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ap biology > Unit 8: Ecology > Flashcards

Unit 8: Ecology Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards
1
Q

Abiotic Factor

A

nonliving factor that influences ecosystems

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2
Q

Biotic Factor

A

living factors that influences ecosystems

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3
Q

Conservation

A

the preservation and management of biodiversity

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4
Q

Global Warming

A

gradual increase in the earth’s temperature due to human activities

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5
Q

Imprinting

A

process by which early attachments form in some animals

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6
Q

nitrogen cycle

A

process by which nitrogen is cycled throughout earth’s systems

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7
Q

Pollution

A

the releasing of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere

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8
Q

Saprophyte

A

microorganisms that live on dead or decaying matter

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9
Q

Secondary Succession

A

organisms that repopulate after an extinction of previously existing life

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10
Q

Logistic Growth

A

exponential growth restricted by carrying capacity

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11
Q

Symbiosis

A

living together

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12
Q

adaptation

A

process of changing to better fit an environment

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13
Q

carbon cycle

A

cycling of carbon throughout the earth

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14
Q

Decomposer

A

organism that feeds on the remains of dead organisms

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15
Q

Greenhouse Effect

A

insulation of the earth via gases in the atmosphere

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16
Q

Interspecific Competition

A

competition between different species

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17
Q

Parasite

A

organism living in another organism that utilizes other organism’s nutrients at other organism’s expense

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18
Q

Predator

A

organism that eats another

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19
Q

detritovore

A

organism that feeds on organic waste of plants and animals,

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20
Q

ecosystem

A

sum of organisms and environment interacting

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21
Q

Migration

A

seasonal movement somewhere else

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22
Q

10% Rule

A

only 10% of previous energy or biomass remains as it moves through trophic levels

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23
Q

Age Structure

A

organization of population by age on a graph

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24
Q

Carrying Capacity

A

maximum population an environment will allow due to abiotic and biotic pressures

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25
Q

Density-Dependent Factor

A

limit growth based on density of population; usually biotic

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26
Q

Gross Primary Productivity

A

maximum amount of sunlight that is converted to organic material by producers

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27
Q

Intraspecific Competition

A

competition within a species

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28
Q

Photoautotroph

A

produce food using sunlight

29
Q

Primary Consumer

A

herbivore that eats autotrophs

30
Q

Distribution

A

geographic range where species can be found

31
Q

Endangered Species

A

species is in danger of extinction throughout most of its range

32
Q

Mutualism

A

type of symbiosis where both species benefit

33
Q

Trophic Level

A

position an organism occupies in a food web

34
Q

Biodiversity

A

the measure of species variation and relative abundance in an area

35
Q

Climate Change

A

global change in climate due to excess greenhouse gases

36
Q

Food Chain

A

arrangement of species in an ecological community by predation

37
Q

Habitat

A

where an organism lives

38
Q

K-Selection

A

organism that produce few offspring to survive a long life

39
Q

Population

A

a group of same species individuals in a given area

40
Q

intrinsic rate of Increase (r)

A

percent of the population that it will increase by; per capita rate of increase

41
Q

Niche

A

organism’s ecological role

42
Q

Exponential Growth

A

unrestricted growth of a population

43
Q

Secondary Consumer

A

carnivore that eats herbivores (primary consumers)

44
Q

Biome

A

large area defined by its climate

45
Q

Community

A

group of different species

46
Q

Food Web

A

the interactions of many food chains

47
Q

Hydrologic Cycle (the water cycle)

A

the cycling of water throughout the earth

48
Q

Keystone Species

A

species in small population that the entire ecosystem depends on to survive

49
Q

Population Growth

A

rate at which teh population increaes (dN/dt)

50
Q

R-Selection

A

organism that reproduces a lot of offspring that have a low rate of survival

51
Q

Primary Succession

A

organisms that repopulate a newly formed environment

52
Q

Limiting Factor

A

abiotic and biotic factors that limit population growth

53
Q

Survivorship Curve

A

curve showing the mortality and survivorship of a species

54
Q

How is the behavioral and/or physiological response of an organism related to changes in internal or external environment?

A

Depending on the internal or external environment, the organism may adapt to the change by moderating their internal environment or migrating to a more suitable environment

55
Q

How do the behavioral responses of organisms affect their overall fitness and contribute to the success of the population?

A

Specific behaviors that an individual displays may either be selected as beneficial or not beneficial and accululation of the beneficial traits increases the sucess of a population

56
Q

What are the strategies organisms use to acquire and use energy?

A

Autotrophs produce their own energy via photosynthesis or chemosynthesis and consumers need to eat other organisms for energy

57
Q

How do changes in energy availability affect populations and ecosystems?

A

Changes in energy availiability may either greatly increase or decrease population and ecosystem success as more or less energy allows increases and decreases in population sizes

58
Q

How do the activities of autotrophs and heterotrophs enable the flow of energy within an ecosystem?

A

Autotrophs produce their own energy, and 10% of this energy is passed on to primary heterotrphs, and then 10% that to secondary heterotrophs

59
Q

What are the factors that influence the growth dynamics of populations?

A

Density dependent and independent factors, which are more specific processes like competition, disease, and natural disasters

60
Q

How is the density of a population affected by and determined by resource availability in the environment?

A

As density increases, competition for limited resources increases which then, in turn, influences the population itself. Limited resource availability may also cause competition

61
Q

What is the structure of a community according to its species composition and diversity?

A

The structure of a community involves how many individuals per species there are as well as the diversity of the types of species in the community

62
Q

How do interactions within and among populations influence community structure?

A

Competition may negatively impact community structure, and symbiosis can positively or negatively impact community structure depending on mutualism and parasitism or predation

63
Q

How is community structure related to energy availability in the environment?

A

The more energy available, the more a community can flourish and increase in population size and in species diversity

64
Q

What is the relationship between ecosystem diversity and its resilience to changes in the environment?

A

Changes in the ecosystem will force some species to find new niches, however, this can be quickly adapted, so diversity decreases at first but increases later again. This is resilience to change

65
Q

How will the addition or removal of any component of an ecosystem affect its overall short-term and long-term structure?

A

If components are added, the new component can either become a keystone species that stabilizes the ecosystem or an invasive species that will kill it. In components are removed, the entire ecosystem, especially species that depend on this for a food source are drastically affected.

66
Q

What are the interactions between the environment and random or preexisting variations in populations?

A

Via natural selection, the more beneficial of these population are selected for and will survive and reproduce

67
Q

How do invasive species affect ecosystem dynamics?

A

Invasive species are not limited by the new environment’s factors, so they can grow indefinitely and disastrously harm the new environment’s ecosystem dynamics

68
Q

What human activities lead to changes in ecosystem structure and/or dynamics?

A

Global warming, deforestation, extinction, etc

69
Q

How does geological and meteorological activity lead to changes in ecosystem structure and/or dynamics?

A

Geological activities lead to dispersion of population and can allow speciation which increases diversity, and meteorological activities lead to changes in climate which may greatly affect global populations despite gradual changes in climate.

ap biology (8 decks)

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