Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ecology Vocab to 59
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Jean-Baptiste Lamarck | responsible for developing the Theory of Transformation (aka “Use and Disuse”) in which organisms gain traits through use and lose traits through disuse |
| Charles Darwin | “Father of Evolution,” responsible for developing the Theory of Natural Selection (aka “Survival of the Fittest”) |
| Ecology | a study of how living things interact with one another and their environment |
| habitat | the area or type of environment in which a particular kind of animal or plant usually lives and finds all they need to survive |
| population density | # of organisms in a given area |
| direct observation | a means of population determination in which every organism is counted; head count; ideal for organisms that don’t move much or at all |
| indirect observation | a means of population determination where an estimate of the population is made based upon evidence such as nests, burrows, tracks, droppings, etc. |
| sampling | involves counting the number of organisms in a small area (sample) and then multiplying to find the number in a larger area. |
| mark-and-recapture | a means of population determination where organisms are captured and marked; after several trials, a mathematical formula is used to estimate population size |
| birth rate | the number births in a populations in a certain amount of time; if the birth rate > death rate, the population increases |
| death rate | the number deaths in a populations in a certain amount of time; if the birth rate < death rate, the population decreases |
| immigration | when organisms come into an area and become part of its population |
| emigration | when organisms leave (exit) an area and are no longer part of its population |
| carrying capacity | the largest population that an area can support; this is influenced by the limiting factors of food, space, and weather |
| adaptation | a characteristic that helps an organism survive in its environment. It could either be physical “structural” (fur, wings) or behavioral (migrating or hibernating) |
| natural selection | “survival of the fittest”; the organisms with the best characteristics will have a greater chance of surviving and passing on their genes |
| evolution | the gradual change in a species over time; arises due to genetic variations that may make an organism more suited for its environment |
| Lamarckism | aka the Theory of Transformation or “use and disuse;” organisms that use a characteristic often will strengthen that characteristic and pass it onto their offspring; |
| Darwinism | aka the Theory of Natural Selection or “survival of the fittest” |
| gradualism | the theory that evolution occurs slowly but steadily |
| punctuated equilibrium | the theory that species evolve during short periods of rapid change |
| niche | an organism’s role in an ecosystem |
| competition | struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources |
| uniform dispersion | when individuals are evenly spaced |
| clumped dispersion | when individuals are grouped into patches (most common distribution pattern) |
| random dispersion | unpredictable distribution of individuals (rarest of the three distribution patterns) |
| interspecies competition | struggle between organisms of different species to survive in a habitat with limited resources |
| intraspecies competition | struggle between organisms of the same species to survive in a habitat with limited resources |
| variation | any difference between individuals of the same species |
| predation | interaction in which one organism hunts, kills, and eats another for food |
| predator | the organism that kills and eats another organism |
| prey | the organism that is being eaten by a predator |
| symbiosis | a close relationship between two species in which at least one organism benefits |
| mutualism | a close relationship in which both organisms benefit (hippos and wetland birds) |
| commensalism | a close relationship in which one organism benefits while the other organism is neither helped nor harmed (bush giving shelter to a bird) |
| parasitism | a close relationship in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed; the parasite typically lives in or on its host (being harmed) (tapeworm and human) |
Created by:
barbzabel7
Popular Biology sets