terms Flashcards
competitive release
aftet midterm
shared limiting resource
after midterm
exploitation competition
after midterm
interference competition
after midterm
population
a group of individuals of a single species that live in a particular area and interact with one another
community
an association of interacting populations of different species that live in the same area
ecosystem
a collection of communities of organisms plus the physical environment in which they live
landscapes
areas that vary substantially from one place to another, typically including multiple ecosystems
biosphere
global patterns of air and water circulation link worlds ecosystems into the biosphere which consists of all living organisms on earth plus the environments in which they live
adaptation
a feature of an organism that improves its ability to survive or reproduce in its environment
natural selection
an evolutionary process in which individuals hat posses particular characteristics survive or reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals because of those characteristics
producer
an organism that uses energy from an external source such as the sun to produce is own food without having to eat other organisms or their remains
consumer
an organism that obtains its energy by eating other organisms or their remains
net primary production (NPP)
the amount of energy (per unit time) that producers fix by photosynthesis or other means, minus the amount they use in cellular respiration
nutrient cycle
the cyclic movement of a nutrient between organisms and he physical enviroment
weather
current temp, humidity, precipitation, wind and cloud cover
climate
long-term description of weather at a given location, based on averages and variation measured over decades
what is a population
A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area at the same time and interact wih one another. Interaction usually refers to interbreeding (if sexual reproducing) compete for resources if asexually reproducing. It can be difficult to delineate a population but i is still import for understanding ecology
How do ecologists develop and answer questions?
observations: documentation of patterns leads to questions about mechanisms
Mathematical/ Statistical models: test expected outcomes of particular processes
Experiments: Controlled manipulations test hypothesized mechanisms
Give 5 key processes that determine distribution and abundance of species
-meeting abiotic requirements
- biotic interactions
- dispersal
- evolution
-stochasticity (randomness0
why are the tropics warmer than the poles?
Near the equator the suns rays strike earth surface perpendicularly
where towards the poles the suns rays are spread over a larger area and take a longer path trough he atmosphere
Which latitudes get the most(and least) precipitation, and why?
high-rainfall biomes in the tropics and low rainfall niomes at 30N and 30S this is due to global atmospheric circulation (the hadley cell)
what drives global patters of prevailing winds
Global atmospheric circulation
and the rotation of the earth and the Coriolis effect creates the deflection of wind
What is a Hadley cell?
when sun heats earth surface most intensely at the equator, an uplift of air is created which creates a large band of low atmospheric pressure then subsidence of air creates a band of high atmospheric pressure
this happens from tropics to 30 degrees N/S
–> warm air rises, then cools holding moisture which precipitates out as rain
What is the ferrel cell?
atmospheric circulation which is driven by the movement of the Hadley and polar cells and is between 30degres -60degrees/ polar zone
What is the polar cell
atmospheric circulation which is formed by subsidence of cold air at the poles
What is the rain shadow effect?
the fact that air cools when it rises forcing out moisture as precipitation
on the windward slope the air rises and clouds release most of its moisture, on leeward side dry air descends and warms and there is little precipitation
Where would you expect to find rain shadows?
West of mountains in the tropics, east of the mountains in the temperate zones and west of the mountains at the poles
Why is Vancouver island warmer than Prince Edward Island in the winter?
wind comes from over the ocean where the surface temperature is ~1 degrees C to Vancouver island whereas on the east coast wind is coming from land in winter which is much colder ~- 40- -50 degrees C
Some Abiotic factors that affect the performance of individuals
temperature
precipitation
sunlight
fire frequency
salinity
nutrients
currents
wind
oxygen
soil type
pH