...Landscape Ecol (2009) 24:375–390 DOI 10.1007/s10980-008-9312-x RESEARCH ARTICLE Effects of macro and micro-environmental factors on the species richness of terrestrial tardigrade assemblages in an Iberian mountain environment ´ ´ Noemı Guil Æ Joaquın Hortal Æ ´ nchez-Moreno Æ Annie Machordom Sara Sa Received: 1 November 2007 / Accepted: 20 November 2008 / Published online: 4 December 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract Tardigrade communities are affected by micro and macro-environmental conditions but only micro-environmental variables, and altitudinal gradients have been studied. We review previous reports of altitudinal effects and evaluate the influence by interacting macro- (climate, soils, biome, and others) and micro-environmental (vegetation, moss and leaf litter) factors on tardigrade assemblages at the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range (Iberian Central System Mountains, Spain). Terrestrial tardigrade assemblages were sampled using standard cores to N. Guil (&) Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, Copenhagen DK-2100, OE, Denmark e-mail: nguillopez@gmail.com J. Hortal NERC Centre for Population Biology, Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK J. Hortal Á A. Machordom ´ Departmento de Biodiversidad y Biologıa Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain ´ S. Sanchez-Moreno ´ Departamento de Proteccion...
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...jeopardy of extinction than others. The rare species, the highly specialized species, the less competitive species, and the species having low aptitude for dispersal and colonization, all these species might be missing from a reserve system if the reserves were numerous but small. 3) Why should the number of extinctions be inversely related to reverse size? Answer: reserve size will determine population size for each species and small populations face special jeopardizes. 4) How should the equilibrium number of species on a large reserve? Answer: It should be greater than the equilibrium number on a small reserve, but it doesn’t distinguish between a large reserve full of common species and a large reserve full of rare species. 5) Why did Diamond think that the theory of Simberloff has some mistakes? Answer: Simberloff’s reasoning from their assumptions is correct but minimizes or ignores much more important conservation problems. Because those indifferent to biological conservation may seize on Simberloff’s report as scientific evidence that large refuges are not needed, it is important to understand the flaws in their reasoning. 6) Why does a large reserve receive more immigration and endure less extinction? Answer: A large reserve presents a bigger target to dispersing individuals, hence a higher immigration rate. A large reserve supports large populations, thereby buffering each species against the dangers of rarity, hence a lower extinction rate. A higher...
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...developed through operant conditioning. Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a method for modifying behavior an operant which utilizes contingencies between a discriminative stimulus, an operant response, a reinforce to change the probability of a response occurring again in that situation. This paper also Distinguishes between classical and operant conditioning. One of the major differences involves the types of behaviors that are conditioned. While classical conditioning is centered on involuntary, automatic behaviors, operant conditioning is focused on voluntary behaviors. * While these two conditioning techniques share some similarities, it is important to understand the differences between them. What extinction means and how it is achieved in both classical and operant conditioning. * * Phobias and Addictions Phobias are an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place. Addiction has long been understood to mean an uncontrollable habit of using alcohol or other drugs. Because of the physical effects of these substances on the body, and particularly the brain, people have often thought that “real” addictions only happen when people regularly use these substances in large amounts. Also there are other addictions for example people are addicted to sex, food, gambling...
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...a specific list of species that are endangered. This law requires that these agencies ensure that all species on that list are to never be compromised in any way such as: importing, exporting, hunting, etc. In the 1900s, when it was realized that bison and a bird in North America called the Passenger Pigeon were going missing, it was determined that something had to be done to protect the wildlife. As this issue was looked upon, it was found that millinery and pesticides were a major cause of animal and plant extinction. Millinery is the designing and manufacturing of hats. When people realized that they could profit from making a product with animal skins and furs, millinery became a problem for wildlife. Those who are greedy and unconcerned were not going to stop without a law in place. Therefore, the ESA was put in place, attempting to preserve what animals were left to replenish from specific species. Pesticides became an issue with the extinction of plants when kudzu entered the life of our native plants in 1876. Kudzu is an Asian plant that actively grows at a higher speed than other plants....
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...| Midterm Review Project | Chapter 4-14 | | | 1/16/2014 | AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CHAPTER 4 EARTH SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES I. The Nature of Ecology a. Ecology is the study of connections in nature i. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their non-living environment ii. An organism is any form of life. The cell is the basic unit of life in organisms. b. Population i. Members of a species interact in groups called populations. ii. Species of the same population live together in a particular place or habitat. c. Communities and Ecosystems i. A community consists of populations of different species living and interacting in an area ii. An ecosystem is a community interacting with its physical environment of matter and energy. II. The Earth’s life support systems a. The different spheres of life-parts of Earth that support life systems. i. The Earth is made up of interconnected spherical layers that contain air, water, soil, minerals, and life. i.i Atmosphere: thin envelope or membrane of air around the planet. Its inner layer is the troposphere; it extends only about 17 km above sea level. i.ii Stratosphere: subsequent layer; its lower portion contains ozone to filter out the sun’s harmful...
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...The learning theory argues that attachments are based on the principles of operant and classical conditioning. First attachments are quite often formed to the person who looks after the child, who feeds them, changes their nappies and comforts them. First attachment figures are a powerful source of pleasure for the baby, as well as removing physical and emotional discomforts including pain, cold and hunger. An early version of the learning theory based on both operant and classical conditioning was proposed by Dollard and Miller (1950) According to the learning theory, the baby has to learn to form an attachment with his/her caregiver. In the process of operant conditioning, the caregiver rewards the baby by feeding it, so the baby then associates the caregiver with the reward and repeats any action that brings her close. This happens because food brings a feeling of pleasure to the baby. Food is the primary reinforcer. By removing discomfort, it reinforces the behaviour that led to its arrival. But food doesn't come without the caregiver bringing it, so the caregiver becomes the secondary reinforcer - even without bringing food, the presence or the mother reduces discomfort and brings a feeling of pleasure. The baby will therefore repeat any action, for example, crying which brings the caregiver close. On the other hand, classical conditioning argues that attachment is learnt by association. According to classical conditioning, food is an unconditioned stimulus that produces...
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...Endangered species of the US: Western region: Bakersfield Cactus, often Trealese’s Beavertail prickley pear (Ranis pretiosa) The Bakersfield cactus is now listed (1990) as an endangered species due to habitat loss from open range to citrus groves, residential development and petroleum production. Other human effects are off-road activity, trash dumping and gravel mining. Competition from other grasses as well (exotics) is affecting this prickly pear. There is a recovery plan in place (1998) and we can wait and see what will happen with this pain-inducing species. Southeast region: The Ozark Hellbender: The clear fast moving waters of the Ozarks can be lots of fun from fishing to kayaking. The story of the Ozark hellbender’s decline is an all too familiar one just like many of the other endangered species– increased siltation, water quality degradation, and increased human interference to their habitat. To add insult to injury, a highly infectious chytrid fungus is proving fatal to an ever-increasing number of amphibians throughout the world. Over 75 percent of hellbender deaths that occurred in the St. Louis Zoo’s captive population from March 2006 through April 2007 were due to this disease. This prompted the testing of Missouri’s wild Ozark hellbenders, and they found that 100% of the population was infected. Global endangered species: Panamanian Golden frog ((Atelopus zeteki), Considered lucky by the Panamanians, A. zeteki was first listed under the...
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...Ermina Dz. Ethics Essay Biodiversity is a key factor to Mother Nature and everything that resides in it. The word in itself means the many species within our environment. There are millions of species and each and every one of them has a crucial role in the world. These species are interdependent which means changes in one will cause changes in others. The biggest creator of these changes in the past decades has been human kind. Humans being able to use their intelligence, to overcome things that they naturally would not have been able to, have managed to effect almost every other species in the world. This effect came from such things as cars, industrialization and genetic modification. People should put more concern to biodiversity because of the environment, species interdependence and self preservation. It is a known that fact that humans are the species that has made the biggest impact on the environment. People made great advancements until now in bettering their life and making it easier to live. Even though these are benefits to humans they have came with a great counter-effect and that is mostly portrayed in the destruction of the environment. In order to have building, generate electricity and provide transportation, people have managed to change the face of the earth completely. These advances also lead to people living longer lives and a great expansion of the species. Being that resources and land are scarce products it made humans intervene and take over...
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...and your reasoning must be sound. WARNING: Do NOT get your answers from the internet ‐ these answers are usually WRONG because the responder is not in this class. They are providing answers using different information. 1. Some political figures have dismissed Evolution or Climate Change as "just a theory." Explain why this phrase is inaccurate. Because it is a scientific theory---strongest explanation supported by a large body of scientific research with minimal influence of humans. There is evidence to prove it. 2. Some people argue that extinction is normal and happens with or without humans (which is accurate). So why are scientists so concerned with extinction? [ Be specific. Give at least 2 reasons with empirical evidence.] Extinction is normal but we are currently in the Holocene extinction period and 100-1000 times as man species are going extinct every year than the normal “background” extinction. We are at a period where 10,000-100,000 species go extinct every year. The normal is 10-100 species per year. 3. Damian eats a bowl of cereal (Rice Krispies) and milk for breakfast. Explain how the energy Damian gets from the milk actually come from the sun. A rice plant is in what major group of plants? What part of the plant is rice? Are we "killing" plants by eating Rice Krispies? Milk comes from cows. Cows get their nutrition to have enough energy to make milk by eating—grass. The grass has vital vitamins and...
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...NATURE|Vol 461|1 October 2009 Vol 461|1 October 2009 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS JOURNAL CLUB Bruce R. Conklin Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, San Francisco, California A geneticist wonders why we need to sleep. Scientists can have a love–hate relationship with sleep. We know that it is vital for our health, but not the reasons why. We celebrate dreams that provide inspiration, but often dismiss sleep as a chore. Yet deep sleep can provide insight into vexing problems. In 1920, pharmacologist Otto Loewi famously had a recurring dream that suggested how he could demonstrate neurotransmission in the lab. The key experimental details escaped him until he captured the dream in a bedside notebook. Later that day, he performed his Nobel-prizewinning experiments with the aid of a few frog hearts and a water bath. Now, a team led by Ying-Hui Fu reports that a single mutation in a gene called DEC2 can cause people to sleep for only about six hours per night instead of the usual eight (Y. He et al. Science 325, 866–870; 2009). This mutation seems to be exceedingly rare, with only two carriers found so far. Only by introducing this mutation into transgenic mice and fruitflies could the researchers show compelling evidence of the mutation’s effect. These two additional waking hours each day are quite remarkable when you consider that, over 80 years, this would add up to more than 8 years of extra productivity! Why are extreme short sleepers so rare? Surely evolutionary pressures...
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...Conservation Biology is defined as the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth’s biodiversity. The main aim is protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystem from overly fast growing extinction rates. Biodiversity is defined as the variety of organisms that occupy a specific region. This includes all organisms from that region, the smallest creature to the largest mammals. The earth is a vast planet, which is growing and changing every day. Many things are out of our control, but there are also many things that are within our control. People play a direct impact on the environment as well as the wild life. Unfortunately a lot of our negative actions have led to the extinction of various species. Animals can be broken down into three different species, threatened, endangered and extinct. Threatened Species can be defined as a species commonly found in an area, that is at high risk of becoming endangered. "A threatened species may have a declining population or be exceptionally rare. Similar to endangered species, the cause of their decline is based and various factors such as habitat destruction, climate change or the introduction of an invasive species to their natural habitat" (Buchanan,M.). A good example of a Threatened Species is the Loggerhead Turtle. They are found globally, preferring temperate and subtropical waters. Loggerhead turtles and their eggs are hunted extensively in many parts of the world. "However, the main threat is from raccoons and...
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...1. Classical conditioning is simply defined in our book as the learning that occurs when a stimulus eliciting a response is paired with another stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own but will cause a similar response over time because of its association with the first stimulus. In this example, the avatar resembling Albert Einstein would be the second stimulus that initially would not stimulate a response on its own. Every time this consumer now thinks of Alberrt Einstein, their immediate reactive thought is going to be about the new tutoring website they had come across. Albert Einstein is now the conditioned stimulus, and the new tutoring website has become the conditioned response. 2. Instrumental conditioning only occurs when a learner receives an award after the desired behavior has been performed. Eventually, consumers begin to associate with people who reward them and choose products that make them feel good about themselves or satisfy some need. If the consumer from the example purchases a new outfit for his avatar in the virtual world, they will become subjected to instrumental conditioning only after the new outfit is purchased. The learned behavior depends on the reinforcement the consumer receives after their virtual purchase. If this consumers avatar gets compliments after wearing the outfit, they’re more likely to make a similar purchase because the desired effect was reached. This phenomenon is also known as positive reinforcement,...
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...typically cause extinctions. One estimate is that less than 1% of the species that have existed on Earth are extant.[1] Biodiversity biodiversity is divided into three, phenotypic, genoti, environmental Ecological diversity refers to the sum of the different types of environment or Ecosystem present in a region or the habitat which is the sum total of the climate, vegetation and geography of a region. Ecosystem is a unit of the biosphere in which there is an interaction between the living and nonliving factors so as to maintain a continuous flow of energy. It is a structural and functional unit of a biosphere. There are several kinds of habitats or ecosystems around the world. The variety of diversity of species in an ecosystem is influenced by the ecosystem it self. Examples of ecosystems: Grass land, wet land, desert, aquatic ecosystem etc. Species diversity is the variety of different species in a given area. It is very difficult to estimate the different species in a given area. Most of the species are found near the equator and a few at the poles. Genetic Diversity may be defined as variation in genes with a particular species. It refers to the heritable variation. Sexual reproduction play an important role genetic diversity. A species having more genetic diversity can adapt better to the changed environmental conditions. Threats to biodiversity Extinction of Species Since the planet came into existence, it has been subjected to five mass extinctions, which...
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...Reaction To A Conditioned Stimulus That Occurs Because of Previous Conditioning Conditioned Stimulus- A Previously Neutral Stimulus That Has, Through Conditioning, Acquired The Capacity To Evooke A Conditioned Response Continuous Reinforcement- Reinforcing Every Instance Of A Designated Response Cumulative Recorder- A Graphic Record Of Reinforcement And Responding In A Skinner Box As A Function Of Time Discriminative Stimuli- Cues That Influence Operant Behavior By Indicating The Probable Consequences (Reinforcemment Or Non-Reinforcement) Of A Response Elicit- To Draw Our Or Bring Forth Emit- To Send Forth Escape Learning- A Type Of Learning In Which An Organism Acquires A Response That Decreases Or Ends Some Aversive Stimulation Extinction- The Gradual Weakening And Disappearance Of A Conditioned Response Tendency Fixed-interval Schedule- A Reinforcement Schedule In Which Reinforcer Is Given For The First Response That Occurs After A Fixed Time Interval Has...
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...Extinction . As Dead as a Dodo! For every species that is alive today, perhaps a thousand more have lived previously and become extinct. Most of these extinctions occurred before humans evolved, and the species are known to us only through fossils The Dodo The dodo was a large (50 lb) flightless bird that lived on Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. It lived undisturbed for so long that it lost its need and ability to fly. It lived and nested on the ground and ate fruits that had fallen from trees. The island was uninhabited and the dodo had no natural predators. Then Mauritius was colonised in 1638. Dodos were hunted for food and easy to catch because they were not afraid of people. New competitors were brought onto the island (including pigs, cats and rats). These competitors ate the dodos' eggs in their ground nests and also ate the dodo’s young. The last dodo was killed in 1681. Answer the following questions using information from the text: 1. What was the dodo? 2. Out of the four causes of extinction we have learnt about, which two caused the extinction of the dodo and why? 3. When did the last dodo die? Dinosaurs There are many theories as to how the dinosaurs became extinct. Keep in mind that there is no absolutely proven theory. Asteroid Theory According to this theory a large asteroid or comet collided with Earth about 65 million years ago. Scientists think that such a large collision would throw so much dust into the air that sunlight would not...
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