Ecology

an external signal that causes a response in an organism

stimulus

A growth response of a plant toward (positive) or away from (negative) a stimulus

Tropism

Type of tropism displayed when plants grow towards sunlight

positive phototropism

Type of tropism displayed when plant roots grow down

Gravitropism

Animal movement toward or away from a stimulus

taxis

Nondirectional animal movement influenced by stimuli (ex: changes in speed)

kinesis

5 kinds of signals by which animals communicate

visual, tactile, audible, electrical, chemical

Natural Selection favors innate and learned behaviors that increase the chances of ? and ?

Survival, reproduction

Behaviors that are genetically controlled and happen without prior knowledge or experience

Innate behavior

Examples of innate behaviors

instincts, reflexes

Behaviors that are developed as a result of experience

learned behaviors

Behaviors are essential to animal ? and ? and subject to ?

survival, reproduction, natural selection

The study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior

Behavioral Ecology

how a behavior occurs or is modified (focuses on the immediate physiological mechanisms)

proximate causation

Environmental changes lead to hormonal changes, causing birds to migrate south. This is an example of

proximate causation

why a behavior occurs in the context of natural selection

ultimate causation

The fact that birds are more likely to survive in warm environments and migrate as a result is an example of

ultimate causation

a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus

fixed action pattern

Male stickleback fish, which have red bellies, act aggressively towards anything that is red as they automatically assume it is another male trying to take over their territory. This is an example of a

fixed action pattern

external cue that triggers a behavior

sign stimulus

a regular, long-distance change in location, typically occurring as a result of environmental stimuli

migration

Examples of behavioral rhythms

circadian, circannual

sleep-wake cycle, typically dependent on light availability

circadian rhythm

behavioral rhythms linked to the seasonal cycle; also influenced by light availability

circannual rhythm

stimulus transmitted from one organism to another

signal

the transmission and reception of signals between animals

communication

the response to one stimulus is the stimulus for the next behavior

stimulus-response chain

chemical substances with distinct odors or tastes that certain animals emit

pheromones

Type of study where the young of one species are placed in the care of adults from another species in the same/similar environment

cross-fostering study

Cross-fostering studies are used to evaluate the effects of

nature vs nurture

the modification of behavior as a result of experience

Learning

the establishment of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object

imprinting

Imprinting occurs commonly in young animals and can only occur during which period of development?

sensitive period of development

the establishment of a memory that reflects the environment's spatial structure

Spatial learning

a representation in an animal's nervous system of spatial relationships between objects in its surroundings

Cognitive map

the ability to associate one environmental feature with another

Associative learning

Examples of associative learning

classical and operant conditioning

the process of knowing that involves awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgment

Cognition

the cognitive activity of devising a method to proceed from one state to another in the face of real or apparent obstacles

Problem Solving

learning through observing others

social learning

A system of information transfer through social learning or teaching that influences the behavior of individuals in a population

culture

food-obtaining behaviors

foraging

natural selection should favor a foraging behavior that minimizes the costs and maximizes the benefits

optimal foraging model

3 types of mating systems

promiscuous, monogamous, polygamous

no strong pair bonds between mates

promiscuous

one male mating with one female

monogamous

an individual of one sex mating with several members of the other sex

Polygamous (polygyny - 1 male, polyandry - 1 female)

the degree of physical difference between male and female members of a species

sexual dimorphism

Monogamous species have (low/high) sexual dimorphism, while the polygamous species have (low/high) sexual dimorphism

low, high

3 types of sexual selection of mates

intersexual, intrasexual, mate-choice copying

members of one sex choose mates based on characteristics

intersexual selection

members of one sex compete for the chance to mate

intrasexual selection

individuals in a population copy the mate choice of others, regardless of the mate's survival advantage over others

mate-choice copying

If a female guppy sees another female guppy with a male, she is likely to also try to mate with that male regardless of its survival advantage over other viable males. This is an example of ? which is a form of ?

mate-choice copying, social learning

a behavior that reduces an animal's individual fitness but increases the fitness of others in the population

altruism

Though worker bees themselves are infertile, they are specially suited to serve the queen be. This is an example of

altruism

the total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by aiding relatives in order to enable them to reproduce

inclusive fitness

Hamilton's Rule (for inclusive fitness)

rB > C (B - avg. number of extra offspring due to altruism, C - how many fewer offspring produced by the altruist, r - coefficient of relatedness)

natural selection that favors altruism by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives

kin selection

when an individual offers aid to a non-related individual if the recipient returns the favor in the future; rare in non-humans

reciprocal altriusm

not returning a favor intended to be reciprocally altruistic, which can result in negative consequences

cheating

behavior that seems purposeless

play

playing with an object

object play

playing by moving around (running, skipping, etc)

locomotor play

interacting with others of the same species

social play

believing that certain behavioral characteristics exist because they are expressions of genes that have been perpetuated by natural selection

sociobiology

maintain homeostasis by using thermal energy from metabolic processes

endothermic (warm-blooded) organisms

Endothermic organisms have a (direct/inverse) relationship between the size of an organism and metabolic rate

inverse (smaller organisms = higher metabolism = harder to keep warm)

do not have the ability to regulate their body temperature

ectothermic (cold-blooded) organisms

Cold-blooded organisms mist do what to change their body temperature?

alter their behavior

Ectotherms are typically (larger/smaller) than endotherms

smaller

Organisms that produce many offspring due to a constantly changing environment with scarce resources

R-selected species

Organisms that produce fewer offspring because they are more energy-efficient and live in more stable environments

K-selected species

links in the trophic structure

Trophic levels

A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

food chain

Only 10% of the energy is transferred up trophic levels, reaching low numbers at the top predators. The rest is lost as heat

Energetic hypothesis

Make their own organic compounds for energy through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Autotrophs

Consume other organisms for their energy

Heterotrophs

2+ food chains linked together

Food webs

the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment

Ecology

the long-term prevailing weather conditions in a given area

climate

fine, localized patterns of climate conditions

Microclimate

nonliving factors that influence environment

Abiotic factors

living factors that influence environment

Biotic factors

a directional change to the global climate that lasts 3+ decades

Climate Change

major life zones characterized by vegetation type or the physical environment

Biomes

Two types of biomes

terrestrial (land) or aquatic (water)

area of overlap between nearby biomes

Ecotone

Top two zones of aquatic biomes

Pelagic (photic = top, aphotic = second, abyssal = bottom of aphotic)

Lowest zone in aquatic biomes

Benthic

Organisms that live in the benthic layer are known as ? and eat dead organic matter called ?

benthos, detritus

layer of abrupt temperature chain that separates the upper and lower layers of most oceans and lakes

Thermocline

semiannual mixing of waters of different temperatures in some lakes

Turnover

the movement of individuals or gametes away from their area of origin or from areas of high population density

Dispersal

when organisms reach an area they did not previously inhabit

Range Expansion

the addition of a species to a new habitat

Transplant

a group of populations of different species living in close enough proximity to interact with each other

Community

interactions between members of different species

Interspecific interactions

Example of interspecific interactions

Competition, predation, herbivory, parasitism, mutualism, commensalism

a general term for any +/- interaction in which one species feeds on another

Exploitation