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ecology 200 > definitions test 1 > Flashcards

definitions test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

a species with a life cycle of several years

A

perennial species

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2
Q

a species with a life cycle of 1 year or less

A

annual species

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3
Q

excess growth of algae and cyanobacteria as a result of excessive inputs of nutrients

A

eutrophication

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4
Q

position in the food chain assessed by number of energy-transfer steps to reach that level (1-primary producers; 5-marine mammals, humans)

A

trophic level

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5
Q

the study of the variations in time and
space in the sizes and densities of populations, and of the factors causing those variations

A

population ecology

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6
Q

an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet

A

watershed

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7
Q

the movement of individuals, and commonly whole populations, from one region to another

A

migration

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8
Q

a phylum of photosynthetic prokaryotes, also erroneously referred to as “blue-green algae”

A

cyanobacteria

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9
Q

an area depleted of oxygen

A

dead zone

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10
Q

the nonseasonal, directional, and continuous pattern of colonization and extinction on a site by populations

A

succession

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11
Q

the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community

A

phytoplankton

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12
Q

the conversion of gaseous nitrogen (N2) into more complex molecules

A

nitrogen fixation

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13
Q

functioning groups of individual
organisms of the same species in a defined location

A

population

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14
Q

all the species populations
present in a defined location

A

community

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15
Q

both the community of organisms
and the physical environment in which they exist

A

ecosystem

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16
Q

the totality of all of life interacting with the physical environment at the scale of the entire planet

A

biosphere

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17
Q

a phenomenon in which black or blackish forms of species have come to dominate populations in industrial areas

A

industrial melanism

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18
Q

name of the boat on which Darwin sailed and developed his theory of natural selection

A

Beagle

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19
Q

the process by which two or more new species are formed from one original species

A

speciation

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20
Q

the process by which organisms of different evolutionary lineages come to have similar form or behavior

A

convergent evolution

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21
Q

a structure that is similar in form or function but is not a result of common ancestry

A

analogy (analogous)

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22
Q

a similarity in structure that is a result of common ancestry

A

homology (homologous)

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23
Q

similar lines of evolution of systematic groups that had been separated geographically at an earlier stage in their history

A

parallel evolution

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24
Q

symbiosis which is beneficial to both organisms involved

A

mutualism

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25
Q

a species living in a situation in which two populations which do not interbreed are living in the same region and connected by a geographic ring of populations that can interbreed

A

ring species

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26
Q

a form of selection that acts on an organism’s ability to obtain a mate

A

sexual selection

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27
Q

cofounder of the theory of evolution, next to Charles Darwin

A

Alfred Russel Wallace

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28
Q

larval stage of a frog

A

tadpole

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29
Q

speciation taking place without geographical separation

A

sympatry

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30
Q

the production of offspring sharing the characteristics of parents from different lineages

A

hybridization

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31
Q

geographical separation of species

A

allopathy

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32
Q

the process by which members of two (or more) species contribute reciprocally to the forces of natural selection that they exert on each other, e.g. parasites and their hosts.

A

coevolution

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33
Q

mammals that have a poach instead of a uterus

A

marsupials

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34
Q

writer of the 1798 “Essay on the principle of population”

A

Thomas Robert Malthus

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35
Q

a species that is known only from one island or area

A

endemic

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36
Q

founder of the theory of continental drift

A

Alfred Wegener

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37
Q

the study of the rules, principles, and practice of classifying living organisms

A

taxonomy

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38
Q

the relative contribution that an individual makes to the gene pool of the next generation

A

fitness

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39
Q

the limits, for all important environmental features, within which individuals of a species can survive, grow, and reproduce

A

niche

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40
Q

organisms that thrive in highly acidic environments

A

acidophiles

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41
Q

physical or chemical properties of the environment that determine where organisms can live

A

conditions

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42
Q

an organism in which the body temperature relies on sources of heat outside itself

A

ectotherm

43
Q

this substance acts as an anti-freeze compound in springtails

A

glycerol

44
Q

place where a microorganism, plant, or animal lives

A

habitat

45
Q

an organism that, during its life eats many prey organisms, typically (and in many cases always) killing them

A

predator

46
Q

a state of dormancy during the winter period

A

hibernation

47
Q

trees that bear leaves (as opposed to needles)

A

deciduous

48
Q

length of the period of daylight within the daily cycle

A

photoperiod

49
Q

organisms that are adapted to live at high temperatures

A

thermophiles

50
Q

trees that bear needles (as opposed to leaves)

A

coniferous

51
Q

the recording of the changing behavior of organisms through the season

A

phenology

52
Q

something that can be consumed by an organism and, as a result becomes unavailable to another

A

resource

53
Q

an organism that manufactures its own organic material from inorganic sources

A

autotroph

54
Q

conspicuous appearance of organism that is noxious or distasteful

A

aposematism

55
Q

an organism which is able to generate heat within itself to raise its body temperature significantly

A

endotherm

56
Q

a state of arrested development or growth, accompanied by greatly decreased meatabolism, often correlated with seasons, usually applied only to insects

A

diapause

57
Q

the resemblance of an organism either to another organism or to a nonliving object

A

mimicry

58
Q

on organism that consumes parts of many prey organisms, but does not (usually) kill its prey, at least not immediately

A

grazer

59
Q

form of behavior of an organism that makes it difficult to detect eg. camouflage

A

crypsis

60
Q

an organism that feeds on dead plants and animals

A

decomposer

61
Q

an organism that feeds on one or very few host plants or animals while they are alive but does not (usually) kill the host, at least not immediately

A

parasite

62
Q

the loss of rigidity of non-woody parts of plants (mostly due to water loss)

A

wilting

63
Q

the habituation of an organism’s physiological response to environmental conditions (usually applied to laboratory environments)

A

acclimation

64
Q

an organism that feeds on energy-rich organic molecules (animals, fungi, most bacteria) and that is not able to produce molecules itself

A

heterotroph

65
Q

a plant that grows on another plant, especially one that is not parasitic, such as the numerous ferns, bromeliads, air plants, and orchids growing on tree trunks in tropical rainforests

A

epiphyte

66
Q

another word for taiga

A

boreal forest

67
Q

the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period

A

climate

68
Q

the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc

A

weather

69
Q

the biome that occurs around the Arctic circle, characterized by lichens, mosses, sedges, and dwarf trees

A

tundra

70
Q

a layer of permanently frozen soil

A

permafrost

71
Q

a large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes, typically about 30° north or south

A

Hadley cell

72
Q

a part of the shoreline that is submerged at high tide but exposed to air at low tide

A

intertidal zone

73
Q

The time or date (twice each year) at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest and shortest days (about 21 June and 22 December)

A

solstice

74
Q

a region in the lee of mountains that receives less rainfall than the region windward of the mountains

A

rain shadow

75
Q

the side that faces the prevailing, or trade winds

A

windward

76
Q

the side that faces away from the prevailing, or trade winds

A

leeward

77
Q

the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream

A

estuary

78
Q

a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.

A

biome

79
Q

a line notionally drawn on the earth equidistant from the poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°

A

Equator

80
Q

a large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation

A

ocean gyres

81
Q

the tropical grassland biome

A

savanna

82
Q

an abrupt temperature gradient in a body of water such as a lake, marked by a layer above and below which the water is at different temperatures

A

thermocline

83
Q

the surface layer of the ocean where light penetrates

A

photic zone

84
Q

a process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface (often this water carries large amounts of nutrients, leading to productive oceanic ecosystems)

A

upwelling

85
Q

a tree that is adapted to growth along the banks of a stream

A

riparian trees

86
Q

the coniferous forest that extends across much of North America and Eurasia bounded by tundra to the North and by steppe to the south

A

taiga

87
Q

a desolate and barren region, usually deficient in available water, and with scant vegetation

A

desert

88
Q

the number of species present in a community

A

species richness

89
Q

organisms that grow by the repeated production of “modules” such as leaves, coral polyps etc

A

modular

90
Q

the organism developed from a zygote (the term is used especially for modular organisms)

A

genet

91
Q

a graph showing the number or proportion of individuals surviving to each age for a given species or group

A

survivorship curve

92
Q

a life table that is constructed from the age structure of a population at a single moment in time

A

static life table

93
Q

an offshoot formed by vegetative growth in modular organisms that is actually or potentially physiologically independent

A

module

94
Q

species that breed repeatedly, devoting some of their resources during a breeding period not to breeding itself, but to survival to further breeding episodes

A

iteroparous

95
Q

the spreading of individuals away from each other, (e.g. of offspring from their parents and from regions of high density to regions of lower density)

A

dispersal

96
Q

structural individuals which consist of only one module (the contrast is with modular organisms)

A

unitary organisms

97
Q

organisms with a short life cycle, especially plants whose seeds germinate, grow to produce new seeds, and then die all in a short period, often less than 8 weeks

A

ephemerial

98
Q

modular organisms in which colonies spread laterally and remain joined by “stolons”

A

stoloniferous

99
Q

the number of eggs, or seeds, or generally offspring, produced by an individual

A

fecundity

100
Q

competition between members of the same species

A

intraspecific

101
Q

water that is stored between the soil particles

A

interstitial water

102
Q

competition between two organisms, in which one physically excludes the other from a portion of habitat and hence from the resources that could be exploited there

A

interference competition

103
Q

species that have a single reproductive episode after which they die

A

semelparous

ecology 200 (3 decks)

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