AP Biology Unit 8 vocab

Climate

the long-term, prevailing weather conditions in a particular area

Biome

major terrestrial biomes or the physical environment in aquatic biomes

Macroclimate

very fine patterns, such as those encountered by the community of organisms that live beneath a fallen log

Abiotic

nonliving factors

Microclimate

very fine patterns, such as those encountered by the community of organisms that live beneath a fallen log

Climographs

a plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region

Disturbance

a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem.

Thermocline

a narrow layer of abrupt temperature change in the ocean and most lakes that separates the warm upper layer and the cold lower layer

Turnover

a semiannual mixing of a temperate lake's waters as a result of changing temperature profiles

Density

the number of individuals per unit area or volume

Dispersion

he pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population

Immigrations

the influx of new individuals from other areas

Emigration

the movement of individuals out of a population

Life tables

age-specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population

Survivorship curves

a plot of the proportion or numbers in cohort still alive at each age

Reproductive tables

an age-specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population

Demography

the study of the vital statistics of populations and how they change over time

Exponential growth

growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a J-shaped curve when graphed over time

carrying capacity

the maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain

Logistic growth

population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity

Life history

the traits that affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and survival

Semelparous

Semelparity and iteroparity are two classes of possible reproductive strategies available to living organisms.

Iteroparous

reproduction in which adults produce offspring over many years

K-selection

selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density

r-selection

selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments

Density independent

a birth or death rate that does not change with population density

Density dependent

a birth or death rate that does change with population density

Metapopulation

a group of spatially separated populations of one species that interact through immigration and emigration

Age structure

the relative number of individuals of each age in the population

Ecological footprint

the aggregate land and water area required by each person, city or nation to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates

interspecific interaction

Includes competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis, mutualism, and commensalism, and facilitation.

resource partitioning

When species divide a niche to avoid competition for resources, it is called resource partitioning.

ecological niches

An ecological niche is the role and position a species has in its environment; how it meets its needs for food and shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces.

interspecific competition

is a -/- interaction that occurs when individuals of different species compete for a resource that limits their growth and survival.

Predation

Refers to a +/- interaction between species in which one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey.

Herbivory

Refer to a +/- interaction in which an organism eats parts of a plant or alga

symbiosis

When individuals of two or more species live in direct and intimate contact with one another.

Parasitism

Is a +/- symbiotic interaction in which one organism, the parasite, derives its nourishment from another organism, its host, which is harmed in the process.

Mutualism

Is an interspecific interaction that benefits both species (+/+)

Commensalism

an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Facilitation

an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Species diversity

The variety of different kinds of organisms that make up the community.

species richness

The number of different species in the community.

relative abundance

The proportion each species represents of all individuals in the community.

biomass

The total mass of all individuals in a population.

trophic structure

The structure and dynamics of a community also depend on the feeding relationships between organisms.

Food chain

A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature.

Food web

Food chains that are not isolated units but are linked together.

dominant species

Are species in a community that are the most abundant or that collectively have the highest biomass.

keystone species

A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche.

bottom up model

Which postulates a unidirectional influence from lower to higher trophic levels.

top-down model

Postulates that predation mainly controls community organization because predators limit herbivores, herbivores limit plants, and plants limit nutrient uptake.

disturbance

An event, such as a storm, fire, flood, drought, overgrazing, or human activity, that changes a community by removing organisms from it or altering resource availability.

intermediate disturbance

States that moderate levels of disturbance foster greater species diversity than do low or high levels of disturbance.

ecological succession

Transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life.

primary succession

the series of community changes which occur on an entirely new habitat which has never been colonized before.

secondary succession

Occurs when an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact.

species area curve

The biodiversity pattern that shows that the larger the geographic area of a community is, the more species it has.

pathogens

An organism, virus, viroid, or prion that causes disease.

zoonotic pathogens

Pathogens that are defined as those that are transferred to humans from other animals. either through direct contact with an infected animal or by means of an intermediate species.

Ecosystem

The sum of all the organisms living in a given area and the abiotic factors with which they interact

Law of conservation of mass

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed

Primary production

The autotrophs that support all

Gross primary production

total primary production. The amount of light energy that is converted into chemical energy.

Net primary production

is equal to gross primary production minus the energy used by the primary producers for respiration (R): 623 NPP = GPP -R

Net ecosystem production

Measure of total biomass accumulation during the time that NPP measures

Production efficiency

Percent of energy stores in assimiated food not used for respiration

biological magnification

Biological magnification often refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans.

Trophic efficiency

Percent of production transferred from one trophic level to the next

Bioremediation

Using organisms (prokaryotes, fungi, plants) to detoxify polluted ecosystems. Remove the bad stuff

Biological augmentation

Add essential materials to degraded ecosystems. Encouraging growth of plants

ecosystem services

a function performed by an ecosystem that directly or indirectly benefits humans

introduced species

a species moved by humans, either intentionally or accidentally, from its native location to a new geographic region; also called non-native or exotic species

minimum variable population

the smallest population size at which a species is able to sustain its numbers and survive

extinction vortex

a downward population spiral in which inbreeding and genetic drift combine to cause a small population to shrink and, unless the spiral is reversed, to become extinct

endangered species

a species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range

movement corridors

a series of small clumps or a narrow strip of quality habitat (usable by organisms) that connects otherwise isolated patches of quality habitat

biodiversity hot spots

a relatively small area with an exceptional concentration of endemic species and often a large number of endangered and threatened species

zoned reserve

an extensive region that includes areas relatively undisturbed by humans surrounded by areas that have been changed by human activity and are used for economic gain

urban ecology

Urban ecology is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in the context of an urban environment.