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Populations & Communities. Population Ecology Density Factors affecting density Community Ecology Trophic Relationships Trophic pyramid Food web Structure & Local Species Assemblages Species Interactions. Population Ecology.
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Populations & Communities • Population Ecology • Density • Factors affecting density • Community Ecology • Trophic Relationships • Trophic pyramid • Food web • Structure & Local Species Assemblages • Species Interactions
Population Ecology • Population density = # of individuals of a species per unit area or volume Intrinsic rate of increase = maximum rate at which a population of a given species can increase under ideal conditions
Factors affecting density • Density dependent factors • Density independent factors • Governing forces: • Species interactions • (comp/pred) • Abiotic factors • (tolerances) • Historical factors ~ • dispersal 2-5x increase in densities of Batrachoseps attenuatus on islands in SF Bay over those on mainland due to lower predation pressure on the islands
P. metcalfi P. teyahalee
Chihuahuan Desert - precipitation ranges from 50 to 400 mm Lizard species’ densities studied over 5 year period, exhibited fluctuation correlated with precipitation.
Schall & Pianka 1978 • Compared Aus & N.A. • Turtle & frog richness pos. correlated to annual rainfall, neg. mean annual hrs sunshine • Lizards had opposite pattern • Snakes positively correlated w/ mean annual temp & rain
Community ecology Community = All of the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough for potential interaction • Trophic Relationships • Trophic pyramid • Food web • Structure & Local Species Assemblages • Species Interactions
Structuring forces Gause’s Principle 1960’s & ’70’s: Competition structures communities Ecological niche Current view: physical environment predicts composition
trophic pyramid quaternary trophic structure trophic levels tertiary secondary consumer primary consumers primary producers Detritovores - decomposers • Guild =
energy flow through ecosystems:much is lost at each trophic level
The structure of a community & assemblages • Structure = species diversity, species richness • Diversity = • Richness = • Species assemblages - Subset of species being considered in a community • General trends
Gradients in Species Richness Latitude/ Altitude – more species found lower (taxon. widespread) Tropical lowland herp diversity peaks around 150-200 • Some exceptions (salamanders, turtles, lizards(!))
Why the trends? • Climactic features vary with increases in latitude • Habitat heterogeneity
HABITAT HETEROGENEITY • The greater the range of environmental conditions, the more kinds of topography, soil conditions, microclimate and habitat – the greater the heterogeneity, the greater the biodiversity of a landscape • Physical or Biotic • Spatial or Temporal • Fixed or Dynamic • Higher heterogeneity =
What drives these gradients? Many proposed mechanisms: Productivity Historical (lag) Structural diversity Climate (seasonality)
Pattern, Process, Mechanism Mechanism- factors affecting individuals (e.g. competition) Process- population-level effects of individual interactions (neg b/w species) Pattern- community level (presence/ absence, resource/microhabitat use, etc.)
PPM, cont’d • Cause and effect relationships among these 3 levels often assumed • Attribute negatives between 2 spp to using same prey (interference) or aggression (exploitative) However, different mechanisms can produce indistinguishable patterns
PPM, cont’d • Differences in prey use b/w spp • competition, or • independent evolution? • Process may be difficult to detect • Resource-limited years (Dunham 1980) • ‘Ghost of competition past’ • Differentiation, displacement
Species Interactions - S1 S2 • Competition • parasitism predation • mutualism - + S1 S2 - + S1 S2 +
1) Interspecific Competition for limited resource • Interactions lead to either decrease in abundance or some component of fitness • the 2 species diverge in their use so the co-existence is possible
Interspecific competition results in microhabitat differences • Microhabitat parapatry results from intense competition between P. cinerus & P. shenandoah • P cinerus, more aggressive – P. shenanadoah becoming restricted to dry slopes
Species Interactions: Competition • Williams (1983) examined microhabitat use of 9 Anolis • Sun/shade • Perch diameter • Perch height • Reduces interactions – but a result of comp?
Ex: Anolis lizard sp. perching sites in the Dominican Republic
Alternative explanations? • Environmental tolerances (T, water loss) • Preferred prey • Other researchers have shown determinism in Anolis composition on islands
Determinants of Community Structure • Often many interacting factors both abiotic and biotic Competition in Caribbean Anolis: 2-9 species on islands; few predators, lizards abundant- resources limiting Interspecific competition may be alleviated by resource partitioning
Anolis competition • Removal of an aggressive species showed habitat expansion by another (Jenssen 1973) • Enclosure experiments revealed greater partitioning b/w a species pair from a more resource-limited island (Pacala & Roughgarden 1985)
Predation • Negatively affects prey (they are consumed) • Most predators feed on more than one prey species (dependent upon abundance)
Predator and prey populations follow a series of synchronized fluctuations • The prey population grows exponentially, and reproduction in the predator population is a function of the number of prey consumed • As a single predator population increases, the single prey population decreases to a point at which the trend is reversed • The two populations rise and fall, oscillating in a predictable manner
Lotka-volterra model -simplest model of predator-prey interactions, predict greater stability w/more “links”
Species Interactions: Predation Predation- easier to establish than c Often, more abundant prey species are taken – modify community structure Submergent behavior- prey respond by reducing activity Restrictive activity times, places promote prey-switching in predator mediate competitive coexistence
Species Interactions:Parasitism • ~1/2 all animals are parasites often specialized; differential effects • Shift P-P, competitive interactions • Rarely studied at the community level • Pathogens may cause local extinction: • B. boreas in Colorado by Aeromonas
Abiotic factors: Habitat complexity • Pianka (1967) Plant height diversity best predicted species richness of flatland desert lizards
Abiotic factors: Physiological tolerances • Each species has different tol/ pref • Trade-offs • Distinct vs. shared preferences • Temp, precipitation, ET are often correlated with a species’ range, and its abundance therein
Weather-induced community changes • Whitford & Creusere (1977) – fecundity and composition in Chihuahuan Desert lizard community enhanced in wet years • Pechmann et al. (1989) # species metamorphosing from ponds related to hydroperiod • Longer-lived spp’s may endure poor weather conditions better
Anthropogenic effects • Dispersal: • Polynesians– gecko introduction • Anglers– introduced salamander bait • Seri- Sauromalus Landscape changes: Maya cultivated much of Yucatan, favoring open-habitat species Local scale: Single-tree harvest in Amazonia promoted heliothermic lizards; forest species retreated (Vitt et al 1998)
Prey of Brazilian Colubridae • Vitt & Vangilder (1983) explained resource-use with present-day ecological factors • Cadle & Greene (1993) assert that much of observed prey use was due to ancestry
No invertebrate specialists Vitt & Vangilder (1983) Too much competition w/ insectivorous mammals, too many small snake predators, suitable microhabitat lacking Cadle & Greene (1993) Insect eating snakes are rare/ absent in neotropics
Anuran-eating snakes are speciose V&V: Convergence on this resource due to frog abundance and year-round availability C&G: Large proportion of the frog-eaters have common ancestry
Salamander competition • Hairston (1949) Distributional patterns in GSM suggest inter-specific comp Density manipulations confirmed geog variation in degree of competition
Larval amphibian assemblages • Extremely dynamic systems • Size-dependent predation/competition • Composition turnover • Hydroperiod; nutrient flux
Spatial partitioning In Thailand, different tadpole species use distinct aquatic zones Heyer (1973)
Trade-offs- puddle vs. pond • Selective forces differ depending on larval environment • Fast-drying ponds- promote quick development • Permanent ponds- predatory contingent promotes submergent behavior
Predation & Competition • 6 tadpole species at different newt densities (Morin 1983) • Low predation, 4 comp dominant species suppressed 2 inferior tadpoles • High predation, inferiors survived better • 3 species developed faster with heavy predation