Odum 1 - Glossary Flashcards
Relating to bottom of waters of oceans
Abyssal
Anthropogenic emissions of hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel combustion that interact with water vapor to produce dilute sulfuric and nitric acids, causing widespread acidification of cloud and rainwater
Acid Rain
Refers to life in the presence of free oxygen, either as a gas in the atmosphere or dissolved in water
Aerobic
Dormancy in animals during periods of drought
Aestivation
Surface stratum of soil, characterized by maximum accumulation of organic matter and biological activity
A Horizon
Refers to life or processes that occur in the absence of free oxygen
Anaerobic
A relationship between two species in which one population is; inhibited and the other not affected
Amensalism
Tundra-like conditions found above tree lines on high mountains
Alpine Tundra
Human-created urban soil type, containing an abundance of pulverized concrete, dust, debris. and “fill” materials
Anthrosol
Porous underground strata (limestone, sand, or gravel) bounded by impervious rock or clay, containing significant quantities of water
Aquifer
Producing its own food (as photosynthetic plants), production (P) is greater than respiration (R)
Autotrophic
Lowermost region or bottom of a freshwater lake or aquatic ecosystem
Benthic Zone
Bottom-dwelling organisms that inhabit the bottom of rivers, lakes, and the sea
Benthos
A stratum of soil characterized by minerals, in which organic matter in the A horizon has been converted by decomposers into inorganic compounds such as silica and clay
B Horizon
Plant that requires two years to complete is vegetative and reproductive growth cycle
Biennial
Large regional or subcontinental system characterized by a particular major vegetation type
(such as a temperate deciduous forest); biomes are distinguished by the predominant plants associated with a particular climate (especially temperature and precipitation)
Biome
That part of the environment of Earth in which living organisms are found
Biosphere
Wetland ecosystem characterized by acidic conditions and accumulation of peat, dominated by sphagnum moss
Bog
Weight of having material, typically expressed as dry weight per unit area or volume
Biomass
Refers to photosynthesis or organic materials generated within the community or ecosystem
Autochthonous
Circular or semicircular group of islands encircling a lagoon, formed by coral reefs growing on the submerged slopes of a seamount
Atoll
Plant that produces a 3-carbon compound (phosphoglyceric acid) as the first step in photosynthesis; pathway of carbon fixation common in plants adapted to low temperatures, average light conditions, and adequate water supply
C3 plant
Plant that produces a 4-carbon compound (malic or aspartic acid) as the first step in photosynthesis; pathway of carbon fixation common in plants adapted to high temperatures, strong light, and low water supply
C4 plant
Biome type dominated by broadleaf scrubs and sclerophyllous woodland located in regions of Medirerranean climate, a fire-dependent ecosystem that tends to perpetuate scrub dominance at the expense of trees
Chaparral
Stratum of soil beneath the A and B horizons that is relatively unmodified by biological activity or soil-forming processes (the stratum of parent material)
C horizon
Movement of carbon, C, between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, and the transformations (such as photosynthesis and respiration) between its different chemical forms
Carbon Cycle
(from Greek chele, “claw”) a complex formation of organic matter with metal ions (for example, chlorophyll is a chelate compound in which the metal ion is magnesium)
Chelation
Refers to a habitat or landscape patch in which the vagility of a given animal species is low relative to the size of the patch
Coarse-grained
Relationship between two species in which one population is benefited but the other is not affected
Commensalism
Includes all the populations inhatibing a specific area at the same time
Community
Depth in a lake where light penetration is so reduced that oxygen production by photosynthesis balances oxygen consumption by respiration (that is, the depth in a lake where P/R = I)
Compensation depth
Connection between two patches of landscape habitat
Corridor
Overfertilization of freshwater ecosystems by nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, from anthropogenic sources
Cultural Eutrophication
Forest composed of trees that drop leaves during unfavorable winter conditions, temperate deciduous forest are a major biome-type in eastern North America
Deciduous Forest
Organisms, typically bacteria and fungi, that obtain energy from the breakdown of dead organic matter
Decomposers
Reduction of nitrates to atmospheric nitrogen by microorganisms
Denitrification
Biome with less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rainfall per year, dominated by stem succulents, such as cacti, and desert shrubs that are frequently regularly spaced in their distribution
Desert
Organisms that feed on dead or decaying organic matter (such as earthworms)
Detritivores
Dead or partially decomposed plant and animal matter; nonliving organic matter
Detritus
Food chain in which the primary producers are not consumed by grazing herbivores, but where dead and decaying plant parts form litter (detritus) on which decomposers (bacteria and fungi) and detritivores feed with subsequent transfer of energy thru the detritus food chain
Detritus Food Chain
Refers to a body of water, such as a shallow freshwater lake, with a high content of humic matter, with deeper water depleted of oxygen
Dystrophic
The area of productive ecosystems outside a city that is required to support life in the city
Ecological Footprint
Branch of science dealing with interactions and relationships between organisms and the environment; the study of goods and services provided by natural ecosystems, including the integration of these nonmarket services with the economic market
Ecology
All the living organisms of Earth interacting with the physical environment as a whole
Ecosphere
Classification of major vegetation types or ecosystems developed by R. W Bailey in 1976, based on a continuous land area in which the interaction of climate, soil, and topography permit the development of similar types of vegetation
Ecoregion
A biotic community and its abiotic environment functioning as a system (first used by A. G. Tansley in 1935); a discrete unit that consists of living and nonliving parts interacting to form an ecological system
Ecosystem
Zone of transition from one type of community or ecosystem to another (a transition from a forest to a grassland, for example)
Ecotone
That branch of ecology concerned with the responses of individual organisms to abiotic factors such as temperature, moisture, atmospheric gases, and other factors of the environment
Ecophysiology
Subspecies or local populations adapted to a particular set of environmental conditions
Ecotypes
Response of plants and animals to the site where two or more communities or ecosystems meet (typically creating an increase in biotic diversity along the edge site)
Edge Effect
A site where two or more structurally different communities or ecosystems meet (such as the edge of a pond or lake)
Edge
Warmer oxygen-rich upper part of lake when thermally stratified during summer
Epilimnion
Plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic (such as orchid living on a tree)
Epiphyte
(from Latin aestus, “tide”) partially closed embayment, such as river mouth or coastal bay; where freshwater and salt (sea) water meet and where tidal action is important physical regulator and energy subsidy
Estuary
Refers to a body of water high in nutrient and productivity
Eutrophic
Process of nutrient enrichment (typically of phospates and nitrates in aquatic ecosystems, resulting in increased primary productivity
Eutrophication
Total loss of water by evaporation from an ecosystem, including water loss from the surface of plants, mainly through the stomata
Evapotranspiration
Number of disseminules (eggs or seeds) produced by an organism
Fecundity
Wetland ecosystem that receives part of is nutrient input through a flow of groundwater; wetland that is only slightly acidic, dominated by sedges
Fen
Influence of gaps in landscape corridors that allow certain organisms to cross but restricts the movement of others
Filter Effect
Refers to a habitat or landscape patch in which the vagility of a given animal species is high relative to the size of the patch
Fine-grained
Population founded by a small number of colonists, often resulting in genetic variation markedly different from the parent population
Founder Effect
Organism that feeds on fruit
Frugivore
Rain forest that occurs along bank and floodplains of rivers; riverine forest
Gallery Forest
(from’Greek Gaia,the Earth goddess) hypothesis formulated by James Lovelock in 1968, which holds that organisms, especially microorganisms, have evolved with the physical environment to provide control (self-regulation) and to maintain conditions favorable to life on Earth
Gaia Hypothesis
Principle (first demonstrated in 1932 by G F. Gause, a Russian biologist) that states that no two species with the same ecological requirements can coexist (see competitive exclusion principle)
Gause Principle
Diversity or maintenance of genotypic heterozygosity, polymorphism, and other genetic variability in a natural population
Genetic Diversity
(GPS) system that determines locations on the surface of Earth, including longitude, latitude, and altitude, using radio signals from satellites
Global Positioning System
Food chain originating with feeding on seeds
Granivorous Food Chain
Absorption of infrared radiation by greenhouse gases. esp. CO2, in the atmosphere that was reradiated from the surface of Earth
Greenhouse Effect
group of species that make their living by exploiting the same class of resources in a similar way
Guild
Industrial catalytic process for synthesizing ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, discovered by Fritz Haber, a German chemist
Haber Process
Analysis determining how the landscape has changed by humans affecting the size, shape, and frequency of landscape elements (patches, corridors, and matrices)
Habitat Fragmentation
Law, discovered independently in 1908 by G H Hardy and W. Weinberg, stating that in a population mating at random in the absence of evolutionary forces, allele frequencies will remain constant
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Law
Technique for measuring net primary productivity of herbaceous, terrestrial vegetation (such as old fields or grasslands); harvests are made periodically by clipping the vegetation at ground level from randomized sample sites, sorting to species, and then drying to a constant dry weight
Harvest Method
Organism that feeds on plant material
Herbivore
Individual unable to manufacture its own food from inorganic matter, which therefore consumes other organisms for its source of energy
Heterotroph
(from Greek “maintaining the flow”) tendency of a system to maintain itself in a pulsing state of equilibrium
Homeorhesis
Tendency of a system to resist change and maintain itself in a state of stable equilibrium
Homeostasis
Containing two identical alleles at the same loci of a pair of chromosomes
Homozygous
Organic matter derived from partial decay of plant and animal matter
Humus
Cold, oxygen-poor, bottom part of a lake when thermally stratified during summer; zone of a lake below the thermocline
Hypolimnion
Movement of new individuals into a population or habitat
Immigation
Concept of community development, first proposed by H A Gleason in 1926,stating that species of plants are distributed individually with respect to biotic and abiotic factors; thus, associations result only from similar requirements
Individualistic Concept
Competition between individuals of different species
Interspecific Competition
Competition between individuals of the same species
Intraspecific Competition
Population fluctuations controlled primarily by regulatory mechanisms (genetic, endocrine, behavioral, disease, and so on) within the population
Intrinsic Factors
Functional group or population without redundancy; a species (such as a predator) having a dominating influence on the structure and functioning of a community or ecosystem
Keystone Species
Heterogeneous area composed of a cluster of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in a similar manner throughout the area; landforms of a region in the aggregate; a regional level of organization between the ecosystem and the biome
Landscape
Strip of vegetation that differs from the matrix and frequently connects two or more patches of similar habitat
Landscape Corridor
The branch of ecology that focuses on the development and dynamics of spatial heterogeneity, the influences of spatial heterogeneity on biotic and abiotic processes among ecosystems, and the management of spatial heterogeneity at the landscape scale
Landscape Ecology
Large area of similar ecosystem or vegetation types (agricultural or forest, for example) in which landscape patches are embedded
Landscape Matrix
Relatively homogeneous area that differs from the surrounding matrix (such as a woodlot embedded in an agricultural matrix)
Landscape Patch
As an ecosystem becomes larger and more complex, the proportion of gross productivity that must be respired to sustain growth increases (in other words, the proportion of productivity that can go into further growth declines)
Law of Diminishing Return
(from Latin lenis, “calm”) refers to standing-water ecosystems such as lakes and ponds
Lentic
Organism that consists of a fungus (the mycobiont) and an alga or cyanobacterium (the phycobiont) living in a mutualistic association; a lichen may be crustose, foliose, or fruticose according to species
Lichen
Concept, first stated by Baron J. von Liebig in 1840, that the essential material or resource most closely approaching the minimum need tends to be the limiting one
Liebig Law of the Minimum
The open water of a lake beyond the littoral zone, where P/R > 1
Limnetic Zone
Study of freshwater ecosystems such as lakes
Limnology
Mark-recapture method use to estimate the total population density;an index devised in 1930 by the American ornithologist Frederick C. Lincoln to estimate population density
Lincoln Index
