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Bio 101 - UW Madison

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Term
Definition
Scala naturae   Organization structure of all living and non-living things  
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Catastrophism   Theory that major disturbances cause change  
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Uniformitarianism   Theory that gradual change over time is due to natural processes  
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Inheritance of acquired traits   The driving mechanism for evolution  
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Extant   Modern day; currently living  
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Endemic   Unique to a defined geographic location  
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Heritable   Able to be inherited through genetics  
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Homologous structures   Functionally different features with similar construction due to common ancestry  
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Molecular homology   Similarities between species on the molecular level  
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Analogous structure   Features of different species that are similar in function but not necessarily in structure and do not derive from a common ancestral feature  
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Convergent evolution   The process where distantly related organisms independently evolve similar traits to adapt to similar needs  
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Biogeography   Study of spatial distribution of biological diversity  
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Neutral variation   Genetic material that is not subject to natural selection  
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Microevolution   Small scale changes in a single gene  
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Fixed allele   An allele that is the only variant that exists for a gene in a population  
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Polymorphism   Two or more versions of a trait are present for a species  
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Mutation   Causes new alleles and therefore changes in a population's allele frequencies  
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Genetic drift   Effects of random chance on a population  
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Founder effect   A few individuals start a new population. Causes reduced genetic variability  
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Bottleneck effect   Population decreases and then increases. Causes reduced genetic variability  
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Directional selection   One extreme version of a trait is favored  
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Diversifying selection   Extreme phenotypes are favored  
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Stabilizing selection   Average phenotypes are favored  
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Sexual selection   "Just because you survive doesn't mean you reproduce"  
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Biological species concept   Defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring  
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Morphological species concept   Defines a species as a group of organisms that are morphologically similar to one another and are distinct from other similar groups  
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Argument from authority   Defines a species as "whatever the expert says"  
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Ring species   (remember the Trouble board species)  
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Allopatric speciation   Part of the population becomes geographically separated  
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Sympatric speciation   The species is unaffected by geographic isolation  
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Polyploidy   A condition where an organism acquires an extra set of chromosomes  
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Hybrid zone   Areas where distinct populations mate and leave hybrid offspring  
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Gradualism   Big changes reflect slow, steady change  
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Punctuated equilibrium   Long periods of little change interrupted by short periods of rapid change  
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Adaptive radiation   Relatively rapid increase in new species  
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Oxygen revolution   2.7-2.4 billion years ago  
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Ecology   Scientific study of interactions among and between organisms and the environment  
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Population ecology   The study of populations in relation to their environment  
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Clumped dispersion   Individuals aggregated in patches  
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Uniform dispersion   Individuals evenly spaced apart  
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Random dispersion   Individuals randomly spaced apart  
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Sex ratio   Ratio of males:females at conception (primary), birth (secondary), and maturity (tertiary)  
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Age structure   Percentage of individuals in different age groups  
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Fertility rate   # of offspring / time  
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Rate of increase   (birth-death) / population  
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Life history   Collection of traits related to growth, reproduction, parental investment, and lifespan  
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Generation time   Average amount of time between the birth of an individual and the birth of its offspring  
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Survivorship   Proportion of individuals alive at each stage  
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Survivorship curve types   Type 1: likely to die as an adult; Type 2: likely to die at any stage of life; Type 3: likely to die as a child  
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Ecological footprint   The amount of land and water needed to produce all the resources we consume and absorb the waste we produce  
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Biocapacity   Amount of biologically productive land and water area available to provide the resources a population consumes  
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Community   Individuals of different species that live in the same area  
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Assemblage   Related groups within a community  
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Species richness   Total number of species in an area  
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Relative abundance   Distribution among the different species  
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Dominant species   Species with the most abundance or biomass  
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Biomass   The total weight of individuals in a defined area  
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Foundation species   Habitat forming species, creates physical structure of ecosystem  
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Ecosystem engineer   Change the physical environment via mechanical or other means  
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Keystone species   Not abundant but play a unique role and exert strong control on community composition  
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Predation   +/- interaction that's good for the predator and bad for the prey  
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Batesian mimicry   Different species copy patterns of an original species to avoid predation  
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Mullerian mimicry   Species benefit from it's own pattern being a signal of toxicity  
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Aposomatic coloration   Bright coloration that's universally indicative of toxicity  
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Selfish herd   Method of avoiding predation where a large herd of animals swarms around a predator  
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Eyespot mimicry   Pattern being used to scare a potential predator  
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Co-evolution   When two or more species reciprocally affect each others evolution through natural selection  
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Symbiosis   Interaction between organisms of two different species with direct physical contact  
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Mutualism   +/+ interaction which is often obligatory (the species cannot live without each other)  
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Endosymbiosis   A species living inside its host  
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Parasitism   +/- interaction where a parasite lives in or on a host  
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Pathogen   Disease causing microorganism  
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Commensalism   +/0 interaction where one species benefits while the other is unaffected  
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Competition   -/- interaction where two or more species rely on the same limited resource  
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Competitive exclusion principle   Two species that share the same limited resource cannot coexist indefinitely  
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Niche   The sum of an organism's use of resources in its environment  
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Fundamental niche   The greatest possible range of resources  
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Realized niche   The portion of the fundamental niche an organism actually uses  
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Character displacement   Greater differences in a trait when two species co-occur than when separated  
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Resource partitioning   The division of limited resources to reduce competition  
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Trophic structure   Who eats what/whom  
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Primary producer   (The first trophic level) Any organism that can convert light or chemical energy into organic matter  
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Primary consumer   (The second trophic level) Herbivores that eat primary producers  
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Secondary consumer   (The third trophic level) Mostly carnivores that eat primary consumers  
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Tertiary consumer   (The fourth trophic level) Carnivores that eat secondary consumers  
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Omnivory   Organisms that eat at multiple trophic levels  
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Detritivory   Organisms eating detritus (material that died naturally, not from being killed)  
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Diet shifts   Herbivore at one age and predator at another  
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Trophic cascade   Powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems  
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Top down control   Predators shape community structure  
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Bottom up control   Nutrient availability shapes community structure  
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Autotrophy   Producing your own food and using it  
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Gross primary production   Rate of production of chemical energy  
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Net primary production   Rate of generation of new autotrophic biomass (growth)  
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Heterotrophy   Getting energy-rich chemicals from an external source  
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Energy pyramid   A graphical representation of the energy found within the trophic levels of an ecosystem  
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10% rule   Only about 10% of energy stored as biomass in a trophic level is passed to the next level  
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Nutrient   Element needed to build living organisms  
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Macronutrient   Nutrients your body needs in larger amounts (carbs, protein, and fat)  
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Micronutrient   Nutrients your body needs in smaller amounts (vitamins and minerals)  
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Uptake   The transfer of substances from the environment to plants, animals, and humans  
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Mineralization   The conversion of biomass to gaseous form, water, salts, and minerals  
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Anthropocene   The period of time during which human activities have impacted the environment enough to constitute a distinct geological change  
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Ecosystem services   Any benefit that wildlife or ecosystems provide to people  
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Natural capital   The stock of renewable and non-renewable resources that combine to yield benefits to people  
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Provisioning services   Any benefit to people that can be extracted from nature  
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Regulating services   Any benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena (pollination, decomposition, water purification etc)  
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Cultural services   The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems  
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Supporting services   Providing living spaces for plants or animals and maintaining diversity  
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Red list   Keeps track of species status, mostly plants and vertebrates  
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Invasion meltdown   Early invaders alter habitat and open door for more invasion  
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Macroevolution   Large scale changes above species levels  
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