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AP Biology: Ecology Flashcards

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13257488002ecologythe scientific study of the interactions between organism and the environment.0
13257494843climatelong-term prevailing weather conditions in a given area.1
13257507375biomesthe major types of ecosystems that occupy very board geographic regions.2
13257522994aquatic biomesmake up the largest part of the biosphere because water covers roughly 75% of Earth's surface.3
13257527114photic zoneincludes the upper layer of water in which there is enough light for photosynthesis to occur.4
13257542923aphotic zoneis characterized by very low light penetration.5
13257595323biotic factorsare living factors with an environment. It may include behaviors as well as interactions with other species.6
13257611017abiotic componentsare the nonliving, chemical, and physical components of an environment.7
13257644676populationa group of individuals of a single species living in the same general area.8
13257651700population ecologyhow biotic and abiotic factors influence the density, distribution, size, and age structure of populations.9
13257663680densitynumber of individuals per unit area or volume.10
13257676105dispersionthe pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population.11
13257690360uniform dispersionis often the result of antagonistic interaction. Animals that defend territories often show a this type of dispersion.12
13257707094random dispersionshows unpredictable spacing. This is not a common spacing in nature because there is usually a reason for a pattern of spacing.13
13257753122type Ishows low death rates during the early and midlife; then the death rates increases sharply in older age groups. This is typical pattern for large organisms with long life spans.14
13257766596type IIshows a constant death rate over the organism's life span. These are often organisms that are heavily preyed upon, so individuals die before reaching old age.15
13257787714type IIIshows very high early death rates, the flat rate for the few surviving to older age groups. Many bird species how a high death rate for the first year, then a slowing for the remainder of their life span.16
13257808312exponential population growthrefers to population growth under ideal conditions. dN = size of population dT = the time interval invovled in the calcuation r(max) = maximum per capita rate of increase for the species under study N = population size17
13257820514carrying capacitythe maximum population size that a certain environment can support at a particular time with no degradation of the habitat.18
13257843761logistic growth modelthe per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached. dN = size of population dT = the time interval involved in the calculation r(max) = maximum per capita rate of increase for the species under study N = population size K = carrying capacity19
13257890472life historytraits that affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and survival.20
13257921611density-dependent factorsa death rate that rises as population density rises and a birth rate that falls as population density rises. Some examples include competition for resources, disease, predation, territoriality.21
13257944444density-independent factorswhen a death rate does not change with increase in population density (i.e. natural disasters)22
13257978009demographic transitionoccurs when a population goes from high birth rates and high death rates to low birth rates and low death rates.23
13257989949age-structure pyramidsShows the relative number of individuals of each age in a population and can be used to predict and explain many demographic patterns24
13258009524communitya group of populations of different species living close enough to interact.25
13258016830interspecific interactionsmay be positive for one species (+), negative (-), or neutral (0) and include competition, predation, and symbioses.26
13258054212interspecific competitionan interaction that occurs when individuals of different species compete for a resource that limits the survival and reproduction of each species.27
13258090288ecological footprintexamines the total land and water area needed for all the resources a person consumes in a population.28
13258107455ecological nichethe total sum of the biotic and abiotic resources that the species used in its environment.29
13258145267fundamental nichethe niche potentially occupied by the species.30
13258145268realized nicheportion of fundamental niche the species actually occupies.31
13258161936predationa +/- interaction between species in which one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey32
13258169611cryptic colorationcamouflage33
13258171626aposematicwarning coloration, in which a poisonous animal is brightly colored as a warning to other animals.34
13258181050batesian mimicryreferring to situation in which a harmless species has evolved to mimic the coloration of unpalatable or harmful species.35
13258193007mullerian mimicrytwo bad-tasting species resemble each other, ostensibly so that predators will learn to avoid them equally.36
13258203308herbivory(+/- interaction) refers to an interaction in which an herbivore eats parts of a plant or alga37
13258209129symbiosisoccurs when individuals of two or more species live in direct contact with one another.38
13258223665parasitism(+/-) symbiotic interaction in which the parasite derives its nourishment from its hose.39
13258232027mutualism(+/+) an interspecific interaction that benefits both species.40
13258237445commensalismbenefits one of the species but neither harms nor helps the other species.41
13258251521trophic structurerefers to the feeding relationships among organisms.42
13258242485species diversitymeasures the number of the different species in a community and the relatives abundance of each species.43
13258256264trophic levelsthe links in the trophic structure of a community.44
13258264282food chainthe pathway along which food energy is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginning with producers.45
13258262446food webconsist of two or more food chains linked together.46
13258279218dominant speciesare the species that are the most abundant or that collectively have the highest biomass.47
13258282511biomassthe total mass of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat.48
13258289919keystone speciesa species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche.49
13277210531law of conservation of massa physical law stating that matter can change form but cannot be created or destroyed. In a closed system, the mass of the system is constant.50
13277216433primary produceran autotroph, usually a photosynthetic organism. Collectively, autotrophs make up the trophic level of an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other levels.51
13277221928primary consumera herbivore; an organism that eats plants or other autotrophs.52
13277225435secondary consumer (carnivores)a carnivore that eats herbivores.53
13277230548tertiary consumer (carnivores)a carnivore that eats other carnivores.54
13277235954decomposeran organism that absorbs nutrients from nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, and the wastes of living organisms and converts them to inorganic forms; a detritivore.55
13277239426detritusdead organic matter56
13277455389primary productionthe amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) by the autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period.57
13277460353gross primary productionthe total primary production of an ecosystem58
13277463109net primary productionthe gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by the producers for respiration.59
13277466481net ecosystem productionthe gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by all autotrophs and heterotrophs for respiration.60
13277470825eutophicationa 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 cyanobacteria.61
13277586257secondary productionthe amount of chemical energy in consumers' food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given time period.62
13277588857production efficiencythe percentage of energy stored in assimilated food that is not used for respiration or eliminated as waste.63
13277595726tropic efficiencythe percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.64
13379042346nitrogen fixationthe conversion of N2 by bacteria to forms that can be used by plants65
13379052506nitrificationthe process by which ammonium NH4 is oxidized to nitrate and then nitrate by bacteria.66
13379061115denitrificationa process by which bacteria releases nitrogen to the atmosphere.67
13408979992climographa plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region.68
13408997375disturbancea natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. Events, such as fires and storms, play a pivotal role in structuring many communities.69
13409014992disperalthe movement of individuals or gametes away from their parent location. This movement sometimes expands the geographic range of a population or species.70
13409028671immigrationthe influx of new individuals into a population from other areas.71
13409032542emigrationthe movement of individuals out of a population.72
13409038626territorialitya behavior in which an animal defends a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals, usually of its own species.73
13409048046demographythe study of changes over time in the vital statistics of populations, especially birth rates and death rates.74
13409053388life tablea summary of the age-specific survival and reproductive rates of individuals in a population.75
13409059936cohorta group of individuals of the same age in a population.76
13409084730competitive exclusionthe 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 population.77
13409115597species richnessthe number of species in a biological community.78
13409119609relative abundance/species evennessthe proportional abundance of different species in a community.79
13409130754invasive speciesa species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range.80
13419210824resource 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 coexisting species81
13419220946character displacementa phenomenon where differences among similar species whose distributions overlap geographically are accentuated in regions where the species co-occur but are minimized or lost where the species' distributions do not overlap.82
13419340752spatial resource partitioningspecies reduce competition by utilizing same resource in different habitats.83
13419349066temporal resource partitioningspecies reduce competition by utilizing same resource at different times.84
13419384381allopatricgeographically separate85
13419387460sympatricgeographically overlapping86
13456482641ecological successionsequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance.87
13456486203primary successionoccurs where no soil exists when succession begins.88
13456490499secondary successionbegins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance.89
13471888616r-selected species/strategist (type III)a species that has a high intrinsic growth rate, which often leads to population overshoots and die-offs90
13471890152k-selected species/strategist (type I)a species with a low intrinsic growth rate that causes the population to increase slowly until it reaches carrying capacity91
13471894058ecosystem engineersa keystone species that creates or maintains habitat for other species92
13532108297carbohydratescarbon: carbon chain hydrogen: attached to carbon skeleton oxygen: attached to carbon skeleton93
13532148542proteinscarbon: center of the molecule hydrogen: carboxyl and amino group oxygen: carboxyl group nitrogen: amino group sulfur: disulfur bonds (tertiary structure)94
13532171657lipidscarbon: carbon chain hydrogen: attached to the carbon chain oxygen: carboxyl group95
13532184176nucleuic acidscarbon: sugar molecule oxygen: sugar molecule hydrogen: sugar molecule nitrogen: nitrogen bases phosphorus: phosphate backbone96
13532355282water cyclethe continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back97
13532358803carbon cycleThe organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again98
13532556336phosphorus cyclethe movement of phosphorus atoms from rocks through the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to rocks.99
13532673228nitrogen cyclethe transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere100

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