Eemb 2

Front 1

Abiotic Factors

Back 1

Physical or chemical factors, such as temperature, climate, water levels, nutrients

Front 2

Abundance

Back 2

How many of a certain species there are

Front 3

Biogeographic Region

Back 3

Areas where species composition change rapidly over small spaces

Front 4

Biome

Back 4

Areas of similar climate and geography, where similar ecosystems are found

Front 5

Biotic Factors

Back 5

Livings components (other organisms, competition, predation etc)

Front 6

Carrying Capacity

Back 6

Maximum number of a certain species a geographical area’s resources can sustain

Front 7

Climate

Back 7

General temperature/weather conditions of an area

Front 8

Commensalism

Back 8

Interaction where one species is positively affected while the other is unaffected

Front 9

Community

Back 9

Two or more populations living in the same geographic location

Front 10

Competition

Back 10

Interaction where both species are negatively affected, due to need for similar resources

Front 11

Competition Coefficient

Back 11

Used to calculate or estimate the effect of one species on their competitor

Front 12

Competitive Exclusion Principle

Back 12

No two species can occupy the same ecological niche simultaneously

Front 13

Competitive Release

Back 13

When one competitor is absent, the other will flourish

Front 14

Density

Back 14

How tightly packed a species is in a geographic area

Front 15

Density-Dependent Control

Back 15

Factor that changes depending on density of specific species or population

Front 16

Density-Independent Control

Back 16

Factor that operates independently of density of organisms

Front 17

Dispersal

Back 17

Spread of organisms to other geographic areas

Front 18

Disturbance

Back 18

Anything that removes organisms and alters resource availability

Front 19

Distribution

Back 19

Where organisms are located in a geographic area

Front 20

Ecology

Back 20

The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, and the factors that determine them

Front 21

Ecosystem

Back 21

A community and it’s abiotic factors

Front 22

Exponential Growth

Back 22

Growth that follows an exponential growth formula, only possible with unlimited resources and no competition

Front 23

Fundamental Niche

Back 23

All of an organisms possible roles in an ecosystem

Front 24

Habitat Selection

Back 24

A species chooses a habitat based on available resources and choice

Front 25

Herbivory

Back 25

Predation where animals eat plants

Front 26

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

Back 26

Geographic areas that experience intermediate disturbance have the highest species diversity

Front 27

Intrinsic Rate of Growth

Back 27

The rate a population grows at with no density-dependent factors controlling growth

Front 28

Keystone Predator

Back 28

A predator whose influence will be higher than would be expected

Front 29

Logistic Growth

Back 29

Because exponential growth isn’t sustainable, it takes into account predation, limited resources, etc

Front 30

Lotka-Volterra Competition Model

Back 30

Based on logistic growth model, measures effects of one species on another

Front 31

Loka-Volterra Predator-Prey Model

Back 31

Forecasts populations based on predator efficiency

Front 32

Metapopulation

Back 32

Pockets of a certain species living in close but not exact geographical areas, operating separately of each other

Front 33

Mutualism

Back 33

Interaction where both species are benefitted

Front 34

Organism

Back 34

Single organisms of a single species

Front 35

Predation

Back 35

Interaction where one species benefits while the other loses, includes predator prey and parasitism relationships

Front 36

Predator-Prey Cycle

Back 36

Oscillations of predator and prey populations, based on the lag of reaction between prey

Front 37

Population

Back 37

Two or more of the same organism

Front 38

Realized Niche

Back 38

An organisms’ actual niche in an ecosystem

Front 39

Resource Limitation

Back 39

The result of too many organisms in an area, limiting the resources for each

Front 40

Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index

Back 40

Index used to measure diversity, measuring types of species and relative abundance

Front 41

Species Richness and Evenness

Back 41

How many species there are, and how even their relative abundances are

Front 42

Species Diversity

Back 42

The number of species living in an area

Front 43

Stable and Unstable Equilibrium

Back 43

Stable equilibrium is constant over time, while unstable equilibriums fluctuate

Front 44

Succession

Back 44

Transition in species composition over time

Front 45

Transplant Experiment

Back 45

Experiment where a species is placed in a new environment, to find reasoning for their habitat selection

Front 46

Trophic Cascade

Back 46

When the top predator in an ecosystem affects or alters the second level of the chain, releasing the third level