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84 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Ecology
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The study of relationships between organisms and their natural environment, living and nonliving
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Keystone Species
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A species whose activities have a significant role in determining community structure
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Dominant Species
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Species who is greatest in number
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Disturbance
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A discrete event in time that disrupts an ecosystem, community, or population, changing substrates and resource availability
--causes succession-- |
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Primary Succession
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Vegetational development starting on a new site never before colonized by life
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Secondary Succession
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Development of vegetation after a disturbance
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Net Primary Productivity (NPP
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Rate of energy fixation or storage per unit time after respiration
Net 1° Productivity (NPP) = Gross 1° Productivity (GPP) - Respiration by autotrophs (R) |
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Gross Primary Productivity
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The total rate of photosynthesis (energy assimilated by autotrophs)
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How do you measure photosynthesis, respiration, and net primary productivity by phytoplankton in aquatic ecosystem?
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Light bottle (O₂ produced by photosynthesis and consumed by phytoplankton) - Dark bottle (sample is only O₂ consumed in respiration) = O₂ produced by photosynthesis (gross primary productivity)
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Biodiversity
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A measure of the different kinds of organisms within a certain region
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Extirpation
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Local Extinction
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What is local extinction called?
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extirpation
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Acid precipitation
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?
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Biological Oxygen Demand
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?
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SLOSS debate
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Single Large or Several Small Reserves?
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Pheromones
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Chemical substance released by an an imal that influences behavior of others of the same species
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Cultural Eutrophication
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Accelerated nutrient enrichment of aquatic ecosystems by a heavy influx of pollutants that causes major shifts in plant and animal life
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Population
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A group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time
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Principle of Allocation
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Energy allocated for or expended on one purpose is not available for other functions
- aka: energy is finite (neither created nor destroyed) |
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Mutuation
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Transmissble changes in the structure of a gene or chromosome
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Evolution
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Change in gene frequency through time resulting from natural selection and producing cumulative changes in characteristics of a population
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Genetic Drift
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Random fluctuation in allele frequency over time, due to chance alone without any influence by natural selection; important in small populations
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Carrying Capacity
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(K) - maximal sustainable population size
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Symbiosis
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situation in which two dissimilar organisms live together in close association
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Competition
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any interaction that is mutually detrimental to both participants, occurring between species that share limited resources
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Mutualism
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relationship between two species in which both benefit
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Parasitism
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Relationship between two species in which one benefits and the other is harmed
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Commensalism
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Relationship between two species in which one benefits and the other is not effected
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What is a relationship called when one organism is harmed and the other is not effected?
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Amensalism
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Amensalism
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Relationship between to organisms in which one is harmed and the other is not effected
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What is a relationship called when one organism is harmed and the other is not effected?
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Amensalism
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Biome
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Major regional ecological community of plants and animals; usually corresponds to plant ecologists' and European ecologists' classification of plant formations and life zones
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Fitness
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Genetic contribution by an individual's descendants to future generations
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Dispersal
(6 types) |
The movement of an individual in space - usually means away from each other
1. density-dependent 2. human-assisted 3. landscape corridors 4. metapopulations 5. within populations 6. seeds |
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Seed Dispersal
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Most seeds fall near the parent, and density falls of with distance
* heavier seeds have shorter dispersal range than light, wind-carried seeds * some species depend on active carriers to disperse |
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Seed Bank
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The store of seeds within the terrestrial ecosystem
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Seed Rain
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Method of seed dispersal of light seeds
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Eutrophic Climate
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Freshwater bodies which are rich in plant nutrients and therefore highly productive.
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Oligotrophic Climate
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Describes water or soil that has poor nutrient content (does not sustain life well)
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1st Law of Thermodynamics
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Energy can be neither created nor destroyed
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2nd Law of Thermodynamics
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no transfer of energy is 100% efficient
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Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis
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species diversity is greatest in those habitats experiencing a moderate amount of disturbance, allowing the coexistence of early and late successional species
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Natural Selection
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differential reproduction and survival of individuals that results in elimination of maladaptive traits from a population
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Coevolution
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Joint evolution of two or more species that have a close ecological relationship -- through reciprocal selective pressures, the evolution of one species in the relationship is partially dependent on the evolution of the other
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R-Selected Species
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* variable population size (usually below K)
* high reproductive rate * single reproductive event (semelparous) * weak competitive ability * good dispersal ability * live in disturbed habitats |
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K-Selected Species
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* slow development
* low reproductive rate * repeated reproduction * long life * strong competitive ability * population size fairly constant * live in undisturbed habitat |
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Batesian
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coloration resembles warning colors of toxic species (ex: butterflies)
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Hutchensonian Niche
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The niche is multidimensional (hypervolume) - species may overlap in some niche dimensions, but never all
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Mullerian Mimicry
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Unpalatable species share similar coloration - predator only has to be exposed to one and knows not to eat the others
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What are two types of mimicry?
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Batesian (unharmful copies coloration of harmful) and Mullerian (many harmful share coloration, pred therefore only eats one and then stops)
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Exponential Growth
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(r) = instantaneous rate of population growth. Expressed as a proportional in crease per unit of time
dN/dt = rN(t) |
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Logistic Growth
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Model incorporates the concept of carrying capacity -- results in a decrease in the rate of pop growth as pop size approaches K
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When does exponential growth happen?
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populations inhabtiting favorable environments at low population densities -- such as during the process of colonization and establishment in new environments
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Invasive Species
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a nonnative species that successfully colonizes a disturbed area or empty niche, spreads, and outcompetes associated native speces
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Crypsis
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coloration of organisms that makes them resemble or blend into their habitat or background
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Aposematic Coloration
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coloration of an organism that makes them stand out as dangerous (warning signals)
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Stratification in Lakes and Turnover
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Division of an aquatic or terrestrial community into distinguishable layers on the basis of temperature, moisture, light, vegetative structure -- creates zones for different plant an animal types
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Liebig's Law of the Minimum
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Growth is controlled not by the total of resources available, but by the scarcest (limiting) resource.
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Masting
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Producing an overabundance of seed/fruit, enough to satiate the fruit predator and still have some left to grow - usually occurs every 3 years
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Nutrient Cycling
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Pathway of an element or nutrient through the ecosystem, from assimilation by organisms to release by decomposition
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Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
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The proposition that genotypic ratios resulting from random mating remain unchanged from one generation to another, provided natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation are absent
If in Equilibrium = No Evolution |
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IPM
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Integrated Pest Management
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Fundamental Niche
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In theory, what (variables) could an organism thrive under
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Realized Niche
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In actuality this range is smaller - subset of fundamental niche
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Theory of Island Biogeography
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The number of species established on an island represents a dynamic equilibrium between the immigration of new colonizing species and the extinction of previously established ones.
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Target Effect
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Greater Immigration on Larger Islands (big target, more organisms will land there)
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Rescue Effect
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Decreased Extinction on Closer Islands (constantly new inflow replaces lost organisms)
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Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms
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1. Fertilization Barriers (pre-zygotic) -- physical barriers ex: enzymes to penetrate ovum
2. Hybrid Barriers (post-zygotic) -- usually hybrids are sponaneously aborted, or they are infertile |
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Speciation
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1. Allopatric/geographic -- two populations are isolated from each other for long periods
2. Sympatric speciation -- occurs as a result of disruptive selection |
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Handicap Hypothesis
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The idea that females prefer a trait (ex: big peacock feathers) because it is a handicap to the male, therefore if they are able to survive they must have good genes
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Rain Shadow
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A dry region on the leeward side of a mountain range resulting from a reduction in rainfall
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Gause's Law
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No two species can coexist indefinitely on the same limiting resource
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Major Causes of Decline in Global Biodiversity
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1. Habitat loss
2. Habitat change 3. Competition from exotic species 4. Predation by exotic species 5. Overharvesting 6. Poisoning |
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Conditions of Competitive Exclusion Principle
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1. time has been sufficient to allow exclusion
2. the environment is temporally constant 3. the environment has no spatial variation 4. growth is limited by one resource 5. rarer species are not disproportionately favored in terms of survivorship, reproduction, or growth 6. species have the opportunity to compete 7. there is no immigration |
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Factors that Effect Species Richness
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Causes Decreas:
* latitude * altitude Causes increase: * area * environmental variability Complex: * time since disturbance * nutrients * predation rate * productivity |
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Kyoto Protocol
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Countries commit to reduce CO2 emission & other greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to 1990
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Tragedy of the Commons
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Social Trap -- conflict over resources between individual interests and the common good (individuals always behave selfishly to maintain fitness
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Altruism
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Behavior by an individual that increases the fitness of another individual while decreasing the fitness of the actor
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Logistic Growth Formula
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dN/dt = rN(1-N/K)
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Exponential Growth Formula
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dN/dt = rN(t)
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Hardy-Weinberg Formula
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p + q = 1
p2 + 2pq + q2 = 1 |
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Photosynthesis Formula
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6 CO2 + 12 H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O
carbon dioxide + water + light energy → glucose + oxygen + water |
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Cellular Respiration Formula
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C6H12O6 + 602 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + heat
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Lincoln-Peterson (Mark-Recapture) Formula
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~N = nM/R
estimation of pop size = # captured first * # captured second / # of captured second that were marked from first |
