C. Ecology I. Ecosystems and Communities

Biodiversity

Zebra Mussels

Predator Removal

ClimographClimograph

Community Ecology Interspecific Interactions and Community Structure Disturbance and Community Structure Biogeographic Factors

Competitive Exclusion Hypothesis

Microhabitats of Lizard Species

Anolis distichus – sunny leaf surface Anolis insolitus – shady branch

Deceptive coloration

Camouflage – chick (poorwill); lizard

Aposematic (warning) coloration

Batesian mimicry – the hawkmoth larva (left) resembles a snake when disturbed {harmless resembles harmful}

Mullerian mimicry – the cuckoo bee (left) and the yellow jacket both have stingers that release toxins {both harmful but more exposure to potential predators of linking markings with harm}

Mutualism – between acacia trees and ants

Parasitic Nasonia (wasps)

Commensalism – one species benefits, the other is neither harmed nor helped (usually)

Trophic levels – terrestrial and marine food chains {make sure your assignment doesn’t resemble this one! ; ) }

Antarctic marine food web

Partial food web

Without Pisaster ochraceous (sea stars) as keystone predators…, …the Mytilus californianus monopolized the space

Sea Otters are keystone predators in the North Pacific

A fire on a grassland burns the detritus and rejuvenates the prairie so that virtually all the biomass is living a month after a burn (right)

Large disturbances occur more often when small disturbances are prevented. Lodgepole pine cones require intense heat to open and germinate.

Soil nitrogen concentration during succession after a glacial retreat

Forest community 1 is more diverse b/c it has greater heterogeneity – both in species richness (number) and relative abundance

Species richness generally decreases towards the poles

Energy and Species Richness - annual available energy is measured by evapotranspiration (combining solar radiation and temperature) and expressed as rainfall equivalents in mm/yr.

The number of plant species on the Galapagos Islands in relation to the area of the island.

Ecosystems Primary Production Secondary Production Cycling of Chemical Elements Human Impact

Energy flow = broken red lines; Material cycling = solid blue lines Energy = solar radiation  chemical transfers in food web  heat radiated to space Materials = pass through trophic levels  detritus  back to primary producers

Fungi decomposing a log

Primary Production

Net Primary Production

II. Biomes

Lake Zonation

Oligotrophic Lake

Eutrophic Lake

Wetlands Estuaries

Marine: 1. Tide Zone 2. Coral Reef 3. Benthos

Terrestrial Biomes

Tropical Forests: 1. Highland 2. Lowland 3. Seasonal

Deserts

Tundra

the Biosphere

Behavioral Ecology Learning Animal Cognition Sociobiology

Behavior Components

Digger Wasp Behavior

Female Songbird Preferences

Geese Imprinting

Two types of bird-song development

Electronic Surveillance of honeybees

Cooperative Prey Capture

Territories (small!)

Staking Territories with Chemical Markers

Three-spined stickleback courtship behavior

Bee Communication

Colonial Mammals Naked Mole Ratsthe Common Mole Rat

Kin Selection and Altruism in the Belding Ground Squirrel

Ecology the biosphere behavioral biology population biology community ecology ecosystems

Population Ecology Populations Life Histories Population Growth Population Limiting Factors Human Population /Growth

Conservation Ecology Biodiversity Crisis Conservation at the Population and Species Level Conservation at the Community, Ecosystem, and Landscape Levels