Evolution, Biological

Communities
and Species Interaction
 Adaptation

Adaptation is used in two ways:

Individual (moving from one

place to another)
Population (evolution)
 Natural Selection

Natural Selection - Members of a population

best suited for a particular set of
environmental conditions survive and
produce offspring more successfully than
their competitors.
Acts on pre-existing genetic diversity.

Limited resources place selective

pressures on a population.
 Speciation
Given enough geographical isolation or
selective pressure, members of a population
become so different from their ancestors that
they may be considered an entirely new
species.
Alternatively, isolation of population subsets,
preventing genetic exchange, can result in
branching off of new species that coexist with
the parental line.
 Critical Environmental Factors

Single factor in shortest supply relative to

demand is the critical determinant in species
distribution.
Each environmental factor has both minimum
and maximum levels, tolerance limits,
beyond which a particular species cannot
survive.
No humans permanently above 5 km
Tolerance Limits
 Ecological Niche
Habitat - Place or set of environmental conditions
where a particular organism lives.
Ecological Niche
Role a species plays in a biological community
(e.g. large grassland herbivore)
Total set of environmental factors that
determines a species distribution.
Generalists - Broad niche

Specialists - Narrow niche

When generalists and specialists collide,

generalists usually win.
 Divergent vs. Convergent Evolution
Divergent Evolution - Mutations and different
selective pressures cause populations to
evolve along dissimilar paths.
Convergent Evolution - Unrelated organisms
evolve separately to cope with environmental
conditions in the same fashion.
Look alike - Act alike

Usually means some physical basis

Divergent evolution
Convergent evolution
 Parallel Evolution
two related species
arise from a common
ancestor. The two
species then evolve
in much the same
way over time,
probably in response
to similar
environmental
selection pressures.
 Generalist species

Tree sparrows

Yellow vented bulbul

Specialist species

Philippine frogmouth
 Important Concepts:
Critical Environmental Factors
Adaptation
Natural Selection
Speciation
Ecological Niche
Population Dynamics
Community Properties
Succession
Introduced Species
Types of Species Interactions
Competition
Predation Trophic levels
Mutualism
Community Structure
Succession
 Limits of Range
Physical Barriers
Oceans (humans, cattle egrets, marsupials)

Mountains (house finch)

Ice (humans in the Americas)

Climatic
Altitude
Food
Water
Competitors
Expanding Human Range
 Critical Environmental Factors
For many species, the interaction of several
factors, rather than a single limiting factor,
determines biogeographical distribution.
Altitude = oxygen, temperature, food

May be a specific critical factor that mostly

determines abundance and distribution.

Species requirements and tolerances can
also be used as useful indicators.
Environmental indicators
Philippine Eagle Silvery kingfisher
Competition
 Law of Competitive Exclusion
No two species will occupy the same niche
and compete for exactly the same resources
for an extended period of time.
One will either migrate, become extinct, or
partition the resource and utilize a sub-set of
the same resource.
Given resource can only be partitioned a
finite number of times.
Resource Partitioning
 Predation
Feeds directly upon another living organism,
whether or not it kills the prey in doing so.
Mosquitoes prey on humans

Prey most successfully on slowest, weakest,

least fit members of target population.
Reduce competition, population

overgrowth, and stimulate natural

selection.
Co-evolution (arms race)
 Co-Evolution and Disease
If a disease kills too quickly, it cant spread
Disease can moderate while host becomes
more resistant (measles)
Disease can be lethal but messy (cholera,
ebola)
Disease can be lethal but slow-acting (AIDS)
 Keystone Species
Keystone Species - A species or group of species
whose impact on its community or ecosystem is
much larger and more influential than would be
expected from mere abundance.
Large predators ( tigers, Phil. Eagle)

Critical food organisms (bamboo and pandas)

( eucalyptus & koala)

Often, many species are intricately

interconnected so that it is difficult to tell which is

the essential component.
 Competition
Interspecific - Competition between members
of different species.
Intraspecific - Competition among members
of the same species.
Often intense due to same space and
nutritional requirements.
- Territoriality - Organisms defend specific
area containing resources, primarily
against members of own species.
- Resource Allocation and Spacing
 Mutualism
Intimate living together of members of two or
more species.
Commensalism - One member benefits
while other is neither benefited nor harmed.
Cattle and Cattle Egrets

Symbiosis - Both members benefit.

Lichens (Fungus and cyanobacterium)

Parasitism - One member benefits at the

expense of other.
Humans and Tapeworms
Commensalism:
Epiphytes:
Symbiosis - Lichens
 Defensive Mechanisms
Batesian Mimicry - Harmless species evolve
characteristics that mimic unpalatable,
dangerous or poisonous species
Viceroy and Monarch butterfly

Mullerian Mimicry - Two unpalatable species

evolve to look alike
Bees and Wasps

Camouflage
Advertising and warning (coral snake)
Attracting prey, pollinators, mates, etc.
 Abundance and Diversity

Abundance -Total number of organisms in a

community.
Diversity - Number of different species,
ecological niches, or genetic variation.
Abundance of a particular species often
inversely related to community diversity.
As general rule, diversity decreases and
abundance within species increases when
moving from the equator to the poles.
 Productivity
Primary Productivity - Rate of biomass
production. Rate of solar energy conversion
to chemical energy.
Net Primary Productivity - Energy left after

metabolism
Highest in rain forest, estuaries, reefs

Decreases toward poles

Open oceans very low

 Trophic Level (Food Chain)
A pond
Phytoplankton

Zooplankton

Small Fish

Larger Fish

Higher predators (birds, mammals)

Organisms are at same trophic level if they

get their food from similar sources
 Trophic Level (Food Chain)
A forest
Decaying organic matter

Insects

Small mammals and birds

Higher predators (owls, foxes, bears)

A Pasture or Grassland
Grass

Herbivore

Higher predators
 Trophic Level (Food Chain)
At each level, some matter goes into
biomass
Most goes into energy and metabolism
Hence each level needs about 10x as much
energy, has fewer individuals
Bio-Accumulated chemicals get more
abundant higher up the food chain
 Food Requirements
Warm-blooded organisms require more food
than cold-blooded
Predator/prey ratio higher for cold-blooded

Indication that some dinosaurs may have

been warm-blooded
Large organisms eat less in proportion to
their mass than small ones
Shrew: 100%+ per day

Human: 1% per day

 Improbable Movie Biology

Things that eat people (Morlocks, The Time

Machine)
Really huge carnivores (The Phantom
Menace)
Huge carnivores in empty environments
(Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)
Ultra-voracious carnivores (Jaws, Alien,
Anaconda, Jurassic Park)
 Complexity and Connectedness
Complexity - Number of species at each
trophic level, and the number of trophic
levels, in a community.
Diverse community may not be complex if

all species are clustered in a few trophic

levels.
Highly interconnected community may

have many trophic levels, some of which

can be compartmentalized.
 Resilience and Stability
Constancy (Lack of fluctuation)
Inertia (Resistance to pertubation)
Renewal (Ability to repair damage)
MacArthur proposed complex,

interconnected communities would be

more stable and resilient in the face of
disturbance.
- Controversial
 Edges and Boundaries

Edge Effects - Important aspect of

community structure is the boundary
between one habitat and others.

Ecotones - Boundaries between adjacent

communities.
Sharp boundaries - Closed communities

Indistinct boundaries - Open communities

 COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION

Ecological Succession
Primary Succession - A community begins

to develop on a site previously unoccupied

by living organisms.
- Pioneer Species

Secondary Succession - An existing

community is disrupted and a new one

subsequently develops at the site.
Terrestrial Primary Succession
 Ecological Succession

Ecological Development - Process of environmental

modification (facilitation) by organisms.
Climax Community - Community that develops and
seemingly resists further change.
Equilibrium Communities (Disclimax

Communities) - Never reach stable climax

because they are adapted to periodic disruption.
 Introduced Species

If introduced species prey upon or compete

more successfully than native populations,
the nature of the community may be altered.
Human history littered with examples of

introducing exotic species to solve

problems caused by previous
introductions.
- Mongoose and Rats in Caribbean
 Summary:
Critical Environmental Factors
Adaptation
Natural Selection
Speciation
Ecological Niche
Population Dynamics
Community Properties
Succession
Introduced Species