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whaley4
ecology
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ecology | the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment. |
| abiotic environment | - the non-living environment |
| population | a group of individuals of the same species living together in the same area at the same time. |
| community | a group of populations that live and interact together within the same area. |
| ecosystem | the organisms of a community and their abiotic environment. Ex: a pond within a temperate forest might be considered an ecosystem |
| biomes | distinct terrestrial region which encompasses a number of interacting ecosystems. Ex: the entire temperate forest would be considered the biome. |
| biosphere | the sum total of all of the communities on the planet |
| ecosphere | the organisms of the biosphere and their abiotic environment. The environment of the ecosphere may be divided into 3 parts: |
| atmosphere | the gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth. |
| hydrosphere | the Earth’s supply of water including liquid and frozen, fresh and salty. |
| lithosphere | the soil and rock that make up the Earth’s crust. |
| dispersion | spacing within their habitat |
| Uniform dispersion | occurs when individuals are more evenly spaced than one would expect from random distribution |
| what is uniform dispersion often a result of? | antagonistic actions between individuals of the species. This might include allelopathy in plants or territorial behavior in animals |
| Territorial behavior | occurs when individuals establish a particular area as their own and defend it against other members of the same species |
| Allelopathy | when plants secrete toxins from their roots that prevent other plants from growing close to them. |
| Random dispersion | occurs when individuals are spaced in a random or unpredictable manner that has no relationship to the presence of other individuals of their species |
| Clumped dispersion or aggregated distribution | occurs when individuals are concentrated in a specific portion of the environment |
| what is clumped or aggregate distribution a result of? | a patchy distribution of resources, social structures for animals, or limited seed dispersal or vegetative reproduction for plan |
| Global changes in the size of populations are due to what two factors? | natalilty and mortality |
| natality | the rate at which organisms produce offspring (the birth rate |
| mortality | the rate at which organisms die (the death rate |
| how is human natality usually expressed? | as number of births per 1000 people per year |
| how is human mortality usually expressed? | as number of deaths per 1000 people per year |
| The growth rate | natality - mortality |
| migration | movement of one or more individuals from one region of the habitat to another |
| immigration | occurs when individuals enter a population |
| Emigration | occurs when individuals leave a population |
| biotic potential | The maximum rate at which a population can grow |
| exponential population growth | When food and space is plentiful |
| environmental resistance | exhibit exponential growth for short periods of time, but growth is eventually limited by environmental conditions |
| t/f Environmental resistance causes natality to decrease and mortality to increase | true |
| carrying capacity | the largest population that can be maintained for an indefinite period of time by a particular environment |
| density-dependent factor | some environmental factors that regulate the population size in a density-dependent manner |
| Intraspecific competition | competition between members of the same species |
| when does intraspecific competition occur? | when individuals of the same species compete for a limited but necessary resource. |
| types of intrespecific competition | scramble or contest competition |
| scramble competition | all members of the population share the resource equally |
| contest competition | certain dominant individuals obtain an adequate supply of the limited resource at the expense of other individuals in the population. |
| a population crash | Large numbers of animals may die or be killed in a very short period of time. |
| t/f Contest competition tends to keep the population at a more constant level. | true |
| Density-independent factors | tend to decrease population size in an manner which is independent of population size |
| t/f Catastrophic events are examples of density-dependent factors | false; Catastrophic events are examples of density-independent factors |
| two reproduction stagagies | k-selected; r selected |
| k-selected | 1) large body size 2) sexual maturity occurs later in life cycle 3) produce few offspring in a single brood 4) great parental investment in care of offspring 5) long lifespan |
| r-selected | 1) small body size 2) quickly reach sexual maturity 3) produce many offspring in a single brood 4) little parental investment in care of offspring 5) short lifespan |
| Survivorship | the proportion of individuals in a population that survive to a particular age |
| Type I survivorship | mortality is concentrated later in life |
| Type III survivorship | mortality is concentrated in the early stages of life. |
| Type II survivorship | mortality rates are constant throughout the organisms life and are independent of age. |
| human poputlation growth is due to what? | decreased mortalilty |
| Demographics | the study of patterns of population density for humans. |
| highly developed countries exhibit the following trends in population growth: | 1) decreased natality 2) low infant mortality rates - the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births) 3) lower mortality rates which lead to longer life expectancies |
| developing countries exhibit the following trends: | 1) higher natality 2) higher infant mortality 3) higher mortality leads to shorter life expectancies |
| doubling time | determine the amount of time is required for a population to double in size with the current growth rate. |
| replacement-level fertility | the number of children a couple must produce to “replace” themselves |
| total fertility rate | the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime. |
| prereproductive | Individuals who are 0 - 14 years of age |
| reproductive. | Individuals who are 15 - 44 |
| postreproductive | Individuals who are 45 and older |
| 3 patterns of community interactions | predation, symbiosis, and competition |
| predation | the consumption of one species, the prey |
| prey | the species beign consumed |
| predator | consumes the prey |
| coevolution | . If the prey becomes faster or more cunning in their escape the predator must adapt or change to a new food source |
| two main predator strategies: | pursuit and ambush |
| pursuers | must be able to process information quickly, so they usually have larger brains. They often hunt in packs and share the killed prey. This makes larger prey easier to capture. Lions, wolves, whales, and hawks are examples |
| Ambushers | catch their pray by suprise, often with camoflauge |
| plant adaptations | spines, thorns, and trichomes to discourage grazing predators. |
| Animal adaptations | run from danger and aggregate in groups such as herds, schools, or flocks. sharp quills or hard shell |
| t/f Some plants produce chemicals that are toxic to animals. | true |
| alkaloids | poisonous to most animals |
| warning coloration. | insects have bright coloration which helps to “remind” forgetful predators that they should be avoided |
| Camouflage | occurs when an animal’s appearance and behavior allow it to blend in to its surroundings. |
| Mimicry | resemblance to a species that is dangerous in some way |
| model | dangerous species |
| batesian mimicry | Sometimes a harmless or edible species is protected because of its resemblance to a species that is dangerous in some way |
| mullerian mimicry | type of mimicry a group of species which are all poisonous and harmful all resemble one another. |
| Symbiosis | an intimate, long-term association between two individuals of different species |
| symbionts | partners in the symbiotic relationship |
| 3 types of symbiosis | mutualism, commensalism, and parstitism. |
| mutualism | both symbionts benefit from the association |
| commensalism | one symbiont benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed |
| parasitism | one is benefited the other is harmed |
| parasite | the symbiont that benefits |
| host | the symbiont that is harmed |
| intraspecific competition. | competition between individuals of the same species |
| interspecific competition | Competition between individuals of different species |
| ecological niche | The role of an organism within the community |
| ecological niche is determined by what | interspecific competition |
| competitive exclusion | interspecific competition would eventually cause one to thrive and the other to become extinct. |
| Species richness | represens the number of species in a community |
| Ecotomes | where two ecosystems come together |
| Succession | the process of community development that occurs over time |
| Primary succession | the change in species that inhabit an ecosystem that was previously uninhabited |
| pioneer community. | The community formed in primary succession |
| Secondary succession | the change in species that occurs over time in an ecosystem which has been previously inhabited. |
| t/f Secondary succession occurs in areas that already have a significant amount of soil. | true |
| climax community | mature community |
| Ecosystems | groups of communities along with their abiotic environment |
| ecosphere | largest ecosytem, includes the communities which populate our entire planet along with the abiotic environment |
| sunlight | how energy enters the ecosystem |
| glucose | how energy is stored |
| work | performed by glucose |
| Food chains | describe who is eating who |
| producers | at the bottom of the food chain capture energy from sunlight and convert it to a chemical form |
| primary consumers | eat producers |
| herbavoirs | only eat plants |
| secondary consumers | eat primary consumers |
| carnivores | secondary conumers, eat other animals |
| tertiary consumers | eat secondary consumers |
| top carnivores | tertiary consumers |
| a trophic level | each level in the food chain |
| why are food chains short? | because of the drastic reduction in energy which occurs at each step |
| what is carbon present in | biomolecules including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates. These are found in the bodies of plants and animals |
| biomass | class of carbon present in biomolecules |
| 0.03% of the atmosphere in the form of | atmospheric CO2 (carbon dioxide). |
| Carbon is present in the oceans in the form of dissolved | CO2, CO3-2 (carbonate), and HCO3- (bicarbonate). |
| recycled fuels | coal, oil, natural gas, and wood |
| Biomass is converted to atmospheric CO2 by | aerobic respiration and decomposition of dead organic material by saprobes. |
| Atmospheric CO2 is converted to biomass through the process of | photosynthesis |
| erosion | dissolved shells and increases the level of carbonate and bicarbonate dissolved in marine waters |
| Algae photosynthesis | converts the carbonate in the ocean to biomass. |
| Atmospheric CO2 is transferred to the ocean when | when it dissolves in rainwater and falls to the earth. This can then be converted to carbonate and bicarbonate |
| evaporation | ocean water returns CO2 to the atmosphere |
| combustion | occurs the carbon in the fuel is converted to atmospheric CO2. |
| N2 (molecular nitrogen) makes up __% of the atmosphere | 80 |
| Nitrogen is also a necessary component of | proteins and nucleic acids |
| t/f molecular nitrogen must be converted to nitrate (NO3-) or ammonia (NH3) before it can be absorbed from the soil by plants | true |
| to convert molecular nitrogeen to nitrate or ammonia what happens | 1. nitrogen fixation 2. Nitrification 3. assimilation 4. ammonification 5. dentification |
| Nitrogen fixation | conversion of N2 to NH3 |
| nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as cyanobacteria | perform nitrogen fixation |
| nodules | roots of legumes where nitrogen fixing bacteria live |
| nitrogenase | enzyme that is able to catalyze the reaction which converts N2 to NH3. |
| Nitrification | involves the conversion of NH3 to NO3-. This is accomplished by other bacteria in the soil. |
| Assimilation | - roots absorb either ammonia or nitrate from the soil and incorporate the nitrogen into biomolecules. |
| Ammonification | living organism produce nitrogen-containing wastes in the form of urea. This is excreted from organisms and decomposed by bacteria to form ammonia. This ammonia is also available to assimilation. |
| Denitrification | convert NO3- to N2. These are usually anaerobes. |
| Solar radiation strikes the Earth directly at | the equator |
| nature of terrestrial biomes is usually determined by 2 climatic variables: | tempature and annual percitation |
| Temperature is quite often influenced by | altitude and latitude |
| Tundra | characterized by a climate with long harsh winters and short summers that allow the snow to melt. |
| t/f growing season is very short in the tundra and lasts 50 to 160 day | true |
| permafrost | a layer of permanently frozen ground , in tundra |
| Taiga | boreal forest. |
| boreal forest. | is an area that has long, cold winters, but the permafrost is either patchy or is very deep under the ground. This allows trees to grow, mainly conifers |
| conifres | are highly adapted to survive the long winters mainly because they have evergreen needles instead of leaves |
| temperate rain forest | characterized by very high annual precipitation and warmer temperatures than are present in taiga |
| where are temperate rain forests found | found along the northwest coast of North America |
| temperate deciduous forests | do not receive as much rainfall and are exposed to cold winters and hot summers |
| tropical rain forest | When the climate is warm throughout the year and rainfall occurs on a daily basis the biome |
| vegetation of tropican rain forest? | is lush in these forests and consists of evergreen flowering plants |
| 3 distinct layers or stories of vegetation | upper story, middle story and under stroy |
| upper story | the tops of very tall trees (about 150 feet tall). This filters out much of the sunlight |
| middle story | leaves do not recieve direct sunlight, forms a continuous canopy of leaves overhead |
| understory | very little sunlight, vegetation in the understory is not dense and is specialized to exist in shade. |
| lianas | woody vines that thrive in tropical rain forests |
| advantage of climbing vines in tropical rain forests? | increased amounts of sunlight without investing great amounts of body tissue into a structure as massive as a tree trunk |
| greenhouse effect”. | deforestation of tropical rain forests will lead to an increase in the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, increase average temp |
| Temperate grasslands | receive less rainfall than temperate forests and the rainfall is usually seasonal in nature |
| breadbaskets to the world” | temperate grassland, US Midwest and the Russian Ukraine |
| chaparral | temperate climate where winters are rainy and summers are dry |
| what is common in the rainy winter months of chaparral | mudslides |
| savanna | tropical grassland |
| deserts are found in... | temperate or tropical climates. |
| t/f Desert plants exhibit allelopathy | true |
| aestivation | Many desert animals tunnel underground and remain inactive during the hottest months. |
| Salinity | the concentration of dissolved salt in the water. This determines the type of organisms that will live in an aquatic ecosystem. |
| how many layers are there in an aquatic ecosystem? | 3 |
| phytoplankton | photosynthetic cyanobacteria or free-floating algae |
| plankton | occupies the upper layer of the aquatic system, microspoic organisma |
| zooplankton | nonphotosynthetic organisms including protozoa and the larval stages of some animals |
| nekton | middle layer of aquatic ecosystem |
| benthos | bottom layer of aquatic ecosystem |
| type of organisma in nekton | strong swimmers such as fish, turtles, and whales. |
| type of organisms on benthos | organisms that fix themselves to one spot (oysters and barnacles), burrow in the sand (worms), or crawl around on the bottom (lobster and shrimp |
| Rivers and streams | flowing-water ecosystems |
| The headwaters of a river | close to the river source. These are usually shallow streams of highly oxygenated water that flows rapidly |
| Downstream river | usually wider and deeper and the flow is usually slower |
| Lakes and ponds | standing-water ecosystem |
| zonation | large lake that contains 3 zones |
| 3 zones in a large lake | The littoral zone, limnetic zone, profundal zone |
| littoral zone | shallow water closest to the shore. Because significant levels of sunlight penetrate the littoral zone this area contains plants |
| limnetic zone | The open water away from the shore, This extends as deeply as sunlight can penetrate |
| profundal | beneath limnetic, no light or organisms, except decomposings ones |
| thermal stratification | differnt layers- differnt tempatures |
| thermocline | Water at the boundaries of layers of warm and cold water can exhibit an abrupt temperature transition |
| fall turnover. | As fall approaches the surface water begins to cool and falls to the bottom of the lake. The warmer water at the bottom of the lake rises |
| spring turnover | In the spring the ice melts and the cool water that is formed sinks. The warmer water at the bottom rises to the surface |
| Marshes and swamps | freshwater wetlandswhich represent a transition between an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial ecosystem. |
| Estuaries | areas where a river and the ocean come together |
| ocean can be divided into 3 zones | intertidal zone, pelagic environment, and benthic environment. |
| intertidal zone | area of the shoreline between the high and low tide mark. Most of the organisms that live here are burrowers because they have no adaptations for surviving drying or exposure |
| Benthic environment | ocean floor |
| coral reef | most prolific ecosystem found in the benthic environment |
| barrier reef | large coral reef |
| atoll | large reef in the form of a ring |
| abyssal zone | part of the benthic environment. This is the deepest part of the ocean and lies within trenches in the ocean floor |
| Pelagic environment | The ocean water over the benthic environment is subdivided into 2 provinces: |
| two provinces in the pelagic environment | neritic province and oceanic province. |
| neritic province | this is the open ocean waters from the surface down to about 650 feet |
| euphotic region | down to 300ft in neritic province, full of plankton |
| aphotic region | Below the euphotic region is the region where light cannot penetrate |
| ) Oceanic province | the ocean waters which cover the open ocean which is deeper than 600 feet. This region is cold with high hydrostatic pressure and an absence of sunlight. |
| marine snow | organic debris that provides food for scavengers and filter feeders |
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