Bio Mid Term 2

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Ecology

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the study of how organisms interact with each other and with their surrounding environment

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Adaptive radiation

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rapid evolutionary diversification within one lineage, producing numerous descendant species with a wide range of adaptive forms

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Allopatric speciation

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the divergence of populations into different species by physical isolation of populations in different geographic areas

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Biological species concept

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the definition of a species as a population or group of populations that are reproductively isolated from other groups, members of a species have the potential to interbreed in nature to produce viable, fertile offspring but cannot produce viable, fertile hybrid offspring with members of other species

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Biome

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a large terrestrial ecosystem characterized by a distinct type of vegetation and climate

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Branch

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a part of a phlyogenetic tree that represents populations through time

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Carrying capacity (K)

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the maximum population size of a certain species that a given habitat can support

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Cohort

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a group of individuals that are the same age and can be followed through time

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Condition

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A physical or chemical factor in the environment.

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Density-dependence

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– in population ecology, referring to any characteristic that varies depending on population density

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Evolutionary species concept

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the definition of a species as the smallest monophyletic group in a phylogenetic tree

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Fecundity

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the average number of female offspring produced by a single female in the course of her lifetime

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Instantaneous rate of increase (r)

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net rate of increase; population and environment dependent

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Iteroparity

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- Strategy of reproducing multiple times. Note that this and semelparity refer to the possibility of one or more reproduction events—an individual that could in theory reproduce every year, but dies after its first reproductive event, is still iteroparous even though it only reproduced once!

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Life history

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the sequence of events in an individual’s life from birth to death, including how an individual allocates resources to growth, reproduction and activities or structures that are related to survival

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Limiting factor

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any essential resource whose scarcity in the environment significantly reduces growth and reproduction of organisms

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Monophyletic group

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an evolutionary unit that includes an ancestral population and all of its descendants and no others, also called a clade or a lineage.

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Morphological species concept

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the definition of a species as a population or group of populations that have measurable different anatomical features from other groups

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Niche

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the particular set of habitat requirements of a certain species and the role that species plays in its ecosystem

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Node

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in a phylogenetic tree, the point where two branches diverge representing the point in time when an ancestral group split into two or more descendant groups

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Out-group

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a taxon that is closely related to a particular monophyletic group but is not part of it

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Parsimony

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the logical principle that the most likely explanation of a phenomenon is the most economical or simplest. When applied to comparison of alternative phylogenetic trees, it suggests that the one requiring the fewest evolutionary changes is most likely to be correct

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Phylogenetic tree

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– a diagram that depicts the evolutionary history of a group of species and the relationships among them

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Polytomy

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Node with >2 descendent groups

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Reinforcement

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in evolutionary biology, the natural selection for traits that prevent interbreeding between recently diverged species

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Reproductive isolating mechanism

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Any morphology or behavior that prevents either 1) the mating between members of two species (pre-zygotic RIM) or 2) the successful production of offspring from a mating between members of two species (post-zygotic RIM)

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Resource

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Something consumed (or taken up, in the case of plant roots) to produce energy or biomass

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Response curve

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A description (quantitative, graphical) of how an individual responds to variation in a particular resource or condition

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Root –

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in a phylogenetic tree, the bottom, most ancient node

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Semelparity

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Strategy of reproducing once and only once

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Sister taxa

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closely related taxa, which occupy adjacent branches in a phylogenetic tree

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Size structure –

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A description of the number of individuals (or % of the population) in each of several ecologically important size categories

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Survivorship –

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the percentage of a cohort that survives to the next age class

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Sympatric speciation

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the divergence of populations living within the same geographic area into different species as the result of their genetic isolation

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Synapomorphy –

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a shared derived trait found in two or more taxa that is present in their most recent common ancestor but is missing in more distant ancestors.

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Trade-off –

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an inescapable compromise between two traits that cannot be optimized simultaneously

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Vicariance

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the physical splitting of a population into smaller isolated populations by a geographic barrier