Vocabulary- chapter 12 Flashcards
Ecology
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
abiotic
physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
biotic
relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.
evolutionary adaptation
the adjustment of organisms to their environment in order to improve their chances at survival in that environment.
exponential growth
the unrestricted growth of a population of organisms, occurring when resources in its habitat are unlimited.
logistic growth
population expansion decreases as resources become scarce, and it levels off when the carrying capacity of the environment is reached
carrying capacity
a species’ average population size in a particular habitat.
limiting resource
the maximum number of individuals in a population that a habitat can support without environmental degradation
competition
the activity or condition of competing.
Competitive exclusion
the inevitable elimination from a habitat of one of two different species with identical needs for resources.
resource partitioning
the division of resources to avoid interspecific competition for limited resources in an ecosystem
ecological niche
the role an organism plays in a community.
trophic cascade
powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems
stabilizing selection
a form of natural selection wherein individuals with moderate or average phenotypes are more fit
directional selection
a mode of natural selection in which a single phenotype is favored, causing the allele frequency to continuously shift in one direction
inducible defense
responses activated through a previous encounter with a consumer or competitor that confer some degree of resistance to subsequent attacks.
coevolution
reciprocal evolutionary changes brought about by interactions between species
commensalism
an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
parasitism
a relationship between the two living species in which one organism is benefitted at the expense of the other
mutualism
association between organisms of two different species in which each benefits
recruitment
the process by which new individuals are added to a population, whether by birth and maturation or by immigration
