1) The author observed a strong correlation between wild grape vines and Spotted Lanternfly egg masses on nearby trees, suggesting wild grape may be an important habitat and food source.
2) The author hypothesizes that Spotted Lanternfly egg-laying strategies may have evolved in response to different predation pressures between its native Asia habitat and its invaded Pennsylvania habitat. Scattered egg-laying across various surfaces may help the insects spread more efficiently in Pennsylvania.
3) The author notes that Spotted Lanternfly egg masses appear camouflaged on tree bark through color, cracks and coatings, which may be an adaptation to avoid egg predation the insects faced in Asia.
Thoughts on 2018 research on the spotted lanternfly, nov. 14, 2018Richard Gardner
This is a paper summing my thoughts about what I observed while studying the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, on the front-lines of its spread in Berks County, PA this past field season.
The Whittier College ENVS 396 class sampled arthropods in Zuma Canyon using pitfall traps placed in restored, native, and invaded sites. The invaded site had the greatest number and species richness of arthropods, while the native site had the highest diversity. Restored and native sites did not significantly differ in species richness as hypothesized. However, species richness was highest in the invaded site rather than the native site as predicted.
Population ecology examines populations as units of study. A population has characteristics like density, size, age structure, and dispersion. The four basic population parameters that affect density are natality, mortality, immigration, and emigration. Techniques to estimate population density include using quadrats, capture-recapture methods, and calculating relative density with tools like traps or roadside counts. Life tables can describe mortality schedules by tracking age-specific cohort survival. Population growth rates depend on birth and death rates, and can be modeled exponentially or logistically depending on environmental constraints.
Populations tend to grow exponentially at first until resources become limited, after which growth slows and the population reaches its carrying capacity. Demographers use population models like the logistic growth curve to predict how populations will change over time based on birth and death rates and factors like available resources. While some populations like bacteria and insects grow rapidly in changing environments, most species like humans and other mammals follow a logistic growth pattern of slower growth to a stable carrying capacity.
This document discusses key concepts in population ecology, including population size, density, distribution, growth patterns, biotic potential, carrying capacity, r-selected and K-selected species, environmental resistance, and predator-prey cycles. It provides examples and explanations of exponential and logistic growth curves, and compares characteristics of r-selected and K-selected species.
This document discusses various population characteristics and dynamics. It defines a population as a group of the same species living together in a region. Population ecology studies populations and their interactions with the environment. Key population characteristics include density, natality, mortality, growth forms, and distribution. Density refers to the number of individuals per unit area or volume. Natality is birth rate and mortality is death rate. Other concepts covered include survivorship curves, dispersion patterns, age structure through age pyramids, and population dispersal through emigration, immigration, and migration.
This slideshow was created for the VCE Environmental Science Online Course, Unit 3: Biodiversity. It explains different methods of assessing biodiversity and discusses several indices for measurement.
The document discusses key concepts in population ecology including:
1) Population density and patterns of dispersion can be clustered, uniform, or random depending on environmental factors.
2) Survivorship curves illustrate variations in mortality rates over the lifespan. Reproductive strategies include semelparity with one-time reproduction or iteroparity with repeated reproduction.
3) Population growth can follow exponential, logistic, or S-shaped curves but is ultimately limited by environmental carrying capacity due to factors like food, water, shelter, and disease.
Thoughts on 2018 research on the spotted lanternfly, nov. 14, 2018Richard Gardner
This is a paper summing my thoughts about what I observed while studying the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, on the front-lines of its spread in Berks County, PA this past field season.
The Whittier College ENVS 396 class sampled arthropods in Zuma Canyon using pitfall traps placed in restored, native, and invaded sites. The invaded site had the greatest number and species richness of arthropods, while the native site had the highest diversity. Restored and native sites did not significantly differ in species richness as hypothesized. However, species richness was highest in the invaded site rather than the native site as predicted.
Population ecology examines populations as units of study. A population has characteristics like density, size, age structure, and dispersion. The four basic population parameters that affect density are natality, mortality, immigration, and emigration. Techniques to estimate population density include using quadrats, capture-recapture methods, and calculating relative density with tools like traps or roadside counts. Life tables can describe mortality schedules by tracking age-specific cohort survival. Population growth rates depend on birth and death rates, and can be modeled exponentially or logistically depending on environmental constraints.
Populations tend to grow exponentially at first until resources become limited, after which growth slows and the population reaches its carrying capacity. Demographers use population models like the logistic growth curve to predict how populations will change over time based on birth and death rates and factors like available resources. While some populations like bacteria and insects grow rapidly in changing environments, most species like humans and other mammals follow a logistic growth pattern of slower growth to a stable carrying capacity.
This document discusses key concepts in population ecology, including population size, density, distribution, growth patterns, biotic potential, carrying capacity, r-selected and K-selected species, environmental resistance, and predator-prey cycles. It provides examples and explanations of exponential and logistic growth curves, and compares characteristics of r-selected and K-selected species.
This document discusses various population characteristics and dynamics. It defines a population as a group of the same species living together in a region. Population ecology studies populations and their interactions with the environment. Key population characteristics include density, natality, mortality, growth forms, and distribution. Density refers to the number of individuals per unit area or volume. Natality is birth rate and mortality is death rate. Other concepts covered include survivorship curves, dispersion patterns, age structure through age pyramids, and population dispersal through emigration, immigration, and migration.
This slideshow was created for the VCE Environmental Science Online Course, Unit 3: Biodiversity. It explains different methods of assessing biodiversity and discusses several indices for measurement.
The document discusses key concepts in population ecology including:
1) Population density and patterns of dispersion can be clustered, uniform, or random depending on environmental factors.
2) Survivorship curves illustrate variations in mortality rates over the lifespan. Reproductive strategies include semelparity with one-time reproduction or iteroparity with repeated reproduction.
3) Population growth can follow exponential, logistic, or S-shaped curves but is ultimately limited by environmental carrying capacity due to factors like food, water, shelter, and disease.
This document defines key terms and concepts in population ecology, including population growth patterns, competition, predation, and symbiosis. It explains that a population's size is determined by birth and death rates, and that populations can grow exponentially or logistically. Interspecific and intraspecific competition occur when organisms compete for limited resources. In a predator-prey relationship, the populations influence each other's sizes. Symbiosis includes parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism interactions between species.
This lecture overviewed ecology and the different approaches used to study it. Ecology is defined as the study of interactions among living things and their environments. Researchers use a variety of approaches including field studies, laboratory experiments, inventories, large-scale experiments, simulation models, and studies at different temporal and spatial scales to better understand relationships between organisms and their environments from the level of individuals to entire ecosystems.
This document summarizes key concepts in population ecology, including factors that influence population size and distribution patterns. Populations can exhibit clumping, uniform, or random dispersion patterns depending on resource availability and other factors. A population's size is determined by the balance between birth and death rates, which are influenced by biotic potential and environmental resistance. Humans can impact ecosystems through activities like habitat degradation and overharvesting. Sustainable practices can be informed by principles seen in nature, such as nutrient recycling and population control.
* Algae are the primary producers, with 100 million kg of biomass
* According to the 10% rule, only 10% of energy is transferred between trophic levels
* So the biomass at the next trophic level (water fleas) would be 10 million kg (10% of 100 million kg)
* Repeating for each trophic level:
- Water fleas (10 million kg) → Minnows (1 million kg)
- Minnows (1 million kg) → Fish (100,000 kg)
* Assuming an average human weighs 100 kg, 100,000 kg of fish biomass could support 100,000/100 = 1,000 humans.
Therefore, the number of
1. The document discusses various levels of biological organization from the ecosystem level down to the molecular level, providing examples like the eucalyptus forest ecosystem and the flying fox population.
2. It then focuses on population ecology, defining key population features like size, density, dispersion, growth rates, and factors that influence population growth like immigration, emigration, birth rates and death rates.
3. Models of population growth are discussed, including exponential and logistic growth curves, and the concept of carrying capacity is introduced as the maximum population size supported by available resources.
1) The document discusses different life history strategies in organisms, including trade-offs between offspring number and size. It also discusses variation in life histories based on factors like adult survival rates.
2) Organisms are classified based on their life histories as either r-selected or K-selected. R-selected organisms thrive in unpredictable environments while K-selected organisms do better in predictable environments.
3) Competition, both intra-specific and inter-specific, is examined through mathematical models like Lotka-Volterra and laboratory experiments. The models and experiments demonstrate how competition affects population growth and can restrict species to their realized niches over time.
This document summarizes key concepts in population ecology:
- Populations initially grow exponentially as birth rates exceed death rates, but growth slows as resources diminish and competition increases, leveling off at the environment's carrying capacity.
- Population size is determined by the relative rates of birth, death, immigration and emigration.
- Limiting factors like resources and predation can regulate populations from the bottom-up or top-down.
- Estimating wild populations relies on sampling techniques since directly counting is impractical, such as capture-mark-recapture of fish.
This document discusses biodiversity and methods for measuring biodiversity, including through the use of biodiversity indices. It defines biodiversity as the variety of living organisms present in a given ecosystem. It then explains different categories of biodiversity - alpha, beta, and gamma diversity. The document also discusses several commonly used biodiversity indices: species richness, Simpson's index, Shannon-Wiener index, and evenness. It provides formulas for calculating Simpson's and Shannon-Wiener indices and explains how to interpret the results. Overall, the document provides a overview of biodiversity and approaches for quantifying biodiversity through different indices.
The document discusses key concepts in population ecology including:
1) Population density, dispersion, and demography are influenced by dynamic biological processes such as births, deaths, immigration and emigration.
2) The logistic growth model describes how population growth reaches an S-shaped curve as the population approaches the environment's carrying capacity.
3) Life history traits are products of natural selection and vary across species, with some prioritizing large numbers of offspring and others focusing on increased parental investment.
This document discusses populations, communities, and ecosystems. It defines a population as all organisms of the same species living together in an ecosystem. A community is all the populations in an area that interact, and an ecosystem includes both the living and nonliving parts of the environment that a community inhabits. Populations are influenced by biotic factors like other organisms and abiotic factors such as temperature. Population size, density, births and deaths, immigration and emigration all impact population dynamics over time. Limiting factors and carrying capacity regulate population growth. Relationships like predator-prey, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism connect populations within a community ecosystem.
This document covers key concepts about populations, communities, and ecosystems. It defines habitats, biotic and abiotic factors, and different levels of ecological organization from populations to ecosystems. Population size can be determined through direct observation, indirect observation, sampling, or mark-and-recapture studies. Population size changes due to birth/death rates and immigration/emigration. Limiting factors like food, water, space, and weather regulate population growth. Natural selection and niche adaptations help organisms survive in their environment. Competition and symbiosis shape species interactions within communities.
1) The Allee effect describes how individual fitness of a population decreases at low densities due to reduced cooperation for tasks like mate finding, predator defense, and environmental conditioning.
2) There are two types of Allee effects - strong and weak. Strong Allee effects occur when per capita growth rates become negative below a critical density threshold, whereas weak Allee effects occur when per capita growth rates decline but remain positive.
3) Examples of species exhibiting Allee effects include fruit flies, where sterile males are used to control populations, and schooling fish, where overfishing can cause population disintegration due to reduced cooperation at low densities.
This document discusses methods for quantifying biodiversity, including species richness, species evenness, and Simpson's Index. Species richness is a count of the total number of species in an area, while species evenness measures how similar the abundances of each species are. Simpson's Index incorporates both richness and evenness to calculate a single value representing biodiversity, with lower values indicating higher diversity as it takes into account the number of species and how evenly abundant each species is. The document provides examples to illustrate how to calculate and apply Simpson's Index using data on species abundances in different communities.
POPULATION: GROUP OF SINGLE SPECIES IN ONE PLACEMariel Marjes
Population ecology is the study of how population sizes change over time and space due to interactions with the environment. A population is a group of the same species living in the same area that can interbreed. Population ranges and the spacing patterns of individuals within those ranges can change due to environmental factors. A metapopulation consists of distinct populations that interact by exchanging individuals, allowing species to persist even when suitable habitat is fragmented.
This document defines key population and community ecology concepts. It discusses [1] what a population is, factors that affect population size, density, and distribution. [2] Population growth is influenced by natality, mortality, immigration, emigration, and environmental resistance. Carrying capacity is the maximum population size an environment can sustain. [3] Communities are formed by populations interacting in an area. Relationships like predation, competition, and symbiosis shape community structure. Producers, consumers, and decomposers fill different roles. Habitats provide resources while niches define an organism's function. Energy and nutrients flow through food chains and webs.
What, exactly, is a biotic interactions?Bob O'Hara
This document discusses the definition of a biotic interaction. It notes that for many interactions, the species do not directly interact but rather affect each other indirectly through their effects on shared resources or other parts of the environment. Direct interactions involve one species directly doing something to another, such as predation, parasitism, or pollination. Mediated interactions occur when two species affect a shared environment. Indirect effects through a third species or the environment may or may not qualify as a biotic interaction, depending on whether there are feedbacks between the species populations. The document concludes that biotic interactions can be defined as ecological effects between species that occur through individual behaviors and involve feedbacks between the populations.
This study compared the feeding behavior and resource use of an invasive barnacle, Balanus glandula, to a native barnacle, Notomegabalanus algicola, under different temperature and food availability conditions mimicking South Africa's west and south coasts. The invasive barnacle displayed higher filtration and removed more algal cells than the native species, regardless of temperature or food concentration. Under conditions mimicking the south coast (warmer temperature and lower food availability), B. glandula exhibited even higher filtration. Video analysis showed B. glandula had faster cirral beat rates under warmer conditions, though no differences in time spent feeding or number of feeding barnacles. The results suggest B. glandula is more efficient at
Ppt is made vailable for public for scientifc use.
Population ecology concept and its characteristics explained by using practical examples in a simple language. data is significant for competitive examinations
This document discusses how environmental change can affect ecosystems through population changes, physical factors, habitat change, and human impacts. It defines key population characteristics like geographic distribution, population density, and population growth rate, and explains how physical changes can cause populations to migrate, adapt, or potentially go extinct if unable to adjust to changes. Human activities like habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, and climate change are highlighted as major drivers of environmental change impacting ecosystems.
Esa and nenhc 2019 ppt on the Spotted LanternflyRichard Gardner
This document summarizes observations from research on the Spotted Lanternfly in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It discusses the lanternfly's coevolution with humans and preference for human-modified habitats. Key points include that quarantines are ineffective against spread, the insect's lifecycle is tied to its primary host the Ailanthus tree, and egg masses are usually within 20 feet of open areas used as travel corridors. Removal of the tree is an impractical control strategy. More observation of the lanternfly's natural history is needed before rushing to solutions.
PPT of talk delivered on the Spotted Lanternfly, Jan. 25, 2019. This talks about the natural history of the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula , and it relationship to the people in Berks County, PA by an ecologist who studied Ailanthus altissima for his MS thesis.
This document defines key terms and concepts in population ecology, including population growth patterns, competition, predation, and symbiosis. It explains that a population's size is determined by birth and death rates, and that populations can grow exponentially or logistically. Interspecific and intraspecific competition occur when organisms compete for limited resources. In a predator-prey relationship, the populations influence each other's sizes. Symbiosis includes parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism interactions between species.
This lecture overviewed ecology and the different approaches used to study it. Ecology is defined as the study of interactions among living things and their environments. Researchers use a variety of approaches including field studies, laboratory experiments, inventories, large-scale experiments, simulation models, and studies at different temporal and spatial scales to better understand relationships between organisms and their environments from the level of individuals to entire ecosystems.
This document summarizes key concepts in population ecology, including factors that influence population size and distribution patterns. Populations can exhibit clumping, uniform, or random dispersion patterns depending on resource availability and other factors. A population's size is determined by the balance between birth and death rates, which are influenced by biotic potential and environmental resistance. Humans can impact ecosystems through activities like habitat degradation and overharvesting. Sustainable practices can be informed by principles seen in nature, such as nutrient recycling and population control.
* Algae are the primary producers, with 100 million kg of biomass
* According to the 10% rule, only 10% of energy is transferred between trophic levels
* So the biomass at the next trophic level (water fleas) would be 10 million kg (10% of 100 million kg)
* Repeating for each trophic level:
- Water fleas (10 million kg) → Minnows (1 million kg)
- Minnows (1 million kg) → Fish (100,000 kg)
* Assuming an average human weighs 100 kg, 100,000 kg of fish biomass could support 100,000/100 = 1,000 humans.
Therefore, the number of
1. The document discusses various levels of biological organization from the ecosystem level down to the molecular level, providing examples like the eucalyptus forest ecosystem and the flying fox population.
2. It then focuses on population ecology, defining key population features like size, density, dispersion, growth rates, and factors that influence population growth like immigration, emigration, birth rates and death rates.
3. Models of population growth are discussed, including exponential and logistic growth curves, and the concept of carrying capacity is introduced as the maximum population size supported by available resources.
1) The document discusses different life history strategies in organisms, including trade-offs between offspring number and size. It also discusses variation in life histories based on factors like adult survival rates.
2) Organisms are classified based on their life histories as either r-selected or K-selected. R-selected organisms thrive in unpredictable environments while K-selected organisms do better in predictable environments.
3) Competition, both intra-specific and inter-specific, is examined through mathematical models like Lotka-Volterra and laboratory experiments. The models and experiments demonstrate how competition affects population growth and can restrict species to their realized niches over time.
This document summarizes key concepts in population ecology:
- Populations initially grow exponentially as birth rates exceed death rates, but growth slows as resources diminish and competition increases, leveling off at the environment's carrying capacity.
- Population size is determined by the relative rates of birth, death, immigration and emigration.
- Limiting factors like resources and predation can regulate populations from the bottom-up or top-down.
- Estimating wild populations relies on sampling techniques since directly counting is impractical, such as capture-mark-recapture of fish.
This document discusses biodiversity and methods for measuring biodiversity, including through the use of biodiversity indices. It defines biodiversity as the variety of living organisms present in a given ecosystem. It then explains different categories of biodiversity - alpha, beta, and gamma diversity. The document also discusses several commonly used biodiversity indices: species richness, Simpson's index, Shannon-Wiener index, and evenness. It provides formulas for calculating Simpson's and Shannon-Wiener indices and explains how to interpret the results. Overall, the document provides a overview of biodiversity and approaches for quantifying biodiversity through different indices.
The document discusses key concepts in population ecology including:
1) Population density, dispersion, and demography are influenced by dynamic biological processes such as births, deaths, immigration and emigration.
2) The logistic growth model describes how population growth reaches an S-shaped curve as the population approaches the environment's carrying capacity.
3) Life history traits are products of natural selection and vary across species, with some prioritizing large numbers of offspring and others focusing on increased parental investment.
This document discusses populations, communities, and ecosystems. It defines a population as all organisms of the same species living together in an ecosystem. A community is all the populations in an area that interact, and an ecosystem includes both the living and nonliving parts of the environment that a community inhabits. Populations are influenced by biotic factors like other organisms and abiotic factors such as temperature. Population size, density, births and deaths, immigration and emigration all impact population dynamics over time. Limiting factors and carrying capacity regulate population growth. Relationships like predator-prey, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism connect populations within a community ecosystem.
This document covers key concepts about populations, communities, and ecosystems. It defines habitats, biotic and abiotic factors, and different levels of ecological organization from populations to ecosystems. Population size can be determined through direct observation, indirect observation, sampling, or mark-and-recapture studies. Population size changes due to birth/death rates and immigration/emigration. Limiting factors like food, water, space, and weather regulate population growth. Natural selection and niche adaptations help organisms survive in their environment. Competition and symbiosis shape species interactions within communities.
1) The Allee effect describes how individual fitness of a population decreases at low densities due to reduced cooperation for tasks like mate finding, predator defense, and environmental conditioning.
2) There are two types of Allee effects - strong and weak. Strong Allee effects occur when per capita growth rates become negative below a critical density threshold, whereas weak Allee effects occur when per capita growth rates decline but remain positive.
3) Examples of species exhibiting Allee effects include fruit flies, where sterile males are used to control populations, and schooling fish, where overfishing can cause population disintegration due to reduced cooperation at low densities.
This document discusses methods for quantifying biodiversity, including species richness, species evenness, and Simpson's Index. Species richness is a count of the total number of species in an area, while species evenness measures how similar the abundances of each species are. Simpson's Index incorporates both richness and evenness to calculate a single value representing biodiversity, with lower values indicating higher diversity as it takes into account the number of species and how evenly abundant each species is. The document provides examples to illustrate how to calculate and apply Simpson's Index using data on species abundances in different communities.
POPULATION: GROUP OF SINGLE SPECIES IN ONE PLACEMariel Marjes
Population ecology is the study of how population sizes change over time and space due to interactions with the environment. A population is a group of the same species living in the same area that can interbreed. Population ranges and the spacing patterns of individuals within those ranges can change due to environmental factors. A metapopulation consists of distinct populations that interact by exchanging individuals, allowing species to persist even when suitable habitat is fragmented.
This document defines key population and community ecology concepts. It discusses [1] what a population is, factors that affect population size, density, and distribution. [2] Population growth is influenced by natality, mortality, immigration, emigration, and environmental resistance. Carrying capacity is the maximum population size an environment can sustain. [3] Communities are formed by populations interacting in an area. Relationships like predation, competition, and symbiosis shape community structure. Producers, consumers, and decomposers fill different roles. Habitats provide resources while niches define an organism's function. Energy and nutrients flow through food chains and webs.
What, exactly, is a biotic interactions?Bob O'Hara
This document discusses the definition of a biotic interaction. It notes that for many interactions, the species do not directly interact but rather affect each other indirectly through their effects on shared resources or other parts of the environment. Direct interactions involve one species directly doing something to another, such as predation, parasitism, or pollination. Mediated interactions occur when two species affect a shared environment. Indirect effects through a third species or the environment may or may not qualify as a biotic interaction, depending on whether there are feedbacks between the species populations. The document concludes that biotic interactions can be defined as ecological effects between species that occur through individual behaviors and involve feedbacks between the populations.
This study compared the feeding behavior and resource use of an invasive barnacle, Balanus glandula, to a native barnacle, Notomegabalanus algicola, under different temperature and food availability conditions mimicking South Africa's west and south coasts. The invasive barnacle displayed higher filtration and removed more algal cells than the native species, regardless of temperature or food concentration. Under conditions mimicking the south coast (warmer temperature and lower food availability), B. glandula exhibited even higher filtration. Video analysis showed B. glandula had faster cirral beat rates under warmer conditions, though no differences in time spent feeding or number of feeding barnacles. The results suggest B. glandula is more efficient at
Ppt is made vailable for public for scientifc use.
Population ecology concept and its characteristics explained by using practical examples in a simple language. data is significant for competitive examinations
This document discusses how environmental change can affect ecosystems through population changes, physical factors, habitat change, and human impacts. It defines key population characteristics like geographic distribution, population density, and population growth rate, and explains how physical changes can cause populations to migrate, adapt, or potentially go extinct if unable to adjust to changes. Human activities like habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, and climate change are highlighted as major drivers of environmental change impacting ecosystems.
Esa and nenhc 2019 ppt on the Spotted LanternflyRichard Gardner
This document summarizes observations from research on the Spotted Lanternfly in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It discusses the lanternfly's coevolution with humans and preference for human-modified habitats. Key points include that quarantines are ineffective against spread, the insect's lifecycle is tied to its primary host the Ailanthus tree, and egg masses are usually within 20 feet of open areas used as travel corridors. Removal of the tree is an impractical control strategy. More observation of the lanternfly's natural history is needed before rushing to solutions.
PPT of talk delivered on the Spotted Lanternfly, Jan. 25, 2019. This talks about the natural history of the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula , and it relationship to the people in Berks County, PA by an ecologist who studied Ailanthus altissima for his MS thesis.
Birds & Ecosystem Services | EnvironmentalScience.org
The Value of Birds
Birds are present throughout almost every habitat across the globe. No matter where you go, there is
always evidence of birds even if you don't see the animals themselves. Things like holes pecked in tree
bark by woodpeckers or the remnants of a nest are indicative of the presence of birds. While such marks
left behind by these animals may seem insignificant, in many cases the activities of birds can have large
consequences for the ecosystems they inhabit, making them incredibly important in the overall
functioning of various ecosystems.
By contributing in such an important way to ecosystem health, birds can provide a number of direct
benefits to humans. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a study initiated by the United Nations,
coined the term “ecosystem services” to describe these kinds of services. According to this panel,
ecosystem services fall into four broadly defined categories and as we survey the diversity of birds
across the globe, we find many ways in which the activities of birds provide services in each one of
these.
Supporting Services
1
http://www.environmentalscience.org/birds-ecosystem-services#_ENREF_1
Actions within this category are those that are required for all other ecosystem services to be produced,
such as nutrient cycling and the formation of soil. This category can be thought of as a foundation of
processes without which other ecosystem services could not be produced.
Birds can help in these services by nutrient cycling, which has been documented in many habitats. By
spreading activities through different habitats, birds can move nutrients from one place to another, which
is particularly relevant in places where plant growth is limited by nutrient availability. A study on the
islands in the Gulf of California showed that when birds roosted on them, the guano deposits they left
behind provided nutrients to plants on the island . As a result, islands with seabirds had plants that grew
taller and faster and were much more productive than those on islands without birds. Because the
quality of these plants impacts the number of consumers and the structure of the food web, these birds
exerted a bottomup effect on the food web by regulating primary productivity.
This example is also interesting from an ecological standpoint because it exemplifies the intricate ways
in which seemingly disparate habitats are connected and can impact one another. The primary
productivity in the ocean regulates the number of fish it can support, which then impacts the number of
birds that can feed on these fish, which then influences how many birds will roost on the island and leave
guano deposits, ultimately dictating the primary productivity and food web structure on the island. Barry
Commoner, one of the founders of the environmental movement, laid out four laws of ecology in his
1971 book The Closing Circle. One of these is “Everything is connected t ...
The document discusses the habitat, diet, reproduction, predators, and role in the food chain of the eastern gray squirrel. It provides details on the squirrel's preferred woodland habitat and diet consisting of nuts from various tree species as well as other foods. Squirrels typically mate in spring and fall and have 2-4 young per litter. Their predators include birds of prey, foxes, and weasels. Squirrels occupy the role of primary consumer in the food chain.
The document summarizes key concepts related to evolution including:
1. Evolution occurs as genetic changes in a population over time lead to changes in traits and gene frequencies. Equilibrium is when a population's gene pool is stable.
2. Natural selection drives evolution when heritable traits that increase survival and reproduction become more common in a population. Variation, reproductive competition, and heritability are required.
3. Isolation, including geographic, ecological, behavioral and reproductive barriers, can lead to genetic changes and speciation as populations diverge independently.
4. Evidence for evolution includes homologous structures, the fossil record, molecular and genetic similarities, geographic distribution patterns, and examples of artificial and natural selection
This document provides information about diversity and adaptations among living things on Earth. It discusses how tropical rainforests have the highest biodiversity due to abundant resources. Adaptations allow organisms to survive in their environments, like camouflage helping animals hide from predators. Natural selection leads to traits that aid survival and reproduction in a given environment over generations. New species can form when populations become isolated and develop unique adaptations.
Using Ecological Utility to Define Native Plants NENHC 2017Richard Gardner
One of the least understood concepts in phytoecology is ecological utility in relationship to the definition of a native plant. Presently, native plants are domesticated, hybridized and otherwise altered without thought to the destruction this tampering does to ecological utility and hence ecosystems. By altering the chemical, physical and phenological properties of native plants, “scientists” intent on “saving”, “improving” or commercializing these plants are creating non-native plants which can drive dependent species to extinction. The resultant cascade through an ecosystem can be catastrophic
This study examined the abundance of invasive Asian jumping worms across four habitats in Wisconsin - prairie, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, and oak savanna. The researchers hypothesized the deciduous forest would have the highest abundance due to higher organic matter levels. Contrary to the hypothesis, the deciduous forest did not contain significantly more jumping worms than other habitats. The oak savanna actually had a significantly greater average number of jumping worms. While no habitat was shown to be at significantly greater risk, the results suggest jumping worms can invade a variety of ecosystems in Wisconsin.
Millipedes and centipedes are common garden arthropods that differ in key ways. Millipedes have two or four pairs of legs per body segment and move in waves, while centipedes have one pair of legs per segment and rapid movement. Centipedes can deliver painful bites while disturbing millipedes rarely results in bites. Both play roles in the environment, with millipedes breaking down plant debris and centipedes preying on insects, though centipedes are more likely to enter homes seeking prey.
Environmental Science Table of Contents 37 L.docxYASHU40
Environmental Science Table of Contents
37
Lab 3
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
Concepts to Explore
• Biodiversity
• Species diversity
• Ecosystem diversity
• Genetic diversity
• Natural selection
• Extinction
Introduction
Biodiversity, short for biological diversity, includes the genetic variation between all organisms, species, and
populations, and all of their complex communities and ecosystems. It also reflects to the interrelatedness of
genes, species, and ecosystems and their interactions with the environment. Biodiversity is not evenly distrib-
uted across the globe; rather, it varies greatly and even varies within regions. It is partially ruled by climate,
whereas tropical regions can support more species than a polar climate. In whole, biodiversity represents
variation within three levels:
• Species diversity
• Ecosystem diversity
• Genetic diversity
It should be noted that diversity at one of these levels may
not correspond with diversity within other levels. The degree
of biodiversity, and thus the health of an ecosystem, is im-
pacted when any part of that ecosystem becomes endan-
gered or extinct.
The term species refers to a group of similar organisms that
reproduce among themselves. Species diversity refers to
the variation within and between populations of species, as
well as between different species. Sexual reproduction criti-
cally contributes to the variation within species. For exam-
ple, a pea plant that is cross-fertilized with another pea plant
can produce offspring with four different looks! This genetic
mixing creates the diversity seen today.
Figure 1: There are more than 32,000 species of
fish – more than any other vertebrate!
39
Biodiversity
Ecosystem diversity examines the different habitats, biological communities, and ecological processes in
the biosphere, as well as variation within an individual ecosystem. The differences in rainforests and deserts
represent the variation between ecosystems. The physical characteristics that determine ecosystem diversity
are complex, and include biotic and abiotic factors.
? Did You Know...
A present day example of natural
selection can be seen in the cray-
fish population. The British crayfish
are crustaceans that live in rivers in
England. The American crayfish
was introduced to the same bodies
of water that were already populat-
ed by the British crayfish. The
American crayfish are larger, more
aggressive and carry an infection
that kills British crayfish but to
which they are immune. As a re-
sult, the British crayfish are de-
creasing in number and are ex-
pected to become extinct in Britain
within the next 50 years. Thus, the
American crayfish have a genetic
variation that gives them an ad-
vantage over the British crayfish to
survive and reproduce.
The variation of genes within individual ...
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Thoughts on 2018 research on the spotted lanternfly,rev. dec. 31, 2018b
1. Dec. 31, 2018
I was hoping for a research diapause. Instead, this is a 24/7/365 research
project. I thought that with a hard freeze the field season on the Spotted Lanternfly would be over. I could not have
been more wrong. When the leaves dropped the wooded areas became more transparent which allowed me to see
relationships not possible before leaf drop. Yesterday is a good example in that there was practically a vineyard of wild
grape hidden in the leaves on a trail we walk several times a month. A few minutes of walking around showed a strong
correlation between wild grape and SLF egg masses on nearby trees.
Thoughts on 2018 research on the Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, in Berks County PA
Richard Gardner
rtgardner3@yahoo.com 410.726.3045
Nov. 1, 2018, rev. Dec. 12, 2018, Dec. 20, 2018, Dec. 21, 2018, Dec. 31, 2018
Observation of habitat
From field research I have been doing this year the Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is an
insect of ecotones. Locally we have four distinct ecosystems: urban, suburban, rural and forest. Three
of these ecosystems are primarily ecotones: urban, suburban and rural. To this point the three most
common food plants in order of preference appear to be Ailanthus altissima, Vitis sp. and Celastrus
orbiculatus. Acer saccharinum, an ornamental tree common near where I live, appears to be another
food source when A. altissima and Vitis sp. are not available.
Urban ecosystems tend to be fragmented with few if any forested areas more than 100 yards
across. Mostly, they are a series of vacant lots, small hedgerows between properties, utility right-of-
ways and similar disturbed areas where plants grow. Additionally, there are domesticated trees
planted by municipal authorities and landowners. Manmade surfaces abound where SLF eggs can be
deposited and vehicles to transport SLF across the landscape. The distances between parts of the
ecotone appear to be easily traversed by SLF without human help since they are often short.
Therefore, this appears to the most highly infested of the four local ecosystems.
Suburban ecosystems are less fragmented than urban areas but have similar characteristics in
having vacant lots, disturbed areas between properties and utility right-of-ways with few deeper
forested areas. Landowners and local government bodies plant domesticated plants, like urban
governments, but on larger tracts of land. The largest difference is that there tends to be more space
between buildings and larger patches of land where plants can grow with fewer manmade surfaces
and vehicles. Still the distance between parts of this ecotone are relatively short.
Rural ecosystems have more open space and larger blocks of trees, yet with the same patchwork of
hedgerows, abandoned tracts of land, utility right-of-ways and similar as urban and suburban
ecosystems. The biggest differences are that the hedgerows can be deeper/longer, there are small
forests scattered across the landscape with many fewer vehicles and manmade surfaces and the
distances between parts of the ecotone are further.
Forested ecosystems tend to be large areas of deep forests with longer and fewer edges even
though roads, trails and utility right-of-ways run through them. This is critical because most of the
plants that the SLF feeds on appear to be ecotone plants, not plants of the deep forest. I seldom find
A. altissima, Vitis sp. and C. orbiculatus more than a few yards deep in forests, except where an
ecotone was created by geological features, fallen trees or human disturbance. I have yet to find SLF
on any of the forest trees beyond the edges of an ecotone. Therefore, this appears to be the least
heavily infested of the local ecosystems I have investigated.
2. Each of these ecotones has different challenges in SLF control. Urban areas have closely spaced
ecotones separated by roads of varying width and utility acting as minor boundaries for SLF spread
and more people which apparently enhance SLF spread. Suburban and rural areas have decreasing
numbers of roads with decreasing traffic loads and fewer people making the spread of SLF slower.
Forested areas are the slowest for the spread of SLF because there are fewer people to facilitate its
spreading and food sources tend to be further apart.
Hypotheses on food consumption
To determine which woody plants are susceptible to SLF predation, analysis of the nutritional content
of their sap needs to be done. Use Ailanthus altissima as a baseline since from observation it is the
plant with the heaviest infestation and the one it feeds on in its original home. First test qualitatively
for overall sap components of A. altissima. Then test quantitively for total sugars, proteins, fats,
specific sugars and micronutrients. Compare this data to data from either specific species SLF may
be using as an energy source or members of their families. Using sugar content as the primary test of
plant desirability it can be assumed plants with the highest sugar content are preferred food.
Another part of this is to run the same quantitative tests on the waste SLF produces on A. altissima
to determine the amount of sugar and/or other nutrients in the waste, comparing it to the same from
other potential food sources. The higher the sugar content in the waste, potentially the higher the
sugar content in the tree because apparently the excess sugar will be in the waste produced by the
SLF.
Supporting concepts on food consumption
A more complex and accurate predictor of plant preference is the analysis of the utility a plant has for
the SLF. Utility is the amount of benefit an organism derives from a specific resource. U = (pU-c)/T.
Utility = (potential Utility-cost)/Time. Potential utility is the maximum utility which can be obtained with
no cost. Costs can be related to the sugar concentration of the sap (either too low or too high to use
without additional energy expenditure), a different primary sugar than Ailanthus, sap viscosity and
potential toxins in the sap which need to be dealt with, hardness of the bark, thickness of the bark or
noxious/toxic chemicals in the bark. Time can either be by life stage from egg to senescence, end of
a (the) reproductive cycle or a discrete unit of time such as minutes, hours or days. Environmental
factors such as air temperature, bark temperature, humidity, amount of direct/indirect sunlight on the
food source, state of the food source – bud break, full growth, dormancy and the amount of rain –
flood, drought and time from most recent rainfall may change the utility values. The higher the quality
of the food and the greater ease of access, the more utility it has. Hence, the higher the U value, the
more energy for growth and reproduction.
Observation of gender ratio
This may have a gender component as it is generally accepted that in most species males have a
much lower reproductive cost than females. Therefore, males may be able to use a resource of lower
quality or less of a high-quality resource than females because of their lower breeding cost. If this is
true, then it helps ensure his progeny and the reproductive viability of the species by reserving either
higher quality resources or more of a higher quality resource for females to maximize their
reproductive success.
Observation of egg laying strategy
Egg laying is an aspect which is confounding me. There appear to be mixed strategies of single
females laying eggs and covering them relatively far from other females such as different
trees/surfaces and group egg laying either contiguous to or near each other. This becomes more
complicated because it appears that one SLF female may lay eggs close to the eggs of another
female with the second female covering both sets of eggs. Then there are the eggs which are not
covered which adds another dimension to the puzzle. The large communal egg masses are much
3. less common than egg masses randomly scattered on a single tree or across the landscape on a
variety of plants and surfaces. So far, I have found eggs on grey birch, black birch, pignut, choke
cherry, wild grape, silver maple, box elder, oak sp. and Ailanthus.
Supporting concepts on egg laying strategy
All the egg laying strategies can be reduced to game theory in the same way determining food
sources is. The biggest mistake is to assume that what we see in this area is not reflective of where
the SLF originated. Egg masses scattered around a landscape may ensure lower egg predation in the
home habitat. Whereas, egg masses on a food source ensures that hatching nymphs have a readily
available food source. Large masses of eggs in a small area may ensure that if egg predation occurs,
some of the eggs will survive. The problem with assigning values to variables such as predation and
proximity to food is that we do not know what the conditions are in the original habitat. When the SLF
became established here the variables changed. What was a good strategy in Asia, may be a neutral
or negative strategy here. Or, the strategy is good here for different reasons than in Asia. The
scattering of the eggs across the landscape in Asia may have avoided predation, but here allows for
the efficient movement of multiple generations of SLF across our landscape. The one constant is that
the egg laying and other survival strategies are rapidly evolving to meet the new challenges offered
by our ecology as it is different than the home ecology of the SLF.
Dec. 12
Observation of egg masses and location
What I have been learning in the last week or so is that the apparent chaotic egg laying and the
coating on top of the egg masses, with subsequent color changing and cracks developing may in part
be the SLF camouflaging the egg masses from the egg predators which it experienced in Asia. When
I looked at the local trees and the egg masses, there are a lot of similarities between the egg masses,
lichen, cankers and similar on the bark of trees. However, this is not Asia, so I cannot say exactly
what the Asian vegetation looks like.
An issue I came across today was that gypsy moth habitat and SLF habitat overlap and their eggs
may be laid on the same trees. The only difference I see is that SLF is confined to the edge of forests,
hedgerows and other ecotone areas since this is where its primary foods are located. The gypsy moth
lays eggs on trees wherever it finds them, including the deep forest, the edge of forests, hedgerows
and trees in cities. Gypsy moth egg masses are light brown foam while SLF egg masses are smooth,
sometimes going from dirty white to light tan after laying. I am not sure if there is an overlap or the
extent of the possible overlap of food plant species that Gypsy moths and SLF feed on. The timing of
the egg laying is different. Gypsy moths tend to lay eggs mid to late summer. SLF egg laying appears
to be late summer to a killer freeze.
Supporting concepts on egg laying location
The timing may be based on the preferred foods of each. Gypsy moth larvae feed mostly on the
leaves of deciduous hardwoods, which come into leaf late winter to mid-spring. This is much earlier in
the year than Ailanthus, which comes into leaf in the late spring, one of the last trees to do so.
Emergence of the immature stage for both may also be related to their food sources and feeding
method. Gypsy moth larvae feed by chewing and digesting leaves. This is very different than the SLF
nymphs and adults drilling into a plant and sucking the sap. I am not sure how much ahead of bud
break and leafing out sap runs in Ailanthus or how much after leaf drop it continues. This will affect
the timing of SLF egg hatching since Ailanthus still appears to be the primary food of SLF.
Observation of egg laying location
One last observation I made today is that I found SLF eggs only on grey birch trees in and
surrounding the stand of Ailanthus trees. No egg masses were found on Ailanthus trees where I had
seen SLF earlier in the fall. Reviewing the photos from earlier today, there were generally one to
three egg masses on each grey birch where the eggs masses were found. As usual there was no
4. apparent order in the scattering of the egg masses within the grey birch stand. This needs more time
walking to see if this is generally true in other areas.
A general ongoing observation is that I have seldom seen SLF egg masses much higher than 4 or 5
feet off the ground. The one obvious exception is on domesticated silver maple.
Supporting concepts on genetic traits
Ailanthus has been isolated from the SLF since the mid-1700’s when seeds were brought from China
to Paris. Next the tree went to London before coming to Philadelphia after the end of the American
Revolutionary War in 1784. As often happens, when a defense is no longer needed it will either cease
to exist or exist at a very low level. It will be exciting to watch the changes in Ailanthus over time with
the reintroduction of this threat to it and the possibility that the tree by itself will control the SLF by
bringing back or reinventing defense mechanisms to this specific threat. *
A final point is that the SLF was introduced in this country only a few generations ago, perhaps four
generations, but most probably several more. What will happen in the next several years is hard
enough to guess. What may happen beyond that is beyond our ability to comprehend at the present
time. That the SLF we are seeing are derived from one to a few females is important. The fewer
parents the more limited the gene pool. This means that the SLF does not have the full genetic
toolbox of where it came from to deal with multiple new challenges such as predators, disease and
foods (which may be toxic) in its new home. There lays our greatest hope – that the SLF will
encounter a challenge which will either control it or hopefully eradicate it.
Dec. 20
Supporting concepts on travel
If my observations about grasshoppers are correct, in general hoppers, especially big ones, need
long open areas to move in because they do not have the ability to control their flight the way flyers
such as moths and black flies do. This is what edge habitats/ecotones are usually like, wooded areas
next to open fields.
To make the jumps between feeding and egg deposition areas may mean long straight leaps along
the edge of a forest, across a field or down a hedgerow. Shorter jumps in the edges of wooded areas
of 2 to 10 feet from one food source to another or to an egg laying site are not a problem in a wooded
area. However, the longer travelling jumps during the apparent explosion of adults across the
landscape during the fall are only possible in open areas and along the outside edges of hedgerows
and wooded areas. This further reinforces the idea that SLF is not a forest pest, but can be one of
rural, suburban and urban areas which are composed of a mixture of hedgerows, small forests and
large open areas. This is one area I intend to research this fall.
Dec. 21
Observation of habitat as compared to gypsy moth
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a far more destructive pest of forests than the SLF. A few
years ago, I saw hardwood trees completely stripped of their leaves and covered with Gypsy moth
egg masses in the forest just east of Port Clinton. In areas of similar size, I may see perhaps a dozen
SLF egg masses compared to hundreds of gypsy moth egg masses. SLF primarily feeds on
Ailanthus. Gypsy moths feed on most hardwood and coniferous trees. The difference is that SLF lives
where we do, in the cities and suburbs. To see the gypsy moth requires going to a forest. Hence, SLF
is much more visible than the more destructive gypsy moth.
Dec. 31
An important observation in the comparative damage between Gypsy moth and SLF is that the
range of the SLF is a subset of the range of the Gypsy moth in the same way the SLF foods are at
best a subset of Gypsy moth. (I am not sure if Gypsy moths feed on the same foods as SLF, but SLF
5. does not feed on the same range of foods as Gypsy moths.) Throughout my life I have seen Gypsy
moth egg masses in urban, rural and forested areas. I have yet to see SLF egg masses more than 50
feet into a forest with the egg masses deposited in reference to nearby Ailanthus trees or wild grape.
Hypotheses on gender ratio
One of the odd consequences of the Spotted Lanternfly is that it may move diseases
between Ailanthus trees. If so, this will be at the point where the nymph stage becomes adults and
explosively move across the ecology. Once the adults settle on an Ailanthus tree, I doubt they move
except females to lay eggs on non-Ailanthus. I’m not sure, but doubtful, that females move afterwards
to a different Ailanthus tree in a stand to feed until dying or to feed until producing a second brood.
My observation is that there is an unexpectedly large skewed gender ratio in favor of males on
Ailanthus trees instead of the expected one-to-one correspondence between the genders. Either I
am unable to tell sexually immature females from males or more probably females die soon after egg
deposition while males continue living until a hard freeze kills them.
Observation of egg laying
On Dec. 24, we walked from the gate at the lower parking area in SGL110-10 to the top of the ridge
on a dirt road built by the PA Game Commission. Very clearly, SLF hitched rides on vehicles from
different parts of Berks County and dropped off on the way up the mountain to lay eggs no more than
30 feet from the dirt road. Also, once at the top we found many dead SLF still stuck to Ailanthus trees,
but not one egg mass on any of the 30+ to Ailanthus trees.
Hypotheses on fertility after feeding on wild grape, silver maple and Ailanthus
If close association of SLF egg masses with wild grape vines (Vitis sp.) is a valid indicator of fertility,
then feeding on Ailanthus is not required for egg production. To this point I have found this
association weakly along the Appalachian Trail at Ft. Franklin Road, Lehigh County and strongly
along the Appalachian Trail at Rt. 183, Bethel township, Berks County. At both locations I found SLF
feeding on wild grape earlier in the fall without any Ailanthus trees nearby. Along Sterner Hill Road,
Blue Marsh and SGL110-10 on the service road to the top of the ridge, headed towards the Auburn
Overlook, there is a strong association between SLF egg masses and Vitis sp. without nearby
Ailanthus trees. I will continue looking for similar associations to strengthen the argument and
checking these egg masses for hatched SLF nymphs in the spring. For me the only definitive proof of
viable reproduction is an F2 generation, grandchildren. The F1 generation, children, can be sterile,
which means that even though the parents produced viable eggs they were still not successful in
reproducing their parental line and the species.
I will be also be checking domesticated silver maples (Acer saccharinum) in a friend’s yard to look at
the egg masses for hatching in the spring.
From observation at multiple sites such as the end of Peacock Road, Blue Marsh, SGL110 near the
Auburn Overlook, Sterner Hill Road towards the lake, Blue Marsh and elsewhere, feeding on
Ailanthus trees does not guarantee egg laying. This may be due to a chemical produced by Ailanthus
either preventing SLF sexual maturation or a similar cause which in effect sterilizes SLF.
Concluding thought
My biggest concern is that “researchers” are biasing their data and results by being intent on
“solving” this apparent problem instead of observing and knowing SLF and its effects. It is vital at this
point that scientists spend most of their time walking and observing instead of participating in the
nonsensical and naïve panic which is infecting everyone from homeowners to farmers and politicians.
The proposed strategy which I heard about of trying to remove all the Ailanthus trees from the
infested area is one without practical application. It would require walking every square meter of land
6. to locate possibly 10,000,000 Ailanthus trees. Then when it is discovered that SLF can reproduce
after feeding on Vitis sp. will there also be attempts to remove that from the ecology? And, and, and?
WALK MORE AND TINKER LESS
*The wild (European) parsnip Pastinaca sativa L. apparently decreased its defenses when introduced to the European
North American colonies in the early 1600’s due to the lack of a principal herbivore - the parsnip webworm, Depressaria
pastinacella. Defenses built back up with the accidental reintroduction of D. pastinacella in the late 1800’s. (Increase in
toxicity of an invasive weed after reassociation with its coevolved herbivore, Arthur R. Zangerl and May R. Berenbaum,
PNAS October 25, 2005 102 (43) 15529-15532.