vocab

Question 1

dispersal

Answer 1

ability or capacity for movement, short or long distances

Question 2

migration

Answer 2

dispersal in response to seasonal variation

Question 3

stochasticity

Answer 3

• random changes in the relative abundance of species
• particularly important in organisms with small population sizes

Question 4

evolution

Answer 4

can be viewed as:
- genetic change (allele frequency change) over time or,
- a process of descent with modification

Question 5

natural selection

Answer 5

individuals with certain traits survive + reproduce more successfully than others

Question 6

directional selection

Answer 6

individuals at one phenotypic extreme are favoured

Question 7

stabilizing selection

Answer 7

intermediate phenotype is favoured

Question 8

disruptive selection

Answer 8

both phenotypic extremes are favoured

Question 9

genetic drift

Answer 9

chance determines which alleles are passed to the next generation

Question 10

gene flow

Answer 10

alleles move between populations via movement of individuals or gametes

Question 11

r-selected

Answer 11

• short life span
• rapid development
• early maturation
• low offspring care

Question 12

k-selected

Answer 12

• long-lived
• develop slowly
• invest a lot in offspring care

Question 13

phenotypic plasticity

Answer 13

phenotypic variation due to variation in the environment

Question 14

T(opt)

Answer 14

in a thermal reaction norm, the temperature where there is highest growth

Question 15

CT(max)

Answer 15

in a thermal reaction norm, the highest temperature where growth stops

Question 16

CT(min)

Answer 16

in a thermal reaction norm, the lowest temperature needed for growth to start

Question 17

budding

Answer 17

clonal offspring detaches from parent

Question 18

apomixis/parthenogenesis

Answer 18

clonal offspring produced from unfertilized eggs

Question 19

horizontal spread

Answer 19

clonal offspring produced as organism grows

Question 20

genet

Answer 20

single genetic individual
- defined as the product of a single fertilization

Question 21

ramet

Answer 21

physiologically independent member of a gamet

Question 22

absolute population size

Answer 22

actual population abundance (all individuals)

Question 23

relative population size

Answer 23

no. of individuals in one time period or place relative to the no. in another
- can also be the no. of individuals relative to the total no. of individuals (proportion)

Question 24

inbreeding depression

Answer 24

decrease in fitness as a result of inbreeding

Question 25

demographic stochasticity

Answer 25

chance differences among individuals in reproduction or survival

Question 26

environmental stochasticity

Answer 26

environmental conditions vary over time and affects all individuals

Question 27

amensalism

Answer 27

one is unaffected and the other is negatively impacted

Question 28

commensalism

Answer 28

one is unaffected and the other benefits

Question 29

parasitism

Answer 29

predator lives on or in the prey and consumes certain tissues; may kill the host

Question 30

pathogens

Answer 30

parasites that cause disease

Question 31

parasitoids

Answer 31

insects that lay eggs on or in another insect host - after hatching, larvae remain in the host, which they eat and usually kill

Question 32

macroparasites

Answer 32

large species such as arthropods and worms

Question 33

microparasites

Answer 33

microscopic, such as bacteria

Question 34

ectoparasites

Answer 34

live on the outer body surface of host

Question 35

endoparasites

Answer 35

live inside host - most don't eat host tissue, but rob host of nutrients - some live in host tissues or cells

Question 36

culling

Answer 36

preemptive reduction in population size

Question 37

intraspecific competition

Answer 37

same species

Question 38

interspecific competition

Answer 38

different species

Question 39

species richness

Answer 39

no. of unique species in a community

Question 40

species evenness

Answer 40

the relative abundance of different species within a community

Question 41

α diversity

Answer 41

average species richness in localities

Question 42

γ diversity

Answer 42

total number of unique species in a region

Question 43

β diversity

Answer 43

compositional differences among localities β = γ - mean α

Question 44

rescue effect

Answer 44

populations in undisturbed areas recolonize "extirpated" (locally extinct) populations

Question 45

primary production

Answer 45

the generation of chemical energy by autotrophs through the fixation of carbon during photosynthesis

Question 46

gross primary production

Answer 46

total amount of carbon fixed through photosynthesis by all autotrophs

Question 47

respiration

Answer 47

loss of carbon to the atmosphere by all autotrophs due to cellular maintenance

Question 48

net primary production

Answer 48

the amount of energy captured by all autotrophs that results in an increase in living plant matter that consumers eat

Question 49

environmental stoichiometry

Answer 49

**assimilation efficiency** increases when heterotrophs consume food similar in elemental composition (C:N) to their own tissue

Question 50

ecosystem processes

Answer 50

what nature gets from nature

Question 51

ecosystem services

Answer 51

what people get from nature

Question 52

ecosystem functions

Answer 52

the stocks and fluxes of material and energy moving between organisms and between organisms and the environment

Question 53

speciation

Answer 53

the process by which new species form - occurs when groups in a species become reproductively isolated and diverges

Question 54

black swan event

Answer 54

when a species role changes dramatically and unexpectedly