Populations And Communities

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principle of limiting factors

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how external factors limit the growth and/or survival of organisms

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biological limiting factors

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a living thing that constrains the growth or survival of organisms

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physical limiting factors

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a non-living component of an environment that constrains the growth and survival of organisms

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salinity

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the total mass of salts compared to the mass of the water in which they are dissolved

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population

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group of individual organisms of the same species that live in a particular geographic area at the same time

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population ecology

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the study of how populations change across space and time

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population growth rate equation

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r = (B+I) - (D+E)

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r-selected species

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high birth rates, few young survive to adulthood, and high population growth rate

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k-selected

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low birth rates, most young survive to adulthood, and low population growth rate

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survivorship curve

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a math equation that describes the proportion of individuals in a population that survive to different ages

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type I curve

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low rates of death at young ages and higher rates at older ages (humans)

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type II curve

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constant rates of death (bird species)

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type III curve

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high rates of death at young ages and lower rates at older ages (fish)

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carrying capacity

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maximum number of animals that can be sustained in a specific environment without diminishing the capacity of that place to support future populations

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logistic growth

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a type of growth with a rapid initial increase followed by a subsequent stabilization

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state change

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a near-permanent change in the composition and/or function of an ecosystem

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intraspecific competition

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competition between organisms of the same species for the same resource

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interspecific competition

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competition between populations of two different species for the same limited resource

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ecological niche

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the factors that determine how a species lives and the role that it plays in a community

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specialist species

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a species that thrives in only very particular conditions

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generalist species

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a species that can thrive in a wide range of conditions

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competitive exclusion principle

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an ecological principle that states that two species cannot occupy the same ecological niche in the same environment over time

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symbiosis

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a close ecological interaction between two different species that affects both populations

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mutualism

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a close ecological interaction between two different species in which both species benefit

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parasitism

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a close ecological interaction between two different species in which one species benefits and the other is harmed

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commensalism

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a close ecological interaction between two different species in which one species benefits and the other is neither benefited nor harmed

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trophic structure

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the levels of hierarchy within the feeding structure of a community

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primary producer

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an organism that makes its own food, with solar energy, and are autotrophs

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consumers

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an organism that obtains food by eating other plants and animals and are heterotrophs

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decomposers

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an organism that obtains energy from the breakdown of dead heterotrophs and autotrophs

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detritivore

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an organism that consumes partially decomposed dead organic mattwe

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detritus

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dead organic matter made up of partially decomposed plant and animal matter

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rule of 10

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a pattern across trophic levels that predicts only 10% of the energy at one trophic level will remain in biomass by the time the energy is consumed in the next trophic level

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keystone species

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a species that has a disproportionately important role in a food web

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disturbances

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a temporary change in the structure and/or function of an ecological community, usually as the result of a destructive event

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ecological succession

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predictable, sequential change in plants, animals, and other organisms that make up a community over time

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primary succession

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the sequence of changes in a biological community that occurs after life first colonizes new areas

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secondary succession

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the sequence of changes that occurs in a biological community after a disturbance removes some to most of the vegetation previously present

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resilience

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a measure of how quickly a community returns to a predisturbance condition

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resistance

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a measure of whether or not a community changes in response to disturbance

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endemic species

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a species found in only one place or part of the world

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invasive species

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a non-native species that causes economic or environmental harm once introduced

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biocontrol

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the introduction of specific organisms intended to slow the growth of invasive species