Chapter 8 - Patterns of Life: Biogeography

Question 1

biodiversity

Answer 1

the number of living species in a specified region

Question 2

biogeography

Answer 2

the study of the geography of life and how it changes through space and time

Question 3

ecology

Answer 3

the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

Question 4

ecosytem

Answer 4

a fundamental unit of ecology; includes both living organisms within a community and the nonliving components of the environment in which the organisms live

Question 5

extinction

Answer 5

the permanent and global loss of a species

Question 6

migration

Answer 6

the seasonal movement of organisms from one place to another, usually for feeding or breeding

Question 7

evolution

Answer 7

genetically driven change in a population caused by selection pressures in the environment

Question 8

population

Answer 8

a group of organisms that interact and interbreed in the same geographic area

Question 9

speciation

Answer 9

the creation of a new species through evolution

Question 10

convergant evolution

Answer 10

a process by which two or more unrelated organisms that experience similar environmental conditions evolve similar adaptations

Question 11

dispersal

Answer 11

the movement of an organism away from where it originated

Question 12

divergent evolution

Answer 12

a process by which individuals within one population begin to diverge genetically from those in the other population due to becoming reproductively isolated

Question 13

niche

Answer 13

consists of the living and nonliving resources and environmental conditions that a species requires

Question 14

habitat

Answer 14

the physical environment in which a species lives

Question 15

endemic

Answer 15

the geographic range of species that is restricted to one area

Question 16

limiting factor

Answer 16

any factor that prevents and organism from reaching its reproductive or geographic potential

Question 17

predation

Answer 17

the consumption of one organism by another

Question 18

keystone species

Answer 18

species whose effects indirectly support many other species within an ecosystem

Question 19

competition

Answer 19

interaction between organisms that require the same resources

Question 20

mutualism

Answer 20

a relationship between two species that benefits both of them

Question 21

colonization

Answer 21

the natural establishment of a population in a new geographic region without the help of people

Question 22

propagule

Answer 22

any unit, such as a seed, a mating pear, or rooting branch, that is able to establish a new reproducing population

Question 23

sweepstakes dispersal

Answer 23

long-distance dispersal to remote islands

Question 24

stepping-stones

Answer 24

island chains (archipelagos) that aid in the dispersal of organisms

Question 25

biogeographic realms

Answer 25

continental-scale regions that contain genetically similar groups of plants and animals

Question 26

ecological disturbance

Answer 26

a sudden event that disrupts an ecosystem

Question 27

ecological succession

Answer 27

the step-by-step series of changes in an ecosystem that follows an ecological disturbance

Question 28

sere

Answer 28

a stage of ecological succession that follows a disturbance

Question 29

r-selected species

Answer 29

pioneer species; the first organisms to move into an area after a primary disturbance event

Question 30

k-selected species

Answer 30

climax species; long-living organisms that produce little offspring

Question 31

trophic hierarchy

Answer 31

an approach to structuring the biosphere based on the movement of energy and matter through it, beginning with solar energy

Question 32

taxonomic hierarchy

Answer 32

an approach to structuring the biosphere based on the genetic relationships among organisms

Question 33

spatial hierarchy

Answer 33

an approach to structuring the biosphere based on ecological units of life (population/community/ecosystem/biome)

Question 34

primary producer

Answer 34

any organism that is able to convert sunlight to chemical energy through photosynthesis

Question 35

phytoplankton

Answer 35

microscopic photosynthetic bacteria and algae that are suspended in the sunlit portions of water

Question 36

consumer

Answer 36

any organism that cannot produce its own food through photosynthesis

Question 37

decomposers

Answer 37

organisms that break down organic material into simple compounds that re-enter the trophic system through plants

Question 38

food webs

Answer 38

a complex system of ecological interconnections that represents the movement of energy through the biosphere

Question 39

trophic levels

Answer 39

the different levels of an ecosystem through with energy and matter flow

Question 40

taxonomy

Answer 40

the classification and naming of organisms based on their genetic similarities
co,,unity

Question 41

taxonomy

Answer 41

the classification and naming of organisms based on their genetic similarities

Question 42

community

Answer 42

consists of the populations of organisms interacting in a geographic area