Ecology Notes — Vocabulary Flashcards (The ecological theater and the evolutionary play)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the ecology lecture notes.

Ecology

The study of organisms and their interactions with one another and their environment.

Ecological theater and evolutionary play

Hutchinson's metaphor describing ecology as the stage where interactions occur and evolution as the resulting play.

Stage (Hutchinson metaphor)

The abiotic environment on which organisms live.

Organismal ecology

The study of how an individual organism interacts with its environment.

Population ecology

The study of population-level factors such as survival rates and birth counts.

Community

Two or more species living in the same environment and interacting (e.g., predator–prey).

Ecosystem

A community plus its abiotic environment, including nutrient cycling and energy flow.

Landscape ecology

The study of multiple interacting ecosystems across a broader area.

Global ecology

Ecology at the planetary scale, examining patterns across landscapes and climates.

Competition

An interaction where two individuals or species compete for a resource; typically costs for both.

Intraspecific competition

Competition within the same species.

Interspecific competition

Competition between different species.

Predation

+/- interaction where one organism (predator) eats another (prey).

Herbivory

The consumption of plant material by animals; a +/- interaction.

Symbiosis

Long-term living together of two species; includes mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.

Mutualism

+/+ interaction; both partners benefit.

Parasitism

+/- interaction; parasite benefits while the host is harmed (usually not immediately lethal).

Commensalism

+/0 interaction; one partner benefits while the other is unaffected.

Competitive exclusion principle

Two species cannot coexist if their niches are identical.

Niche

The role and space a species fills; fundamental niche is potential and realized niche is what is actually observed.

Fundamental niche

The potential range of resources and conditions a species could utilize.

Realized niche

The portion of the fundamental niche actually occupied by a species in the presence of biotic interactions.

Allopatric speciation

Formation of a new species due to geographic separation.

Polyploidy

A state of having more than two complete sets of chromosomes.

Autopolyploid

Polyploid with chromosome sets derived from a single species.

Allopolyploid

Polyploid with chromosome sets derived from two or more species.

Sterile hybrid

A hybrid zygote that cannot produce balanced gametes, often resulting in sterility.

Nondisjunction

An error in chromosome separation during cell division causing abnormal chromosome numbers.

Biological species concept

A species is a group of interbreeding populations that are reproductively isolated from others.

Morphological species concept

Species defined by morphological similarities and differences.

Phylogenetic (historical) species concept

Species defined by evolutionary history and shared ancestry.

Evolutionary species concept

A lineage that maintains its identity through time and has its own evolutionary trajectory.

Evolutionary arms race

A cycle of escalating defenses and counter-defenses between predators and prey.

Predator–prey dynamics

Interactions between predators and prey that influence population sizes and behavior.