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132 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Ecology
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-The scientific relationship between organisms and their environments
-The analysis of the distribution and abundance of organisms -The scientific study of ecosystem, composition, structure, and function |
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Applied ecology
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Practical applications of ecological principles (ex: agriculture, forestry, wildlife and fisheries management, environmental aspects of human health
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Basic ecology
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Basic, quantitative, experimental, and theoretical science (like physics, chemistry, geology, etc)
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Environmental science
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Social, political, ethical, and economical problems related to human impact on ecosystems (and each other)
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Environmentalism
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The philosophy and social movement to conserve the environment
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Organismal ecology
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The morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations to live in a particular environment
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Physiological ecology
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Integrated biophysical/biochemical/physiological responses to natural environmental variation across a short and long term time scales within a lifetime of an organism (ex: thermoregulation, water and salt balance, etc.)
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Behavioral ecology
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Integrated behavioral responses to the physical and biotic environment including solitary and social behavior that affect individual performance, population ecology, and evolution. (ex: foraging, habitat selection, etc.)
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Population
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A group of individual organisms from the same species that live in the same area
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Population ecology
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A subset of ecology that focuses on how numbers of individuals in a population change over time
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Evolutionary ecology
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a subfield of ecology that focuses on the evolutionary history of species and the interactions between them
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Community
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A group of populations of different species that live together in a given area
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Community ecology
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a subfield of ecology that focuses on the interactions between organisms of different species as well as the consequences of the interactions
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Ecosystem
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A biological environment in which several communities of organisms interact, as well as the nonliving components
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Ecosystem ecology
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The field of ecology that focuses on the nutrient and energy movement among organisms and through the surrounding atmosphere and soil/water
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Landscape ecology
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a subfield of ecology that focuses on the studying and improving of relationships between urban landscapes and ecological environments
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Global ecology
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The study of how all organisms interact and survive in their planetary environment
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Environmental factor
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Both abiotic and biotic, these elements contribute to the environment of an organism
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Abiotic factors
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Nonliving: water, temperature, wind, etc.
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Biotic factors
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Living: predators, parasited, etc.
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Spatial variation
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The variation or distribution of organisms across a landscape that is normally associated with populations (at all scales though; global to microscopic)
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Temporal variation
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The variation with time (may be for a defined period of time, and may be cyclical)
-direction of change -rate of change -magnitude of change |
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Spatial-temporal variation
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The variation or distribution of organisms across a landscape over time
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Forest edge
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The border of a forest and another area
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Microclimate
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A local atmospheric zone that differs from the surrounding area
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Normal
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Context-independent: defined in abstract, absolute terms
Context-dependent: evolution of tolerance ranges and performance functions in response to environmental variation |
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Disturbance
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-Some kind of departure from normal
-re-interpretation of the 'balance of nature' idea and human responsibility of environmental change |
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2D Response curve
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-one independent environmental factor
-one dependent organismal response variable |
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3D Response curve
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-2 or more independent environmental factors
-one dependent organismal response variable |
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N-Dimensional Response curve
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Intuitively right, conceptually correct, theoretically sound, but in practice, challenging to measure and/or mathemetize
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Niche
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The response pattern of an organism to all abiotic and biotic environmental factors OR the role an organism (or species) plays in an environment
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Habitat
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The place in which an organism lives (at all scales)
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Ecotope
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The sum of the habitat+niche of an organism
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Generalist
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A species that can survive in a wide array of habitats or use a wide array of resources
Defined in terms of either environmental response functions and/or niches |
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Specialist
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A species that can only survive using a limited kind of habitat and use limited resources
Defined in terms of either environmental response functions and/or niches |
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Homeostasis
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The regulation of an organism's internal environment
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Regulator
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An organism who has the ability to keep homeostasis through metabolism, does not change (much) with environment
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Conformer
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An organism whose internal environment fluctuates and changes with the external environment
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Acclimation
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The ability for an organism, over its lifetime, to change either behaviorally, biochemically, morphologically, or physiologically to suit the environment better
Adaptation≠Acclimation |
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Habitat selection
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A behavioral response of an organism in which it chooses a more favorable habitat within the same geographical location
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Migration
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A behavioral response in which an organism leaves its current geographical location to find a more suitable habitat
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Population Size
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The number of organisms of the same species within a defined geographical area
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Population Density
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The number of organisms of the same species within a unit area or volume (concentration)
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Individual/Clone
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It's hard to define individual organisms when some organisms grow together (colonial species) or send off clones (strawberries)
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Geographic range
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The range an organism has the ability to inhabit
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Distribution
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The spread of organisms either via worldwide, continental, regional, physiographic area, cluster, locality
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Population dispersion
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The spread of organisms of the same species within a colony. Three types: clumped, uniform, and random
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Habitat patch
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A habitat with a mostly isolated patch population
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Patch population
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An isolated population that lives in a given habitat
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Metapopulation
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The sum of all patch populations
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Demography
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The study of the factors that determine the size and structure of populations through time
-factors include: birth, death, immigration, and emigration |
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Age-specific processes
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demographic events expressed for each age class in a population
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Life table
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Summarizes the probability that an individual will survive and reproduce in any given time interval over the course of its lifetime
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Age Class
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A group of organisms of the same species that were born around the same time
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Cohort
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A group of the same age organisms that can be followed over time
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Survival (lx)
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Proportion of offspring that survive
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Mortality
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Proportion of offspring that die
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Fecundity (mx)
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The number of female offspring produced by each female in a population
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Survivorship curve
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plots of ln(lx) or log(lx) vs. age
(survivors vs. age) Three types of survivorship curves...I, II, III Type I: High survivorship at birth, then decreases over time Type II: Steady survivorship Type III: Low survivorship at birth, then increases over time |
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Semi-logarithmic plot
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One axis plotted on a log scale, one plotted on a linear scale (survivorship=log, age=linear)
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Net reproductive rate (R0)
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Estimate of population growth rate
R0=∑(survivorship)(fecundity) across all age classes R0=1: no change, each female replaces herself R0<1: population decline R0>1: population growth |
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Age Structure
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The number of individuals in different age classes within a population (usually expressed as a frequency distribution/histogram)
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Age Units
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Can vary (days, weeks, years)
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Life Stages
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A way of measuring age structure that's not chronological, but rather developmental (larva, pupa, adult)
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Age structure continuum
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In general, individuals from species with high fecundity tend to grow quickly, reach sexual maturity at a young age, and produce many small eggs/seeds. Conversely, individuals from species with high survivorship tend to grow slowly and invest resources in traits that reduce damage from enemies and increase their own ability to compete for water, sunlight, or food.
follows either triangle, bullet, or balloon structure |
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Pyramid (triangle) structure
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Population usually grows with unstable age structure (pyramid base widens) until resource limitations increase death rates and/or reduce birth rates
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Bullet structure
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Population may grow, decline, or remain constant
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Balloon structure
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Population usually declines with unstable age structure (balloon base narrows) until forces responsible for low birth rates or high juvenile rates change
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Stable age structure
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age proportions stay constant, thus unchanging shape, but overall population size may change, usually only a bullet structure tends to be stable
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Stationary population
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A population that neither grows nor declines and age structure does not change.
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Population growth momentum
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A population for which the per capita birth rate is greater than the net replacement rate. This will tend to grow (though this is not always true) and will usually end up in a pyramidal age structure even if it does not start this way
This occurs because of the large number of prereproductive juvenile individuals that were produced earlier, they have not yet passed into their reproductive years |
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Lag effect
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The large juvenile cohorts must pulse through their reproductive years until the pop. growth eventually declines to 0 and age pop stabilizes
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Net population change
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∆N = (Nt- No) = (B – D) + (I – E)
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Population change
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∆N
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Population change rate
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∆N/∆t
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Crude birth (B), death (D), and growth rate (B-D)
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B, D, or B-D per 1000 individuals over a given interval of time
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Per capital birth (B), death (D), and growth rate(B-D)
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B, D, or B-D per 1 individual over a given interval of time, usually expressed as a fraction
r=per capita growth rate |
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Arithmetic growth
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An addition of a constant number of individuals to a pop.
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Linear growth
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An addition of a variable number of individuals to a pop.
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Multiplicative (geometric) growth
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An addition of a constant percentage of individuals to a population. Lambda, general equation is a power curve, discrete (segmented)
Nt = No x lamda^t |
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Exponential growth curve equation
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smooth, continuous growth
Nt = No x e^rt e is the base of natural logarithms (a numerical constant = 2.718…), while r is the instantaneous per capita rate of growth. er has taken the place of lamda. This converts the segmented discrete curve into a smooth, continuous curve: |
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Exponential growth rate equation
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The differential of the exponential growth curve equation gives us the exponential growth rate equation:
dN/dt = r N This is the tangent to the exponential growth curve at any defined point in time. It is the rate of growth at that exact moment, and it is a product of the instantaneous per capita rate of increase (r) and the population size at that time (N). |
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Intrinsic rate of increase
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The reproductive potential (rmax) of a species as controlled by physiological and genetic limitations. Considered a biological constant, it can evolve to lower or high values at any time. Thus, maximum growth for a species is dN/dt = rmax N
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Generation time (G)
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The average amount of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring (usually expressed for female parents and female offspring).
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Population doubling time td
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td=ln(2)/r or .70/r
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Population Regulation
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controlled by biotic and abiotic growth and decrease factors
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Biotic potential
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Growth factors (ie high reproductive rate, favorable light, generalized niche, favorable temp)
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Environmental Resistance
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Decrease factors (ie low reproductive rate, unfavorable light)
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Logistic population growth
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Carrying capacity impact on unlimited potential growth
K=carrying capacity |
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Logistic growth rate equation
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dN/dt = rN * (K – N) / K
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Life history
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typical sequence of growth, reproduction,senescence, and death processes for species
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Density-independent factor
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The proportional impact on organisms in the population does not change with population density
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Density-dependent factor
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The proportional impact on organisms in the population changes with population density
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Life strategy
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a life history that has evolved to increase avg. total fitness of individuals within a species
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Components of Life histories
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Age at maturity (first reproduction)
Reproductive frequency (# per lifetime) Fecundity per reproductive episode (clutch size) Resources allocated to each offspring and parental care avg. lifespan |
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Ideal Life History
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-Sexually mature at young age
-large clutch size -Lots of reproductive episodes -Long lifespan -Lots of resources for each offspring |
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Allocational tradeoffs
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All components of life histories cost energy, so organisms weigh risks and energy and successful strategies return larger benefits per unit of resource invested
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K-Selected
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"Equilibrial"
-long lives -many reproductive episodes -small clutch sizes -slower growth rate -more resources per offspring |
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R-Selected
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"Opportunistic"
-sexual maturity at early age -large clutch sizes -short growth rate -fewer resources per offspring -shorter lives |
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Consumption
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predator and prey...one benefits and the other doesn't
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Competition
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lowers the fitness of the individuals involved
intraspecific: within the same species interspecific: of 2 or more different species |
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Commensalism
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One species uses another to benefit itself, though the other species receives no benefits
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Amensalism
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one species restricts the success of another
-parasites -parasitoids (usually kills or consumes host) |
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Mutualism
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Two species help each other and both benefit, usually cant be without each other
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Consumer
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An organism that gets its energy off of other organisms, cannot produce its own
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Predation
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The consumption of an organism by another
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Parasitism
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uses host
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Parasitoidism
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consumes/kills host
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Herbivory
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Eats plants, can be a parasite or parasitoid too
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Detrivory
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Eats dead organic matter
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Inducible defense
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many prey species have these, where defense traits are produced only in response to a predator, efficient energetically, but slow, takes time to produce (ex: mussels get thicker shells with predators)
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constitutive defenses
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natural selection strongly favors traits that allow individuals to avoid being eaten
-prey may hide (camoflauge), run, or swim away -many plants lace their tissues with toxins -safety in #s: flocking, schooling, herding -some prey fight back |
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Crypsis
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camouflage, blends into environment
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Müllerian Mimicry
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looks harmful, is harmful
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Batesian Mimicry
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looks harmful, safe
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Aposematic coloration
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Bright colors, as a warning to be dangerous
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Arms Race
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an evolutionary struggle between competing sets of co-evolving genes that develop adaptations and and counter-adaptations against each other
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brown-earth hypothesis
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Why is the earth green not brown?
Top-Down Control: Herbivores limited by predation and disease Bottom-Up Control: poor nutrition of plants and defense mechanisms |
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Diffuse competition
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indirect competition A-B-C not A-B
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Direct competition
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direct competition A-B
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6 types of competition
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-Overgrowth competition
-Chemical competition -Preemptive competition -Consumptive competition -Territorial competition -Encounter competition |
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Asymmetric competition
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one species has a higher fitness than the other
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Symmetric competition
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competitors have same fitness
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Fundamental Niche
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Combination of resources or areas used or conditions tolerated in the absence of competitors
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Realized Niche
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the portion of resources or areas used or conditions tolerated when competition occurs
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Resource Partitioning
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A factor affecting the intensity of competition
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Coexistence
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There is a strong natural selection to avoid competition, so an evolutionary change in traits reduces the amount of nice overlap
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Competitive Crunch
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An effect of the environment on competition
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Competitive Exclusion
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This occurs when competition and niches overlap completely. This may drive the weaker species to extinction because of lack of refuge
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Niche Overlap
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When the range of resources used overlap for two species
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Niche Differentiation
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Resource partitioning, or an evolutionary change in resource use
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Character Displacement
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The change that occurs to allow individuals to exploit different resources
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