envr unit 2

What is a microbiome?

An ecosystem made of microscopic organisms

Which ecosystem is very productive; supports hundreds of species of invertebrates, mollusks, fish, and mammals; and is located along temperate and tropical coastlines?

Seagrass ecosystems

The two most important ecosystem services that seagrass meadows provide are that they act as a(n) ____ pump, and they capture and store ____ ____.

oxygen; carbon dioxide

The change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations is called ____.

evolution

The Galápagos ____ are a small archipelago off the coast of South America where Charles Darwin visited as a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle.

Islands

The complex community of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and other organisms that live in and on your body is a(n) ____.

microbiome

The idea that environmental conditions can favor certain characteristics over others, potentially leading to the creation of a new species, is Darwin's theory of ____ selection.

natural

Seagrass ecosystems…

1. contain many different species of plants and animals

2. are very productive

Why is it so important that we protect seagrass meadows for mitigating climate change?

They are very successful at storing carbon in seafloor materials.

Replication through reproduction, traits variations, and selection are the phenomena that result in ____.

evolution

The idea that entire populations of species change over time to become better adapted to their environment is called ____.

evolution

Mutations are the result of damage or alteration of an organism's ____ that are not repaired.

DNA

Darwin proposed natural ____, the idea that environmental conditions favor certain traits, as the mechanism of evolution.

selection

Only mutations in ____ cells matter in terms of evolution because they can be inherited by the offspring.

reproductive

An adaption is when a species acquires a trait or traits that allows the species to be ____.

more likely to survive in its environment

That causes of evolution…

1. replication

2. selection

3. variation in traits

Adaptations that can be passed from generation to generation can lead to ____ of a population of a species.

evolution

The change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations is called ____.

evolution

Mutations…

1. are cause by errors in DNA replication

2. are accidental changes

Availability of water, space, and food are all examples of ____ factors that influence the fitness of individuals.

limiting

The mutations that occur in gametes, or ____ cells, are the only ones that can be inherited and lead to evolution.

reproductive

The critical factor that determines where a species lives is the most important ____ factor.

limiting

A species can acquire traits that allow it to survive better in a particular environment; this is called ____.

adaptation

The range of temperatures a species can withstand is an example of its ____ limits.

tolerance

What is the relationship between species adaption and evolution?

Adaptions that are inheritable lead to evolution.

The idea that entire populations of species change over time to become better adapted to their environment is called ____.

evolution

Lichens and eastern white pine are examples of ____ species because they are extremely sensitive to certain air pollutants.

indicator

Where a species can live is dictated by ____ factors such as the temperature and pH in the environment, competition with other species, and the presence of disease.

limiting

The physical location and environmental conditions under which a given organism lives is its key ____.

The single factor in shortest supply relative to demand in an environment is the ____ factor, which determines where a species can live.

limiting

The manner in which a species obtains food, the relationships it has with other species, and the services it provides to the community are all part of its ecological ____.

niche

An environmental factor that has a minimum and maximum level that the species can withstand is the ____ limit.

tolerance

The type of species that can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and utilize a wide range of resources are called ____.

generalists

The presence or absence of ____ species represents changes in the environment that may affect the ecosystem as a whole.

indicator

Specialists have a ____ niche breadth.

narrow

The environmental conditions in which an organism lives is its ____.

key habitat

The functional role that a species plays in its environment is called its ecological ____.

niche

An endemic species occurs in ____ geographical area.

one

The idea that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche for long in a given ecosystem is summarized in the principle of ____ exclusion.

competitive

In following with the competitive exclusion principle, two species with overlapping niches must ____ shared resources.

partition

The development of a new species is called ____.

speciation

It is advantageous to be a ____ species because they are extremely well adapted to their environment, but they do not tolerate environmental change well; ____ species adapt more readily to changing environments as they have a wide niche breadth, but they can be outcompeted.

specialist; generalist

The type of speciation that results when a population of a species is geographically isolated is ____ speciation.

allopatric

Species that occur in only one specific geographical area are ____ species.

endemic

The creation of a new species in the absence of geographic isolation is known as ____ speciation.

sympatric

No two species can exist in the same habitat and fulfill the same role indefinitely; this is the principle of ____.

competitive exclusion

Directional selection

Selection that increases fitness at one extreme for a trait and reduces fitness at the other extreme for the same trait.

Stabilizing selection

Selection that produces the greatest fitness at the intermediate point or condition for a given trait

Disruptive selection

Selection that increases fitness at both extremes of a trait and reduces fitness at the middle values

The various beak sizes and shapes and foraging habits of Darwin's ____ were an important observation that contributed to Charles Darwin's development of his theory of evolution by natural selection.

finches

When a population of a species becomes more adapted to its environment, developing specialized or distinctive traits, it eventually differentiates entirely from the original species, resulting in ____.

speciation

A species that evolves rapidly and in relative isolation from other species would be ____ to adapt to environmental change.

more likely

Allopatric speciation results from ____ of a population

isolation

The study of common evolutionary characteristics shared between organisms is a field of scientific study known as ____.

taxonomy

The type of speciation that occurs within a single geographic area is ____ speciation.

sympatric

An organism's genus and species name together make up its ____.

binomial

____ is not an example of a kingdom in taxonomy.

Monera

The study of different types of organisms and their relationships to one another is ____.

taxonomy

A binomial includes an organism's genus and ____ name.

species

The process over which predator and prey exhibit physical and behavioral changes in response to selection pressures from one another is ____.

coevolution

Under the ecological definition of a predator, an herbivore is a predator of a plant.

True

Scientists recognize six kingdoms in the taxonomic structure that include ____, plants, and protists.

1. animals

2. fungi

3. bacteria

4. archaebacteria

Predator-prey relationships remain the same throughout each stage of an organism's life.

False

Coevolution is the evolution of two ____.

or more species in response to each other

Predator-prey relationships ____ together by exerting selective pressures on one another.

evolve

Examples of predators in a food web include ____.

herbivores, carnivores, and herbivores

What occurs in an evolutionary trade-off?

An organism optimizes a single trait at the expense of others

A fish may be ____ for a crustacean when the fish is immature, but it may be the _____ of the same crustacean later in its life.

prey; predator

When a harmless species gains protection against predators by resembling a poisonous or distasteful species, we describe this as  ____ mimicry.

Batesian

As predators become more efficient at searching and feeding over time, ____ become more effective at escape and avoidance.

prey

When two poisonous species resemble one another so that a predator avoids them and both species benefit, we call it ____ mimicry.

Mullerian

Antagonistic relationships can result when organisms within a community ____ for resources.

compete

When an organism develops a single, optimized trait such as speed, they often do this at the expense of other traits; we call this an evolutionary ____.

trade-off

What type of competition exists between members of the same species?

Intraspecific

When species that are harmless resemble poisonous species we call it Batesian ____.

mimicry

____ is a way to reduce intraspecific competition.

Parasitism of healthy individuals

When a superior competitor in a habitat accrues a large population and the superior species is more likely to be preyed upon, allowing the populations of weaker competitors to increase, ____-mediated competition occurs.

predator

A general term that describes an intimate shared living relationship between two or more species, without describing how each species is affected by the relationship, is ____.

symbiosis