for FINAL Flashcards
Ecosystem
all species and their abiotic environment in an area
Trophic Level
the position of an organism in the ecosystem according to how it obtains energy
Evapotranspiration
the atmosphere by evaporation from the ground via transpiration from vegetation- a measure of solar radiation, temperature and rainfall
Food Chain
a linear sequence of species (or groups of species) in which each species feeds exclusively on the next trophic level down in the chain
Food Web
complex trophic relationships among species in an ecosystem
Biogeochemical cycle
the pattern of movement of a chemical element through living organisms and the four components of the physical environment (land, air, freshwater, oceans)
Eutrophication
the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system
Ocean acidification
the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth’s oceans, caused by the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Cryptic species
instances in which two or more indistinguishable species do not interbreed
Ecological isolation
potential mates do not meet
Gametic incompatibility
gametes fail to produce viable zygotes
Hybrid inviability
hybrids have developmental problems
Coadapted gene complex
a set of genetic traits which have high fitness when they occur together, but have low fitness when not together
Reinforcement
an adaptation to prevent the production of unfit hybrids, usually by strengthening of pre zygotic barriers in sympatric populations
Founder effect
colonists carry only a small fraction of the total variation in the source causing a loss of alleles in the founding population
Genetic drift
leads to further loss of alleles
Autopolyploids
union of unreduced gametes of the same species
Adaptive radiation
the development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches
Competitive displacement
when a later group has caused the extinction of reduction of an earlier group. The later group outcompeted the earlier group
Totipotency
the ability of a single cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism (e.g. zygote)
Antigenic sites
specific parts of a pathogen protein (e.g. hemagglutinin) that the host’s immune system recognizes and remembers
Greenhouse effect
warming of the Earth causes by higher concentrations of gases that absorb heat
Fertilization effect
increased growth rate
Supporting
services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services
Provisioning
products obtained from ecosystems
Regulating
benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes
Cultural
nonmaterial benefits obtain from ecosystems
Biological Control
the use of natural enemies to control pests
Overexploitation
major problem for valuable animals and plants
Aposematic
species that are brightly colored to advertise that they are harmful
Character displacement
when species differ more where they are together (sympatric) than where they are alone (allopatric)
Coevolution
when two or more species affect one another’s evolution
Facilitation Model
early species modify the environment in a way that allows later species to colonize
Functional Niche
where a species lives and how it obtains resources
the total range of environmental conditions that are suitable for a species existence without the effects of other species. (Only abiotic factors)
Gene flow
movement of genotypes from one population to another
Heterozygous
when an individual has different copies of an allele (e.g. Ss)
Heterosis (hybrid vigor)
when fitness is higher for heterozygotes than for homozygotes
Inbreeding
a form of nonrandom mating in which individuals are more likely to mate with relatives than with non relatives
Incomplete dominance
when heterozygotes show a phenotype intermediate between those of the two homozygotes
Limiting similarity
the limit in the degree of overlap that will allow species to coexist
Theoretical studies suggest that it is about 0.6
Locus
the site on the chromosome of a gene
Non synonymous
mutation that results in amino acid substitution
Predation
when an animal eats another organism
Sexual recombination
crossing over and independent assortment of chromosomes amplifies the number of possible genotypes
Succession
temporal change in community composition
Biological evolution
change in the properties of populations over the course of generations caused by descent with modification
Competition
a process that occurs when individuals share resources that are in short supply
Cooperation
interactions among individuals in which all benefit
Dispersion
the distribution of organisms in a space at one moment in time (random, clumped/patchy, uniform)
Home Range
the area an animal normally lives
Life Cycle
The entire span of stages in the life of an organism from the moment of fertilization (or asexual generation) to the time it reproduces and dies
Mycorrizae (fungi)
enhance nutrient and water uptake
Natural Selection
a process that produces adaptations resulting from differential reproductive success among organisms in the same population
Phenotypic Variation
variation of observable traits in organisms; genetic (different phenotypes have different fitnesses)
Phylogeny
the evolutionary history of organisms based on their genealogical relationships (common ancestry)
Principle of allocation
all life functions cannot be simultaneously maximized, leading to tradeoffs
Reproductive value (vx)
age-specific expectation of future reproduction
Rhizobia (bacteria)
form nodules and are able to convert atmospheric N2 into ammonia (NH3)
Stabilizing
Increasing a specific trait and decreasing the rest (variance decreases)
Territory
an EXCLUSIVE area used and defended by an individual
Trade-off
the relationship between the benefits and costs of a trait in different environment
Acclimation
a relatively long-term response by an organism to environmental change (a type of phenotypic plasticity)
Antibody x
any of numerous Y-shaped protein molecules produced by B cells as primary immune defense, each molecule and its clones having a unique binding site that can combine with the complementary site of a foreign antigen, as on a virus or bacterium, thereby disabling the antigen and signaling other immune defenses.
Biome
an environment that is defined by its climatic and geographic attributes and characterized by ecologically similar organisms, particularly its dominant plants
Codon x
a triplet of adjacent nucleotides in the messenger RNA chain that codes for a specific amino acid in the synthesis of a protein molecule
Community
a set of species living in a particular place
Denitrification
to reduce (nitrates) to nitrites, ammonia, and free nitrogen, as in soil by microorganisms
Ecological Specialization
Distinct Flowers to get specific pollinators to only visit members of the same species
Endosymbiosis
symbiosis in which one of the symbiotic organisms lives inside the other
Exponential Growth
growth whose rate becomes ever more rapid in proportion to the growing total number or size
Genetic Revolution
Rapid evolution due to speciation by dispersal
Genotype-environment interaction
the phenotypic effect of interactions between genes and the environment
Heterozygosity
the proportion of the population that are heterozygous
Hybridization
the act of mixing different species or varieties of animals or plants and thus to produce hybrids
Inclusive Fitness
reproductive success of an organism relative to others in the same population
Intraguild Predation
the killing and eating of potential competitors
Microsatellite
repeating sequences of 2-6 base pairs of DNA
Nitrification
he chemical process in which a nitro group is added to an organic compound (or substituted for another group in an organic compound)
Omnivory
an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin
Phenotypic Plasticity
phenotypic variation during an individual’s lifetime caused by environmental variation.
Realized Niche
the part of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies caused by interactions with other species. (with biotic factors)
(Gene) Redundancy
a situation in which many copies of the same gene exist in a genome.
Resistance
The failure of a condition to respond or remit following treatment. (medicine) the condition in which an organism can resist disease.
r-K selection
k selected: stick close to carrying capacity, few offspring, low dispersal, high comp.
r selected: many offspring, short life
Self-fertility
Fertilization by sperm from the same animal, as in some hermaphrodites, or by pollen from the same flower
Symbiosis
intimate association between species (living together)
Vector
(1) (epidemiology) An organism or vehicle that transmits the causative agent or disease-causing organism from the reservoir to the host.
(2) (molecular biology) A vehicle (e.g. a plasmid) used to transfer the genetic material such as DNA sequences from the donor organism to the target cell of the recipient organism.
(3) (biology) A biotic agent that disperses reproductive structures of another organism, as a bee transmitting pollen to the stigma of a flower.
Vicariance
(biology)
The separation of a large group of organisms from the population due to a geographic barrier.
(geology)
The geologic event which produces geographic barrier, such as volcano, river, earthquake, etc.
Virulence
The degree or ability of a pathogenic organism to cause disease.
Zooxanthellae
flagellated protozoans with chloroplasts that live in the gastrodermis of corals
