 | Term | Definition |
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carrying capacity |
number of organisms that can be supported in a given area under given conditions |
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biological magnification |
DDT spayed to kill insects... not biodegradable... stays in ground and in living tissue and can be passed on |
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Benthic |
bottom dwellers |
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nekton |
swimmers |
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planktonic |
free floaters |
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Desert |
cacti - hot days, cold nights, low precip - dry, poor soil |
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Tundra |
lichen - short cool summer, long cold winter, low precip - shallow permafrost |
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Grasslands |
grasses, few trees - dry hot summer, cold winters, irregular precip - rich and deep soil |
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Tropical Rainforest |
vines, ferns, large leaf plants - hot humid, constant temp, rainy and dry season - shallow poor nutrients in trees |
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Taiga |
pine, conifers - short cool summer, long cold winter, lots of snow and rain - acidic soil |
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Temperate Deciduous forest |
deciduous (oak, maple, poplar) - warm summer, cold winter, moderate precip - good, deep soil |
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niche |
an organism's role in its environment (who eats it, what it eats, etc...) |
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niche problem |
No 2 species can be in the same niche at the same time in the same place |
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symbiotic |
Any interrelationship between organisms that are necessary for them to live |
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predation |
hunter / hunted (wolves, deer) |
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mutualism |
both benefit (rhino, tickbird) |
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commensalism |
one benefits, one unaffected (shark, remora) |
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parasitism |
one benefits, one harmed (tapeworm) |
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Biome |
A combination of many ecosystems which share the same climate and vegetation |
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Ecology |
study of biotic and abiotic factors and their interactions |
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How biotic affects abiotic |
tree blocks sun from getting to flowers |
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how abiotic affects biotic |
sun provides energy for plants |
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Red tide cause |
heated water... algal bloom from pyrrophyta... Dinoflagellates (red color)... bioluminescent |
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pyrrophyta produce |
neurotoxin (nerve poison) |
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how clams get it |
clams filter feed... accumulate algae and neurotoxin |
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organisms effected by redtide |
clams, mussels, quahogs, scallops (bivalves) |
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paralytic shellfish poisoning |
paralyzes muscles...can't breathe... die |
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water heats by... |
power plants, excess pollutants, bacteria release heat as they decompose, warm summer |
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14 pH |
basic |
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1 pH |
acidic |
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7 pH |
neutral |
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R selection |
have as many offspring as possible as fast as possible (fish, insects) |
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K selection |
Kin... having few offspring and protection them until they reach maturity (man, horse, eagle) |
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masting |
have all the offspring at one time |
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Biological control |
Using another species or population to control the growth rate of a particular population |
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hibernate |
metabolic rate change |
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mammals that hibernate |
jumping mouse, little brown bat, woodchuck |
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physiological adaptation |
how the body works internally |
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physiological examples |
deer metabolism, hibernate, estivate, dormancy, shiver, countercurrent exchangers |
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Morphological adaptation |
outward body structure |
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Morphological examples |
jack rabbit ears (large) vs. hare ears (small)... they lose heat through ears, fur growth/loss, antlers, tree lose leaves, color change chameleon, fat buildup in bears |
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density |
number of organisms per area |
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demographics |
the characteristics of a population with respect to age, race, and gender. |
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s-curve |
pionneer to climax community growth |
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exponential curve |
human population |
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sine curve |
predator/prey |
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lag phase |
1 in s-curve |
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exponential phase |
2 in s-curve |
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stabilization phase |
3 in s-curve |
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population |
a group of organisms of the same kind in a particular place and time |
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density independent factors |
factors which effect a population the same regardless of population size (fire, pH, temperature) |
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density dependent factors |
factors, both abiotic and biotic, which effect a population differently depending upon how crowded it is (food, shelter, disease, predation |
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percolation test |
how easily water can flow through a medium |
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dune plants importantcy |
prevent erosion |
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denitrification |
NO3 (nitrate) becomes N2 (gas) and goes into atmosphere |
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nitrification |
NO2 (nitrate) becomes NO3 (nitrate), usable by plants |
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nitrogen fixation |
N2 (gas) becomes NO3 (nitrate) and can be taken in by plants |
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ammonification |
waste/urine and dead organic matter converted from NH3 (ammonia) into NH4 (also converts N2 to NH4) |
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Legumes |
Plant organisms involved in getting nitrogen gas into NO3 |
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nitrogen fixing bacteria |
Organisms in a mutual relationship with the plants above in getting nitrogen into a usable form |
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bacteria |
Kind of organisms in the soil involved in every step of the nitrogen cycle |
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decomposing |
major niche of bacteria |
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assimilation (eating) |
how the animals get nitrogen |
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Carson |
United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964) (book - "silent spring") |
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Darwin |
English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882) |
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NO2 |
nitrate |
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DDE |
prevents calcium in eggshells... birds crush eggs when incubating... endangered species |
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CFC's |
creating holes in ozone |
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C02 |
carbon dioxide from power plants, cars, etc... |
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trophic level |
eating level |
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autotroph (producer) |
makes own food (grass, algae) |
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heterotroph |
must take in food |
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herbivore |
eats producers (usually plants) (rabbit, guppy) |
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carnivore |
meat eater (wolf, bass) |
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primary carnivore |
eats herbivors |
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secondary carnivore |
meat eater that eats a meat eater |
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scavenger carnivore |
eats already dead meat (vulture, lobster) |
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omnivore |
all eater (plants and animals) (man, bear) |
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parasite |
lives off of living things (tape worm, tick) |
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decomposer |
breaks down (recycles) dead organisms into original nutrients (bacteria, fungi, maggots, earthworms) |
