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Biology > Option C-Ecology and Conservation > Flashcards

Option C-Ecology and Conservation Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

An ecological relationship between species in which one is benefited but the other is little affected.

A

Commensalism

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2
Q

An interaction between individuals of the same species or different species whereby resources used by one are made unavailable to others.

A

Competition

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3
Q

Principle stating that no two species competing for the same resource can coexist indefinitely.

A

Competitive exclusion principle

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4
Q

Marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa (phylum Cnidaria). They typically live in compact colonies of identical individual polyps. The group includes the important reef builders that secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

A

Coral

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5
Q

The ecological role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem.

A

Ecological niche

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6
Q

The full range of environmental conditions and resources an organism can possibly occupy and use (when limiting factors are absent in its habitat).

A

Fundamental niche

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7
Q

Interplay between members of the same species that affects one or more of them.

A

Intraspecific interactions

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8
Q

Interplay between species that affects one or more of them.

A

Interspecific interactions

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9
Q

Species that have effects on communities that far exceed their abundance.

A

Keystone species

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10
Q

The highest/lowest values of abiotic factor that an organism can survive.

A

Limits of tolerance

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11
Q

Situation in which an individual organism, the parasite, consumes nutrients from another organism, its host, resulting in a decrease in fitness to the host as a result of the interaction.

A

Parasitism

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12
Q

The part of fundamental niche that an organism occupies as a result of presence of limiting factors in its habitat.

A

Realized niche

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13
Q

The physical environment (i.e., the chemical resources and physical conditions) of an organism or organisms.

A

Spatial habitat

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14
Q

Literally “living together,” a close association between two or more species.

A

Symbiosis

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15
Q

A line or path along which the occurrences of studied organisms are recorded.

A

Transect

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16
Q

The range of values of an abiotic factor that an organism can survive but are not optimal.

A

Zone of stress

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17
Q

Endosymbiotic algae that inhabit the endoderm of tropical cnidarians such as corals, sea anemones, and jellyfish.

A

Zooxanthellae

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18
Q

Regions of similar climate and dominant plant types (i.e. a type of ecosystem).

A

Biome

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19
Q

A community composed of species that represents the final stage of colonization of a habitat.

A

Climax community

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20
Q

A graphical representation of basic climatic parameters (e.g. monthly average temperature and precipitation) at a certain location.

A

Climograph

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21
Q

A dry ecosystem characterised by little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation.

A

Desert

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22
Q

describes the process by which a sequence of increasingly complex communities develop over time.

A

Ecological succession

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23
Q

is a measure of an animal’s efficiency in converting feed mass into the mass of desired output.

A

Food conversion ratio

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24
Q

A diagram showing feeding relationships of organisms within an ecosystem or community. It consists of multiple interlinked food chains.

A

Food web

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25
Q

Diagrams showing the inter-relationships between nutrient stores and flows in an ecosystem.

A

Gersmehl diagrams

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26
Q

The amount of organic matter (biomass) produced by plants, expressed as energy per unit area per unit time period.

A

Gross production

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27
Q

The amount of organic matter produced by plants minus what is needed for plant respiration, expressed as energy per unit area per unit time period.

A

Net production

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28
Q

Ecological succession on entirely new land without any established soil (due events such as s volcanic eruptions or glacier retreat).

A

Primary succession

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29
Q

Occurs when succession starts on existing soil following a natural or artificial disturbance.

A

Secondary succession

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30
Q

Moist subartic forest ecosystem dominated by conifer trees.

A

Tagia

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31
Q

A forest ecosystem with high rate of precipitation and high humidity, usually located near the equator.

A

Tropical rainforest

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32
Q

A species living outside its native distributional range or ecosystem.

A

Alien species

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33
Q

The accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in various tissues of a living organism.

A

Bioaccumulation

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34
Q

A method of controlling pests using other living organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms to control the population of the pest species.

A

Biological control

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35
Q

The process, in an ecosystem, in which a higher concentration of a substance in an organism is obtained higher up the food chain.

A

Biomagnification

36
Q

A species unique to a defined geographic location or ecosystem.

A

Endemic species

37
Q

A large system of rotating ocean currents, there are five major rotating currents in the Earth’s oceans.

A

Gyres

38
Q

A plant or animal species that is not native to a particular eosystem or location and has a tendency to spread causing damage to the environment, human economy and/or human health

A

Invasive species

39
Q

Plastic particles larger than 1mm that are a marine pollutant.

A

Macroplastic debris

40
Q

Plastic particles smaller than 1mm that are a marine pollutant.

A

Microplastic debris

41
Q

A contaminant that causes adverse change to an ecosystem or environment.

A

Pollutant

42
Q

The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region or ecosystem.

A

Biodiversity

43
Q

A factor that effects distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and time (e.g. island size, climate).

A

Biogeographic factor

44
Q

a scale for showing the quality of an environment by indicating the types of organisms present in it.

A

Biotic index

45
Q

The process of breeding animals in controlled environments within well-defined settings, such as wildlife reserves and zoos.

A

Captive breeding

45
Q

The changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two habitats.

A

Edge effect

46
Q

A species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as likely to become extinct.

A

Endangered species

47
Q

A measure of biodiversity based on how even the abundance of each species in a geographic region or ecosystem.

A

Evenness

48
Q

Off-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources outside natural ecosystems.

A

Ex situ conservation

49
Q

On-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural ecosystems.

A

in situ conservation

50
Q

A species presence whose absence can be used as a indicator of environmental conditions.

A

Indicator species

51
Q

A protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna which is reserved and managed for conservation.

A

Nature reserve

52
Q

A measure of biodiversity based on the number of different species present in a geographic region or ecosystem.

A

Richness

53
Q

A index that can be used to measure the biodiversity of an ecosystem.

A

Simpson’s reciprocal index

54
Q

An area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures.

A

Wildlife corridor

55
Q

The distribution of a population’s individuals among various age groups.

A

Age structure

56
Q

Factors that limit population growth by affecting resources or lower tropic levels (e.g. interspecific competition for resources).

A

Bottom-up limiting factors

57
Q

A method used to estimate the population size of mobile animals.

A

capture-mark-release-recapture

58
Q

The maximum population of a species that a particular ecosystem can sustain (due to limited resources).

A

Carrying capacity

59
Q

A factor limiting population growth that increases as the population increases.

A

Density dependent limiting factors

60
Q

A factor limiting population growth that equally effects small and large populations.

A

Density independent limiting factors

61
Q

Decreases to population size by movement of individuals to external populations.

A

Emigration

62
Q

Phase of unlimited growth of a population in an unlimited environment. Represented by a J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time.

A

Exponential phase

63
Q

Increases to population size by movement of individuals from external populations.

A

Immigration

64
Q

Decreases to population size as a result of death (e.g. predation, senescence)

A

Mortality

65
Q

Increases to population size through reproduction (i.e. births)

A

Natality

66
Q

The population has reached the carrying capacity and population growth ceases due to limited resources. Mortality and death equal natality and Immigration.

A

Plateau phase

67
Q

A tool used to ensure unbiased sampling points are chosen.

A

random number generator

68
Q

Whether an organism is capable of participating in the process of reproduction.

A

Reproductive status

69
Q

A growth curve having a “S” shape

A

Sigmoidal growth curve

70
Q

Population growth pressures applied by other organisms at higher trophic levels, e.g. predation.

A

Top-down limiting factors

71
Q

Phase of population growth where the population continues to grow, but increasingly slowly as competition increases as availability of resources are reduced.

A

Transitional phase

72
Q

A dense spread of algae on the surface of water caused by a rapid population growth.

A

Algal bloom

73
Q

The amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose the organic matter in a sample of water. It is used as a measure of the degree of water pollution.

A

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

74
Q

A process facilitated by bacteria, in which nitrates (NO3) break down to molecular nitrogen (N2).

A

Denitrification

75
Q

Bacteria that facilitate the process known as denitrification, as part of the nitrogen cycle, e.g. Pseudomonas.

A

Denitrifying bacteria

76
Q

The response of aquatic ecosystems to the addition of artificial or natural nutrients through detergents, fertilizers, or sewage. Commonly an intial algal blooms is followed by a decline in dissolved oxygen.

A

Eutrophication

77
Q

Plants that derive some or most of their nutrients (but not energy) from trapping and consuming commonly insects (other arthropods, protozoans and animals may also be trapped).

A

Insectivorous plants

78
Q

The loss of water-soluble nutrients from the soil, due to rain and irrigation. Nutrients lost from soils enter aquatic ecosystems.

A

Leaching

79
Q

A plant of the pea family. Most species have symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in structures called root nodules.

A

Legumes

80
Q

The process by which ammonia is converted to nitrite (NO2-) and then nitrate (NO3-) by microorganisms.

A

Nitrification

81
Q

Bacteria that facilitate part of the process known as nitrification, as part of the nitrogen cycle, e.g. Nitrosomonas convert ammonia to nitrite and Nitrobacter convert nitrite to nitrate.

A

Nitrifying bacteria

82
Q

The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that plants and other organisms can assimilate, e.g. ammonia.

A

Nitrogen fixation

83
Q

Microorganisms capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen into compounds that plants and other organisms can assimilate. Bacteria can be free-living in the soil (e.g. Azotobacter) or living mutualistically with plants roots (e.g. Rhizobium).

A

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

84
Q

Decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms.

A

Putrefaction

Biology (12 decks)

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