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Ecology Test 1 Vocabulary
see title
56
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 1
10/12/2010

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Term
Ecosystem
Definition
a biological community plus all or the abiotic factors incluencing that community 
Term
Ecology
Definition
the study of the realtionships between organisms and the environment; Focuses on the capturea and cycling of energy and matter
Term
Epiphyte
Definition
a plant, such as an aorchid, that grows on the surface of another plant but is not parasitic
Term
Landscapes
Definition

collections of communities, patches; focus on how the distribution of plants in patches affect ecosystems or community processes

Term
communities
Definition
organisms that interact with each other; populations of 2 or more interacting species
Term
population ecology
Definition
this looks at the groups of individuals that interbreed in a community
Term
autoecology
Definition
this looks at the interaction of individuals with their environment
Term
hiearchy theory
Definition

  This is a theory of looking at things on the same spatial and temporal scale; Was spearheaded by Tim Allen who improved this experimental side of ecology

Term
holism and reductionism
Definition

  this concerns the idea of building from the bottom up

Term
experimental ecology
Definition

 this looks at the interactions of living organisms with the real world environment and compare treatments ( usually a control), manipulating one or more variables, have a testable hypothesis, have randomization as well as be repeatable

Term
necromass
Definition

-          the dry weight of dead tissues

Term
biomass
Definition
the dry weight of all the living tissues
Term
standing dead
Definition

-          trees or plants that are dead but still standing in an area

Term
rookery
Definition
a nesting site for birds
Term
dryfall
Definition

-          the settling of dust particles from the air

Term
Ecotypes
Definition

-          population in a particular habitat that grows best in that particular habitat

Term
debris dams
Definition
dam across a stream channel that is built by retaining sand, gravel, driftwood or other debris
Term
gradient
Definition
a gradual change in one or more variables across space and time
Term
stemflow
Definition

-          the flow of water down the trunk or stem of plant

Term
photic zone
Definition

-          the furthest layer of water that light can penetrate

Term
peat
Definition

-          decomposed material

Term
emergent macrophyte
Definition
a water plants that sticks halfway out of the water
Term
LTER site
Definition
(long term ecological research): sites where large-scale ecological experiments are preformed
Term
watershed
Definition
area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place
Term
standing crops
Definition

-          all of the live material, like in a forest, in biomass excluding the roots

Term
eutrophic
Definition

-          nutrient rich bodies of water

Term
oligotrophic
Definition
nutrient poor bodies of water
Term
turnover
Definition
a cycle where one individual goes through its lifecycle and is replaced with another; can be used with nutrients
Term
resource
Definition

-          materials that are captures and or used up by one organism

Term
condition
Definition

-          something like humidity, temperature, etc.; is a factor in the environment

Term
primary production
Definition

-          the accumulation of biomass by autotrophs

Term
secondary production
Definition
the accumulation of biomass by heterotrophs
Term
Limiting Factors
Definition
a resource such as water, nitrogen or sunlight that inhibits/ controls the developments of a population or organism.
Term
nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Definition
bacteria that live in the roots of most legumes that pull nitrogen out the air and turn it into usable nitrates
Term
Haber Process
Definition

-          a man-made process that uses high voltage to convert N2 into NO3 as opposed to the natural way which uses lightning thermocline

Term
Upwelling
Definition
where cold water at the bottom of the ocean swells up and moves and mixes with the warmer water at the top
Term
chapparal
Definition
a biome that is associated with a Mediterranean climate; it is dry and has shrubs/bushes but more trees than a savanna
Term
bedrock tight
Definition
the underlying rock under a watershed that is sealed tight
Term
weir
Definition
a v-shaped object placed in the earth to measure the flow of water out of a given area
Term
high-line logging
Definition
a version of logging where trees are selectively cut down and then attached to cable to be removed
Term
migration
Definition

-          a cyclical movement motivated by seasonal or weather conditions

Term
ForET Model
Definition
by Hank Sugart, Mac Post, Bob O’Neil and Darryl West which used computer simulations to see how the forest would change and look over time while focusing on canopy gaps
Term
stand models
Definition

-          a computer simulation of a forest

Term
canopy gaps
Definition
when a tree dies, it no longer shades the ground beneath it and thus there is a gap; this is a disturbance because it allow sunlight to reach the forest floor
Term
Dynamic Mosaic
Definition
individual patches that change over time but the distribution of patch type stays the same
Term
no-till agriculture
Definition
a type of agriculture where the oil is not stirred up and plants are harvested by cutting down the stalks and letting the rest decompose into the soil
Term
Cassia
Definition
a legume and common weed that occurs in no-till areas that also fixes nigtrogen
Term
Azollo
Definition
an aquatic fern that fixes nitrogen ( takes N2 out of the air and makes it into NO2)
Term
Traditional Harvesting
Definition
logging where bare tree trunks are taken form the site whereas limbs and leftovers remain
Term
Whole Tree Harvesting
Definition

-          logging where the whole tree is removed from the site which allows for easier soil erosion and less nutrients from the dead leaves and branches

Term
corridors
Definition
these connect patches with sub-standard habitats
Term
zones vs. patches
Definition
patches are contained whereas zones are in strips where they is more movement side to side.
Term
rocky intertidal
Definition
an area between high and low tide where organisms that mussels and barnacles can live
Term
zonation
Definition
the existence of habitat zones along elevational gradients
Term
Treehouse
Definition
an “island” of peat that becomes a real island when threes grow through the water and take root in the ground below
Term
splashzone
Definition
an area out of the water but used to water being splashed in it
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