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Biology Unit 2 > Definitions > Flashcards

Definitions Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Habitat

A

habitat: part of an ecosystem in which an organism lives, feeds and reproduces

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2
Q

Microhabitat

A

microhabitat: small region within a habitat that may have environmental conditions that differ from those prevailing in the larger habitat

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3
Q

Range

A

range: geographic area enclosing all the habitats where a given species lives; sometimes referred to as distribution

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4
Q

Migratory

A

migratory: refers to a population that moves to a new habitat at a predictable time, either on an annual basis or once in a lifetime

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5
Q

Remote Sensing

A

remote sensing: data-gathering about an object from a distance, such as with LandSat satellite

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6
Q

Community

A

community: biological unit consisting of all the populations living in a specific area at a specific time

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7
Q

Qualitative

A

qualitative: refers to a description of an environment in imprecise terms, such as ‘warm’, ‘shady’

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8
Q

Quantitative

A

quantitative: refers to a description of an environment using numerical values, such as ‘10 °C’, ‘75% cover’

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9
Q

Micro Environment

A

micro-environments: conditions in a small region of a habitat

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10
Q

Tolerance Range

A

tolerance range: extent of variation in an environmental factor within which a particular species can survive

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11
Q

Adaptations

A

adaptations: features that appear to equip an organism for survival in a particular habitat

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12
Q

Transpiration

A

transpiration: loss of water from the surfaces of a plant

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13
Q

Stomata

A

mata: (singular = stoma) openings, typically on a leaf surface, through which water vapour and carbon dioxide can move

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14
Q

Dormancy

A

dormancy: condition of inactivity resulting from extreme lowering of metabolic rate in an organism

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15
Q

Competition

A

Interaction between individuals of the same or different species that use one or more of the same resources in the same ecosystem

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16
Q

Limiting Factor

A

Environmental conditions that affects the types of organisms that can survive in a given habitat

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17
Q

Niche

A

Ways of life of organisms in an ecosystem; roles of species in a community

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18
Q

Niche Overlap

A

Situation in an ecosystem in which different species are in competition for the same energy and space resources; in reality, niche overlap in natural ecosystems is typically zero or minimal

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19
Q

Conduction

A

Transfer of heat between two materials that are in direct contact with each other

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20
Q

Convection

A

Transfer of heat by air or water currents

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21
Q

Countercurrent Exchange

A

Anti-parallel arrangement of vascular tissue that enables heat to be transferred from a vessel carrying fluid from the core to an extremity, to a vessel carrying fluid from an extremity to a core

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22
Q

Ectothermic

A

Organism whose body temperature is governed by external sources of heat

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23
Q

Endothermic

A

Organism whose body heat is generated from internal metabolic sources

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24
Q

Endocrine Glands

A

also called ductless glands; glands that produce one or more hormones, and secrete them directly into the bloodstream where they circulate to particular targets

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25
Q

endocrine system

A

system of ductless glands that produce hormones and release them directly into the bloodstream

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26
Q

Evaporation

A

loss of water in vapour form from the surface of a body of water

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27
Q

Homeostasis

A

condition of a relatively stable internal environment maintained within narrow limits

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28
Q

Homoeothermic

A

refers to an organism that is able to maintain an internal body temperature within a narrow range

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29
Q

Hypothalamus

A

tiny region of brain below the thalamus that controls various essential functions, including those associated with the autonomic nervous system

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30
Q

Negative Feedback

A

a regulatory mechanism that maintains a relatively steady value for body variables, such as blood glucose concentration, temperature and water concentration

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31
Q

Nervous Control System

A

brain, spinal cord and all nerves of the body

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32
Q

Osmoreceptors

A

specialised nerve cells in the hypothalamus of the brain that detect changes in blood concentration and release hormones in response

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33
Q

Osmoregulation

A

maintenance of constant internal salt and water concentrations in internal fluids (homeostasis) in spite of different concentrations in the external environment

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34
Q

Osmosis

A

net movement of water across a partially permeable membrane without an input of energy and down a concentration gradient

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35
Q

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

A

in vertebrates, all nerve cells that in whole or part lie outside the brain and spinal cord

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36
Q

physiological features

A

particular aspect of the function of an organism or any its parts

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37
Q

pituitary

A

endocrine gland attached to the hypothalamus, influences the production of thyroxin by the thyroid

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38
Q

Poikilothermic

A

refers to an organism having a body temperature that can vary greatly with changes in the external environment

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39
Q

Radiation

A

heat energy, in the form of infrared heat rays, lost from the surface of a warm body

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40
Q

Structural Features

A

particular aspects of the structure of an organism or any of its parts

41
Q

Behavior

A

activities that animals perform in response to internal and external stimuli

42
Q

Behavioral Features

A

activities that an animal performs in response to internal and external stimuli

43
Q

Circadian Rhythm

A

refers to a pattern of activity following a 24-hour cycle

44
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

type of learned behaviour in which an animal forms an association between two stimuli, one significant and one insignificant, so that the response normally associated with the significant stimulus occurs when only the insignificant stimulus is presented

45
Q

Communication

A

transmission of information between organisms

46
Q

Geotropism

A

response of a shoot or root to gravity

47
Q

Day-Neutral Plants

A

plants that flower regardless of the length of day

48
Q

Echolocation

A

technique in which animals emit sounds and detect the presence of objects by the echoes produced as the sound is reflected

49
Q

Habituation

A

type of learned behaviour in which the response to a repeated stimulus gradually decreases

50
Q

Heliotropism

A

also called solar tracking; ability of some plants to move so that they remain either perpendicular or parallel to the sun’s rays throughout the day

51
Q

Imprinting

A

form of rapid and irreversible learning occurring during the early stage of an animal’s life

52
Q

innate behaviour

A

behaviour that is essentially the same in all members of a species and which can occur without an individual having had prior experience of the behaviour; previously known as instinctive

53
Q

insight learning

A

type of learned behaviour in which an animal applies previous experience to the solution of a new problem

54
Q

Learned Behaviours

A

behaviours that develop or change as a result of experience

55
Q

Long Day Plants

A

plants that flower when day-length increases (night-length shortens) to a particular critical point, generally in late spring or early summer

56
Q

Migration

A

refers to the predictable movements of organisms over large distances, which may occur once in the lifetime of an organism (e.g. eels) or yearly (e.g. muttonbirds)

57
Q

Nastic Movement

A

plant movement in which direction of movement is independent of direction of stimulus causing the movementplant movement in which direction of movement is independent of direction of stimulus causing the movement

58
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

form of trial-and-error learning

59
Q

Photoperiod

A

refers to the relative lengths of day and night in a 24-hour period

60
Q

Photoperiodism

A

response of plants to particular periods of light and dark in terms of flowering or germination of seeds

61
Q

Phototropism

A

movement of a plant in response to light

62
Q

Play Behaviour

A

patterns of behaviour in young animals that appear to provide practice of behaviours that are seen in adults

63
Q

Reproductive Behaviours

A

behaviour patterns associated with courtship, mating and care of the young

64
Q

Rhythmic Behaviours

A

behaviours that are repeated at regular intervals, such as feeding or sleeping behaviours

65
Q

Short Day Plants

A

plant that flowers when day-length shortens (night lengthens) to a particular critical point, generally in late summer, autumn or winter

66
Q

Social Hierarchy

A

the different ranks of importance or dominance within an animal group

67
Q

Social Interactions

A

interactions that involve two or more individuals and may involve cooperation, as in mating, or conflict as in defending a territory or competing for a mate

68
Q

Solar Tracking

A

also called heliotropism; ability of some plants to move so that they remain either perpendicular or parallel to the sun’s rays throughout the day

69
Q

Territorial Behaviour

A

behaviour associated with defending an area against other individuals, usually of the same species

70
Q

Thigmotropism

A

a plant response to contact with a solid object

71
Q

Tropism

A

a directional growth response of a plant to an environmental stimulus

72
Q

Bird Pollinated

A

refers to flowering plants for which the transfer of pollen to other flowers of the same species occurs through the agency of birds

73
Q

Breeding Season

A

the period when mature members of an animal population have sperm and eggs ready for release and fertilisation

74
Q

Broadcast Spawning

A

release of eggs and sperm into the external environment by groups of fish

75
Q

Desiccation

A

drying out

76
Q

Insect Pollinated

A

refers to flowering plants for which the transfer of pollen to other flowers of the same species occurs through the agency of insects

77
Q

Invertebrate

A

any animal that lacks a backbone

78
Q

K-Selection

A

a situation in which a species, in comparison with an r-selected species, breeds less frequently and has fewer offspring in which great parental care is invested

79
Q

Marsupials

A

type of mammal that gives birth to very undeveloped embryo-like young; generally have a pouch; member of subclass Marsupialia of class Mammalia

80
Q

Mass Spawning

A

refers to the spawning when very large numbers of fish gather in one area and synchronously release their eggs and sperm into the external environment

81
Q

Menstrual Cycle

A

monthly cycle under hormonal control that occurs in sexually mature human females and involves egg formation and release, and preparation of the uterus for a possible pregnancy

82
Q

Monogamy

A

situation in which animals form a pair bond and one male mates with one female for one or more breeding seasons or for life

83
Q

Oviparity

A

mode of reproduction in which embryonic development occurs outside the mother’s body but within an egg that provides nutrition from the egg yolk

84
Q

Oviparous

A

describes animals that lay eggs from which young hatch after laying

85
Q

Placenta

A

organ that permits exchange of materials between the blood of a mother and her fetus

86
Q

Pollination

A

transfer of pollen from anther to stigma

87
Q

polyandry

A

one kind of polygamy in which one female has multiple male partners during a breeding season

88
Q

Polygamy

A

situation in which one male or one female has multiple partners during a breeding season

89
Q

Polygyny

A

one kind of polygamy in which one male has multiple female partners during a breeding season

90
Q

R-selection

A

a situation in which a species, in comparison with a K-selected species, breeds more often and produces larger numbers of offspring in which little or no parental care is invested

91
Q

Reproductive Strategies

A

contrasting modes of reproduction that commit energy either to producing very large numbers of offspring with little or no parental care (r-selection) or smaller numbers but with greater parental care (K-selection)

92
Q

Serial Polygyny

A

situation in which one male displays and attracts passing females in turn for mating

93
Q

Spawning Season

A

period of year during which fish or other aquatic organisms release their eggs and sperm into the external environment

94
Q

Vectors

A

refers to insects or other animals that carry pollen from one flower to another flower of the same species; can also refer to a carrier of a disease from one host to another

95
Q

Viviparity

A

mode of reproduction in which embryonic development occurs within the mother’s body, with young being born as miniature adults

96
Q

Viviparous

A

describes animals that give birth to live young (in contrast to laying eggs)

97
Q

Wind pollinated

A

refers to flowering plants for which the transfer of pollen to other flowers of the same species occurs through the agency of wind

98
Q

Zooplankton

A

small free-floating organisms living in ocean that include the larvae of fish and other aquatic species

Biology Unit 2 (6 decks)

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