Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AP Biology > Ecology test terms > Flashcards

Ecology test terms Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Ecology

A

the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Microclimate

A

Climate patterns on a very fine scale

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Macroclimate

A

Large-scale patterns in climate; climate of an entire region

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Abiotic

A

Nonliving, referring to the physical and chemical properties of an environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Biotic

A

Pertaining to the living factors (organisms) in an environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Biome

A

Any of the world’s major ecosystem types, characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Photic zone

A

The narrow top layer of an ocean or lake where light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Aphotic zone

A

The part of an ocean or lake beneath the photic zone where light does not penetrate sufficiently to permit photosynthesis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Detritus

A

Dead organic matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Population

A

A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Density (of a population)

A

The number of individuals per unit area or volume

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Dispersion (of a population)

A

The pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of a population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Immigration

A

The influx of new individuals into a population from other areas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Emigration

A

The movement of individuals out of a population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Territoriality

A

A behavior in which an animal defends a nounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals usually of its own species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Demography

A

The study of changes over time in the vital statistics of populations, especially birth rates and death rates

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Survivorship curves

A

A plot of the number of members of a cohort that are still alive at each age; one way to represent age-specific mortality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Zero population growth

A

A period of stability in population size, when additions to the population through births and immigration are balanced by subtractions through deaths and emigration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Exponential population growth

A

Growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Carrying capacity

A

The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources, symbolized as K

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

K- selection

A

Selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density; also called density-dependent selection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

r-selection

A

Selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments; also called density-independent selection.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

density independent

A

Referring to any characteristic that is not affected by population density

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

density dependent

A

Referring to any characteristic that varies with population density

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Population dynamics

A

The study of how complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors influence variations in population size

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Community

A

All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Interspecific interactions

A

A relationship between individuals of two or more species in a community

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Interspecific competition

A

Competition for resources between individuals of two or more species when resources are in short supply

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Competitive exclusion

A

The concept that when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Ecological niche

A

the sum of a species’ use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Resource partitioning

A

The division of resources to avoid interspecific competition for limited resources in an ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Character displacement

A

The tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Predation

A

An interaction between species in which one species, the predator, eats the other, the prey

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Mimicry (not specific batesian vs. mullerian)

A

When one or more species resemble each other to gain an advantage

29
Q

Herbivory

A

An interaction in which an organism eats part of a plant or alga

30
Q

Commensalism

A

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed

31
Q

Parasite

A

An organism that feeds on the cell contents, tissues, or body fluids of another species (the host) while in or on the host organism. parasites harm but usually do not kill their host.

32
Q

Mutualism

A

A symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit

33
Q

Symbiosis

A

An ecological relationship between organisms of two different species that live together in direct and intimate contact

34
Q

Species richness

A

The number of species in a biological community

35
Q

Species diversity

A

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community

36
Q

Relative abundance

A

The proportional abundance of different species in a community

37
Q

Invasive species

A

A species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range

38
Q

Biomass

A

The total mass of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat

39
Q

Food chain

A

The pathway along which food energy is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginning with producers

40
Q

Trophic structure

A

The different feeding relationships in an ecosystem, which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling

41
Q

Keystone species

A

A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche

41
Q

Dominant species

A

A species with substantially higher abundance or biomass than other species in a community. DOminant species exert a powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species.

42
Q

Food web

A

The interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem

42
Q

Energetic hypothesis

A

The concept that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain

43
Q

Ecosystem engineers

A

An organism that influences community structure by causing physical changes in the environment

44
Q

Biomanipulation

A

An approach that applies the top-down model of community organization to alter ecosystem characteristics. For example ecologists can prevent algal blooms and eutrophication by altering the density of higher-level consumers in lakes instead of by using chemical treatments

45
Q

Disturbance

A

A natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. Disturbances, such as fires and storms, play a pivotal role in structuring many communities.

46
Q

Ecological succession

A

Transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life

47
Q

Primary succession

A

A type of ecological succession that occurs in an area where there were originally no organisms present and where soil has not yet formed

48
Q

Secondary succession

A

A type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves soil or substrate intact

49
Q

Law of conservation of mass

A

A physical law stating that matter can change form but cannot be created nor destroyed. In a closed system, the mass of the system is constant

50
Q

Primary producers

A

An autotroph, usually a photosynthetic organism. Collectively, autotrophs make up the trophic level of an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other levels

51
Q

Primary consumers

A

An herbivore; an organism that eats plants or other autotrophs

52
Q

Secondary consumers

A

A carnivore that eats herbivores

53
Q

Tertiary consumers

A

A carnivore that eats other carnivores

54
Q

Detritivores

A

A consumer that derives its energy and nutrients from nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, and the wastes of living organisms; a decomposer

55
Q

Decomposers

A

An organism that absorbs nutrients from nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, and the wastes of living organisms and converts them into inorganic forms; a detritivore

56
Q

Primary production

A

The amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) by the autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period

57
Q

Secondary production

A

The amount of chemical energy in consumers’ food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given time period

58
Q

Production efficiency

A

The percentage of energy stored in assimilated food that is not used for respiration or eliminated as waste

59
Q

Biogeochemical cycles

A

Any of the various chemical cycles, which involve both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems

59
Q

Trophic efficiency

A

The percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level

60
Q

Bioremediation

A

The use of organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems

61
Q

Conservation biology

A

The integrated study of ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, molecular biology, and genetics to sustain biological diversity at all levels

62
Q

Biological augmentation

A

The approach to restoration ecology that uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem

63
Q

Endangered species

A

A species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range

64
Q

Threatened species

A

A species that is considered likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future

65
Q

Ecosystem services

A

A function performed by an ecosystem that directly or indirectly benefits humans

66
Q

Introduced species

A

A species moved by humans, either intentionally or accidentally, from its natie location to a new geographic region, also called non-native or exotic species

67
Q

Biodiversity hot spot

A

A relatively small area with numerous endemic species and a large number of endangered and threatened species

68
Q

Urban ecology

A

The study of organisms and their environment in urban and suburban settings

69
Q

Critical load

A

The amount of added nutrient, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem integrity

70
Q

Biological magnification

A

A process in which retained substances become more concentrated at each higher trophic level in a food chain

71
Q

Greenhouse effect

A

The warming of Earth due to the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide and certain other gases, which absorb reflected infrared radiation and reradiate some of it back toward Earth.

72
Q

Assisted migration

A

The translocation of a species to a favorable habitat beyond its native range for the purpose of protecting the species from human caused threats

73
Q

Sustainable development

A

Development that meets the needs of people today without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs

74
Q

Ecosystem

A

All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them

AP Biology (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions