Chapter 53 Key Terms Flashcards
aposematic coloration
The bright coloration of animals with effective physical or chemical defenses that acts as a warning to predators.
Batesian mimicry
A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators.
biomanipulation
A technique for restoring eutrophic lakes that reduces populations of algae by manipulating the higher-level consumers in the community rather than by changing nutrient levels or adding chemical treatments.
biomass
The dry weight of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat.
bottom-up model
A model of community organization in which mineral nutrients control community organization because nutrients control plant numbers, which in turn control herbivore numbers, which in turn control predator numbers.
character displacement
The tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species.
coevolution
The mutual evolutionary influence between two different species interacting with each other and reciprocally influencing each other’s adaptations.
commensalism
A symbiotic relationship in which the symbiont benefits but the host is neither helped nor harmed.
community
All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction.
competitive exclusion
The concept that when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population.
cryptic coloration
Camouflage, making potential prey difficult to spot against its background.
disturbance
A force that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. Disturbances, such as fire and storms, play pivotal roles in structuring many biological communities.
dominant species
Those species in a community that have the highest abundance or highest biomass. These species exert a powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species.
dynamic stability hypothesis
The idea that long food chains are less stable than short chains.
ecological niche
The sum total of a species’ use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment.
ecological succession
Transition in the species composition of a biological community, often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in an area virtually barren of life.
ectoparasite
A parasite that feeds on the external surface of a host.
endoparasite
A parasite that lives within a host.
energetic hypothesis
The concept that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain.