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APES
Ch. 8 & 9 Vocab
91
Science
Not Applicable
10/19/2005

Additional Science Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
structure (spatial distribution)
Definition
one property of a community or ecosystem
Term
physical appearance
Definition
relative sizes, stratification, in distribution of its population and species
Term
species diversity (richness)
Definition
the number of different species
Term
species abundance
Definition
the number of individuals of each species
Term
niche structure
Definition
the number of ecological niches, how they resemble or differ from each other, and how they interact
Term
edge effects
Definition
differences in physical structure and physical properties such as sunlight, temperature, wind and humidity at boundaries and in ecotones
Term
latitudinal species diversity gradient
Definition
leads to the highest species diversity in tropical areas such as tropical rain forest in the lowest and polar areas such as arctic tundras
Term
depth-species diversity gradient
Definition
in marine communities species diversity increases from the sruface to a depth of 2,000 m and then begins to decline with depth until deep sea bottom
Term
degree of isolation
Definition
affects species diversity
Term
species equilibrium model/theory of island biogeography
Definition
the number of species found on an island is determined by a balance between 2 factors: 1 rate at which new species integrate to island and 2)rate at which species become extinct on the island. model predicts at some point the rates of immigration and extinction will reach an equilbrium point
Term
habitat islands
Definition
national parks surrounded by a sea of developed and fragmented land
Term
native species
Definition
species that normally live and thrive in particular ecosystem
Term
nonnative/exotic/alien species
Definition
others that migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberatily or acidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans
Term
indicator species
Definition
species that serve as early warnings that a community or an ecosystem is being damaged
Term
keystone species
Definition
species in an ecosystem that are much more important than their abundance or biomass suggests
Term
intraspecific competition
Definition
competition between members of the same species for the same resource
Term
interspecific competition
Definition
competition between memebers of two or more species for food, space, or any other limited resource
Term
territoriality
Definition
another way members of the same species compete, it is when organisms patrol or mark an area around their home, nesting or major feeding site and defend it against members of their own species
Term
interference competition
Definition
one species may limit another's access to some resource regardless of its abundance using the same type of methods found in intraspecific competition
Term
exploitation competition
Definition
competing species have roughly equal access to a specific resource but differ in how fast or efficient they exploit it
Term
competitive exclusion principle
Definition
the niches of 2 species cannot overlap completely or significantly for very long
Term
resource partitioning
Definition
the dividing up of scarce resources so that species with similar needs use them at different times in different ways, or in different places
Term
predation
Definition
members of one species(the predators) feed directly on all or part of a living organism of another species (the prey)
Term
predator-prey relationship
Definition
predator benefits and the prey is clearly harmed but the prey may or may not die from the interaction, the predator doesn't live on or in the prey
Term
camouflage
Definition
having certain shape/color or the ability to chance colors
Term
chemical warfare
Definition
another common strategy some prey species discourage predators with chemicals that are poisionous, irritating, foulsmelling, or badtasting
Term
warning coloration
Definition
brightly colored advertising that enables experienced predators to recognize and avoid them
Term
mimicry
Definition
looking/acting like another species to be beneficial
Term
parasitism
Definition
occurs when one species (the parasite) feeds on part of another organism (the host) by living on or in the host
Term
parasite
Definition
usually smaller than its host, remains closely associated with/draws nourishment from, may gradually weaken its host over time and rarely kills its host
Term
mutualism
Definition
two species involved in a symbiotic relationship, interact in ways that benefit both
Term
pollination
Definition
relationship between flowering plants and animals is one of most common forms of mutualism
Term
nutrional mutualism
Definition
examples include lichens, rhizobium, protozoans, bacteria in digestive systems
Term
lichens
Definition
hardly species that grow on trees or barren rocks, consist of colorful photosynthetic algae and chlorofill-lacking fungi living together
Term
rhizobium
Definition
bacteria that converts atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by the plants and the plants provide the bacteria with some simple sugars. takes place in root nodules
Term
commensalism
Definition
symbiotic interaction that benefits one species but neither harms nor helps the other species
Term
epiphytes
Definition
plants that attach themselves to trunks or branches of large trees in tropical and subtropical forests
Term
ecological succession
Definition
gradual change in species composition of a given area
Term
primary succession
Definition
involves the gradual establishment of biotic communities near the lifeless ground
Term
secondary succession
Definition
the more common type of succession, involves the reestablishment of biotic communities in an area where a biotic community is already present
Term
pioneer species
Definition
attach themselves to inhospitable patches of bare rocks and begins soil formation
Term
early successional plant species
Definition
grow close to the ground, can establish large populations quickly under harsh conditions and have short lives
Term
midsuccessional plant species
Definition
herbs, grasses, and low shrubs
Term
late succesional plant species
Definition
mostly trees, can tolerate shade
Term
facilitation
Definition
occurs when one set of species makes an area suitable for species with different niche requirements and is especially important in the soilbuilding stages of primary succession
Term
inhibition
Definition
early species hinder the establishment and growth of other species
Term
tolerance
Definition
may explain why late successional plants can thrive in mature communities without eliminating some early successional/mid successional plants
Term
disturbance
Definition
a change in environmental conditions that disrupts an ecosystem or community
Term
intermediate disturbance hypotheses
Definition
communities that experience fairly frequent but moderate disturbances have the greatest species diversity
Term
climax community
Definition
dominated by a few longlived plant species and in balance with its environment
Term
balance of nature
Definition
a large terrestrial community undergoing succession was viewed as eventually being covered with a predictable green cover of climax vegetation
Term
biotic change
Definition
implies an ordered and predictable sequence of changes
Term
mature community
Definition
a mosaic of vegetation patches at different stages of succession
Term
stability
Definition
all living systems from single celled organisms to the biosphere contain complex networks of negative and positive feedback loops that interact, provide some degree of stability
Term
inertia/persistence
Definition
the ability of a living system to resist being disturbed or altered
Term
constancy
Definition
the ability of a living system such as a population to keep its numbers within the limits imposed by available resources
Term
resilience
Definition
the ability of a living system to bounce back after an external disturbance that is not too drastic
Term
precautionary principle
Definition
when there is considerable evidence that an activity raises threats
Term
dispersion
Definition
spatial pattern such as clumping, uniform dispersion or random dispersion in which the members of a population are found in their habitat depending mostly on resource availability
Term
population dynamics
Definition
changes that occur in response to environmental stress or changes in environmental conditions
Term
biotic potential
Definition
populations vary in their capacity for growth
Term
intrinsic rate of increase (r)
Definition
rate at which a population would grow if it had unlimited resources
Term
environmental resistance
Definition
consists of all the factors acting jointly to limit the growth of a population
Term
carrying capacity (K)
Definition
the number of individuals of a given species that can be sustained indefinitely in a given space
Term
minimum viable population(MVP)
Definition
certain minimum population size that intrinsic rate depends on
Term
reproductive time lag
Definition
the period needed for the birth rate to fall and death rate to rise
Term
dieback (crash)
Definition
population decreases rapidly after carrying capacity is exceeded
Term
density-independent population controls
Definition
affect a population size regardless of density
Term
density-dependent population controls
Definition
affect a population size depending on density
Term
population fluctuations
Definition
4 general types: stable, irruptive, irregular, cyclic
Term
stable
Definition
a species whose population size fluctuates slightly above and below carrying capacity
Term
irruptive
Definition
fairly stable population that may occasionally explode to a high peak and crash to a more stable lower level
Term
irregular
Definition
has chaotic behavior, no recurring pattern
Term
cyclic
Definition
regular time period fluctuations
Term
predator-prey cycles
Definition
predator and prey under cylic changes in their numbers with sharp increases in their numbers followed by seemingly periodic crashes
Term
top-down control
Definition
hypothesis that predation is explanation for correlation and timelag between 10year population cycles of snowshoe hare and predator lynx
Term
bottom-up control
Definition
change in prey population affects change in predator population
Term
asexual reproduction
Definition
all offspring are exact genetic copies of a single parent
Term
sexual reproduction
Definition
organisms produce offspring by combining the gametes
Term
r-selected species
Definition
species with high intrinsic rate of increase, ex. algae bacteria insects
Term
opportunists
Definition
r-selected species mostly, reproduce and disperse rapidly when conditions are favorable or when a disturbance opens up a new habitat for invasion
Term
k-selected species
Definition
competitors, put fairly little energy into reproduction, tend to reproduce late in life, few offspring with long generation times and put most of energy into nourishing/protecting their young
Term
survivorship curve
Definition
a way to represent the age structure of a population, it shows the number of survivors of each age group for a particular species
Term
late loss
Definition
these curves are typical for k-selected species that produce few young and care for them until they reach reproductive age
Term
early loss
Definition
these curves are typical for r-select species with many offspring high juvenile mortality and high survivorship, once surviving young reaches certain age and size
Term
constant loss
Definition
these curves typically ahve intermediate reproductive aptterns with fairly constant rate of mortality in all age classes, thus a steadily declining survivorship curve
Term
life table
Definition
table of numbers of individuals at each age from a survivorship curve
Term
conservation
Definition
involves sensible and careful use of natural resources by humans
Term
conservation biology
Definition
multidisciplinary science that uses the best avaiable science to take action to preserve species in ecosystems
Term
wildlife management
Definition
devoted primarily to manipulating the population sizes of various animal species
Term
bioinformatics
Definition
concerns itself with providing tools for storage and access to key biological information and with building the actual databases that contain the needed biological information.h
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