Wildlife Ecology Exam 1

physical environment

Determines where species can inhabit

Biotic

living

Abiotic

Physical; rocks, weather

Weather

the current conditions of the atmosphere

Climate

Long term description of weather based on averages and variations measured over decades

greenhouse effect

Gases absorb energy and radiate it back to the surface

Orbit

Seasonality

Latent Heat Flux

heat loss due to evaporation

Hadley Cell

Large scale circulation patterns resulting from uplift in the tropics

Polar Cell

Add north and south poles cold air descend creating high pressure zone with little precipitation.

Ferrell cells

exist at mid-latitudes

Rain shadow effect

The windward slope facing the prevailing winds has
high precipitation and lush vegetation; the leeward slope gets little precipitation

Salinity

the concentration of dissolved salts in water

Acidity

The measure of the ability of a solution to behave as an acid

Alkalinity

The measure of the ability of a solution to behave as a base

Ecology

The scientific study of organisms affect and are affected by other organisms and their environment

Biosphere

All the me organisms on earth plus environment where they live. The zone of life

Biomes

are large-scale terrestrial communities shaped by the physical environment, categorized by dominant plant growth forms and characteristics

nine terrestrial biomes

Tundra, Boreal Forest, Temperate Forest, Temprate seasonal forest, woodland, temperate grassland, tropical rainforest, savanna, subtropical desert.

Ecosystems

Community of organisms + physical environment

Community

An association of populations of different species in the same area

Population

A group of individuals single species that live in area and interact

Organisms

Individual species itself

Evolution

Change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.

Adaptation

A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce

convergence

evolution of similar growth forms in response to similar selection pressures

Desertification

loss of plant cover and soil erosion

natural selection

Individuals with certain adaptions tend to survive and reproduce a higher rate than other individuals

Main channel

comprised of species such as fish

Producers

Organisms that make their own food

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

Consumer

An organism that eats other organisms

spatial scale

Small- soil microorganisms
Large- atmospheric pollutants

temporal scale

Short—leaf response to sunlight
Long—species change over geologic time

Replication

performing each treatment more than once; reduces possibility that results are due to a variable that was not measured or controlled in the study.

indirect effect

an interaction between two species that involves one or more intermediate species

direct effect

an interaction between two species that does not involve other species

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response

limnetic zone

open water

photic zone

Surface layer of water where light can penetrate to allow for photosynthesis

littoral zone

near shore, where the photic zone reaches the bottom

benthic zone

detritus from littoral and pelagic zones is food for animals, fungi, and bacteria; may be cold and have low oxygen.

pelagic zone

Open ocean beyond the continental shelves.

Physiological Ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment and how these interactions influence their survival and determines their geographic

Tolerance

to live with

Avoidance

to move away

Climate Envelope

range of conditions over which a species occurs

Acclimatization

Adjusting to stress through behavior or physiology.

Radiation

absorption of electromagnetic energy from sources such as the sun, sky, and ground

Conduction

transfer of heat through contact

Convection

movement of liquids and gases which
in return produces heat

Evaporation

removal of heat through loss of water.

Ectotherms

regulate body temperature mainly through energy exchange with the external environment

Endotherms

rely primarily on internal heat generation—mostly birds and mammals

stomates

controlled by specialized guard cells surrounding leaf openings

boundary layer

Zone of turbulent flow due to friction, next to the leaf surface.

thermoneutral zone

Range of environmental temperatures over which a constant basal metabolic rate can be maintained

lower critcal temperature

When heat loss is greater than metabolic production; body temperature drops and metabolic heat generation increases.

torpor

a state of motor and mental inactivity with a partial suspension of sensibility

Bergmans rule

As you move north in latitude from the equator, the overall body size of species increases

Allen's rule

At higher latitudes, species have smaller appendages when compared to species at lower latitudes.

Hyperosmotic

Environment has more saline than an organism’s cells

Isoosmotic

Environment has the same salinity concentration as the organism’s cell

Hypoosmotic

Environment has less saline concentration compared to the organism’s cell.

Osmotic adjustment

acclimated response in which an organism/cell changes their solute concentration

Turgor pressure

helps give structure to plants and is an important force for growth and promoting cell division.

Three primary ways species prevent water loss

Physiological, Morphological, Behavioral

Chemical energy

stored in bonds of food molecules that is then consumed

kinetic energy

movement of molecules; measured as temperature

radiant energy

sunlight

Autotrophs

assimilate energy from sunlight (photosynthesis) or inorganic compounds (chemosynthesis) and convert it to chemical energy in bonds of organic molecules.

Heterotrophs

obtain energy by consuming organic compounds from other organisms (originally synthesized by autotrophs).

Light-driven reactions

light energy is harvested and used to split water to provide electrons to make ATP and NADPH.

Carbon reactions

CO2 synthesis of sugars and carbohydrates

Chlorophyll

absorbs red and blue light and reflects green (why plants are green)

Light response curves

show the relationship between light levels and photosynthetic rate.

Light compensation point

Where CO2 uptake is balanced by CO2 loss by respiration.

Saturation point

When photosynthesis no longer increases as light increases.

Calvin cycle

most common biochemical pathway to fix CO2. catalyzed by several enzymes.

CAM and C4

specialized pathways that assist with increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis

C3

is the photosynthetic pathway plants utilize in the absents of CAM and C4

Biochemical specialization

“pump” that provides high concentration of carbon dioxide to the Calvin cycle

Morphological specialization

spatial separation mesophyll (location of CO2 uptake) and bundle sheath (location of Calvin cycle)

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)

minimizes water loss by opening stomates at night when it’s cooler and humidity is higher

coprophagy

reingest feces

ruminents

have a specialized stomach compartment (rumen) in which large populations of bacteria facilitate breakdown of cellulose.

Genotype

genetic makeup of an individual

AA

homozygote dominate

Aa

heterozygote

aa

homozygote recessive

Phenotype

Observable characteristics that are influenced by the genotype.

p =

dominant alleles

q =

recessive alleles

natural selection

Individuals with certain heritable traits survive and reproduce more successfully than
other individuals.

recombination

also produces different genotypes within a population.

Directional selection

Individuals at one phenotypic extreme (e.g., large size) are favored.

Stabilizing selection

Individuals with an intermediate phenotype are favored.

Disruptive selection

Individuals at both phenotypic extremes are favored.

genetic drifts

occurs when chance events determine which alleles are passed to the next generation

Gene flow

Alleles move between populations via movement of individuals or gametes.