ISAT 320 Reading Vocab

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms (plants, animals, and microorganisms) interacting with their physical environment (air, water, soil) in a specific area. It includes both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components, functioning together as a system. Ecosystems can vary in size and complexity, from a small pond to a vast forest.

Migration(s)

Migrations in Ecology:

The seasonal movement of animals from one habitat to another, often in search of food, breeding grounds, or more favorable environmental conditions. This behavior is typically observed in birds, fish, and mammals, and can be triggered by changes in climate, food availability, or reproductive cycles. Migrations can be long-distance, such as the annual journey of monarch butterflies, or shorter, localized movements.

Abundance

How many individuals are there in the population

Distribution

Where the individuals are actually located in space and time

Organisms

Organisms in Ecology:

Individual living entities that can interact with their environment and other living beings. In ecology, they are classified into various categories based on their roles in ecosystems, such as producers, consumers, and decomposers. Organisms are essential for maintaining ecological balance and contribute to nutrient cycling, energy flow, and biodiversity.

Hypotheses

Provisional explanations for observations, can be proven true or false

Predictions

Logical outcomes that are likely to be true if the hypothesis is true

Herbivore

An organism that primarily consumes plants, including leaves, stems, fruits, and roots. Herbivores play a crucial role in ecosystems by transferring energy from producers (plants) to higher trophic levels, such as carnivores and omnivores. Examples include deer, rabbits, and elephants.

Exclosures

A series of fenced areas

Correlation

The statistical relationship between two or more ecological variables. It indicates how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another. For example, a positive correlation might show that as temperature increases, species diversity also increases, while a negative correlation could indicate that as pollution levels rise, species diversity decreases. Correlation does not imply causation; it merely highlights patterns or associations within ecological data.

Correlation Coefficient

( r), describes the strength of the correlation if r = 1 it is direct if r < 0 there is less correlation if it is >0 there is more correlation if r = 0 there is no correlation

Predators

Organisms that hunt, kill, and consume other organisms (prey) for food. They play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems by controlling prey populations and influencing community structure. Predators can be classified into various types, including carnivores, omnivores, and some herbivores that consume other organisms.

Biosphere

The global sum of all ecosystems. It is the zone of life on Earth, encompassing all living organisms and their interactions with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The biosphere includes various habitats such as forests, oceans, and deserts, where life thrives.

Populations

The abundance and distribution of species at a particular location. How many individuals there are, their distribution, and the change in the abundance and distribution overtime

A group of individuals of the same species that live in a specific geographic area and interact with one another. Populations are characterized by their size, density, distribution, and age structure, and they are essential for studying species dynamics, interactions, and ecosystem health.

Communities

Populations interacting with each other

Landscapes

Places were there are groups of interacting and usually spatially connected ecosystems

Savanna

A mixed grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced apart so that the canopy does not close. This environment typically features a warm climate, seasonal rainfall, and is home to a variety of wildlife, including large herbivores and predators. Savannas are commonly found in regions such as Africa, South America, and Australia.

Regions

Landscapes make up geographical areas that have a common set of environmental and evolutionary influences

Species Richness

The number of species in a given area

Regression Analysis

Correlation in Ecology

Correlation in ecology refers to the statistical relationship between two or more ecological variables. It indicates how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another, helping to identify patterns and potential causal relationships in ecological data.

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method used to examine the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. It helps in predicting outcomes and understanding the strength and nature of relationships within data.

Independent Variable

A variable that does not change based on anything else and it actually has direct influence on another variable

Dependent Variable

A variable that is change or influenced because of another variable

Coefficient of Determination

(R²) measures the proportion of the variance of the data explained by the line of best fit in a regression analysis

P-Value

The probability of something happening assuming the null hypothesis is true p-value = 0.00005

Carnivores

Organisms that consume other animals

Photosynthesis

The process in which plants take in carbon and convert it to sugar which they use for energy and then they expel oxygen as a by product

Reproductive Success

Refers to the ability of an organism to produce offspring that survive to reproductive age. It is a key measure of fitness in evolutionary biology, indicating how well a species adapts to its environment. Factors influencing reproductive success include mating strategies, parental care, resource availability, and environmental conditions.

Errors

Sampling

GPS

System

A set of things that are interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time.

An interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something

Consist of elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose

Interconnections

The relationships that hold elements together

Function and purpose

function and purpose are expressed through the operations of the system. Purpose is deduced from behavior not rhetoric or stated goals.

function is generally used for nonhuman systems and purpose is used for human ones

Stock

The foundation of any system. Stocks are the element of the system that you can see, feel, count, or measure at any give time. A store, a quantity, an accumulation of material or information that has built up over time. Does not have to be physical

A stock is the memory of the history of changing flows within the system

Flow

The actions that change stock overtime.

Dynamics

The behavior of stocks and flows overtime

Dynamic Equilibrium

A stable and unchanging state, the inflow and outflow are equal

feedback and feedback loops

a consistent behavior pattern over a long period of time, forms when changes in stock affect the flows into or out og that same stock

a closed chain of casual connections from a stock through a set of decisions or rules or physical laws or action that are dependent on the level of the stock, and back again through a flow to change the stock

feedback is the interconnections, the information part of the system, what comes in and drives the system

balancing/stabilizing feedback

The stock level may not remain fixed but it does stay within an acceptable range. This is a goal-seeking/stability-seeking loop. ex. when you pull up to a red light

runaway/reinforcing feedback

Generates more input to a stick the more that is already there and the same is true for what’s less. It enhances whatever direction of change is imposed on it. This is a self-multiplying loop. Ex. populations and economies

delay

When the flow can’t react instantly and there is a pause or gap so that is can register and adjust to the change

shifting dominance

When one loop dominates the other and has a stronger impact on the systems behavior

stocked-limited and flow-limited

nonrenewable resources, entire stock is available at one but the stock cannot be renewed and extracted at any rate

renewable resources, can support harvest or extraction indefinitely. Have a finite flow rate equal to their regeneration rate

resilience vs static stability

bounded rationality

Bounded Rationality: This concept in decision-making indicates that individuals face limitations in processing information and making rational choices due to cognitive constraints, time restrictions, and environmental complexity. Consequently, people often use heuristics or simplified strategies instead of optimizing outcomes.

externalities and perturbations

a side effect of industry, economic, or commercial activity that impacts other parties without it being reflected in the goods or services

a deviation of a system

Biome

A large geographical area with characteristic groups of organisms adapted to that particular environment.

species composition

The number of species and their abundance in a given environment

tropical rainforest

an environment with a high amount of biodiversity, has hot temperatures, moist, and rains year around

Symbiotic

various species living together in one environment

Mutualism

A relationship where both species benefit

epiphytes

plants that live on other plants, some don’t impact the host tree and others positively impact them

primary production

a term used to describe the chemical energy generated by autotrophs in an ecosystem

autotrophs

organisms that generate their own energy ex. plants

coral bleaching

When the water gets too warm and the coral expels the algae in their tissue due to stress

biological diversity

the variety of life on earth going from genes to ecosystems

extrapolation

a method used to estimate data points that are outside the range of the ones that exist. Using what you have to predict what will be

intertropical convergence zone (itcz)

a zone where hot air and cold air form clouds around the equator

Deserts

a very dry environment, many are found at about 30 degrees latitude

Hadley Cell

dry air flowing toward the equator making a circulating cell

ferrel cell

air flowing away from the equator forming the surface of another circulatory cell

polar cell

cold air masses that sink towards the surface once over the poles

Coriolis effect

deflects air masses away from a linear path

gyres

large-scale surface circulations

tundra

dominant biome of northern rims of Asia, North America, and sections of Antarctica. It is flat, dry, extremely cold winters, and cool summers. Manu have permafrost which is a permanently frozen soil layer and a nutrient poor upper layer that freezes and thaws.

forbes

non-woody plants other than grasses

dormancy

periods of inactivity/shut down

taiga

a biome that is covered in trees primarily spruce, fir, and pine

temperate forests

grow under moderate conditions, warm summers, cool winters, significant rainfall, fertile soil and a longer growing season

tropical rainforest and topical dry forest

constantly warm and wet, (rainforest) lots of broadleaved tress and there is a sub-canopy of tress, shrubs, and other plants on the floor

lianas

vines that use the trees for support as they climb towards the canopy

adaptation

changes organisms make over time in order to better survive in their environment especially when it the environment changes

temperate grasslands

interior of Eurasia, North America, and somewhat south America. cold winters and warm summers, moderate precipitation, and grass and forbs is the primary vegetation

standard error (of the mean)

a measure of variation from the mean

temperate shrubland

fires are very common here, nutrient-poor soil, wet and wild winters, hot and dry summers, short growing season, high biodiversity

Stomata

organs that regulate water and CO2 in a plant

phytoplankton

microorangisms in water that get their energy from the sun and produce oxygen as byproduct

thermal stratification

the formation of distinct layers along a temperature profile

dead zones

places that have very low dissolved oxygen levels for an extended period causing aerobic organisms to die

disturbance

A disruption in normal behavior

anthropogenic biomes

biomes whose nature and character were determined by human impact

benthic zone

the bottom part of bodies of water were dead organisms decompose and their nutrients are released

turnover

happens in the fall or winter in temperate and polar regions. Surface water temperatures become cooler than deep water temperatures

upwelling

occurs in oceans near western shores of land masses, winds move surface water away from the shore and causes deeper water to move in and form a more productive region

food web

shows the network of energy transfer from organism to organism

reservoir

water storage

flux

flow of water from the atmosphere to the earth’s surface

transpiration

water moves through a plant and evaporates from its leaves

residence time

the average amount of time a water molecule remains in its reservoir

endemic species

species that are found only in a certain region/area

oligotrophic lake

low nutrient levels and is relatively unproductive

eutrophic lake

high levels of nutrients and is productive due to large population of photosynthetic phytoplankton

europhication

The process of a body of water becoming over enriched causing plant life to overgrow

limiting nutrient

the nutrient that is present and prevents overgrowth of plant life in water

chemosynthesis

The conversion of energy from chemical compounds in the environment into chemical bond energy stored in carbs

carbon cycle

how carbon moves between the atmosphere, oceans, and land

feedback interactions