AP Biology- Unit 1 Ecology
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33 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Acclimation | the process of an organism's adjustment to an abiotic factor |
| Biogeography | the study of geographic distribution of species. |
| Age structure | the relative amount of individuals in each age bracket (cohort) of a population |
| Life history | the traits that affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and survival |
| K-selection | selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density |
| R-selection | have as many offspring as possible as fast as possible (fish, insects) |
| Opportunistic populations | show exponential growth and have small organisms with early maturation, short life span, and limited parental care to offspring |
| Intraspecific competition | competition between members of the same species |
| Ecological niche | A specific role of a species within an ecosystem, including its use of resources, and relationships with other species. |
| Fundamental niche | the full range of conditions that a species can tolerate and resources it can use |
| Resource partitioning | in a biological community various populations sharing environmental resources through specialization thereby reducing direct competition |
| Exotic species | organisms that are not native to a particular area |
| Mark-recapture method | A sampling technique used to estimate wildlife populations. |
| Species richness | the number of different species in a community |
| Species diversity | Number of different species in the biosphere, the number and relative abundance of species in a biological community |
| Coevolution | process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other |
| Cryptic coloration | coloring that conceals or disguises an animal's shape |
| Mimicry | a defense in which one organism resembles another that is dangerous or poisonous |
| Batesian mimicry | A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators. |
| Mullerian mimicry | evolution of two species, both of which are unpalatable and, have poisonous stingers or some other defense mechanism, to resemble each other |
| Competitive exclusion principle | ecological rule that states that no two species can occupy the same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time |
| Denitrification | conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas, process in which fixed nitrogen compounds are converted back into nitrogen gas and returned to the atmosphere |
| Primary productivity | rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem |
| Gross primary productivity | the rate at which organic matter is assimilated by plants and other producers during a period of time over a certain area |
| Net primary productivity | The gross primary productivity minus the energy used by the producers for cellular respiration; represents the storage of chemical energy in an ecosystem available to consumers. |
| Biomass | the total mass of living matter in a given unit area |
| Standing crop biomass | the weight or mass of above-ground, dry plant material in a defined area at a given point in time. |
| Limiting nutrient | single nutrient that either is scarce or cycles very slowly, limiting the growth of organisms in an ecosystem |
| Biomass pyramid | diagram representing the biomass in each trophic level of an ecosystem |
| Nitrification | the oxidation of ammonium compounds in dead organic material into nitrates and nitrites by soil bacteria (making nitrogen available to plants) |
| Ammonification | the formation of ammonia compounds in the soil by the action of bacteria on decaying matter |
| Biodiversity crisis | the current rapid decline in the variety of life on Earth, largely due to the effects of human culture |
| Endemic species | species that are native to and found only within a limited area |
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