Animal Behavior and Ecology Review

Flashcards covering key concepts in animal behavior and ecology for exam preparation.

Behavior

What an animal does.

Innate behavior

Born knowing it; no learning needed.

Fixed action pattern (FAP)

One trigger leads to a full behavior, akin to a reflex.

Kinesis

Random moving until conditions feel right.

Migration

Long-distance travel typically for food or mating.

Circadian rhythm

Internal 24-hour clock regulating sleep/wake cycles.

Signal

A way animals send information to each other.

Pheromones

Chemical signals (smells) used by animals for communication.

Visual signal

Communication through body language or colors.

Auditory signal

Communication through sounds.

Learning

Improving skills or knowledge through experience.

Imprinting

Quick, permanent learning right after birth.

Associative learning

Linking two things together in your brain.

Classical conditioning

Learning through association, exemplified by Pavlov's dog.

Operant conditioning

Learning by reward and punishment, as in Skinner's experiments.

Foraging behavior

The methods through which an animal finds food.

Habituation

Getting used to a stimulus so that you ignore it.

Optimal foraging model

Animals seek to acquire the most food with the least effort.

Mating systems

The patterns of mating relationships.

Promiscuous

A mating system where individuals mate with multiple partners.

Monogamous

A mating system with one male and one female.

Polygamous

A mating system where one individual mates with many.

Altruism

Helping others even at a cost to oneself.

Inclusive fitness

Success measured by your own offspring and your relatives' offspring.

Ecology

The study of interactions between living things and their environment.

Climate

Long-term weather patterns.

Macroclimate

Large-scale climate, encompassing global or regional weather.

Microclimate

Very localized climate conditions.

Savannas

Grassy areas with some trees, characterized by distinct rainy and dry seasons.

Desert

A biome that is extremely dry, can be hot or cold.

Chaparral

A biome of shrubs, often experiencing wildfires.

Temperate grassland

A biome predominantly composed of grass, with hot summers and cold winters.

Temperate broadleaf forest

Forests characterized by trees that lose leaves in the fall.

Canopy

The upper layer of trees in a forest.

Coniferous forest

Forests primarily made up of pine trees, found in colder regions.

Tundra

Cold biomes without trees, characterized by permafrost.

Tropical rainforest

Warm, rainy regions with the highest biodiversity.

Aquatic biomes

Biomes consisting of water habitats.

Freshwater biomes

Lakes, rivers, and ponds.

Photic zone

The layer of water where sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis occurs.

Detritus

Decomposing organic matter.

Thermocline

A layer in water where temperature changes rapidly.

Biotic factors

Living components of an ecosystem.

Abiotic components

Non-living elements such as sunlight, water, and temperature.

Population

Individuals of the same species in a particular area.

Density

The measure of how crowded a population is.

Dispersion

The arrangement of individuals in space.

Clumped dispersion

Individuals are grouped together in patches.

Uniform dispersion

Individuals are evenly spaced.

Random dispersion

Individuals are distributed without a defined pattern.

Demography

The statistical study of populations, including births and deaths.

Type I survivorship

High survival rate until later stages of life.

Type II survivorship

Constant mortality rate regardless of age.

Type III survivorship

High mortality rate in young life stages.

Exponential growth

Rapid population increase; typically depicted as a J curve.

Carrying capacity

The maximum number of individuals an environment can sustain.

Logistic growth

Population growth that slows as it approaches carrying capacity.

Life history

Patterns of growth, reproduction, and death in a species.

K-selected species

Species that produce few offspring but invest much care.

r-selected species

Species that produce many offspring with little parental care.

Density-dependent factors

Population problems that worsen with increased density.

Density-independent factors

Problems that affect populations regardless of density.

Demographic transition

The shift of a country from high to low birth and death rates.

Age structure pyramids

Graphs depicting the age distribution within populations.

Ecological footprint

The impact an individual or population has on the environment.

Interspecific competition

Competition between different species for resources.

Competitive exclusion

The principle where two species cannot coexist if they compete for the same resource.

Ecological niche

The role and position a species has in its environment.

Fundamental niche

The full range of conditions under which a species can survive.

Realized niche

The actual conditions under which a species exists, considering competition.

Predation

The act of one organism eating another.

Cryptic coloration

Camouflage that helps an animal avoid detection.

Aposematic coloration

Bright coloration indicating toxicity or danger.

Batesian mimicry

A harmless species mimicking a harmful one.

Müllerian mimicry

Two harmful species resembling each other.

Species diversity

A measure of the variety and abundance of species in an area.

Trophic structure

The feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.

Biomass

The total mass of living organisms at a given trophic level.

Dominant species

Species with the highest abundance or biomass in a community.

Keystone species

Species with a disproportionately large impact on its environment.

Disturbance

An event that disrupts community structure and processes.

Intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Moderate levels of disturbance can foster higher diversity.

Ecological succession

The gradual process of change and replacement in community composition.

Primary succession

The establishment of a biological community in an area with no soil.

Secondary succession

Recovery of a community after a disturbance, starting with existing soil.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their interacting environment.

Primary producers

Organisms that generate their own food, typically through photosynthesis.

Primary consumers

Organisms that eat primary producers.

Secondary consumers

Organisms that eat primary consumers.

Tertiary consumers

Organisms that eat secondary consumers.

Detritivores

Organisms that consume dead organic matter.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead materials into simpler substances.

Primary production

The rate at which energy is converted by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic autotrophs.

Gross primary production (GPP)

Total energy captured by photosynthesis.

Net primary production (NPP)

Energy available to consumers after accounting for energy used by producers.

Eutrophication

A process where excess nutrients lead to algal blooms and oxygen depletion.

Evapotranspiration

The combined process of evaporation and transpiration of water.

Energy transfer

Only 10% of energy moves up to the next trophic level, with 90% lost as heat.

Biogeochemical cycles

The movement of nutrients through living and non-living parts of the ecosystem.

Carbon cycle

The circulation of carbon among living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth.