Chapters 54 and 55: Ecology and Populations

Question 1

What is ecology?

Answer 1

The study of interactions between organisms and the environment.

Question 2

What does the biological term “population” mean?

Answer 2

Organisms of one species occupying the same area at the same time.

Question 3

What does the biological term “community” mean?

Answer 3

All populations of multiple species in the same region interact.

Question 4

What does the biological term “ecosystem” mean?

Answer 4

The community plus biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) environment.

Question 5

What does the biological term “biosphere” mean?

Answer 5

All the parts of the planet where life exists.

Question 6

What is “population density”?

Answer 6

The number of individuals of a species per unit area of a habitat.

Question 7

What is population density affected by?

Answer 7

Habitat destruction and hunting/predation

Question 8

What are some density-dependent limits?

Answer 8

Competition for resources with or among species, predation, or infectious diseases

Question 9

What are some density-independent limits?

Answer 9

Natural disasters, industrial accidents, or habitat destruction

Question 10

What does density-dependent mean?

Answer 10

Biotic limiting factor that results from interactions with living organisms.

Question 11

What does density-independent mean?

Answer 11

Abiotic limiting factor unrelated to population size.

Question 12

What is a Type 1 survivorship curve?

Answer 12

Species invest energy caring for young; most individuals survive to reproduce

Question 13

What is a Type 2 survivorship curve?

Answer 13

Species have an approximately equal probability of dying at any age.

Question 14

What is a Type 3 survivorship curve?

Answer 14

Species invest little energy raising young, few individuals survive to reproduce.

Question 15

Why do organisms balance reproduction against other requirements?

Answer 15

Reproduction requires extensive time and energy, decreasing an individual’s ability to find food or evade predators. Starting too early or waiting until it is too late decreases reproductive success.

Question 16

What are opportunistic species? (falls under reproductive strategies)

Answer 16

Opportunistic species produce many offspring, but low parental care. Their strategy is to reproduce a large QUANTITY of offspring; have early reproductive age, but probability of survival is low.

Question 17

What are equilibrium species?

Answer 17

Equilibrium species produce few offspring, but have high parental care. Their strategy is to reproduce a high QUALITY of offspring; have late reproductive age, but probability of survival is high.

Question 18

What survivorship curve do opportunistic species fall under?

Answer 18

Survivorship curve type 3
ex: weeds, insects, or other invertebrates

Question 19

What survivorship curve do equilibrium species fall under?

Answer 19

Survivorship curve types 1 or 2
ex: humans, large animals, or birds

Question 20

What is a niche?

Answer 20

The total of all the ways an organism uses the resources of its environment.

Question 21

What is a biome?

Answer 21

Ecosystems with distinctive communities of life. Each biome is characterized by distinctive group of species

Question 22

What are some abiotic factors that determine limits of species distribution?

Answer 22

Energy source, temp., moisture, nutrients

Question 23

What is a interspecific competition?

Answer 23

Occurs when two species attempt to use the same resource and there is not enough resource to satisfy both.

Question 24

What is interference competition?

Answer 24

Physical interactions of organisms over access to resources.

Question 25

What is exploitative competition?

Answer 25

Interact solely by consuming the same resources; behavioral ex: organism consumes all food before another organism can

Question 26

What are the types of ecological niches (competition)?

Answer 26

Fundamental niche, realized niche, predator absence or presence, or absence of pollinators

Question 27

What is a fundamental niche?

Answer 27

Entire niche that a species is capable of using based on adaptation

Question 28

What is a realized niche?

Answer 28

Actual set of environmental conditions used by species resulting from its adaptation AND competition with other species

Question 29

What are symbiotic relationships?

Answer 29

Occur when two species share a close (and often lifelong) relationship in which one typically lives in or on the other.

Question 30

What are the three types of symbiotic relationships?

Answer 30

Mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism

Question 31

What is parasitism? (symbiotic relationship)

Answer 31

One party benefits, the other is harmed by it

Question 32

What is commensalism? (symbiotic relationship)

Answer 32

One party benefits, the other is not harmed

Question 33

What is mutualism? (symbiotic relationship)

Answer 33

Both parties benefit

Question 34

What does the biological term "mimicry" mean?

Answer 34

Defensive strategy by resembling distasteful species that exhibit warning coloration

Question 35

What are the two types of mimicry?

Answer 35

Batesian mimicry and Mullerian mimicry

Question 36

What is Batesian mimicry?

Answer 36

Mimics looks like distasteful species

Question 37

What is Mullerian mimicry?

Answer 37

Several unrelated but poisonous species come to resemble one another, protecting one another

Question 38

What is predator cooperation?

Answer 38

Hunting in groups; a behavior adaptation of predators

Question 39

What is coevolution?

Answer 39

When two closely interacting species evolve together over time

Question 40

What are keystone species?

Answer 40

Species whose effects on the composition of communities are greater than one might expect based on their abundance. Can manipulate the environment in ways that create new habitats for other species ex: beavers and dams

Question 41

What is species richness?

Answer 41

The total number of species occupying a habitat

Question 42

What is species evenness?

Answer 42

Equal number of each species

Question 43

What is succession?

Answer 43

A gradual change in a community's species composition

Question 44

What is primary succession?

Answer 44

Changes occurs in an area where no community previously existed ex: lichen and moss developing over patches of bare rock

Question 45

What is secondary succession?

Answer 45

Change occurs when a community is disturbed but not destroyed ex: fires, hurricanes, etc.

Question 46

What is does "allosteric" mean?

Answer 46

Relates to the alteration of shape and activity of a protein (as an enzyme) that results from combination with another substance at a point other than the chemically active site

Question 47

What are "r-selected species"?

Answer 47

Generally small, fast-growing organisms that live in unstable environments and produce a large number of offspring ex: bees or fish

Question 48

What are "k-selected species"?

Answer 48

Generally large, slow growing organisms that live in stable environments and produce few offspring that cam be given lots of care to ex: humans or elephants