APES Test 2 Review

Hope y'all dont get a 50 like Aaron

Ecological Niche

Ecological Niche

Role that a species plays in an ecosystem

Fundamental Niche

The full potential range of conditions and resources a species could theoretically use if there were no direct competition from other species

Realized Niche

Part of a species fundamental niche that it actually uses, limited by competition.

Generalist Species

Have broad niches; they can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions

Specialist Species

Have narrow niches; they may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one or a few types of food

Native Species

Species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem

Nonnative Species/Exotic Species/Alien Species

Species that migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans

Indicator Species

Species that serve as early warnings that a community or an ecosystem is being damaged

Keystone Species

Species whose roles in an ecosystem are much more important than their abundance or biomass

Interspecific Competition

Occurs when two or more species compete for food, space, or any other limited resource

Predation

Members of one species feed directly on all or part of a living organism of another species

Symbiosis

A long-lasting relationship in which species live together in an intimate association

Parasitism

Occurs when one species feed on part of another organism by living on or in the host for a significant portion of the host's life

Mutualism

Two species involved in a symbiotic relationship in ways that benefit both

Commensalism

A symbiotic interaction that benefits one species but neither harms not helps the other species much, if at all

Interference Competition

One species may limit another's access to some resource, regardless of its abundance. This often takes the form of behavior in which member of a species establish a territory they defend against other invading species

Exploitation Competition

Competing species have roughly equal access to a specific resource but differ in how fast or efficiently they exploit it. The species that can use the resource more quickly gets more of the resource and hampers the growth, reproduction, or survival of the other species

Competitive Exclusion Principle

Two species that require the same resource cannot coexist indefinitely in an ecosystem in which there is not enough of that resource to meet the needs of both species

Resource Partitioning

The dividing up of scarce resources so that species with similar requirements use them at different times, in different ways, or in different places

Warning Coloration

Brightly colored advertising that enables experienced predators to recognize and avoid them

Mimicry

Gaining protection by looking and acting like a different species

Edge effect

different environmental conditions that occur along the boundaries of an ecosystem

Habitat Islands

Areas of natural habitat surrounded by developed and fragmented land (i.e. national park).

Habitat Fragmentation

by roads, logging, agriculture, and urban development- occurs when a large, continuous area of habitat is reduced in area and divided into smaller, more scattered, and isolated patches. (creates habitat islands)

Intraspecific competition

in a community competition for resources among members of the same species

Parasitoids

Parasites that routinely kill their hosts as part of their life cycle

Endoparasites

Parasites that live inside their hosts

Ectoparasites

Parasites that live outside their hosts

Ecological succession

The gradual and fairly predictable change in species composition of a given area

Primary succession

The gradual establishment of biotic communities in an area that has not been occupied by life before

Secondary succession

The reestablishment of a biotic community in an area where a biotic community was previously present

Pioneer species

First hardy species, often microbes, mosses, and lichens, that begin colonizing a site as the first stage of ecological succession

Early successional plant species

Grow close to the ground, can establish large populations quickly under harsh conditions, and have short lives

Midsuccessional plant species

Grasses and low shrubs that are less hardy than early successional plant species. Need full sun.

Late successional plant species

Mostly trees that can tolerate shade and that form a fairly stable complex forest community

Facilitation

When primary succession plants make it more suitable for other plants found at a later stage of succession

Inhibition

When early species hinder the establishment and growth of other species

Tolerance

When late successional plants are largely unaffected by plants at earlier stages of succession

Disturbance

Discrete event in time that disrupts an ecosystem or community (natural-hurricanes, tornadoes; human caused-deforestation, overgrazing and plowing)

Intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Communities that experience fairly frequent, moderate disturbances have the greatest diversity of species

Inertia, or persistence

Ability of a living system to resist being disturbed or altered

Constancy

Ability of a living system such as a population to maintain a certain size or keep its numbers within the limits imposed by available resources

Resilience

Ability of a living system to bounce back after an external disturbance that is not too drastic

Species equilibrium model, or theory of island biogeography

the number of species found on an island is determined by a balance between two factors: the immigration rate and the extinction rate; proposed by MacArthur and Wilson

chemical warfare

prey species discourage predators with chemicals that are poisonous, irritating, foul smelling, bad tasting

precautionary principle

When there is scientific uncertainty about potentially serious harm from chemicals or technologies, decision makers should act to prevent harm to humans and the environment.

Old growth forest

Uncut forests and regenerated forests that have not been seriously disturbed for several hundred (+) years.

Second growth forest

stands of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession after cutting. Includes most forests in the US.

shifted cultivators

practice unsustainable farming that depletes soils and destroys large tracts of forests.

even-aged management

trees in a given stand are maintained at about the same age and size

industrial forestry

to grow and harvest trees using mono culture techniques achieved by replacing a biologically diverse natural forest with a simplified tree farm of one or two fast-growing and economically desirable species that can be harvested every 10-100 years

uneven-aged management

a variety of tree species in a given stand are maintained at many ages and sizes to foster natural regeneration.

selective cutting

when loggers cut intermediate or mature trees in an uneven-aged forest cut in small groups making gaps no larger than the size of the hieight of standing trees

shelter-wood cutting

removes all mature trees in two or typically three cuttings over a period of about ten years

seed-tree cutting

harvests nearly all of a stand's trees in one cutting, leaving a few uniformly distributed seed-producing trees to regenerate the stand

clear-cutting

removal of all trees from an area in a single cutting

strip cutting

a variation of clear cutting that can allow a sustainable timber yield without widespread destruction

surface fires

usually burn only undergrowth and leaf litter on the forest floor

crown fires

extremely hot fires that start on the ground but eventually burn whole trees and leap from treetop to treetop

ground fires

surface fires that go underground and burn partially decayed leaves or peat; most common in northern peat bogs

prescribed burning

setting controlled ground fires to prevent build up of flammable material

presuppression

early detection and control of fires

suppression

fighting fires once they have started

debt-for-nature swap

participating countries act as custodians for protected forest reserves in return for foreign aid or debt relief

conservation easements

a private organization, country, or group of countries compensates other countries for protecting selected forest areas

Tree plantation or tree farm

Site planted with one or only a few tree species in an even-aged stand. When the stand matures it is usually harvested by clear-cutting and then replanted. These farms normally are used to grow rapidly growing tree species for fuelwood, timber, or pulpwood.

conservation concession

Nations get money in exchange for not using/selling the resources associated with biodiversity hotspots like tropical rain forests. Usually done by conservation organzations through leasing of the land to be protected.

natural regulation

A park management policy that involves letting nature take its course most of the time, with corrective actions undertaken as needed to adjust for changes caused by pervasive human activities

principle sustainable yield

states that potentially renewable resources should not be harvested or used faster than they are replenished.

principle multiple use

states that the same land should be managed simultaneously for a variety of uses.

range land

land that supples forage or vegetation for grazing and browsing animals and it is not intensively managed.

overgrazing

occurs when too many animals graze for too long and exceed the carrying capacity of a grassland area.

riparian zones

thin strips of long vegetation along streams.

continuous grazing

occurs throughout the year or appropriate season.

deferred-rotation grazing

involves moving livestock between two or more range areas to allow perennial grasses to recover from the effects of grazing.

biosphere reserve zones

core area, buffer zone and transition zone.

core area

contains an important ecosystem that has had little or no disturbance from human activities.

buffer zone

activities and uses are managed in ways that help protect the core.

transition zone

a second buffer which combines conservation and sustainable forestry, grazing, agriculture, and recreation.

wilderness

areas where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.

gap analysis

a method developed to determine how adequate native plant and animal species and natural communities are protected by the existing network of conservation lands.

restoration

Trying to return a particular degraded habitat or ecosystem to a condition as similar as possible to its predegraded state

rehabilitation

involves any attempt to restore at least some of a degraded system's natural species and ecosystem functions. (i.e. removing pollutants, replanting)

replacement

facilitating the change of a degraded ecosystem into another type of ecosystem. (i.e. a degraded forest into a productive pasture or tree planation.)

creating artificial ecosystems

example: creation of artificial wetlands to help reduce flooding and to treat sewage

Weather

Short-term properties of the troposphere at a given place and time.

Climate

The average long-term weather of an area including seasonal variations and weather extremes.

Warm Front

boundary between an advancing warm air mass and the cooler one it is replacing.

Cold front

leading edge of an advancing mass of cold air. (Stays close to the ground, because it is less dense than warm air).

Upwelling

brings plant nutrients from the deeper parts of the ocean to the surface and support large populations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, and fish-eating seabirds.

El Nino-Southern Oscillation

Westerward winds weaken or cease and surface water along the South and North American coasts become warmer. Normal upwellings of cold, nutrient rich water is suppressed. (NOTE: these winds are also called prevailing EASTERLY winds--winds are named from whence they came, not were they are headed. Your textbook has an error. It calls them the prevailing westerly winds...that is wrong.)

Microclimates

Local climatic conditions, that differ from the general climate of a region.

Rain shadow effect

The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them (on the leeward side).

Latitude

Distance from the equator

Altitude

Elevation above sea level

Succulent plants

Such as the saguaro cactus, survive in dry climates by having a vertical orientation, no leaves, and the ability to store water and synthesize food in their expandable, fleshy tissue.

Broad leaf evergreen plants

plants which keep large surface area which allows them to collect ample sunlight and radiate heat during the hot summer.

Broad leaf deciduous plants

plants such as oak and maple trees they survive droughts and cold by shedding their leaves and becoming dormant during such periods.

coniferous evergreen plants

trees such as spruces, pines and firs these plants keep some of their narrow pointed leaves (needles) all year.

Desert

area where evaporation exceeds precipitation.