Ecology and Natural Selection (Unit 7+8) Flashcards
What is a closed system?
Only energy can cross boundry
What is an open system?
Open to exchange of matter and energy across system borders
What is biota?
All living organisms in a particular enviroment
What does anthropogenic mean?
Human caused disruption to balance
What level is the first place abiotic factors are considered?
Ecosystems
What are detrivitors?
Decomposers (get energy from detris (non living matters))
What pyramid can be inverted?
Pyramid of numbers
What pyramid is always upright?
Pyramid of energy
How does size influence the metabolic rate?
As size decreases, metabolic rate increases (inverse relationship)
What are exotherms?
Organisms that use external/behavioral mechanisms to regulate their body temp
What are endotherms?
Organisms that use energy generated by metabolism to maintain body temp
What is evolution?
The change in genetic makeup of a population over time
What is natural selection?
The process by which organisms having adaptations suited for a particular environment have a greater chance of survival and reproduction, passing the adaptation into the next generation
What is productivity?
The rate at which an ecosystem can trap energy and turn it into biomass
What is the result of eurotrophication?
Overabundance of resources = overgrowth = dead zones
What is a niche?
An organisms role in their environment
What are limiting factors?
Ex nutrients
What is fitness?
The ability of an organism to survive and produce fertile offspring
What is range?
The geographical area where an organism is found
What is a habitat?
The abiotic and biotic features in a place within an ecosystem/biome
What is ecosystem stability?
It determines the rate and direction of evolution
(populations are less likely to evolve in environments that remain stable for long periods of time)
What is asexual reproduction?
Budding, cloning, etc
Plants (when in a successful environment)
What are structural adaptations?
Changes in structure to make the organism better suited to its environment
Ex. Camouflage, colouration, morphological features (ex changes in skeleton)
What are behavioural adaptations?
Things an organism does to survive, usually in response to external stimuli
Ex. Nesting, hibernation, migration, mating dances
What are physiological adaptations?
Changes in metabolism to maintain homeostasis
Ex. Breathing rate, skunks door production, digestive enzymes
What is genetic variation?
DNA variations among individuals of the same population
Sources: mutation, genetic recombination, genetic drift
How does phenotypic variation occur?
When variation of the bases (genetic variation), causes amino acid change
What is phenotypic variation?
Variability of phenotypes within a population (differences in observable appearance)
What is natural selection?
The process by which a population of organisms changes because individuals with certain traits can survive the local environment conditions and pass these traits onto offspring
What do selective pressures do?
Organisms with particular characteristics are either favoured or eliminated
Cause individuals with certain phenotypes to behave a better chance of survival and reproduction
What is fitness?
The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce
What is evolutionary fitness?
A measure of the average contribution to the gene pool of the next generation of an organism with a particular genotype/phenotype
What is descent with modification?
Species change over time, giving rise to new species that share a common ancestor
This explains organisms adaptations
Define evolution and what it needs to happen
Evolution causes populations to be better adapted to their environments over time
Depends on the environment and requires existing heritable groups