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BIOL 191 > Ch 40: Population Ecology and the Distribution of Organisms > Flashcards

Ch 40: Population Ecology and the Distribution of Organisms Flashcards

1
Q

ecology

A

scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment

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2
Q

global ecology

A

concerned with the biosphere, or global ecosystem, which is the sum of all of the planet’s ecosystems

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3
Q

landscape ecology

A

focuses on the exchange of energy, materials, and organism across multiple ecosystems

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4
Q

landscape/ seascape

A

mosaic of connected ecosystems

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5
Q

ecosystem ecology

A

emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and abiotic components

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6
Q

ecosystem

A

community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they interact

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7
Q

community ecology

A

deals with the whole array of interacting species in a community

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8
Q

community

A

group of population of different species in an area

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9
Q

population ecology

A

focuses on factors affecting population size over time

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10
Q

population

A

group of individuals of the same species living in an area

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11
Q

organismal ecology

A

studies how an organism’s structure, physiology, and (for animals) behavior meet environmental challenges; includes physiological, evolutionary, and behavioral ecology

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12
Q

climate

A

long term prevailing weather conditions in an area

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13
Q

abiotic

A

nonliving chemical and physical attributes of the environment; ex. temperature, precipitation, sunlight, wind

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14
Q

biotic

A

the other organisms that make up the living component of the environment

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15
Q

biomes

A

major life zones characterized by vegetation type (terrestrial biomes) or physical environment (aquatic biomes)

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16
Q

disturbances

A

event that changes a community; human and natural disturbances can alter distribution of biomes; ex. frequent fires prevent woodlands

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17
Q

terrestrial biomes

A

named for major physical or climatic factors and for vegetation; important feature: vertical layering

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18
Q

layering of vegetation

A

provides diverse habitats for animals; ex. forest with upper canopy, low tree layer, shrub, ground

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19
Q

tropical forest

A

occurs in equatorial and subequatorial regions; temperature is warm year-round, precipitation is generally high but can be seasonal; vertical layering, competition for light is intense; high species diversity; rapid human population growth is now destroying many tropical forests

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20
Q

savanna

A

occurs in equatorial and subequatorial regions; precipitation is seasonal, temp is warm; grasses and forbs; dominant plant species are fire-adapted and tolerant of seasonal drought; wildebeests, zebra, lions, hyenas

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21
Q

deserts

A

occurs in bands near 30 degrees north and south of equator and interior of continents; precipitation is low and highly variable; may be hot or cold; plants are adapted for heat and desiccation tolerance, water storage, reduced leaf area; scorpions, snakes, lizards, seed-eating rodents, nocturnal

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22
Q

chaparral

A

occurs in midlatitude coastal regions; precipitation is high seasonal with rainy winters and dry summers; summer is hot, fall, winter, spring are cool; shrubs and small trees, plants adapted to fire and drought; browsing and small mammals, insects, amphibians, birds

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23
Q

temperate grasslands

A

occur at midlatitudes, interior of continents; precipitation is highly seasonal, winters are cold and dry, summers are hot and wet; grasses and forbs are adapted to droughts and fire; bison, wild horses, small burrowers; most have been converted to farmland

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24
Q

temperate broadleaf forest

A

found at all midlatitudes; significant precipitation as rain or snow, temperature is seasonal but not extreme; deciduous trees; mammals hibernate in the winter, birds migrate to warm

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25
northern coniferous forest (taiga)
northern North America and Eurasia and is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth; winters are cold; pine, spruce, fir, hemlock; conical shape of conifers prevents too much snow from accumulating and breaking branches; migratory and resident birds and moose, brown bears, siberian tigers
26
tundra
Arctic; alpine tundra exists on high mountaintops; precipitation is low in arctic and higher in alpine; winters are cold, summers are short; herbaceous (moss, grass, lichen, trees), permafrost restricts growth of plant roots; caribou, bears, wolves
27
aquatic biomes
largest part of biosphere; stratifies into zones/ layers defined by light penetration, temp, depth
28
upper photic zone
sufficient light for photosynthesis
29
lower aphotic zone
receives little light
30
pelagic zone
made up by photic and aphotic zones
31
benthic zone
organic and inorganic sediment at the bottom of all aquatic zones; where invertebrates live
32
wetlands
inundated by water at least sometimes; ex. estuary; plants are adapted to growing in periodically anaerobic, water-saturated soils; cattails, sedges; diverse invertebrates, waterfowl; human activities destroyed up to 90% of wetlands and disrupted estuaries worldwide
33
estuary
transition area between river and sea; salinity varies with the rise and fall of the tides; saltmarsh grasses
34
littoral zone
of lakes; shallow and well lighted, close to shore, where rooted and floating aquatic plants live
35
limnetic zone
water is too deep to support rooted aquatic plants; primary producers are phytoplankton
36
zooplankton
drifting heterotrophs that graze the plankton
37
intertidal zones
periodically submerged and exposed by the tides; sandy zones and rocky zones
38
sandy zones
support sea grass and algae; worms, clams, crustaceans bury themselves in sand
39
rocky zones
support attached marine algae
40
coral reefs
formed from the calcium carbonate skeletons of corals (cnidarians); corals form mutualisms with symbiotic algae that provide them with organic molecules; high diversity of fish
41
oceanic pelagic zone
neither close to shore or the bottom; covers 70% Earth's surface; phytoplankton and zooplankton; squids, fish, sea turtles
42
marine benthic zone
seafloor; seaweeds (algae); organism in abyssal zone are adapted to cold and high water pressure; producers are chemoautotrophic prokaryotes; heterotrophs include giant tube worms, anthropods
43
dispersal
movement of individuals away from their area of origin
44
abiotic factors affecting distribution of organisms
1. temperature 2. water and oxygen 3. salinity 4. sunlight 5. rocks and soil
45
biotic factors affecting distribution of organisms
1. predation 2. herbivory 3. mutualism 4. parasitism 5. competition
46
population ecology explores how biotic and abiotic factors influence _____________
density, distribution, size of populations
47
density
number of individuals per unit area or volume; additions occur through birth and immigration
48
dispersion
pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population
49
clumped dispersion
individuals aggregate in patches
50
uniform dispersion
individuals are evenly distributed
51
territoriality
defense of bounded space against others
52
random dispersion
position of each individual is independent of other individuals; occurs in absence of strong attractions or repulsion
53
life table
age-specific summary of the survival pattern of a population; best made by following the fate of a cohort from birth to death
54
cohort
group of individuals of the same age
55
survivorship curve
graphic way of representing data in a life table; plot the proportion or numbers of a cohort still alive at each age
56
Type I
low death rates during early and middle life and increase in death rates among older age
57
Type II
constant death rate a the organisms life span
58
Type III
high death rates for the young and a lower death rate for survivors
59
trade-offs
organisms have finite resources leading to trade-offs between survival and reproduction; selective pressures influence trade-off between number and size of offspring
60
exponential population growth
population increase under idealized conditions
61
J-shaped curve
exponential; characterizes populations in new environments or rebounding populations; ex. elephants in South Africa after hunting was banned
62
carrying capacity
maximum population size the environment can support; a more realistic population model limits growth by incorporating carrying capacity; exponential growth cannot be sustained for long
63
logistic population growth model
per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached; S-shaped curve
64
density dependent birth and death rates
negative feedback that regulates population growth; affected by competition, territoriality, disease, predation, toxic wastes
65
predation may increase with ____________ due to predator preference for abundant prey species
population size

BIOL 191 (5 decks)

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