54 Flashcards

1
Q

biodiversity

A

is the variety of life across all levels of biological organization.

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2
Q

genetic diversity

A

difference in DNA among individuals of a population

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3
Q

ecosystem diversity

A

richness and complexity of a biological community

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4
Q

species richness

A

the number of species

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5
Q

species evenness

A

relative abundance

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6
Q

Communities with higher diversity are:

A

more productive; they produce more biomass

more resistant to invasive species

better able to withstand and recover from environmental stresses

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7
Q

habitat

A

the physical location where members of the population live.

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8
Q

ecological niche

A

The totality of a species resource use, both living and non-living

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9
Q

Community Interactions are classified by

A

whether they help, harm, or have no effect on species involved

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10
Q

competition

A

-/- interaction that occurs when individuals of different species compete for a resource that limits their growth

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11
Q

predation

A

+/- interaction between species in which one species (the predator) kills and eats the other (the prey)

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12
Q

competitive exclusion principle

A

the species that acquires more of the resources will eventually “win.” The less successful species eventually dies out.

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13
Q

resource partitioning

A

Sometimes, multiple species with similar requirements coexist in the same habitat.

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14
Q

cryptic coloration

A

Cryptic coloration is a common method of avoiding detection by predators
• Cryptic coloration is prevalent in the vertebrate world.

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15
Q

Batesian mimicry

A

occurs when one species evolves to resemble a species that has superior protective capability.

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16
Q

Müllerian mimicry

A

several species that have protection against predators come to resemble each other.

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17
Q

parasitism

A

(+/-)

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18
Q

mutualism

A

(+/+)

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19
Q

commensalism

A

(+/0)

is an interaction in which an individual from one species benefits while an individual from another species is neither harmed nor helped.
– Example: Birds can make their nests in trees, and benefit from this, but generally don’t affect the trees in any way.
– “Hitchhiking species” – algae that live on the shells of aquatic turtles, barnacles that are attached to whales….

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20
Q

trophic structure

A

is the feeding relationships between organisms in a community

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21
Q

food chain

A

link trophic levels from producers to top carnivores

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22
Q

food web

A

is a branching food chain that is more complex in structure

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23
Q

trophic cascade (top down model)

A

are powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems, occurring when predators in a food web suppress the abundance or alter the behavior of their prey, thereby releasing the next lower trophic level from predation (or herbivory if the intermediate trophic level is a herbivore).

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24
Q

keystone species

A

is a species whose absence from a community would bring about significant change in that community.

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25
Q

primary succession

A

occurs on a newly exposed site, not previously occupied by soil and vegetation

example: formation of new islands, on new volcanic rock, and on land formed from glacial retreats.

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26
Q

secondary succession

A

begins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance

example: fire

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27
Q

Early-arriving species and later- arriving species may be linked in one of three processes:

A

– Facilitation: Early arrivals may facilitate appearance of later species by making the environment favorable
– Inhibition: They may inhibit establishment of later species
– Tolerance: They may tolerate later species but have no impact on their establishment

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28
Q

the feeding relationship among the species in a community determine the community’s

A

trophic structure

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29
Q

the principle of competitive exclusion states that

A

two species that have exactly the same niche cannot coexist in a community

30
Q

based on the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, a community’s species diversity is increased by

A

moderate levels of disturbance

31
Q

according to the island equilibrium model, species richness would be greatest on an island that is

A

large and close to a mainland

32
Q

predators that are keystone species can maintain species diversity in a community if they

A

prey on the community’s dominant species

33
Q

food chains are sometimes short because

A

most of the energy in a trophic level is lost as energy passes to the next higher level

34
Q

which of the following could qualify as a top-down control on a grassland community

A

effect of grazing intensity by bison on plant species diversity

35
Q

the most plausible hypothesis to explain why species richness is higher in tropical than in temperate regions is that

A

tropical regions generally have more available water and higher levels of solar radiation

36
Q

All the organisms in a particular area make up a(n) _____.

A

community

37
Q

According to the principle of competitive exclusion, two species cannot continue to occupy the same _____.

A

ecological niche

38
Q

In terms of + (this member of a species pair benefits from the interaction), ­ (this member of a species pair is harmed by the interaction), and 0 (this member of a species pair is unaffected by the interaction), predation can be described as a _______ relationship.

A

+/-

39
Q

The term used to describe a harmless organism resembling a harmful one is __________.

A

Batesian mimicry

40
Q

The ecological relationship between termites and the wood-digesting protozoans that live in their gut is an example of _____.

A

mutualism

41
Q

If the larvae (juvenile offspring) of a particular species of mosquito are to survive to the adult stage, the eggs must be laid in the trapped pool of water of the northern pitcher plant. The mosquito larvae provide no apparent benefit or harm to the pitcher plant. This type of interaction is an example of _____.

A

commensalism

42
Q

An organism’s “trophic level” refers to _____.

A

what it eats

43
Q

Keystone species are those species _____.

A

whose absence would cause major disruption in an ecosystem

44
Q

Which of the following best illustrates ecological succession?

A

Grass grows on a sand dune, then shrubs, and then trees.

45
Q

During ecological succession, the species composition of a plant community _____.

A

changes gradually because each species responds differently to changes in environmental factors

46
Q

_______ views a community as the chance assemblage of organisms with similar abiotic needs.

A

The individualistic hypothesis

47
Q

When goats were introduced to an island off the California coast, the goats lived in the same areas and ate the same plants as the native deer. The deer population dwindled and finally disappeared. This is an example of _____.

A

competitive exclusion

48
Q

The niche of an animal is _____.

A

the way the animal fits into its environment

49
Q

Two species of cuckoo doves live in a group of islands off the coast of New Guinea. Of 33 islands, 14 have one species, 6 have the other, 13 have neither, and none has both. What might best explain this? The two species of birds could ______.

A

have similar niches

50
Q

Under which of the following circumstances would interspecific competition be most obvious?

A

when a foreign organism is introduced to a community

51
Q

If the niches of two species are very similar, which one of the following is true?

A

Competition between the two species will be severe.

52
Q

What type of population interaction benefits neither population?

A

competition

53
Q

Flounder look like the sea floor. This is an example of _____.

A

cryptic coloration

54
Q

Which of the following is an example of mimicry?

A

A harmless frog resembles a poisonous frog.

55
Q

A tick has what type of relationship with a dog?

A

parasitic

56
Q

The flower fly resembles a honeybee, but the flower fly has no stinger. This is an example of _____.

A

Batesian mimicry

57
Q

The poison-arrow frogs (genus Dendrobates) of tropical America are all brightly colored and have very similar patterns. Each species is distasteful to predators and all possess toxic skin secretions, although some of the species live quite separate from the others. The adaptive relationship among these species is best termed _____.

A

Müllerian mimicry

58
Q

The term used to describe bold coloration in harmful species (such as the coral snake) is _____.

A

warning coloration

59
Q

Lichen is actually composed of two organisms: a fungus and an alga. They depend on each other for survival. The most specific term that describes their relationship is _____.

A

mutualism

60
Q

Certain species of acacia trees in Central and South America have hollow thorns that house stinging ants, which attack anything that touches the tree. The ants feed on nutrients produced by the acacias. This is an example of _____.

A

mutualism

61
Q

The relationship between species A and species B is described as commensalism. This means that _____.

A

one species benefits and the other species is unaffected

62
Q

Which of the following is a primary producer?

A

poison ivy

63
Q

When you eat an apple, you are a _____.

A

primary consumer

64
Q

In Paine’s study of the intertidal zone on the coast of Washington State, he found that _____.

A

the presence of a keystone predator maintained community diversity

65
Q

A species of malaria-carrying mosquito lives in a forest in which two species of monkeys, A and B, coexist. Species A is immune to malaria, but species B is not. The malaria-carrying mosquito is the chief food for a particular kind of bird in the forest. If all these birds were suddenly eliminated by hunters, which of the following would be an immediately observable consequence?

A

increased mortality in monkey species B

66
Q

After clear-cutting, timber companies cannot afford to wait for the long process of _____ to occur naturally; they plant trees right away.

A

succession

67
Q

The current view of succession is _____.

A

that disturbance and nonequilibrium are inevitable

68
Q

Succession of communities occurs because _____.

A

each existing community changes the environment

69
Q

The study of the geographic distribution of species is called __________.

A

biogeography

70
Q

True of False: All keystone species are also apex predators.

A

false. Keystone species are often predators, but not always apex predators. Instead, they are usually secondary consumers. Sea stars, while voracious predators of mussels and barnacles, for example, are a prey species for sea anemones and fishes.

71
Q

resource partitioning

A

The concept of resource partitioning, as originally developed, relates to evolutionary change in species in response to selection pressures generated by interspecific competition.