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| Degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome or planet.Tends to cluster in hot spots. |
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| total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic make up of a species. Serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments. |
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| effective number of different species that are represented in a collection of individuals |
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| diversity of a place at the level of ecosystems |
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| assemblage of species living close enough together to interact |
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| Intraspecific interactions |
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| interactions within a species, compeetition for limited resources ultimately limits population growth |
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| interspecific interactions |
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| interactions between species competition |
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| total use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment. |
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| Competitive exclusion principle |
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| ecological niches of two species are too similar, they are unable to coexist in the same place. |
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| (+/+) both species benefit from an interaction |
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| (+/-) interaction in which one species (the predator) kills and eats another (the prey) |
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| (+/-) consumption of planet parts or algae by an animal |
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(+/-)
Parasite lives on or in a host from which it obtains nourishment
Pathogens are disease causing bacteria, viruses, fungi or proten that can be thought of as microscope parasites. |
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| Feeding relationships among the various species in a community |
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| Sequence of food transfer between trophic levels |
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autotrophs
Bottom of food chain
Capable of making it's own food |
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heterotrophs
all organisms in trophic levels above the producer |
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| eats plants, algae or phytoplankton |
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| dead materal left by all trophic levels |
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| large animals that feast on the carcasses of other animals |
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| eats primarily decaying organic material (ex: worms) |
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| prokaryotes and fungi that secrete enzymes that digest molecules in organic material and convert them to inorganic |
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| toxins become concentrated as they pass through a food chain |
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| elaborate food chain in which feeding occurs on more than one level at the same time |
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| animal that eats producers and consumers |
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| the number of different species in the community |
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| proportional representation of each species in a community |
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| species whose impact on its community is much larger than its total mass or abundance indicates |
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| episodes that damage biological communities, at least temporarily, by destroying organisms and altering he availability of resources such as mineral nutrients and water |
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| disturbed area being colonized by a variety of species which ware gradually replaced by a succession of other species. |
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| ecological succession begins in a virtually lifeless area with no soil |
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| ecological succession occurring where a disturbance has destroyed an existing community but left the soil intact |
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all biotic and abiotic factors
(energy, soil characteristics and water) |
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| passage of energy through the componenents of the ecosystem |
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| use and reuse of chemical elements such as carbon and nitrogen within the ecosystem |
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| the amount, or mass, of living organic material in an ecosystem |
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| the rate at which an ecosystem's producers convert solar energy to the chemical energy stored in biomass |
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| illustrates the cumulative loss of energy with each transfer in a food chain |
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| chemical cycles in an ecosystem involving both biotic components and abiotic components |
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atmosphere - carbon
soil - phosphorus |
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| goal oriented science that seeks to understand and counter the loss of biodiversity |
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| uses ecological principles to develop methods of returning degraded areas to their natural state |
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| relatively small areas having a large number of endangered and threatened species and an exceptional concentration of endemic species |
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| species that are found nowhere else |
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| regional assemblage of interacting ecosystems |
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| application of ecological principles to the study of land-use patterns with a goal to make ecosystem conservation a functional part of planning for land use |
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| narrow strip or series of small clumps of suitable habitat connecting otherwise isolated patches |
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| use of living organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems |
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| to acquire ecological information necessary for the responsible development, management and conservation of earth's resources |
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| Four main causes of declining biodiversity |
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Definition
habitat destruction
invasive species
overexploitation
pollution |
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massive destruction and fragmentation of habitats caused by agriculture urban development, forestry and mining.
Pose single greatest threat to biodiversity. |
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second in biodiversity loss.
Uncontrolled population growth of human-introduced species to non-native habitats. |
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| drastically reducing by excessive commercial harvesting, poaching or sport hunting |
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