Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Section 9: Ecosystem Communities
44.1-44.3, 45.1-45.4
49
Biology
Undergraduate 1
10/27/2012

Additional Biology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
community
Definition
group of species that coexist and interact with one another within a defined geographic area
Term
symbiosis
Definition
the liviing together of two or more species in a prolonged and intimate relationship
Term
competition
Definition
use of the same resource by two or more species when the resource is present in insufficient supply for the combined needs of the species
Term
mutualism
Definition
a type of interaction between species that benefits both species
(+/+)
Term
commensalism
Definition
type of interaction between species in which one participant benefits while the other is unaffected
(+/0)
Term
parasitism
Definition
parasitic organism consumers part of a host individual (larger than itself) but usually does not kill it
*consumer-resource interactions (+/-)
Term
predation
Definition
an individual of one species (predator) kills and consumes individuals of another species (prey)
*consumer-resource interactions (+/-)
Term
intERspecific competition
Definition
interactions in which members of two or more different species use the same resource
* -/- interactions
Term
interference competition
Definition
direct form of competition where an organism actively interferes with another organism's ability to obtain it's resource
Term
exploitative competition
Definition
indirect form of competition where there is a limited resource controlling the situation
*ex: trees; the older, taller trees create a canopy effectively absorbing the available light, thus, the younger, smaller trees do not have access to that resource and are less likely to survive
Term
resource partitioning
Definition
situation in which selection pressures resulting from interspecific competition cause changes in the ways in which the competing species use the limiting resource, therby allowing them to coexist
Term
aposematic (defensive) coloration
Definition
bright colored organisms warn other organisms to stay away because they are poisonous or dangerous
Term
cryptic coloration
Definition
Coloration that allows an organism to match its background and hence become less vulnerable to predation or recognition by prey
*camouflage
Term
mimicry
Definition
the similarity of one species to another which protects one or both
Term
batesian mimicry
Definition
one organism resembles a more dangerous organism for protection
*a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a common predator
Term
mullerian mimicry
Definition
a group of organisms all mimic each other for group protection
ex: wasp, bee, yellow jack, etc. all have black and yellow stripes meaning they sting; stay away
*natural phenomenon when two or more poisonous species, that may or may not be closely related and share one or more common predators, have come to mimic each other's warning signals
Term
ecosystem
Definition
organisms of a particular habitat, such as a pond or forest, together with the physical environment in which they live
Term
niche
Definition
set of physical and biological conditions a species requires to survive, grow, and reproduce
Term
fundamental niche
Definition
where a species CAN live, negating the effects of predation, resource limitation, etc
Term
realized niche
Definition
where the species DOES live, because the factors mentioned above have forced it to retreat from parts of the fundamental niche
Term
species richness
Definition
total number of species living in a region
Term
species evenness
Definition
measure of species diversity that reflects the distribution of the species' abundances in a community
Term
heterotroph
Definition
organism that requires preformed organic molecules as food
Term
autotroph
Definition
organism that is capable of living exclusively on inorganic materials, water, and some energy source such as sunlight (photoautotrophs) or chemically reducted matter
Term
chemoautotroph
Definition
organism that uses carbon dioxide as a carbon source and obtains energy by oxidizing inorganic substances from its environment
Term
photoautotroph
Definition
organism that obtains energy from light and carbon from carbon dioxide
Term
trophic level
Definition
group of organisms united by obtaining their energy from the same part of the food web of a biological community
Term
primary producer
Definition
photosynthetic or chemosynthetic organism that sunthesizes complex organic molecules from simple inorganic ones
Term
consumer
Definition
organism that eats the tissues of some other organism
Term
herbivore
Definition
animal that eats plant tissues
*primary consumer
Term
carnivore
Definition
organism that eats animal tissues
Term
primary carnivore
Definition
organisms that consumer herbivores
*secondary consumer
Term
secondary carnivore
Definition
organisms that consume primary carnivores
*tertiary consumers
Term
omnivore
Definition
organism that eats both animal and plant material
Term
cannibalism
Definition
an organism that eats the flesh of its own species
Term
detritivore (decomposer)
Definition
organism that obtains its energy from the dead bodies or waste products of other organisms
Term
primary productivity
Definition
how much biomass the producers are laying down in a given area
*measured in g C/m^2/yr
(grams of Carbon per meter squared in a given year)
*production of organic compounds from atmospheric or aquatic carbon dioxide *may occur through the process of photosynthesis or chemosynthesis *almost all life on earth is directly or indirectly reliant on primary production
*organisms responsible for primary production are known as primary producers or autotrophs, and form the base of the food chain
Term
gross primary productivity
(GPP)
Definition
rate at which the primary producers in a community turn solar energy into stored chemical energy via photosynthesis
*total amt of energy that primary producers capture and convert to chemical energy during some period of time
Term
net primary productivity
(NPP)
Definition
rate at which energy captured by photosynthesis is incorporated into the bodies of primary producers through growth and reproduction
*total energy that is contained in the tissues that primary producers have produced and what is available for consumption
Term
trophic cascade
Definition
progression over successively lower trophic levels of the indirect effects of a predator
Term
interspecific interactions
Definition
interactions between members of different species
Term
limiting resource
Definition
resource in shortest supply relative to demand
*could be water, food, space, sunlight, etc.
Term
consumer-resource interactions
Definition
organisms gain their nutition by eating other living organisms or are eaten themselves
* +/- interactions
Term
herbivory
Definition
an animal consumes part or all of a plant
*consumer-resource interactions (+/-)
Term
amensalism
Definition
interactions in which one participant is harmed while the other is unaffected
(-/0)
Term
intRAspecific competition
Definition
competition among members of the same species
Term
species composition
Definition
particular mix of species communities contain and the relative abundances of those species
Term
ecological efficiency
Definition
the 10% energy available to each successive trophic lecel
*limits the # of trophic levels a community can support
*few communities support more than 4
Term
reasons for lost energy in trophic levels
Definition
1) not all the biomass at one trophic level is ingested by the next one
2) some ingested matter is indigestible and is excreted as waste
3) consumers as well as primary producers use much of the energy they assimilate to fuel their own metabolism, rather than add biomass through growth or reproduction
Supporting users have an ad free experience!