Ecology and Global Climates Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts of ecology, biological interactions, climate systems, atmospheric circulation, ocean currents, and experimental ecological methods.

Ecology

The scientific study of the abundance and distribution of organisms in relation to other organisms and environmental conditions.

Biotic Factors

Living components of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Abiotic Factors

Nonliving physical and chemical components of an ecosystem, such as temperature, light, water, minerals, and atmosphere.

Adaptation

A trait that increases an organism's fitness in a particular environment, arising through natural selection.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living in a defined geographic area.

Community

All populations of different species living and interacting in the same area.

Ecosystem

One or more biological communities interacting with their nonliving physical and chemical environment.

Landscape

A mosaic of multiple interacting ecosystems across a region.

Biosphere

The global ecological system containing all ecosystems on Earth, including the lower atmosphere, land, and oceans.

Law of Conservation of Matter

The physical law stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed, but can only change form.

Law of Conservation of Energy

Also called the First Law of Thermodynamics, it states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can only be transformed from one form to another.

Dynamic Steady State

A condition where an ecological system's internal variables remain relatively constant because inputs equal outputs ($\text{Inputs} = \text{Outputs}$).

Genotype

The set of genes an organism carries.

Phenotype

The observable physical, physiological, and behavioral characteristics of an organism, influenced by the interaction between genotype and environment.

Natural Selection

The process in which individuals with certain inherited traits have different levels of survival and reproductive success.

Fitness

The relative survival and reproductive success of an organism.

Producers (Autotrophs)

Organisms that produce organic compounds from inorganic carbon using solar energy (photosynthesis) or chemical energy (chemosynthesis).

Consumers (Heterotrophs)

Organisms that obtain energy and nutrients by consuming other organisms or organic products produced by organisms.

Mixotrophs

Organisms capable of using both autotrophic and heterotrophic strategies to obtain energy.

Scavengers

Consumers that eat dead animal carcasses.

Detritivores

Consumers that eat dead organic material and waste known as detritus.

Decomposers

Organisms that chemically break down dead organic matter into simpler inorganic materials and recycle nutrients back into the environment.

Interspecific Interaction Table (Part 1)

A matrix summarizing the outcome signs for Predation ($+/-$), Parasitoidism ($+/-$), and Parasitism ($+/-$).

Interspecific Interaction Table (Part 2)

A matrix summarizing the outcome signs for Herbivory ($+/-$), Competition ($-/-$), Mutualism ($+/+$), and Commensalism ($+/0$).

Predation

An interspecific interaction ($+/-$) where a predator kills and consumes another organism.

Parasitoidism

An interspecific interaction ($+/-$) in which a female lays eggs on or inside a host, and the developing larvae feed on and eventually kill the host.

Parasitism

An interspecific interaction ($+/-$) where a parasite lives in or on a host and obtains nutrients from it without usually killing it immediately.

Pathogen

A parasite that causes disease, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, or helminths.

Herbivory

An interspecific interaction ($+/-$) where a herbivore consumes plants or algae.

Competition

An interspecific interaction ($-/-$) occurring when species depend on the same limiting resource, resulting in negative effects on both.

Mutualism

An interspecific interaction ($+/+$) in which both interacting species receive a net benefit.

Commensalism

An interspecific interaction ($+/0$) where one species benefits while the other experiences no significant benefit or harm.

Symbiosis

A close, prolonged physical association between two different species.

Habitat

The physical environment in which an organism lives.

Niche

How an organism lives and its functional role in the ecosystem, including tolerated abiotic conditions, food sources, and species interactions.

Manipulative Experiment

An experiment that tests a hypothesis by intentionally changing a factor believed to influence an outcome.

Top-down Control

An ecological process where predators influence the abundance or biomass of organisms at lower trophic levels.

Natural Experiment

An observational approach that tests hypotheses using naturally occurring differences or environmental changes without direct manipulation.

Mathematical Model

A representation of an ecological system using mathematical equations to predict patterns and test hypotheses.

Climate vs. Weather Comparison

A side-by-side comparison illustrating climate as long-term patterns measured over many years and weather as short-term conditions occurring over hours, days, or weeks.

Climate

The typical atmospheric conditions that occur throughout the year, measured over many years.

Weather

The variation in temperature and precipitation over short periods of hours, days, or weeks.

Plant Hardiness Zones

A classification system categorizing areas according to the coldest winter temperatures they experience to predict plant survival.

Greenhouse Effect

The process in which solar radiation warms Earth's surface, the surface emits infrared radiation, and greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit that infrared radiation, warming the atmosphere and surface.

Greenhouse Gases

Atmospheric gases—such as water vapor ($\text{H}_2\text{O}$), carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$), methane ($\text{CH}_4$), nitrous oxide ($\text{N}_2\text{O}$), and ozone ($\text{O}_3$)—that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation.

Albedo

The fraction of incoming solar energy that is reflected by an object or surface.

Solar Equator

The latitude receiving the most direct rays of the Sun, shifting between approximately $23.5^\text{o}\text{N}$ and $23.5^\text{o}\text{S}$ throughout the year.

Hadley Cell

An atmospheric circulation cell located between approximately $0^\text{o}$ and $30^\text{o}$ latitude where warm air rises near the equator and sinks around $30^\text{o}$ latitude.

Ferrel Cell

An atmospheric circulation cell located approximately between $30^\text{o}$ and $60^\text{o}$ latitude.

Polar Cell

An atmospheric circulation cell located approximately between $60^\text{o}$ and $90^\text{o}$ latitude.

Coriolis Effect

The apparent deflection of the path of an object due to Earth's rotation, bending paths to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Gyre

A large-scale water circulation pattern between continents, rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Upwelling

The upward movement of deep, cold, nutrient-rich ocean water toward the surface.

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A periodic change in winds and ocean currents in the South Pacific that causes global climate changes.

Thermohaline Circulation

A global pattern of deep-water and surface-water currents driven by differences in temperature and salinity that alter seawater density.

Rain Shadow

A region of dry conditions on the leeward side of a mountain range caused by moist air rising, cooling, and dropping precipitation on the windward side.

Windward Side

The side of a mountain range facing incoming wind, which receives rising moist air and precipitation.

Leeward Side

The side of a mountain range away from incoming wind, which receives warm, descending dry air.

Regression

A statistical technique used to determine the relationship between two variables and describe the nature of that relationship.