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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Biological Principles 2 -- HW#57



1.      Scientists have discovered that when they provide supplemental food for hares, their density tripled. Based on the figure above, showing cycles of lynx and hare populations over a century's time, what do you predict would happen to a lynx population in an area where hares were provided supplemental food? The lynx population would increase 1-2 years after the hares increased.
2.      What type of populations would be most likely to show resource partitioning? sympatric populations of species with similar ecological niches
3.      How does the caterpillar benefit from its relationship with the ant? protection from a predator
4.      How does the ant benefit from its relationship with the caterpillar? obtains sugary droplets as food
5.      Suppose the friendly ants took the sugar from the caterpillar but did nothing to help or protect the caterpillar. Assuming that it is energetically costly to produce the sugar and the risk of being attacked by non-friendly ants, what type of symbiotic relationship is this? Parasitism
6.      Suppose the caterpillar did not feed the ants, but the ants still protected the caterpillar. Assuming that the ants are not hurt in this role, what type of relationship is this? Commensalism
7.      According to the video, the tentacles of the caterpillar communicate with the ants via a chemical. What hypothesis follows logically from this? The ants are able to detect this chemical in some manner.
8.      Caterpillars of the same species on a large leaf each chew as much leaf as they can. This is an example of exploitation competition.
9.      Secondary metabolites are produced to deter herbivores.
10.  Several butterfly species that are edible to birds have very similar color patterns to the generally inedible monarch butterfly. This is best described as an example of what? Batesian mimicry
11.  What concepts enable two or more species with similar niches to coexist in a community?

·         Character displacement
·         Resource partitioning

12.  What is an example of a +/- interaction? Predation
13.  You find some rather strange plants in your backyard. They consist only of thin, pale yellow stems that are wrapped around other species of plants growing nearby. You experiment by unwrapping some of the strange yellow plants and planting half of them alone in pots of soil and half in pots with other plants from your yard. You water and fertilize both sets of pots, but after a few weeks you find that the yellow plants that were potted alone have died, while those potted with other plants are thriving. What term would you use to describe the strange yellow plants?    Holoparasitic
14.  Sympatric species are more likely than allopatric species to display character displacement.
15.  What is an example of a +/+ interaction? Mutualism
16.  You are assigned a research project on a parasitic species. You choose the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), you discover that juvenile sea lampreys attach themselves to the outside of fish and 'rasp' away the scales and skin in order to obtain nutrition from the fish's bodily fluids. You are surprised to find out that sea lampreys can feed on more than ten different fish species from several families. You also learn that adult lampreys die after spawning while eggs hatch into a nonparasitic larvae that inhabit small sand burrows in stream beds. Based on all these findings, what terms would you use in your research report to describe the sea lamprey? Polyphagous; Ectoparasitic; macroparasitic

17.  For each of the statements below, indicate whether the statement is true or false.
·         The number of anti-predator tactics that evolve in prey species supports the hypothesis that predation acts as a strong selective pressure on prey populations. True
·         Introduced invasive predators frequently do well in a new environment due to the lack of evolved defenses in the prey species. True
·         Some herbivores have evolved the capability of neutralizing toxins produced by plants. True
·         The density of most prey species is independent of predation levels and is influenced to a greater extent by competition with other species. False
·         Secondary metabolites are produced by herbivores to help in the digestion of toxic plant materials. False
·         Large vertebrate herbivores have a stronger effect on plant species than do small invertebrate herbivores such as insects. False
·         Batesian mimicry describes a situation in which poisonous animals evolve similar coloration patterns that facilitate the effectiveness of the coloration in deterring predation. False
·         If population densities of a prey species increase upon the removal of predators from the environment, then prey density is considered to be predator-controlled. True
18.  The relationship of disease-causing organisms to an infected rabbit is one of parasitism.
19.  Fill in the sentences with the appropriate words.
·         The competitive exclusion hypothesis states that two species with overlapping niches cannot survive together. One species will be driven to local extinction.
·         In order for complete exclusion from n area to be avoided, resource partitioning can occur whereby similar sympatric species evolve slightly different ecological niches.
·         If the evolution of different niches is the result of morphological changes, then character displacement has occurred.
·         The evolution of morphological differences between two species should be greater when they are sympatric than when they are allopatric, due to selective pressures to diversify niches in the face of competition.
20.  Animals have evolved many different antipredator strategies. Match the animal pictured with its antipredator strategy.

·         Chemical defense: jellyfish toxin
·         Intimidation: hissing cat

·         Cryptic coloration: walking stick
·         Armor: tortoise shell

·         Aposematic coloration: brightly-colored poisonous Lionfish
·         Masting: mass hatching of locusts
21.  Fleas are endoparasites. False
22.  The ideal biotic and abiotic environment a species can inhabit is referred to as the fundamental niche, while the realized niche refers to the environment that an animal actually inhabits after accounting for interactions with other species.
23.  Two species of barnacles overlap in their niches within the intertidal zone. Semibalanus outcompetes Chthamalus where their niches overlap, excluding Chthamalus. Examine the two barnacle species in the figure  and then label their appropriate niches, showing the differences between the fundamental and realized niches of these species.

·         Chthamalus realized niche
·         Chthamalus fundamental niche

·         Semibalanus fundamental and realized niche

24.  Milkweed plants contain cardiac glycosides, substances that are toxic to many species. However, the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly have evolved to feed on milkweed, and are thus able to tolerate the toxins and even sequester them for protection from predators. Milkweed also produces a sticky substance called latex, which can entrap and kill small monarch caterpillars. It has recently been discovered that monarch caterpillars often nibble through a leaf's petiole (attachment point) before feeding on the leaf - this cuts off the supply of latex to the leaf. If you could travel far into the future, what development do you think you would be most likely to find in the milkweed/monarch interaction? Milkweed plants have evolved to have tougher petioles; most monarchs are unable to chew through them prior to feeding on leaves.
25.  Resource partitioning occurs between allopatric species. False
26.  Many species of ants "farm" aphids, protecting them from predation and collecting concentrated sugars (i.e. honeydew) from them. This type of ant/aphid relationship is known as defensive mutualism.
27.  Two species that occupy identical realized niches will not be able to co-exist for an extended period of time. True
28.  You are studying the feeding habits of a group of four closely related bird species. You observe that all four species feed on insects. However, you notice that the species do not feed at the same time of day: one species feeds most actively at dawn, another during the middle of the day, another at dusk, and the last species feeds at night. What term would you use to describe this behavior? resource partitioning
29.  In a hypothetical situation, a bacterium lives on the surface of a leaf where it obtains nutrients from the leaf's nonliving waxy covering, which the leaf continually produces. The plant is not hurt or harmed by this feeding. Once the number of bacteria reaches a critical mass, they inhibit the growth of other microbes that damage the plant. Occasionally, these bacteria can gain access to the interior of the leaf, for example, if there is weather-related leaf breakage the exposes the plant's interior tissues. If this occurs, the bacteria feed on the plant's living tissue, causing minor damage. What sequences best describes the ecological roles played by the bacterium in this situation?     commensalism→ mutualism→ parasitism
30.  Resource partitioning enables species that are better competitors to exclude similar species from a community. False
31.  Competition among individuals of different species is called interspecific competition.
32.  Character displacement is driven by competition. True
33.  Place each of the following into the appropriate category of competition.
·         Interspecific-interference competition
¨      An eastern bluebird and a European starling compete for nest cavities by physical confrontations.
¨      If given the opportunity, a bald eagle will steal a fish that an osprey has caught rather than catching a fish itself.
·         Intraspecific-exploitation competition
¨      In late fall, American red squirrels scurry around the base of a white oak collecting as many acorns as possible for their individual winter food caches.
·         Interspecific-exploitation
¨      White-tailed deer browse the understory of a deciduous forest, eating the vegetation that numerous other species depend on.
¨      Paramecium caudatum and P. bursaria both show a drop in population densitites when housed together.
·         Intraspecific-interference
¨      During the breeding season, male elephant seals engage in vicious battles for control of a harem of females.
34.  Oak trees and many other plant species have years in which they have synchronous production of many progeny by all individuals in a population. This is known as masting.
35.  Polyphagous parasites feed on many different host species.
36.  Place each scenario into the appropriate type of mutualism. Labels may be used more than once.
§  Trophic mutualism
·         Mycorrhizae fungus grow on plant roots, receiving carbohydrates from the plant’s photosynthetic products. The fungal strands help the plant to better absorb water and nutrients. Neither plant nor fungus can survive on their own.
§  Obligate mutualism
·         Mycorrhizae fungus grow on plant roots, receiving carbohydrates from the plant’s photosynthetic products. The fungal strands help the plant to better absorb water and nutrients. Neither plant nor fungus can survive on their own.
·         The senita cactus moth can only lay its eggs on the senita cactus. It is the sole pollinator for the cactus.
§  Dispersive mutualism
·         The senita cactus moth can only lay its eggs on the senita cactus. It is the sole pollinator for the cactus.
§  Defensive mutualism
·         An ant species collects nectar from special glands on a plant’s leaves. The ants will often kill or remove insect herbivores that attempt to attack the plant.
§  Facultative mutualism
·         An ant species collects nectar from special glands on a plant’s leaves. The ants will often kill or remove insect herbivores that attempt to attack the plant.
37.  For each pair of organisms, indicate whether the relationship is parasitic, mutualistic, or commensal.
§  Mutualism
·         Hummingbirds / plants with tube-shaped flowers

·         Leaf-cutter ants / fungus
·         Ants / acacia plants
·         Squirrels / oak trees

§  Commensalism

·         Orchids with no nectar / bees
·         Plants with hooked seeds / mammals

·         Epiphytes / tropical trees
·         Egrets / cattle in field

§  Parasitism

·         Mosquito / mammal
·         Leeches / fish

·         Plant without chlorophyll / growing plant with chlorophyll

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