Ecology

Question 1

abiotic

Answer 1

Of or referring to the physical or nonliving environment.

Question 2

absolute population size

Answer 2

The actual number of individuals in a population.

Question 3

abundance

Answer 3

The number of individuals in a species that are found in a given area; abundance is often measured by population size or population density.

Question 4

acclimatization

Answer 4

An organism’s adjustment of its physiology, morphology, or behavior to lessen the effect of an environmental change and minimize the associated stress.

Question 5

acid neutralizing capacity

Answer 5

The ability of the chemical environment to counteract acidity, usually associated with concentrations of base cations, including Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+.

Question 6

acidity

Answer 6

A measure of the ability of a solution to behave as an acid, a compound that releases protons (H+) to the water in which it is dissolved.

Question 7

adaptation

Answer 7

A physiological, morphological, or behavioral trait with an underlying genetic basis that enhances the survival and reproduction of its bearers in their environment.

Question 8

adaptive evolution

Answer 8

A process of evolutionary change in which traits that confer survival or reproductive advantages tend to increase in frequency in a population over time.

Question 9

adaptive management

Answer 9

A component of ecosystem management in which management actions are seen as experiments and future management decisions are determined by the outcome of present decisions.

Question 10

adaptive radiation

Answer 10

An event in which a group of organisms gives rise to many new species that expand into new habitats or new ecological roles in a relatively short time.

Question 11

aerosols

Answer 11

Solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere.

Question 12

age structure

Answer 12

The proportions of a population in each age class.

Question 13

albedo

Answer 13

The amount of solar radiation reflected by a surface, usually expressed as a percentage of the incident solar radiation.

Question 14

alkalinity

Answer 14

A measure of the ability of a solution to behave as a base, a compound that takes up protons (H+) or releases hydroxide ions (OH-).

Question 15

Allee effect

Answer 15

A decrease in the population growth rate (r or lambda) as the population density decreases.

Question 16

allele

Answer 16

One of two or more forms of a gene that result in the production of different versions of the protein that the gene encodes.

Question 17

allochthonous

Answer 17

Produced outside the ecosystem.

Question 18

allometry

Answer 18

Differential growth of body parts that results in a change of shape or proportion with size.

Question 19

alpha diversity

Answer 19

Species diversity at the local or community scale.

Question 20

alternation of generations

Answer 20

A complex life cycle, found in many algae and all plants, in which there is both a multicellular diploid form, the sporophyte, and a multicellular haploid form, the gametophyte.

Question 21

alternative stable states

Answer 21

Different community development scenarios that are possible at the same location under similar environmental conditions.

Question 22

anisogamy

Answer 22

Production of two types of gametes of different sizes.

Question 23

anoxia

Answer 23

The absence of oxygen.

Question 24

anthropogentic

Answer 24

Of, relating to, or caused by humans or their activities.

Question 25

aposematic coloration

Answer 25

Warning coloration.

Question 26

arbuscular mycorrhizae

Answer 26

Mycorrhizae in which the fungal partner grows into the soil, extending some distance away from the plant root, and also grows between some root cells while penetrating others.

Question 27

Arctic ozone dent

Answer 27

An area of the stratosphere over the Arctic region where ozone concentrations are low, but have not dropped below 220 Dobson units.

Question 28

assimilation efficiency

Answer 28

The proportion of ingested food that is assimilated by an organism.

Question 29

atmospheric deposition

Answer 29

The movement of particulate and dissolved matter from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface by gravity or in precipitation.

Question 30

atmospheric pressure

Answer 30

The pressure exerted on a surface due to the mass of the atmosphere above it.

Question 31

autochthonous

Answer 31

Produced within the ecosystem.

Question 32

autotroph

Answer 32

An organism that converts energy from sunlight or from inorganic chemical compounds in the environment into chemical energy stored in the carbon-carbon bonds of organic compounds.

Question 33

avoidance

Answer 33

A response to stressful environmental conditions that lessens their effect through some behavior or physiological activity that minimizes an organism’s exposure to the stress.

Question 34

benthic zone

Answer 34

The bottom of a body of water including the surface and shallow subsurface layers of sediment.

Question 35

beta diversity

Answer 35

The change in species number and composition, or turnover of species, as one moves from one community to another.

Question 36

bioaccumulation

Answer 36

A progressive increase in the concentration of a substance in an organism’s body over its lifetime.

Question 37

biodiversity

Answer 37

The diversity of important ecological entities that span multiple spatial scales, from genes to species to communities.