Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
132 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
ecology
|
the study of the interactions of organisms with their environments
|
|
|
organism level
|
how one organism meet the challenges of its environment
|
|
|
population
|
an interbreeding group of individuals belonging to the same species and living near a particular area
|
|
|
community level
|
consists of all the organisms; all the populations of different species that inhabit a particular area
|
|
|
ecosystem level
|
includes all the life forms existing in a certain areas AND all NONLIVING factors as well
|
|
|
abiotic
|
nonliving factors (temperature, energy, gases, water)
|
|
|
biotic
|
organisms
|
|
|
biosphere
|
the global ecosystem, the portion of the Earth that is alive
|
|
|
habitats
|
environmental situations in which organisms live
|
|
|
4 most important abiotic factors are...?
|
Solar energy, water, temperature, and wind
|
|
|
doldrums
|
air at the equator rises and creates an area of calm of very light rises
|
|
|
trade winds
|
dry air descends, and some of it spreads back toward the equator
dominates the tropics |
|
|
tropics
|
latitudes between 23.5 degrees north and south
|
|
|
temperate zones
|
regions that have milder climates than the tropics or the polar regions
|
|
|
Prevailing winds
|
major global air movements; caused by the combined effects of the rising and falling of air masses and Earth's rotation
|
|
|
westerlies
|
winds that blow from west to east
|
|
|
ocean currents
|
riverlike flow patterns in the oceans
|
|
|
esutuary
|
an area where fresh water merges with seawater
|
|
|
intertidal zone
|
where estuarine water (sea water) meets land
|
|
|
wetland
|
an ecosystem that is intermediate between an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial one
|
|
|
pelagic zone
|
the ocean water itself
|
|
|
phytoplankton
|
algae and cyanobacteria
|
|
|
zooplankton
|
animals that drift in the pelagic zone - eat phytoplankton
|
|
|
benthic zone
|
seafloor
|
|
|
photic zone
|
a small portion of ocean water which light penetrates and in which photosynthesis occurs
|
|
|
aphotic zone
|
the vase dark region that is most of the oceans
|
|
|
biomes
|
terrestrial ecosystems
|
|
|
tropical thorn forests
|
equatorial lowlands, rainfall is scarce, prolonged dry seasons, thorny shrubs and trees
|
|
|
tropical deciduous forests
|
India, Southeast Asia, Tropical deciduous trees and shrubs, releaf after heavy rains
|
|
|
tropical rain forests
|
very humid equatorial areas, rainfall is abundant (>250 cm/year) + season of reduced rainfall for a few months
|
|
|
savanna
|
dominated by grasses and scattered trees, South America, South Africa, Australia, temperate forests
|
|
|
deserts
|
sparse rainfall, rapid evaporation, Austrailia, central Sahara
|
|
|
desertification
|
conversion of other biomes (especially savannas) to deserts
|
|
|
Chaparral
|
dense, spiny shrubs, evergreen leaves, cool ocean currents mild, rainy winters, and long, hot, dry summers
|
|
|
temperate grasslands
|
treeless, cold winter temperatures
|
|
|
temperate deciduous forests
|
sufficient moisture to support the growth of large trees (oak, beech, hickory)
|
|
|
coniferous forests
|
bioms in which the principal trees are cone bearers
|
|
|
taiga
|
extensive coniferous forest across northern coniferous forest, harsh winters, short summers
|
|
|
tundra
|
permanently covered with ice and snow; dwarf woody shurbs, grasses, mosses, and lichens
|
|
|
permafrost
|
continuously frozen ground
|
|
|
Population dynamics
|
the changes in population size and the factors that regulate populations over time
|
|
|
population
|
an interacting group of individuals
|
|
|
population density
|
the number of individuals of a species per unit are or volume
|
|
|
mark-recapture method
|
a method used to trap animals and tag them, and then are released. The proportion of marked to unmarked individuals gives an estimate of the size of the entire population
|
|
|
dispersion pattern
|
the way individuals are spaced within their area
|
|
|
clumped
|
individuals are separated in patches
|
|
|
uniform
|
an even pattern of dispersion often results from interactions among individuals of a population
|
|
|
random
|
individuals in a population are spaced in a patternless, unpredictable way
|
|
|
intrinsic rate of increase
|
an organism's inherent capacity to reproduce
|
|
|
exponential growth model
|
unregulated growth of a population
|
|
|
population limiting factors
|
environmental factors that restrict population growth
|
|
|
logistic growth model
|
idealized population growth that is lowed by limiting factors
|
|
|
carrying capacity
|
the number of individuals in a population the environment can maintain.
|
|
|
density dependent factors
|
factors whose effects depend on the opulation size (limited food supply and the buildup of poisonous wastes)
|
|
|
density independent factors
|
limiting factors whose occurrence is not affected by population size (climate, weather)
|
|
|
life history
|
the series of events from birth through reproduction to death
|
|
|
opportunistic life history
|
population tends to grow exponentially when conditions are favorable
|
|
|
equilibrial life history
|
population is stable, held by density dependent factors
|
|
|
age structure
|
the proportion of individuals in different age groups
|
|
|
community
|
all the populations of organisms living together and potentially interacting in a particular area
|
|
|
trophic structure
|
the feeding relationships among the various species making up the community
|
|
|
interspecific competition
|
two populations both require a limited resource, and individuals of the two species compete for the resource
|
|
|
competitive exclusion principle
|
A slight reproductive advantage will eventually lead to local elimination of the inferior competitor (G.F. Gause)
|
|
|
niche
|
a population's role in its community
|
|
|
predation
|
interaction where one species eats another
|
|
|
predator
|
consumer in predation
|
|
|
prey
|
the food species
|
|
|
coevolution
|
a series of reciprocal adaptations in two species
Heliconius :: Passiflora |
|
|
Batesian mimicry
|
a paltable species mimics an unpalatable one (one harmless other harmful)
|
|
|
Mullerian mimicry
|
two unpalatable species that inhabit the same community mimic each otehr. (both harmful and mutually benefit)
|
|
|
keystone predator
|
a species that reduces the density of the strongest competitors in a community
|
|
|
symbiotic relationship
|
an interaction between two or more species in which one species lives in or on another species (parasitism, commensalism, nd mutualism)
|
|
|
parasitism
|
predator-prey relationship in which one organism, the parasite, derives its food at the expense of its symbiotic sociate, the host
|
|
|
commensalism
|
one partner benefits without significantly affecting the other
|
|
|
mutualism
|
benefits both partners in the relationship
|
|
|
stability
|
the tendency to remain in a more or less constant balance due largely to interactions among organisms
|
|
|
disturbance
|
a force that alters a biological community and usually removes organisms from it
|
|
|
ecological succession
|
the process of community change resulting from disturbance
|
|
|
primary succession
|
community arises in a virtually lifeless area with no soil
|
|
|
secondary succession
|
occurs where a disturbance has destroyed an existing community but left the soil intact
|
|
|
energy flow
|
the passage of energy through the components of the ecosystem
|
|
|
chemical cycling
|
involves the circular movement of materials WITHIN the ecosystem
|
|
|
food chain
|
sequence of food transfer from trophic level to trophic level
|
|
|
producers
|
the trophic level that supports all others consists of autotrophs
|
|
|
primary consumers
|
herbivors and eat auto trophs and their products
|
|
|
secondary consumers
|
small mammals eating insects and bugs
|
|
|
tertiary consumers
|
snakes that eat mice is an example
|
|
|
quaternary consumers
|
hawks and killer whales is an example
|
|
|
detritivores
|
derive their energy from detritus - dead material
|
|
|
decomposition
|
the breakdown of organic materials into inorganic ones
|
|
|
food web
|
network of interconnecting food chains
|
|
|
biomass
|
the amount of living organic material in an ecosystem
|
|
|
primary productivity
|
the rate at which producers convert solar energy to chemical energy
|
|
|
eutrophication
|
increasingly productive lakes that will cause massive amounts of algae, then aerobic bacteria, then a dead zone
|
|
|
zoned reserve
|
an extensive region of land that includes one or more areas undisturbed by humans
|
|
|
animal behavior
|
externally observable muscular activity triggered by some stimulus
|
|
|
behavioral biology
|
science of behavior
|
|
|
proximate cause
|
explains behavior in terms of immediate interactions with the environment
|
|
|
ultimate causes
|
evolutionary causes of behavior
|
|
|
behavioral ecology
|
the search for ultimate causes
|
|
|
innate behavior
|
behavior that appears to be performed in virtually the same way by all individuals of a species
|
|
|
fixed action patterns (FAPs)
|
unchangeable behavioral sequences
|
|
|
sign stimulus
|
a stimulus that triggers a FAP
|
|
|
Learning
|
a change in behavior resulting from experience
|
|
|
habituation
|
an animal learns not to respond to a repeated stimulus that conveys little or no information
|
|
|
imprinting
|
learning that is limited to a specific time period in an animal's life that is irreversible
|
|
|
critical period
|
the specific time during which imprinting occurs
|
|
|
Associative learning
|
learning that a particular stimulus or particular response is linked to a reward or punishment
|
|
|
classical conditioning
|
an arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward or punishment
|
|
|
trial and error learning
|
an animal learns to associate one of its own behavioral acts with a positive or negative effect
|
|
|
imitation
|
learning by observing and mimicking the behavior of others
|
|
|
innovation
|
is the ability to respond appropriately to a new situation without prior experience
|
|
|
anthropomorphism
|
assuming that animals experience feelings such as pain or pleasure in the same ways humans do
|
|
|
consciousness
|
conscious thinking and self awareness
|
|
|
circadian rhythms
|
patterns that are repeated daily
|
|
|
kinesis
|
a random movement in response to a stimulus
|
|
|
orientation behavior
|
directed movements
|
|
|
taxis
|
automatic movement directed toward or away from a stimulus
|
|
|
cognition
|
the ability of an animal's nervous system to perceive, store, process, and use information gathered by its sensory receptors.
|
|
|
cognitive ethology
|
study of animal cognition
|
|
|
cognitive maps
|
internal representations, or codes, of the spatial relationships among objects in their surroundings
|
|
|
seasonal migration
|
the regular back and forth movement of animlas between two geographic areas at particular times of the eyar
|
|
|
search image
|
the mechanism that enables an animal to find particular foods efficiently
|
|
|
optimal foraging
|
feeding behavior that yilds the lowest cost/benefit ratio
|
|
|
social behavior
|
any kind of interaction between two or more animals
|
|
|
agonistic behavior
|
threats or actual combat that settles disputes between individuals in a population
|
|
|
dominance hierarchy
|
ranking of individuals based on social interactions
|
|
|
territory
|
an area that individuals defend and from which other members of the same species are usually excluded
|
|
|
altruism
|
behavior which reduces an individual's fitness while increasing the fitness of a recipient
|
|
|
kin selection
|
altruistic behavior evolves because it increases the number of copies of a gene common to a group
|
|
|
recipricol altruism
|
an altruistic act repaid at a later time by the beneficiary
|
|
|
sociobiology
|
the study of evolutionary basis of social behavior
|
