Ecology Exam 1 Flashcards
Oikos
Greek word for house
Ecology
The study of all the complex interrelationships referred to by Darwin as the conditions of the struggle for existence
Trophic levels
where you fall into the food chain
Guilds
is any group of species that exploit the same resources
Levels of organization
Organisms, populations, Guilds, Communities
Behavioral Ecology
the study of how the behavior of individuals affect the way they can survive and reproduce
Autecology
physical factors that affect organism in different environments
Population ecology
the study how groups and individuals belong to each other
Ecosystem
the study of the flow of energy
Community ecology
how population from different species interact mutually
Global ecology
how does the distribution of species change with the rising temperature
Landscape ecology
the study of the pattern and interaction between ecosystems within a region of interest,
Symbiosis
is the close mutual relationship between two species
Mutualism
when one provides something the other organism needs
Dynamic steady state
When gains and losses are balanced, ecological systems remain unchanged
Natural selection
is not evolution
Large systems change more
slowly than small systems
Mathematical model
Uses a set of equations to attempt to predict what will happen
Microcosm
attempting to replicate environmental situations in hypothesis testing within the lab.
Natural experiment
which relies on natural variation in the environment to create reasonably controlled experiment factors
Human are a part of the
natural system
Scales of pattern and process vary
in space and time
El Nino
Warmer (tropical eastern Pacific ocean) Weaker trade winds don’t force the warm towards Australia and Indonesia and no upwelling occurs. Changes the weather around, causes drought in Australia. Fish die.
El Nina-
cooler (tropical eastern Pacific ocean) trade winds pushes warm water towards Indonesia. Pushes was from Indonesia back to the east (upwelling- bring nutrient rich water).
What causes the temperature change- trade winds
Coriolis