51. Community Ecology

Community Interactions

Niche Partitioning

Fundamental vs. Realized Niche

 There is no difference. The two terms are synonymous. 

 No. The terms refer to species that have different roles in a community. 

 Dominant species alter the structure or dynamics of the environment; keystone species are the most abundant. 

 No. Foundation species alter the structure or dynamics of the environment; dominant species are the most abundant. 

 The removal of a dominant species from a community has more impact than removing a keystone species. 

 Keystone species are more successful at evading their predators and the impacts of disease. 

 No. This is true of dominant species and may explain why they become the most abundant species in their community. 

 Dominant species are the most abundant; keystone species exert control through important roles or niches. 

Sea otters are keystone species, even though they do not represent the greatest biomass in their community. .

What is the key difference between a dominant species and a keystone species?

Animals using mimicry and camouflage

Niche

The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata (“fanged pitcher plant”) has a unique relationship with a species of ant—Camponotus schmitzi (“diving ant”). The diving ants are not digested by the pitcher plants, but instead live on the plants and consume nectar. Diving ants also dive into the digestive juices in the pitcher, swim to the bottom, and capture and consume trapped insects, leaving uneaten body parts and ant feces behind. What nutritional impact do the ants have on fanged pitcher plants? Do the pitcher plants derive any nutritional benefit from this relationship?

Explain why carnivorous and parasitic plants are most common in nutrient-poor habitats.

Predation(HD)

Predation

The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata (“fanged pitcher plant”) has a unique relationship with a species of ant—Camponotus schmitzi (“diving ant”). The diving ants are not digested by the pitcher plants, but instead live on the plants and consume nectar. Diving ants also dive into the digestive juices in the pitcher, swim to the bottom, and capture and consume trapped insects, leaving uneaten body parts and ant feces behind. What nutritional impact do the ants have on fanged pitcher plants? Do the pitcher plants derive any nutritional benefit from this relationship?

Based on the background information presented here, does the relationship between diving ants and pitcher plants appear to be mutualistic? Explain.

Symbiosis -- Mutualism, Parasitism, Commensalism

Community Structure Part 1

Fill in the blanks in the table below summarizing the interspecific interactions in a community. <img class="fr-dib" src="https://lightcat-files.s3.amazonaws.com/problem_images/966bd8c2465962eb-1677810573654.jpg" style="width: 300px;">

Interspecific Interactions | Ecology 03 | Biology | PP Notes | Campbell 8E Ch. 54.1

Symbiosis (AP Biology Topic 8.5 Community Ecology Part 2)

Examples of Symbiotic Relationships in Nature

Mimicry

5 of the Coolest Animal Partnerships (Symbiotic Species)

Ecological Relationships

In some circumstances, the use of probiotics, which stimulate the rapid growth of bacteria that are mutualistic or commensal with humans, can eliminate the need to use antibiotics, which can wipe out helpful bacteria along with harmful bacteria. The use of probiotics is an example of which process?
a. succession
b. competitive exclusion
c. parasitism
d. niche differentiation

Animal Mimicry: Unmasking Nature's Best Imposters

Adaptations: Mimicry

Competitive Exclusion Principle (Gause's Law) in ecology Explained

Explain how seed dispersal by animals is an example of mutualism in some cases.

 No. M&#252;llerian mimicry occurs when harmful species mimic each other. 

 No. Cryptic coloration helps in the avoidance of detection. 

 No. The question does not mention competition between the species. 

 None of the listed responses is correct. 

 No. One of the listed responses is correct. 

The flower fly is harmless, but a honeybee is not. .

The flower fly resembles a honeybee, but the flower fly has no stinger. This is an example of what natural phenomenon?

Learn Biology: Community Ecology- Interspecific Interactions

Compare and contrast the species interactions of mutualism, predation, and competition. 

Cite an example to explain why species interactions are conditional and dynamic.

 No. Until the population sizes increase to meet the abundance, competition should be less obvious when resources are abundant. 

 No. A keystone species will reduce the levels of competition among prey species. 

 When organisms have quite different ecological niches 

 No. Having different ecological niches will lessen the degree of competition. 

 Among species whose trophic levels are different 

 No. Species at different trophic levels are not in competition for food. 

 When a non-native organism is introduced to a community 

Consider which of these circumstances has the potential for introducing conflict between different species.

Under which of the following circumstances would interspecific competition be most obvious?

 Increased mortality (death rate) in monkey species A 

 No. Although the increase in mosquitoes may be an irritant to monkey species A, the species is resistant to malaria. 

 Increased mortality in the malaria-carrying mosquitoes 

 No. The expectation would be an increase in the population of the malaria-carrying mosquitoes. 

 Emergence of malaria-resistant strains in monkey species B 

 No. This may occur over the long term, but not as an immediate consequence. 

 Emergence of malaria-sensitive strains in monkey species A 

 No. An increase in malaria-carrying mosquitoes would reinforce the selective advantage of malaria resistance. 

 Increased mortality in monkey species B 

Consider how the elimination of the mosquito-eating bird would affect the mosquito population.

A species of malaria-carrying mosquito lives in a forest in which two species of monkeys, A and B, coexist. Species A is immune to malaria, but species B is not. The malaria-carrying mosquito is the chief food for a particular kind of bird in the forest. If all these birds were suddenly eliminated by hunters, which of the following would be an immediately observable consequence?

Communities and Community Interactions

The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata (“fanged pitcher plant”) has a unique relationship with a species of ant—Camponotus schmitzi (“diving ant”). The diving ants are not digested by the pitcher plants, but instead live on the plants and consume nectar. Diving ants also dive into the digestive juices in the pitcher, swim to the bottom, and capture and consume trapped insects, leaving uneaten body parts and ant feces behind. What nutritional impact do the ants have on fanged pitcher plants? Do the pitcher plants derive any nutritional benefit from this relationship?

Based only on the information provided here, make a prediction on the effect of diving ants on overall pitcher plant growth.

Community structure and diversity

Evaluate this statement: Species want to increase their fitness by helping friendly species and hurting enemy species.

APBio Ch 45 Pt. 1: Community Ecology~Community Structure, Interactions & Development

How do animals help flowering plants reproduce? How do the animals benefit?

 No. In parasitism, the fitness of the parasite increases while the fitness of the host decreases. 

 No. In predation, the fitness of the predator increases while the fitness of the prey decreases. 

 No. Commensalism is a +/&ndash;0 relationship; here, both the ants and the tree benefit. 

 No. In facilitation relationships, one species benefits another without living in symbiosis. Here, the ants and acacias are symbiotic. 

Consider the relationship in terms of benefit and harm.

Certain species of acacia trees in Central and South America have hollow thorns that house stinging ants, which attack anything that touches the tree. The ants feed on nutrients produced by the acacias. This is an example of __________.

Species Interactions

Ecological niche - fundamental & realised

How ecosystems work: interactions among organisms

Predator vs. Prey

Keystone Species and Community Structure

Ecological Niche

A team of 102 scientists spent a year surveying a small area of the San Lorenzo rain forest in Panama to count the number of species of arthropods living there. After collecting 129,494 specimens—using nets, traps, shovels, tree-climbing harnesses, helium balloons, and other creative gear—it took the team eight years to sort and identify the arthropods.

The researchers observed a strong correlation between the number of arthropod species and the number of plant species in the San Lorenzo forest. Pose an evolutionary hypothesis to explain this correlation.

Ecological Niches and Competition

The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata (“fanged pitcher plant”) has a unique relationship with a species of ant—Camponotus schmitzi (“diving ant”). The diving ants are not digested by the pitcher plants, but instead live on the plants and consume nectar. Diving ants also dive into the digestive juices in the pitcher, swim to the bottom, and capture and consume trapped insects, leaving uneaten body parts and ant feces behind. What nutritional impact do the ants have on fanged pitcher plants? Do the pitcher plants derive any nutritional benefit from this relationship?

Which of the following is an example of a mutualistic relationship?
a. moles catching and eating earthworms from the moles’ underground tunnels;
b. cattails and reed canary grass growing together in wetland soils;
c. cleaner fish removing and eating parasites from the teeth of sharks;
d. Colorado potato beetles consuming potato plant leaves;
e. more than one of the above

Ecological Relationships-Competition- Predator and Prey- Symbiosis

Community Ecology II: Predators - Crash Course Ecology #5

 No. Commensalism is a +/&ndash;0 relationship. In this example, the deer lose, a minus. 

 No. This term refers to changes in entire communities over time. 

 No. A food chain is a hierarchy of feeding relationships. Goats and deer both feed at the same level. 

 No. Coevolution is a situation in which two species influence each other's evolution. 

What happens when two species compete for limited resources?

When goats were introduced to an island off the California coast, the goats inhabited the same areas and ate the same plants as the native deer. The deer population dwindled and finally disappeared. This is an example of __________.

Symbiosis

AP Biology Topic 8.5 Community Ecology Part 3: Simpson's Diversity Index

 No. Parasitism is a type of relationship that benefits the parasite and reduces the fitness of the host. 

 No. In commensalism only one member of a species pair benefits. In this situation, all the poison-arrow frogs benefit. 

 No. In Batesian mimicry, a palatable or harmless species mimics an unpalatable or harmful model. 

Consider which of these types of mimicry makes it easier for a predator to learn whom to avoid.

The poison-arrow frogs Dendrobates of tropical America are all brightly colored and have very similar patterns. Although each species is distasteful to predators and all possess toxic skin secretions, some of the species live quite separately from the others. The adaptive relationship among these species is best termed __________.

Interspecific Interactions

Predator Prey Interactions |  Basic Ecology |

Truffles (the fungi, not the chocolates) are the reproductive bodies of ascomycetes that form mycorrhizae with certain tree species. They are highly prized by gourmets for the delicious scent they add to food. Because truffles grow underground, they are difficult to find—human noses are not sensitive enough to locate them. Many animals, however, are excellent truffle hunters and eagerly consume the fungi. Why would these fungi produce a scent that attracts fungus-eating animals?

Community Ecology: Feel the Love - Crash Course Ecology #4

The principle of competitive exclusion states that
a. two species cannot coexist in the same habitat.
b. competition between two species always causes extinction or emigration of one species.
c. two species that have exactly the same niche cannot coexist in a community.
d. two species will stop reproducing until one species leaves the habitat.

The carnivorous plant Nepenthes bicalcarata (“fanged pitcher plant”) has a unique relationship with a species of ant—Camponotus schmitzi (“diving ant”). The diving ants are not digested by the pitcher plants, but instead live on the plants and consume nectar. Diving ants also dive into the digestive juices in the pitcher, swim to the bottom, and capture and consume trapped insects, leaving uneaten body parts and ant feces behind. What nutritional impact do the ants have on fanged pitcher plants? Do the pitcher plants derive any nutritional benefit from this relationship?

Researchers tested the hypothesis that the relationship between diving ants and pitcher plants is mutualistic (i.e., both species derive a nutritional benefit). To do so, they compared leaf surface area (as a measure of overall growth) in two sets of pitcher plants: plants with diving ants and plants without. The results are shown in the graph. The P values indicate whether there is a significant relationship between the size of the host plants and the surface area of the host plants’ leaves. Based on this graph, what conclusions can be drawn about the impact of diving ants on overall plant growth?

SCIENTIFIC THINKING As you learned in symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi are found in almost all present-day plant lineages. Mosses are a major exception—most mosses lack mycorrhizal associations. Assuming that mycorrhizae were a key factor in the colonization of land by plants, propose an explanation for the absence of mycorrhizae in present-day moss lineages.

 No. In M&#252;llerian mimicry, two or more unpalatable species evolve similar warning coloration. 

 No. This type of coloration causes the organism to stand out against the background and serves as a warning to potential predators. 

 No. In character displacement, two species that utilize similar resources differ more in areas where their distributions overlap than they do in areas where their distributions do not overlap. 

 No. In Batesian mimicry, harmful or unpalatable species are mimicked by harmless, palatable species. 

Consider the term that applies to something difficult to discern.

Flounder is a type of fish that looks like the seafloor. This is an example of __________.

What is true about inducible defenses? Select True or False for each statement.
T/F They are always present; thus, an individual is always able to defend itself.
T/F They make it impossible for a consumer to launch surprise attacks.
T/F They result from a coevolutionary arms race.
T/F They make efficient use of resources, because they are produced only when needed.

Competitive Exclusion and Niche Differentiation

What is SYMBIOSIS? 🐠🦐 Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism + EXAMPLES 🐦

Lyme disease is caused by infections of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (stained blue in inset, among red blood cells) which is transferred to humans via blood-sucking bites from the tick, Ixodes scapularis. Lyme disease can cause flu-like symptoms in the short term and more serious illnesses in the long term, if not treated. Why is Lyme disease on the rise in eastern North America?

Deer are hosts of ticks but are not reservoirs of B. burgdorferi—their immune systems detect and kill the bacterium. But a tick with a prior bacterial infection can consume a blood meal from a deer and then bite and infect a human. The fitness effects of a deer on B. burgdorferi can be summarized as:
a. + because the deer supplies the bacterium with food.
b. − because the deer kills the bacteria in its blood.
c. + because the deer feeds and disperses the tick that can then infect a human with the bacterium.
d. − or + depending on whether the deer is the tick’s last host.

Examples of animal mimicry

Batesian vs Mullerian Mimicry

What is niche differentiation?
a. the evolution of traits that reduce niche overlap and competition
b. interactions that allow species to occupy their fundamental niche
c. the degree to which the niches of two species overlap
d. the claim that species with the same niche cannot coexist

Types of Symbiosis (Mutualism, Commensalism, Parasitism)

To ensure adequate nitrogen for a crop, a farmer would want to decrease _________ by soil bacteria.
a. nitrification
b. denitrification
c. nitrogen fixation
d. a and c

Symbiosis: Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism | The Biology Central | Ecology

Communities

Bio Project- Interspecific Interactions

How do Species Interact?

Aposematic Coloration

The relationship between corals and the photosynthetic protists they harbor is an example of
a. commensalism.
b. competition.
c. consumption.
d. mutualism

Mimicry - Why Some Animals Look A Like

Chapter 35.1 - Community Structure

 the number of individuals of the species the environment will support 

 No. This is the definition of carrying capacity. 

No. The terms are not synonymous. Habitat is a more limited term that refers only to where an organism lives.

 No. Although den and nest sites are a part of a niche, they alone are not the niche. 

 No. This is a component of an animal's niche. 

 the way the animal fits into its environment 

Compare an organism's "address" with its "profession." .

The niche of an animal is __________.

Lyme disease is caused by infections of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (stained blue in inset, among red blood cells) which is transferred to humans via blood-sucking bites from the tick, Ixodes scapularis. Lyme disease can cause flu-like symptoms in the short term and more serious illnesses in the long term, if not treated. Why is Lyme disease on the rise in eastern North America?

In relation to humans, B. burgdorferi is a/an ____________ and the tick is a/an _____________.
a. endoparasite/ectoparasite
b. endoparasite/host
c. parasitoid/host
d. parasite/predator

15.2.3 What is predation

Predation- Brief Summary-Leaving Cert Biology

Lyme disease is caused by infections of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (stained blue in inset, among red blood cells) which is transferred to humans via blood-sucking bites from the tick, Ixodes scapularis. Lyme disease can cause flu-like symptoms in the short term and more serious illnesses in the long term, if not treated. Why is Lyme disease on the rise in eastern North America?

Newly hatched ticks do not harbor B. burgdorferi. Rather, they pick it up from certain hosts that are reservoirs of the bacterium. When a larval tick crawls onto a host, it may get groomed off and killed by the host, or it may feed successfully, in which case it may or may not then become infected with B. burgdorferi. Felicia Keesing and others measured the rate of tick feeding and infection on different hosts. What percentage of ticks on mice were infected with B. burgdorferi? What percentage of ticks on opossums were groomed off and killed? <img class="fr-dib" src="https://lightcat-files.s3.amazonaws.com/problem_images/2629c3427242a9a9-1677306176935.jpg" style="width: 300px;">

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