Chapter 54- Community Ecology

Question 1

crypto

Answer 1

hidden, concealed

cryptic coloration: a type of camouflage that make potential prey difficult to spot against its background

Question 2

ecto

Answer 2

outer

ectoparasites: parasites that feed on the external surface of a host

Question 3

endo

Answer 3

inner

endoparasites: parasites that live within a host

Question 4

herb

Answer 4

grass

Question 5

vora

Answer 5

eat

herbivory: the consumption of plant material by an herbivore

Question 6

inter

Answer 6

between
(interspecific competition: competition for resources between plants, between animals, or between decomposers when resources are in short supply)

Question 7

mutu

Answer 7

reciprocal

mutualism: a symbiotic relationship in which both the host and the symbiont benefit

Question 8

aposematic coloration

Answer 8

The bright warning coloration of many animals with effective physical or chemical defenses

Question 9

Batesian mimicry

Answer 9

A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators

Question 10

biomanipulation

Answer 10

An approach that applies top-down model of community or organization to alter ecosystem characteristics,
for example, ecologists can prevent algal blooms and eutrophication by altering the density of higher-level consumers in lakes instead of by using chemical treatments

Question 11

biomass

Answer 11

The total mass of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat

Question 12

bottom-up model

Answer 12

A model of community organization in which mineral nutrients influence community organization by controlling plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control herbivore numbers, which control predator numbers

Question 13

commensalism

Answer 13

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed

Question 14

disturbance

Answer 14

A natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. Disturbances, such as fires and storms, play a pivotal role in structuring many communities

Question 15

ecological niche

Answer 15

The sum of a species use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment

Question 16

ecological succession

Answer 16

Transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishments of a community in an area virtually barren of life

Question 17

ecosystem engineer

Answer 17

An organism that influences community structure by causing physical causes in the environment

Question 18

ectoparasites

Answer 18

A parasite that feeds on the external surface of a host

Question 19

endoparasites

Answer 19

A parasite that lives within the host

Question 20

energetic hypothesis

Answer 20

The concept that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain

Question 21

evapotranspiration

Answer 21

The total evaporation of water from an ecosystem, including water transpired by plants and evaporated form a landscape, usually measured in mm and estimated for a year

Question 22

facilitation

Answer 22

An interaction in which one species has a positive effect on the survival and reproduction of another species without the intimate association of a symbiosis

Question 23

food chain

Answer 23

The pathway along which food energy is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginners with producers

Question 24

food web

Answer 24

The interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem

Question 25

host

Answer 25

The larger participant in a symbiotic relationship, often providing a home and food source for the smaller symbiont

Question 26

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Answer 26

The concept that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance

Question 27

interspecific competition

Answer 27

Competition for resources between individuals of two or more species when resource are in short supply

Question 28

interspecific interaction

Answer 28

A relationship between individuals of two or more species in a community

Question 29

invasive species

Answer 29

A species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range

Question 30

keystone species

Answer 30

A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control of community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche

Question 31

mutualism

Answer 31

A symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit

Question 32

nonequilibrium model

Answer 32

A model that maintains that communities change constantly after being buffeted by disturbances

Question 33

parasite

Answer 33

An organism that feeds on the cell contents, tissues, or body fluids of another species (the host) while in or on the host organism. Parasites harm but don’t usually kill their host.

Question 34

parasitism

Answer 34

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of another, the host, by living either within or on the host

Question 35

pathogen

Answer 35

An organism, virus, viroid, or prion that causes disease

Question 36

relative abundance

Answer 36

The proportional abundance of different species in a community

Question 37

resource partitioning

Answer 37

The division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant from the niches of all coexisting species

Question 38

symbiosis

Answer 38

An ecological relationship between organisms of two different species that live together in direct and intimate contact

Question 39

top-down model

Answer 39

A model of community organization in which predation influences community organization by controlling herbivore numbers, which controls plants or phytoplankton numbers, which controls nutrient levels; also called trophic cascade model

Question 40

trophic structure

Answer 40

The different feeding relationships in an ecosystem, which determine the route of energy flow and the patter of chemical cycling

Question 41

vector

Answer 41

An organism that transmits pathogens from one host to another

Question 42

zoonotic pathogens

Answer 42

A disease-causing agent that is transmitted to humans from other animals