exam 4 (final)

Question 1

autotrophs

Answer 1

produce their own food supply (producers, photosynthesizers, plants)

Question 2

heterotrophs

Answer 2

consume energy from others
- primary: herbivores that eat autotrophs
- secondary: carnivores that consume primary
- tertiary: carnivores that consume secondary

Question 3

net primary production

Answer 3

the energy stored in the autotrophs of an ecosystem over a given time period, determines energy that the ecosystem can support
- expressed in terms of dry weight of biological material (biomass / sq. m / yr)

Question 4

aquatic food chains

Answer 4

• producers: phytoplankton
• primary consumers: zooplankton

Question 5

detritivores

Answer 5

feed on wastes, dead bodies, and discarded parts

Question 6

decomposers

Answer 6

secrete digestive enzymes that break down organic material and then absorb some resulting nutrients

Question 7

energy pyramid

Answer 7

illustrates energy relationships between each trophic level (Rule of 10: only 10% passed to the next level, very inefficient)

Question 8

biological magnification

Answer 8

increasing accumulation of toxic substances in progressively higher trophic levels

Question 9

nutrients

Answer 9

atoms and molecules that organisms obtain from their environment, do not increase or decrease on earth, but simply cycles

Question 10

nutrient cycles

Answer 10

pathways of a specific nutrient through the living and nonliving portions of an ecosystem

Question 11

reservoir

Answer 11

when nutrients accumulate in one portion of their cycle

Question 12

ecosystem

Answer 12

all organisms and nonliving environment in an area

Question 13

ecology

Answer 13

how organisms interact with each other and their environment

Question 14

growth rate (r)

Answer 14

birth rate - death rate

Question 15

change in population size

Answer 15

(births - deaths) + (immigrants - emigrants)

Question 16

birth rate (b)

Answer 16

of births/individual/time

Question 17

death rate (d)

Answer 17

of deaths/individual/time

Question 18

population growth per unit time (G)

Answer 18

growth rate x population size (N)

Question 19

competition

Answer 19

both species lose

Question 20

competitive exclusion principle

Answer 20

no two species can simultaneously and continuously occupy the same ecological niche
- competitive exclusion: one species outcompetes another to drive it to extinction

Question 21

resources partitioning

Answer 21

using different parts of a resource to avoid competition

Question 22

predation

Answer 22

one species wins (by consuming) , the other loses

Question 23

parasitism

Answer 23

one species wins (by living on the host) , the other loses

Question 24

mutualism

Answer 24

two species do better together than apart

Question 25

keystone species

Answer 25

one species that determines the “health” of the community

Question 26

symbiosis

Answer 26

when two species share a close long-term physical association (may be positive or not, not symbiotic if it’s short term)

Question 27

camouflage

Answer 27

coloration/shape makes an organism inconspicuous in its environment

Question 28

warning coloration

Answer 28

coloration/shape that makes prey conspicuous as a warning sign to potential prey

Question 29

mimicry

Answer 29

species evolve to resemble another
- mullerian: two poisonous or distasteful species share similar warning pattern
- batesian: harmless animals resemble venomous/distasteful ones
- startle: color patterns that resemble the eyes of a larger/dangerous animal
- aggressive: predators resemble something attractive to prey

Question 30

primary succession

Answer 30

a new community develops from no remnants of a prior community

Question 31

secondary succession

Answer 31

a new community develops from remnants of a previous community

Question 32

subclimax community

Answer 32

doesn’t reach climax stage, but is maintained at a less developed stage due to disturbances

Question 33

climax community

Answer 33

a diverse and relatively stable community that forms at the endpoint of succession

Question 34

environmental resistance

Answer 34

all living and nonliving factors that limit population growth

Question 35

invasive species

Answer 35

species w high biotic potential that have been introduced into ecosystems in which they did not evolve and where they encounter little environmental resistance

Question 36

carrying capacity (K)

Answer 36

max population size that can be sustained without damage to an ecosystem

Question 37

logistic population growth

Answer 37

when population reaches carrying capacity, stabilizes, S-curve

Question 38

biotic potential

Answer 38

max rate of increase of population

Question 39

exponential growth

Answer 39

more births than deaths, reproduce more than replacement, J-curve

Question 40

factors that influence exponential growth

Answer 40

• age of first production
• frequency of reproduction
• number of offspring in each reproductive event
• reproductive life span
• death rate under normal conditions

Question 41

boom/bust cycles

Answer 41

huge population growth followed by huge crash

Question 42

density-independent

Answer 42

population reaches carrying capacity regardless of size

Question 43

density-dependent

Answer 43

population reaches carrying capacity based on availability of resources, effects are compounded by increases in population density

Question 44

interspecific competition

Answer 44

between individuals of different species

Question 45

intraspecific competition

Answer 45

between individuals of the same species

Question 46

clumped population distribution

Answer 46

organisms live in groups, based on resources and

Question 47

uniform population distribution

Answer 47

usually stable amount of distance between individuals, based on evenly distributed resources, territorial organisms

Question 48

random population distribution

Answer 48

organisms organized randomly, no social groups, resources aren’t limited

Question 49

early loss survivorship pattern

Answer 49

high numbers of offspring, little or no parental care, death rate is high on young offspring

Question 50

constant loss survivorship patterns

Answer 50

equal chance of dying at any age

Question 51

late loss survivorship patterns

Answer 51

most deaths occur late in life, tremendous amount of parental care, small numbers of offspring

Question 52

innate behavior

Answer 52

completed correctly the first time without instruction, nature

Question 53

learned behavior

Answer 53

requuires experience to complete, habits, nurture, can be modified

Question 54

habituation

Answer 54

getting “used” to a stimulus, can be advantage or disadvantage

Question 55

conditioning

Answer 55

trial and error, reward and punishment

Question 56

insight

Answer 56

problem solving without experience

Question 57

imprinting

Answer 57

learning only at a specified point in development

Question 58

pheromones

Answer 58

chemical signals between same species

Question 59

territories

Answer 59

individuals defend a resource area

Question 60

types of communication

Answer 60

• visual: short distances
• audio: long distances
• chemical: long lasting
• touch: social bonding