Unit 4 Flashcards
Interspecific interactions
A relationship between individuals of two or more species in a community
Intraspecific interactions
Occur within a population
Ecology
Study of interactions between organisms and their environment
Conservation biology
Study of the protection, management, and recovery of biodiversity
Environmental biology
Study of the impacts of human activities on the environment (use of fossil fuels, water use, agriculture, urbanization, use of pesticides).
Aspect
(Direction the slope of a mountain or hill faces). Affects sunlight and temperature influencing plants and animals that live there
Biomes
Groupings by similar vegetation structure and look and associated with certain types of animals and abiotic features (desert, tropical rain forest).
Estuary
Transition zone between river and open ocean
Tropical rain forest
A terrestrial biome characterized by relatively high precipitation and temperatures year round
Epiphyte
A plant that nourishes itself but grows on the surface of another plant for support, usually on branches or trunks of trees
Savanna
A tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees and large herbivores and maintained by occasional fires and drought.
Fauna
Animals, often includes large migratory herbivores
Desert
A terrestrial biome characterized by very low precipitation
Chaparral
A scrubland biome of dense, spiny evergreen shrubs found at midlatitudes along coasts where cold ocean currents circulate offshore. Characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers
Temperate grassland
A terrestrial biome that exists at midlatitudes regions and is dominated by grasses and forbs
Temperate broadleaf forest
A biome located throughout midlatitudes regions where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, broadleaf deciduous trees
Ecotone
When two biomes meet and blend into each other
Northern coniferous forest (taiga)
A terrestrial biome characterized by long, cold winters and dominated by cone-bearing trees
Tundra
A terrestrial biome at the extreme limits of plant growth. Arctic (northernmost limits), alpine (high altitudes where plants form)
Permafrost
Deep soil is permanently frozen
Aquatic biomes
Cover majority of the earths surface. Mostly ocean (75%)
Photic zone
The narrow top layer of an ocean or lake, where light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
Aphotic
The part of an ocean or lake beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur
Benthic zone
The bottom surface of an aquatic environment
Turnover
The mixing of waters as a result of changing water-temperature profiles in a lake
Mixes oxygenated water from surface with nutrient-rich water from bottom where detritus sinks to
Invasive species
A species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range
Population ecology
The study of populations in relation to their environment, including environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in population size.
Community ecology
The study of how interactions between species affect community structure and organization
Epidemiology
Study of diseases in populations
Mark-recapture method
A sampling technique used to estimate the size of animal populations.
Territoriality
A behavior in which an animal defends a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals, usually of its own species
Cohort
A group of individuals of the same age in a population
Exponential population growth
Growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time
Zero population growth (ZPG)
A period of stability in population size, when additions to the population through births and immigration are balanced by subtractions through deaths and emigrations
Carrying capacity
The maximum populations size that can be supported by the available resources, symbolized as K.
Logistic population growth
Population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity
Density dependent
Referring to any characteristic that varies with population density
Density independent
Referring to any characteristic that is not affected by population density
Semelparity
Reproduction in which an organism produces all of its offspring in a single event; also known as big-bang reproduction
Iteroparity
Reproduction in which adults produce offspring over many years; also known as repeated reproduction
R-selected
Rapid reproduction, large number of small offspring, little parental care
K-selected
Fewer offspring, well-provisioned or cared for, increased competitive ability
Ecological footprint
Area of resources used per person
Community
All the different species in 1 place
Competition
When 2 or more organisms use same resource and the resource is limited
Interspecific
Different species
Intraspecific
Same species
Niche
All the biotic and abiotic resources an organism use in its environment
Fundamental niche
The range of conditions a species has the potential to live
Realized niche
The portion of those conditions that is actually occupied
Competitive exclusion
The concept that when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population
Barnacles
Have jointed legs and are closely related to pill bugs and shrimp
Intertidal zone
The shallow zone of the ocean adjacent to land and between the high-and-low tide lines
Interspecific competition
Competition for resources between individuals of two or more species when resources are in short supply
Niche shifts
Resource partitioning
Character displacement
The tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species
Predation
Prey is killed and consumed
Parasitism
Obtain resources for host but don’t always kill it
Herbivory
Plant is consumed partly or entirely
Coevolution
The joint evolution of two interacting species, each in response to selection imposed by the other
Aposematic coloration
The bright warning coloration of many animals with effective physical or chemical defenses
Associative learning
The acquired ability to associate one environmental feature with another
Cryptic coloration
Camouflage that makes a potential prey difficult to spot against its background
Batesian mimicry
A type of mimicry in which a harmless species look like a species that is poisonous or other wise harmful to predators
Mullerian mimcry
Reciprocal mimicry by two unpalatable species
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit
Species richness
The number of species in a biological community
Species diversity
The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community
Relative abundance
The proportional abundance of different species in a community
Trophic structure
The different feeding relationships in an ecosystem, which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling
Food web
The interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem
Top-down
Control goes from higher to lower trophic levels
Predators->herbivores->vegetation->nutrients
Bottom-up
Control goes from lower to higher trophic levels
Nutrients->vegetation->herbivores->predators
Keystone species
A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on a community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche
Ecological succession
Transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life
Primary succession
A type of ecological succession that occurs in an area where there were originally no organisms present and where soil has not yet formed
Secondary succession
A type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that levels the soil or substrate intact
Zoonotic pathogens
A disease causing agent that is transmitted to humans from other animals
Primary producer
An autotroph, usually a photosynthetic organism. Collectively, autotrophs make up the trophic level of an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other levels
Ecosystem
All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact.
Community + abiotic
Net primary productivity
The gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by all autotrophs and heterotrophs by respiration
Secondary production
The amount of chemical energy in consumers food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given period
Biogeochemical cycles
Movement of chemicals through ecosystems (including through organisms)
Assimilate
Take in
Transpiration
The evaporative loss of water from a plant
Nitrogen cycle
The natural process by which nitrogen is converted by soil bacteria to compounds assimilated by plants. It is then taken in by other organisms, released, and made available again to the nonliving environment
Bioremediation
Using plants, bacteria, or other organisms to clean up polluted ecosystems
Restoration ecology
Re-establishing ecosystem was that have been lost or heavily degraded
Conservation biology
The integrated study of ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, molecular biology, genetics to sustain biological diversity at all levels
Taxol
Anti-ovarian cancer drug resulted from U.S. gov’t testing of over 30,000 plant species
Madagascar periwinkle
Drug has changed survival from childhood leukemia from 10% to 90%
Digitalin
For heart
Bioprospecting
Screening chemicals in wild plants for potential medicinal uses
Ecosystem services
Products and processes provided by wild organisms that benefit people
Bush meat
In developing countries, many wild animals hunted and sold as food
(Elephants tusks, rhinos horn)
Assisted migration
The translocation of a species to a favorable habitat beyond its native range for the purpose of protecting the species from human caused threats
Inbreeding
Mating with close relatives
Inbreeding depression
The decrease of fitness due to inbreeding
Extinction vortex
A downward population spiral in which inbreeding and genetic drift combine to cause a small population to shrink and, unless the spiral is reversed, become extinct
Nature reserves
Area of habitat where human activities are managed to maintain biodiversity
Biodiversity
The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem
Species biodiversity
Different species on the planet
Anthropocentric
Regarding the human being as the central fact of the universe
Biosphere
All the ecosystems of the world together
Abyssal zone
Extremely deep ocean bottom
Detritus
Dead organic matter
Niche overlap
Determines the strength of competition between species
