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Ecology, beetches!
Ecology final
51
Other
3rd Grade
05/05/2011

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Term
Succession
Definition

A change in the structure of a ecological community.

Either from an autogenic disturbance, (Sere 1, naturally occuring) or from an allogenic disturbance, (Sere 2, like a wildfire

Term
Taxonomic affinity
Definition
Birds, insects or plant for example.
Term
Functional group
Definition

A subset of a community that includes species that function in similar ways, but don't necessarily use the same resources.

Example: mosquitos + aphids, both sucking insects.

Term
Guild
Definition

A group of species that use the same resource.

Eg: bats, hummingbirds, bees

Term
Trophic Level
Definition

A group of species in a community that obtain energy in similar ways.

 

Classified by the number of feeding steps by which the group is removed from primary producers.

 

Eg, Primary producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, etc.

Term
Competitive exclusion
Definition

The principle that two species that use a limiting resource in the same way cannot coexist indefinitely.

 

Eg, experiment with the bacteria

Term
Habitat corridor
Definition

A relatively narrow patch that connects blocks of habitat and often facilitates movement of species between those blocks.

 

Eg, patches of forest surrounded by meadows that the great white woof walks through.

Term
Climax Stage
Definition

The final stage of succession, viewed as a stable end point that experiences little change.

 

At it's "maturest" form, an ecosystem.

Term
Edge Effect
Definition

Biotic and abiotic changes in the physical environment that are associated with a sudden habitat boundary.

 

Eg, changing where the forest's edge is

Term
Primary Succession
Definition

Succession that involves the colinzation of habitats devoid of life.

 

Eg Mt. St. Helens

Term
Early/Late succession
Definition

Early: American beach grass, (traps sand in dunes)

 

Late: Plants farther away from beach, (secondary settlers)

Term
Successional sequence
Definition
Primary succession > Secondary Succession > Climax Stage
Term
Secondary Succession
Definition

Succession that involves reestablishment of a community in which most, but not all organisms are destroyed.

 

Eg Forest Fire

Term
Keystone Species
Definition

Strongly interacting species that has a large effect on energy flow and community structure.

It is disproportionate to its abundance or biomass.

Term
Abiotic agent of change
Definition
changes in abiotic conditions, such as sea level or h20 temp, can cause physiological stress, coral bleaching, etc.
Term
Biotic agent of change
Definition

Predation or disease can cause gradual replacement of a species over time.

 

Term
Ecosystem engineer
Definition

A dominant species that influences its community by creating, modifying or maintaining physical habitat for itself and other species.

 

Eg le beaver.

Term
Biogeography
Definition
Study of variation in species composition and diversity among geographic locations.
Term
Trophic pyramid
Definition
a common approach to conceptualizing trophic relationships in an ecosystem in which a stck of rectangles is constructed, each representing energy or biomass within one trophic level.
Term
Seral species
Definition

The "climax species" that remains unchanged as long as the sit remains undisturbed.

 

Eg. Shade plants in the understory as long as canopy trees provide shade.

Term
Sere or Seral community
Definition
Intermediate stage in succession in an ecosystem advancing towards climax community.
Term
r species or r selection
Definition
A species with a high population growth rate.
Term
k species or k selection
Definition
A species with a slow growth rate. Occurs in crowded conditions.
Term
Temporal Scale
Definition
Measured over time.
Term
Spatial Scale
Definition
Measured over physical properties. Distance, height, mass, etc.
Term
What is an example of stress initiating succession?
Definition
Overpopulation leads to less food, leading to unhealthier species, leading to more susceptible to disease.
Term
Biodiversity
Definition
Degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or the whole planet.
Term
Foundation species
Definition

The dominant primary producer in an ecosystem in terms of abundance and influence.

 

Eg, Kelp forest feeding all other lifeforms.

Term
Population
Definition
A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area.
Term
Ecological Hiearchy
Definition
Biosphere>Biome>Ecosystem>Community>Population>Organism
Term
Weather variation occurs over which time scale?
Definition
Daily
Term
Albedo
Definition

The reflecting power of a surface.

 

Eg. Icy snow in the arctic has a higher albedo than black asphalt.

Term
Ecosystem
Definition

A community, together with its non-living environment.

 

Eg A stand of trees, soil, rocks, bugs, plants animals, is a different ecosystem than a meadow right next to it.

Term
What are the four spatial scales from biggest to smallest?
Definition
Megascale (global)>Macroscale (regional [easter washington])>Mesoscale (subregional [palouse hills])>Microscale (local)
Term
Biome
Definition

A broad, regional complex of ecosystems.

 

Eg. Arctic tundra, western interior forest, shrub steppes, pacific coastal forest.

Term
What are the four Air masses?
Definition

Continental Polar (cold, dry)

Marine Polar (cool, wet)

Marine tropical (hot, wet)

Continental tropical (hot, dry)

Term
Physical environment vs Habitat
Definition

PE: the physical environment that an organism experiences

 

Habitat: Area that is inhabited by an organism

Term
Niche
Definition

Physical and functional role of an organism within an ecosystem.

 

Where the thing is and what it does there.

Term
Three Dispersal Movements
Definition

Emigration - individuals move OUT OF a population

Immigration - individuals moving INTO a population

Migration - Patterns of movement between areas in the home-range cycle.

Term
3 kinds of biological interaction
Definition

Cooperation - Sharing some effort and rewards with neighbors

Competition - taking the largest share of resources from neighbors

Consumerism - Eating the neighbors.

Term
Mutualism
Definition

Relationship between two species in which both benefit

 

Eg Clarks nutcracker and whitebark pike

Lichen (fungi and algae)

Myccorhizae

Term
Competition
Definition

an interaction that is mutally detrimental to both participants.

 

Chemical

Consumptive

Encounter

Overgrowth

Pre-emptive

Territorial

Term
Consumerism
Definition

One species eats another

Predation

Parasitism

Herbivory

Term

Genet

 

Ramet

Definition

Genet: A group of individuals.

Eg. A CLUSTER of trees

 

Ramet: The individual in a group.

Eg. Just one tree in the cluster.

Term
What are the four requirements for natural selection to occur?
Definition

Heritable Traits

Traits necessary to Survival

There must be Environment Restrictions

There must be Competiton

Term
Genotype
Definition
Genetic makeup of an individual
Term
Allele
Definition

One of two or more forms of a gene that result in the production of different versions of the protein that the gene encodes.

 

Eg. Different hair colors as a result of different allele genes.

Term
Population Biomass
Definition
Weight of all individuals in a population
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