BIOS 230 Landscape Ecology & Nutrient Cycling

Flashcards covering vocabulary from landscape ecology and nutrient cycling lecture notes.

Habitat Fragmentation

Increases edge habitat, reduces interior habitat, increases edge species population/richness, decreases interior species population/richness, and typically reduces biodiversity.

Edge Species

Species whose probability of occurrence increases near the edge of a habitat.

Interior Species

Species whose probability of occurrence decreases near the edge of a habitat.

Area-insensitive Species

Species for whom forest area does not affect probability of occurrence.

Theory of Island Biogeography

The number of species on an island represents a dynamic equilibrium between the immigration of new species and the extinction of established ones.

Equilibrium Species Richness (S)

An equilibrium is achieved when the immigration rate equals the extinction rate; affected by the distance of the island from the mainland and the size of the island.

Dispersal

Movement of an organism across the landscape that impacts gene flow, recolonization of extinct habitat patches, and shifting ranges in response to climate change.

Landscape Connectivity

The degree to which the landscape facilitates movement between habitat patches.

Corridors

Linear habitat features that facilitate the movement among different patches, encouraging gene flow and helping reestablish species in habitats that have experienced local extinction.

Species Distribution Models (SDMs)

Models that predict species distribution using environmental variables to see the relationship between a species and its environment.

Nutrient Cycling

The transformation of organic nutrients into mineral form and back into organisms.

Senescence

Process of aging and dying in Plants.

Retranslocation

Movement of nutrients from older plant tissues to growing parts (e.g., root, stems).

Reabsorption (Nutrient resorption)

Plants reabsorb nutrients from senescing tissues.

Decomposition

The breakdown of chemical bonds of organic molecules, releasing energy, carbon dioxide, and water, and converting organic compounds to inorganic nutrients.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead organic matter (detritus), e.g., bacteria, fungi, and detritivores.