BIOL1007 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Gut Flora, Herbivore, Plant Cell
Understand links between morphology, physiology and behaviour
Coping mechanism = morphology + physiology + behaviour
Classically about animals
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Involves interaction with environment and stimulus:response
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e.g. lizard cools feet on hot desert sand by alternating lifting of feet
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Abiotic environment
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Foraging
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Escape/defending
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Win/choosing mates
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Biotic environment
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Behaviour and environment types
Part of how organisms respond to biotic and abiotic environment
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Skull morphology, gut, gut flora, liver enzymes, metabolism
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In behaviours: foraging strategies, social behaviour, communication etc
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e.g. carnivores differ to herbivores
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Morphology - teeth, guts
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Physiology - capacity to digest plant cell wall in grass
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Social behaviour - group size, conflict between feeding, safety, mates
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e.g. gelada baboon foraging behaviour is linked to its
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Behaviour
Together with morphology and physiology
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Natural selection acts on behaviour
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Many behaviours adaptive eg. If male display doesn't attract female, then reproductive
success = 0
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Insect herbivores consume vegetative parts of plants e.g. leaves
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Insects pollinate about 2/3 of all plants, often with food rewards e.g. nectar
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Evidence that feeding on high quality food -> increased reproductive output
(no. of total eggs laid)
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e.g. Small heath butterfly (coenonympha pamphilus)
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Plant-insect interactions
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Effect of behaviour on fitness
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Appreciate ecological & evolutionary significance of behaviour
L19 - individuals, behaviour & environment
Saturday, 4 November 2017
8:50 PM
mod 4 - ecology and ecosystems Page 1
Screen clipping taken: 4/11/2017 9:14 PM
Link between individuals and their environment
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Affects demographics (population level outcomes)
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Affects interactions among species (community level outcomes0
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Ecological significance
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Has some genetic basis (nature vs. nurture)
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Affects fitness
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Can be selected
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Evolutionary significance
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Through observation (inter- and intra-specific comparisons and manipulative experiments can see…
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Understand various behavioural strategies to obtain food, avoid
being food and for reproducing
3 key aspects of behaviour
Obtaining food
Ambush predators - camouflage, increases prob of prey encounter
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Active predators - agile, fast, increase prob of prey encounter
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Foraging strategies linked with morphology and physiology
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What they heat - frugivore, herbivore, nectivore, carnivore etc
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How its obtained (ambush or active)
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Diet breadth - specialist -> generalist
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Foraging strategies defined by
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Non-random, individuals make choices
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Modelled which food items to eat in a non-depleting
environment
Predicts foragers should maximise net rate of food intake
Focuses on energy gain
Optimal foraging theory
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Modelled when to leave a food patch in a depleting
environment
Predicts foragers should quit food patches when
Marginal value theorem
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Theories on how they choose where and what to eat?
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Common features of all foraging strategies
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mod 4 - ecology and ecosystems Page 2
Document Summary
Coping mechanism = morphology + physiology + behaviour. Part of how organisms respond to biotic and abiotic environment. Behaviour and environment types e. g. lizard cools feet on hot desert sand by alternating lifting of feet. Skull morphology, gut, gut flora, liver enzymes, metabolism. In behaviours: foraging strategies, social behaviour, communication etc e. g. gelada baboon foraging behaviour is linked to its. Physiology - capacity to digest plant cell wall in grass. Social behaviour - group size, conflict between feeding, safety, mates. Many behaviours adaptive eg. if male display doesn"t attract female, then reproductive success = 0. Insect herbivores consume vegetative parts of plants e. g. leaves. Insects pollinate about 2/3 of all plants, often with food rewards e. g. nectar. Insects pollinate about 2/3 of all plants, often with food rewards e. g. nectar e. g. small heath butterfly (coenonympha pamphilus) Evidence that feeding on high quality food -> increased reproductive output (no. of total eggs laid) mod 4 - ecology and ecosystems page 1.