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128 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
ecology
the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment
biotic factors
behaviors
interactionswith other species
alive stuff
abiotic factors
not alive
chemical+physical components
ex: temperature water salinity sunlight soil
macroclimate patterns
work on global regional or local level
microclimate patterns
work on small-cale environment variations
ex: under a log, inside a tree, etc.
biomes
major types of ecosystems that occupy broad geographic regions
aquatic biomes
water biomes, 75% of the earth
2 types: freshwater and marine biomes
vertical stratification forms these 4 ecologically unique areas:
photic zone
aphotic zone
benthic zone (with detritus)
thermoclines
photic zones
enough light for photosynthesisin water
aphotic zones
very little light penetrates
detritus
organic sediments include it, made of dead organic matter
benthic zones
bottom of the biome, made up of sand, organic sediments and inorganic matter
thermoclines
the narrow layers of fast temp change that seperate warm upper and cold lower waters
two types of freshwater biomes
standing bodies (lakes and wetlands)
moving bodies (rivers and streams)
littoral zone
well lit shallow waters near shore wiht plenty of plant life
limnetic zone
well lit pen surface waters farther from shore with phytoplankton
oligotrophic lakes
deep nutrient poor phytoplankton poor oxygen rich lakes
eutrophic lakes
shallow nutrient and phyto rich with poor oxygen lakes
prominent physical attribute of streams and rivers
currents
estuaries
areas where freshwater streams or rivers merge with the ocean
marine biomes include what zones?
intertidal
neritic
pelagic
coral reef
intertidal zone
land meets water, periodically submerged and exposed by 2xtides
neritic zone
beyond intertidal, shallow water past continental shelves
pelagic biome
realm of open blue water past continental shelves
coral reef
biome created by cnidarians who secrete calcium carbonate and supports algae coral and sponge growth, one of the most productive ecosystems on earth
ecological time
minute to minute daily interactions that set up for evolution
evolutionary time
the time it takes for an organism to adapt to its environment through natural selection
dispersal
movement away from areas of origin or high population density
climate
long term prevailing weather conditions in a certain area
turnover
semi annual mixing of water where oxygen rich water goes to the bottom and nutrient rich water rises to the top
disturbance
an event like sotrm, fir, flood, etc, that changes a community by removing organisms from it or altering resource availability
ecotone
area of intergradation, may be wide or narrow, between terrestrial biomes
organismal ecology
how organism structure physiology and behavior meet environmental challenges
population ecology
analyzes factors that affect pop size and change factors
community ecology
how species interactions affect community
ecosystem ecology
emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and enviro
landscape ecology
focuses on factors controlling material energy and organism exchanges across ecosystems
global ecology
examines how regional exhcange of energy and materials influences distributions of organisms
density
number of indiivudals per unit area or volume
dispersion
pattern of spacing among individuals within population
demography
study of the vital statistics of populations and how they change over time
cohort
a group of individuals of the same age
survivorship curve
a plot of the proportion or numbers in a cohort alive at each age
reproductive table
fertility schedule: age specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population
life history
the traits that affect an organisms schedule of reproduction or survival
big bang reproduction
semelparity: one shot pattern of reproduction
iteroparity
repeated reproduction: exact opposite of semelparity
equations
change in pop/time interval=
#births-#deaths

xbirths/xpopulation number=0.0
(34/100=0.34)

per capita birth rate
bN=B
.34(500)=17

per capita death rate
dN=D

change in pop/time interval=
bN-dN

r=b-d

change in pop/time interval=
rN

dN/dt=r inst N

dN/dt=r max N
ZPG
zero population growth
occurs when births and death are equal
K selection
density dependent selection: selects for traits sensitive to pop density and keeping organisms alive with fewer resources
r selection
density independent: selects for traits that speed up reproduction
density dependent
a birth or death rate that changes due to population density
density independent
a birth ro death rate that doesn't change due to pop density
population dynamics
study that focuses on complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors that cause variations in pop size
metapopulation
when a number of local pops are linked
demographic transition
movement toward second configuration

from highb-highd to lowb-lowd
age structure
relative number of individuals of each age in a population
ecological footprint
the concept that summarizes the aggregae land and water area required by eahc person/city/nation to produce all consumed resources and absorb all generated wastes
interspecific interactions
competition
predation
herbivory
symbiosis (parasitism, commensalism and mutualism)
competitive exclusion
evne a slight reproductive advantage will lead to local elimination of the inferior competitor
resource partitioning
the differentiation of niches that enables similar species to coexist in a community
character displacement
tendency for characteristics to diverge more in sympatric populations of two species than allopatric populations of the same two species.
predation
+/- interaction between species in which one species (predator) kills and eats another (prey)
cryptic coloration
camouflage
aposematic coloration
warning coloration of chemical defenses
batesian mimcry
harmless mimicking harmful
mullerian mimicry
harmful mimcking harmful, sort of aposematic coloration
herbivory
+/- interaction where an organism eats parts of a plant or alga
symbiosis
relationship where individuals of two ro more species live in direct and intimate contact with one another
parasitism
parasite derives nutrition from the host, harming it in the process
endoparasites
parasites that live within the body of theirhost
ectoparasites
parasites that feed on the external surface
mutualism
+/+, benefits both species
commensalism
an interaction between species that helps one but has no affect on the other
species diversity
the variety of different kinds of organisms that make up the community
species richness
number of different species in the community
relative abundance
of the different species :]
trophic structure
the feeding relatonships between organisms
food chain
autotrophs (primary producers)
herbivores (primary consumers)
carnivores (2,3,4 consumers)
decomposers
food webs
arrows linking species to who eats whom
energetic hypothesis
suggests that food chain is short b/c it is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain
dynamic stability hypothesis
proposes that long food chains are less stable than shorter ones
biomass
total mass of all individuals in a population
dominant species
species in a community that are most abundant or with the greatest biomass
keystone species
species that exert control through ecological roles in their environment (niches and their importance)
facilitators
help survival and reproduction of other species
foundation species
speceis that dramatically alter their physical environment ona large scale
bottom up model
postulates a unidirectional influence from lo to hi levels; N-->V-->H-->P, affecting bottom affects the rest, affecting top affects none
top down model
says predation mainly controls organization
biomanipulation
using the top down model, it is an approach that alters the density of higher level consumers in an attempt to lower algal blooms and pollution instead of using chemical treatments
nonequilibrium model
describes most communities as constantly changing after being affected by disturbances
ecological succession
disturbed areas colonized by a variety species, then replaced, then re-replaced, etc.
primary succession
succession where there has never been life before
evapotranspiration
the evaporation of water form soil and transpiration from plants
pathogens
disease causing microorganisms, viruses, viroids and prions
zoonotic pathogens
pathogens that are transferred from other animals to humans either by contact or a vector (parasites, mosquitoes, etc)
species area curve
all other factors being equal, larger the geographic area, the more species
ecosystem
sum of all organismss living within its boundaries and all the abiotic factors with whihc thye interact
law of conservation of mass
matter like energy cannot be created ro destroyed
primary producers
the autotrophs on the bottomost trophic level
primary consumers
secondary consumers
tertiary consumers
detritivores/decomposers
eat plants
eat herbivores
eat carnivores
eat waste and detritus
primary production
amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by autotrophs during a given time period
gross primary production
GPP; amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis per unit of time
net primary production
NPP; is GPP-R (energy used ofr repsiration by an organism) and is about 1/2 of GPP
limiting nutrient
an element that must be added for production to increase
eutrophication
cyanobacteria and algae grow rapidly in response to added nutrients, reducing oxygen adn clarity of water
actual evapotranspiration
annual amount of water transpired by plants and evaporated from landscape in mm
secondary production
the amount of chemical energy in a consumer's food that si converted to their own new biomass during a given time period
production efficiency
the percentage of energy stored in assimilated food that is not used for respiration
trophic efficiency
percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next
turnover time
small standing crop in comparison to production (SC/P)
green world hypothesis
herbivores held in check by plant defenses, low nutrient concentrations in plant tissues, abiotic pressures and certain types of competition
biogeochemical cycles
nutrient cycles that involve both biotic and abiotic components
critical load
amount of added nutrient that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem integrity
biological magnification
process in which accumulated toxins become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of a food web
greenhouse effect
greenhouse gases retain & re-reflect infrared light, retaining solar heat
conservation biology
integrates ecology, physiology, molecular biology, genetics and evolutionary biology to conserve biological diversity on all levels
restoration biology
applies ecological principles to return ecosystems that have been disturbed by human activity to a condition as similar as possible to their natural state
endangered species
a species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range
threatened species
those that are considered likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future
ecosystem services
encompass all the processes through which natural ecosystems help sustain life on earth
extinction vortex
a downward spiral towards smaller and smaller pop size until none exist
minimum viable population
MVP; the min pop size at which a species is able to sustain tis numbers and survive
movement corridor
a narrow strip or series of small clumps of habitat connecting otherwise isolated patches are important for conserving biodiversity
biodiversity hotspot
a relatively small area with an exceptional concentration of endemic species and often a large number of endangered and threatened species
zoned reserve
an extensice region that includes areas relatively undisturbed by humans surrounded by areas that have been changed by human activity and are used for economic gain
bioremediation
the use of organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems
biological augmentation
an approach to restoration ecology that use organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem