Unit 3.1 Flashcards
What is a niche?
A niche is any biotic and abiotic resources an organism uses and how they split based on those resources.
What is a fundamental niche?
What the organism could potentially use and grow if it could
What is a realized niche?
What resources the organism actually uses
What is likely to happen if the niches of the two species overlap a little?
One of the organisms may have to back off a little bit or both organisms just won’t get as many resources because they have to share a little.
What is likely to happen if the niches of the two species overlap a lot?
The organisms will have severe competition and one of them may go extinct or have to use different resources.
How can niche partitioning increase the biodiversity of a community?
If the niche paritionings differ greatly then all the organisms will most likely have a lot of diversity and use many types of resources the ecosystem offers.
What are some ways that species can partition their niches?
The species can use some resources that most species don’t use, or parts of the environment that go unused
What is Competition?
When two species have to fight over the same thing and it causes negative things for both organisms. (-) (-)
What is mutualism?
When two species perform an action that benefits one another and helps the other in a specific way. (+) (+)
What is commensalism?
When one species performs an action on another species to help themselves, but in the process doesn’t affect the other species. (+) (0)
What is predation/herbivory/parasitism?
When one species benefits from an aspect of another species and in the process hurts or sometimes kills that other species. (+) (-)
What is the difference between predation and parasitism?
Predation is more quick, fast, deaths from one animal to another. Parasitism is usually slower and is where the organism lives off the host for a long period of time.
What is coevolution?
Long term evolutionary adjustments betwen spaces
What are some examples of coevolution?
Flowers & Pollinators, Predator-prey relationships, Parasite-host relationships
What is endosymbiosis?
This is where one or more species live inside another species
