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Front 1

interspecific interaction

Back 1

Relationships between species of a community.

Front 2

interspecific competition

Back 2

"Competition for resources between plants, between animals, or between decomposers when resources are in short supply. "

Front 3

competitive exclusion

Back 3

"The concept that when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population. "

Front 4

ecological niche

Back 4

The sum total of a species use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment.

Hint 4

None

Front 5

resource partitioning

Back 5

The division of environmental resources by coexisting species

Front 6

character displacement

Back 6

The tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species.

Front 7

cryptic coloration

Back 7

Camouflage

Front 8

aposematic coloration

Back 8

The bright coloration of animals with effective physical or chemical defenses that acts as a warning to predators.

Front 9

Batesian mimicry

Back 9

A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators.

Front 10

Müllerian mimicry

Back 10

A mutual mimicry by two unpalatable species.

Front 11

endoparasite

Back 11

A parasite that lives within a host.

Front 12

ectoparasite

Back 12

A parasite that feeds on the external surface of a host.

Front 13

parasitoidism

Back 13

"A type of parasitism in which an insect lays eggs on or in a living host; the larvae then feed on the body of the host, eventually killing it. "

Front 14

pathogen

Back 14

A disease–causing agent.

Front 15

mutualism

Back 15

A symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit.

Front 16

commensalism

Back 16

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Front 17

coevolution

Back 17

The mutual evolutionary influence between two different species interacting with each other and reciprocally influencing each other?s adaptations.

Front 18

allopatric

Back 18

geographically separate

Front 19

sympatric

Back 19

geographically overlapping

Front 20

nonequilibrium model

Back 20

The model of communities that emphasizes that they are not stable in time

Front 21

disturbance

Back 21

A force that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it

Front 22

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Back 22

The concept that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance.

Front 23

ecological succession

Back 23

Transition in the species composition of a biological community, often following ecological disturbance of the community

Front 24

primary succession

Back 24

A type of ecological succession that occurs in a virtually lifeless area, where there were originally no organisms and where soil has not yet formed.

Front 25

secondary succession

Back 25

succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact.

Front 26

evapotranspiration

Back 26

The evaporation of water from soil plus the transpiration of water from plants.

Front 27

integrated hypothesis

Back 27

The concept that a community is an assemblage of closely linked species, locked into association by mandatory biotic interactions

Front 28

individualistic hypothesis

Back 28

concept that a plant community is a chance assemblage of species found in the same area because they have similar biotic requirements.

Front 29

species diversity

Back 29

The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.

Front 30

species richness

Back 30

The number of species in a biological community.

Front 31

relative abundance

Back 31

Differences in the abundance of different species within a community.

Front 32

trophic structure

Back 32

The different feeding relationships in an ecosystem, which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling.

Front 33

food chain

Back 33

The pathway along which food is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginning with producers.

Front 34

food web

Back 34

The elaborate, interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem.

Front 35

energetic hypothesis

Back 35

The concept that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain. Predicts that food chains should be relatively longer in habitats of higher photosynthetic productivity

Front 36

dynamic stability hypothesis

Back 36

The idea that long food chains are less stable than short chains. Predicts that food chains should be shorter in unpredictable environments

Front 37

dominant species

Back 37

Those species in a community that have the highest abundance or highest biomass. These species exert a powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species.

Front 38

biomass

Back 38

The dry weight of organisms in a particular habitat.

Front 39

invasive species

Back 39

A species that takes hold outside of its native range; usually introduced by humans.

Front 40

keystone species

Back 40

A species that exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche.

Front 41

Foundation Species

Back 41

cause physical changes in the environment that affect the structure of the community

Front 42

facilitator

Back 42

A species that has a positive effect on the survival and reproduction of other species in a community

Front 43

biomanipulation

Back 43

Reduces algae by manipulating the higher–level consumers