Ecology

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Oikos

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Home

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Ecology

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The scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

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Population

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A group of individuals of the same species that live within a particular area and interact with one another.

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Community

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A group of interacting species that occur together at the same place and time.

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Ecosystem

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All the organisms in a given area as well as the physical environment in which they live.

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Biosphere

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The highest level of biological organization, consisting of all living organisms on Earth plus the environments in which they live.

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Biome

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A large scale terrestrial biological community shaped by the regional climate, soil, and disturbance patterns where it is found, usually classified by the growth form of the dominant plant.

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Adaptation

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A physiological, morphological, or behavioral trait with an underlying genetic basis that enhances the survival and reproduction of its bearers in their environment.

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Acclimatization

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An organism's adjustment of its physiology, morphology, or behavior to lessen the effect of an environmental change and minimize the associated stress.

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Natural Selection

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The process by which individuals with certain heritable characteristics tend to survive and reproduce more successfully than other individuals because of those characteristics.

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Consumer

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An organism that obtains its energy by eating other organisms or their remains.

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Producer

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An organism that can produce its own food by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

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Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

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The amount of energy (per unit time) that autotrophs capture by photosynthesis and chemosynthesis, minus the amount they use in cellular respiration.

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Nutrient Cycle

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The cyclic movement of nutrients between organisms and the physical environment.

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Evolution

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Change in allele frequencies in a population over time

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Climate

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The long term description of weather, based on averages and variation measured over decades.

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Solstice

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When the Sun reaches its highest or lowest excursion relative to the equator.

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Equinox

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When the plane of Earth's equator passes through the center of the sun.

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Tropic of Cancer

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Most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun may appear directly overhead.

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Tropic of Capricorn

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Most southerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun may appear directly overhead.

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Hadley Cell

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Large scale, three dimensional pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere in which air is uplifted at the equator and subsides at about 30 degrees N and S.

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Ferrel Cell

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Large scale, three dimensional pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere, located at mid latitudes between the Hadley and Polar cells.

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Polar Cell

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Large scale, three dimensional pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere in which air subsides at the poles and moves towards the equator when it reaches Earth's surface.

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Coriolis Effect

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The apparent deflection of air or water currents when viewed from a rotating reference such as Earth's surface.

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Heat Capacity

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The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance.

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Adiabatic Cooling

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Reduction of temperature without loss of energy through reduction of pressure.

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Stratification

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The layering of water in oceans and lakes due to differences in water density and temperature with depth.

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Thermocline

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The zone of rapid temperature change in a lake beneath the epilimnion and above the hypolimnion

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Epilimnion

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The warm surface later of water in a lake, lying above the thermocline, that forms during the summer in some lakes of temperate and polar regions.

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Hypolimnion

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The densest, coldest water later in a lake, lying below the thermocline.

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Lotic

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Of or relating to flowing water

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Benthic Zone

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The bottom of a body of water including the surface and shallow subsurface layers of sediment.

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Pelagic Zone

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The open water column of a lake or ocean.

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Photic Zone

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The surface layer of a lake or ocean where enough light penetrates to allow photosynthesis.

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Littoral Zone

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The nearshore zone of a lake where the photic zone reaches to the bottom.

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Sclerophyllous

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Vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes, frequently found in chaparral biomes.

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Test Statistic

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Difference between means over measure of variance.

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Degrees of Freedom

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N - 1

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P Value

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Probability of obtaining a result equal to or more extreme than what was actually observed, assuming that the null hypothesis is true.

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Type 1 Error

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Incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis "false positive"

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Type 2 Error

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Failure to reject a false null hypothesis "false negative"

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Gene

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Region of DNA that encodes a functional RNA or protein product, and is the molecular unit of heredity.

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Allele

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One of two or more forms of a gene that result in the production of different versions of the protein that the gene encodes.

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4 processes that influence evolution

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Mutation

Natural Selection

Genetic Drift

Gene Flow

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Mutation

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Change in the DNA of a gene.

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Genetic Drift

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A process in which chance events determine which alleles are passed from one generation to the next, thereby causing allele frequencies to fluctuate randomly over time; the effects of genetic drift are most pronounced in small populations.

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Gene Flow

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The transfer of alleles from one population to another via the movement of individuals or gametes.

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Genotype

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The genetic makeup of an individual.

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Phenotype

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The observable characteristics of an organism.

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Phenotypic Plasticity

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The ability of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions.

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Cline

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A pattern of gradual change in a characteristic of an organism over a geographic region.

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Life History Strategy

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The overall pattern in the timing and nature of life history events, averaged across all the individuals of a species.

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Iteroparity

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Having the capacity to reproduce multiple times in a lifetime.

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Semalparity

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Reproducing only once in a lifetime.

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Morphs

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Discrete phenotypes with few or no intermediate forms.

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Regression/Correlation

T-test/Anova

Chi Square

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Continuous(I)/Continuous(D)

Categorical(I)/Continuous(D)

Categorical(I)/Categorical(D)

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Regression/Correlation

T-test/Anova

Chi Square

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Implies cause + effect, R squared/r

t/For more than 2 categories, F

X squared