Ecology

Front 1

Abundance

Back 1

The number of individuals in a species that are found in a given area.

Front 2

Age Structure

Back 2

Proportions of the population in each age class.

Front 3

Allocation

Back 3

Relative amounts of energy or resources that an organism devotes to different tasks

Front 4

Allometry

Back 4

Differential growth of body parts that results in a change in shape or proportion with size.

Front 5

Alternation of generations

Back 5

Going from sporophyte to gametophyte and back again.

Front 6

Anisogamy

Back 6

Different types of gametes that are different sizes.

Front 7

Cohort life table

Back 7

The fate of a group of individuals born during the same time period (a cohort) is followed from birth to death.

Front 8

Competitive plants

Back 8

Under conditions of low stress and disturbance: superior in their ability to acquire light, minerals, water, and space should have a selective advantage.

Front 9

Complex life cycle

Back 9

Life cycle in which there are at least two distinct stages that differ in their habitat, physiology, or morphology.

Front 10

Cooperative breeding

Back 10

Younger birds postpone breeding and instead help their parents raise offspring by performing such activities as nest building, feeding the young, defending the territory, and mobbing predators.

Front 11

Diapause

Back 11

State of suspended animation or dormancy in which an organism can survive unfavorable conditions.

Front 12

Direct development

Back 12

Go directly from fertilized egg to juvenile without passing through a larval stage

Front 13

Dispersal limitation

Back 13

Prevent species from reaching areas of suitable habitat.

Front 14

Distribution

Back 14

The geographic area where individuals in a species are present.

Front 15

Distrubance

Back 15

Any process that destroys plant biomass.

Front 16

Disturbance

Back 16

An event that kills or damages some individuals and thereby creates opportunities for other individuals to grow and reproduce.

Front 17

dN/dt

Back 17

Represents the rate of change in population size at each instant in time.

Front 18

e

Back 18

Constant: 2.718. Use e^x on calculators.

Front 19

Endosperm

Back 19

Nutrient-rich material that sustains the developing embryo and often the young seedling.

Front 20

Exponential Growth

Back 20

Population of a species with continuous reproduction changes in size by a constant proportion at each instant in time.

Front 21

Exponential Growth Equations

Back 21

dn/Dt=rN

N(t)=N(0)ert

Front 22

Fx

Back 22

Fecundity: Average number of offspring produced by a female while she is of age x.

Front 23

Gametophyte

Back 23

Produces haploid gametes that combine in fertilization to form zygotes that grow into sporophytes.

Front 24

Genet

Back 24

A grove of genetically identical aspen trees is actually a single individual. Members of a genet are often physiologically independent of one another and may in fact compete for resources.

Front 25

Geographic range

Back 25

Entire geographic region over which that species is found.

Front 26

Geometric growth

Back 26

Population of a species changes in size by a constant proportion from one discrete time period to the next. (hourly, daily, yearly) Forms a J shaped graph.

Front 27

Grime's Triangular Model

Back 27

Plant success is limited by stress and disturbance. Categorized plant life histories within a triangle whose axes measure the degree of competition, disturbance, and stress.

Front 28

Isogamy

Back 28

Equal-sized gametes

Front 29

Iteroparous Species

Back 29

Capable of reproducing multiple times.

Front 30

K

Back 30

Carrying capacity.

Front 31

k-selection

Back 31

Slower rates of increase in populations that are at or approaching L, carrying capacity or population size limit for the environment.

Front 32

Lambda

Back 32

Nt+1/Nt

Front 33

Lambda=e^r or r=ln*lambda

Back 33

Compare results of discrete and continuous time growth models.

Front 34

Life history

Back 34

Record of events and landmarks relating to its growth, development, reproduction, and survival.

Front 35

Life History Strategy

Back 35

Overall pattern in the timing and nature of life history events averaged across all the individuals in the species.

Front 36

Life Table

Back 36

Summary of how survival and reproductive rates vary with the age of the organisms.

Front 37

Lx

Back 37

Proportion of Survivorship: individuals that survive from birth to age x.

Lx=Nx/No

Front 38

Morphs

Back 38

Produces discrete types with few or no intermediates. Polyphenism. (metamorphosis)

Front 39

N

Back 39

Current population size.

Front 40

No*So(Surviving individuals at age x) *Fx(Fecundity at age x)

Back 40

The number of newborns those survivors will produce in the next time period.

Front 41

No*So=

Back 41

Number of individuals that will survive to the next time period

Front 42

Nt+1=Lambda*Nt or Nt+Lambda^t*No

Back 42

Geometric growth

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Nx

Back 43

Number of individuals alive at age x.

Front 44

Ontogenetic Niche

Back 44

A size or state specific ecological role. Coined by Wener and Gilliam.

Front 45

Phenotypic Plasticity

Back 45

A single genotype may produce different phenotypes for a particular trait under different environmental conditions.

Front 46

Polyphenism

Back 46

A single genotype produces multiple, discrete phenotypes. (Morphs)

Front 47

r

Back 47

A constant rate. Provides a measure of how rapidly a population can grow. Also known as exponential population growth rate or intrinsic rate of increase.

Front 48

r-selection

Back 48

Refers to selection for high population growth rates. Occurs in environments where population density is low.

Front 49

Ramets

Back 49

Actually or potentially independent members of a genet.

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Ruderals

Back 50

Best in high disturbance and low stress. Short life spans, rapid growth rates, heavy investment in seed production, and seeds that can survive in the ground for long periods until conditions are right for rapid germination and growth.

Front 51

Semelparous Species

Back 51

Reproduce only once in a lifetime.

Front 52

Senescence

Back 52

A decline in the fitness of an organism with age as result of physiological deterioration.

Front 53

Sequential hermaphroditism

Back 53

Changes sex during the course of life cycle.

Front 54

Sporophyte

Back 54

produces haploid spores that disperse and grow into gametophytes.

Front 55

Stable age distribution

Back 55

When the age structure of a population does not change from one year to the next.

Front 56

Static life table

Back 56

Survival and reproduction of individuals of different ages during a single time period are recorded.

Front 57

Stress

Back 57

Any external abiotic factor that limits growth.

Front 58

Stress-tolerant plants

Back 58

Become dominant in areas of high stress and low disturbance. Slow growth rates, evergreen foliage, absence of phenotypic plasticity, slow rates of water and nutrient use, and low palatability to herbivores.

Front 59

Survivorship curve

Back 59

Survivorship (Lx) date are used to plot the number of individuals from a hypothetical cohort that will survive to reach different ages.

Front 60

Sx

Back 60

Age specific survival rate: The chance that an individual at age x will survive to be age x+1.

Sx=Nx+1/Nx

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Type One Survivorship Curve

Back 61

Newborns, juveniles, and young adults all have high survival rates. Death rates don't begin to increase greatly until old age.

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Type Three Survivorship Curve

Back 62

Individuals die at a very high rate when they are young, but those that reach adulthood survive well later in life.

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Type Two Survivorship Curve

Back 63

Individuals experience a constant chance of surviving from one age to the next throughout their lives.

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x

Back 64

Age.