Ch 42 Glossary

Front 1

area effect

Back 1

the idea that larger islands support more species than smaller ones at equivalent distances from sources of colonizer species.

Front 2

camouflage

Back 2

Coloration, form, patterning, or behavior that helps predators or prey blend with the surroundings and escape detection.

Front 3

carrying capacity

Back 3

The maximum number of individuals in a population (or species) that a given environment can sustain indefinitely.

Front 4

climax community

Back 4

Array of species that has stabilized under prevailing habitat conditions.

Front 5

coevolution

Back 5

Joint evolution of two closely interacting species by changes in the selection pressures operating between the two.

Front 6

commensalism

Back 6

Ecological interaction between two (or more) species in which one benefits directly and the other is affected little, if at all.

Front 7

community

Back 7

All populations in a habitat. Also, a group of organisms with similar life-styles.

Front 8

interspecific competition

Back 8

Type of ecological interaction in which individuals of different species compete for a share of resources.

Front 9

intraspecific competition

Back 9

Type of ecological interaction in which individuals of the same population compete for a share of resources.

Front 10

competitive exclusion

Back 10

Theory that two or more species that require identical resources cannot coexist indefinitely.

Front 11

distance effect

Back 11

Idea that only species adapted for long-distance dispersal can be potential colonists of islands far from their home range.

Front 12

ecological succession

Back 12

Processes by which a community develops in sequence, from pioneer species to an end array of species that remain in equilibrium over some region.

Front 13

endangered species

Back 13

Endemic (native) species highly vulnerable to extinction.

Front 14

exotic species

Back 14

Species that left its home range and became established in a new community.

Front 15

geographic dispersal

Back 15

An organism moves out of its home range and becomes established in a new community, as an exotic species.

Front 16

habitat

Back 16

[L. habitare, to live in] Place where an organism or species lives; characterized by its physical and chemical features and its species.

Front 17

host

Back 17

Living organism exploited by a parasite. A definitive host harbors the mature stage of a parasite's life cycle. One or more intermediate hosts harbor immature stages.

Front 18

mimicry

Back 18

Close resemblance in form, behavior, or both between one species (the mimic) and another (its model). Serves in deception, as when an orchid mimics a female insect and so attracts males that pollinate it.

Front 19

mutualism

Back 19

[L. mutuus, reciprocal] Symbiotic interaction that benefits both participants.

Front 20

niche (nitch)

Back 20

[L. nidas, nest] Sum total of all activities and relationships in which individuals of a species engage as they secure and use the resources required to survive and reproduce.

Front 21

parasite

Back 21

[Gk. para, alongside, + sitos, food] Organism that lives in or on a host for at least part of its life cycle. It feeds on specific tissues and usually does not kill its host outright.

Front 22

parasitism

Back 22

Symbiotic interaction in which a species that feeds on its tissues (a parasite) benefits and the other (its host) is harmed.

Front 23

pioneer species

Back 23

Any opportunistic colonizer of barren or disturbed habitats. Adapted for rapid growth and dispersal.

Front 24

predation

Back 24

Ecological interaction in which a predator feeds on a prey organism.

Front 25

predator

Back 25

[L. prehendere, to grasp, seize] A heterotroph that eats other living organisms (its prey), does not live in or on them (as parasites do), and may or may not kill them.

Front 26

prey

Back 26

Organism that another organism (e.g., a predator) captures as a food source.

Front 27

resource partitioning

Back 27

Of two or more species that compete for the same resource, a sharing of the resource in different ways or at different times, which permits them to coexist.

Front 28

restoration ecology

Back 28

Attempts to reestablish biodiversity in ecosystems severely altered by mining, agriculture, and other disturbances.

Front 29

riparian zone

Back 29

Narrow corridor of vegetation along a stream or river.

Front 30

primary succession

Back 30

[L. succedere, to follow after] Ecological pattern by which a community develops in orderly progression, from the time that pioneer species colonize a barren habitat to the climax community.

Front 31

secondary succession

Back 31

Ecological pattern by which a disturbed area of a community recovers and moves back toward the climax state.

Front 32

symbiosis

Back 32

[Gk. sym, together, + bios, life, mode of life] Individuals of one species live near, in, or on those of another species for at least part of life cycle (e.g., in commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism).

Front 33

warning coloration

Back 33

Of many toxic species and their mimics, avoidance signals (strong colors and patterns) that predators learn to recognize.