BIO1050 Exam 3 chapter terms

ch 34, 36, 37 terms all sections (will edit if we skip any sections)

(34.1) abiotic factors

A nonliving component of the environment, such as air, water, or temperature.

(37.18) abiotic reservoirs

The part of an ecosystem where a chemical, such as carbon or nitrogen, accumulates or is stockpiled outside of living organisms.

(36.9) age structure

The number of individuals in different age groups in a population.

(34.6) aphotic zone

The region of an aquatic ecosystem beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate enough for photosynthesis to take place.

(34.6) benthic realm

A seafloor or the bottom of a freshwater lake, pond, river, or stream.

(36.11) biocapacity

Earth’s capacity to provide and renew the land and water resources an individual or nation needs and to absorb the carbon emissions it generates, measured in global hectares (gha).

(37.18) biogeochemical cycles

Any of the various chemical circuits that involve both biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem.

(34.5) biome

A major type of ecological association that occupies a broad geographic region of land or water and is characterized by organisms adapted to the particular environment.

(34.1) biosphere

The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems.

(34.1) biotic factors

A living component of the environment; an organism, or a factor pertaining to one or more organisms.

(36.4) carrying capacity

In a population, the number of individuals that an environment can sustain.

(34.12) chaparral

A biome dominated by spiny evergreen shrubs adapted to periodic drought and fires; found where cold ocean currents circulate offshore, creating mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers.

(37.14) chemical cycling

The transfer of materials, such as carbon, within an ecosystem

(36.2) clumped dispersion pattern

A pattern in which the individuals of a population are aggregated in patches.

(37.6) coevolution

Evolutionary change in which adaptations in one species act as a selective force on a second species, inducing adaptations that in turn act as a selective force on the first species; a series of reciprocal evolutionary adaptations in two interacting species.

(34.1/37.1) community

An assemblage of all the populations of organisms living close enough together for potential interactions

(34.15) coniferous forests

A biome characterized by conifers, cone-bearing evergreen trees.

(34.6) continental shelves

The submerged part of a continent

(37.8) decomposers

A prokaryote or fungus that secretes enzymes that digest molecules in organic material and convert them to inorganic forms

(37.8) decomposition

The breakdown of organic materials into inorganic ones.

(36.9) demographic transition

A shift from zero population growth in which birth rates and death rates are high to zero population growth characterized by low birth and death rates.

(36.5) density-dependent factors

A population-limiting factor whose intensity is linked to population density. For example, there may be a decline in birth rates or a rise in death rates in response to an increase in the number of individuals living in a designated area.

(36.5) density-independent factor

A population-limiting factor whose intensity is unrelated to population density.

(34.11) desert

A biome characterized by organisms adapted to sparse rainfall (less than 30 cm per year).

(34.11)desertification

The conversion of semi-arid regions to desert.

(37.8) detritivores

An organism that consumes decaying organic material.

(37.8) detritus

Dead organic matter, including animal wastes, plant litter, and the bodies of dead organisms.

(36.2) dispersion pattern

The manner in which individuals in a population are spaced within their area.

(37.12) disturbances

In ecology, an event that changes a biological community by removing organisms from it or altering the availability of resources.

(36.11) ecological footprint

An estimate of the amount of land and water area required to provide the resources an individual or nation consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, measured in global hectares (gha).

(37.3) ecological niche

The role of a species in its community; the sum total of a species’ use of the biotic and abiotic resources of its environment.

(37.12) ecological succession

The process of biological community change resulting from disturbance; transition in the species composition of a biological community.

(34.1) ecology

The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment.

(34.1/37.14) ecosystem

All the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment.

(37.14) energy flow -  The passage of energy through the components of an ecosystem.

(34.6) estuary

A biome that occurs where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean.

(36.4) exponential growth model

A mathematical description of idealized, unlimited population growth.

(36.9) fertility rate

In a human population, the average number of children produced by a woman over her lifetime.

(37.8) food chain

A sequence of food transfers from producers through one to four levels of consumers in an ecosystem.

(37.9) food web

A network of interconnecting food chains.

(37.15) gross primary production

The total primary production of an ecosystem during a given time period.

(34.1) habitat

A place where an organism lives; the environment in which an organism lives.

(37.2) herbivory

Consumption of plant parts or algae by an animal.

(37.2) inTERspecific competition

Competition between individuals or populations of two or more species that require the same limited resource.

(37.2) interspecific interactions

Relationships between individuals of different species in a community.

(34.6) intertidal zone

A shallow zone where the waters of an estuary or ocean meet land.

(36.5) inTRAspecific competition

Competition between members of a population for a limited resource.

(37.13) invasive species

A non-native species that spreads beyond its original point of introduction and causes environmental or economic damage.

(37.11) keystone species

A species whose impact on the community is much larger than its biomass or abundance would indicate

(36.7) k-selection

Selection for life history traits that produce relatively few offspring that have a good chance of survival; occurs when population size is near carrying capacity (K).

(34.1) landscape

Several different ecosystems linked by exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms.

(36.7) life history

The traits that affect an organism’s schedule of reproduction and death, including age at first reproduction, frequency of reproduction, number of offspring, and amount of parental care.

(36.3) life tables

A listing of survivals and deaths in a population in a particular time period and predictions of how long, on average, an individual of a given age will live.

(36.4) limiting factors

An environmental factor that restricts population growth.

(36.4) logistic growth model - A mathematical description of idealized population growth that is restricted by limiting factors.

(37.2) mutualism

An interspecific relationship in which both partners benefit.

(37.15) net primary production

The gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by the producers for respiration; the stored chemical energy that is available to consumers in an ecosystem.

(37.21) nitrogen fixation

The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to nitrogen compounds (NH4+, NO3−) that plants can absorb and use

(34.5) ocean current

One of the river-like flow patterns in the oceans.

(34.1) organism

An individual living thing, consisting of one or more cells.

(34.6) pelagic realm

The region of an ocean occupied by seawater.

(36.4) per capita rate of increase

The average contribution of each individual in a population to population growth for a time interval.

(34.16) permafrost

Continuously frozen ground found in the arctic tundra.

(34.6) photic zone

The region of an aquatic ecosystem into which light penetrates and where photosynthesis occurs.

(34.6) phytoplankton

Algae and photosynthetic bacteria that drift passively in aquatic environments.

(34.17) polar ice

A terrestrial biome that includes regions of extremely cold temperature and low precipitation located at high latitudes north of the arctic tundra and in Antarctica.

(34.1/36.1) population

A group of individuals belonging to one species that live in the same geographic area and can potentially interbreed.

(36.2) population density

The number of individuals of a species per unit area or volume

(36.1) population ecology

The study of how members of a population interact with their environment, focusing on factors that influence population density and growth.

(36.9) population momentum

In a population in which r = 0, the continuation of population growth as girls in the prereproductive age group reach their reproductive years.

(37.2) predation

An interaction between species in which one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey.

(34.5) prevailing winds

Major global air movements; winds that result from the combined effects of Earth’s rotation and the rising and falling of air masses.

(37.8) primary consumers

An herbivore; an organism that eats plants or other autotrophs.

(37.15) primary production

The conversion of solar energy to chemical energy (in organic compounds) by photosynthesis.

(37.12) primary succession

A type of ecological succession in which a biological community arises in an area without soil.

(37.8) producer

An organism that makes organic food molecules from CO2, H2O, and other inorganic raw materials: a plant, alga, or autotrophic prokaryote.

(37.8) quaternary consumers

An animal that eats tertiary consumers.

(36.2) random dispersion pattern

A pattern in which the individuals of a population are spaced in an unpredictable way.

(36.7) r-selection

Selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in environments where resources are abundant.

(34.10) savanna

A biome dominated by grasses and scattered trees and maintained by occasional fires and drought.

(37.8) scavengers

An animal that feeds on the carcasses of dead animals.

(37.8) secondary consumers

An animal that eats herbivores (primary consumers).

(37.12) secondary succession

A type of ecological succession that occurs where a disturbance has destroyed an existing biological community but left the soil intact.

(37.10) species diversity

The variety of species that make up a community. _________ includes both species richness (the total number of different species) and the relative abundance of the different species in the community.

(36.3) survivorship curve

A plot of the number of members of a cohort that are still alive at each age; one way to represent age-specific mortality.

(36.11/37.23) sustainability

The goal of developing, managing, and conserving Earth’s resources in ways that meet the needs of people today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

(36.8) sustainable resource management

Management practices that allow use of a natural resource without damaging it.

(34.15) taiga

The northern coniferous forest, characterized by long, snowy winters and short, wet summers, extending across North America and Eurasia to the southern border of the arctic tundra; also found just below alpine tundra on mountainsides in temperate zones.

(34.14) temperate broadleaf forests

A biome located throughout midlatitude regions, where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, ______ deciduous trees.

(34.13) temperate grasslands

A biome dominated by grasses and other non-woody plants and maintained by seasonal drought, occasional fires, and grazing by large mammals.

(34.14) temperate rain forests

Coniferous forests of coastal North America (from Alaska to Oregon) supported by warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean.

(34.5) temperate zones

Latitudes between the tropics and the Arctic Circle in the north and the Antarctic Circle in the south; regions with milder climates than the tropics or polar regions.

(37.8) tertiary consumers

An animal that eats secondary consumers.

(34.18) transpiration

The evaporative loss of water from a plant.

(37.8) trophic structure

The pattern of feeding relationships in a community.

(34.9) tropical forests

A terrestrial biome characterized by high levels of precipitation and warm temperatures year-round.

(34.5) tropics

Latitudes between 23.5° north and south; the region surrounding the equator.

(34.16) tundra

A biome at the northernmost limits of plant growth and at high altitudes, characterized by dwarf woody shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens.

(36.2) uniform dispersion pattern

A pattern in which the individuals of a population are evenly distributed over an area.

(34.6) wetlands

An ecosystem intermediate between an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial ecosystem, where soil is saturated with water permanently or periodically.