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AP Biology Ecology Flashcards

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10980296513Populationa localized group of individuals of the same species that can interbreed, producing fertile offspring0
10980296514Communityall the organisms that inhabit a particular area; as assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction1
10980296515Ecosystemall the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact2
10980296516Bioticpertaining to the living organisms in the environment3
10980296517Abioticnonliving; referring to physical and chemical properties of an environment4
10980296518Biospherethe entire portion of earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's ecosystems5
10980296519Nichethe sum of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment6
10980296520Clumped Distributionindividual aggregated patches, some organisms group together where food is abundant7
10980296521Uniform Distributionevenly spaced, some organisms maintain evenly distributed spacing to avoid aggressive interactions between neighbors8
10980296522Random Distributionunpredictable spacing, some plants grow in random groups if their seeds were windblown across an area9
10980296523Population Ecologythe study of populations in relation to their environment, including environmental influences on populations, on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in population size10
10980296524Birth Raterate of annual birth within a population11
10980296525Death Raterate of annual death within a population12
10980296526Sex Ratioratio of females to males within a population13
10980296527Age Structurethe relative number of individuals of each age in a population14
10980296528Immigration Ratethe rate of influx of new individuals INTO a population from other areas15
10980296529Emigration Ratethe rate of movement of individuals OUT of a population16
10980296530Carrying Capacitythe maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources, (symbolized by K)17
10980296531Density Dependentany characteristic that varies according to an increase in population density18
10980296532Exponential Growthgrowth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, (represented by a J-Shaped curve when population size is plotted over time)19
10980296533Logistical Growthpopulation growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity20
10980296534K-Selectedstabilize around carrying capacity, have fewer offspring later in life, mature later, live longer and invest more parental care21
10980296535R-Selectedreside in unstable environment, have many offspring early in life, mature earlier, shorter life span, no parental care22
10980296536Survivorship Curvethe plot of the proportion or numbers in a cohort still alive at each age23
10980296537Type I Surivorship Curvelow death rates during early/middle life then increase among older age groups (humans)24
10980296538Type II Surviorship Curveconstant death rate over the organism's life span25
10980296539Type III Surviorship Curvevery high death rates for the young and then declines for those few individuals that survive the early period (insects)26
10980296540Symbiosisan ecological relationship between organisms of two different species that live together in direct and intimate contact27
10980296541Commensalisma symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed28
10980296542Mutualisma symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit29
10980296543Parasitisma symbiotic relationship in which one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of another (the host) by living either within or on its host30
10980296544Intraspecific Competitioninteractions between the same species competing for resources31
10980296545Interspecific Competitioncompetition for resources between individuals of two or more species when resources are in short supply32
10980296546Predationan interaction between species in which one species (the predator) eats the other (the prey)33
10980296547Aposematic Colorationthe bright coloration of animals with effective physical or chemical defenses that acts as a warning to predators34
10980296548Batesian Mimicrya type of mimicry in which a harmless species look like a species that is poisonous or harmful to predators35
10980296549Cryptic Colorationcamouflage that makes a potential prey difficult to spot against its background36
10980296550Mullerian Mimicrya mutual mimicry by two unpalatable species37
10980296551Pioneer Speciesthe first species to colonize previously disrupted or damaged ecosystems, beginning a chain of ecological succession that ultimately leads to a more biodiverse steady-state ecosystem38
10980296552Climax Communityin a community of organisms in a specific area there is one state of equilibrium controlled solely by climate39
10980296553Successionthe process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time40
10980296554Primary Successiona type of ecological succession that occurs in an area where there were originally no organisms present and where soil has not yet formed41
10980296555Secondary Successiona type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil or substance intact42
10980296556Photoautotrophsan organism that harnesses light energy to drive the synthesis of organic compounds from Carbon Dioxide (CO2)43
10980296557Chemoautotrophsan organism that needs only CO2 as a carbon source but obtains energy by oxidizing inorganic substances44
10980296558Herbivorean animal that eats mainly plants or algae45
10980296559Carnivorean animal that mainly eats other animals46
10980296560Detritivorea consumer that derives its energy and nutrients from nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, and the wastes of living organism (a decomposer)47
10980296561Food Chainthe pathway along which food energy is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginning with producers48
10980296562Food Webthe interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem49
10980296563Trophic Levelsthe positions organisms occupy in a food chain50
10980296564Secondary Consumera carnivore that eats herbivores51
10980296565Primary ProducerPhotosynthesis or Chemosynthesis used to make food. Gets 100% of energy52
10980296566Biogeochemical Cyclesany of the various chemical cycles, which involve both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems53
10980296567Carbon Cycleforming the framework of organic molecules, photosynthesis & cellular respiration circulate this nutrient54
10980296568Phosphorus Cyclecycling of this nutrient through geologic processes such as erosion and sedimentation55
10980296569Nitrogen Cyclethis nutrient is converted to compounds that can be assimilated by plants then returned in gas form to the atmosphere; all processes rely on bacteria56
10980296570Nitrogen Fixationthe conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia57
10980296571Denitrificationprocess where bacteria use nitrates in their metabolism instead of oxygen releasing nitrogen gas then into the atmosphere58
10980296572Water Cyclethis nutrient cycle involves evaporation from the earth & transpiration from plants and falls then by precipitation back down to the earth to begin the cycle again59
10980296573Age Structure Diagramsa visual representation of the relative number of individuals of each age in a population60
10980296574Competitive Exclusion Principlethe concept that when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population61
10980296575Resource Partitioningthe division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all the coexisting species62
10980296576Zero Population Growth (ZPG)a period of stability in population size, when the per capita birth rate and death rate are equal63
10980296577Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)the total primary production of an ecosystem64
10980296578Net Primary Productivity (NPP)the gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by the producers for respiration65
10980296579Keystone Speciesa species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet experts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche66
10980296580Bottom-up Modela model of community organization in which mineral nutrients influence community organization by controlling plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control herbivores, which in turn control predator numbers67
10980296581Top-down Modela model of community organization in which predation influences community organization by controlling herbivore numbers, which in turn control plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control nutrient levels; also called the trophic cascade model68
10980296582Biological Magnificationa process in which retained substances become more concentrated at each high trophic level in a food chain69
10980296583Decomposersorganisms that absorb nutrients from nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, the wastes of living organisms and converts them into inorganic forms; a detritivore70
10980296584Eutrophicationa process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria71
10980296585Fundamental Nichethe niche potentially occupied by that species72
10980296586Realized Nichethe portion of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies in the environment73
10980296587Invasive Speciesa species often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range74
10980296588Altruismbehavior that increases fitness of another individual but decreases their own fitness75
10980296589Kin selectionenhancing the reproductive success of one's relatives76
10980296590Nitrificationammonia is converted to nitrates and nitrites77
10980296591Ammonificationdecomposers convert organic nitrogen to ammonia78
10980296592Classical conditioningassociation between neutral stimulus and natural response (ex: dogs salivating to sound of bell ringing)79
10980296593Operant conditioningtrial and error learning; making associations between behavior and a reward or punishment80
10980296594Communicationtactile, visual, auditory and chemical means of relaying messages to other members of ones species81
10980296595Taxisdirected movement towards or away from a stimulus82
10980296596Kinesismovement in response to a stimulus that is not directional83
10980296597Fixed Action Patterna sequence of unlearned actions that are unchangable and often carried to completion84
10980296598Density dependent factorfactor that affects population based on size (disease, predation etc)85
10980296599Density independent factorfactor that affect population regardless of size (weather, humans etc)86
10980296600Species diversityvariety of organisms in a community87
10980296601Species richnessthe number of different species in a community88
10980296602Relative abundanceevenness of distribution of individuals among species in a community89
10980296603Tertiary ConsumerConsumer on top, gets least amount of energy90
10980296604Primary ConsumerHerbivore; Gets 10% of energy91
10980296605Quaternary ConsumerTop predator, there is not a lot because they consumer a lot of food with low energy.92
10980296607https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t-P_ZZf1v9TTNB8jw0qBFyqh_Iw2WXkH66XWQNPQKBA/edit93

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