Part 3 B Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is a population?
A group of individuals of the same species occupying the same area
What is a community in ecological terms?
All the populations of organisms found in a particular environment
What does population change refer to?
The size of the population may change if new individuals are added or removed
What is succession in ecology?
A change in communities over time
Define habitat.
The physical area or environment where an organism lives
What is a niche?
An organism’s role in an environment
What factors influence population growth?
Reproduction and mortality
What is biotic potential?
The maximum rate of reproduction a population can achieve under ideal conditions
What are limiting factors?
Things that can affect mortality or reproduction rates in a population
What is emigration?
When individuals leave to join another population
What is immigration?
When individuals enter from a different population
How does population density change?
Through factors like natality, mortality, emigration, and immigration
What is exponential growth?
Population growth without limiting factors, resulting in a J-shaped curve
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum population size that an environment can sustain
Define logistic growth.
Growth that starts slow, has an exponential phase, and then levels off
What is predation?
An interaction where a predator eats its prey
What is parasitism?
An interaction where one organism lives on or in a host, seldom causing host death
What is parasitoidism?
Laying eggs on or in living hosts, with larvae feeding within the host’s body
What is herbivory?
Animals eating plants
Describe predator-prey cycles.
Fluctuations where prey populations rise, followed by predator populations, and then both decline
What is interspecies competition?
When two or more species rely on similar limited resources
What does the Competitive Exclusion Principle state?
Two species competing for the same resources cannot coexist in the same community
Define commensalism.
An interaction where a host species is unaffected by a symbiont
What is mutualism?
An interaction in which both species benefit from the relationship
