Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Ecology ME! > Chapter 1: Ecology, Evolution, and the Scientific Method > Flashcards

Chapter 1: Ecology, Evolution, and the Scientific Method Flashcards

1
Q

______________ is the scientific study of the abundance and distribution of organisms in relation to other organisms and environmental conditions

A

Ecology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

_____________ is the study of change, interactions, and flows of matter and energy.

A

Ecology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

____________ __________ are biological entities that have their own internal processes and interact with their external surroundings

A

Ecological systems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Ecology is a system with ____________ and __________ components.

A

Biotic

Abiotic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

From smallest to largest, what are the systems of ecology?

A

Individual

Population

Community

Ecosystem

Biosphere

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Biology, including ecological systems, operates at a variety of scales. Each ecological system is made up of systems of the next size down, all interacting. Each system has characteristics—___________ __________—that its components do not have

A

Emergent properties

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

An _____________ is a living being, the most fundamental unit of ecology

A

Individual

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What must an individual possess?

A

A membrane or other covering across which it exchanges energy and materials with its environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is a species?

A

Histocially defined as a group of organisms that naturally interbreed with each other and produce fertile offspring; current research demonstrates that no single definition can be applied to all organisms (e.g., some species of salamanders only produce daughter clones; prokaryotic organisms routinely undergo horizontal gene transfer)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

A _______________ consists of individuals of the same species living in a particular area

A

Population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What five distinct properties are exhibited by populations but not individuals?

A
  1. Geographic range
  2. Abundance
  3. Density
  4. Change in size
  5. Composition
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

The ___________ _________ of a population, also known as its distribution, is the extent of land or water within which a population lives.

A

Geographic range

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

The _______________ of a population refers to the total number of individuals

A

Abundance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

The ____________ of a population refers to the number of individuals per unit of area

A

Density

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

The ___________ ___________ of a population refers to increases and decreases in the number of individuals in an area

A

Change in size

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What does the composition of a population mean?

A

Composition describes the makeup of the population in terms of gender, age, or genetics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a community?

A

A level of ecological organization that includes all populations of species living together in a particular area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

An _____________ is composed of one or more communities of living organisms interacting with their nonliving physical and chemical environments, which include water, air, temperature, sublight, and nutrients

A

Ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are usually the areas of focus at the level of ecosystems?

A

The movement of energy and matter between physical and biological components of the ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

____________ states that matter cannot be created or destroyed but only change form

A

Law of conservation of matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

____________ states that energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be converted into different forms

A

The law of conservation of energy or the first law of thermodynamics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What occurs when energy changes forms?

A

Heat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

____________ flows through an ecosystem; ____________ cycles within an ecosystem

A

Energy

Matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is the highest level of ecological hierarchy?

A

Biosphere

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What is a biosphere?

A

The level of ecological organization that includes all eocsystems on Earth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

All transformations of the biosphere are internal, with two exceptions. What are they?

A
  1. The energy that enters from the Sun
  2. The energy that is lost to space
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

A ____________ __________ _________ occurs when the gains and losses of ecological systems are in balance

A

Dynamic steady state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

________________ is an attribute of an organism, such as its behavior, morphology, or physiology

A

Phenotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

____________ is the set of genes an organism carries

A

Genotype

30
Q

___________ refers to change in the genetic composition of a population over time or, more specifically, changes in the frequency of genotypes in a population

A

Evolution

31
Q

What is genetric drift?

A

Evolution that occurs to random events over time

32
Q

___________ __________ describes the reproduction of phenotypes such that those best suited to the environment survive and those less fit are eliminated

A

Natural selection

33
Q

Do the forces of natural selection act on phenotype, genotype, or both?

A

Phenotype

Natural selection acts on “only what it can see”

34
Q

Is natural selection random or nonrandom?

A

Nonrandom

It is a nonrandom change in allele frequency in a population

35
Q

What is fitness?

A

The survival and reproduction of an individual

36
Q

What three conditions must be met for evolution to occur, according to Charles Darwin?

A
  1. Individuals vary in their traits
  2. Parental traits are inherited by their offspring
  3. The variation in traits causes some individuals to experience higher fitness, the survival and reproduction of an individual
37
Q

A _______________ displays phylogenetic relationships

A

Cladogram

38
Q

What is a producer? Also known as an autotroph?

A

An organism that uses photosynthesis to convert solar energy into organic compounds or uses chemosynthesis to convert chemical energy into organic compounds

39
Q

What is a consumer? Also known as a heterotroph?

A

An organism that obtains its energy from other organisms

40
Q

What is a mixotroph?

A

An organism that obtains its energy from more than one source

41
Q

______________ is an organism that kills and partially or entirely consumes another individual

A

Predator

42
Q

______________ represent a special kind of predator that lay their eggs on or inside other animals, which eventually hatch into largvae that consume the host from the inside

A

Parasitoids

43
Q

There are four types of consumers? What are they?

A
  1. Predator
  2. Parasitoid
  3. Parasite
  4. Herbivore
44
Q

What is a parasite?

A

An organism that lives in or on another organism, while rarely killing their hosts

45
Q

______________ is a parasite that causes disease in its host

A

A pathogen

46
Q

A _____________ is an organism that consumes producers such as plants and algae

A

Herbivore

47
Q

_____________ is an interaction resulting in negative effects between two species that depend on the same limiting resource to survive, grow, and reproduce

A

Competition

48
Q

What is mutualism?

A

An interaction between two species in which each species receives benefits from the other

49
Q

What is commensalism?

A

An interaction in which two species live in close association and one species receives a benefit, while the other experiences neither a benefit nor a cost

50
Q

What is a symbiotic relationship?

A

When two different types of organisms live in a close physical relationship

51
Q

Are all symbiotic relationships positive?

A

No, symbiotic relationships include forms of parasitism and parasitoidism

52
Q

What two organisms make up a licen?

A

A fungus and a green algae or cyanobacteria

53
Q

What does the fungus provide in the lichen symbiosis? The algae or cyanobacteria?

A

The fungus provides nutrients; the algae provides carbohydrates from photosynthesis

54
Q

A ________________ is an organism that consumes dead animals

A

Scavenger

55
Q

What is a detritivore?

A

An organism that feeds on dead organic matter and waste products that are collectively known as detritus

56
Q

What is a decomposer?

A

Organisms that break down dead organic material into simpler elements and compounds that can be recycled through the ecosystem

57
Q

A __________ is the place, or physical setting, in which an organism lives

A

Habitat

58
Q

What is a niche?

A

The range of abiotic and biotic conditions an organism can tolerate.

59
Q

Can two species have the same niche?

A

No two species have the same niche because each has unique phenotypes that determine the conditions it can tolerate

60
Q

_______________ are ideas that potentially explain a repeated observation

A

Hypotheses

61
Q

What is a proximate hypothesis?

A

A hypothesis that addresses the immediate changes in an organism’s hormones, physiology, nervous system, or muscular system

62
Q

_______________ are statements that arise logically from hypotheses

A

Predictions

63
Q

What is an ultimate hypothesis?

A

A hypothesis that addresses why an organism has evolved to respond in a certain way to its environment in terms of the fitness costs and benefits of the response

64
Q

In a ____________ ____________ a hypothesis is tested by altering a factor hypothesized to be the cause of a phenomenom

A

Manipulative experiment

65
Q

What do we mean by “treatment”?

A

The factor we want to manipulate

66
Q

What is a control?

A

The treatment that includes all aspects of an experiment except the factor of interest

67
Q

What do we mean by replication?

A

Being able to produce a similar outcome multiple times

68
Q

What is randomization?

A

An aspect of experiment design in which every experimental unit has an equal chance of being assigned to a particular manipulation

69
Q

_____________ is a simplified ecological system that attempts to replicate the essential features of an ecological system in a laboratory or field setting

A

Microcosm

70
Q

______________ ___________ is an approach to hypothesis testing that relies on natural variation in the environment

A

Natural experiment

71
Q

__________ _________ is a representation of a system with a set of equations that correspond to hypothesized relationships among the system’s components

A

Mathematical model

Ecology ME! (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions