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How does a polar bear endure the long, sunless and super cold artic winter?
Adaptation Acclimation
Mutations (DNA) may give individuals advantages under the selection pressures of their environment.
Some giraffes had long necks, some short Those with long necks reached the food, those with short starved Long necks mate and produce population of long necked giraffes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKnq j3YFXU8
Environmental factors
Selection pressure Influence the fitness of individuals and their offspring. Examples: Physiological stress, competition with other species, predation, luck.
environmental factor in shortest supply relative to demand is the critical determinant in species distribution bamboo
Shelford - added to Liebig's work by proposing that the single environmental factor closest to
Habitat - place /environmental conditions in which a particular organism lives. Ecological niche Role played by a species in a biological community Set of environmental factors that determine species distribution. Ecological niche alterations Species exist within a range of physical and chemical factors as well as biological interactions. Generalists vs Specialists
Endemic species: specifically found in a certain habitat. Resource partitioning: species coexisting in the same habitat Law of Competitive Exclusion
Interbreeding species = better adapted = improved genetic heritage Galapagos Finch: original from seed-eating finch species evolution example Speciation: development of new species due to geographic isolation and inability to interbreed. Isolation - change of physical, behavioral and genetic characteristics of individuals. Allopatric speciation vs Sympatric speciation Selection pressures: factors that modify species traits. Directional Stabilizing Disruptive
What is Taxonomy? Binomials to classify them Organization of specimens How they have descendent from ancestors Six kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria and archaebacteria.
Toxic chemicals, body armor, extraordinary speed, ability to hide strategies to protect from predators Chemical defenses: distinct coloration and patterns Coevolution: physical an behavioral changes can become mutually beneficial Batesian Mimicry
Mllerian mimicry
Non-antagonistic interaction and even beneficial, with their fates linked Mutualism: enhance survival of one or both partners, combining tissues to mutual benefit. Commensalism: one member clearly benefits and the other apparently is neither benefited nor harm. Parasitism: a form of predation where parasite depend on the host.
A species or group of species whose impact on a community are much larger than would be expected from mere abundance.
Change competitive relationships change in food availability Maintain the balance of ecosystems Example: tropical figs/ Groups fungi
Keystone species common in aquatic habitat than terrestrial ones Keystone species increase niche diversity
Tropical Figs
Community structure and patchiness Individuals /species spaced differently Arranged over a large geographic area or landscape Meet relatively uniforms interiors and edges
Distribution of members of a population in a given space can be: Random - individuals live wherever resources are available Uniform - often the result of biological competition Clustered - individuals of a species cluster together for protection, mutual assistance, reproduction, or to gain access to a particular environmental resource
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Community properties
Complexity: refers to the number of trophic levels in a community, groups of species performing and to the number of species at each of those trophic levels.
Community properties
Resilience: either resist or recovers quickly for disturbance.
Complexity - less resilient Community diversity - resilience
Net primary productivity = primary productivity - energy lost (resp.) High productivity: tropical forests, coral reefs, bays, estuaries (abundant resource supply) Low Productivity: desert and tundra lack of water limits photosynthesis and productivity is low.
Climax community: the community that developed last and lasted the longest
Process as a relay: species replace each other in predictable groups and in a fixed regular order. Climax community determinate by climate Maturation of an organism