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population

a group of individuals, single species living in same general area

Population Ecology

the study of populations in relation to their environment - density, distribution, age structure, and population size

Density

number of individuals per unit area

Dispersion

the pattern of spacing among individuals

Mark-recapture method

capturing, tagging, releasing random samples in a population, then capturing more randoms to see how many are tagged

clumped dispersion

influenced by resource availability

uniform dispersion

where individuals are evenly distributed

random dispersion

individuals are in independent positions

Demography

study of how populations change over time (death and birth rates)

life table

age specific summary of survival pattern

cohort

group of individuals with the same age

reproductive table

fertility schedule

Exponential population growth

population increasing rapidly due to awesome conditions

carrying capacity

maximum population amount environment can sustain

Allee effect

lower chance of reproducing due to small population

density INDEPENDENT growth

birth and death rate do not change with population density

density DEPENDENT growth

birth and death rate rise with population density (negative feedback)

population dynamics

complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors

demographic transition

move from the first configuration to second → associated with an increase in the quality of health

Ecological Footprint

the aggregate land and water needed to sustain a nation

community

a group of different species and populations living close to each other

interspecific interactions

two different organisms interacting

interspecific competition

where different species compete for resources

competitive exclusion

when two species compete, one wins, and the other is eliminated from the area

ecological niche

sum of biotic and abiotic resources used by a species

Resource partitioning

ecologically similar species coexisting while having different niches

sympatric species vs allopatric populations

overlapping species distributions vs no overlapping distributions

character displacement

when characteristics diverge more in sympatric than allopatric

predation

interaction between species where a predator kills and eats its prey.

herbivory

interation between species where an organism consumes plant material

cryptic coloration

blending in to surroundings

asposematic coloration

warning predators with colors

batesian mimicry

when a species makes itself look like a poisonous species

mullerian mimicry

when two species mimic each other

Aggressice mimicry

when a predator mimics a prey’s prey to attract the prey

symbiosis

when two or more species live in direct and intimate contact with one another

parasitism

parasites living on host and harming it in process

obligate mutualism

one of the species cannot live on their own without another

faculative mutualism

both species are able to live on their own but benefit each other

commensalism

an interaction that benefits one species while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

facilitation

when species interact in positive ways

species diversity

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

Species richness

the number of different species in a community

Relative abundance

proportion of the community that each species occupies

trophic structure

the feeding relationships between organisms in an community

first law of thermodynamics

energy can not be created of destroyed

second law of thermodynamics

every exchange of energy increases the entropy of the universe

law of conservation of mass

matter can not be created or destroyed

primary production

the amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis plants

secondary production

the amount of chemical energy in food converted to biomass by consumer organisms

trophic efficiency

the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next