Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

ecology 200 > definitions test 1 > Flashcards

definitions test 1 Flashcards

(103 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

a species with a life cycle of several years

A

perennial species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

a species with a life cycle of 1 year or less

A

annual species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

excess growth of algae and cyanobacteria as a result of excessive inputs of nutrients

A

eutrophication

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

position in the food chain assessed by number of energy-transfer steps to reach that level (1-primary producers; 5-marine mammals, humans)

A

trophic level

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

the study of the variations in time and
space in the sizes and densities of populations, and of the factors causing those variations

A

population ecology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet

A

watershed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

the movement of individuals, and commonly whole populations, from one region to another

A

migration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

a phylum of photosynthetic prokaryotes, also erroneously referred to as “blue-green algae”

A

cyanobacteria

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

an area depleted of oxygen

A

dead zone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

the nonseasonal, directional, and continuous pattern of colonization and extinction on a site by populations

A

succession

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community

A

phytoplankton

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

the conversion of gaseous nitrogen (N2) into more complex molecules

A

nitrogen fixation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

functioning groups of individual
organisms of the same species in a defined location

A

population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

all the species populations
present in a defined location

A

community

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

both the community of organisms
and the physical environment in which they exist

A

ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

the totality of all of life interacting with the physical environment at the scale of the entire planet

A

biosphere

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

a phenomenon in which black or blackish forms of species have come to dominate populations in industrial areas

A

industrial melanism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

name of the boat on which Darwin sailed and developed his theory of natural selection

A

Beagle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

the process by which two or more new species are formed from one original species

A

speciation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

the process by which organisms of different evolutionary lineages come to have similar form or behavior

A

convergent evolution

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

a structure that is similar in form or function but is not a result of common ancestry

A

analogy (analogous)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

a similarity in structure that is a result of common ancestry

A

homology (homologous)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

similar lines of evolution of systematic groups that had been separated geographically at an earlier stage in their history

A

parallel evolution

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

symbiosis which is beneficial to both organisms involved

A

mutualism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
a species living in a situation in which two populations which do not interbreed are living in the same region and connected by a geographic ring of populations that can interbreed
ring species
26
a form of selection that acts on an organism's ability to obtain a mate
sexual selection
27
cofounder of the theory of evolution, next to Charles Darwin
Alfred Russel Wallace
28
larval stage of a frog
tadpole
29
speciation taking place without geographical separation
sympatry
30
the production of offspring sharing the characteristics of parents from different lineages
hybridization
31
geographical separation of species
allopathy
32
the process by which members of two (or more) species contribute reciprocally to the forces of natural selection that they exert on each other, e.g. parasites and their hosts.
coevolution
33
mammals that have a poach instead of a uterus
marsupials
34
writer of the 1798 "Essay on the principle of population"
Thomas Robert Malthus
35
a species that is known only from one island or area
endemic
36
founder of the theory of continental drift
Alfred Wegener
37
the study of the rules, principles, and practice of classifying living organisms
taxonomy
38
the relative contribution that an individual makes to the gene pool of the next generation
fitness
39
the limits, for all important environmental features, within which individuals of a species can survive, grow, and reproduce
niche
40
organisms that thrive in highly acidic environments
acidophiles
41
physical or chemical properties of the environment that determine where organisms can live
conditions
42
an organism in which the body temperature relies on sources of heat outside itself
ectotherm
43
this substance acts as an anti-freeze compound in springtails
glycerol
44
place where a microorganism, plant, or animal lives
habitat
45
an organism that, during its life eats many prey organisms, typically (and in many cases always) killing them
predator
46
a state of dormancy during the winter period
hibernation
47
trees that bear leaves (as opposed to needles)
deciduous
48
length of the period of daylight within the daily cycle
photoperiod
49
organisms that are adapted to live at high temperatures
thermophiles
50
trees that bear needles (as opposed to leaves)
coniferous
51
the recording of the changing behavior of organisms through the season
phenology
52
something that can be consumed by an organism and, as a result becomes unavailable to another
resource
53
an organism that manufactures its own organic material from inorganic sources
autotroph
54
conspicuous appearance of organism that is noxious or distasteful
aposematism
55
an organism which is able to generate heat within itself to raise its body temperature significantly
endotherm
56
a state of arrested development or growth, accompanied by greatly decreased meatabolism, often correlated with seasons, usually applied only to insects
diapause
57
the resemblance of an organism either to another organism or to a nonliving object
mimicry
58
on organism that consumes parts of many prey organisms, but does not (usually) kill its prey, at least not immediately
grazer
59
form of behavior of an organism that makes it difficult to detect eg. camouflage
crypsis
60
an organism that feeds on dead plants and animals
decomposer
61
an organism that feeds on one or very few host plants or animals while they are alive but does not (usually) kill the host, at least not immediately
parasite
62
the loss of rigidity of non-woody parts of plants (mostly due to water loss)
wilting
63
the habituation of an organism's physiological response to environmental conditions (usually applied to laboratory environments)
acclimation
64
an organism that feeds on energy-rich organic molecules (animals, fungi, most bacteria) and that is not able to produce molecules itself
heterotroph
65
a plant that grows on another plant, especially one that is not parasitic, such as the numerous ferns, bromeliads, air plants, and orchids growing on tree trunks in tropical rainforests
epiphyte
66
another word for taiga
boreal forest
67
the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period
climate
68
the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc
weather
69
the biome that occurs around the Arctic circle, characterized by lichens, mosses, sedges, and dwarf trees
tundra
70
a layer of permanently frozen soil
permafrost
71
a large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes, typically about 30° north or south
Hadley cell
72
a part of the shoreline that is submerged at high tide but exposed to air at low tide
intertidal zone
73
The time or date (twice each year) at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest and shortest days (about 21 June and 22 December)
solstice
74
a region in the lee of mountains that receives less rainfall than the region windward of the mountains
rain shadow
75
the side that faces the prevailing, or trade winds
windward
76
the side that faces away from the prevailing, or trade winds
leeward
77
the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream
estuary
78
a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.
biome
79
a line notionally drawn on the earth equidistant from the poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°
Equator
80
a large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth's rotation
ocean gyres
81
the tropical grassland biome
savanna
82
an abrupt temperature gradient in a body of water such as a lake, marked by a layer above and below which the water is at different temperatures
thermocline
83
the surface layer of the ocean where light penetrates
photic zone
84
a process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface (often this water carries large amounts of nutrients, leading to productive oceanic ecosystems)
upwelling
85
a tree that is adapted to growth along the banks of a stream
riparian trees
86
the coniferous forest that extends across much of North America and Eurasia bounded by tundra to the North and by steppe to the south
taiga
87
a desolate and barren region, usually deficient in available water, and with scant vegetation
desert
88
the number of species present in a community
species richness
89
organisms that grow by the repeated production of "modules" such as leaves, coral polyps etc
modular
90
the organism developed from a zygote (the term is used especially for modular organisms)
genet
91
a graph showing the number or proportion of individuals surviving to each age for a given species or group
survivorship curve
92
a life table that is constructed from the age structure of a population at a single moment in time
static life table
93
an offshoot formed by vegetative growth in modular organisms that is actually or potentially physiologically independent
module
94
species that breed repeatedly, devoting some of their resources during a breeding period not to breeding itself, but to survival to further breeding episodes
iteroparous
95
the spreading of individuals away from each other, (e.g. of offspring from their parents and from regions of high density to regions of lower density)
dispersal
96
structural individuals which consist of only one module (the contrast is with modular organisms)
unitary organisms
97
organisms with a short life cycle, especially plants whose seeds germinate, grow to produce new seeds, and then die all in a short period, often less than 8 weeks
ephemerial
98
modular organisms in which colonies spread laterally and remain joined by "stolons"
stoloniferous
99
the number of eggs, or seeds, or generally offspring, produced by an individual
fecundity
100
competition between members of the same species
intraspecific
101
water that is stored between the soil particles
interstitial water
102
competition between two organisms, in which one physically excludes the other from a portion of habitat and hence from the resources that could be exploited there
interference competition
103
species that have a single reproductive episode after which they die
semelparous

ecology 200 (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions