Animal Ecology

Ecology

⚫ Ecology investigates the interactions

among organisms and between
organisms and their environment.
Hierarchy of Ecology

⚫ Organism level studies focus on

individuals.
⚫ Physiological or behavioral ecology
⚫ Population level studies examine
groups of conspecific organisms living
in a particular area.
Hierarchy of Ecology

⚫ Community level studies investigate

interactions between the populations of
various species in an area.
⚫ Species diversity - # of different species
⚫ Interactions – predation, parasitism,
competition, symbiotic associations.
⚫ Ecosystem level studies examine how a
community interacts with the physical
environment.
Environment and Niche

⚫ An animal’s environment includes all of

the conditions that affects survival and
reproduction.
⚫ Abiotic factors (nonliving) – soil, air, water,
sunlight, temperature, pH etc.
⚫ Biotic factors (living) – food items,
predators, parasites, competitors, mates,
hosts etc.
Environment and Niche

⚫ Environmental factors that are directly

utilized by an animal are resources.
⚫ Space (nonexpendable)
⚫ Food (expendable)
Environment and Niche

⚫ An animal’s habitat is the space where it

lives.
⚫ Size is variable
⚫ Rotten log is a habitat for carpenter ants.
⚫ Forest & adjacent meadow is a habitat for deer.
Environment and Niche
⚫ The habitat must
meet the
requirements for life.
⚫ Temp, salinity, pH
etc.
⚫ The unique
multidimensional
relationship of a
species with its
environment is its
niche.
Environment and Niche

⚫ Generalists can withstand a variety of

environmental conditions.
⚫ Specialists can only tolerate a narrow
range.
Environment and Niche
⚫ The fundamental niche describes the total potential
role that an organism could fill under ideal
circumstances.
⚫ The realized niche describes the actual role an
organism fills.
⚫ Subset of the fundamental niche.
⚫ Affected by competition
Population Ecology

⚫ Population ecology is the study of

populations in relation to environment,
including environmental influences on
population density and distribution, age
structure, and variations in population
size.
Populations

⚫ A population is a reproductively
interactive group of animals of a single
species.
⚫ A few individuals may migrate between
populations.
⚫ Adds gene flow
⚫ Prevents speciation.

⚫ Numerous small populations may be

connected in this way.
⚫ Metapopulation
Life Tables

⚫ A life table is an age-specific summary

of the survival pattern of a population.
⚫ Life tables usually follow the fate of a
cohort – a group of individuals of the same
age – from birth until all have died.
Survivorship Curves
⚫ A survivorship
curve is a graphic
way of representing
the data in a life
table.
⚫ The survivorship
curve for Belding’s
ground squirrels
shows that the
death rate is
relatively constant.
Survivorship Curves
⚫ Survivorship curves can
be classified into three
general types
⚫ Type I – high survival
early in life indicates
parental care of fewer
offspring.
⚫ Type II – constant death
rate over life span
⚫ Type III – drops sharply
at start indicating high
death rate for young; lots
of young, no care.
Age Structure

⚫ Populations that
contain multiple
cohorts exhibit age
structure.
⚫ More individuals in
the younger cohorts
indicates a growing
population.
Life History Diversity
⚫ Species that exhibit
semelparity, or “big-
bang” reproduction
reproduce a single
time and die.
⚫ Salmon
⚫ Agave
⚫ Favored in
unpredictable
climates.
Life History Diversity

⚫ Species that exhibit iteroparity, or

repeated reproduction, produce offspring
repeatedly over time.
⚫ Lizards often start reproducing during their
second year and will produce eggs every
year of their lives.
⚫ Favored in more predictable environments.
Population Growth

⚫ It is useful to study population growth in

an idealized situation in order to
understand the capacity of species for
increase and the conditions that may
facilitate this type of growth.
Population Growth

⚫ If immigration and emigration are

ignored, a population’s growth rate
equals birth rate minus death rate.
Population Growth

⚫ Zero population growth occurs when

the birth rate equals the death rate.
⚫ The population growth equation can
be expressed as:

dN
= rN
dt
Exponential Growth

⚫ Exponential population growth is

population increase under idealized
conditions.
⚫ Unlimited resources.
⚫ Under these conditions, the rate of
reproduction is at its maximum, called
the intrinsic rate of increase (rmax).
Exponential Growth

⚫ The equation of exponential population

growth is:
dN =
dt rmaxN
Exponential Growth

⚫ Exponential
population growth
results in a J-
shaped curve.
Exponential Growth

⚫ The J-shaped curve of exponential growth is

characteristic of some populations that are
rebounding.
Exponential Growth

⚫ The global human

population has been
in exponential
growth for a long
time.
⚫ At what point will we
surpass the carrying
capacity for our
planet?
Logistic Growth

⚫ Exponential growth cannot be sustained

for long in any population.
⚫ Depends on unlimited resources.
⚫ In reality, there are one or more limiting
resources that prevent exponential growth.
Logistic Growth

⚫ A more realistic population model limits

growth by incorporating carrying
capacity.
⚫ Carrying capacity (K) is the maximum
population size the environment can
support.
The Logistic Growth Model

⚫ In the logistic growth model, the per

capita rate of increase declines as
carrying capacity is reached.
The Logistic Growth Model

⚫ The logistic growth equation includes K, the

carrying capacity.

dN (K − N )
= rmax N
dt K
The Logistic Growth Model

⚫ The logistic
model of
population
growth
produces an S-
shaped curve.
The Logistic Model and Real
Populations
⚫ The growth of
laboratory
populations of
Paramecia fits an S-
shaped curve.
The Logistic Model and Real
Populations
⚫ Some populations
overshoot K before
settling down to a
relatively stable
density.
The Logistic Model and Real
Populations
⚫ Some populations
fluctuate greatly
around K.
The Logistic Model and Real
Populations
⚫ The logistic model fits few real
populations, but is useful for estimating
possible growth.
The Logistic Model and Life
Histories
⚫ Life history traits favored by natural
selection may vary with population
density and environmental conditions.
K and r Selection

⚫ K-selection, or density-dependent
selection, selects for life history traits that
are sensitive to population density.
⚫ Few, but larger offspring, parental care.
⚫ r-selection, or density-independent
selection, selects for life history traits that
maximize reproduction.
⚫ Many small offspring, no parental care.
Extrinsic Limits to Growth

⚫ What environmental factors stop a

population from growing?
⚫ Why do some populations show radical
fluctuations in size over time, while
others remain stable?
Extrinsic Limits to Growth

⚫ Abiotic limiting factors such as a storm or

a fire are density-independent – their
effect does not change with population
density.
⚫ Biotic factors such as competition or
predation or parasitism act in a density-
dependent way – the effect does
change with population density.
Community Ecology

⚫ Community ecology examines the

interactions among the various
populations in a community.
Interactions
⚫ Populations of
animals that form a
community can
interact in various
ways.
⚫ Beneficial for one,
negative for the
other
⚫ Predation,
Parasitism,
Herbivory
Interactions

⚫ Beneficial for one, neutral for the other

⚫ Commensalism
⚫ Barnacles growing on whales
Interactions

⚫ Beneficial for both

⚫ Mutualism
Interactions
⚫ Competition is a type of interaction that has a
negative effect on both.
⚫ Community structure is often shaped by competition.
⚫ Amensalism occurs when only one of the competitors
incurs a cost.
⚫ Balanus & Chthamalus barnacles
Competition and Character
Displacement
⚫ Competition occurs when two or more
species share a limiting resource.
Competition and Character
Displacement
⚫ Competition is reduced by reducing the
overlap in their niches (the portion of
resources shared).
⚫ The principle of competitive exclusion
suggests that organisms with exactly the
same niche can’t co-occur.
⚫ One will drive the other out.
Competition and Character
Displacement
⚫ Character
displacement occurs
when the species
partition the
resource, using
different parts of it.
⚫ Appears as
differences in
morphology.
Competition and Character
Displacement
⚫ Species that exploit
a resource in a
similar way form a
guild.
⚫ Seed eaters vs.
insect eaters.
⚫ A resource (insects)
can be partitioned
in terms of what
part of the tree is
searched.
Predator-Prey Cycles

⚫ Many populations
undergo regular
boom-and-bust
cycles.
⚫ These cycles are
influenced by
complex
interactions
between biotic and
abiotic factors.
Predation

⚫ Predation refers to an interaction where

one species, the predator, kills and eats
the other, the prey.
⚫ Feeding adaptations of predators include:
claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, and poison.
⚫ Animals also display a great variety of
defensive adaptations.
Cryptic Coloration

⚫ Cryptic coloration, or camouflage makes

prey difficult to spot.
Aposematic Coloration

⚫ Aposematic
coloration warns
predators to stay
away from prey.
Mimicry

⚫ In some cases, one prey species may

gain significant protection by mimicking
the appearance of another.
Batesian Mimicry

⚫ In Batesian mimicry, a palatable or harmless

species mimics an unpalatable or harmful
model.
Müllerian Mimicry

⚫ In Müllerian
mimicry, two or
more unpalatable
species resemble
each other.
Species with a Large Impact

⚫ Certain species have an especially large

impact on the structure of entire
communities either because they are
highly abundant or because they play a
pivotal role in community dynamics.
Keystone Species

⚫ Keystone species are not necessarily

abundant in a community.
⚫ They exert strong control on a community
by their ecological roles, or niches.
Keystone Species

⚫ Field studies of sea stars exhibit their role as

a keystone species in intertidal communities.
Keystone Species

⚫ Observation of
sea otter
populations and
their predation
shows the effect
the otters have
on ocean
communities.
Ecosystems

⚫ An ecosystem consists of all the

organisms living in a community as well
as all the abiotic factors with which they
interact.
Ecosystems

⚫ Ecosystems can
range from a
microcosm, such as
an aquarium to a
large area such as a
lake or forest.
Ecosystems

⚫ Regardless of an ecosystem’s size, its

dynamics involve two main processes:
⚫ Energy flow
⚫ Chemical cycling

⚫ Energy flows through ecosystems, while

matter cycles within them.
Trophic Relationships

⚫ Energy and nutrients

pass from primary
producers
(autotrophs) to
primary consumers
(herbivores) and
then to secondary
consumers
(carnivores).
Trophic Levels

⚫ Primary production in an ecosystem is

the amount of light energy converted to
chemical energy by autotrophs during a
given time period.
⚫ Photosynthesis
Trophic Levels

⚫ Consumers include:
⚫ Herbivores – animals that eat plants.
⚫ Carnivores – animals that eat other
animals.
⚫ Decomposers – feed on dead organic
matter.
Trophic Levels
⚫ Decomposition
connects all trophic
levels.
⚫ Detritivores, mainly
bacteria and fungi,
recycle essential
chemical elements
by decomposing
organic material and
returning elements to
inorganic reservoirs.
Energy Flow

⚫ Energy flows through an ecosystem entering

as light and exiting as heat.
Gross and Net Primary Production

⚫ Total primary production in an ecosystem

is known as that ecosystem’s gross
primary production (GPP).
⚫ Net primary production (NPP) is equal
to GPP minus the energy used by the
primary producers for respiration.
⚫ Only NPP is available to consumers.
Energy Transfer

⚫ The secondary production of an

ecosystem is the amount of chemical
energy in consumers’ food that is
converted to their own new biomass
during a given period of time.
Trophic Efficiency and Ecological
Pyramids
⚫ Trophic efficiency is the percentage of
production transferred from one trophic
level to the next.
⚫ Usually ranges from 5% to 20%.
Pyramids of Production
⚫ This loss of energy with each transfer in a food
chain can be represented by a pyramid of net
production.
⚫ A pyramid of numbers represents the
number of individual organisms in each trophic
level.
Pyramids of Biomass

⚫ Most biomass pyramids show a sharp

decrease at successively higher trophic
levels.
⚫ Occasionally inverted
Nutrient Cycling
⚫ Life on Earth depends on the recycling of essential
chemical elements.
⚫ Nutrient circuits that cycle matter through an
ecosystem involve both biotic and abiotic
components and are often called biogeochemical
cycles.
Toxins in the Environment

⚫ Humans release an immense variety of

toxic chemicals including thousands of
synthetics previously unknown to nature.
⚫ One of the reasons such toxins are so
harmful, is that they become more
concentrated in successive trophic levels
of a food web.
Toxins in the Environment

⚫ In biological
magnification,
toxins concentrate
at higher trophic
levels because at
these levels
biomass tends to
be lower.
The Three Levels of Biodiversity
⚫ Genetic diversity comprises:
⚫ The genetic variation within a
population.
⚫ The genetic variation between
populations.
⚫ Species diversity is the variety
of species in an ecosystem or
throughout the biosphere.
⚫ Ecosystem diversity identifies
the variety of ecosystems in the
biosphere.
Endangered Species

⚫ An endangered species is one that is in

danger of becoming extinct throughout
its range.
⚫ Threatened species are those that are
considered likely to become endangered
in the foreseeable future.
Ecosystem Services

⚫ Ecosystem services encompass all the

processes through which natural
ecosystems and the species they contain
help sustain human life on Earth.
⚫ Purification of air and water.
⚫ Detoxification and decomposition of wastes.
⚫ Cycling of nutrients.
⚫ Moderation of weather extremes.
⚫ And many others.
Four Major Threats to
Biodiversity
⚫ Most species loss can be traced to four
major threats:
⚫ Habitat destruction
⚫ Introduced species

⚫ Overexploitation

⚫ Disruption of “interaction networks”

Extinction

⚫ Habitat fragmentation increases local

extinction and speciation.
⚫ Species that have larger ranges or better
dispersal abilities are better protected
from extinction.
Extinction

⚫ There have been five mass extinctions.

⚫ Each time a large percentage of the species on
earth went extinct.