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Environmental Science: Chapter 4

Environmental Science: Chapter 4. Ecosystems: How they change. Biotic Potential Vs. Environmental Resistance. Predator-prey Balance:Wolves and Moose. Steps in predation . Encounter. Attack. Capture. Ingestion. Encounter.

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Environmental Science: Chapter 4

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  1. Environmental Science: Chapter 4 Ecosystems: How they change

  2. Biotic Potential Vs. Environmental Resistance

  3. Predator-prey Balance:Wolves and Moose

  4. Steps in predation Encounter Attack Capture Ingestion

  5. Encounter Ambush: Wait for prey to come to you. Burst speed. Pike, muskie, barracuda, gar Lepisosteus osseus http://fcn.state.fl.us/fwc/fishing/Fishes/gar.html Rover: Actively search for food. Constant motion. Bass, yellow perch

  6. Odonate larvae mentum extends to grasp prey http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/michodo/test/index.htm Attack:  forward (most fish) or sideways (gar) lunge  special grasping organs Capture:  prey have adaptation to avoid capture  piscivores have lots of teeth

  7. http://bio-images.bgsu.edu predator – prey sizes ~ 1mm Blue Whale 100 ft, up to 220 tons http://www.calpoly.edu/~jiturrir/ED480/whales/baleen.html

  8. predation parasitism population size population size Time Time Other factors effect population levels; ex. parasitism, weather

  9. Mechanisms of Population Equilibrium: Plant-Herbivore

  10. -Livestock grazing occurs on more federal public lands than any other commercial use -Affects more than 260 million acres – an area the size of Texas and California combined -Water diversions, predator control, vegetation manipulation and fencing -In the US, livestock grazing has contributed to the listing of 22 percent of federal threatened and endangered species (almost equal to logging (12 percent) and mining (11 percent) combined) Livestock grazing in western US

  11. = Selective feeders Migratory Non-selective Non-migratory

  12. Interactions between species: competition vs predation resource consumer + predation - + - competition - - +

  13. K= # that resources can support intraspecificcompetition: between members of same spp  density dependent population regulation  evolutionary change resources scarce, competition population size Time

  14. interspecific competition: occurs between members of different species  negative effect on both populations  depends on adaptations of each population spp 2 niche spp 1 niche realized niche competition

  15. Dry habitat, trees can’t compete w/ grass

  16. Territoriality: defense of a resource against individuals of the same species • -Examples: wolves, songbirds, bluegill • -Means habitat supports fewer individuals and less competition is result

  17. Tipping the Balance: Introduced Species http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/AustralianRabbits.jpg http://www.gdaywa.com/g5.php

  18. Chestnut Blight -Fungus which entered US on Asian nursery stock imported to New York ~ 1900 -Spread by wind, rain, birds etc…, enters through cracks or wounds, multiplies rapidly, making sunken cankers which expand and kill everything above the canker -American chestnut was devastated throughout the natural range, the Appalachian hills and highlands from Maine to Georgia -By 1940, three and a half billion American chestnuts had perished. -American chestnut stock advertised as "blight free", means it was grown in an area where no blight is present, outside the natural range or inside a greenhouse.

  19. Introduced Species • Why have these introductions resulted in a degradation of the ecosystems? (Think in terms of environmental resistance and biotic potential.)

  20. Disturbance and Succession Equilibrium = No change

  21. Ecological succession: transition between biotic communities • Primary- no previous biotic community • Secondary- previously occupied by a community • Aquatic- transition from pond or lake to terrestrial community

  22. Primary Succession • Mosses invade an area and provide a place for soil to accumulate. • Larger plants germinate in the new soil layer resulting in additional soil formation. • Eventually shrubs and trees will invade the area.

  23. Dramatic examples: HI lava flows Relies on adjacent ecosystems Rain of organic material, seeds, and spores accumulates in cracks Some pockets moist enough to support scattered `ohi`a seedlings and a few hardy ferns and shrubs Accumulation leaves, bark… converted by soil organisms into a thin but rich organic soil A forest can develop in wet regions in less than 150 years

  24. Aquatic Succession

  25. Ecosystems can show resilience during a disturbance Fire

  26. Disturbance • Removes organisms, favors tolerant spp. • Reduces populations • Creates opportunities for other species to colonize

  27. Fire and Succession • Fire climax ecosystems: maintained by fire; e.g., grasslands, pine and redwood forests • What significance does this have for humans and where they live?

  28. Nutrient release to soil Re-growth by remnant roots and seeds Invasions from neighboring ecosystems Rapid restoration of energy flow and nutrient cycling Resilience Mechanisms After A Forest Fire

  29. Ecosystem management: thinking about the entire system rather than trying to maximize harvest of few populations Adaptive management: 1) be prepared to chance policy 2) bring in stakeholders 3) do experiments

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