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Interactions

classical limiting factors - abiotic, organisms must conform or regulate themselves

  • temperature - changes biochemical structure/function, influence chemical reaction rate
    • ectotherm (poikilotherm) - cold-blooded w/ slower metabolisms
    • endotherm (homeotherm) - warm-blooded
    • heterotherm - regulators that don’t always regulate themselves
    • Thermal Primacy Paradigm - every organism must deal w/ temperature
  • oxygen - doesn’t follow same patterns as temperature
    • facultative anaerobes - needs oxygen to reproduce, doesn’t need it to survive
  • water - can have too much or too little
    • used to adjust solute content
  • pressure - lighter substances float, heavier ones sink
  • light - needed in some form by most organisms
  • pH - primarily w/ halophiles
    • no organism can handle 0 or 14 pH

responses to environmental change -

  • passive - no response
    • either no point, no need, or response will lead to worse conditions
    • maybe inability to sense the change
  • behavioral - 1st line of defense
    • takes place within seconds/minutes
    • needs sense, ability to move, another place to go to
    • physiological - constrict blood vessels, etc
  • biochemical/physiological - takes hours/days
    • internal change w/ acclimation/acclimatization
    • growing thicker coats of fur during winter
  • adapt/evolve - genetic change passed on
    • involves an entire population
    • “Allen’s Rule” - mammals in cold areas have shorter ears/limbs to reduce surface area across which to lose heat

species interactions - competition for food/space >> displacement of weaker organisms

  • symbiosis - 2 or more kinds of organisms get in a relationship
  • competition - uses limited resources >> harms both organisms
  • neutralism - doesn’t affect anyone’s fitness
  • commensalisms - favors 1 organism, doesn’t do anything for other
  • parasitism - hurts 1 organism, helps other
    • parasites can make hosts more vulnerable to predators >> passes along
    • ectoparasites - feeds on exterior
    • endoparasites - feeds in interior
    • parasitoids - insects that lay eggs in living hosts
  • amensalism - hurts 1 organism, doesn’t do anything for other
  • mutualism - favors both organisms
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