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[JMU] BIO 250: Quantitive Ecology and Evolution
EXAM 2 – Questions With Step By Step Solutions
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Terms in this set (153)
What is a Life Cycle? The stages that individuals go through in their life,
from being born to reproducing to death.
What are the different types of - Sexually between males and females
reproduction? - Asexually individuals clone themselves
- Hermaphrodites are individuals that switch their
reproductive organs from one sex to another to
reproduce
What is a life-history trait? It is a heritable trait that determines some aspect of
life history. The life-history trait directly impacts
species fitness.
What are examples of Life History - Size at birth
Traits? - Size at maturity
- Sexual Maturity
- Fecundity: Number and size of offspring produced
- Survivorship
- Longevity
Life Histories strategies deal with ___ Tradeoffs; since they evolved from natural selection
associated to resource location.
What is a trade-off? Constraints that prevent fitness contribution of two
different traits being contributed at the same time.
,What is Fecundity? It is the physiological ability and potential to
reproduce as a population or individual.
How is fecundity and fertility Opposed to fertility, fecundity is the actual rate or
different? number of children born per number of females.
What is invested in Life History Traits? Energy and resources improving fitness and it cant
be spent on other things decreasing fitness.
What does early reproduction cause? It leads to fitness costs as parents who reproduce
with smaller bodies produce smaller and more
vulnerable offspring.
What does producing more offspring It leads to fitness costs, and offspring will be smaller
cause? and more vulnerable.
What does caring too much for a It leads to a fitness cost that the offspring will grow
offspring cost? slower, and this delays future reproduction.
Why is the number of offspring It is an important life-history trait. There is an optimal
produced in a single reproductive amount of offspring that one can produce.
event significant? Producing many or few offspring per reproductive
event can be a successful strategy.
Optimum clutch size the maximum number of young the parents can
successfully fledge.
What does altricial mean? hatched or born in an undeveloped state and
requiring care and feeding by the parents.
What happens to altricial bird clutches The clutch size increases, reflecting an underlying
when latitude and day length pattern of evolutionary mechanisms increasing
increase? altricial bird fitness. There is a limit to the clutch
increase, and this prediction doesn't apply to some
species of birds.
Why don't some altricial birds fledge Some species have evolved to have smaller clutches
larger clutches? despite the cost as they provide some benefit.
, What are the hypotheses that support - Parental Cost Hypothesis
small clutch size? - Predation Risk Hypothesis
- Variable Food Supply Hypothesis
What is the parental cost hypothesis? A smaller clutch increases the likelihood that the
parents will survive to reproduce in future years. This
increases their lifetime fitness by limiting the cost
associated with rearing a large clutch.
What is the predation risk hypothesis? A smaller clutch reduces both parental foraging
effort and noise created by hungry nestlings,
lowering the chance that predators will discover the
nest.
What is the variable food supply A smaller clutch increases the likelihood that parents
hypothesis? rear clutches during times of food scarcity.
What is the most significant hypothesis Parental Cost Hypothesis
explaining small clutch size?
What is a "K species"? A species with a large investment in offspring that are
large in size and few per reproductive event.
EX: Humans, big babies lots of investment, and
typically one baby per pregnancy.
What is a "r species"? A species with small investment in offspring that are
small in size and many per reproductive event.
EX: Mice, small babies, little investment, and have 3-
14 babies per pregnancy.
What are population dynamics? The changes in the size of ecological populations
over time.
Why are population dynamics They provide a quantitative way to compare life-
important? history strategies and assess its success in a
particular environment.
[JMU] BIO 250: Quantitive Ecology and Evolution
EXAM 2 – Questions With Step By Step Solutions
Save
Terms in this set (153)
What is a Life Cycle? The stages that individuals go through in their life,
from being born to reproducing to death.
What are the different types of - Sexually between males and females
reproduction? - Asexually individuals clone themselves
- Hermaphrodites are individuals that switch their
reproductive organs from one sex to another to
reproduce
What is a life-history trait? It is a heritable trait that determines some aspect of
life history. The life-history trait directly impacts
species fitness.
What are examples of Life History - Size at birth
Traits? - Size at maturity
- Sexual Maturity
- Fecundity: Number and size of offspring produced
- Survivorship
- Longevity
Life Histories strategies deal with ___ Tradeoffs; since they evolved from natural selection
associated to resource location.
What is a trade-off? Constraints that prevent fitness contribution of two
different traits being contributed at the same time.
,What is Fecundity? It is the physiological ability and potential to
reproduce as a population or individual.
How is fecundity and fertility Opposed to fertility, fecundity is the actual rate or
different? number of children born per number of females.
What is invested in Life History Traits? Energy and resources improving fitness and it cant
be spent on other things decreasing fitness.
What does early reproduction cause? It leads to fitness costs as parents who reproduce
with smaller bodies produce smaller and more
vulnerable offspring.
What does producing more offspring It leads to fitness costs, and offspring will be smaller
cause? and more vulnerable.
What does caring too much for a It leads to a fitness cost that the offspring will grow
offspring cost? slower, and this delays future reproduction.
Why is the number of offspring It is an important life-history trait. There is an optimal
produced in a single reproductive amount of offspring that one can produce.
event significant? Producing many or few offspring per reproductive
event can be a successful strategy.
Optimum clutch size the maximum number of young the parents can
successfully fledge.
What does altricial mean? hatched or born in an undeveloped state and
requiring care and feeding by the parents.
What happens to altricial bird clutches The clutch size increases, reflecting an underlying
when latitude and day length pattern of evolutionary mechanisms increasing
increase? altricial bird fitness. There is a limit to the clutch
increase, and this prediction doesn't apply to some
species of birds.
Why don't some altricial birds fledge Some species have evolved to have smaller clutches
larger clutches? despite the cost as they provide some benefit.
, What are the hypotheses that support - Parental Cost Hypothesis
small clutch size? - Predation Risk Hypothesis
- Variable Food Supply Hypothesis
What is the parental cost hypothesis? A smaller clutch increases the likelihood that the
parents will survive to reproduce in future years. This
increases their lifetime fitness by limiting the cost
associated with rearing a large clutch.
What is the predation risk hypothesis? A smaller clutch reduces both parental foraging
effort and noise created by hungry nestlings,
lowering the chance that predators will discover the
nest.
What is the variable food supply A smaller clutch increases the likelihood that parents
hypothesis? rear clutches during times of food scarcity.
What is the most significant hypothesis Parental Cost Hypothesis
explaining small clutch size?
What is a "K species"? A species with a large investment in offspring that are
large in size and few per reproductive event.
EX: Humans, big babies lots of investment, and
typically one baby per pregnancy.
What is a "r species"? A species with small investment in offspring that are
small in size and many per reproductive event.
EX: Mice, small babies, little investment, and have 3-
14 babies per pregnancy.
What are population dynamics? The changes in the size of ecological populations
over time.
Why are population dynamics They provide a quantitative way to compare life-
important? history strategies and assess its success in a
particular environment.
