Chapter 3- Evolution, Species Interactions, and Biological Communities

1. 3.1 Evolution Leads to Diversity

1. Evolution results from random mutations and natural selection
2. Limiting factors often cause natural selection
3. A species’ niche is its role in an ecosystem, as well as the factors
that determine distribution
b. Natural Selection and adaption modify species
i. Adaption- the acquisition of these advantageous traits in species. Involves
changes in population, with characteristics that are passed down from
one generation to the next
ii. Natural Selection- the process in which individuals with useful traits pass
on those traits to the next generation, while others reproduce less
successfully.
c. Limiting factors influence species distributions
i. Limiting factors can include
1. Physiological stress due to critical environmental facts (moisture,
light, pH, temp, nutrients
2. Competition with other species
3. Predation
ii. Critical Factor- determines where a species live, single factor in shortest
supply relative to demand
iii. Tolerance limits- each environmental factor has both minimum and
maximum levels, beyond which a particular species cannot survive or is
unable to reproduce
iv. Indicator Species- a general term for organisms whose sensitivities can
tell about environmental conditions in an area.
d. A niche is a species’ role and environment
i. Habitat- describes the place or set of environmental conditions in which a
particular organism lives
ii. Ecological niche- more functional, describing both the role played by a
species in a biological community and the set of environmental factors
that determine its distribution.
iii. Specialists- have a narrow ecological niche (giant panda)
iv. Endemic species- they occur only in one area (or one type of environment
v. Principle of competitive exclusion- no two species can occupy the same
ecological niche for long.
vi. Resource partitioning- the species that has to leave the niche disappears
or develops a new niche, exploiting resources differently.
e. Speciation leads to species diversity
i. Speciation- development of a new species. A population becomes more
adapted to its ecological niche, it may develop specialized or distinctive
traits that eventually differentiate it entirely from its biological cousins.
ii. Geographic isolation- populations were genetically isolated and couldn’t
interbreed with populations on other islands
 iii. Allopatric speciation- speciation that occurs when populations are
geographically separated
iv. Sympatric speciation- speciation that occurs within one geographic area.
v. Selection pressure- a general term for factors that make certain mutations
advantageous
f. Taxonomy describes relationships among species
2. 3.2 species interactions
1. Competition occurs between individuals and between species
2. Selective pressures, such as competition and predation, lead to
evolution and adaptation.
3. Keystone species play critical roles in ecosystems.
b. Competition leads to resource allocation
i. Intraspecific competition- competition among members of the same
species
ii. Interspecific competition- competition between members of different
species
c. Predation affects species relationships
i. Predator-mediated competition- a superior competitor in a habitat builds
up a larger population that its competing species; predators take note and
increase their hunting pressure on the superior species, reducing its
abundance and allowing the weaker competitor to increase its numbers.
d. Predation leads to adaption
i. Coevolution- a general term for close adaption of two species
ii. Batesian mimicry- certain species that are harmless resemble poisonous
or distasteful ones, gaining protection against predators that remember a
bad experience with the actual toxic organism.
iii. Mullerian mimicry- when two unpalatable or dangerous species look alike
e. Symbiosis involves cooperation
i. Symbiosis- two or more species live intimately together, with their fates
linked.
ii. Mutualism- both species clearly benefit
iii. Commensalism- a type of symbiosis in which one member clearly benefits
and the other apparently in neither benefited nor harmed.
iv. Parasitism- a form of predation, dependency of the parasite on its host.
f. Keystone species play critical roles
i. Keystone species- play critical role in a biological community that is out of
proportion to its abundance. Affects of a keystone species ripples across
multiple trophic levels.
3. 3.3 Population growth
1. Exponential (j-curve) growth leads to overshoot and dieback
cycles.
2. Logistic (S-curve) growth slow as it approaches carrying capacity
(K).
 3. Species with rapic reproduction (r-selected) tend toward
exponential growth; those regulated by internal factors
(K-selected) tend toward logistic growth.
ii. Biotic potential- remarkable amplification of unrestrained biological
reproduction
b. Growth without limits is exponential
i. Exponential- having no limit and possessing a distinctive shape when
graphed over time.
1. dN/dt = rN
2. D means change, so change in number of individuals (dN) per
change in time (dt) equals the rate of growth ® times the number
of individuals in the population (N). If r is polisitve, the population
is increasing. If R is negative, the population is shrinking. If r is 0,
there is no change
ii. J Curve- graph of exponential population growth
c. Carrying capacity limits growth
i. Carrying capacity- the number or biomass of animals that can be
supported (without harvest) in a certain area of habitat.
d. Environmental limits lead to logistic growth
i. Logistic growth- change in growth rate over time
1. dN/dt = rN ((K-N)/K)
2. Carrying capacity (K). chang in numbers over time (dN/dt) equals
the exponential growth rate (rN) times the portion of the carrying
capacity (K) not already taken by the current population size (N).
(K-N)/K establishes relationship between population size at any
given time and karrying capacity. If N is less than K, rate of
population change is will be positive. If N is greater than K, change
will be negative.
ii. S-curve- describes population whose growth decreases if its numbers
approach or exceed the carrying capacity of the environment.
iii. Density dependant- as population increases, the effect intensifies
iv. Density-independant- a population is affected no matter what its size.
Drought, frost, flooding, andside, habitat destruction by people.
e. Species respond to limits differently: r- and K-selected species.
i. R-selected species- adapted to employ a high reproductive rate to
overcome the high mortality of virtually ignored offsprings. Depend on a
high rate of reproduction and growth ® to secure a place in the
environment.
ii. K-selected species- reproduce more conservatively, longer generation
times, late sexual maturity, fewer young. Adapted for slower growth
conditions near the carrying capacity (K) of their environment
4. 3.4 Community Diversity
1. Diversity is the number of species; abundance is the number of
individuals in an area
 2. Diversity is often associated with resilience and stability.
3. Primary productivity is highest in warm, wet, environments.
b. Diversity and abundance
i. Diversity- the number of different species in an area, or the number per
unit area.
ii. Abundance- number of individuals of a particular species (Or of a group)
in an area
c. Patterns produce Community structure
i. Community structure- general term we use for spatial patterns.
ii. Distribution can be random, ordered, or patchy
iii. Communities form patterns in landscapes
1. Core habitat- relatively uniform environment that is free of the
influences of edges.
2. Edge effects- the penetrating influences may extend hundreds of
meters into an adjacent community.
d. Resilience seems related to complexity
i. Resilience- either resists or recovers quickly from disturbance.
ii. Complexity- the number of trophic levels in a community and the number
of species in each of those trophic levels
iii. Primary productivity- production of biomass by photosynthesis.
iv. Net primary productivity- amount of biomass stored after respiration.
v. Stability- stable ecosystems resist changes despite disturbance, springs
back resiliently after disturbance, and supports the same species in about
the same numbers as before the disturbance.
5. 3.5 Communities are dynamic and change over time
1. Succession is a shift in community composition over time.
2. Disturbance, such as a fire or forest clearing, can alter community
composition.
3. Many communities and species are adapted to tolerate
disturbance.
b. Are communities organismal or individualistic?
i. Climax community- community developed last and lasted the longest
c. Succession describes community change
i. Primary succession- land that is bare of soil- a sandbar, rock surface,
volcanic flow- is colonized by living organisms where none lived before.
ii. Secondary succession- occurs after a disturbance, when a new
community develops from the biological legacy of the previous one.
iii. Pioneer species- first colonists, often microbes, mosses, and lichens that
can withstand a harsh environment with few resources.
d. Some communities depend on disturbances
i. Disturbance- any force that disrupts the established patterns of species
diversity and abundance, community structure, or community properties.
Drought, hurricanes, animals,people set fires, harvest resources,
introduce new species, change communities
 ii. Disturbance-adapted species- survive fires by hiding underground, reseed
quickly after fires, ect.
6. Conclusion

Review
● An organism that is sensitive to environmental conditions can make a good indicator
species for the health of the entire ecosystem.
● The ecological niche of a giant panda is a bamboo forest herbivore
● Environmental factors can limit where a species exists
● The habitat of the American alligator is north american wetlands
● In order for a new species to arise, there must be genetic isolation
● Sympatric speciation is when a species is formed in the same area
● A species that occurs only in one specific geographic area is an endemic species
● Taxonomy is
○ Important in scientific research
○ The study of types of organisms
● Once a population has been separated, DNA diverges as a result of
○ Genetic drift
○ Random mutation which may lead to speciation
● Competition is a type of antagonistic relationship
● Predation affects __ in both predator and prey species
○ Food-obtaining mechanisms
○ All life-cycle stages
○ Behavior and physical changes
● Butterfly and plant adapting to withstand toxins is coevolution evolution
● Physical change that occurs in a species as a response to its predator over thousands of
years is coevolution
● Population dynamics describes the changes in population size over time.
● Graph line A is Logistic growth
● Community structure refers to patterns of spatial distribution and the relation of a
particular species to its surroundings.