Ch 34-37 Ecology Test
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Created by:
Simonsclass on November 9, 2011
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69 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 biotic factor | living component of bio community |
| abiotic factor | nonliving component of ecosystem |
| landscape | array of ecosystem |
| biosphere | all of inhabited Earth, sum of planet's ecosystems |
| interspecific interactions | relationships w/individs of other species |
| interspecific competition | pops of 2 different species compete for the same limited resource |
| mutualism | both pops benefit (+,+) |
| predation | one species (pred) kills other (prey) (+,-) |
| herbivory | animal eats plants/algae (+,-) |
| parasitism | plants/animals victimized by parasites/diseases (pathogens) (+,-) |
| food chain | seq of food transfer up the trophic levels |
| producers | autotrophs, orgs that make organic food material and inorganic raw materials |
| primary consumers | herbivores (eat producers) |
| secondary consumers | carnivores/insectivores (eat primary consumers) - ex. small mammals |
| tertiary consumers | eat secondary consumers (ex. snakes eat mice) |
| quarternary consumers | eat tertiary consumers (ex. hawks/killer whales) |
| detritivores | consume organic waste/dead orgs |
| decomposers | Prokaryotes and fungi secrete enzymes that digest nutrients from organic material and convert them into inorganic forms |
| detritus | dead material produced by trophic levels |
| decomposition | breakdown of organic materials to inorganic ones |
| food web | network of interconnecting food chains |
| energy flow | passage of energy through the components of the ecosystem |
| chemical cycling | transfer of materials w/in the ecosystem |
| biomass | amount (mass) of living organic material in ecosystem |
| primary production | amount of solar energy converted to chem energy by ecosystem's producers for given area during given time period |
| biogeochemical cycles | chemical circuits that involve both biotic and abiotic (geological & atmospheric) components of an ecosystem |
| abiotic reservoir | part of ecosystem where a chemical accumulates or is stockpiled outside of living organisms. |
| nitrogen fixation | N2 (gas) converted to compounds of nitrogen that can be used by plants |
| population ecology | how/why pops change |
| population | individs of same spec in same space, rely on same res, influenced by same environ factors, interact/breed |
| population density | number of individs of species per unit area/vol |
| dispersion pattern | way individs are spaced w/in their area |
| clumped dispersion | individs grouped in patches |
| uniform dispersion | even spacing, results from interactions b/w individs or terr behavior |
| random dispersion | spaced unpredictably |
| survivorship curve | plot survivorship as proportion of individuals from initial pop that are still alive @ certain age |
| exponential growth | rate of pop increase under ideal conditions (unreg. pop growth) |
| limiting factors | environ factors that restrict pop growth |
| logistic growth | pop growth slowed by limiting factors as pop size increases |
| carrying capacity | max pop sustainable for environ |
| density-dependent factor | declining birth/increase death rates b/c of pop density |
| density-independent factor | abiotic factors (ex. weather) affect pop growth (before lim. factors) |
| life history | traits that affect an org's schedule of reprod/death |
| r-selection | per capita rate of increase maximized (as many orgs as possible) |
| k-selection | few, well cared for offspring - happens when pop near carrying capacity |
| demographic transition | shift from zero pop growth (high birth/death rates) to zero pop growth (low birth/death rates) |
| ecological footprint | estimate of amount of land required to provide raw materials individ/nation consumes |
| proximate cause | immediate mechanism for behavior |
| ultimate cause | evolutionary explanation for behavior |
| innate behavior | behavior under strong genetic control, preformed same way in species |
| fixed action pattern | unchangeable series of actions trig.'d by spec. stim. |
| learning | modification of behavior as a result of spec. experience |
| habituation | loss of rsp to repeated stim over time |
| imprinting | irreversible learning, limited to sensitive time in animal's life |
| spatial learning | use of landmarks to learn spatial struc of environ |
| cognitive mapping | internal rep of spatial relationships among objects in environ |
| associative learning | behavioral change based on linking a stim or beh w/reward or punishment (trial and error) |
| social learning | observing/mimicking others |
| problem solving | inventive behavior in rsp to new sitch |
| foraging | food-obtaining behavior (food and mechanisms to get food) |
| optimal foraging theory | animal's feeding behavior should provide max energy gain w/min energy expense and min risk of being eaten |
| signal | stim transmitted by one animal to another |
| communication | sending, reception, & rsp to signals |
| social behavior | interaction b/w 2 or more animals |
| territory | area (fixed location) where individs defend and members of same spec excl |
| biological community | all pops of orgs living close enough for potential interaction, described by species composition |
| ecological niche | sum of species' use of biotic and abiotic resources in environ |
| sustained resource management | harvesting crops w/o damaging the resource |
| max sustained yield | harvesting done @ level that produces consistent yield w/o forcing pop decline |
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