Ch. 54 Flashcards
What is a biological community?
biological community:
the assembly of various specie populations living close enough for potential interaction
Give an example of a biological community.
the animals and plants that surround a water hole in South Africa are part a savanna community
What are interspecific interactions?
relationships between species in a community;
they affect species survival and reproduction
Give some examples of interspecific interactions.
competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis (parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism), and disease
What is the competitive exclusion principal?
that two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place
What is interspecific competition?
when species compete for a resource in short supply; it can be detrimental to both species (–/–)
What is competitive exclusion?
the local elimination of competing species;
can occur as a result of strong competition
What is an ecological niche? (aka how does the specie survive?)
The total of a species’ use of biotic and abiotic sources
What is a fundamental niche?
A place where a species COULD survive
What is a realized niche?
A place where a species actually survives/resides
Are fundamental and realized niche always the same?
No, because of competition
Can similar species coexist in a community?
Yes, if there are one or more significant differences in their niches and with the help of resource partitioning
What is resource partitioning?
The differentiation of ecological niches; it enables similar species to coexist in a community
Predation
The interaction where one species, the predator, kills and eats the other species, the prey
What adaptations do prey species develop?
Defensive adaptions, or behavioral defenses; includes hiding, fleeing, self-defense, and alarm calls
What adaptations do predator species develop?
Feeding adaptations; includes claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, and poison
What are the four types of adaptations?
Defensive (prey), feeding (predator), morphological (structural), physiological defense (cells or tissues)
What trait do animals with effective chemical defense exhibit?
Aposematic coloration - bright warning coloration; makes predators cautious of them as preys
Herbivory
An interaction in which an herbivore eats part of a plant or alga; caused evolution of plant mechanical and chemical defenses, and the resulting adaptations by herbivores
Parasitism
Where one organism, the parasite, derives nourishment from another organism, the host, which is harmed in the process