Warm Up #4 The Giant Panda, which lives in China and eats only bamboo, is on the verge of extinction due to a variety of factors. How are humans contributing to the Panda’s extinction? How are other animals contributing to the Panda’s extinction? How is the Panda contributing to its own extinction?

Animal Populations

Laying the Land Niche – conditions a species needs in order to survive and reproduce in an ecosystem ▫Conditions = physical (temperature) and chemical (salinity, acidity) IMPORTANT to study: ▫Human impact effects ▫Species interaction ▫Extinction rates

The Lockett Niche In our class, 34 desks Fundamental Niche – full range of resources and conditions a species can use ▫You can sit at ANY desk Realized Niche – the part of the fundamental niche a species TENDS to occupy ▫The desk you normally sit at ▫Why? Competition for resources

Why the Panda is killing itself Generalist species – can survive in a large variety of niches (flies, cockroaches, mice, etc) Specialist species – can only survive in a very particular niche/environment (Panda) Less tolerant = less likely you are to survive

Other threats to the Cuteness Non-Native Species – species introduced to a niche by humans Competition for resources (food, light, shelter, etc) Non-Native species usually more Generalist (can tolerate more) WHAT’S A PANDA TO DO??

The Grossness of the Cockroach Literally eats anything (including electrical cords and glue) Can breed anywhere (except polar regions) 1 cockroach  10 million babies in one year. One species can survive frozen for 48 hours Can survive nuclear bomb

Quick Quiz #2 In a hypothetical world where all things are possible, you are now a cute Panda and want to survive: You are an extreme specialist species, how would you change that? If a non-native species came into your niche, how would you adapt?

Adaptation to a Competitor

Adaptation Strategy Plan A Scenario: Non-native species thrive in cold and moderate temperatures 1.Directional Selection – reproductive rates better on one side of curve than other Solution: You learn to love the heat

Adaptation Strategy Plan B Scenario: Non-native species loves either really hot or really cold climates 2.Stabilizing Selection – highest reproduction = center of curve Solution: You, as a cute panda, adapt to living in moderate climates

Adaptation Plan C Scenario: Non-native species thrives in moderate temperatures 3.Disruptive Selection – high reproduction at BOTH extremes Solution: You either get a jacket or embrace sweating

Warm Up #5 Scenario: You are officially a honey-badger…and you just don’t care. Use your prior knowledge of how bad-ass the honey-badger is to answer the following questions: Would you classify the honey-badger as a specialist species or a generalist species? Why would you say this? If the honey-badger was a non-native species, would any other species stand a chance? Why? Say you try to stand against the honey-badger’s awesomeness. You discover the honey-badger only eats small and medium sized larva. Show, on a bell curve, how you would adapt, showing the type of selection as well.

Avoiding Competition

Review…with some new Directional – shifting toward ONE extreme Stabilizing – shifting toward the MIDDLE Disruptive – shifting toward BOTH extremes This is character displacement – physical/behavioral changes for more stuff

Competition is Drama To avoid drama… Resource Partitioning – dividing resources amongst competing species Use at different times, different ways, different places Example: Diurnal vs. Nocturnal animals (hawks vs. owls) “I WANT TO WATCH FOOTBALL” “I WANT TO WATCH DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES!!”

More Cowardly Avoidance (but also kind of BA) Camouflage – resembling the abiotic factors around it Chemical warfare – using poisonous/odorous chemicals Coloration – certain colors = danger Mimicking – Looking like something more dangerous

Predator-Prey Relationship Negative Feedback Loop 1.Predators kill prey (obviously) 2.More prey die = less food for predators 3.Predators die (less food) 4.Prey start to repopulate, cycle repeats

A Predator-Prey Fad Diet Parasitism – one species (parasite) gets nourishment by living on another species (host) Smaller than host, weakens host, rarely kills it Ex. Virus Tapeworm Diet – ingest tapeworm, eats contents of stomach (along with actual stomach)

Symbiotic Relationships [less gross] Symbiotic Relationship – interaction between two species Mutualism – both species benefit (+, +) Normally 1 species is protected, the other gets food Commensalism – one species benefits, the other is unaffected (+, 0) Shark (0) and Pilot Fish (+)

Quick Quiz # 3 Describe what resource partitioning is, and give a real life example. How is mimicking an effective way to avoid being eaten? Why do you think a parasite rarely kills its host?

Warm Up #6 What is the difference between mutualism and commensalism? Describe how an owl (nocturnal) and a hawk (diurnal) use resource partitioning. Nemo is a cute saltwater clownfish. A competitive (and not as cute) fish species thrives in moderate levels of salinity. Show, using a bell curve, show how Nemo would respond to this invasive species. What type of selection is this?

Ecological Succession The E.N.D. or the Beginning? Either way, it’s so 2000 and late…. Ecological Succession

Heidi Montag’s Ecological Succession Ecological Succession – gradual, predictable changes in species composition Ex. Heidi Montag  Hollywood pressures = Plastic Heidi Primary – establishing life where life NEVER existed Secondary – RE- establishing life after a disaster

When the World was Young Atmosphere: ▫Hydrogen CYANIDE ▫Carbon MONOXIDE ▫Hydrogen SULFIDE Earth Cools (water) Miller-Urey Experiment – organic matter from gasses of Earth Asteroids  Archaebacteria

Primary Succession Steps Pioneer Species – first species to inhabit area (ballers) ▫Lichens (fungi + algae) ▫FORMS SOIL Early Successional – small life forms, generalists Mid Successional – larger, more specific life Late Successional – larger, diverse species Wilderness – most diverse, large species

Plant Evolution During Succession Early – reproduce quickly, close to ground, survive harsh conditions (facilitation) ▫Lichens Mid – less hardy plants, larger, reproduce slowly, need more soil (inhibition) ▫Shrubs, grasses Late – larger, slow reproducing, very stable (tolerance) ▫Trees

New York Without People

Secondary Succession – Starting Point Catastrophic – sudden change in ecosystem Natural – disease, flood, volcanic eruption Human Caused – toxic waste, overgrazing, urbanization Gradual – slow, steady change in ecosystem Natural – climate change, evolution Human Caused – soil/air pollution, “pest” elimination, non-native species

Fire…It’s Complicated, Okay. Fire = thought of as bad Wipes out entire ecosystems if uncontrolled CONTROLLED fires = a good thing (Yosemite) Prevents build up of flammable shrubs, allows trees to germinate

Quick Quiz #3 What do pioneer species do in primary succession? Describe the plants living in the later stages of ecological succession. What do they look like? How efficiently do they reproduce? Give some examples. Give an example of a catastrophic human-caused environmental disaster we have discussed in class. How did this disaster negatively damage the ecosystem and how the environment recovered (if at all).