Ecology unit test
Order by
65 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ecology | scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment |
| Species | a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| Sterile hybrid | mules, ligers, tigons are what kind of species? |
| Population | a group of organisms of the same species populating a given area |
| communities | Groups of organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other |
| Population Density | number of individuals per unit area |
| Clumped dispersion | most common-- individuals stay in patches or groups |
| Uniform dispersion | Evenly spaced--happens from territoriality, species become competitive, uncommon. |
| Random dispersion | When individuals are attracted to a certain key factor and is when individuals are independent of everyone else, uncommon. |
| exponential growth | growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate, ex: humans. Curve is J shaped. There are unlimited resources. |
| Logistic Growth | growth pattern in which a population's growth rate slows or stops following a period of exponential growth. S shaped curve. |
| Carrying Capacity | Largest amount of a population that can be supported by an area. Represented by variable K. |
| R Selected Population | high death rate, reproduce quickly, unlimited resources, short life span, numerous offspring, no parental care. Exponential. Density Independent |
| K Selected Population | low death rate, few vital offspring survive, maximum population size, long life span, off spring are large, compete for resources, density dependent |
| cohort | a group people having approximately the same age |
| Type I Survivorship | Humans, they have few offspring, good parental care, and live between 0-60 years. K Selected. |
| Type II Survivorship | Squirrels and song birds, they have medium "litter" offspring, short span parental care, constant death rate. Neither K selected or R selected. |
| Type III Survivorship | Oysters, they have large offspring, no parental care, and they die after birth, R selected. |
| semelparity | big-bang reproduction-- produce a lot of offsprings all at once and hope they survive. Ex: agaves century plants and oysters |
| iteroparity | repeated reproduction, repeat annually for or every few years. |
| trade off | An organism's allocation of its limited energy or other resources to one structure or function at the expense of another. |
| density dependent | factor that impacts populatios more when density is high. controls include: disease, parasitism, competition for resources, territoriality, toxic metabolic wastes, and predation. |
| density independent | factors that limit populations but are unrelated to population density , ie hurricane, flood, fires, pesticides |
| Prey and Predator relationship | If the prey population increases, the predator population increases as well since it depends on it for food. |
| Kenya | Rapid growth population with many offspring |
| United States | slow growth from baby booming |
| Italy | decline in population. |
| Community ecology | A group of populations that inhibit a particular area. The study of a whole array of interacting species. |
| habitat | Physical location that an organism lives |
| niche | how they make a living, biological role |
| ecosystem | biotic components interacting with Abiotic components (soil, climate, water) |
| Symbiosis | Living together, the relation between two different species of organisms that are interdependent |
| Commensalism | one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefitted (+/0) ex: barnacles on a whale. |
| Mutualism | When both organisms benefit. (+/+) Bees pollinating flowers |
| Parasitism | host is harmed but parasite benefits (+/-) |
| Predation | One organism kills the other. This keeps the prey population from exceeding the carrying capacity. |
| competition | Two or more individual organisms of a single species (intraspecific competition) or two or more individuals of different species (interspecific competition) attempting to use the same scarce resources in the same ecosystem. (-/-) |
| camoflauge | organisms that can blend in their environment |
| warning coloration | Conspicuous patterns and colors that predators learn to recognize as: "Avoid me!" |
| 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 | when two or more poisonous species resemble each other and gain an advantage from their combined numbers |
| moment of truth defense | Last minute, last chance trick prey use. |
| resource partitioning | 2 species evolve different behaviors or morphological traits that allow them to use a resource in different ways-->less competition, divide their niche |
| community stability | species with similar niches can coexist without interspecific competition as long as they differ in 1) horizontal or vertical position (habitat) 2)temporal relations (time they are up, noct/diurnal) 3)stage of development |
| keystone species | species whose role in an ecosystem in an ecosystem is more important than others, such as a sea otter, sea stars, grizzly bear, prairie dogs. (Sea stars keep mussels under control. The removal of it decreases diversity.) |
| island biogeography | theory that, as species richness increases in an isolated habitat, immigration decreases and extinction increases to maintain equilibrium of species |
| Food chain | simple model that shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem (example: plankton -->minnow -->fish --> shark) |
| Trophic level | A level in the food chain based on source of food. |
| 1st level | autotrophs/primary producers |
| food webs | more complex, interrelationships among various organisms at each trophic level. ex. bears eat berries (pp) and mammals(con). |
| Energy pyramid | a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web |
| Energy line up | primary producer (100%), Primary consumer (10%), Secondary Consumer (1%), Tertiary Consumer (.1%), Quaternary (.001%) energy. |
| biomass | total dry mass, a given type in a given area (g/m2) |
| inverted | phytoplankton are consumed too quickly |
| Numbers pyramid | shows number of individuals, predators at stake of extinction. |
| gross primary production | the amount of photosynthesis per unit time |
| Net primary production | the amount of vegetation added to ecosystem, Biomass per unity area per unit time (NPP-R) |
| primary productivity | rate at which producers in an ecosystem build biomass |
| Dissolved Oxygen | oxygen released into the water by photosynthesis. Sources: Diffusion and Photosynthesis. Sink: Cellular respiration. Solubility: Temperature (Cold>Hot), Salinity (Fresh>Salt), Altitude (Sea>High), Depth (Shallow>Deep) |
| Water Cycle | Evaporation of liquid water by solar energy, condensation of water vapor into clouds, and precipitation. Transpiration by plants. Runoff +Groundwater return water to ocean (resettle) |
| Carbon Cycle | CO2 reservoir is from fossil fuels. CO2 goes into atmosphere, reduced by photosynthesis, decomposed detritus and C-compounds in water & cellular respiration return it to atmosphere |
| Nitrogen Cycle | the continuous sequence of events by which atmospheric nitrogen and nitrogenous compounds in the soil are converted, as by nitrification and nitrogen fixation, into substances that can be utilized by green plants, the substances returning to the air and soil as a result of the decay of the plants and denitrification. |
| Phosphorus cycle | the movement of Phosphates in the atmosphere; where phosphate runs off rocks and is absorbed in soil. Plants then dissolve this and herbivores obtain Phosphorus by eating the plants, and the carnivores by eating the herbivores. Phosphorus is excreted as feces and urine from animals and returns in decomposition of animals. |
| energy transfer | sun, producer, consumer, decomposer |
| eutrophication | over-enrichment of a body of water as a result of excessive nutrient loading, often resulting in the depletion of dissolved oxygen and detrimental to living organisms. |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.