Behavior of Animals within Ecology
Ecology of the Biosphere
Population Ecology
Ethology
fixed action pattern
innate behavior
a response that a species has form day one, they are born with it because it was in their DNA through evolution
EX: baby's grasping reflex
hognose snake's spitting at predator to intimidate, born with this behavior
series of actions that an animal has to take to learn a behavior
EX: goose always bringin objects into their nest, whether or not its an actual egg. they can differenciate two similar objects, they just focus on the action
imprinting
idea founded by Lorenz, the process of following around mother
EX: baby geese and ducklings following their mother for several months
associative learning
associating an action with a stimuli
EX: if someone rang a bell, then fed a dog many times, the dog would associate bell ringing with eating
social learning
learning an action by watching
EX: chimpanzees learning how to crack palm nuts from watching elders
spacial learning
a result of memory based off the environmental surroundings
EX: wasps using environmental landmarks to remember where their nest is
what is animal behavior?
the response to internal and external outcomes. shows evolutionary relevance. animal behavior shows how they interact with environment and others.
Factors that influence the biosphere
Abiotic factors
salinity
sunlight
water and ocean
rocks and soil
temperature
Biotic factors
predation
herbivory
presence and absense of pollen spreaders
food resources
presence of microorgnisms
What produces difference environments?
rainshadow effect
effect from tilt of earth
coriolis effect
the degree of the earth has an impact on many things such as: bodies of water, mountains, and temperature that affects the overall climate
the rainshadow effect is when the mountain covers a certain part of the land below it so it cannot get rain or sunlight. causes the area to become somewhat inhabitable
helps scientists study weather patterns. based off of earths rotation, where it spins faster at the equator than it does at either poles.
EX: what causes the rotation of a hurricane AKA "the eye"
population growth
factors that affect populations
models can show growth within a population
factors
human population growth
What is population density and dispersion?
Density: number of individuals in a certain space
Dispersion: pattern of spacing of individuals in given environment
immigration/emigration
dispersion patterns
birth/death
Demographics
immigration: increases population by bringing new individuals from outside communities
emigration: when individuals leave a community to a different one, which decreases the population density of the one they left
death directly removes individuals from a population, which is a decreasing factor for populations
birth and all other forms of reproduction are a factor that increases population
clumped
uniform
random
life tables
survivorship curves
seastars clumping where there is most food in a specific location
king penguins keeping an even amount of space in between their group
plants growing wherever wind blows the seeds
a summary of the reproduction and death rates among different ages of a species
survival rates among a species is plotted on a graph by age and number of survivors
population growth is typically exponential, until it reaches it carrying capacity, which is represented by "K", where it levels off
the ecological footprint tells us how much resources humans can use until we hit our carrying capacity.
human population has been growing exponentially until 1650, many different factors influence this, especially geographic ones.
density-dependent: the more density, the more births
density-independent: density does not have an influence on birth rates
limiting factors: food, habitat, disease, predation, toxic material
disruption of climate
Biomes
aquatic
terrestrial
tundra: arctic, 20-60 cm annual rain, -30-10 degrees celcius, oxen, bears, wolves, foxes
northern coniferous forest: north america/ eurasia, annual rain of 30-70cm, -50-20 deg celcius, manty diverse animals
temperate grassland: all over the earth, 30-10cm of rain annually, -10-30 degrees celcius, bison and wild horses
chaparral: midlatitude coastal regions, 30-50 cm of rain annually, 10-40cm of rain, lots deer and goats
savanna: equatorial regions, 30-50 cms of rain, 24-29 avg temp, large plant eating animals
desert: gobi desert, extremely low amount of rain, dry and hot climate
tropical forest: equatorial regions, 200-400 cm annual rain, 25-29 deg celcius, diverse population of animals
marine benthic zone: deep water biome on seafloor, oxygen is present to support organisms
coral reefs: lots of coral & near islands, corals require high oxygen
oceanic pealagic zone: open blue water, nutrient lower than in coastal water
interidal zones:periodically submerged land, renewed chemicals with each tide
estuaries: transition between land and sea, varying salinity
streams and rivers: high speed and flow of water, rich in oxygen
wetlands: land that is temporarily inhabited by water, low in dissolved oxygen
lakes: standing bodies of water, tend to be oxygen rich
temperat broadleaf forest: northern hemisphere, annual precipitation of 70-200cm, 0 degrees celcius in winter, and 35 in summer, many animals hibernate in winter
animal behavior can evolve through phylogeny
EX: song birds and their practicing