MAKE FLASH CARD TYPE OF STUDY GUIDE BASES ON THE INFORMATION DOWN BELOW, USE SIMPLE WORD AND KEEP THE EACH FASH CARD SMALL AMOUNT OF WRITING. DIVIDE THE INFORMATION DOWN BELOW IN MULTIPLE FLASH CARDS FOR STUDYING. THIS IS FOR AN EXAM.

STUDY GUIDE This exam will be 44 questions long. A few will be worth 2 points, but the majority will be worth 1 point each. The exam needs to be taken IN CLASS and you must bring an ID to class as well.

Definitions and examples

Know the terms from each lecture as well as examples

Case Studies

Be able to read case studies and decide the best term.

The lice that Dr. Virrueta studied during her PhD live on the feathers of birds. The lice gain habitat, food and shelter from the birds. The birds suffer discomfort from the lice, and they must spend extra time in their day preening (removing) lice off their feathers. This relationship is best described as

Mutualism

Commensalism

Parasitism

Competitive

Graph/Chart Interpretation

Review the graphs and charts discussed in class, you should be able to read them and recognize the concept they are illustrating

Key Concepts

Sustainability, what does it mean? How can it be applied in business?

Biodiversity, what is it? How can we measure it? Threats to biodiversity? What are the guidelines to maintain?

Ecosystems, what is it? What types of factors make up an ecosystem? Types of services?

Evolution, what are adaptations and how do they occur? What is natural selection? Niches? Genetic drift and founder effect. The types of isolation.

Populations, what makes up population growth rate? Limits to population growth.

Community Ecology, types of interactions. Niche specifics. Trophic levels and food chains versus food webs.

CREATE FLASH CARDS BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BELOW (CLASS 1-9)

CLASS 1: Environment: all the physical, chemical, biological factors, and processes that determine the growth and survival of an organism or a community of organisms u Is made up of gases in the air you breathe and the life forms that nourish and are nourished by you u Environmental Science: studies all aspects of the environment u Ecology: study of the abundance and distribution of organisms in relation to the environment and to each other 25 If the environment contains the things we need to survive, it's imperative that we not only understand and study the environment, but also interact with our environment in a sustainable manner 1/14/25 26 What does Sustainability mean? u The meaning of sustainability has changed several times over the last 150 years u 150 years ago, there were only ~1 billion people on the planet (~8billion today) u 1920-1940 sustainability meant sustaining resources that were needed by humans u Catch limits and fish stocking in fishery u Planting trees to help with harvest, pests, fire u 1950 human population more than doubled at ~2.5billion and demand for resources increased and so did conflicts 27 Interpreting Graphs 28 Y AXIS X AXIS What is the trend exhibited by the blue line? What about the orange line? We use different types of graphs for different types of data 30 Conflicts u More lumber was needed for homes etc. but people also took interest into forests for the recreational aspects and the wildlife u Polices for timber, clean water and conservation were put in place 1/14/25 31 1987 Report UN Commission on Sustainability- Our Common Future u "At the most basic level, sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" u Added an element of time u Concerned with maintain human-well being 32 Sustainability is maintaining the ability to accommodate 3 important sources of change u 1. The World is Changing u Environments undergo change, inevitable and essential u Trees grow, plants change, animals go extinct u 2. We are changing u Humans evolve, need for ecosystem good also evolve u Population increase, technological advances require more energy/electricity creates emissions u 3. We are changing the world u No other single species has ever shaped the environment the way we have u Technologies -> fire and agriculture have allowed our numbers to increase u Increase in natural resource use 33 Average well-being among humans is high, but so is variation u Variation - a difference or change within a group or set of things u US access clean water is common, but more than 1/5 of people lack access u Access to food is a big problem u Sustainability in this context means meeting needs of the present in an equitable and fair fashion without compromising future generations needs 34 Illinois alone has a population ~12.55 million That means ~1.53million people in IL face food insecurity Sustainable path in Business u Concept of the Triple bottom line - accounting framework by which corporations, nonprofits and government can measure three dissensions of performance: environmental, social and economic u 3 P's u Planet u People u Profit Sample Footer Text 1/14/25 36 Triple Bottom Line ideally all these dimensions would be measured to determine a company's success u Planet - Environmental dimension u Measured by pollutants, conservation of species, waste produced, energy use etc. u People - social dimension u Measures of human health and well-being, equity (how are people getting paid) access to social resources, community resources u Profit - Economic dimension u $$$ u This is the only one that is traditionally measured u While still not a standard in the field, many companies are encouraged and leaning towards working to measure these factors in the workplace 37 Discussed societal sustainability goals what about personal sustainability efforts?

CLASS 2: Ecosystems u Ecosystem: combination of a community of organisms and its physical and chemical environment functioning as an integrated ecological unit u Biota: living organisms u Abiotic: Nonliving environment 1/15/25 51 Abiotic and Biotic Factors Abiotic characteristics like climate can determine the abundance and distribution of living organisms. Actions of the organisms can also shape the environment (humans are one example) 1/15/25 52 1/15/25 53 Ecosystem Integrity u The web of interactions that that regulate ecosystem functions u Inflows u Coming in u Sunlight, carbon, nitrogen water u Outflows u Heat u Carbon, nitrogen and water 54 Ecosystem Integration u Microbes, plants, and animals in an ecosystem interact with each other and their environment in ways to determine the overall movement of matter and energy through an ecosystem u Ecosystems can adjust to disturbances and changes in the environment u Capacity depends on the nature of the ecosystem and disturbance u The boundaries of an ecosystem are not clear u Defined by those who study or manage them 55 Ecosystem Scale u Ecosystems can vary in size u Entire globe vs rotting log u Ecosystems are often studied in the absence of humans u With human population at 8 billion, human impacts are nearly everywhere and the demand for natural resources has skyrocketed 56 Ecosystem Services u Ecosystem Services: the resources and processes that ecosystems provide to humans u Classified into 4 categories u Provisioning u Regulating u Cultural u Supporting 57 Provisioning Services u Supply us with resources such as food, water and the air we breathe u Humans can modify or simplify ecosystems to increase provisioning services u Agricultural fields: provide a large amount of food but supports fewer species than an undisturbed habitat would 58 Regulating Services u The ways that ecosystems control important conditions and processes such as climate, the flow of water and absorption of pollutants u Consequence of the integrated self -regulating nature of ecosystems u Have/can humans have an impact of regulating services? 59 Cultural Services u The spiritual and recreational benefits that ecosystems provide u Hiking, travel, swimming etc. 60 Supporting Services u Basic ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycles and soil formation that are needed to maintain other services u Pollinating insects 61 Humans and Ecosystems u Humans rely on ecosystems for survival and interactions are mediated by beliefs, knowledge technologies u We find ways to quickly adapt to changes u 2006 UN environment Program - Millenium Ecosystem Assessment u Earth's Ecosystem services are being degraded u Evidence that ecosystems are becoming more fragile and prone to disturbance u Changes threaten the well being of ALL humans, especially the poor 62 Conservation of Matter and Energy u The Law of energy and mass conservation: Energy and matter can be neither created nor destroyed u This also applies to ecosystems u Measuring parts of an ecosystem and the rates at which matter flows through it allows us to characterize ecosystem functions 63 Energy and Mass Conservation In environmental science 64 Everything goes somewhere Energy and matter that we put in ecosystems have fates that influence ecosystem functions Something cannot be created from nothing Energy and matter can be converted, but total amount of a resource is finite Ecosystems are Open u While we can assign boundaries to them, ecosystems do NOT have distinct boundaries u Matter and energy can flow in and out of the surroundings u Sunlight and rain u Heat and steam u Ecosystem functions and influenced by the surrounding ecosystems u Ideally, we would manage ecosystems based on streams, mountains and other natural boundaries u Human created boundaries make that almost impossible u Country borders, state lines, political borders 65 https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2024/the-impact-of-the-us-mexico-border-wall-on-biodiversity 66 Ecosystem Stability u Dynamic Homeostasis: the process by which systems adjust to changes in ways that minimize how much features or processes vary from their normal values u Body temperature u Plant and animal populations u Nitrogen and other element levels u Negative Feedback u Directional change alters the system in a manner that reverses that change u Positive Feedback u Directional change alters the ecosystem to reinforce that change 67 68 Ecosystem Change 69 Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to actions from outside and within them Many changes are natural, and ecosystems can bounce back Fire burns down trees, but also makes space and fertilizes soil for new ones Over the past 10,000 years HUMANS have become agents of change Whether or not human actions are sustainable depend on the degree to which we recognize and apply principals of ecosystem function

CLASS 3: Acting Sustainably Managing Resources u Coming back to the Law of Conservation of mass and energy u The resources we take from ecosystems often can be replenished by natural processes or from outside sources u Ecosystems can carry out these functions only if the rate of waste flowing does not exceed the rate at which the ecosystem can transform it 72 Nonrenewable Resources u Nonrenewable if its amount in an ecosystem declines with virtually any level of use u OIL, produced by geological processes u using the reserves 1million times faster than they can be replenished u Exploitation of of nonrenewable resources defies the law of mass and energy conservation 73 Sustainable use of Resources requires: 74 An understanding of their rate of renewal Ability to manage the rate of their use Especially Important to Study Sustainable Management because u It will help you better understand current events u One of the first signed Executive orders by President Trump on Monday Jan 21, 2025, was "United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" u "the United States' withdrawal from any agreement, pact, accord, or similar commitment made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change." u "Shall immediately cease or revoke any purported financial commitment made by the United States under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" u Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/putting-america-first-in-international-environmental-agreements/ 75 What is the Paris Agreement? u "The Paris Agreement's central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius." u "A continued U.S. absence may reduce financial support, but it won't reduce countries' obligations to submit better NDCs every 5 or 10 years and to report on their progress. The United States, however, will lose out on the chance to shape the agreement's carbon markets still under negotiation. Being an outsider comes at a cost." u "If a future U.S. president wishes to rejoin the Paris Agreement, they have to submit a new NDC that is more ambitious than the last" u Source: https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/us-has-exited-paris-agreement-does-it-matter#:~:text=The%20key%20difference%20between%20the,it%20will%20need%20a%20boost. 76 Sustainable Environmental Management u Requires an understanding of the spatial scales and landscape features that influence ecosystem functions and services u No matter the scale of the ecosystem, arbitrary scales and boundaries limit our ability to monitor and manage ecosystem processes u Sustainable management also requires communication and collaboration across the boundaries that define differences in ownership, management purpose, and nationality u Human boundaries often represent some of the most significant challenges to sustainable management 77 Ecosystems are Complex 78 Ecosystem complexity is key to their integrative character Ecosystem services will thrive when we understand all the moving parts Sustainable Management demands that we understand change in ecosystems and manage it 3 Lessons Beware of attempts to halt or alter the tempo of natural changes in ecosystems When humans try to stop natural change, we produce unsustainable consequences E.g., Waves when we try to halt these changes, damaged costal ecosystems Management to prevent or deal with issues like drought are best 79 Copy Nature u The changes that are occurring are an issue because the tempo of human-caused changes has no precedent in the evolution of Earth's ecosystems u We have added countless novel chemicals to the environment u Physical changes like additions of damns change currents, waterflow and organisms that live in those ecosystems 80 Be alert for thresholds of change, or tipping points 81 When we push ecosystems beyond their normal limits of change, we can alter them to where its not easy to bounce back Tipping point: the point at which an ecosystem changes from one state of homeostasis to another Woodlands where trees are frequently cut down can cause drier climates and soil erosion If we cut on large levels, there is no time for regrowth and a woodland can become a desert We still have a lot to learn about ecosystems 82 Reducing ignorance is the basic justification for most environmental research The extent of our ignorance can be so vast that we don't know where to start We don't know what we don't know Ignorance It's hard to predict how complex systems will behave Some changes are just too small to measure/quantify Difficult to forecast changes Complexity Reducing uncertainty with Science 83 Systems Thinking u Sustainable management does not require us to understand every piece and process, but it does require systems thinking u Systems Thinking recognizes the connections among the pieces of a larger integrated system u Example all the parts that make up a car 84 Semester Long Project We will have lectures relevant to the content of this project as well as two in class workdays. All the details for the project are posted on Sakai The project is made up of 4 parts Chose a Topic Chose a Scientific Article and Summarize Use AI for Accessibility Create a Deliverable for Middle school audiences Throughout the semester you will work on a science literature and accessibility project 85 Science Accessibility u Science Accessibility can be defined in many ways, for the purposes of this assignment we will be working on making sure and understanding whether scientific research and findings (directly from peer reviewed articles) are accessible (easily understood or appreciated) to audiences other than scientists. u Two controversial topics in our society are science/scientific research as well as AI. u Our goal this semester will be to take a piece of current research, relevant to the topics of your class, ENVS 101, and translate it into something that would be appropriate and accessible to present to middle school students either in their science classrooms or by their general teachers. Each section of the project will be described in detail below.

CLASS 4: Evolution u Evolution is the process by which the heritable traits of a biological population change over time. The theory that explains how living things change over time u Charles Darwin was one of the first to recognize that biological evolution works through changes in a population u Population: a group of individuals of the same species living and interbreeding within a specific area. 95 Adaptations u Diversity of life is a consequence of adaptations: inherited structures, functions or behaviors that help organism survive and reproduce u Fitness: organisms' ability to survive and reproduce (pass on genetics to offspring) u Organisms with specific adaptations may have a greater fitness 96 In the process of Natural Selection, individuals in a population that are most fit to survive Leave more offspring Causes their adaptations to become more common individuals that are less fit Leave fewer offspring Their features become less common or cease to exist 97 Darwin's Finches u Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was caused by many different observations, but the most notable was Galapagos Finches u Unlike most finches these were not only seed eaters and their beaks were evidence that they occupied different niches 98 Ecological Niches u https://youtu.be/N4vUa5FmtcY?si=xhEaecUFBb80ycNL 99 Features are Random u Variation in features occurs at random u Certain beaks/bills were more beneficial for food access u Finches that were better fed has a greater chance of surviving and reproducing healthy offspring u Those beaks were passed down from generation to generation u Very gradually the finches evolved into new ecological niches through natural selection u Adaptive Radiation: several species evolving from a single ancestor to occupy new ecological niches 100 Tinamou u Tinamidae - endemic to the Neotropics from Mexico to Patagonia u The only living flighted paleognaths u Ostrich, rhea, kiwis, emus u A single tinamou species can have a very rich louse community Ecomorphs Wing Head Generalist Body Heptapsogasteridae Ecomorphs Wing Head Generalist Body Heptapsogasteridae Long slender bodies Slide between the spaces in feathers Triangular head Strong mandibles to hang on to head Intermediate form Rounded body and head Hide in downy feathers Tinamous harbor all 4 ecomorphs of lice, with up to 10 genera per host species Wing Tinamous harbor all 4 ecomorphs of lice, with up to 10 genera per host species Wing Body Tinamous harbor all 4 ecomorphs of lice, with up to 10 genera per host species Heptapsogasteridae Head Wing Body Tinamous harbor all 4 ecomorphs of lice, with up to 10 genera per host species Heptapsogasteridae Head Generalist Wing Body Tinamous harbor all 4 ecomorphs of lice, with up to 10 genera per host species Heptapsogasteridae Research Question Did tinamou lice result from a single diversification event or multiple independent events? Virrueta Herrera, S., et al. 2020 Proc B Sources of Variation u Some variation in organism traits and appearance is due to genetics u In general, the introduction of new traits can happen through mutations u DNA mutations are random changes in the genetic code which create variation for natural selection u Mutations that are detrimental and quickly removed from populations u Mutations that are beneficial get passed down because they increase fitness 111 Conditions for Natural Selection of a Trait to take place: 112 1. There is variation in the trait in the population 2. the trait is determined by genetics and is heritable 3. individuals with certain variations of the trait have greater fitness 4. There is competition for survival and reproduction between individuals within a population 3 types of Natural Selection 113 Directional Selection Favors survival of organisms at one extreme end of the variation within a population Finch beak size in response to seed size Stabilizing Selection Favors traits that fall somewhere in the middle of variation within a population Very large and very small organisms suffer most after major storms Disruptive Selection Individuals that fall at the extreme ends of variation range are more likely to survive than average range 114 Random events u Genetic drift: a change in the frequency of an inherited trait in a population that is brought about by a chance (random) event u Affects small populations more because the changes in a large population are too small to detect 115 Founder Effect u Genetic change resulting from the immigration of a small subset of a population 116 Summary 117 Mutations generate variation for inherited traits Reproduction maintains variations in populations Evolution occurs when genetic traits change in a population Natural selection happens when heritable traits affect fitness of populations in an environment Genetic drift is caused by random chance events and affects small populations most Founder effect takes place when a fraction of a population immigrates, and their specific genetics are passed down The Evolution of Species u Biodiversity is a measure of the variety of species in the world u Species: a group of similar organisms that can potentially mate and produce fertile offspring u Organisms of the same species from different populations can interbreed u Organisms of different species even in the same geographic area cannot interbreed 118 Species have unique genetic traits u Reproductive isolation: members id one species do not interbreed with members of another species even if they are closely related u Breeding barriers : can be geographic, temporal, behavioral or structural and they isolate species from each other so they don't interbreed anymore 119 Geographic Isolation u Species have been geographically separated so they don't interbreed, but they may still be able to produce offspring u Two owls in the US thousands of years ago originated from a common ancestor, but two species evolved in two geographic areas overtime their habitats have overlapped again 120 Temporal Isolation u Species may be isolated from one another by reproducing at different times 121 Behavioral Isolation u Species separated from one another by differences in behavior u mating displays, courting rituals 122 Structural Isolation u Differences in reproductive structures isolate closely related species from reproducing u Shape or color of flowers determines pollination

CLASS 5: Population Growth u When organisms move into an environment rich in resources their population will start to grow u As the population increases the number of reproducing individual also increases u Exponential growth: the number of individuals added to a population in each generation is a multiple of the number in the previous generation u Arithmetic growth: the number of individuals added at each generation is a constant or set amount over a given period 126 Population Growth Rate u The constant by which an exponentially growing population increases u Typically, expressed as the percentage of change over a specific time interval u Faster for smaller organisms u Growth Rate for bacteria can be calculated every hour u For larger organisms they are calculated every year u Doubling time: length of time required for a population to double in size 127 Populations growth rate is a consequence of u Birth rate: the number of births in a population per unit of time u Expressed as a % of the population size u Death rate: the number of individuals dying per unit of time u Expressed as a % of the population size u Can also be called mortality rate u Immigration rate: the number of organisms entering the population per unit of time as a % of population size u emigration rate: the number of organisms moving out of an area, calculated as a % of population size 128 population Growth Rate = (Birth Rate + Immigration Rate) - (Death Rate + Emigration Rate) 129 Survivorship u Survivorship: the probability of an organism dying during a particular time interval u Plotting the percentage of individuals in a population that survive to each age is a way of constructing survivorship curves u Type I Survivorship: most likely to die of old age u Type II Survivorship: probability of dying is the same at every age u Type III Survivorship: the very young have the highest probability of dying because they are most vulnerable to predators and/or disease 130 Fertility Rate u Fertility Rate: rate of reproduction u Age specific fertility rate: the number of offspring produced by an average female during a particular range of ages u Usually increases to an optimum and decreases after that u Total fertility rate: the sum of age specific fertility rates across all ages u Average number of potentially offspring an average female in a population can produce if they live to old age 131 Generation time u Generation time: of a population is the average difference in age between mothers and their offspring u Populations with shortest generation times will have the highest population growth rates 132 ~23 years ~1-2 years ~2-4 months Limits to Population Growth 133 u As a population grows the number of available resources decreases u Carrying Capacity: the population size at which a population uses resources equal to the rate at which those resources are supplies u The birth rate = to the death rate and population growth rate = 0 u If resources become scarce birth rates may decline and/or death rates may increase u Environmental Resistance: reduction to population growth rate due to factors in the environment such as lack of resources or increased toxins Logistical Growth u logistic growth curve: changes in population size follow a predictable and repeatable S - shaped trajectory u The curve initially takes on the J-shaped trajectory associated with exponential growth u As resources become increasingly limited; population growth slows until it eventually reaches the carrying capacity of its environment 134 Population sizes can be influenced by different factors u Density-dependent factors are those whose degree of impact are affected by population size. u biotic factors, such as food availability, predation, or disease. When a population is reduced by density dependent the environmental resistance is also reduced u Density-independent factors are those whose degree of impact does not depend on the size or density of the population. u abiotic factors such as large-scale disturbances u earthquake or forest fire, or a significant change in the environment u Remain strong even at low population sizes 135 Not always simple u With complex organisms, they may exceed their carrying capacity and resources become extremely limited u Sometimes you quickly, an entire population u Some resources bounce back very quickly, and populations grow again A - for Population to grow resources must be present B- delayed response to limited resource and recovers as soon as resources are back C- Resource cannot recover and population crashes 136 Other Limits u For all living things here is a minimum temperature below which growth cannot occur and death may be likely. Above the minimum temperature, growth rates generally increase as at an optimum temperature, the population grows most rapidly u Above the optimum temperature, growth rates decline. At some maximum temperature, growth ceases. Range of Tolerance: The span between the minimum and maximum temperatures 137 u Range of Tolerance is variable across even similar species u Who has the largest range of tolerance? If our global climates increased by 5 degrees F, which fish population would you predict would suffer first? 138 Another limit is Habitat u Habitat: the complex environment in which an organism is found and upon which it depends for survival. u includes abiotic factors, such as temperature, humidity, and soil u Biotic factor s, such as insects and foliage u An organism's habitat depends on the size of the organism and its ecological needs. 139 P

CLASS 7: Community u Ecological Community: organisms that live together in a specific area and have complex interactions 143 Interactions u Interactions among organisms that compete for shared resources in a community are particularly important u There are two basic types of interactions u Intraspecific competition u Interspecific competition 144 Interspecific competition u Interspecific competition occurs when two or more species seek the same limited resource u This was first observed in forestry u When trees of one species were removed from an area, the remaining trees grew more rapidly u It was hypothesized that this was due to decreased competition for water and soil nutrients 145 Interspecific competition Laboratory Study u 1930s, Russian biologist G.F. Gause u Gause grew two different species of the single - celled Paramecium P. aurelia and P. caudatum u separately and together u Populations of both species always increased more rapidly when they were grown alone u Eventually, P. aurelia totally displaced P. caudatum 146 This study and many others led to the formulation of the u Competitive exclusion principal: Two species that directly compete for essential resources cannot coexist u one species will eventually displace the other u So then why are ecological communities rich in species? 147 How do competitors coexist? u ecologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson u Explained the coexistence of competing organisms by refining the definition of ecological niche u Each species has a fundamental niche: the complete range of environmental conditions needed to support the species, including physical aspects such as temperature and pH and material resources such as food and water u Noted that most species do not exist in that complete range u Rather they exist in their realized niche: the range of conditions where a species actually occurs given the constraints of competition 148 Niche differentiation u Species whose fundamental niches overlap are potential competitors. u These potential competitors coexist because they divide up the fundamental niche u niche differentiation: division of resources u In Warblers it was observed that they literally divide up the same resource, they use different parts of the same trees to feed on the same insect larvae 149 Ecosystems over time u It takes time for one species to displace another assuming environmental conditions remain constant over time u Ecosystems are constantly changing there are inflows and outflows, those changes allow for competing species to coexist 150 Other methods of Competition u Exploitation competition: successful competitors are able to take up or utilize resources more efficiently. u growth rate of their population per unit of limiting resource is higher u Interference competition is a type of competition where organisms directly interact with each other to limit access to resources u where organisms indirectly compete by consuming resources more efficiently u Direct actions to hinder competitors u Animals with territorial aggressive behavior u Plants and microbes that release chemicals to slow the growth of competitors 151 In Ecological Communities who eats what? 152 Herbivores u Herbivores feed on plant materials u Carbohydrates and all other organic food molecules are produced by photosynthetic plants and algae, which capture energy from the sun and convert it into chemical energy. u Herbivores play a crucial role in transferring the energy stored in those molecules to the rest of the ecosystem u Herbivores help disperse seeds, pollen and slow the growth of some plants u Microbes play important roles in producing enzymes that help some herbivores breaking down cellulose 153 Coevolution u Coevolution: Evolutionary change in which interactions between species select for adaptations in each species u Plants evolve chemical defenses to thwart herbivores and herbivores become tolerant or even take advantage of plant chemical defenses u Monarchs and Milkweed plants u Milkweed produce large amount of chemicals, alkaloids u Toxic to most animals but monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed u The alkaloids from the plants make monarchs toxic to birds 154 Predators u Predation is the process by which animals capture, kill, and consume animals of another species, their prey u Two basic feeding strategies u filter feeding u Filter-feeding predators use webs or netlike structures to catch their prey u Spiders use webs to "filter" organisms from their environment u Hunting u Hunting predators actively stalk and capture their prey. u Natural selection has favored predators with keen senses of sight and smell, as well as structures such as talons, claws, and sharp teeth that allow predators to seize and kill their prey 155 Predators and Prey limit each other's Populations 156 Parasites u Parasites live and feed in or on other organisms, their hosts. u Usually, does not kill its host, but it does harm the host and may contribute to its eventual death. u Some live inside their hosts u Viruses, tapeworms u External u Ticks, lice, leeches, etc. 157 Parasite complexity u Parasite life cycles vary some are very simple and can multiply and spread quickly u Others require multiple hosts and vectors: organisms that carry the parasite but are relatively unaffected by it u Parasites multiply within individual hosts u measure the population growth of parasites in terms of their spread, or the spread of the disease they cause, in the host population. 158 Spread of Parasitic Disease Depends on 4 Factors 159 As the number of individual hosts increases, the likelihood that a parasite will be transmitted also increases Abundance of hosts The ability of parasites to locate and infect hosts is influenced by the diversity of the ecological community in which they live More hosts available the quicker the spread Accessibility of Hosts Parasites have adaptations to move from one host to another, but how successful they are depends Transmission Rate of Parasites The longer an individual host lives with a parasite, the longer it can transmit it Length of Life of the infected host Symbioses u Symbioses: intimate interdependencies between species u The relationship between a parasite and its host is one form of symbiosis. Mutualism: A symbiotic relationship between two species in which benefit u Mutualistic species are better able to secure resources by living together than by living separately. u milkweeds and monarch butterflies u mutualisms may provide benefits to the larger ecological community. Commensalism refers to associations that benefit only one species, leaving the other species unaffected. Hermit crabs and snail shells 160 Food Chains The flow of energy through ecological communities is often depicted in simplified food webs or food chains. u Feeding relationships among organisms are often depicted as simplified food webs called food chains u one species or trophic level is eaten by another, which is eaten by yet another, and so on 161 Trophic Levels 162 Primary producers transform energy from sunlight or certain inorganic chemicals into high-energy carbohydrates. Green plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, as well as chemosynthetic bacteria found in soils Primary Consumers: second trophic level, composed of animals that feed on primary producers Herbivores grazing mammals and insects Secondary Consumers: Carnivores such as lions or insect-eating birds that feed directly on herbivores make up the third trophic level Tertiary consumers: organisms that feed on secondary consumersform the fourth trophic level. Decomposers: organisms that feed on nonliving organic matter vultures, hyenas, beetles Energy and Biomass Pyramids u Available energy diminishes at each successive trophic level u Organisms at each trophic level transform what they eat into biomass energy, the food that can be consumed by higher trophic levels. Biomass is all matter that is derived from living or once -living organisms. Trophic level efficiency: the fraction of energy that the organisms in one trophic level make available to the next trophic level, always ~10% 163 Food Web and Species Diversity in most ecosystems feeding relationships are more complex. u Each trophic level usually includes many species; predators often feed on more than a single prey organism; and many species obtain their food from more than one trophic level u Rarely form a simple chain, more accurately described as a food web u Food web complexity supports the stability of ecological communities. 164 Keystone Species u Keystone Species: species that play a particularly important role regarding the abundance of other species and that are considered essential to the health of the ecosystem u Trophic cascade: the influence of carnivores across multiple trophic levels u Loss of carnivores may allow herbivores to increase = over consumption of primary producers 165 Reminder

CLASS 8: What is Biodiversity u Biodiversity is the variety of life in all its forms and combinations and at all levels of organization u in biological communities, biodiversity is measured by the number of different species, their relative abundance, and their spatial distribution. Within populations of a single species, genetic variation among individuals is a measure of biodiversity 171 Landscape Biodiversity u Landscape diversity refers to the differences in the variety and abundance of species from place to place. u This diversity can be measured by collecting, or sampling, the species in particular locations and comparing those samples to other locations. 172 Pattern of landscape diversity is a consequence of 2 factors u 1. Gradual changes in the environment u Elevation, temperature changes, length of growing season, precipitation, proximity to water sources, soil quality and nutrients u Some species are only found in specific environments or restricted locations we call them endemic species u Jordan's salamander endemic to the forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains 173 u 2. Local history of disturbances u Fires, severe winds u Disturbances create a mosaic of patches undergoing different stages of succession u Succession the gradual process where one community of organisms in an ecosystem is replaced by another over time u Plant and animal species can vary patch to patch depending on the type of, severity, and length of time since disturbance 174 Community Biodiversity u Measures of Community Biodiversity: the number of species, their relative abundance, and their arrangement in space u Species richness: the total number of species in each sample u simplest measure of biodiversity u Generally higher in favorable environments (warm, fertile soil, near water) u Species evenness: the relative abundance of the different species in a community. 175 u Same number of Species in each sample, but species evenness is much higher in B, which seems more diverse to you? 176 Why are species richness and evenness important in conservation? u Loss of species richness indicates that some species are disappearing from an area u may indicate a threat to the survival of those species u Species evenness reflects a variety of interactions among species, so changes in this measure may signal important changes in the environment u Example: Nitrogen pollution causes 1-2 species of algae to grow rapidly, outcompeting other species u Decrease in algae species can indicate stream eutrophication (the process where a body of water becomes overly enriched with nutrients, typically nitrogen and phosphorus) 177 Community biodiversity can also be affected by u Structural complexity: the three-dimensional distribution of species and biological features. u Structural complexity is relatively easy to visualize but difficult to quantify u Structural complexity of a coral reef will support more species than a sandy ocean floor 178 Genetic Biodiversity u The diversity within populations is measured by genetic diversity: the genetic variation among individuals u Genetic diversity in populations provides the variation upon which natural selection acts, allowing the evolution of new adaptations as environments change u Without genetic diversity, species could not compete in the different environmental conditions across their geographic ranges and through time 179 Genetic Variation is maintained by sexual reproduction u Sexual reproduction ensures that offspring are genetically distinct from one another and from their parents u Outbreeding: mating between individuals that are not closely related u Maximizes genetic diversity u Inbreeding: mating between closely related individuals u More likely when the pool of potential mates is small u More limited genetic diversity means increased likelihood of generic diseases and reproductive failure 180 Genetic variation is important in conservation u Especially for threatened and endangered species u When species loose habitat for example their populations may also decrease in size u remaining populations often lack the genetic variation needed for long-term evolutionary change u also increases the likelihood that the adverse effects of genetic defects will put the species at even greater risk 181 When populations are very small captive breeding programs can be implemented u In these programs animals are captured and kept in facilities (like zoos) where new offspring are closely monitored and assisted so that they will thrive to reproduction u Florida Panthers u Early 1900s there were 30 subspecies u 1995 a single population remained u Heart problems and reproductive issues that led to short life spans u US and FL fish and wildlife released female pumas into the population u New genetic variation helped stabilize the population 182 Why is biodiversity important? 183 Existence Value u Most people agree that plants and animals have an intrinsic value and the right to exist, regardless of their importance to human beings u Living things deserve respect and protection u Most of the world's ethical and religious traditions recognize a moral obligation to protect other species. u United Nations Charter for Nature, which states, "every form of life is unique, warranting respect regardless of its worth to man, and, to accord other organisms such recognition, man must be guided by a moral code of action." 184 Ecosystem Functions and Services u Several studies have shown that Species richness increases ecosystem functions u As biodiversity increases, there is a higher likelihood that an ecosystem will include a species that has a big effect on a process u increased likelihood is known as the sampling effect u Individual species exploit different parts of the environment u Complementarity effect: groups of species use resources more efficiently than would any single species 185 Ecosystem Stability u Biodiversity enables ecosystems to resist or recover from environmental changes and disturbances u Biodiversity can help with tolerance to disturbances u In general, lower rainfall produced lower net primary production, but greater species diversity lessened this effect u Biodiversity also plays a significant role in the ability of ecological communities to recover from disturbances u Food web and trophic level interactions are another example of biodiversity maintaining ecosystems 186 187 Economic Value 188 Biodiversity provides goods and services that are essential to humans over 100 million metric tons of wild fish are harvested each year providing roughly 20% of the animal protein consumed by humans around the world. Forest trees provide wood for construction and fiber for paper. Recreational hunting and fishing contribute significantly to the economies of rural communities. Money spent on equipment, fishing lodges, and hunting preserves multiplies the economic value of fish and game as much as 10-fold or even 100-fold. Economic Value Cont. 189 Ecotourism is a form of tourism where visitors travel to natural areas to appreciate their beauty and biodiversity in a sustainable manner. The goal is to support local economies while promoting conservation efforts. Biotechnology and medicine about 20% of the pharmaceuticals distributed in the United States come from plants Loss of ecosystem services can have huge costs loss of diverse coastal wetlands and mangrove forests lead to destruction of property and even loss of lives

CLASS 9: Habitat loss and Degradation u Worldwide, the single greatest threat to biodiversity is habitat loss u Human activities have greatly reduced the extent of ecosystems and habitats u Create boundaries u Clear forests for logging and agriculture u Only 3% of north America's mixed and tall grass prairies remain u Tropical forests are of great concern they contain a large percentage of the world's species u Biologists estimate that the current global extinction rate in tropical forests is 1,000 species per year u We've lost more than half of the Earth's coral reefs 193 Habitat Fragmentation u As human activities expand across the globe, large areas of natural habitat are carved up into smaller fragments, which are increasingly separated from one another u Vast landscapes of adjoining habitat have been transformed into disconnected patches, or "islands," of habitat u In Urban areas this is very common u Populations within habitat patches are smaller and more vulnerable to local extinction u Migration pathways become blocked, large animals lack large breeding territories, human development 194 Overharvesting u The human activities of hunting, fishing, trapping, and collecting endanger many plants and animals. The species in greatest danger are those that humans value as sources of food or medicine and those that are prized by collectors, such as exotic tropical birds and trophy animals. u Whales once dominated the seas of the world, but several species have been driven to near extinction by fleets of whaling ships seeking their oil and meat u The UN Food and Agriculture Organization classifies most world's fish as fully exploited 195 Some species are more vulnerable to overharvesting u Large animals are generally more vulnerable to human hunting u Have slow growth rate so populations struggle to recover u Animals that live in flocks, herds, or schools are easier to capture in large numbers u Nassau Groupers u Solitary hunters, but every winter month during full moon they gather at common sites for reproducing and they are caught there, nearly fished to extinction 196 Non-Native Invasive Species u Through commerce and travel, humans have redistributed tens of thousands of Earth's species u New species usually have difficulty competing with native plants u But Some introduced species have biological traits or behaviors that allow them to overcome competition and flourish. u These traits make them more likely to become invasive u Invasive traits give an introduced species a lopsided advantage in survival and reproduction, allowing it to outcompete and possible drive native species to extinction 197 Examples of Invasive Species u Garlic mustard u Small biennial European plant u Displaces native wildflower u This plant secrets natural herbicides which changes soil microbial communities and poisons neighboring plants u Brown tree snake u Devastating effects on biodiversity on tropical pacific islands u Hunts at night for birds and small animals u Accidentally introduced in WWII u There were no other snakes on the islands, so no competition allowed them to grow 198 Pollution u Air and water pollution have directly affected biodiversity in many locations u Lichens are symbioses between a fungus and an alga u They survive even in the most extreme climates u Sensitive to chemical and particulate pollutants in the air u US EPA uses their diversity as an index of urban air pollution u Biodiversity of streams has also suffered because of sedimentation and chemical pollution u Many species of crayfish, mussels, and aquatic insects filter pieces of dead organic matter from the flowing water u Sediment can clog these animals' gills, and chemical pollutants quickly concentrate to toxic levels in their bodies u Many are now threatened or extinct u Diversity of aquatic insects can indicate water quality 199 Altered Patterns of Disturbance u Some ecosystems have natural cycles of disturbance, such as periodic fires or windfalls from hurricanes u When humans alter these natural cycles, biodiversity suffers u Jack pine forests u Frequent fires which allowed the trees to spread u Leaf litter to mineral ash u Kirkland's warbler habitat are Jack Pine that are only 5 -20 years old u Fire suppression has caused Kirkland's warbler to become critically endangered 200 Climate Change u Arctic climates are warming at a rapid pace, and this warming is having a significant impact on the tundra and the extent of near-shore sea ice u many coral reefs have experienced a phenomenon called coral bleaching, which is tied to the warming of tropical oceans u Not a new phenomenon but it's happening more intensely and rapidly u Climate changes due to carbon dioxide and other atmospheric pollutants will challenge living organisms for many years to come 201 Strategies for Conserving Biodiversity 202 Preserves and Protected Areas u Nearly every country has protected some of its lands and coastal waters as preserves, parks, or national forests u 12% of earth's land surface falls within preserves u Countries have tended to preserve areas with the least economic value, such as very arid, rocky, or mountainous lands u We exploit the areas with value to humans u Most threatened areas lack protections u Like islands because once boundaries are set there is a lot of pressure to use the space and resources around them u Six guidelines for designing and maintaining preserves to maximize biodiversity 203 1 - Big is better than small u Larger preserves have a more extensive representation of habitats and support larger populations of species than smaller preserve u individual species are less likely to disappear from large preserves u Madagascar is identified as a world biodiversity hotspot because of its many endemic species and the rapid rate at which its interior forests are being cleared 204 2- Connected is better than unconnected u The persistence of many species in an area depends on their ability to recolonize that area u Especially important in relatively small preserves, where fluctuations are likely to result in the disappearance of a species. u A clever way to overcome the disadvantage of small preserves is to create migration corridors that connect several habitat fragments into one large preserve u strips of forest left along streams, greenways planted between city parks, and railroad rights-of-way containing remnants of native prairie vegetation 205 3- Near is better than far u When local extinction occurs within a small preserve, reestablishment of the species depends on its migration from other sites. the closer a source population is to the affected preserve, the easier it is for immigrants to fill the void u Just as islands close to the mainland support a higher equilibrium species number, preserves located close to other preserves maintain greater biodiversity. u The ability of species to migrate among preserves may play an important role in the survival of many species as climates change in the future 206 4 - Buffers matter u Land use around the edges of a preserve has a significant effect on the biodiversity within the preserve u A preserve surrounded by grazing land or forest managed for timber is buffered from many human activities and will support greater biodiversity than one would expect based on its size alone 207 5 - Accommodate landscape change u Disturbances such as fires, ice storms, strong winds, insect infestations, and fungal diseases are a natural part of nearly all ecosystems u Accommodate disturbances that are like those that occur naturally and to which native plants and animals are adapted. Disturbances that are significantly more frequent or intense than in the past are likely to diminish biodiversity 208 6 - Manage People u Managing the activities of people is one of the most vexing challenges in many parks and preserves. u In the US, for example, national parks are set aside to provide recreation for people as well as to conserve biodiversity u Reconciling the needs of wildlife with the demands of human recreation is a continuing issue for park managers u In some countries its harder to manage animals because they are living in close proximity to humans