NRC 261 1 Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture I Wildlife Diversity a Parts of Ecosystems b Scale of Ecosystems III Interactions a Trophic Levels b Energy Loss c Niche IV Habitat a Food b Water c Cover Thermal d Cover Behavioral e Space Outline of Last Lecture V Causes of Population Changes VI Constituents of Food a Energy Flow i Kinds of Energy b Water c Minerals d Vitamins VII Limitations on Food Intake a Behavioral b Morphological Physiological c Environmental Limitations These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute VIII Adaptations a Morphological b Behavioral Current Lecture Food and Nutrition How does it affect wildlife distribution abundance survival reproductive better condition easier to have offspring behavior Food Considerations how much food is available is the food homogeneously distributed seasonal can nutritional requirements be met If yes was answered to the 4 above questions then can that food sustain the needs of the species the group needs to be able to sustain themselves not just the individuals interbreeding will carry on the species Lynx introduced into Colorado parks the lynxes began starving because they were put in a place without enough food like snowshoe hares to sustain the whole population condors scavenge carcasses as a form of food but they would eat the carcasses of animals that had been shot with lead bullets They consumed this lead and were poisoned important to have enough good quality food to sustain a population of more than 15 or 20 condors in the wild right now they re still in captivity Is Starvation Important 22 herbivore species major population decline from starvation much more from this cause than disease or predation Causes of Population Changes proximate cause apparent usually predation ultimate cause underlying why are they so susceptible to predation food or disease related the more unhealthy an animal is the more it will get preyed upon predators hunt the weak it only appears to be predation but there s often an underlying issue makes animal more vulnerable Constituents of Food energy water minerals vitamins Energy Flow the part used just for living staying alive consumed energy digestible become muscle mass etc and used for respiration get rid of it through pooping for example lots of places that E can end up where E is needed the storage of E can be used for reproduction and growth growth rates vs energy consumption less energy than is needed for growth lose weight wanted to find out how much energy is needed so animal doesn t lose weight can be important to figure out if they re in good or bad shape Kinds of Energy fat carbs proteins Energy Contents of Food 9 5 kcals per 1 gram of fat similar s for different types of carbs gives half of the energy that fat does though protein gives 5 7 in the middle also varies depending on the kinds of foods you eat Protein building blocks enzymes hormones tissues structural must consume protein to make muscles grow season availability changes for plants low in winter low in dry season effort spent to get food isn t the same throughout the year protein and reproduction during 1st 10 15 weeks all species need 20 30 of diet to be protein MUST develop certain structures to get to adult size maintenance level is much lower egg production in females shoots up again to provide nutrients for growing embryo this is true for any animal not just egg layers protein responsible for fetal development Water no matter what size all animals are mostly water water sources free streams ponds faucets etc preformed like in fruit contained in a food metabolic generated within the body when you break down food water comes off the krebs cycle breakdown of food capturing of water very important some animals are really good at maintaining that water Minerals macro elements Calcium potassium phosphorous sodium bones salt blood ph animals need a lot micro elements iron zinc selenium iodine sources food drawn from soil atmosphere soil geography eating minerals as the minerals themselves animals going to salt licks bones vultures get calcium this way Percent of Items at Nests 2 kinds of vulture white backed cape white backed mostly bones present in the nest 92 cape endangered only 31 bone pieces in the nest the rest were artifacts other non calcium sources endangered because they were suffering from lack of calcium to help the population needed to make sure there were enough small bone pieces around Vitamins minute amounts essential most can t be synthesized by animals some fat soluble stored in body no excretion A D E some water soluble can t be stored so they must constantly be consumed B C ex scurvy sailors got sick died consuming food with vitamin C constantly can avoid scurvy What kind of food doesn t just mean quantity quality is just as important Limitations on Food Intake Behavioral ex Pika have lots of food to store away for winter raccoons bears store food in far for winter don t eat for next few months so needs everything in body when out foraging prey must constantly be looking for predators limited amount of time to be out in the open Morphological Physiological lions hyenas can eat 30 of their body weight in one meal do this because that s when the food is available it might not be there again the next day environmental limitations snowy owl in tundra sometimes small animals overly abundant one year next year there might be none when there s no lemmings owls don t eve nest booms busts year by year bears owls production gets synchronized lemming crashes in arctic owls come south looking for food like to Mass or form Alaska to Siberia Adaptations morphological ruminant 4 chambered stomach lots of bulk regurgitated chewed to be broken down keep working it in digestive system to get max E nutrients behavioral coprophagy bunnies eat certain fecal matter that has only gone through their digestive system once this process of poop eating is a step in the digestion process to get more nutrients dogs do this too If more black bears are hit on the Mass turnpike is it because there are more bears or because the food supply was low Not because population got bigger stayed the same fall food supply acorn crop dropped significantly bears had to range farther to look for food result of different food abundance and distribution