AP BIO ECOLOGY FLASHCARDS

Behaviour

Response for stimuli

Taxis

movement to/from a stimuli

photo/hydrotropism

when plants grow to light / water

dinural

alert during the day and inactive at night.

Innate

behavior that is genetically programmed and present at birth, not learned through experience.

Spatial Learning

where an organism learns to navigate its environment based on physical cues

Associative Learning

Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Where an unrelated stimuli is used to make something else a stimuli

(ringing a bell before a dog’s meal will make it hungry when it hears the bell)

Operant Conditioning

An organism tries something for the first time and does it again or never depending on the result

Imprinting

a type of learning that happens during a short, early period in life where an animal forms a strong attachment to the first thing it sees or experiences.
(Not exclusively learned or innate)

Mating Behaviours

release of pheromones or a physical change that can trigger mating behaviour

Migration Behaviour

External effects decide when an animal migrates (temp, hours of daylight)

Communication can be

Visual (Fireflies Flashing)

Tactile (touching)

Auditory (Barking)

Chemical (Release of Pheromones)

Foraging Behaviour

Deciding whether its worth the expenditure of energy to obtain food

Monogomous

bond/mate for life or the season (partenrs look similar)

Promiscuous

Multiple partners (males and females look different = sexual dimorphism (size and coloration)

Intersexual Selection

choose mates based on certain traits (usually monogomous)

Intrasexual Selection

competition for a mate

Altruism

where an animal warns the entire pop. of danger rather than simply fleeing

Kin Selection

where an animal warns just their family of a danger

Population dispersions

Clumped (resource availability and behaviour)

Uniform (territory)

Random (no preference)

Type I

• Higher Energy expenditure

• Large mammals reproduce internally, not often and are larger

• Higher life expectancy

Type II

Avg mortality in life due to some protection and care from parents (internal fertilization)

Type III

High initial mortality lower later
Lower energy expenditure
external fertilization

Progeny

Offspring

Semilparity

Reproduce once and die
-r strategists
-unpredictable and unstable

-type III

Iteroparity

produces offspring multiple times over its lifetime

-k strategsists
-type I

Density independent population

birth/death dont change density

Density dependent population

birth/death do change density

Density independent Factors

natural disastors regulate pop

Density dependent dependent

competition, territory, disease, predation, toxic wastes regulate pop

Population Dynamics

How abiotic/biotic factors vary the population size

Metapopulations

groups of populations linked by immigration

Community

abiotic+biotic interacting

Interspecific Interactions

members of different spcies compete for resources

intraspecific

two of the same fighting

Competitive Exclusion Principle

two species cannot occupy the same niche and resources at the same time

Niche

the animals job and the resources itll hunt
WHAT DOES IT DO/ WHERE IS IT?

habitat

address

Resource Partitioning

when similar species reduce competition by using different parts of a resource or different ways of using it.

ex
Two bird species eat insects in the same tree, but one feeds at the top branches while the other feeds near the trunk.

Predation causes…

evolution

Cryptic Coloration

camo

Aposematic

bright colours threatening of toxicity

Batesian Mimicry

harmless mimics another dangerous species

Mullerian Mimicry

two dangerous species evolve to look like eachother to become safer in numbers

Parasitism

Mutua

Mutualism

(+/+) Both organisms benefit (bees pollinating flowers)

Commensalism

(+/0) One benefits with no effect to the other (barnacle on a whale)

Predation/Parasitian

(+/-) One benefits to the expense of the other

Competetion

(-/-) both lose due to extra expenditure of energy

Richness

total number of different species in a community (amount)

Abundance

evenness of each species (ratio)

Dominant species

greatest population size

Keystone species

species with greatest impact→ regulates population and increases biodiversity
(smaller population sizes)

Foundation Species

High population and plays a big supporting role in the community
(abundant NOT replaceable)
if population were to decline then a negative effect on the community/ecosystem would follow

Dominant Species

Abundant, replaceable→ if numbers were to decrease or reach 0 the community/ecosystem would NOT survive

Invasive Species wins by

• competing better

• Bringing new disease

• Rapid population growth

Disturbance

Major event htat moves/reduces/destroys resources needed by organisms (if its catastrophic then succession will occur)

Primary Succession

starting from bare rock (can take hundreds of years → volcanic islands)

Secondary Succession

Starting form soil

Succession Sequence

Bare area → Pioneer species → Grasses and small plants → Shrubs → Young trees → Mature/climax community

Ecosystem

all biotic and abiotic factors that interact with each other (size may vary depending on amount interacting)

Energy Cycling

the one-way movement of energy through an ecosystem from producers to consumers, with energy lost as heat at each transfer

Detritus

nonliving organic matter

Cellular respiration is performed by

both autotrophs and heterotrophs

Primary Productivity

amount of solar energy converted to food (glucose)

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

total energy consumed by an organism

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

amount of energy available for the next organism

Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP)

change in GPP and NPP

Terrestrial Limitations

temp/ rainfall → defines biomes

Aquatic Limitations

amount/concentration of light at depths

Carbon Cycle includes…

photosynthesis,decaying,organic carbon, respiration etc

Nitrogen Cycle includes…

Atmospheric N₂ → Nitrogen fixation → Ammonium (NH₄⁺) → Nitrification → Nitrates (NO₃⁻) → Plant uptake → Consumers → Decomposition → Denitrification → Atmospheric N₂.

Eutrophication

Excess nutrients → Algal bloom → Algae die → Decomposers increase → Oxygen decreases → Fish and other aquatic organisms die.

Conservation Ecologists

work to maintain current environment

Restoration Ecologists

speed up recovery of degraded systems

Genetic Diversity

The variety of genes and alleles within a population or species.

(Different fur colors in a population of rabbits)

Species Diversity

The variety and relative abundance of different species in a community.

(A rainforest containing many different species of plants, animals, and fungi)

Ecosystem Diversity

The variety of ecosystems, habitats, and ecological processes in a region.

(An area containing forests, grasslands, wetlands, and lakes)

Small population approach

A conservation approach that focuses on the problems faced by small populations, such as loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and increased risk of extinction.

Extinction Vortex Model

Small population → Inbreeding/genetic drift → Lower genetic diversity → Lower fitness → Smaller population → Extinction.

Declining Population Model

looks to factors such as environment as why a population is endangered/ threatened

Biological Magnification

The increase in the concentration of a toxin or pollutant in organisms at higher trophic levels of a food chain.
→The highest trophic level has the highest concentration of toxins

Fragmentation

when a habitat is broken up by human impact and reduces access to resources

Movement Corridors

built to let organisms cross roadways

Biodiversity Hotspot

areas where endemic species are found

Edemic

only one population of a species in the world