APES Chapter 3 Flashcards
Species
a particular type of organism or a population or group of populations whose members share certain characterisitcs and can freely breed wiht one another and produce fertile offspring
Population
a group of individuals of a particular species that live in a particular area
Evolution
change over time, genetic change on populations of organisms acriss generations
Natural selection
the proess by which inherited characteristics that enhance survivial and reproduction are passed on more frequently to future generations than to those that do not
Charles Darwin
idk
Alfred Russel Wallace
idk
Adaption
a trait that confers greater liklihood that a individual will reproduce
Adaptive trait
trait that promotes success
Mutations
accidental changes in the DNA
Artifical selection
the process of selection condcted under human direction
Biodiversity
the variety of llife across all levels of biological organization
Speciation
the process in which a newspecies is formed
Phylogenetic trees
tree like diagrams that respresent the historyof divergence
Fossil
an imprint in stone of a dead organism
Mass extintion events
events so large it kills off massive numbers of species at once
Biosphere
the cumulitive total of living things on earth and the areas the inhabit
Population ecology
examines the dynamics of population changs and the factors that effect the distribution and abundunce of member of a population
communities
a population made up of mutiple interacting species that live in the same area
Community ecology
patterns of species diversity and on interactions amoung species
Ecosystems
communities and the nonliving material and forces with which their members interact
Ecosysten ecology
reveals patterns by studying living and nonliving components of systems in conjunction
Habitat
enviornment in which an organism lives in
Habitat use
nonrandom patterns of organisms living in specific places
Habitat selection
a process in which an organism selects their habitat
Niche
a species’ use of resources and its functional role in the community
Specialists
species with a very narrow niche and specific requirements
Generalists
species with broad tolerances, able to use a wide array of resources
Population size
number of individuals or organisms present at the given time
Population density
the number of in a population per unit area
Population distribution/dispersion
the spacial arrangement of organisms in an area
Sex ratio
its proportion of males to females
Age distribution/structure
the relative numbers of organisms of each age within a population
Survivorship curves
graphs that show the liklihood of survival based on age
Demographers
scientists who study human population
Natural rate of population growth
(crude birth rate) - (crude death rate)
Population growth rate
(crude birth rate - crude death rate) + (immigration rate - emmigration rate)
Exponential growth
a slow and steady increase
Limiting factors
physical, chemical, and biological things that restrain population growth
Carrying capacity
the max population size a species in a given enviornment can sustain
Logistic growth curve
rises sharply then begins to even out
Density dependent
their influence rises and falls with population density
Density-independent
their influence is not effected by population density
K-selected
species that populations tend to stabilize over time near carrying capacity
R-selected
soecies that have high biotic potential and devote their energy and resources to producing as many offspring as possible in a relatively short time
Ecotourism
visitation of natural areas for tourism
