• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/47

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

47 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Species richness
Listing of various species in the community
Species diversity
Includes both species richness and the relative abundance of the different species
Ecological niche
Therole a species plays in its community – Includes the methods a species uses tomeet energy, nutrient, and survival demands
Fundamental niche
ALL abiotic conditions suitable for the organism to survive without adverse biotic conditions such as competition and predation.
Realized niche
Part of the fundamental niche actually occupied by the species.
Competitive Exclusion Principle
No two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche at the same time.
Resource partitioning
Allocation of resources in order to decrease competition between species

Resource partitioning leads to niche specialization and less niche overlap between species

Character Displacement
Characteristics tend to become more divergent when populations belong to the same community than when they are isolated.
Predation
One living organism, the predator, feeds on another, the prey.Parasitism is considered a type of predation.Parasitoids are organisms that lay their eggs inside a host.Population density of the predator can be affected by the prevalence of the prey and vice versa.
Prey defenses
SpeedProtective armor

Protective spines or thorns


Tails or appendages that break off


Chemical defenses


Camouflage


Warning coloration


Structures that cause the startle responseFlocking behavior

Mimicry
One species resembles another species that possesses an overt antipredator defense.
Batesian Mimicry
The mimic lacks defense of the organism it resembles

E.g., The scarlet kingsnake mimics venomous the coral snake

Müllerian Mimicry
The mimic shares a protective defense with other species

E.g., The bumblebee mimicsthe yellow jacket wasp

Symbiosis
A close association between two different species over long periods of time
Parasitism
Parasite derives nourishment from a host.Effect of parasites on the health of the host can range from slightly weakening them to killing them over time.
Commensalism
One species is benefited and the other is neither benefited nor harmed.

E.g., Clownfish living within tentacles of sea anemones


E.g., Egrets remove parasites from cattle.

Mutualism
Both members of the association benefit

Often help each other obtain food or avoid predation


E.g., Cleaning symbiosis


E.g., Bacteria in human intestinal tract


E.g, Plants and their pollinators (coevolution)

Ecological Succession
A change in a community involving a series of species replacements
Primary succession
The formation of soil from exposed rock due to wind, water, and other abiotic factors.
Secondary succession
Begins where soil is already present but after disturbance (e.g., abandoned farm land)
Pioneer species
the first species to inhabit a community after a disturbance.
Climax community
A mature and stable community

Climate and soil conditions determine whether succession resulted in a desert, a grassland, or a forest!

Abiotic components
Atmosphere

Water


Soil

Biotic components:
Living things:

Autotrophs


Heterotrophs


Decomposers

Autotrophs
Require only inorganic nutrients and an outside energy source to produce organic nutrients = Producers
Photoautotrophs
Produce food by photosynthesis

E.g., Land plants, algae

Chemoautotrophs
Produce food by converting inorganic compounds into organic compounds.

E. g., Some bacteria

Heterotrophs
Need a preformed source of organic nutrients as they acquire food
Consumers
consume food generated by a producer
Carnivores
Feed on other animals
Herbivores
Feed on plants
Omnivores
Feed on plants and animals
Detritivores
Feed on organic matter produced by the decomposition of dead organisms
Decomposers
Break down dead organisms to feed on detritus and release inorganic substances, which are taken up by producers
Only about 10% of the organic nutrients made by producers is passed on to consumers
Organisms use organic molecules to fuel their own metabolism, growth, and reproductionAdditional energy is lost through excretion, defecation, and organisms that die without being consumed
Food web
Represents interconnecting paths of energy flow within ecosystems

Describes trophic (feeding) relationships

grazing food web

leaves-caterpillars-birds-hawks

detrital food web
Detritus becomes food for soil organisms

detritus-earthworms-salamanders


A detrital food web member may become food for above ground carnivores, so the detrital and grazing food webs are joined

Trophic levels
A level of nourishment within a food web or chain

Composed of all the organisms that feed at the same level

Ecological pyramids
Depict the flow of energy with large losses between successive trophic levels

Only about 10% of the energy of one trophic level is available to the next trophic levelExplains why few top carnivores can be supported in a food web!

The Water (Hydrologic) Cycle
Fresh water evaporates from bodies of water.Condensation occurs in which vaporized fresh water rises, collects, cools, and falls as rain.Precipitation on land enters the ground, surface waters, or aquifers.

Water eventually returns to the oceans.

The Carbon Cycle
The atmosphere is an exchange pool for CO2 carbon.

In water, CO2 combines with water to produce bicarbonate ions.


Bicarbonate in the water is in equilibrium with CO2 in the air.


The total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing every year

Greenhouse effect
Green house gasses (e,g., CO2, nitrous oxide, methane) traps heat form the sun in the atmosphereIncreasing greenhouse gasses leads to global warming and climate change
The phosphorous cycle
Phosphorous from ocean sediments moves on to land via geologic activity Weathering of rocks results in the deposition of phosphate ions in the soilSome phosphate runs off into aquatic ecosystems

Excessive phosphorous levels can lead to eutrophication – over-enrichment of waterways

The nitrogen cycle
Atmospheric nitrogen is fixed (nitrogen fixation) by bacteria thus become available to producersNitrification – production of nitrates, which plants can use as a source of nitrogen
Denitrification
conversion of nitrate to nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas
Acid deposition
nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide are converted to acids when they combine with water vaporAffects lakes and forests

Reduces agricultural yield