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Biology 101 > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

What is ecology?

A

Study of the abundance and distribution of organisms.

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2
Q

Biogeography

A

Emphasis on historical events that affect organism distribution and abundance.

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3
Q

Define Dispersal and give two reasons

A

Movement away from high population centers or origin, due to natural movement, or due to human activities.

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4
Q

Biotic Homogenization

A

Making more of the same

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5
Q

Kinlan and Gaines 1/4

A

The scale of dispersal is highly variable among taxa

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6
Q

Kinlan and Gaines 2/4

A

Multiple trophic levels are involved in dispersal.

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7
Q

Kinlan and Gaines 3/4

A

Herbivores often disperse further than plants

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8
Q

Kinlan and Gaines 4/4

A

Dispersal is greater in water than terrestrial plants.

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9
Q

Why might species X not be in a given area? (General 4 topics)

A

Dispersal, Behavior, Biotic Factors, Abiotic Factors

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10
Q

Biotic Factors (4 main)

A

Predation, parasitism, competition, disease

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11
Q

Behavior

A

Habitat selection, choose not to live there

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12
Q

Abiotic Factors

A

water, oxygen, salinity, pH, soil nutrients, temperature, sunlight, wind

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13
Q

A biome can be defined by 2 major variables:

A

Temperature and Precipitation

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14
Q

Levels of Ecological Research

A

Population, community, ecosystem, landscape, global

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15
Q

Population Ecology

A

explores biotic/abiotic factors and their effect on size, density, distribution, and age of populations

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16
Q

Define a population

A

same species, same place and time

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17
Q

Define dispersal vs. dispersion

A

dispersal= movement of a population, dispersion=pattern of population

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18
Q

Clumped dispersion

A

spurred by resource location, mating, social interation.

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19
Q

Uniform dispersion

A

spurred by territorial demands, and competition within species

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20
Q

Random dispersion

A

null model

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21
Q

Demography

A

study of population attributes like sex ratio and age

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22
Q

Pyramid diagrams: Urn shaped (larger on top)

A

non growing/declining population

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23
Q

Pyramid diagrams: Pyramid shaped

A

rapidly growing population

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24
Q

Pyramid diagrams: Bell shaped (large in middle)

A

slow, non growing population

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25
Generation Time
time needed to mature a generation
26
Generation time is linked to ___ ___.
Generation time is linked to body size.
27
Cohort
group of individuals of the same age
28
Survivorship
tracks the number of individuals in a cohort over time
29
Survivorship Types
low y, high o | constant death rate | high y, low o.
30
Under idealized conditions, all organisms are capable of _____ growth
exponential
31
Density Independent inhibition
natural disasters, weather
32
Density dependent inhibition
normal, biological factors such as overcrowding, or consumption of a resource
33
Logistic growth
a more realistic growth model containing a carrying capacity, K
34
Carrying capacity
limit of growth on a population
35
Interspecific Interactions
Interactions between species, such as predation, symbiosis, competition for resources...
36
Intraspecific interactions
interactions between members of the same species.
37
Predation can be considered an ____ ____.
Predation can be considered an evolutionary force.
38
In the coevolutionary arms race, _____ are always a little ahead of ____.
prey are ahead of predators, because life is more important than a meal.
39
Defenses: Cryptic Coloration
disguises, and can interfere with other animal's senses.
40
Defenses: Aposematic Coloration
bright colors indicate poison (dart frog)
41
Defenses: Batesian Mimicry
harmless species mimic harmful ones.
42
Defenses: Mullerian Mimicry
harmful species mimics another harmful one (double l's)
43
Defenses: Hard to eat
self explanatory
44
Defenses: Group
let someone else be caught, and predator mobbing
45
Defenses: Scare of confuse
self explanatory: eyespots, ink...
46
Defenses: Vigilance
self explanatory
47
Defenses: Active Defense
offense
48
Defenses: Fleeing
fleeing
49
Symbiosis: Parasitism
(+/-)
50
Symbiosis: Mutualism
(+/+)
51
Symbiosis: Commensalism
(+,0)
52
Competitive Exclusion Principle (CEP)
2 species sharing limited resources cannot coexist forever.
53
(Intra/Inter) species competition is more common
Intraspecies competition is more common because organisms share the same resources when part of the same species.
54
Niche
sum of total organism use of environment resources, including habitat, food, temperature, reproduction.
55
CEP Version II
No 2 species can have the same niche if resources are limited.
56
Over time, natural selection will ___ ___.
decrease competition.
57
Character Displacement
tendency for characteristics of sympatric populations to diverge more than allopatric populations. This is because of the CEP.
58
Definition of Community
group of populations in the same area/habitat.
59
Trophic Structure
who eats what/whom, food chains, food webs.
60
Top Down Control
Predators dictate lower trophic levels.
61
Bottom Up Control
Trophic levels controlled by abundance of primary producers/ nutrients
62
Trophic Cascades
Indirect effect of predators on lower autotrophic levels.
63
Dominant Species
most abundant, great biomass
64
Keystone Species
exert strong ecological control by their niches, often the main predator., example, beaver.
65
Biodiversity
variety of life in all forms, genetics, and ecosystems
66
Richness
total number of species in community
67
Evenness
distribution of individuals among different species
68
Biodiversity Crisis
extinctions increasing, and trophic downgrading.
69
Causes for Modern Extinction: Habitat Destruction
loss of habitat, and fragmentation
70
Fragmentation
destruction of habitat decreases possible gene flow.
71
Causes for Modern Extinction: Introduced Species
invaders can alter habitat, reduce/displace native species via competition, predation, etc.
72
Invasive Species must have:
wide environmental tolerances, large native range, high population growth, predator resistance.
73
Overexploitation
harvesting at higher rates than population growth.
74
Solutions to Biodiversity Crisis
awareness, biodiversity reserves, restoration, and policy/economics.
75
Ecosystem Level Ecology
focus on what organisms do, energy matter, chemical cycling,
76
Ecosystem Level Ecology view on organisms
how they obtain energy, how that energy is transferred.
77
Photosynthesis/Respiration
CO2+H2O-->G + O2
78
Energy Pyramids
decreases by 10% each level up.
79
Nutrients essential for growth
C,N,P, H2O

Biology 101 (12 decks)

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