Ap Biology Ecology

Front 1

population

Back 1

Group of individuals all of the same species living in the same area

Front 2

community

Back 2

a group of populations living in the same area

Front 3

ecosystem

Back 3

describes the interrelationships between the organisms in a community and their physical environment

Front 4

biosphere

Back 4

composed of all the regions of the earth that contain living things. This generally includes the top few meters of soil, the oceans and other bodies of water, and the lower ten kilometers of the atmosphere.

Front 5

habitat

Back 5

type of place where an organism usually lives. A description of the habitat may include other organisms that live there (often the dominant vegetation) as well as the physical and chemical characteristics of the environment (such as temperature, soil quality, or water salinity).

Front 6

niche

Back 6

describes all the biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) resources in the environment used by an organism.When an organism is said to occupy a particular niche, it means that certain resources are consumed or certain qualities of the environment are changed in some way by the presence of the organism

Front 7

Population size

Back 7

total number of individuals in the population; Symbolically represented by N

Front 8

Population density

Back 8

total number of individuals per area or volume occupied. 100 buffalo/km^2 or 100 mosquitoes/m^2

Front 9

Dispersion

Back 9

describes how individuals in a population are distributed. May be clumped (like humans in cities), uniform (life trees in a n orchard), or random (like trees in some forests)

Front 10

Age structure

Back 10

description of the abundance of individuals of each age

Front 11

horizontal bars of age structure

Back 11

represent frequency of individuals in particular age group

Front 12

vertical line down center of age structure

Back 12

divides each age group into male/female

Front 13

how rapidly growing population is indicated

Back 13

when large proportion of population is young.

Front 14

Pyramid shaped age structure

Back 14

rapidly growing population

Front 15

Age structure diagrams with equal width represent populations that are..

Back 15

stable, with little or no population growth (ZPG, zero population growth)

Front 16

Survivorship curve

Back 16

describes how mortality of individuals in a species varies during their lifetimes

Front 17

Survivorship curve Type I

Back 17

describe species in which most individuals survive to middle age. After that, mortality is high. Ex. Humans

Front 18

Survivorship curve Type 2

Back 18

Length of survivorship is random. Likelihood of death is the same at any age

Front 19

Survivorship curve Type 3

Back 19

species in which most individuals die young, with only a relative few surviving to reproductive age and beyond. Ex. Oysters, and other species that produce free-swimming larvae that make up a component of marine plankton.

Front 20

ecology

Back 20

study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, their interactions with other organisms, and their interactions with their physical environment.

Front 21

population ecology

Back 21

study of the growth, abundance, and distribution of population.

Front 22

biotic potential

Back 22

maximum growth rate of a population under ideal conditions

Front 23

ideal conditions

Back 23

unlimited resources and without any growth restrictions

Front 24

biotic potential factors

Back 24

age at reproductive maturity
clutch size (number of offspring produced at each reproductive event)
frequency of reproduction
reproductive lifetime
survivorship of offspring to reproductive maturity

Front 25

carrying capacity

Back 25

maximum number of individuals of a population that can be sustained by a particular habitat

Front 26

Limiting factors

Back 26

elements that prevent a population from attaining its biotic potential
Density- dependent
Density - Independent

Front 27

Density dependent limiting factor

Back 27

agents whose limiting effect becomes more intense as population density increases. Examples include parasites and disease (transmission rates increase with population density), competition for resources (food, space, sunlight for photosynthesis), and the toxic effect of waste products. Reproductive behavior may be abandoned when populations attain high densities. (ex. stress)

Front 28

Density independent limiting factor

Back 28

independent of density population. Ex. natural disasters (fire, earthquake, volcanic eruptions) and extreme climate (storms, frosts)

Front 29

growth of population equation

Back 29

r = (births - deaths)/N
r= reproductive rate (growth rate)

Front 30

dN/dt=

Back 30

rN=births - deaths

Front 31

intrinsic rate of growth

Back 31

when reproductive rate, r, is maximum (the biotic potential)

Front 32

exponential growth

Back 32

occurs whenever the reproductive rate is greater than zero. J shaped curve with population size plotted against time

Front 33

logistic growth

Back 33

when limiting factors restrict the size of the population to the carrying capacity of the habitat
reproductive rate decreases until, at carrying capacity (when N = K), reproductive rate is zero and population size stabilizes. S-shaped, or sigmoid, curve

Front 34

equation for reproductive rate

Back 34

rN((K - N)/K)
K= carrying capacity

Front 35

population cycles

Back 35

fluctuations in population size in response to varying effects of limiting factors

Front 36

r-selected species

Back 36

exhibits Rapid growth (J-curve). characterized by opportunistic species, such as grasses and many insects, that quickly invade a habitat, quickly reproduce, and then die. Produce many offspring that are small, mature quickly, and require little, if any, parental care ex. mice

Front 37

K- selected species

Back 37

one whose population size remains relatively constant (at the carrying capacity, K). produce a small number of relatively large offspring that require extensive parental care until they mature. Reproduction occurs repeatedly during their lifetimes.

Front 38

Factors making exponential growth possible

Back 38

Increases in food supply (humans able to change from hunter/gathers to agriculture
Reduction in disease (medicine, antibiotics, vaccines, proper hygiene)
Reduction in human wastes (water purification, sewage systems); health hazards from human wastes reduced
Expansion of habitat; better housing, warmer clothing, energy

Front 39

Community Ecology

Back 39

concerned with the interaction of populations

Front 40

interspecific competition

Back 40

competition between different species

Front 41

competitive exclusion principle (Gause's principle)

Back 41

No two species can sustain coexistence if they occupy the same niche, because one is bound to be stronger than the other. Thus, eliminating the weaker species.

Front 42

resource partitioning

Back 42

some species coexist in spite of apparent competition for same resources. Close study reveals that they occupy slightly different niches. This minimizes competition and maximizes success. Dividing up resources in this manner

Front 43

Character displacement (niche shift)

Back 43

as result of resource partitioning, certain characteristics may enable individuals to obtain resources in their partitions more successfully. This reduces competition in other partitions and leads to a divergence of features or character displacement.

Front 44

fundamental niche

Back 44

the niche that an organism occupies in the absence of competing species

Front 45

realized niche

Back 45

when competitors are present, one or both species may be able to coexists by occupying their realized niches
Niche overlap is absent, that is, where they do not compete for the same resources

Front 46

predation

Back 46

another form of community interaction

Front 47

predator

Back 47

any animal that totally or partly consumes a plant or another animal

Front 48

true predator

Back 48

kills and eats another animal

Front 49

parasite

Back 49

spends most (or all) of its life living on another organism (the host), obtaining nourishment from the host by feeding on its tissues. host may be weakened by parasite, but host doesn't die until parasite has completed at least one life cycle (though usually many more)

Front 50

parasitoid

Back 50

insect that lays its eggs on a host (usually an insect or spider). After eggs hatch, the larvae obtain nourishment by consuming the tissues of the host. Host eventually dies, but not until the larvae complete their development and being pupation

Front 51

herbivore

Back 51

animal that eats plants. Some herbivores, especially seed eaters (granivores), act like predators in that they totally consume the organism. Other animals, such as that eat grasses (grazers) or leaves of other plants (browsers), may eat only part of the plant but may weaken it in the process.

Front 52

grazers

Back 52

animals that eat grasses

Front 53

granivores

Back 53

animals that eat seeds

Front 54

browsers

Back 54

animals that eat leaves of other plants

Front 55

symbiosis

Back 55

term applied to two species that live together in close contact during a portion (or all) of their lives.

Front 56

+

Back 56

one individual benefits in symbiosis relationship

Front 57

-

Back 57

one individual harmed in symbiosis relationship

Front 58

0

Back 58

no effect in symbiosis relationship

Front 59

mutualism

Back 59

relationship in which both species benefit (+,+)

Front 60

commensalism

Back 60

one species benefits, while second species is neither helped nor harmed (+,0)

Front 61

coevolution

Back 61

evolution of one species in response to new adaptations that appear in another species

Front 62

secondary compounds

Back 62

toxic chemicals produced in plants that discourage would-be herbivores
Ex) Tannin and nicotine in oaks

Front 63

camouflage

Back 63

any color, pattern, shape, or behavior that enables an animal to blend in with its surroundings. Both prey and predator benefit from camouflage

Front 64

cryptic coloration

Back 64

camouflage

Front 65

warning coloration

Back 65

conspicuous pattern or coloration tof animals that warns predators that htey sting, bite, taste bad, or otherwise to be avoided

Front 66

aposematic coloration

Back 66

warning coloration

Front 67

mimicry

Back 67

occurs when two or more species resemble one another in appearance two kinds:
mullerian mimicry
batesian mimicry

Front 68

mullerian mimicry

Back 68

occurs when several animals, all with some special defense mechanism, share the same coloration. effective strategy because a single pattern, shared among several animals, is easily learned by a predator than would be different pattern for every animal.
Ex) bees, yellow jackets, wasps all have yellow&black body markings

Front 69

batesian mimicry

Back 69

occurs when an animal without any special defense mechanism mimics the coloration of an animal that does possess a defense.
Ex) some defenseless flies have yellow&black markings but are avoided by predators b/c of same warning coloration by bees

Front 70

pollination

Back 70

pollination of many kinds of flowers occurs as a result of coevolution of finely-tuned traits between the flowers and their pollinators

Front 71

ecological succession

Back 71

change in the composition of species over time.
one community with certain species is gradually and predictably replaced by another community consisting of different species
species diversity and total biomass increase

Front 72

species diversity

Back 72

the number of species in a community

Front 73

total biomass

Back 73

the total mass of all living organisms

Front 74

climax community

Back 74

final successional stage of constant species composition
it is relatively unchanged until destroyed by some catastrophic event, such as a fire

Front 75

succession is or is not predictable?

Back 75

not predictable.
influenced by season, climatic conditions, or which species happens to arrive first

Front 76

is stable climax community ever attained?

Back 76

no, because of fires or other disturbances

Front 77

changes induced by resident species in succession

Back 77

Substrate texture changing (from solid rock to sand to fertile soil as rock erodes and decomposition of plants and animal occurs)
Soil pH may decrease due to decomposition of certain organic matter (such as acidic leaves)
Soil water potential (ability of the soil to retain water) changes as soil texture changes
Light availability may change from full sunlight to partly shady, to near darkness as trees grow
Crowding, which increases with population growth, may be unsuitable to certain species

Front 78

succession

Back 78

described by the series of plant communities that inhabt a region over time
animals also reside in these areas, but it is not because of previous animals, but because of their attraction to the land. They do however affect the physical characteristic
r species are usually replaced by more stable K-selected species

Front 79

pioneer species

Back 79

plants and animals that are first to colonize a newly exposed habitat

Front 80

Primary succession

Back 80

occurs on substrates that never previously supported living things
Ex) life on lava, volcanic islands, sand dunes or rock left behind by retreating glaciers

Front 81

secondary succession

Back 81

begins in habitats where communities were entirely or partially destroyed by some kind of damaging event
Ex) begins in habitats damaged by fire, floods, insect devastation, etc.
Because these habitats previously supported life, secondary succession, unlike primary, begins on substrates that already bear soil & native seed bank.

Front 82

trophic levels

Back 82

groups plants and animals are organized into that reflect their main energy source

Front 83

primary producers

Back 83

autotrophs that convert sun energy into chemical energy- plants, photosynthetic protists, cyanobacteria, chemosynthetic bacteria

Front 84

primary consumers

Back 84

herbivores that eat the primary producers

Front 85

secondary consumers

Back 85

primary carnivores that eat the primary consumers

Front 86

tertiary consumers

Back 86

secondary carnivores that eat the secondary consumers

Front 87

detritivores

Back 87

consumers that obtain their energy by consuming dead plants and animals (detritus)
ex) earthworms, insects, crabs, fungi, bacteria

Front 88

detritus

Back 88

dead plants and animals

Front 89

decomposers

Back 89

smallest detritivores, suc as fungi and bacteria.

Front 90

ecological pyramids

Back 90

show the relationship between trophic levels

Front 91

horizontal bars or tiers in ecological pyramids

Back 91

used to represent the relative sizes of trophic levels, each represented in terms of energy (productivity), biomass, or numbers of organisms
stacked upon one another in the order in which energy is transferred between levels

Front 92

ecological efficiency

Back 92

describes the proportion of energy represented at one trophic level that is transferred to the next level

Front 93

pyramid of productivity

Back 93

energy pyramid

Front 94

average ecological efficiency is

Back 94

10 percent

Front 95

arrows in flow charts are often used to show..

Back 95

the flow of energy

Front 96

food chain

Back 96

linear flow chart who eats whom;
ex) grass -> zebra -> lion -> vulture

Front 97

food web

Back 97

expanded, more complete version of a food chain. shows all of the major plants in the ecosystem, the various animals that eat the plants, and the animals that eat the animals.
detritivores may be included
arrows connect all organisms that are eaten to the animal that eat them. Direction of energy flow

Front 98

biogeochemical cycles

Back 98

describe the flow of essential elements from the environment to living things and back to the environment

Front 99

reservoirs

Back 99

storage locations for essential elements

Front 100

assimilation

Back 100

processes through which each element incorporates into terrestrial plants and animals

Front 101

release

Back 101

processes through which each element returns to the environment

Front 102

hydrologic cycle

Back 102

water cycle
reservoirs: oceans, air (water vapor), groundwater, glaciers. (Evaporation by solar energy, wind moves condensated water vapor into clouds, and precipitation move water from oceans to land)
Assimilation: plants absorb water from soil; animals drink water or eat other organisms (which are mostly water)
Release: plants transpire; animals and plants decompose

Front 103

Carbon cycle

Back 103

required for the building of all organic compounds
Reservoirs: atmosphere (as CO2), fossil fuels (coal, oil), peat, durable organic material (cellulose)
Assimilation: plants use CO2 in photosynthesis; animals consume plants or other animals
Release: plants and animals release CO2 through respiration and decomposition. Released when organic material (wood/fossil fuels) are burned

Front 104

nitrogen cycle

Back 104

nitrogen is required for the manufacture of all amino acids and nucleic acids
reservoirs: atmosphere (N2); soil (NH4+ or ammonium, NH3 or ammonia, NO2- or nitrite, NO3- nitrate)
Assimilation: plants absorb nitrogen either as NO3- or as NH4+; animals obtain nitrogen by eating plants or other animals.
-nitrogen fixation
-nitrification
Release: denitrifying bacteria convert NO3- back to N2 (denitrification); detrivorous bacteria convert organic compounds back to NH4 (ammonification); animals excrete NH4 (or NH3), urea, or uric acid

Front 105

nitrogen fixation

Back 105

N2 to NH4+ by nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes (in soil and root nodules); N2 to NO3- by lighting and UV radiation

Front 106

nitrification

Back 106

NH4+ to NO2- and NO2- to NO3- by various nitrifying bacteria
NH4+ or NO3- to organic compounds by plant metabolism

Front 107

denitrification

Back 107

convert NO3- back to N2

Front 108

ammonification

Back 108

detrivorous bacteria convert organic compounds back to NH4

Front 109

phosphorus cycle

Back 109

phosphorus is required for the manufacture of ATP and all nucleic acids, phospholipids, bones&teeth.
biogeochemical cycles of other minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, are similar to the phosphorus cycle
Reservoirs: rocks and ocean sediments. (erosion transfers phosphorus to water and soil; sediments and rocks that accumulate on ocean floors return to the surface as a result of uplifting by geological processes)
Assimilation: plants absorb inorganic PO4 -3 from soils; animals obtain organic phosphorus when they eat plants or other animals
Release: plants and animals release phosphorus when they decompose; animals excrete phosphorus in their waste products

Front 110

biomes

Back 110

-divided regions of the biosphere that exhibit common environmental characteristics;
-each is occupied by unique communities or ecosystems of plants and animals

Front 111

tropical rain forests

Back 111

-equatorial and subequatorial
-high temperature & heavy rainfall;
-tall trees that branch at top, forming a spreading canopy- little light
-epiphytes & vines commonly grow on the trees, but due to lack of light, little grows on the forest floor
-Most animal diverse biome

Front 112

epiphytes

Back 112

plants that live commensally on other plants

Front 113

savannas

Back 113

-grasslands with scattered trees
-Tropical, so have high temperatures
-Receive less water than rain forests
-dry season: 8-9 months &fires common then
-herbivorous mammals (zebra) & their predator (hyenas, lions)
-seasonal droughts, grazing mammals

Front 114

Temperate Grasslands

Back 114

-veldts of south Africa
-Periodic drought is common
-winters cold, summers hot
-animal: bison & wild horses; prairie dogs, wide variety of burrowing mammals
-receive less water and are subject to lower temperatures than are savannas
-ex) North American prairie
-many converted into farmland

Front 115

Temperate Deciduous forests

Back 115

-warm summers, cold winters, moderate precipitation
-deciduous trees shed leaves during winter, an adaptation to poor growing conditions (short days and cold temperatures)

Front 116

deserts

Back 116

-hot and dry
-growth of annual plants limited to short periods following rains
-hostile conditions; leathery leaves, deciduous leaves, leaves reduced to spines (cacti)
-many animals have thick skins, conserve water by producing no urine or very concentrated urine
-snakes and lizards

Front 117

taiga

Back 117

coniferous forests (pines, fir other trees with needles for leaves)
-winters cold, precipitation is form of snow
-moose, brown bears
-periodic droughts are common

Front 118

tundras

Back 118

winters so cold that ground freezes
-summer: upper topsoil thaws, but deeper soil remains permanently frozen
-summer: melted topsoil supports a grassland type community consisting of grasses, sedges, other vegetation tolerant of soggy soils

Front 119

permafrost

Back 119

deeper soil in tundras

Front 120

fresh water biomes

Back 120

ponds. lakes, streams, rivers

Front 121

marine biomes

Back 121

estuaries, intertidal zones, continental shelves, coral reefs, pelagic ocean
-photosynthetic organisms (seaweeds and filamentous algae)
-invertebrates and prokaryotes and hydrothermal bents

Front 122

estuaries

Back 122

where rivers and oceans meet

Front 123

intertidal zones

Back 123

where oceans meet land

Front 124

continental shelves

Back 124

relatively shallow oceans that border continents

Front 125

coral reefs

Back 125

masses of corals that reach ocean surface

Front 126

pelagic ocean

Back 126

deep oceans

Front 127

global climate change

Back 127

burning of fossil fuels and forests increase CO2 in atmosphere
-more heat trapped in atmosphere
-global temperature rising
-warmer temperature raise sea levels by melting glaciers
-decrease agriculture output by affecting weather patterns

Front 128

ozone depletion

Back 128

-forms in the upper atmosphere when UV radiation reacts with oxygen (O2) to form O3 ozone
-air pollutants (chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs) break down ozone molecules
-ozone holes appear (regularly over Antarctica, Arcitc and northern Eurasia)

Front 129

acid rain

Back 129

-burn fossil fuels (coal) -> air pollutants (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide)
-reacts with water vapor, produce sulfuric acid and nitric acid
-rain and snow w/ this kills plants and animals in lakes/rivers/land

Front 130

desertification

Back 130

-overgrazing of grasslands that border deserts
-agricultural output decreases
-habitats available to natives lost

Front 131

deforestation

Back 131

clear-cutting of forests causes erosion, flooding, changes in weather
-slash and burn increase CO2
-destroys nutrients in trees and forest
-soil of some ran forests can support agriculture for only 1-2 years

Front 132

pollution

Back 132

air, water, land pollution
-pesticide (DDT) in plants/animals
-animals eat plants/animals with DDT, toxin becomes concentrated (biological magnification)
-lake can be polluted with with runoff fertilizer/sewage
-abundant nutrients stimulate algal blooms
-phytoplankton reduces oxygen at night &when they die, bacteria reduce oxygen -> animals in water have no oxygen

Front 133

biological magnification

Back 133

when the toxin becomes more and more concentrated as one organism eats another

Front 134

algal blooms

Back 134

massive growths of algae and other phytoplankton

Front 135

eutrophication

Back 135

process of nutrient enrichment in lakes and the subsequent increase in biomass

Front 136

reduction in species diversity

Back 136

-destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, animals/plants becoming extinct fast
-if survived, many could have been useful to humans ans medicines, foods, industrial products