Bio Ch 45

Question 1

Community

Answer 1

assemblage of populations of different species interacting with one another in the same environment

Question 2

Species richness

Answer 2

species composition of a community; listing of the various species found in that community

Question 3

Species diversity

Answer 3

includes both species richness and species evenness (relative abundance of the different species)

Question 4

Island Biogeography Model of Species Diversity

Answer 4

species diversity on an island depends on the distance from the mainland (closer islands have more diversity than islands farther away) and the total area of the island (large islands have more diversity than smaller islands)

Question 5

Habitat

Answer 5

a particular place where a species lives and reproduces

Question 6

Ecological niche

Answer 6

role a species plays in its community; includes the resources used to meet energy, nutrient, and survival demands

Question 7

Fundamental niche

Answer 7

all the abiotic conditions under which a species could survive when adverse biotic conditions are absent

Question 8

Realized niche

Answer 8

those conditions under which a species does survive when adverse biotic interactions, such as competition and predation, are present

Question 9

Competitive Exclusion Principle

Answer 9

no two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche at the same time

Question 10

Resource Partitioning

Answer 10

decreases competition between 2 species, leading to increased niche specialization and less niche overlap

Question 11

Character Displacement

Answer 11

tendency for characteristics to be more divergent when populations belong to the same community than when they are isolated; often used as evidence that competition and resource partitioning have taken place

Question 12

Predation

Answer 12

occurs when one living organism (predator) feeds on another (prey)

Question 13

Camouflage

Answer 13

ability to blend into the background

Question 14

Mimicry

Answer 14

occurs when one species resembles another that possesses an overt antipredator defense

Question 15

Parasitism

Answer 15

organism (parasite) deriving nourishment from another (host); type of symbiosis in which one of the species cause some harm to the other but tends not to kill it

Question 16

Symbiosis

Answer 16

relationship that occurs when 2 different species live together in a unique way; it may be beneficial, neutral, or detrimental to one or both species

Question 17

Commensalism

Answer 17

symbiotic relationship between 2 species in which one species is benefited, and the other is neither benefited nor harmed

Question 18

Mutualism

Answer 18

symbiotic relationship in which both members benefit

Question 19

Coevolution

Answer 19

mutualistic relationships between flowers and their pollinators are examples of this; mutual evolution in which 2 species exert selective pressures on the other species

Question 20

Ecological Succession

Answer 20

change within a community involving a series of species replacements

Question 21

Pioneer species

Answer 21

1st species to begin secondary succession; 1st producers to inhabit a community after a disturbance

Question 22

Climax Community

Answer 22

proposal by F.E. Clements that succession in a particular area will always lead to the same type of community

Question 23

Ecosystem

Answer 23

populations interact with each other and with the physical environment

Question 24

Autotrophs

Answer 24

require only inorganic nutrients and an outside energy source to produce organic nutrients for their own use and for all other members of a community

Question 25

Producers

Answer 25

AKA autotrophs because they produce food

Question 26

Heterotrophs

Answer 26

need a preformed source of organic nutrients as they acquire food from a different source

Question 27

Consumers

Answer 27

AKA heterotrophs because they consume food that was generated by a producer

Question 28

Herbivores

Answer 28

animals that graze directly on plants or algae

Question 29

Carnivores

Answer 29

feed on other animals

Question 30

Omnivores

Answer 30

animals that feed on both plants and animals

Question 31

Detritivores

Answer 31

organisms that feed on detritus, which consists of decomposing particles of organic matter

Question 32

Decomposers

Answer 32

bacteria, fungi; acquire nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter, including animal wastes

Question 33

Food web

Answer 33

diagram that describes trophic (feeding) relationships

Question 34

Food chains

Answer 34

diagrams that show a single path of energy flow in an ecosystem

Question 35

Trophic level

Answer 35

level of nutrients within a food web or chain

Question 36

Ecological pyramid

Answer 36

flow of energy with large losses between successive trophic levels

Question 37

Biomass

Answer 37

number of organisms multiplied by the dry weight of the organic matter within one organism

Question 38

Biogeochemical cycles

Answer 38

pathways by which chemicals circulate through ecosystems involve both living (biotic) and nonliving (geologic) components; 4 main cycles: water, carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen

Question 39

Water (hydrologic) cycle

Answer 39

interdependent and continuous circulation of water from the ocean, to the atmosphere, to the land, and back to the ocean

Question 40

Transfer rate

Answer 40

amount of a substance that moves from one component of the environment to another within a specified period of time

Question 41

Greenhouse gases

Answer 41

gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, ozone, and nitrous oxide that are involved in the greenhouse effect

Question 42

Greenhouse effect

Answer 42

reradiation of solar heat toward the Earth, caused by the atmosphere that allows the Sun's rays to pass through but traps the heat in the same manner as the glass of a greenhouse

Question 43

Global warming

Answer 43

overall rise in the Earth's ambient temperature

Question 44

Climate change

Answer 44

recent changes in the Earth's climate

Question 45

Eutrophication

Answer 45

enrichment of water by inorganic nutrients used by phytoplankton; often overenrichment caused by human activities leads to excessive bacterial growth and oxygen depletion

Question 46

N2 (nitrogen) fixation

Answer 46

occurs when nitrogen gas is converted to ammonium, a form plants can use

Question 47

Nitrification

Answer 47

production of nitrates during the nitrogen cycle

Question 48

Denitrification

Answer 48

conversion of nitrate back to nitrogen gas, which then enters the atmosphere

Question 49

Acid deposition

Answer 49

occurs because nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) enter the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels