terms

Question 1

carrying capacity

Answer 1

number of individuals/biomass of a species that an ecosystem can support

Question 2

Ecologically functional

Answer 2

species that is sufficiently abundant to have a significant impact on other species in a ecosystem

Question 3

succession

Answer 3

gradual process of change in species composition, vegetation structure, and ecosystem traits following a disturbance

Question 4

guild

Answer 4

group of species at the same trophic level, eg. PP, secondary consumers, carnivores, omnivores, detrivores

Question 5

Food chain

Answer 5

feeding relationships between species at different trophic levels

Question 6

food web

Answer 6

network of feeding relationships between species at different trophic levels

Question 7

keystone species

Answer 7

species with disproportionate impact (relative to biomass/numbers) on ecosystem

Question 8

Keystone resources

Answer 8

crucial resource in ecosystem (eg. waterhole)

Question 9

Niche

Answer 9

visualized as an n-dimensional hypervolume where the dimensions are environmental conditions and the resources that define the requirements of an individual, or a species to practice its way of life

Question 10

ecosystem integrity

Answer 10

the state of an ecosystem when it is complete, fully functional and has not been damaged by human activity

Question 11

ecosystem resistance

Answer 11

the ability of an ecosystem to remain at the same state despite ongoing disturbance

Question 12

ecosystem resilience

Answer 12

the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state following disturbance

Question 13

redundant species

Answer 13

removal of this species has minimal impact on ecosystem structure/function (functional redundancy)

Question 14

species richness

Answer 14

number of species in an area

Question 15

relative/absolute abundance

Answer 15

patterns in the number of individuals of each species

Question 16

species diversity

Answer 16

some amalgamation of species number and their relative abundances (richness and diversity are often synonymous)

Question 17

alpha diversity

Answer 17

a local measure of diversity, often # of species per unit area in a given habitat/ecosystem (eg. # of mussels in a 2X2 mussel bed)

Question 18

beta diversity

Answer 18

the difference in species composition between habitat types or ecosystems (eg. 2 species shared between habitats, high when there is a low overlap in species composition)

Question 19

gamma diversity

Answer 19

total regional diversity made up by alpha and beta diversity components (gamma = alpha*beta)

Question 20

Eveness

Answer 20

similar abundances among species

Question 21

dominance

Answer 21

uneven distribution of abundances

Question 22

island biogeography theory

Answer 22

higher extinction rates on small islands, extinction rates increase with more species, higher rate of immigration on islands close to mainland, immigration rate declines with more species

Question 23

biodiversity

Answer 23

variety of life in all manifestations

variation among living organisms across habitats and taxonomic scales, as well as the ecological complexes of which they are a part

Question 24

genotype

Answer 24

unique combination of alleles possessed by an organism

Question 25

phenotype

Answer 25

genotypic expression in a given environment (morphological/physiological/biochemical characteristics)

Question 26

morphological species

Answer 26

individuals which are morphologically, physiologically, or biochemically distinct

Question 27

biological species

Answer 27

individuals that can interbreed, but not successfully breed with individuals of another group

Question 28

cryptic biodiversity

Answer 28

widespread existence of a species wrongly classified with similar species

Question 29

epigenetics

Answer 29

heritable changes that are not explained by a DNA change (eg. DNA methylation)

Question 30

allopatric

Answer 30

“river runs through” geographic barriers cause drift/divergence into seperate species (eg. chimpanzees and bonobos)

Question 31

peripatric

Answer 31

“life at the edge” new species in isolated peripheral populations. new population experiences founder effect

Question 32

Parapatric

Answer 32

“honeycomb” no extrinsic barrier, gene flow is unequal in populations (eg. some diurnal/nocturnal) speciation driven by differences in traits

Question 33

sympatric

Answer 33

“same” new species evolve from single ancestral species while inhabiting the same geographic region (eg. polyploidy /multiplication of chromosomes in plants), higher fitness for homozygotes than heterozygotes (extremes favoured)

Question 34

community

Answer 34

species that occupy an area and their interactions

Question 35

ecosystem

Answer 35

community and physical/chemical environment

Question 36

Density mediated indirect interactions (DMII)

Answer 36

predators eat prey directly, releasing next trophic level (eg. otters-urchin-kelp cascade)

Question 37

trait mediated indirect interactions (TMII)

Answer 37

predators “scare” prey and alter their foraging/habitat type (landscape of fear)

Question 38

competition effects:

Answer 38

predators consume prey that compete for resources with species at lower trophic levels

Question 39

anadromous

Answer 39

fish type which goes into both salt water and freshwater during its life cycle (eg. salmon, spawning in streams, living most of life in the ocean)

Question 40

spatial subsidy

Answer 40

transfer of organic material from one coastal environment to another, increasing production in recipient habitats