STRATEGISTS INTRODUCED (ALIEN OR INVADER) ENDANGERED EXTINCT NATIVE INDICATOR KEYSTONE ENDEMIC SPECIALIST & GENERALIST

The cost of reproduction increase reproduction may decrease survival age at first reproduction investment per offspring number of reproductive cycles per lifetime Natural selection favors a life history that maximizes lifetime reproductive success AP Biology

Reproduce multiple times Reproduce usually once K-strategists R-strategists Few offspring Many offspring Long life span Short life span Care for young Do not nurture young Late to reproduce Quick to reproduce Reproduce multiple times Reproduce usually once Coconut trees, primates Dandelions, most insects

Number & size of offspring vs. Survival of offspring or parent r-selected K-selected “Of course, long before you mature, most of you will be eaten.” AP Biology

INTRODUCED SPECIES NOT NORMALLY FOUND IN A GIVEN ECOSYSTEM MAY BE INTRODUCED ACCIDENTALLY. EXAMPLE: ZEBRA MUSSEL LARVAE IN SHIPS BILGE. BILGES WERE CLEANED IN THE GREAT LAKES. ZEBRA MUSSELS NOW THRIVE IN GREAT LAKES. INTRODUCED INTENTIONALLY. EXAMPLE: SALT CEDAR INTRODUCED FOR EROSION CONTROL AND IS NOW INVASIVE

Salt cedar in Texas drain water resources Zebra mussels wash ashore off Lake Erie

reduces diversity loss of food & nesting sites for animals economic damage

Red Cedar invasive in Oklahoma To destroy red cedars, they must be cut, then burned.

GMO’s & MONOCULTURES IN AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE, THESE PLANT SPECIES USUALLY REQUIRE MORE FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES, WHICH CAN LEAD TO RUN-OFF INTO SOIL AND WATERWAYS.

Endangered species – so few that they will likely become extinct limitations to range / habitat Change in environment (natural & man made) Introduced species Hunting Socorro isopod Devil’s hole pupfish Iriomote cat Northern white rhinoceros New Guinea tree kangaroo Iiwi Hawaiian bird Catalina Island mahogany

Extinct Animals

DoDo Bird (endemic to island of Mauritius) Extinct since mid to late 17th century Lived on one tiny island Flightless Introduced species (dogs & pigs) Extinct since mid to late 17th century.

CO-EVOLUTION AND CO-EXTINCTION With the extinction of the dodo came the end of the Calvaria tree because it relied on the dodo to spread its seeds. When the dodo ate the fruit from the tree, it couldn't digest it and would poop it out. This is how the seeds were spread. No dodo droppings - no Calvaria tree.

Once most common bird in North America Flocks with more than a billion birds took several days to pass by Last one died 1914 in a zoo Hunted to extinction In 1857, a bill was brought forth to the Ohio State Legislature seeking protection for the passenger pigeon. A Select Committee of the Senate filed a report stating "The passenger pigeon needs no protection. Wonderfully prolific, having the vast forests of the North as its breeding grounds, traveling hundreds of miles in search of food, it is here today and elsewhere tomorrow, and no ordinary destruction can lessen them, or be missed from the myriads that are yearly produced"

Change in environment thought to have caused extinctions

INDICATOR SPECIES - Organisms whose presence or absence is indicative of the health of an ecosystem as a whole.

Leopard frogs once found throughout wetlands in the U.S. Selaginella Moss in Alaskan rain forest

Keystone species- a species that plays a role in its community that is far more important than its relative abundance might suggest. Keystone Species

SEA OTTERS

endemic species Organisms found only in a specific area May be pathogens (maleria is endemic to tropics)

CLASSIFICATION OF SPECIES BY NICHE SPECIALISTS: ONLY OCCUPY FEW NICHES. HAVE NARROW TOLERANCE FOR CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT AND/OR FOOD. LESS COMPETITION. PRONE TO EXTINCTION WITH EVEN SMALL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES. EXAMPLE: KOALA GENERALISTS: OCCUPY BROAD RANGE OF NICHES. BROADER TOLERANCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES. MORE COMPETITION. BETTER ADAPTORS. EXAMPLE: CRABS

SPECIALISTS Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves which are low in protein, hard to digest and have compounds that are toxic to most species.

Crabs compete with birds, fish & other crustaceans GENERALISTS CRABS WILL EAT snails, mussels, clams, other crabs, isopods, barnacles, algae & more. CRABS CAN LIVE in estuaries, the rocky intertidal region and sandy beach areas. Crabs compete with birds, fish & other crustaceans