on Leaf Surface – reflects sunlight
o No Leaves, Photosynthetic Stems
o Deep roots to tap water table
o Shallow roots to absorb rain quickly
o Succulency
* Deserts have low biomass and low biodiversity
o Human impacts
+ Salinization
+ Urban Growth |
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Definition
o West coasts of continents 30 to 40 North and South Latitude
o Seasonality: Dry Summers, Wet Winters
o Moisture and dry belts shift
* Challenges
o Dry Season
o Fire
o Low Soil Nutrients
* Adaptations
o Extensive shallow roots to capture water
o Evergreen leaves…Don’t lose leaves
o Resprouting
o Serotinous Cones
o Sclerophyllous LeaveS
* Surprisingly High Biodiversity
* Problems with Exotic Species
* Fire Suppression changes ecology |
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Definition
-Wide Range of temperatures and moisture differences results in many different types of grassland
-Seasonality varies by Region | Isolation -> drier conditions
-Prairie (North America)
-Pampas (South America)
-Grassveld - South America
-Steppe (Eurasia)
-Soils - high nutrient (organic) content
-grasses and herbs make up 90% of the biomass
-(annuals and perennials keep nutrients flowing)
-no leeching
-Challenges
-dry environments
-grazers
-fire
-Some adaptations
-tall grasses -> deeper roots to survive dry periods
-short grasses -> shallow roots to gather rainfall quickly
-most are perennial grasses
-rhizomes (below ground)
-stolons (above ground)
-Most grassland in north America has been converted to agricultural users |
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Definition
-Winter Frost Period
-Temperature and precipitation vary according to region
-Influenced by frontal rainfall all year
-Challenges
-Winter Frost Period
-Low Light Period
-Adaptations
-Dormancy Strategy (Deciduous Trees)
-Retaining moisture
-Reduce Freezing
-Low light conditions, so there is no point to have leaves during the winter
-Human Impact
-Agriculture
-Urban Development
-Introduction of Pathogens |
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Definition
| Plants that lose their leaves for some or all of the year. |
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| Temperate Rainforests (Marine West Coast Climate Zone) |
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Definition
-Cool to Warm temperatures (Moderation effect of Ocean)
-Heavy Precipitation throughout the year (400cm) - Frontal Rainfall Dominates
-Storms (Mid-Latitude Cyclones) bring frontal Rainfall in the Winter
-Fog brings Moisture in the summer
-Orographic Effect in Western USA and Canada
-Challenges
-Low latitudes, so not much ability for photosynthesis
-leeching
-Dominated by Evergreen Trees
-shorter growing season makes evergreen a better strategy
-little light reaches the ground
-ferns & moss dominate
-Extensive/intensive logging |
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Term
| -Coniferous Boreal (Taiga) and Montane Forests |
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Definition
-Found in Northern Hemisphere
-60* N Latitude or in higher elevations
-Average annual temperature of -5* C to 5*C
-Winters as low as -50* C
-Challenges
-Cold
-Low Light Conditions
-Fire
-Strategies
-Domintated by Evergreen Speces
-Soils
-Plants must start to contend with Permafrost (discontinuous permafrost)
-Lots of evergreen species
-Serotinous cones
-Resprouting
-Thick Bark |
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Definition
-Average Annual Precipitation is Low
-Annual Average temperatures < 15* C
-Challenges
-Short growing season (3 months(
-Cold
-Soil development limited by lower temperatures and little rainfall
-Permafrost
-Adaptations
-Low creeping species - warmer at ground level
-growing compact cushions to create insulation
-heliotropic flowers |
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Term
Anemochores
Zoochores
Hydrochores |
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Definition
Dispersed by wind
Dispersed by Animals
Dispersed by Water |
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Endo-zoochory
Ecto-Zoochory
Anemohydrochores
Anthrochores |
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Definition
passes through the gut of animals
clings to the coats of animals.
dispersed by wind and water
dispersed by humans |
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| Advantages/Disadvantages of Anemochory |
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Definition
Wind dispersal needs light seeds…problems?
o Very little endosperm to support seedling after germination (Lack of nutrients)
+ Might be outcompeted
o Lower resistance to desiccation
* Wind dispersal is random depending on the wind…problems?
o Seeds can go to inhospitable places? |
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| Advantage/Disadvantages of Zoochory |
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Definition
# Zoochores’ seeds are large…problems?
* Takes more resources to produce each seed
* Few seeds because of this
# Zoochores are dependent on animal species…problems?
* Population decrease or extinction of the animal |
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| Distance of Transport (in both anemochores and zoochores) |
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Definition
* Majority of seeds are dispersed very close to the part
* Dispersing too far can be disadvantageous because seeds can be spread to inhospitable environments
* A small number of seeds are dispersed widely to advance the range of the species |
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Definition
| Annual movements of organism from one region to another to avoid harsh conditions, for feeding or for mating. Spring and fall migrations of the monarch butterfly |
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| When a propagule arrives in an area previously unoccupied by the species and establishes a reproducing population |
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| Episodic eruptions in population size and range |
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| Organisms are found all over the earth |
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| the slow penetration of species into an adjacent, unoccupied area. |
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Definition
| when new populations are established hundred of km away from the range limits of the species |
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Definition
Geographic and biological Barriers that black dispersal and colonization (sometimes cause jump dispersal)
+ Predators or competitors
+ Environmental conditions
+ Large expanses of water or land
+ Mountain Ranges
+ Human made barriers…a dam |
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Definition
| Avenues of dispersal and colonization which are not equally favorable for all species. Example: The Isthmus of Panama and the Great American Exchange |
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Definition
| Geographic (and biological) features that promote dispersal and colonization. Rivers, Mountain Ranges, Isthmus |
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Definition
| Physical features that form dispersal and colonization route (Often function as filters). Mountains, islands, and environmental conditions can be stepping stone |
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| Exotic (Introduced) Species. |
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Definition
| US and Canada = 10% to 40% of Flora. Hawaii = 40% birds, 94% mammals, 100% reptiles |
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