Paleoecology & Paleoclimate (Chapter 4) Flashcards
1
Q
Paleoecology
A
- study of life & times of fossil organisms
- how they interact with other organism (of the same or different species)
- interact with environment
- ex: study brachiopod - as a species, their predators/neighbors, environment/habitat
2
Q
Paleoautoecology
A
ecology of a single organism in its niche
3
Q
Paleosynecology
A
ecology of entire communities of fossil organisms (same or different species) by understanding how living ecology functions
4
Q
actualism
A
how a system functions
5
Q
uniformitarianism
A
theorize that physical laws always remains the same throughout time
6
Q
autochthonous assemblages
A
fossils that form in place with no to minor movement
7
Q
allochthonous assemblages
A
fossils that could have been transported
8
Q
population
A
- group of species that are able to interbreed and produce a viable young in a specific area
- area size may be a single community → continent → planet
9
Q
ecosystem
A
- group of plants, animals, & others interacting with one another & their environment
- this grouping would perpetuate more or less indefinitely unless disturbed
10
Q
habitat
A
specific environment in which a species/ communitiy lives
11
Q
niche
A
lifestyle & ecological interactions of an organism
12
Q
limiting factor
A
- variable factors primarily responsible for growth & reproductionof an organism or population
- physical: temperature, light
- chemical: nutrient
- biological: competing species
13
Q
paleocommunities
A
- all organisms (plants, animals, & microorganisms) living in a given area in the past
- patterns from present to deduce how past organisms lived & their interactions
14
Q
paleoclimates
A
- average/typical conditions of an area (paleogeographic locations) as seen in geological record
- deduced from fossils, lithology, & geochemical data
