Biology 1114 Final Weeks Lecture Quiz

Population

A group of individuals of the same species in the same living area at the same time

Population ecology

The study of how and why the number of individuals in a population changes over time

Exponential growth equation

(# of births - # of deaths) x # of individuals in population = populations growth rate; J-shaped curve where the higher r-value, the steeper the curve

Carrying Capacity

The maximum number of individuals in a population that can be supported in a particular habitat over a sustained period of time

Logistic growth

When population density gets very high, population’s per capita birthrate decreases and the per capita death rate increases causing r to decline; sigmoid or s shaped curve

Ecological footprint

the amount of environmental resources necessary to produce the goods and services that support an individual's lifestyle, a nation's prosperity, or the economic activity of humanity as a whole

Biological community

the living, or biotic, populations that exist within an ecosystem in a shared location

Competition

An interspecific interaction that is negative for both ends and happens when species compete for a resource in short supply

Predation

An interspecific interaction that is positive for one side and negative for the other where one species (the predators) kills and eats the other (the prey)

Symbiosis

A relationship where two or more species live in direct and intimate contact with one another (parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, and facilitation)

Facilitation

An interaction in which one species has positive effects on another species without direct and intimate contact

Niche

the total of a species use of biotic or abiotic resources

Competitive exclusion principle

states that two species competing for the same resources cannot coexist

Coloration / Camouflage

Used to make prey difficult to spot

Mimicry

A prey species may gain significant protection by mimicking the appearance of another species

Primary succession

Where no soil exists or no soil is intact

Secondary succession

Occurs when a community has been damages but soil remains

Individual

a singular organism

Ecosystem

a community looking at both the living and non-living things

Community

A group of collection of different species in the same area at the same space that are living

Biotic

Living

Abiotic

Non-living

Population growth calculations

Change in population size= births + immigrants entering population - deaths - emigrants leaving population

Immigrants

a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign population or country

Emigrants

an individual who leaves their own population or country in order to settle permanently in another

How individuals join a population

Through birth or immigration

How individuals leave a population

Through death or emigration

Per capita rate of increase

The difference between the birthrate and death rate per individual

Intrinsic rate of increase

when birthrates are as high as possible and death rates are as low as possible, r reaches a maximum value

Colonization of a new habitat

A few individuals colonize a new habitat with plentiful resources

Recovery after a disaster

A population has been devastated by a storm or some other type of catastrophe and then begins to recover, starting with a few surviving individuals

R

Rate of incline

Density dependent growth

Logistic growth

Density independent growth

Exponential growth

Environmental resistance factors

Space, food, soil quality, competition, mating partners, disease, predation, water, sunlight, etc.

Interspecific interactions

relationships between species in a community (categorized as positive, negative, or no effect)

Resource partitioning

differentiation of ecological niches, enabling similar species to coexist in a community

Fundamental niche

the niche potentially occupied by that species

Realized niche

the niche actually occupied by that species

Parasitism

An interspecific interaction where one organisms (the parasite) derives nourishment from another organism, (its host) which is harmed in the process

Mutualism

An interspecific interaction that benefit both species

Commensalism

An interspecific interaction where one species is benefitted and the other is neither harmed nor helped

Succession

A gradual change in species composition over time

GPP

Gross Primary Productivity- the total amount of chemical energy produced in a given area and time period

NPP

Net primary productivity- the energy reminding after cellular respiration

Net primary productivity equation

NPP= GPP - R (where R is energy used in cellular respiration)

Primary consumers

Eat primary producers

Secondary consumers

Eat primary consumers

Tertiary consumers

Eat secondary consumers

Decomposers or detritivores

Feed on detritus or the waste products or dead remains of other organisms

Trophic levels

the number of steps it is from the start of the chain

Efficiency between trophic levels

A ratio- the traction of biomass transferred from one trophic level to the next (usually about 10% but can vary dramatically)

Biogeochemical cycle

The path that an element takes as it moves from abiotic systems through organisms and back again

Carbon sinks (aka reservoirs)

Include soils, oceans, plant and animal biomass, the atmosphere and fossil fuels

The carboniferous period

About 300-360 mya where lignin was present and nothing was able to break it down causing the dead plants to be buried instead of broken down resulting in fossil fuels or reservoirs or carbon that are sealed off from the global carbon cycle

The Anthropocene

The biological, chemical, and geological consequences of human impacts have been so dramatic that scientists have proposed naming a new epoch in the geological time scale

Global warming

Refers to the increase in the average temperature of the planet (one specific change)

Global climate change

Refers to the sum of all the changes in local temperature and precipitation patterns that result from global warming (all together)

Greenhouse gases

Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor that acts as a blanket around the atmosphere when there is too much of them, letting in heat but not letting enough out so the temperature gradually gets hotter

Genetic diversity

comprises genetic variation within a population and between populations

Species diversity (species richness)

is the variety of species in an ecosystem or throughout the biosphere

Ecosystem diversity

is the variety of ecosystems in the biosphere

Background extinctions

Normal extinctions that occur during a given period of time

Mass extinctions

A large proportion of species on earth are lost in a short amount of time

Biggest threats to biodiversity

Deforestation and habitat loss

Other threats to biodiversity

Invasive species, over-harvesting, acid rain, ocean acidification

Conservation biology

Is a branch of ecology that seeks to investigate and reverse the loss of biodiversity

Fragmentation

The splitting of habitats that isolates small populations

Corridors

Can be used to connect habitat patches

Pyramid of productivity

shows the production or turnover (the rate at which energy or mass is transferred from one trophic level to the next) of biomass at each trophic level

Ecosystem services

encompass all the processes through which natural ecosystems and their species help sustain human life (ex: purification of air and water, detoxification and decomposition of wastes, cycling of nutrients, moderation of weather extremes, pollination, etc.)