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57 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is the science of behavior called?
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Ethology; Niko, Karl, Konrad
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What are some basic differences between “proximate” and “ultimate” causes of behavior?
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Proximate--"How" questions
Ultimate--"Why" questions |
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What is an innate behavior?
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Inborn behavior
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What is a “fixed action pattern”?
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A sequence of innate behaviors that is performed when triggered by a Releaser--an environmental cue that elicits the behavior
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(2) Examples of "fixed action pattern"
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1) Baby birds begging for food (Releaser)
2) Praying mantis catching and eating food |
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Is behavior based on genetics or on environmental factors?
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Genetics
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What is kin selection?
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Sacrifice for close relatives
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Altruism
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Reduces one animals fitness for the sake of another
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Ecology
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the study of the relationship between organisms and the environment
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Why do Scientists study ecology?
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Disease prediction to land management
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Population
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A group of ONE species occupying a location at the same time
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Why do Scientists study populations?
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Size of the population reflects the effects of catastrophes, hunting, housing,
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What are the three types of population distribution?
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Random, Uniform, Clumped
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Why is distribution used to study populations?
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Provides a "snapshot" of a population at one time
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What causes a population to grow?
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Unlimited resources
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What causes a population to shrink?
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Limited resources, competition, disease, weather, etc.
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How do density and distribution of a population describe the population?
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It describes their territorial behavior
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What is a life table?
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A chart that shows the probability of surviving to any given age
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Why are life tables important in studying a population?
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Accounts for factors that prevent an individual from reaching its theoretical life span; ex: disease, food availability, etc.
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What is a survivorship curve ?
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A graph that depicts the number of survivors out of 1000 individuals as age increases
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What is an "age structure"?
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Diagram that helps predict future population size
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How can age structure affect population growth?
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For a population to grow there needs to be a large amount of people in their reproductive years
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Exponential growth
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Where the number of individuals is proportional to the size of the population
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Why would exponential growth of a population eventually slow or stop?
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Environmental resistance
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What is Density-dependent?
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Conditions whose growth limiting effects increase as a population grows; disease, virus'
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Density-independent factors
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effects that are unrelated to population density; Natural disasters
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How does natural selection influence reproductive strategies?
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The ones with better adapted reproductive strategies will prevail
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What is r-selected species?
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Tend to be short lived, reproduce at an early age, and have many offspring that receive little care; Pigweed, Moths
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K-selected species
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Tend to be long lived, late maturing, and to produce a small number of offspring that receive extended parental care; Humans, Elephants
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What are future human population growth predictions?
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No growth will happen in the twenty-second century
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What is a community of organisms?
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A group of interacting populations tht inhabit the same region
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What is a biotic community?
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living community
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What is an ecosystem?
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Includes all the living organisms and the non-living abiotic environment
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How are ecosystems different than communities, when studied by biologists?
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ecosystems include the non-living environment; rock, soil, water
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What is a niche?
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All the resources a species exploits for its survival, growth, and reproduction
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What is competition?
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Two or more species vie for the same resources
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What are the two types of competition?
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Competitive exclusion; Resource partitioning
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What is the theory or principle of "competitive exclusion"?
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Two species cannot coexist in the same niche
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How can resource partitioning reduce competition?
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Different organisms use the same resource in a different way
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What is symbiosis?
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One species lives in or on another
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How are symbiotic relationships related to community function?
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Mutualism
Commensalism Parasitism |
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Mutualism
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Both partners benefit; Algae in coral animals
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Commensalism
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One partner benefits with no effect on the other; Moss plants on tree bark
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Parasitism
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One partner benefits to the detriment of the other; Tick on a deer
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What is ecological succession?
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A gradual change in a community's species composition
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Primary Succession
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Occurs where no community previously existed
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Secondary Succession
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Occurs where a community is disturbed but not destroyed, w some soil and life remaining
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Climax community
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A community that remains fairly constant
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What are pioneer species?
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The first to colonize an area; r-selected
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Biomes
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characterized by distinctive plant and animal species and maintained under the climatic conditions of the region
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Trophic level
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An organisms position in the food chain, relative to the ecosystem's energy source
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Primary producer (Autotroph)
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Any organism that can use energy, CO2, H2O to produce all the organic material it requires
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Consumer (Heterotroph)
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Obtain energy from producers or other consumers
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How are trophic levels part of the food web?
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It shows the relationship between the organisms in a food web
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What is an ecological pyramid?
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Represents each trophic level as a block whose size is directly proportional to the energy stored in tissues; Because every organism looses heat
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How can an ecological pyramid show the relationships between organisms?
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It shows where organisms get their energy from
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What are the different types of pyramids?
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biomagnification; a chemical becomes more and more concentrated in organisms at higher trophic levels
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