Unit 8 Ecology Flashcards
What is a biotic factor?
a living component of an ecosystem that affects other organisms.
What is an abiotic factor?
a non-living component of an ecosystem that influences living organisms.
What is a climograph?
a graphical representation of the relationship between temperature and precipitation over a specific period.
What is the photic zone?
the upper layer of a body of water where sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis occurs.
What is the benthic zone?
the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water, including the sediment surface.
What is the limnetic zone?
the open water area of a lake or pond, away from the shore.
What is a thermocline?
a distinct layer in a large body of water where temperature changes more rapidly with depth.
What is a life table?
a table that shows the mortality and survival rates of a population at different ages.
What is a survivorship curve?
a graph that represents the number of individuals surviving at each age for a given species.
What is a type I survivorship curve?
shows high survival rates in early and middle life, with a steep decline in older age.
What is a type II survivorship curve?
shows a constant mortality rate throughout the life span.
What is a type III survivorship curve?
shows high mortality rates in early life, with few individuals surviving to adulthood.
What is a reproductive table?
a table that summarizes the reproductive rates of a population.
What is the exponential model of growth?
describes a population that grows rapidly without limits.
What is the logistic model of growth?
describes a population that grows rapidly initially but slows as it approaches carrying capacity.
What is carrying capacity?
maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely.
What is Life History?
series of changes undergone by an organism during its lifetime.
What is density-dependent selection?
occurs when the fitness of a phenotype depends on its density relative to other phenotypes.
What is density-independent selection?
occurs when the fitness of a phenotype is not affected by its density.
What is equilibrium density selection?
occurs when population size stabilizes at a certain density.
What is population dynamics?
the study of how populations change over time and space.
What is a metapopulation?
a group of spatially separated populations of the same species that interact at some level.
What is a biological community?
a group of interacting species that live in the same area.
What are interspecific interactions?
interactions between individuals of different species.
What is Batesian mimicry?
when a harmless species evolves to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species.
What is herbivory?
the act of eating plants or plant parts by animals.
What is competitive exclusion?
the principle that two species competing for the same resources cannot coexist.
What is resource partitioning?
the division of resources among species to reduce competition.
What is character displacement?
phenomenon where differences among similar species are accentuated in regions where they coexist.
What is species diversity?
variety of different species within a given ecosystem.
What is species richness?
the number of different species represented in a given ecological community.
What is relative abundance?
the proportion of each species in relation to the total number of species in a community.
What is the Shannon Diversity Index?
a measure of the diversity of a community, taking into account both richness and evenness.
What is trophic structure?
the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.
What is a dominant species?
species that has a large impact on its community due to its abundance or biomass.
What is a keystone species?
a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.
What are ecosystem engineers?
species that create, modify, or maintain habitats for other organisms.
What is a bottom-up trophic cascade model?
suggests that lower trophic levels control the structure of higher trophic levels.
What is a top-down trophic cascade model?
suggests that higher trophic levels control the structure of lower trophic levels.
What is a nonequilibrium model?
suggests that ecosystems are constantly changing and do not reach a stable state.
What is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis?
states that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity.
What is primary ecological succession?
the process of community development on a previously uninhabited substrate.
What is secondary ecological succession?
disturbance in an existing community.
What are latitudinal gradients?
the variation in species diversity and richness observed at different latitudes.
What is evapotranspiration?
the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere.
What is the species-area curve?
a graphical representation of the relationship between the area of a habitat and the number of species it supports.
What is a zoonotic pathogen?
disease-causing agent that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
What is a trophic level?
A trophic level is a position in a food chain or food web, defined by how organisms obtain energy.
What is a heterotroph?
an organism that cannot produce its own food and must consume other organisms for energy.
What is a primary producer?
an organism that produces organic compounds from carbon dioxide through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
What is a primary consumer?
A primary consumer is an organism that feeds on primary producers, typically herbivores.
What is a secondary consumer?
an organism that feeds on primary consumers, typically carnivores or omnivores.
What is a tertiary consumer?
an organism that feeds on secondary consumers, often at the top of the food chain.
What is energy flow?
the transfer of energy through a food chain from primary producers to various levels of consumers.
What is gross primary production?
the total amount of organic matter produced by photosynthesis in a given area.
What is net primary production?
the amount of organic matter available for consumption after accounting for respiration by producers.
What is production efficiency?
the ratio of energy or biomass produced to the energy or biomass consumed.
What is trophic efficiency?
the percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next.
What are biogeochemical cycles?
the pathways by which essential elements and compounds circulate through ecosystems.
What is biological augmentation?
the use of living organisms to improve the health of an ecosystem.
What is genetic diversity?
refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species.
What is ecosystem diversity?
refers to the variety of ecosystems within a given region.
What is air purification?
process of removing pollutants and contaminants from the air.
What is water purification?
process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, and suspended solids from water.
What is waste decomposition?
[rocess by which organic matter is broken down by microorganisms.
What is an ecosystem engineer?
an organism that creates, modifies, or maintains habitats for other organisms.
What is ocean acidification?
the process by which the ocean becomes more acidic due to increased carbon dioxide absorption.
What is the declining population approach?
focuses on the factors causing a population to decline and strategies to reverse that trend.
What is the small population approach?
emphasizes the importance of genetic diversity and demographic stability in small populations.
What is an extinction vortex?
downward spiral in which a small population becomes increasingly vulnerable to extinction.
What is a minimum viable population?
the smallest population size that can sustain itself and avoid extinction.
What is an effective population?
a measure of the breeding potential of a population, considering factors like sex ratio and age structure.
What is a movement corridor?
a strip of habitat that connects isolated populations, allowing for gene flow.
What is a biodiversity hot spot?
a region that is both rich in species diversity and threatened by human activities.
What is biological magnification?
process by which the concentration of toxins increases as they move up the food chain.
What is an ecological footprint?
measures the environmental impact of an individual or population in terms of land and resources.
What is sustainable development?
practice of meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
What is the littoral zone?
the nearshore area of a body of water where sunlight reaches the bottom.
What is cryptic coloration?
form of camouflage that helps organisms avoid detection by predators.
What is aposematic coloration?
bright coloration that warns predators of an organism’s toxicity or unpalatability.
What is an ecological niche?
the role and position a species has in its environment, including its habitat and interactions.
What is a food chain?
a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.
What is a food web?
complex network of feeding relationships among various organisms in an ecosystem.
What is bioremediation?
the use of living organisms to remove or neutralize contaminants from the environment.
What is detoxification?
process of removing toxic substances from the body or environment.
What is climate?
the long-term average of weather conditions in a particular area.
What is a biome?
large geographic biotic unit, a major community of plants and animals with similar life forms and environmental conditions.
What is disturbance?
refers to an event that changes a community by removing organisms or altering resource availability.
What is dispersal?
the movement of individuals from their place of birth to their breeding location.
What is density?
number of individuals of a species per unit area or volume.
What is dispersion?
refers to the pattern of spacing among individuals within a population.
What is demographic?
refers to the statistical characteristics of populations, such as age, sex, and income.
What is exploitation?
the act of using resources or organisms for economic gain or survival.
What is predation?
interaction where one organism (the predator) kills and eats another organism (the prey).
What is parasitism?
relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of another organism.
What is mutualism?
symbiotic relationship where both species benefit from the interaction.
What is commensalism?
a relationship where one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.
What is a vector?
an organism that transmits a pathogen from one host to another.
What is an autotroph?
an organism that produces its own food from inorganic substances.
What is an herbivore?
an organism that primarily consumes plants.
What is an omnivore?
an organism that consumes both plants and animals.
What is a carnivore?
an organism that primarily consumes other animals.
What is a detritivore?
an organism that feeds on dead organic matter.
What is detritus?
decomposing organic matter, such as dead plants and animals.
What is eutrophication?
process by which water bodies become enriched with nutrients, leading to excessive growth of algae.
What is fragmentation?
the process of breaking up habitats into smaller, isolated patches.
What is climate change?
refers to significant changes in global temperatures and weather patterns over time.
What is the greenhouse effect?
the warming of the Earth’s surface due to the trapping of heat by greenhouse gases.
