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Community Ecology - Coggle Diagram
Community Ecology
Predator-Prey Interactions
One Predator, One Prey
plant (primary producer)
attacked by predator
herbivore (primary consumer)
natural communities
any plant attacked by multiple predators
this model helps humans understand how we should harvest or various prey: fish, deer, lumber
functional response
predator's feeding rate and handling time
feeding rate faster w/ more prey
prey dependent
predator functional response
Lotka-Voterra model
net rate of change in prey #'s
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Rosenzweig-MacArthur model
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Predator Selection Among Multiple Prey
3 factors important in a predator's prey choice
Probability of prey individual will be encountered
rare species consumed less, cryptic my escape detection
decision by predator to attack
prey poisonous or spiny?
probability attacked prey will be successfully eaten
difficult to open fruit or easily digested?
optimal foraging theory
these examples and how they contribute to herbivore eats plants
optimum diet model
makes four predictions
predators evolve to prefer the most energy yielding prey
if energy yielding prey becomes scarce, then predator more successful with a broader diet
some prey items will always be eaten when encountered others will never be eaten
probability that particular plant will be eaten depends partially on abundance of other more higher valued plants
Competition Between Species
several species compete for same resource
interspecies competition vs intraspecies competition
exploitation competition
competition occurs when organisms actually consume a shared resource making it less available
interference competition
1st restricts another organisms access to resource even though the first might not be using it
2 competing species can coexist
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Apparent Competition
all prey species low= predator species low
one increases, the other increases
one plant species increases associated with decrease in others
apparent competition
Diversity
communities consist of more than one species
checklist
count of species
checklists are incomplete
other factors can be studied
growth forms
absence, presence, abundance
plant storage organs, primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, decomposers, allele diversity etc.
Diversity and Scale
scale
size of community and its diversity
larger scales
more soil diversity
topography
geology
more organsims
disturbances
larger populations more likely to survive
species-area relationship
relationship between richness
expressed by formula
S=cA^z
S=#of species
A= area
c and z are constants
local disgnation
species abundance distribution
plot in abundance class
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Diversity and Latitude
varies from latitudes
farther north have less species
diversity gradient
equator environments maybe benign
higher latitudes more severe conditions
Geographical and geological components
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Beneficial Interactions Between Species
mutualism/ mutualistic relationship
benefits both organisms
pollinators and plants they pollinate
facilitation
one organism helps another without receiving benefit
1st organism facilitates the presence of the other
models of these are less well developed
many factors to consider
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beaver's building dams and creating ponds used by other plants and animals
Metapopulations in Patchy Environments
the world is patchy and heterogenous
metapopulation
several local populations interconnected by migration and gene flow
4 assumptions
region of environment is composed of many discrete patches where species can live
some patches are occupied by the species whereas other suitable patches are not
empty patches will become colonized by migration from occupied patches
population within individual patches have a probability of going extinct within that patch
high quality patch
source habitat
low quality patch
sink habitat
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Interconnectedness of Species: Food Chains and Food Webs
simplest communities have at least three trophic levels
if environmental conditions particularly harsh primary producers are sparse
small levels of predators can survive
food chain
direct line of consumption
most carnivores eat a variety of prey
food web
trace all prey of the top carnivores and then trace the food source of those prey
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Key Concepts
Community
group of species that occur together at same time and place
population biology focuses on
members of single species
their growth, interbreeding, survival, etc.
communities have boundaries
physical and time
succession
predictable sequence of changes
climax community
stable self-sustaining community
community restoration
reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone
habitat loss
habitat fragmentation
Extrafloral Nectaries: Ants and Plants Cooperate
animals and plants have always battled each other
animals and plants have evolved to benefit each other
pollination is an example
ants and acacia plants
mutualistic defense by ants in acacia plants
spines of cacti protect not hurt ants
mutualism
ants produce nitrogen from waste witch helps cacti grow
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Some Laws to Protect Species Have Harmful Consequences
1975 CITES treaty
until almost free market for trade/sell on animals and plants
made smuggling more difficult
but still exists
harvesting plant seeds doesn't harm plant
hindered legitimate research by zoologists and botanists
outside forces are hurting the environment that CITES does not protect against
Plants and Animals Are Different Kinds of Prey
why do models focus on animals rather than plants?
plants and animals respond differently as prey
plants and animals respond differently to being attacked
for plants as prey
models need equations based on kilograms of biomass instead of #'s pf individuals
easy to measure in most cases