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47 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Species richness
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Listing of various species in the community
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Species diversity
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Includes both species richness and the relative abundance of the different species
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Ecological niche
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Therole a species plays in its community – Includes the methods a species uses tomeet energy, nutrient, and survival demands
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Fundamental niche
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ALL abiotic conditions suitable for the organism to survive without adverse biotic conditions such as competition and predation.
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Realized niche
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Part of the fundamental niche actually occupied by the species.
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Competitive Exclusion Principle
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No two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche at the same time.
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Resource partitioning
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Allocation of resources in order to decrease competition between species
Resource partitioning leads to niche specialization and less niche overlap between species |
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Character Displacement
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Characteristics tend to become more divergent when populations belong to the same community than when they are isolated.
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Predation
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One living organism, the predator, feeds on another, the prey.Parasitism is considered a type of predation.Parasitoids are organisms that lay their eggs inside a host.Population density of the predator can be affected by the prevalence of the prey and vice versa.
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Prey defenses
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SpeedProtective armor
Protective spines or thorns Tails or appendages that break off Chemical defenses Camouflage Warning coloration Structures that cause the startle responseFlocking behavior |
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Mimicry
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One species resembles another species that possesses an overt antipredator defense.
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Batesian Mimicry
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The mimic lacks defense of the organism it resembles
E.g., The scarlet kingsnake mimics venomous the coral snake |
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Müllerian Mimicry
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The mimic shares a protective defense with other species
E.g., The bumblebee mimicsthe yellow jacket wasp |
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Symbiosis
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A close association between two different species over long periods of time
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Parasitism
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Parasite derives nourishment from a host.Effect of parasites on the health of the host can range from slightly weakening them to killing them over time.
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Commensalism
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One species is benefited and the other is neither benefited nor harmed.
E.g., Clownfish living within tentacles of sea anemones E.g., Egrets remove parasites from cattle. |
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Mutualism
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Both members of the association benefit
Often help each other obtain food or avoid predation E.g., Cleaning symbiosis E.g., Bacteria in human intestinal tract E.g, Plants and their pollinators (coevolution) |
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Ecological Succession
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A change in a community involving a series of species replacements
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Primary succession
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The formation of soil from exposed rock due to wind, water, and other abiotic factors.
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Secondary succession
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Begins where soil is already present but after disturbance (e.g., abandoned farm land)
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Pioneer species
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the first species to inhabit a community after a disturbance.
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Climax community
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A mature and stable community
Climate and soil conditions determine whether succession resulted in a desert, a grassland, or a forest! |
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Abiotic components
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Atmosphere
Water Soil |
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Biotic components:
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Living things:
Autotrophs Heterotrophs Decomposers |
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Autotrophs
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Require only inorganic nutrients and an outside energy source to produce organic nutrients = Producers
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Photoautotrophs
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Produce food by photosynthesis
E.g., Land plants, algae |
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Chemoautotrophs
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Produce food by converting inorganic compounds into organic compounds.
E. g., Some bacteria |
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Heterotrophs
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Need a preformed source of organic nutrients as they acquire food
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Consumers
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consume food generated by a producer
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Carnivores
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Feed on other animals
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Herbivores
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Feed on plants
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Omnivores
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Feed on plants and animals
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Detritivores
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Feed on organic matter produced by the decomposition of dead organisms
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Decomposers
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Break down dead organisms to feed on detritus and release inorganic substances, which are taken up by producers
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Only about 10% of the organic nutrients made by producers is passed on to consumers
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Organisms use organic molecules to fuel their own metabolism, growth, and reproductionAdditional energy is lost through excretion, defecation, and organisms that die without being consumed
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Food web
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Represents interconnecting paths of energy flow within ecosystems
Describes trophic (feeding) relationships |
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grazing food web
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leaves-caterpillars-birds-hawks |
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detrital food web
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Detritus becomes food for soil organisms
detritus-earthworms-salamanders A detrital food web member may become food for above ground carnivores, so the detrital and grazing food webs are joined |
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Trophic levels
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A level of nourishment within a food web or chain
Composed of all the organisms that feed at the same level |
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Ecological pyramids
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Depict the flow of energy with large losses between successive trophic levels
Only about 10% of the energy of one trophic level is available to the next trophic levelExplains why few top carnivores can be supported in a food web! |
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The Water (Hydrologic) Cycle
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Fresh water evaporates from bodies of water.Condensation occurs in which vaporized fresh water rises, collects, cools, and falls as rain.Precipitation on land enters the ground, surface waters, or aquifers.
Water eventually returns to the oceans. |
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The Carbon Cycle
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The atmosphere is an exchange pool for CO2 carbon.
In water, CO2 combines with water to produce bicarbonate ions. Bicarbonate in the water is in equilibrium with CO2 in the air. The total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing every year |
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Greenhouse effect
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Green house gasses (e,g., CO2, nitrous oxide, methane) traps heat form the sun in the atmosphereIncreasing greenhouse gasses leads to global warming and climate change
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The phosphorous cycle
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Phosphorous from ocean sediments moves on to land via geologic activity Weathering of rocks results in the deposition of phosphate ions in the soilSome phosphate runs off into aquatic ecosystems
Excessive phosphorous levels can lead to eutrophication – over-enrichment of waterways |
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The nitrogen cycle
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Atmospheric nitrogen is fixed (nitrogen fixation) by bacteria thus become available to producersNitrification – production of nitrates, which plants can use as a source of nitrogen
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Denitrification
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conversion of nitrate to nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas
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Acid deposition
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nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide are converted to acids when they combine with water vaporAffects lakes and forests
Reduces agricultural yield |