Natural Resources Ecology: Chapter 14 Notes

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Chapter 14 of Natural Resources Ecology, focusing on species interactions and their ecological implications.

Indigenous Peoples

Native populations recognized as original inhabitants of a region, such as the 22 tribes in Arizona.

Metapopulations

Groups of subpopulations that can experience independent population dynamics across space.

Predation

An interaction where one organism consumes and kills another organism, removing it from the population.

Herbivory

The consumption of plant material by herbivores, which can affect plant populations.

Parasitoids

A type of predator that consumes its host only after its full development, often leading to the host's death.

Brood Parasitism

A behavior where certain birds, like cuckoos, lay eggs in the nests of other species to have them raised.

Aposematism

Warning coloration used by prey to signal to predators that they are toxic or unpalatable.

Batesian Mimicry

A type of mimicry where palatable species evolve to resemble unpalatable species for protection.

Functional Response Curve

The relationship between prey density and a predator's rate of consumption.

Top-Down Control

A regulatory framework where the abundance of a population is limited by its predators.

Bottom-Up Control

A regulatory framework where the abundance of a population is limited by resource availability.

Crypsis

The ability of an organism to avoid detection by predators through camouflage.

Coevolution

The process where two or more species influence each other’s evolution.

Secondary Metabolites

Chemical compounds produced by plants that are not directly involved in growth and development, often used for defense.

Intrinsic Growth Rate (r)

The rate of population growth under ideal conditions, without limitations.

Lotka-Volterra Model

A mathematical model that describes predator-prey interactions based on differential equations.

Chemical Defenses

Defensive mechanisms in plants or animals that involve the production of toxic substances to deter herbivores or predators.

Fitness Cost

The potential reduction in an organism's reproductive success due to investment in defensive traits.

Saguaro Cactus

A species that benefits from the shade of palo verde trees early in its life but later competes for resources.

Predator-Prey Cycles

Fluctuations in the population sizes of predators and prey in response to changes in their relationship.

Alarm Calling

A defensive behavior where prey warn conspecifics of approaching predators.