Niyogi Notes

I suggest looking at pdfs while reading this. Shit gets real.

Lectures 1-3
Slide 1
Origin of Life
- Little gravity (H2 and He)
- 1st atmosphere (earth formed 4.6 billion years ago)
- Gravity
- Atmosphere (N2 & O2 21%)

First ½ billion years

- Too hot to allow water to accumulate on surface
- Primitive earth (no life)

Abiotic synthesisformation [slow] of organic molecules = prebiotic soup

Slide 2
Changes in earth’s atmosphere (gases)
Possibly H2 and He (First Atmosphere)
- Earth’s gravity not strong enough to hold to these light gases)

H2O4, CO4, SO2, CO, S2, C12, N2, H2, NH3 [ammonia] and CH4 [methane]
- Gases produced by volcanic activity
- Earth’s gravity changed; gases retained
- But no free O2 (from volcanoes)
- Earth cooled; H2O vapour condensed  Ocean formed

Slide 3
(Same as slide 2)
But O2 increased from ~2.3 billion years ago… Why?

Slide 4
Origin of life on earth
(1) Living cells are complex collections of molecules & macromolecules
- DNA stores the information for the amino acid sequence of proteins
- RNA acts as the intermediary in the process of protein synthesis
- Proteins form the foundation for the structure and activities of living cells

(2) Life requires the interplay between DNA, RNA and proteins for its existence &
perpetuation
- Given this, scientists interested in the origin of life on earth have focused their
attention on the formation of these main molecules and their building blocks
(nucleotides & amino acids)
Slide 5
Origin of life on earth – process of 4 overlapping stages
Stage 1. Origin of organic molecules (nucleotides & amino acids)
Several hypotheses:
 Reducing atmosphere hypothesis (Miller & Urey 1950’s)
 Extraterrestrial hypothesis  meteorites
 Deep sea vents hypothesis (Wachtershauser 1988)
o Mixing created condition

Stage 2. Nucleotides & amino acids became polymerized to form DNA, RNA & proteins (i.e.
simple organic molecules became more complex) = polymers
 Did not take place in prebiotic soup but on solid surface (clay) or tidal pool

Slide 6
Stage 3. Polymers became enclosed in membranes
- Formation of a boundary that separated the environment from the internal polymers =
protobiont (non-living0 4 characteristics

1. Membrane (e.g. lipid bilayers) separating external environment from internal

contents
2. Polymers inside contain information
3. Polymers inside had enzymatic function
4. Capable of replication

Slide 7
Stage 4. Polymers enclosed in membranes evolved cellular properties
- Self replication and metabolism
 First primitive organisms (3.8-3.5 billion years ago)

Slide 8
First organisms: Prokaryotes, single-celled microorganisms living in an environment with
little free O2 in the earth’s atmosphere
- Therefore used only anaerobic (without oxygen) metabolism

Hypothesized that first organisms were:

Anaerobic heterotrophs because simplest for primitive cells to use organic molecules in
prebiotic soup as a source of food than to have metabolic pathways to use energy to make
organic molecules (i.e. like autotrophs)

 Probably heat-resistant, as ocean were continuously heated by heavy impacts of

meteorites
 E.g. like extreme haplophiles?

Slide 9
1. Anaerobic heterotrophs (prokaryotes)
 Metabolized pre-existing organic molecules by fermentation or methanogenesis
2C6H12O6 (glucose)  2 C2H5OH (ethanol) + 2 CO2 + energy (2 units)
o Modern heterotrophs are mostly aerobic eukaryotes that metabolize
pre-existing organic molecules by oxidation
C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 CO2 6 H2O + 6 CO2 + energy (36 units)
 As the organic molecules in prebiotic soup were made very slowly, the anaerobic
heterotrophs would have gradually exhausted the supply of these organic
molecules
 Therefore cells that evolved the ability to synthesize organic molecules from
the inorganic sources would have had a growth advantage

Slide 10
2. Anaerobic autotrophs-chemoautotrophs & photoheterotrophs
6 CO2 + 6 CH2S  C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 S (no free oxygen) Purple sulphur bacteria
CO2 + 4H2  CH4 + 4 H2O Purple non-sulphur bacteria
 Hydrogen donors quickly used up
 As this energy ran low, evolved ability to capture energy from light from near the
surface of the ocean  photoautotrophs
 This key innovation (oxygen-forming photosynthesis) around 2.5 billion years used
H2O as hydrogen donor

Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O  C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 O2 (lots of free oxygen)

Slide 11
Aerobic Autotrophs-photoautotrophs (prokaryotes)
= cyanobacteria
Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O  C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 O2 (lots of free oxygen)

- CO2 caused crisis as huge amounts of toxic O2 released

- Oxygen is poisonous for anaerobic purple bacteria
- Surviving anaerobic bacteria lived or moved to underground locations (site of modern
anaerobic microbes)

Slide 12
Early Life
- Stromatolites
 o Microbially mediated rocks
- Community of microbes forms mats & secretes a mucus that traps sedimentary grains,
cementing them into layers. Because the upper part of the mat requires sunlight for
photosynthesis, the mat migrates upwards, leaving the layers.

Slide 13
Canada has 3 of the world’s known examples at:
Red Lake, Ontario
Steep Rock Lake, Ontario
Near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Slide 14
Modern stromatolites at Shark Bay (Western Australia)
 Generally found in hot or hyper-saline environments (tolerated by cyanobacteria)
because as a consequence there are few grazing or burrowing animals
 In Shark Bay; estimated 3 billion individuals/m2 of mat (stromatolites up to 1.5 meters
high)

Slide 15
Diagram of cyanobacteria
Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O  C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6 O2

Diagram of concentration of various atmospheric gases (percent) vs. Time

- O2 increased from ~ 2.3 billion years ago

Slide 16
Early aerobic photoautotrophs present 3 – 3.5 billion years ago

1. Produced organic molecules from CO2  prevented depletion of organic food stuffs
that would have been exhausted if there were only heterotrophs
2. Produced O2 as waste product of p/s (higher atmospheric O2 from ~ 2.3 billion years
ago)
o Reduced the number of anaerobic b/c they need an environment lower depleted
of O2
o Played key role in eukaryotic evolution (origin of first eukaryotic cell is a
matter of debate)

Slide 17
“Cambrian Explosion” (Diagram of origin from symbiotic relationship and endosymbiotic
relationship)
Slide 18
Significant events in the geologic time scale
Eon ~million years before present
Phanerozoic
Appearance of most animal groups 543

First Multicellular organisms 1500

Proterozoic

Etc.

- Everything before Phanerozoic is “Precambrian”

Slide 19
Geological Time Scale
 Major ecological events (incl. positions of continents), the nature of the climate &
types of organisms present
 4 Eons; 1st 3 = Precambrian
 ‘Zoic’ = animals

Slide 20
*See diagram
- Mass extinctions

Slide 21
*Diagram

Slide 22
Changing environments  different organisms (based on fossil record)
- Recurring pattern seen in history of life in the emergence of new species and
extinction of other species

Slide 23
Extinction (disappearance of species)
- (Pre-human) correlated with major environmental changes:
o Climate/temperature
o Atmosphere
o Landmasses
o Floods
 o Glaciation
o Volcanic eruptions
o Meteorite impacts

- One or more of these variables can lead to mass extinctions

Slide 24
What is Extinction?
Definition: No longer in existence
End of an organism / species
Opposite to speciation
 It occurs when the last existing member of a species dies, i.e. there aren’t any left!
 It is a scientific certainty when there are not any surviving individuals left to
reproduce
 Functional Extinction
o Only a reduced number of individuals are left
o Population no longer viable – odds of reproduction are slim

Slide 25
Mass Extinction
 Aka: an extinction event
 The loss of a large number of species on Earth in a short period of time
 Coincides with a sharp drop in speciation
o The process by which new biological species arise
 There have been at least FIVE major extinctions
o Last one was 65 M years ago

Slide 26
Mass Extinction
 Nearly 2/3rds (or more) of all animal species that ever existed on the planet are
now gone.
o With contemporary extinction being attributed to HUMAN activity.
 Numerous factors go into the extinction of a specific species
o Climate change as main factor

Slide 27
Natural average extinction rate
Background extinction rate – rate of species loss in the absence o human activities

Fossil record: species survive 1-10 million years

Extrapolating across geologic time the average extinction rate is about 9% of species per
million years.

Average extinction rate are estimated: 1 to 10 species/5 years

Current extinction rates:

It is believed that human activity has increased this rate by a factor of: 1 000 – 10 000
times

Since 1600, approx. 1 000 species have become extinct

Slide 28
G.G. Simpson – 99% species originating 542 mya are extinct!
 Survivors – Lingula – marine organism (brachiopod) occupying certical burrows in
sand and mud has survived morphologically unchanged since the Silurian (450 mya)

Slide 29
Survivors No. 2… A living fossil
The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), an arthropod inhabitant of marine shores, has
lived morphologically uncanged since the Ordovician (est. 480 mya)

Slide 30
5 Mass extinctions
*Diagram

Slide 31
*Diagram
Mesozoic Tetrapods – Ancestors and Surivors
Together, the Ornithischia plus the Saurischia constitute the “dinosaurs.” Notice that birds
and mammals are early contemporaries of the dinosaurs.

Slide 32
Jurassic
Solnhofen lagoon
Archaeopteryx

Rise of Angiosperms?

Cretaceous Landscape

- Herbivores couldn’t adapt to new composition of the plants

- CO2 in atmosphere was about 12x higher than today

Slide 33
ca. 65 million years ago

Cosmic collisions
At the end of the Cretaceous, an asteroid or comet struck the Earth in the location of
present day Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Although such a collision certainly occurred, it is
debated whether or not this collision was directly responsible for the dinosaur extinctions.

Slide 34
First Evidence of a large meteor impact
Abundance of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in K-T layer

 1980 – Luis and Walter Alvarez proposed that an impact could be identified by
unusual accumulations of ‘rare earth’ elements = Alvarez Asteroid Impact Theory
 Iridium Anomaly – Ir is a siderophile (binds iron_ that is a characteristic of mantle
material and is also found in comets
 Chondritic meteors are common type  contain Ir and Cr
 Layer of Ir-enriched rock and shocked quartz (parallel planes) is found worldwide,
and is thicker closer to the Yucatan peninsula

Slide 35
Shocked quartz grains from the K-T boundary in Wyoming
 Caused by sheer impact of collision of asteroid
 Supports asteroid theory

Shocked quartz is a form of quartz that has a microscopic structure that is different from
normal quartz. Under intense pressure, the crystalline structure of quartz will be deformed
along planes inside the crystal. These planes, which show up as lines under a microscope, are
called planar deformation features (PDFs), or shock lamellae.

Slide 36
Effects of Impact
100 000 km/hr impact
Destroyed life in a 500 km radius
180 km diam. Crater
Volcanic activities/chem. Reactions
Tidal waves
Increased temps
Fires, acid rains
Slide 37
Dust atmosphere – darkness / Cooling

Slide 38
Other changes during the KT
 High sea levels general drying
 Dinosaurs may have already been under strong negative selection pressure

Slide 39
“The Chicxulub impact hit the Yucatan about 300 000 years before the mass extinction
that included the dinosaurs and therefore could not have caused it,” Keller says…

Slide 40
Mesozoic Tetrapods - Ancestors and Survivors
Together, the Ornithischia plus the Saurischia constitute the “dinosaurs.” Notice that birds
and mammals are early contemporaries of the dinosaurs.

Slide 41
After the dinosaurs
Extinction of the dinosaurs left may ecological niches empty. In part, the subsequent
flourishing of mammals and birds represents and adaptive radiation into many of these
vacated life styles.
- Mass extinctions helped other groups to diversify over time despite killing off other
diverse organisms.

Additional Notes for Lecture 1-3

Slide 1
 Ecology – study of interactions among organisms and their environment that
determines their distribution and abundance (from Krebs 1994)
o Biotic – interactions among living things
 Intraspecies, interspecies
o Abiotic – interactions between organisms and their nonliving environment
(physical and chemical)

Slide 2
 Organismal ecology
o Studies how an organism’s structure, physiology, and (for animals) behavior
meet the challenges posed by the environment
 Population ecology
 o Concentrates mainly on factors that affect how many individuals of a particular
species live in an area

Slide 3
 Community ecology
o Studies how populations of species interact and form functional communities
o Focuses on why some areas are species poor
o Also studies succession – how species composition and community structure
change over time, particularly after disturbance

Slide 4
Temperature tolerance of desert locust = Organismal

What factors influence the diversity of species that make up a particular forest? =
Community

What environmental factors affect the reproductive rate of grizzly bears? = Population

Slide 5
 Ecosystem ecology
o Studies energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and
abiotic components [within a community & between organisms and the
environment]

- What factors control photosynthetic productivity in a temperate grassland ecosystem?

Lectures 4-5
Slide 1
Species Interactions & Coevolution

Slide 2
Co-Evolution
 Long term, evolutionary adjustment of the characteristics of some organisms,
sometimes on a reciprocal relationship to one another.
 Coevolution sometimes results in a totally dependent relationship on one another.
o E.g., food, shelter/nesting site, pollination service.

Examples: Yucca/moth Host/parasite interactions

Fig plant/wasp Shark-remora
Orchids/insects Acacia/Ants
Slide 3
Co-Evolution: Two ecologically interacting species exert reciprocal selection pressures on
one another and the response is inherited.
 Trait centered

Reciprocal selection pressures occur between interacting species such as:

 Host and parasites
 Competitors
 Predators and prey
 Mutualists
 Host and symbiont

Slide 4
What is co-evolution
Species A evolves an adaptation in response to species B

Species B evolves in response to the adaptation of species A

This cycle keeps revolving between the two

Slide 5
Types of species interactions
Interaction between two (or more species) – similar/different benefit

Mutualism – both benefit

Commensalism – one benefits; the other is not harmed

Predation/Parasitism/Herbivory – one harmed, one benefits

Competition – both harmed

Slide 6
Species A versus Species B
Benefit (+) Not Harmed (0) Harmed (-)
Benefit (+) Mutualism Commensalism Predation Herbivory
Parasitism
Not Harmed (0) Commensalism
Harmed (-) Predation Herbivory Competition
Parasitism
Slide 7
Types of coevolution
Specific: one species interacts closely with another. Changes in one species induce adaptive
changes in the other, and vice-versa.

Diffusion: selection imposed reciprocally by one interacting species on another is dependent

of the presence or absence of other species.

Slide 8
Competition
Driving force behind evolution and natural selection

Interspecific: Niche differentiation – finches, G. Is.

Competitive exclusion

Intraspecific: Exploitation competition

Interference competition

Slide 9
Competition
 Intraspecific – between individuals of the same species
 Interspecific – between individuals of different species
 Exploitation competition – organisms compete indirectly through the consumption of
a limited resource
 Interference competition – individuals interact directly with one another by physical
force or intimidation

Slide 10
Competition among barnacles
In the absence of competition, Chthamalus lives from low to high tide; Semibalanus lives
from low to mid tide regions. But, together and in competition, Semibalanus overrides and
excludes Chthamalus from their areas of overlap.

Slide 11
Wood warblers
Five species of wood warbles occur in spruce forests of the northeastern United States.
Their foraging efforts are localized in different parts of the tree, represented by the
shading.

Slide 12
Sticklebacks
Two different species: Benthic & Limnetic; Morphological character displacement to reduce
predation pressure and to improve resource utilization

Slide 13
Reciprocal co-evolution: mutualism
Mutualism: a symbiotic relationship here both species benefit from the interaction

Mutualisms represent one of the most influential of all biological interactions, with
fundamental consequences for the evolution and maintenance of biotic diversity

Obligate mutualisms between flowering plants and their insect pollinators constitute
extreme cases of interspecific mutualisms.

Slide 14
Mutualism – fish
The small Spanish hogfish dashes into the mouth of a willing barracuda where it feeds on
debris and parasites. The hogfish gains a meal and the barracuda gains a cleaning.

Slide 15
Mutualism – birds and crocodiles
This African crocodile relaxes and holds its mouth open. This signals Egyptian Plovers to
enter and safely feed on fouling parasites and debris. The crocodiles gain a cleaning, and
the plovers a meal.

Slide 16
Mutualism – oxpecker
This red-billed oxpecker forages for parasites on the backs of African ungulates. Here the
oxpecker is working around the neck o domestic cattle. Parasites tend to collect along the
back of the neck where scratching cannot dislodge them. The oxpecker gains a meal, and its
customers get ride of parasites.

Slide 17
Mutualism – leaf-cutter ants
Above ground, ants cut small pieces of leaves and carry them to their underground nests
where the chewed leaves enrich soil. Into this soil, bits of fungi are planted that grow and
provide food for the ants.

Slide 18
Nectar guides
Darker petals in the center of the flower made up of UV-absorbing pigments (flavonoids) –
visible to insects but invisible to other animals.

Slide 19
Mutualism – pollination & reward
Amount and quality of nectar & pollen
CHO – rich nectar

Slide 20
Defensive Mutualism
Acacia/Ant mutualistic association
- Ant gets shelter and food, protects the plant from herbivores
- Also chew on competing plants

Slide 21
Reciprocal co-evolution examples: plant pollinator mutualisms
The fig-wasp mutualism is ancient and diverse, originating ~ 80-90 mya

Ca. 750 species of Ficus

>300 wasp species

One species of wasp thought to pollinate one species of fig

Slide 22
Moths: Tegeticula yuccasella
Yucca plant
- Very sticky, so moth is able to carry pollen to other yucca plants

Slide 23
Bats
- Nocturnal & good olfactation
- Strong fliers but not good at flying among branches

Queen of Night

Flowers
- Nocturnal
- Copious nectar
- Heavy scent
- Accesible
Slide 24
Legume – Rhizobium Symbiosis
90-93% species of the Fabaoideae with Rhizobium

Chemical / molecular communication

N2 most abundant gas in atmosphere

Not available to plants in elemental form
Converted to ammonia, nitrates, nitrites

Legume provides the bacteria with CHO (+ other); Rhizobium supplies the host legume with
N2 in the form of ammonia (NH4+). Unlike plants, Rhizobium can fix inert N2 from the
atmosphere.

- Makes it easier for plants to access

Slide 25
Reciprocal co-evolution examples: plants and herbivores
Plant-herbivore Coevolution
 Plants produce toxic “secondary” chemicals that reduce herbivory

 Some herbivores have evolved to detoxify the toxic chemicals.

o Herbivores may specialize on the hosts whose defenses they have overcome
o Plants may evolve new defenses, and the cycle continues

- This cycle has continued for million of years

Slide 26
Reciprocal co-evolution examples: plants and herbivores: Chemical warfare
Herbivores often feed on chemically similar plants
o Should impose selective pressures on plants to diverge chemically or bias
community assembly toward chemical divergence

The effect of herbivory on diversification should be stronger for narrowly coevolved

systems with fewer interacting species.

Example
Bursera spp. produces an array of terpenes

- Toxic to insect herbivores

- Decrease survival and growth of specialized herbivores (bettle: Blepharida)
Slide 27
Plants’ Chemical Warfare
Mustard Oil
Dogbane (Cardiac glycosides)
Castor Oil (Ricin)
- Herbivore may avoid some plants (causes heart attacks)
- “Arms race” (evolutionary)

Slide 28
Predator – prey Coevolution: Arms race
Exploitative Ability of Predator

Defense of Prey

Between these is selection, and the cycle between these two does not stop

Slide 29
Orange –bellied newt (Taricha granulosa)
Tetradotoxin
 Na+ channel blocker
 Broad toxicity
 Widely distributed taxonomically
 Can kill 17 adult human or 25 000 mice

- After consumption, nervous system will collapse and heart failure will commence

Slide 30
Red-sided Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis
- Resistant to newt toxin

Slide 31
Geographic Variation in Resistnace
Trade off: Cost of resistance in snakes: loss of speed

Blue (4-5): selection is low, therefore produces low toxin

Red (>100 MAMU): selection is high, therefore produce high toxin

(Blue is mainly upper part of diagram, red is mainly lower)

Slide 32
Reciprocal co-evolution examples: host and parasite systems
 Parasites are constantly evolving into new forms to avoid host resistance
 Hosts are constantly under selective pressure to evolve new resistance genes

Result: a co-evolutionary arms race in which both parasite and host must constantly evolve
just to stay in place.

Slide 33
Reciprocal co-evolution examples: host and parasite systems
 Hosts and parasites change evolutionarily in response to each other
 Resistance – the ability of the host to combat the parasite
 Virulence – the ability of the parasite to harm the host

Slide 34
Both resistance (in the host) and virulence (in the parasite) are costly
- If the host is susceptible, selection initially favors virulence
- This causes selection for resistance in the host
- Usually section for less virulence occurs in the parasite (because virulence is costly)
- Leading to selection for less resistance in the host (because resistance is costly)

Slide 35
Parasites that are too virulent may reduce their own fitness by killing their hosts
(Diagram of rabbit morality % vs. Number of epidemics experienced by population)
- Morality decreases as the number of epidemics increases

Slide 36
Parasite virulence – host resistance dynamics
*Diagram
Host resistance and Parasite virulence have similar trends, adjust and adapt to each other
constantly

Slide 37
Camouflage and Mimicry
 Non-living model
 Living model

Camouflage
- Cryptic coloration & shape
- Avoidance of observation
Slide 38
Camouflage – inanimate

Slide 39
Camouflage – inedible
The resemblance of these insects to inedible plant parts affords them some protection
from predators.

Slide 40
Camouflage among/in plants
- Bottom right picture – Lithops (Store plants)

Slide 41
Batesian Mimicry
The mimic shares signals/characteristics similar to the model

Coral Snake – Venomous vs. non-venomous

Monarch vs. Viceroy

Stinging vs. Non-Stinging wasps

- May have certain colour designs to carry characteristics of venomous/dangerous

variation

Slide 42
Mullerian Mimicry
Both ecologically sympatric pairs are distasteful, and have warning colorations
*Sympatric pairs of Heliconius butterflies
- Always adapting and evolving
- Convergence of colours

Slide 43
Competition and Biodiversity

Different words, but have many things in common.

All the terms involve animals and plants (species) interacting with each other.

Learn to evolove and depend on each other to complete certain processes.

The interactive processes make coevolution a potentially powerful evolutionary process in
shaping biodiversity.

Species and Co-evolution

Notes for Lectures 6-8

Slide 1
Remaining slides from lecture 4-5

Slide 2
 Community – assemblage of many populations that live in the same place at the same
time
 Community ecology – studies how groups of species interact and form functional
communities

Slide 3
 Two components
 1. Species richness
o Total number of species

 2. Relative abundance
o Proportion each species represents of the total numbers of organisms

Slide 4
Two different communities can have the same species richness, but a different relative
abundance

Both have same species richness (4 species)

Community 1 (A: 25%, B: 25%, C: 25%, D: 25%) = Same Distribution

Community 2 (A: 80%, B: 5%, C: 5%, D: 10%) = Different Distribution

Which is more diverse?

- Community
- Distribution is important

Slide 5
Species with a Large Impact
 Certain species have an especially large impact on the structure of entire
communities
 o Either because they are highly abundant or because they play a pivotal role
(keystone spp.) in community dynamics

Slide 6
 Field studies of sea stars
o Exhibit their role as a keystone species in intertidal communities

- Not a large number, but plays key role

Slide 7
 Observation of sea otter populations and their predation shows the effect the
otters have on ocean communities
*Otters would be keystone before introduction of killer whale

Slide 8
Ecosystem “Engineers” (Foundation Species)
 Some organisms exert their influence
o By causing physical changes in the environment that affect community
structure

Slide 9
 Some foundation species act as facilitators
o That have positive effects on the survival and reproduction of some of the
other species in the community

- Juncus in salt grounds keep salt level low

- High abundance regulates/minimizes salt rate and maintain high water level

Slide 10
Species Richness
 Number of species in each community
 Number of species of most taxed varies according to geographic range
o Increasing from polar to temperate to maximum in tropical areas
o Increases by topographical variation
o Reduced by peninsular effect

Slide 11
Species richness of birds in North America (Diagram)
Slide 12
Species richness of butterflies in N & S America (Diagram)

Slide 13
Species diversity vs. latitude
- Number of vascular plant species per 10000 km2 decreases as latitude increases

Slide 14
 Four different hypotheses for latitudinal gradient

1. Time hypothesis
- Communities diversify, or gain species, with time
- Temperate regions have less rich communities than tropical ones because they
are younger and have only more recently recovered from glaciation
- Support – more worms in comparable unglaciated lakes than glaciated
- Problem – limited applicability to marine organisms

- Not all about evolutionary time

- Hypothesis explains land evolution but not so much water evolution

Slide 15
2. Area hypothesis
- Larger areas have more species because they can support larger populations and
a greater range of habitats
- Support – significant relationship between insect diversity and host tree range
(species area effect)
- Problem –
o Tundra: largest biome but low richness
o Open ocean: largest volume, fewer species than tropical surface waters

Slide 16
*Diagram
Insect species diversity on British host trees
There is a greater number of insect species when there is a larger area of host tree range
(km2)

Slide 17
3. Productivity hypothesis
- Greater production of plants results in greater overall species richness
 - Support – plants grow better where it is warm and wet and species richness in
trees can be predicted by the evapo-transpiration rate
- Problems –
- Some tropical seas: low productivity but high richness
- Sub-Antarctic Ocean: high productivity but low species richness

- More plants = more resources

Slide 18
*Diagram
Tree species richness vs. evapo-transpiration in N. America
- Transpiration = evaporation of water from plants
- Solar radiation, temperature and water availability is a problem (variable)

Slide 19
Species richness enhances community productivity
- Species-rich communities use resources more efficiently

As Total plant core % increases, so does number of species

High species richness contributes to higher productivity

Slide 20
4. Intermediate – disturbance hypothesis
- Highest number of species are maintained in communities with intermediate
levels of disturbance
- Disturbance by droughts, fires, floods, and hurricanes or by species interactions
such as herbivory, predation, or parasitism

- Support –
- Coral reefs: highest species richness in areas disturbed by hurricanes
- Richest tropical forests: occur where disturbance by storms causes landslides
and tree falls

Slide 21
An observational study conducted with river stream communities impacted by disturbance
(e.g. Water flow)
Species richness decreases as disturbances increase

Slide 22
How does species diversity influence community stability?
  Elton’s diversity – stability hypothesis
o Disturbances in a species-rich community would be cushioned by large
numbers of interacting species and would not produce as drastic an effect
as it would on a less diverse community
 11-year study examined species richness and stability in grassland plots
o Found year-to-year variation in plant community biomass lower in plots with
greater species richness
- Around 200 experimental plots, each a site of various plants
- Higher richness, higher nutrition, and therefore higher the chance of survival

Slide 23
Plots with different species richness
Coefficient of variation for plant community biomass vs. Average plant species richness

- Total amount of plant biomass/year compared to species richness

- Biomass decrease as richness increases

Slide 24
Succession
 Gradual and continuous change in species composition and community structure over
time
 Primary succession – succession on a newly exposed site that was not previously
occupied by soil and vegetation
 Secondary succession – succession on a site that has already supported life but that
has undergone a disturbance, such as a fire, tornado, hurricane, or flood

Slide 25
Primary Succession
*Diagram
- Enrichment of nitrogen
- Litter falling to forest floor

Slide 26
 Succession has a distinct end point (climax community)
 Each phase of succession is called a sere or seral stage
 Disturbance might set te community back to an earlier seral stage
 It then proceeds toward climax
 Each colonizing species make the environment a little different
 Facilitation – colonizing species change the environment so that it becomes more
suitable for the next species
Slide 27
A case study of Primary Succession
*Diagram

Slide 28
A case study of Primary Succession
- Soil nitrogen content increase
- Contributed by nitrogen fixation bacteria & litterfall
- Soil becomes more acidic (competitionaspect)

Slide 29
Secondary Succession
- Regeneration may cause composition to change

Slide 30
A case study: Eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980
May 18th, 1980

Slide 31
Succession on Mount St. Helens
- Soil not sterilized
- This would be secondary succession as it has only taken ~20 years for
regeneration
- Primary would take MUCH longer

Slide 32
 Study of succession on islands
Many are volcanic islands  “Younger in age” than closest mainland

Slide 33
*Diagram
Left island is <7 000 years, right side is 4 million (closest to South America) volcanic cones
evaded

Slide 34
Hawaiian Islands

Slide 35
What will happen in the future ( species richness) when this island forms and cools?
- Species will migrate to this new-forming island

Slide 36
- Study of succession on islands
What are some factors that will influence the species richness on this island?
e.g.
- Distance from mainland or other islands (source of new species to Is.)
 immigration rate of species to the island
- Ability to survive  extinction rate of species on the island
- Area [Size] of the island  carrying capacity

- Not all that migrate will survive

- Immigration and extinction (adaptation)

Slide 37
- understanding modern biodiversity

Slide 38
Island Biogeography
 Study of succession on islands
 MacArthur and Wilson (1967) developed the equilibrium model of island
biogeography
o Number of species on an island tends toward an equilibrium number that
is determined by the balance between immigration and extinction

Slide 39
Important points:
New species only competition for resources
Immigration on Islands
(a) Immigration Curve: as colonists fill the island, the rate of arrival of new species
drops

Slide 40
Extinction on Islands
(b) Extinction Curve: As colonists fill up the island, the rate at which species disappear
increases. (After MacArthur and Wilson 1967.)

Slide 41
Basic Model of Island Equilibrium
Immigration & Extinction have opposite effects

Species Equilibrium
Where immigration and extinction curve cross, an equilibrium number of species is reached.
In this example, there are 10 species on the nearby mainland, making it possible for up to 10
species to be on the island. However, in this example the equilibrium sustainable by the
island is 6.

Slide 42
The farther the Island, The Greater the Number of Species
Distance and Area Effects on Species Equilibrium
(a) Distance effect: If our island (from previous figure) were moved farther from the
mainland, the equilibrium would shift to the left, settling at 2, and some species
would become extinct on the island.

Slide 43
Same as previous slide
(b) Area effect: A large island reaches a higher equilibrium than a small island.

Slide 44
Number of species increases with island size
Species – Area Relationship
If the size of an island is plotted against the number of species present on it, a direct
relationship usually holds – the more area, the more species. Reptile and amphibian species
in the West Indies are plotted here.

Slide 45
Studies of the Lesser Antilles found a significant relationship between area of the island
and species richness

Slide 46
Numbers of lowland forest bird species in Polynesia decreased with distance from New
Guinea, the source pool

Slide 47
Moths
Number of species decrease with increased distance of the source
- Larger islands have higher species richness & vice versa
- Distance is also a factor
Slide 48
Island Biogeography – equilibrium model
Oceanic islands
“Islands”

Slide 49
Basic ideas about Islands: Summary
- Concept of area
- Geographic location in relation to mainland
- Island populations are at balance
- Islands have fewer species than nearby mainland
- May have problems with migration
- Islands offer tenuous life

Slide 50
Some factors that influence the species richness on an island:
- Distance from mainland or other islands (source of new species)
- Area [size] of the island
- Ability to survive and reproduce  biotic factors

Predation, competition, disease, parasitism

Abiotic factors
- Physical
o Temperature, light, fire, moisture, soil/rock structure, wind
- Chemical
o Water, oxygen, salinity, pH, soil nutrients

Notes for lecture 9-10

Slide 1
Influence of Abiotic Factors on Species Distribution & Global Biodiversity Patterns
(Biomes)

Slide 2
Interaction between organisms and environment limit the distribution of species
*Diagram
- Factors influence organisms on a global scale

Slide 3
Abiotic factors that influence species distribution
Terrestrial Environment
 Sunlight
 Temperature
 Precipitation
 Wind
 Latitude
 Altitude
 Soil

Aquatic Environment
 Light penetration
 Water temperature
 Dissolved nutrient concentrations (especially N and P)
 Water currents
 Salinity

Slide 4
 Temperature
o Most important factor in the distribution or organisms
o Effects on biological processes
o Inability of most organisms to regulate body temperature precisely

Ectothermic vs. Endothermic

- Endo uses own energy to maintain body temp.

- Ecto allow temp to change

Slide 5
 Frost is the most important factor limiting geographic distribution of tropical and
subtropical plants
 Cactus distribution limited to place where the temperature does not remain below
freezing for more than one night

Slide 6
 Endothermic animal ranges also affected
 Vampire bats limited to area where average minimum temperature in January is
above 10 degrees Celsius

- Animals that are smaller in size tend to lose more energy (heat) faster
- Energetically very expensive, must maintain

Slide 7
  Coral reef organisms abundant only in warm water due to effects of temperature on
coral deposition
 Coral – zooxanthelae symbiosis is threatened by rising ocean temperature
o When temperature increases over 20 degrees Celsius, photosynthesis stops,
therefore dangerously high levels of CO2
 If Temp is too low, coral will not grow (calicification)

Slide 8
Influence of Light Penetration
 In aquatic environments, water absorbs light preventing photosynthesis at depths
greater than 100 m (euphotic zone)
 Red algae occur at greater depths because they possess pigments enabling them to
use blue-green light
Pigment: Phycoerythrin

Slide 9
Influence of Salts in the water
 Freshwater fish tend to gain water and have to constantly eliminate water
 Marine fish lose water and must drink water to compensate

Euryhaline fish: has developed tolerance to a wide range of salt levels in water
- must adapt to different kinds of water

Slide 10
What is a Biome?
A large geographical area with characteristic plants and animals
Terrestrial Biome Types
*Diagram
- Biomes distributed across the world
- Each has own unique characteristic plan (pattern)

Slide 11
Relationship between terrestrial biome types and temperature and precipitation
*Diagram

Slide 12
Climate and Biological Communities
 Climate – prevailing weather pattern in a region
o Temperature, water, wind, and light are components
 Climate predicts the occurrence of specific biomes – major community types
Slide 13
Why do climates vary geographically?
Solar energy input varies with latitude

Slide 14
Global temperature differences create winds and drive atmospheric circulation
 Hadley proposed one large convection in each hemisphere
 High Temp. at equator causing air to rise and flow north and south toward poles
 Air would cool and fall, flowing back to the equator

Slide 15
Coriolis effect: effect of Earth’s rotation
Three cell model: Hadley, Ferrell & Polar
*Diagram

Slide 16
Local and seasonal effects on climate
 Oceans and topographic features such as mountain ranges can affect local climates
 Ocean currents can influence climate in coastal areas.

Slide 17
Tropical forest: Thick canopy blocking light to bottom strata, many trees covered by
epiphytes
Species richness: extremely high (animals & plants)

- Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants

Slide 18
Taiga (Boreal Forest): one of the largest terrestrial biome receives lots of moisture as rain
or snow.
Species richness: plants (low), animals (low, but varies seasonally)

Slide 19
Temperate Grassland: Marked by seasonal drought and fires, and grazing by large animals.
Species richness: plants (fairly high), animals (relatively low)

Slide 20
Tundra: Permafrost (Permanent frozen ground), bitter cold, high winds and thus no trees.
Has 20% of land surface on earth. Low species richness (animals & plants)

Slide 21
Desert: Plants and animals adapted for water storage and conservation. Can be either very
hot, or very cold (e.g. Antarctica). Moderate to very low species richness.

Slide 22
Aquatic biomes cover about 75% of the Earth’s surface
- Wetlands
- Lakes
- Rivers, streams
- Intertidal zones
- Oceanic pelagic biome
- Coral reefs
- Abyssal zones (includes hydrothermal vents)

Slide 23
Geographical distribution of major aquatic biomes
*Diagram

Slide 24
Lake stratification and mixing  alters oxygen and nutrient levels. Dependent on
temperature changes and effect on water density.
- Lake stratifies based on temp. and oxygen
- When thermocline occurs, mixing stops
- Mixing occurs, lake water enriched in nutrients

Slide 25
Oligotrophic Lake: Nutrient poor, water is clear, oxygen rich; little productivity by algae,
often have high diversity of fish.

Slide 26
Entrophic Lake: nutrient rich, lots of algal productivity so it’s oxygen poor at times, high
algal diversity, but low diversity of fish

Slide 27
Rivers and Streams: Organisms need adaptations so that they are not swept away by moving
water; heavily affected by human activities
Slide 28
Wetlands: includes marshes, bogs, swamps, seasonal ponds. Among riches biomes with
respect to biodiversity and productivity. Very few now exist.

Slide 29
Estuary: Place where freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean. Highly productive
biome; rich in euryhaline species.

Slide 30
Marine environment with zonation
*Diagram

Slide 31
Influence of zonation on marine community structure
- Each has own structure to live at certain depths

Slide 32
Community structures in aquatic biomes are primarily distinguished by differences of:
- Light availability
- Oxygen gradient
- Current strength
- Temperature gradient

Additional Notes for Lecture 10

Slide 1
Ecosystems and ecosystem diversity
- What is an ecosystem?
- Key terms
 Autotroph & heterotroph
 Carnivore, decomposer / detritus feeder, herbivore & omnivore
 Producer & consumer (primary, secondary, tertiary)
 Food chain & food web
 Trophic level

Slide 2
Hierarchy of life (= levels of biological organization)
1. Atoms
2. Molecules & Macromolecules
 3. Cells
4. Tissues
5. Organ &
6. Organ Systems
7. Organism
8. Species (form)
9. Populations
10. Community
11. Ecosystem
12. Biosphere

Slide 3
What is an ecosystem?
- Term defined in 135 by British plant ecologist Sir Arthur George Tanlsey
- Includes the biotic communities of organisms in a defined area and the abiotic
environment affecting that community

 Ecosystems vary in size (example)

o Microscale to macroscale

- Potholes
o Has own plant/animal distribution

Slide 4
Pond
**Some organisms can move in and out of a well defined ecosystem

Oasis
(With plants, frog, fish, birds, insects, etc.)

Slide 5
Prairie Ecosystem
Kelp Forest Ecosystem

Slide 6
Ecosystem ecology = study of the movement of energy and materials trough organisms and
their communities

Energy moves in one direction (from producers to consumers)

From autotrophs to heterotrophs
Trophic level = each feeding level
GK: trophos = feeder
Concept: food chains & food webs
(Simple/linear versus complex interconnected chains)

Ex. Photosynthetic plants to herbivores

Autotrophs  Heterotrophs

Slide 7
Food chains
*Diagram of Trophic level, Terrestrial food chain and Aquatic food chain
- Primary producer is autotroph (Plant or phytoplankton)
- Everything after the base (primary producer) is a heterotroph
- Primary consumer (herbivore) [Caterpillar and zooplankton)
- Secondary consumer (carnivore) [Lizard and Fish]
- Tertiary consumer (secondary carnivore) [Snake or Pelican]

 Plants, many protists (algae) and photosynthetic prokaryotes are at the base
 Base organisms produce energy-rich tissue

Slide 8
Energy passes from one trophic level to another
*Diagram
 Much energy from 1st trophic level goes unconsumed by herbivores
 Energy lost as heat in a single trophic level
 Energy lost in the conversion from one trophic level to another

- Unconsumed plants die and decompose in place

- This material along with dead remains of animals and waste products  Detritus
(=debris)

Slide 9
- Decomposer breakdown dead organisms rom any trophic level
- Organisms that get energy from detritus = detrivores /decomposers [=saprotrophs]
- Detrivores / decomposers probably carry out 80-90% of the consumption of plant
matter

Slide 10
Relationships between organisms in an ecosystem are more complex
Food Web (prairie ecosystem)

Trophic levels for the different organisms

1. Primary producers
 2. Primary consumers
3. Secondary consumers
4. Detrivore / Decomposer

Slide 11
Food web (African Savanna Ecosystem)

Notes for lecture 11

Slide 1
Remaining slides from the additional notes of lecture 10

Slide 2
Some organisms can occupy more than on trophic level
Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
- Primary producer
- Secondary consumer

- Once it traps insects, it will remain closed for 5 – 10 days and release digestive
enzymes
- Found in areas low in nitrogen
- Compensate for deficiency

Slide 3
 Chain lengths are short in most food webs
o Chain length refers to the number of links between the trophic levels
involved
o Usually less than 6 levels
o Based on laws of physics and chemistry
 Second law of thermodynamics – energy conversions are not 100% efficient and
that, in any transfer process, some energy is lost

Slide 4
Energy transfer and loss in a forest

Slide 5
An energy pyramid for a prairie ecosystem

Slide 6
  Can compare the efficiency of energy transfer through trophic levels in different
types of food webs
 Two measures of the efficiency of consumers as energy transformers
o Production efficiency
o Trophic-level transfer efficiency

Slide 7
Production efficiency = Net productivity / Assimilation x 100
 Production efficiency
o Percentage of energy assimilated by an organism that becomes incorporated
into new biomass
o Invertebrates average 10-40%
o Vertebrates have lower production efficiencies
 Fish (ectotherms) around 10%
 Birds and mammls (endotherms) 1-2%
 Why?
o Have to maintain body temperature
o Use own energy

Slide 8
Trophic-level transfer = Production at trophic level n / Production at trophic level n – 1 x100
 Trophic-level transfer efficiency
o Amount of energy at one trophic level that is acquired by the trophic level
above and incorporated into biomass
o Examines energy flow between trophic levels, not just individual species

Slide 9
Trophic-level transfer efficiency
 Averages around 10% with much variation
o Some marine food chains exceed 30%
 Low for two reasons
o Many organisms cannot digest all of their prey
o Much assimilated energy lost as heat
 Limits number of trophic levels in a food web

Slide 10
Ecological pyramids in food webs: numbers
*Diagram

Slide 11
 Pyramid of numbers
 o Number of individuals decreases at each trophic level
o Inverted pyramids – single producer supports hundreds of herbivores and
thousands of predators
 Oak tree supports beetles, caterpillars, and their predators
 Use pyramid of biomass
 Can still occur even in pyramid of biomass
 Small phytoplankton standing crop supports higher biomass
of zooplankton by processing large amounts of energy
 Use pyramid of production

Slide 12
Ecological pyramids in food webs: Biomass
*Diagram

Slide 13
Energy flow and Biomass distribution
*Diagram

Slide 14
Net Primary Productivity (NPP) varies among regions
- NPP = GPP (Gross Primary Productivity) - Respiration

Slide 15
Net Primary productivity (NPP) varies among biomes

Slide 16
Human Impacts: Food web & Toxins in the Environment
 Humans release an immense variety of toxic chemicals
o Including thousands of synthetics previously unknown to nature
 One of the reasons such toxins are so harmful
o Is that they become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of a
food web

Slide 17
 In biomagnification toxins concentrate at higher trophic levels (e.g. DDT, PCB)

- DDT was used for managing pest, used for a diverse amount of reasons
- Over time concentration becomes large and may permeate and remain in
environment and organisms
- Organisms cannot break it down, metabolize
Slide 18
Peregrine Falcon Diagram
- High levels of DDT
- Birds with large amounts of DDT would lay eggs with very thin shells, affected the
population

Slide 19
Silent Spring – Rachel Carson

Slide 20
 Biomagnification
o Tendency of certain chemicals to accumulate or build up within food chains
(e.g. DDT, PCB, Methyl-HG)
o Persistent in the environment
o Low solubility in water/high solubility in fats or lipids (tends to concentrate
in tissue)
o Higher trophic levels amass large concentrations
o Interferes with eggshell formation resulting in thin shelled eggs that break
o Resulted to population decline of many fish-eating birds

Notes for lecture #12-13

Slide 1
Biogeochemical cycles
 Nutrients (C, N, P & S) cycles involve
o Biological transport – absorption of chemicals by living organisms and their
subsequent release back into the environment
o Geological transport – weathering and erosion of rocks, and elements
transported by surface and subsurface drainage
o Chemical transport – dissolved matter in rain and snow, wind driven
transport of atmospheric gases
 The human population is disrupting nutrient/chemical throughout the biosphere

Slide 2
*Diagram

Slide 3
Carbon cycle
- Present in atmosphere in low concentrations
- Autotrophs incorporate it into organic matter via photosynthesis
 - Respiration and decomposition of plants recycles a similar amount back into the
atmosphere as CO2
- Carbon is incorporated into shells of marine organisms eventually forming limestone
deposits

Slide 4
- Volcanoes and hot springs release large amounts
- Burning fossil fuels is adding CO2 and particulate matter to the atmosphere
- CO2 is the most significant of the greenhouse gases, which are a primary source of
global warming

What are the other major natural greenhouse gases?

Nitrous oxide, methane, water vapour

Slide 5
Where is all the CO2 (C) going to go?
*Diagram

Slide 6
The Greenhouse Effect
*Diagram
- Minimal heat radiated from Earth escapes into space
- Majority of heat radiated from Earth is redirected back to Earth

Slide 7
Primary Contributors to the Natural Greenhouse Effect
Carbon Dioxide ~25%
Other ~10%
Water Vapour ~65%

Slide 8
Other planets also have Greenhouse Effects, but these are unsuitable for life

Planet GH Gases Surface Temperature GH Effect

Venus >90% CO2 450 degrees Celsius 550 degrees Celsius
Earth ~0.04% CO2, ~1% H2O 15 degrees Celsius 33 degrees Celsius

- Venus is far too hot, Earth is not bad

Slide 9
Rising Atmospheric CO2
 Due to the increased burning of fossil fuels and other human activities
o Concentration of atmospheric CO2 has been steadily increasing

Slide 10
Increased levels of atmospheric CO2 are magnifying the greenhouse effect and magnifying
global climatic change
- General increase in temperature over ~100 years

Slide 11
Global Warming Potential of various natural Greenhouse Gases

Gas Residence Time (yr) Global Warming Potential (molar

basis)
CO2 230 1
CH4 14.4 10
N2O 160 180

- CH4 and N2O are more capable of trapping heat

- CO2 remains in atmosphere much longer

Slide 12
Estimated and Predicted Global Concentration of Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases

Gas Pre-industrial Current 2050 scenario

CO2 275 ppm 345 ppm 500-600 ppm
CH4 0.7 ppm 1.7 ppm 2.1-4 ppm
N2O 285 ppb 304 ppb 350-400 ppb

Slide 13
Sea Ice Thickness (10-year average)

Slide 14
Global warming
- Human activities increasing the greenhouse effect
- All greenhouse gases have increased in atmospheric concentrations since industrial
times
- Anticipated changes in global climate will occur too rapidly for normal evolutionary
processes to compensate
- Can result in massive loss of biodiversity on a global scale
Slide 15
Most rapid changes are occurring in the polar ecosystems
- Temperature has increased by about 25 degrees Celsius in last 50 years
- Loss of sea ice has decreased productivity, habitat
- It has subsequently affected polar food web
- Krill (Keystone species) population has plummeted
- Krill – main food source for whales, seals, penguins

Slide 16
Nitrogen Cycle
*Diagram
Why elemental nitrogen is inaccessible to most organisms?
- It’s an inert gas (triple bond), very hard to break down

Slide 17
Nitrogen Cycle
- It is essential component of proteins, nucleic acids and chlorophyll
- 78% of Earth’s atmosphere is N2 but largely inaccessible

1. Nitrogen fixation – only certain bacteria are able to convert N2 and release ammonia
(NH3) or ammonium (NH4+)
2. Nitrification – soil bacteria convert NH3 or NH4+ into nitrate (NO3-) used by plants

Slide 18
3. Assimilation – plants and animals incorporate ammonia and NO3-
4. Ammonification – conversion of organic nitrogen to NH3 and NH4+ by bacteria and
fungi (most common pathway for nitrogen to enter soil)
5. Denitrification – reduction of nitrate (NO3-) to gaseous nitrogen (N2) by bacteria
returns a small amount of nitrogen to the atmosphere

Slide 19
 Human alterations of the nitrogen cycle have approximately doubled the rate of
nitrogen input to the cycle
 Fertilizer runoff can cause eutrophication (nutrient enrichment of soil/water)
 Burning fossil fuels also releases nitrogen oxides which can react with rain to form
acid rain (nitric acid)

- Speeding up eutrophication process

Slide 20
Phosphorous Cycle
*Diagram

Slide 21
 Phosphorus is limiting element in most aquatic systems
 Human input: fertilizer & sewage
 More phosphorus increases aquatic productivity
 Eutrophication – elevated nutrient levels in the water
 Cultural Eutrophication – nutrient enrichment due to human input, leads to
unregulated algal growth

Slide 22
Are all nutrients equal in the ecosystems?
 Some nutrients limit primary productivity
 Sometimes more than one nutrient may limit productivity
 Bacterial, algal and plant growth are stimulated by the addition of a limiting nutrient

Slide 23
*Diagram

Slide 24
 Classic Whole Ecosystem Case Study (1969: fertilization of Lake 226 (ELA, Kenora,
ON)
 Objective: Which (C, N & P) are limiting primary production?
 Led to the banning of P in detergents and reduction of P inputs from sewage
treatment plants in Canada, U.S. & Europe

Slide 25
Human Impacts: An Example of a Growing Problem
 Excess P applied to agricultural landscapes is carried into surface waters where it
also causes excess algal and plant growth in lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal
systems (eutrophication).
 PO4 binds quickly to soil particles and tends to accumulate
 Agricultural landscapes are becoming saturated with P.
 As these soils erode, they carry P into water bodies

Slide 26
Lake Ecosystems
 In temperate climate lakes, phosphorus is a strong limiting nutrient
Slide 27
 Temperate Lakes
o Are sensitive to seasonal temperature change
o Experience seasonal turnover
o Cultural eutrophication is common in nutrient rich temperate lakes

Slide 28
Impact of Cultural Eutrophication on Aquatic Ecosystems
 Unregulated algal growth (algal bloom)

Slide 29
Other Impacts: Various Types of Algae Can Flourish Due to Nutrient Enrichment
 Chlorophytes (Green Algae)
 Cyanobacteria (Blue-green Algae)
 Diatoms
 Dinoflagellates

Slide 30
(Dominated by Dinoflagellates)
Red Tides
 Common to tropical and subtropical coast lines and estuaries
 About 40 species create serious toxins
 But can also be found in temperate coastal waters in late spring and summer

Red tide off the east coast of Italy

Toxins may be produced to deter herbivores (zooplankton)

Slide 31
Food Web Effects of Some Dinoflagellate Toxins Are Drastic
 Humpback Whale (Dead)
 Loons on Coast of N. Carolina (Dead)
 Lesions on Fish (Dead)
 Beach covered with dead fish

Slide 32
Back to Red Tides: Increased Occurrence of PSP Worldwide from 1970 to 2000
- Affects humans because of consumption of contaminated marine animals
- Accumulate huge amount of toxins
Slide 33
 Algal bloom, eventually leads to hypoxic/anoxic water
o Because every stem has a carrying capacity (Exceed)
 Over time, could alter community structure – dominated by tolerant species
 Release of toxins, massive fish kill, loss of biodiversity
 Contamination of toxins in human drinking water source & food (e.g., paralytic
shellfish poisoning)

Slide 34
Sulfur Cycle
Pyrite  Iron sulfite
- Sulfur mineral abundant in crust
- Released through atmosphere (cycled) as acid rain
- Sulfur is highly soluble

Human Implications
 Burning fossil fuels
 Mining, smelting

Slide 35
Sulphur Cycle
- Most naturally produced sulphur in the atmosphere comes from
o Hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) released from volcanic eruptions
o Decomposition, especially in wetland environments, where sulphur is very
common

Slide 36
- H2S quickly oxidizes into sulphur dioxide (SO2)
- SO2 is soluble in water and returns to Earth as weak sulfuric acid (H 2SO4), or
natural acid rain (pH 5.6)
- Sulphate ions, SO4- enter soil
- Sulphate-reducing bacteria in soil may release sulphur as H2S, or the Sulphate may
be incorporated by plants into their tissue

Slide 37
- Certain marine algae and a few salt marsh plants produce relatively large amounts of
the sulfurous gas dimethyl sulfide (CH3SCH3)
o Small particles form nuclei that water condenses around forming clouds

Slide 38
- Fossil fuel burning has altered the sulfur cycle the most
 o Large amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO2)
o Reacts with rain to produce anthropogenic acid rain with a pH of 4.1-4.5

Slide 39
Acid Rain Impacted Regions of Easter & Central Canada
- Highly impacted areas of acid rain
- Lot of industry (suburbs, cities) mining/smelting region

Slide 40
Impact of Acid Rain on Terrestrial Ecosystems
 Soil infertility (leaching of nutrients, decrease in microbial activity)
 Deforestation and habitat loss

Slide 41
Impact of Acid Rain on Aquatic Ecosystems
*Diagram
- The top of the food chain has a more drastic change
- Ecosystems affected by acid rain is much simpler, not as complex/diverse (right side of
diagram)

(Slide 42)
Summary
Carbon cycle – green house effect, effects on global biodiversity
Nitrogen cycle – limiting nutrient, eutrophication, acid rain, loss of biodiversity
Phosphorus cycle – limiting nutrient, local cycle, eutrophication, algal bloom, loss of aquatic
biodiversity
Sulfur cycle – acid rain, loss of aquatic biodiversity

Notes for lecture 14

Slide 1
Remaining portion of the notes for lecture #12-13

Slide 2
Anthropogenic Causes of biodiversity loss
 Deforestation & Habitat destruction
 Over-exploitation/inbreeding/genetic drift
 Introduced species
 Impacts on nutrient/chemical cycling
 Global warming/climate change
 Pollution
Slide 3
Animal Extinctions and Human Population Growth
Biodiversity crisis – in the past 100 years, 20 species of mammals and over 40 species of
birds have gone extinct

Growth of human populations is linked to number of extinctions

Slide 4
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- Founded in 1948, Headquarter: Switzerland, involves 11 000 scientists & volunteers
from 160 countries
- The main global biodiversity monitoring organization
- Dedicated to natural resource conservation
- Publishes Red List: rate which species are most endangered

Slide 5
2007 IUCN Red List
*Diagram
The percentage of species in several groups which are listed as critically endangered (red),
endangered (orange), or vulnerable (yellow).

Slide 6
Biodiversity hotspots – areas with a high concentration of endemic species, experiencing
rapid loss of species
[Extinction Hotspots]
Hotspots – contain greater than or equal to 1 500 species of endemic vascular plants
- Lost about 70% of the original habitat

Slide 7
Amphibians: another threatened group, very sensitive
The Monteverde, Costa Rica case
Extinction of the Golden Tad (Bufo periglenes)
Vanished in a span of less than 5 years…
Complete disappearance in 1987
Reasons: Pollution (Pesticide use), Global warming (fungal disease)?

Slide 8
Effects of different factors
*Diagram
Slide 9
Deforestation and Habitat Loss
Caused by demand for wood products, need for space, farmland, housing, roads
Deforestation causes habitat fragmentation
Animals and plants are forced into confined areas
Results into populations that are too small to survive

Little Islands (patches of forest)

Question: Which type of species are likely to disappear from small forest fragments?
- Large organisms (top of the food chain)

Slide 10
Direct Explanation
A Case Study – the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)
Extiction caused by humans

Once probably the most numerous bird on the planet

Habitat: Primary forest of N. America (E of the Rockies)
Flocks: a mile wide and 300 mile long

Pop. 19th Century: 1 to 4 billion (40% of N. America’s birds)

- Over-hunting/marketing
- Habitat destruction – Loss of nesting areas

Slide 11
The last Passenger Pigeon, named Martha, died alone at the Cincinnati Zoo at about 1:00
p.m. on September 1, 1914.
- Once most numerous bird on Earth is forever gone!

Notes for Lecture #15

Slide 1
Remaining portion of the lecture #14

Slide 2
Introduced species
 Humans are constantly moving species between continents, islands
o Deliberate or accidental
o Some become invasive
o Islands or confined ecosystems are at risk
Slide 3
Island of Guam
 Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) introduced accidentally
 Decimated native bird population which evolved in the absence of predators and
lacked the ability to fly (caused at least 12 extinctions)
 Threat to many native small lizards and mammals

Slide 4
Argentinian Ant (Linepithema humile)
 Was accidentally introduced into the USA
 Have decimated native ants species in California
 Exhibit low intraspecific competition, form large colonies, ecologically very dominant
species

Slide 5
Sierra Nevada (California):
 Introduced non-native trouts for sport fishing, which prey on Rana muscosa
 Several studies have implicated introduced trout as one of the main sources of their
decline

Slide 6
*Invasive Species Diagram

Slide 7
 Zebra mussels: Native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia
 Transported to the Great Lakes via ballast water from a transoceanic vessel
 First discovered in Lake St. Clair, near Detroit in 1988
 Since then, they have spread rapidly to all of the Great Lakes and connected
waterways in many US states, as well as Ontario and Quebec
 Extreme biofouling activity, nuisance to humans
 Outcompeted native mussels species
BiofoulingIncreased growth of unwanted population

Slide 8
Rapid spread of Zebra Mussel
*Diagram

Slide 9
“Terminator” carp threatens Great Lakes
Environmentalists say Asian carp, an invasive species of food-guzzling fish, could cause an
ecological disaster if it enters Lake Michigan
 First introduced to southern states of the US from China in the 1970s to help clean
tanks in fish farms
 They escaped and over the last 30 years have steadily worked their way up the
Mississippi River system to the Great Lakes
 Voracious eaters, grow very big, having devastating effects on native fish
populations

Slide 10
Why are invasive species often so successful?
- Very good competitors (out-compete the native species)
- Pioneer species, few native predators
- Prey organisms lack anti-predator defenses
- No parasite

Slide 11
Inbreeding: Loss of genetic diversity
 Mating among relatives
 More likely when population is small
 Survivorship of offspring can decline

Slide 12
Case study:
Greater prairie chicken – Reduced to population with 5 or 6 males, resulted in steady
reduction of hatching success, brought in Kansas birds to increase diversity

Slide 13
Genetic Drift: has strong effects in small populations; changes allele frequency, reduces
genetic variation

Bottleneck Effect: genetic drift resulting from an event that drastically reduces population
size, e.g., natural disasters (earthquakes and floods), disease, over-hunting and starvation

Analogy: shaking marbles out of a neck of bottle

Slide 14
Bottleneck Effect
Example: The northern elephant seal
By 1890 hunting had reduced the northern elephant seal population to 20 animals (a single
population) in Mexico

After becoming a protected species the population rebounded to 30 000 individuals

However, of 24 gene loci examined, no variation was found

That is, only one allele was found for each gene

Other related seal populations abound in genetic variation

- More variation = better survival

- Less variation = more vulnerable

Slide 15
Reducing the loss of genetic diversity is key to the survival
 Grizzly bears need large population sizes
 Effective population size is 25% (not all bears breed)
 Even fairly large, isolated populations are vulnerable to the harmful effects of loss
of genetic variation

What process can enhance the genetic diversity in such isolated populations?
- Take bears in other populations and move them to different population

Slide 16
Extinction Vortex – downward spiral of population decline from which it can not naturally
recover, can be caused by inbreeding & genetic drift
*Diagram
Note: All species have a minimal population size (Minimum Viable Population)

Notes for Lecture #16

Slide 1
Remaining portion of lecture # 15

Slide 2
Biological Diversity (“biodiversity”)
What is it? The totality of genes, species, and ecosystems ina region/world
 The variety of the world’s organisms = genetic diversity and the assemblages they
form
 Blanket term for the natural biological wealth that under-girds human life and well-
being = million years evolution
Human cultures have emerged & adapted to the local environment, discovering, using, and
altering biotic resources.

Slide 3
Current Biodiversity
 Identified modern species as of 2009 > 1.9 M
 Numbers in different groups are related to human interest, not to necessarily to
biological importance
 Organisms that can’t be isolated and grown in pure culture under ambient condition
are particularly difficult to study.
 A scientific description ( = formal identification) is a substantial effort
comparative morphology, biochemistry, physiology, DNA sequence (multiple genes),
distribution, behavior, with related taxa.

Slide 4
Biodiversity – divided into hierarchical categories: genes, species, ecosystems & culture.
They describe different aspects of living systems that are measured in different ways.
1. Genetic Diversity: Variation of genes within species
 It can be between distinct populations of the same species or genetic variation
within a population.
2. Species Diversity: Variety of species within a region
 Measured in many ways, e.g., the number of species in a region (species
“richness”) is often used. “Taxanomic diversity = the relationship of species to
each other.
3. Ecosystem Diversity: It is harder to measure than species or genetic diversity
because the “boundaries” of communities and ecosystems are elusive.

Slide 5
*Diagram

Slide 6
Cultural Diversity
Like genetic or species diversity, some attributes of human cultures represent “solutions”
to the problems of survival in particular environments. Cultural diversity helps people adapt
to changing conditions. It is manifested in language, religious beliefs, land management
practices, art, music, social structure, crop selection, diet, and other social attributes.

Slide 7
Why should we Conserve Biodiversity?
Humans depend on plants, animals, and microorganisms for a wide range of food, medicine,
and industrial products.
Losing species can threaten the functioning of ecosystems.

Extinctions deprive the scientific community opportunities to study and understand

ecological relationships among organisms

Slide 8
Why Conserve Biodiversity?
Ethical responsibility to protect what are our only known companions in the universe

Humans derive enormous psychological/aesthetic benefits through preserving biodiversity

Slide 9
Reasons for protecting biodiversity:
1. Intrinsic - valuable for its own sake
2. Instrumental – beneficial to humans
Environmental sustainability is the key to our own survival!!

Slide 10
Instrumental Reasons for Protecting Biodiversity
Economic benefits
- Crops/food
- Drugs
- Model organisms for human health & environmental research
- Ecotourism

Slide 11
 Economic values
o Zea diploperenis, an ancient corn relative is resistant to many corn
viruses and its genes are being used to develop resistant corn
o 25% of prescription drugs in Canada and US are derived from plants
o Zebrafish is a model organism for research on many human diseases /
environmental research

Slide 12
Ecosystem services – quantifiable services that an ecosystem provides to humans
- Often very valuable economically

Examples:
 Moderating climates
 Mitigating floods and droughts
  Eliminating waste and toxins
 Pollination

Pollinators: Insects pollinate 2/3 of crop species ~ 25% of foods consumed

Slide 13
Bee decline already having dramatic effect on pollination of plants

A decline in bees and global warming are having a damaging effect on the pollination of
plants, new research claims

- Decline of honey-bee colonies in US

- A major threat to global food security!

Slide 14
What is conservation biology?
An applied science, devoted to protect & manage earth’s biodiversity. It is guided by three
basic principles:
1. Evolution is the process that unites all of biology
2. The ecological world is dynamic
3. Humans are a part of ecosystems

Slide 15
Conservation Strategies
 Habitat conservation focuses on
o Megadiversity countries – greatest number of species
 Just 17 countries are home to nearly 70% of all known species
 Brazil, Indonesia and Columbia top the list

Slide 16
Location of major biodiversity hot spots around the world

Slide 17
Hotspots (Areas rich in endemic species)
- Endemics are found only in a particular place an nowhere else
- 34 hot spots occupy only 2.3% of Earth’s surface but contain 150 000 endemic plant
species (50% of world total)
- Receive more attention at the expense of other areas
- Put species in hot spots under protection
- This strategy has its flaws!
Slide 18
Representative habitats
- Many areas that are threatened but not biologically rich should be preserved as well

Example: Grassland biomes

- Natural habitat for many unique plant & animal species