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Senior Year > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

(85 cards)

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1
Q

Source-Sink-Meta populations

A

the populations in the better areas continually send out dispersers that bolder the populations in the poorer habitats

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2
Q

metapopulations

A

existing as a network of distinct populations that interact with one another by exchanging individuals

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3
Q

demography

A

quantitative study of populations

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4
Q

generation time

A

average interval between the birth of an individual and the birth of its offspring

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5
Q

fecundity

A

number of offspring produced in a standard time

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6
Q

mortality

A

number of individuals that die in a standard time

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7
Q

age structure

A

the relative number of individuals in each cohort

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8
Q

life table

A

tabulates the fate of a cohort from birth until death, showing the number of offspring produced and the number of individuals that die each year

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9
Q

mortality rate

A

the proportion of individuals that started that interval alive but died by the end of it

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10
Q

survivorship

A

the percentage of an original population that survives to a given age

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11
Q

cost of reproduction

A

the reduction in future reproductive potential resulting from current reproductive efforts

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12
Q

biotic potential

A

the rate at which a population of a given species increases when no limits are placed on its rate of growth

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13
Q

semelparity

A

focus all their reproductive resources on a single large event and then die

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14
Q

itereoparity

A

produce offspring several times over many seasons

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15
Q

carrying capacity

A

the maximum number of individuals that the environment can support

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16
Q

sigmoidal growth curve

A

as the size of a population stabilizes at the carrying capacity, its rate of growth slows

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17
Q

density-dependent effects

A

as population size increases, either reproductive rates decline or mortality increases or both

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18
Q

Allee effect

A

growth rates increase with population size

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19
Q

density-independent effects

A

the rate of growth of a population at any instant is limited by something unrelated to the size of the population

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20
Q

k-selected

A

adapted to thrive when the population is near carrying capacity

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21
Q

r-selected

A

selection tat favors individuals with highest reproductive rates

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22
Q

what impact does the growth of human populations have?

A

more control over food supply
superior weapons
cures for many diseases
improvement in shelter

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23
Q

population pyramid

A

a bar graph displaying the number of people in each age category

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24
Q

community

A

species that occur at any particular locality

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25
species richness
number of species present
26
primary productivity
amount of energy produced
27
assemblage
species included are only a portion of those present within the entire community
28
individualistic concept
a community is an aggregation of species that happen to occur together at one place
29
holistic concept
views communities as an integrated unit
30
ecotones
places where the environment change apruptly
31
niche
the total of all the ways it uses the resources of its environment
32
interspecific competition
occurs when two species attempt to use the same resource and there is not enough of the resource to satisfy both
33
interference competition
physical interactions over access to resources
34
exploitative competiton
consuming the same resources
35
fundamental niche
the entire niche that a species is capable of using, based on its physiological tolerance limits and resource needs
36
realized niche
the actual set of environmental conditions in which the species can establish a stable population
37
competitive exclusion
no two species with the same niche can coexist when resources are limiting
38
resource partitioning
niche subdivision to avoid direct competition
39
character displacement
the differences evident between sympathetic species are thought to have been favored by natural selection as a means of partitioning resources and reducing competition
40
coevolution
the simultaneous development of adaptations in two or more populations, species, or other categories that interact so closely that each is a strong selective force on the other
41
mullerian mimicry
several unrelated but protected animal species come to resemble one another
42
batesian mimicry
this type of mimicry is used so that the mimics would be avoided by predators, who would be fooled by the disguise into thinking the mimic was the distasteful species
43
commensalism
one species benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed
44
mutualism
both species benefit
45
parasitism
one species benefits but the other is harmed
46
ectoparasites
parasites that feed on the exterior surface of an organism
47
endoparasites
parasites that live within the body of their hosts
48
keystone species
species whose effects on the composition of communities are greater than one might expect based on their abundance
49
succession
the tendency for communities to change from simple to complex
50
secondary succession
a succession that occurs in areas where an existing community has been disturbed but organisms still remain
51
primary succession
occurs on bare, lifeless substrate, where organisms gradually move into an area and change its nature
52
aquifers
permeable, underground layers of rock, sand, and gravel that are often saturated with water
53
nitrogen fixation
the synthesis of nitrogen-containing compounds from N2
54
nitrification
after NH3 has been synthesized other prokaryotic microbes oxidize part of it to form NO3-
55
denitrifcation
the conversion from NO3- into N2
56
autotrophs
synthesize the organic compounds of their bodies from inorganic precursors
57
photo autotrophs
use light as their source of energy
58
chemoautotrophs
obtain energy by means of inorganic oxidation reactions
59
What is the order of the trophic levels?
``` primary producers herbivores primary carnivores secondary carnviores detritivores ```
60
decomposers
mostly microbes and other minute organisms that live on and break up dead organic matter
61
productivity
the rate at which the organisms in the trophic level collectively synthesize new organic matter
62
respiration
the rate at which they break down organic compounds
63
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
the raw rate at which the primary producers synthesize new organic matter
64
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
GPP minus the respiration of the primary producers. represents the organic matter available for herbivores to use as food
65
secondary productivity
the productivity of a heterotroph trophic level
66
tropical rainforest
South America, 140-450 cm annual precipitation, terrestrial plants, 1200 species of butterflies
67
savannas
tropical or subtropical grasslands, 50-125 cm rain, spaced trees and shrubs, herds of grazing animals
68
desert
dry places where rain is both sparse and unpredictable (25-40 cm) vegetation is sparse
69
temperate grasslands
halfway between the equator and the poles (praries)
70
deciduous forest
eastern United States, eastern canada, and eurasia. plentiful rains, deciduous trees that drop their leaves in the winter, deer, bears, beavers and raccoons
71
Tiaga
northern forest, coniferous trees
72
tundra
far north, little precipitation, small trees
73
What are the three characteristics of population Ecology?
1. population range, the area throughout which a population occurs 2. the pattern of spacing of individuals within that range 3. how the population changes in size though time
74
Biogeochemical cycles
a cyclic path involving both biological and chemical processes
75
Water Cycle
Water serves as a source of hydrogen (H) ions whose movements drive the production of ATP (energy) in organisms Land- 90% of the water that goes into the atmosphere comes from plants via transpiration
76
Water Table
upper, confined portions of groundwater that flows into streams and is partially accessible to plants
77
Carbon Cycle
Is based on CO2- makes up .03% of atmosphere Photosynthesis plants, bacteria, protists "fix" Co2 in atmosphere each year All heterotrophic organisms must get their carbon indirectly from others that fix it Most organic compounds formed as a result of carbon fixation are broke down and returned to the atmosphere or water
78
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the atmosphere Few organisms can convert (fix) nitrogen into forms they can use Most of the bacteria that can fix nitrogen are free-living but some live in symbiotic relations with the roots of plants called Legumes (The pea family) Plants that live with symbiotic bacteria can live in nitrogen-poor soils because bacteria can fix it for them
79
Ammonification
when Bacteria break down nitrogen-containing compounds, use them to make their own proteins and release excess ammonium ions (NH4+)
80
Phosphorous Cycle
main component is a mineral phosphorous is the only one whose absence could limit plant growth phosphates exist as phosphorous anions in soils, are relatively insoluble and exist only in certain types of rocks
81
Biomass
net weight of all organisms in the environment
82
Pyramid of Biomass
weight of everyone
83
Pyramid of Numbers
how many individuals
84
Pyramid of Energy
amount of production
85
Bottom up effects
when the productivity of an ecosystem is low, the herbivore population will be too small to support any predators

Senior Year (9 decks)

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