IntrAspecific Competition
Occurs when members of the same species attempt to use the same resource.
Resoruce: something that can be consumed and/or made unavailable to others.
Constrast "condition" cannot be used up. For example, temperature.
IntErspecific Competition
Occurs when two different species attempt to use the same resource.
Negative effect on the survival, growth and/or reproduction of both species.
Likely more negative on one species than the other.
Type of Competition:
1. Exploitative Competition
Use of some renewable resource, making it unavailable to others by getting to it first.
Type of Competition:
2. Interference Competition
Direct interaction between organisms.
Trophic Structure of Communities
Herbivore - Plant-eater (or algae-eater)
Carnivore - Animal-eating organism
Omnivore - feeds on more than one trophic level; eats both animals & plants
Detritivore - eats dead organic matter
Food Chains and Food Webs
Simple food chain begins with primary producers primary consumers secondary consumers tertiary consumers decomposers.
Decomposers actually feed at all the different levels, from any dead material.
Example grass antelope lion bacteria.
Food Webs
Set of trophic interactions in a community.
Food webs in textbooks are generally very simplified; often leave out decomposers entirely.
May even leave out producers, the true base of the food chain.
What are the four outcomes of competition?
Species 1 wins, population goes to K1.
Species 2 wins, population goes to K2.
Unstable Equilibrium - There is a point of equilibrium, but deviation from that point will result in extinction of one or other species.
Stable Equilibrium - species populations
Define life histories/What are Life History Trade Offs?
All organisms have limited amount of energy and resources available.
Natural selection favors those that leave the most grandchildren.
Different ways to achieve this leads to great diversity of life histories.
What are the differences between carnivores and herbivores?
Herbivores feed on plants whereas carnivores feed on flesh.
Explain in your own words what is territorial competition?
Territorial competition is common amongst birds and mobile animals. This includes marking territory and threatening whoever crosses the territory. Also, direct aggression towards other species and singing.
What is the Competitive Exclusion Principle?
The Competitive Exclusion Principle states that two species with identical niche cannot coexist indefinitely. Initially assumed that one species will outcompete the other and rive the weaker species to extinction (locally). The alternative reason circumst
What are the different type of competition?
Intraspecific Compet.: occurs when members of the same species attempt to use the same resource.
Interspecific Compet.: occurs when two different species attempt to use the same resource.
Exploitative Compet.: use of some renewable resource, making it una
Fundamental Niche:
largest ecological niche an organism or species can occupy in the absence of interspecific competition and predation.
Realized Niche:
that portion of the fundamental niche occupied by a species when competitors or predators are present.
What type of competition is included with interference?
Interference Compet.: direct interaction between organisms
Chemical Compet.: allelopathy. plants.
Territorial Compet.: many birds and higher mobile animals.
Encounter Compet.: brief, direct, eg. theft of food.
Overgrowth Compet.: plants, sessile aquatic a
Describe the differences or similarities of a predator/ prey relationship?
Predator hunts prey organism; kills and eats it.
What is a Three Level System?
Emphasized effect on plant: Oak - Leaf - Eating insect - Insectivorous bird system.
Some oaks treated with insecticide, some excluded birds but not insects.
Didn't record effect on insect or bird populations.
Birds have indirect effect on the plants.
What factors are encountered with laboratory simulations?
Difficult to keep going.
Often the predator drives the prey to extinction.
Other times prey can escape and predator goes extinct.
Environmental complexity and refuges needed to maintain system and observe cyclic fluctuations.
What is mating?
The action of animals coming together to breed; copulation.
What did Hufferber's experiment ultimately concluded?
Patch w/predator and prey: predator ate all prey and then died out or dispersed.
Pach w/just prey: population grew and dispersed.
Patch w/just predator: usually died out before arrival of prey; or ate up prey
Mosaic of patches (some unoccupied) was able t
If predation decreases, does prey population stay the same?
Reducing predation and feeding hares increased hare population.
Name five different types of Exploitative Interactions and describe them.
Predator/Prey: Predator hunts prey organism; kills and eats it.
Parasite/Host: Parasite lives in or on host; harms but usually does not kill it.
Parasitoid/Host: Parasitoid lays eggs on host, larvae feed inside and kill it.
Herbivore/Plant: Herbivore eats
Name 5 things that may arms race?
1. Defensive chemicals.
2. Camouflage.
3. Weapons.
4. Speed.
5. Behavior.
23. What is a monarch butterfly and what does it feed on as a larva?
A Monarch butterfly lays eggs and are laid on milkweed plants. They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch. Then the baby caterpillar doesn't do much more than eat the milkweed ( has cyanogenic
What are the types of competition between species?
Exploitative- use a renewable with organisms
Interference- direct interaction with organisms
Do fox control mountains here? What happens to snowshoe hare?
Mange appeared in fox population therefore Fox declined due to disease. As a result of this, the snowshoe hare population decreased dramatically.
How can predators keep population? Can predation help us with the prey?
Sometimes the predator causes the prey to escape so it can cause for population to change because the predator can go extinction.
Sometimes the predator causes the prey to extinct? which causes the the predator to die.
What does graph A and graph B represent?
Graph A shows the change (cycling) of predator and
prey population over time.
Graph B plots predator population over the prey population.