units 1 2 3 apes vocab

Niche generalist

A species that can live under a wide range of biotic or abiotic conditions and utilize a variety of food sources.

Niche specialist

A species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or feed on a small group of species.

Population distribution

The spatial arrangement of individuals of a population within a particular area, typically categorized as random, uniform, or clumped.

Intrinsic growth rate

The maximum potential for growth of a population under ideal conditions with unlimited resources.

Logistic growth

A growth pattern in which population growth is slowed by limiting factors as the population size approaches the carrying capacity.

Exponential growth

Growth that occurs at a constant rate per unit of time, resulting in a J-shaped curve when graphed.

Carrying capacity

The maximum population size of a species that a specific environment can sustain indefinitely.

K-selected species

Species that produce few offspring, provide significant parental care, and are adapted to stable environments near carrying capacity.

r-selected species

Species that reproduce early in life, produce many offspring, and provide little parental care, often adapted to unstable environments.

Survivorship curves

Graphs representing the number of individuals of a population that survive at each age interval.

Density-dependent and density-independent limiting factors

Density-dependent factors (like food or disease) affect populations based on size, while density-independent factors (like natural disasters) affect populations regardless of size.

Inbreeding depression

The reduced biological fitness in a given population as a result of inbreeding, or breeding of related individuals.

Competitive exclusion principle

The principle stating that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist at constant population values.

CBR/CDR

Crude Birth Rate and Crude Death Rate; the number of births or deaths per 1,000 individuals in a population per year.

Rule of 70

A mathematical formula used to estimate the doubling time of a population by dividing 70 by the annual percentage growth rate.

Infant mortality

The number of deaths of children under one year of age per 1,000 live births.

Replacement-level fertility

The total fertility rate required to offset the average number of deaths in a population so that the current population size remains stable.

Total fertility rate

An estimate of the average number of children that each woman in a population will bear throughout her childbearing years.

Immigration and Emigration

Immigration is the movement of people into a country, while emigration is the movement of people out of a country.

Age structure diagram

A visual representation of the number or proportion of individuals within different age groups in a population.

Gross domestic product

The total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy.

Stages of demographic transition

A model that describes the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system.

Generalist vs. Specialist Species

Generalists can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and use a variety of resources, while specialists have a narrow niche and require specific environmental conditions or limited food sources.

K-selected vs. r-selected species

K-selected species are characterized by long lifespans, few offspring, and high parental investment, while r-selected species are characterized by short lifespans, many offspring, and little to no parental investment.

What are survivorship curves?

Graphs that show the number or proportion of individuals surviving to each age for a given species or group; Type I shows high survival until old age, Type II shows constant mortality, and Type III shows high early mortality.

What is carrying capacity?

The maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by a specific environment, given the available food, habitat, water, and other necessities.

What do age structure diagrams represent?

Visual representations of the number or percentage of individuals in different age groups within a population, used to predict future population growth and total fertility rates.

What are the demographic transition stages?

A model describing the transformation of countries from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as they develop from pre-industrial to industrialized economic systems.

Ecosystem services

The benefits that humans freely gain from the natural environment and properly-functioning ecosystems, such as pollination, water purification, and climate regulation.

Genetic diversity

The total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, serving as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments.

Ecosystem diversity

The variety of different habitats, communities, and ecological processes in the biosphere.

Symbiosis

A close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, which may be mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic.

Tropical

A climate zone characterized by high temperatures year-round and significant rainfall, typically found near the equator.

Temperate

A climate zone characterized by moderate temperatures and distinct seasonal changes, typically found between tropical and polar regions.

Taiga/Boreal forest

A biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches, found in high northern latitudes.

Savanna

A grassy biome characterized by widely spaced trees and a distinct wet and dry season, typically found in tropical regions.

Tundra

A cold, treeless biome characterized by low temperatures, short growing seasons, and permafrost.

Estuary

A coastal area where freshwater from rivers meets and mixes with saltwater from the ocean, creating a brackish environment.

Permafrost

Ground that remains completely frozen at temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years.

Resilience

The capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Genetic drift

A mechanism of evolution in which allele frequencies of a population change over generations due to chance events.

Bottleneck effect

An evolutionary event in which a significant percentage of a population or species is killed or otherwise prevented from reproducing, drastically reducing genetic diversity.

Range of tolerance

The range of abiotic conditions, such as temperature or salinity, within which an organism can survive, grow, and reproduce.

Island biogeography

The study of the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities.

Primary succession

The series of community changes which occur on an entirely new habitat that has never been colonized before, such as bare rock.

Pioneer species

The first organisms to colonize a barren environment, such as lichens or mosses, which help initiate the process of succession.

Secondary succession

The series of community changes which take place on a previously colonized, but disturbed or damaged habitat, such as after a forest fire.

Climax community

The final, stable stage of ecological succession in which the community remains relatively unchanged until destroyed by an event.

Littoral zone

The near-shore area of a lake or ocean where sunlight penetrates all the way to the sediment and aquatic plants grow.

Limnetic zone

The well-lit, open surface waters of a lake, away from the shore, where photosynthesis occurs.

Phytoplankton

Microscopic marine algae that form the base of several aquatic food webs.

Profundal zone

A deep zone of an inland body of freestanding water, located below the range of effective light penetration.

Benthic zone

The lowest ecological region of a body of water, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.

Indicator species

An organism whose presence, absence, or abundance reflects a specific environmental condition or the health of an ecosystem.

Keystone species

A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed, the ecosystem would change drastically.

Endemic species

A species that is native to a single defined geographic location and is not found naturally anywhere else.

Biodiversity

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem, including genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.

Ecosystem services

The benefits that humans derive from ecosystems, such as provisioning (food/water), regulating (climate/disease control), cultural (recreational/spiritual), and supporting (nutrient cycling) services.

Island biogeography

A field of study that examines the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities, specifically how island size and distance from the mainland influence immigration and extinction rates.

Ecological tolerance

The range of abiotic conditions, such as temperature, salinity, or pH, within which an organism or species can survive, grow, and reproduce.

Disruptions to ecosystems

Events, whether natural (e.g., wildfires, hurricanes) or anthropogenic (e.g., deforestation, pollution), that alter the structure and function of an ecosystem.

Adaptations

Inherited characteristics or behaviors that increase an organism's chance of survival and reproduction in its specific environment.

Succession

The process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time, categorized into primary succession (starting from bare rock) and secondary succession (starting from disturbed soil).

Background extinction rate

The standard rate of extinction in earth's geological and biological history before humans contributed to environmental change.

Anthropogenic

Originating from human activity, typically referring to environmental pollution or pollutants.

Null hypothesis

A statistical hypothesis that assumes no significant difference or relationship exists between two measured phenomena.

First law of thermodynamics

The principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.

Second law of thermodynamics

The principle stating that in any energy transfer, the entropy of the universe increases, and some energy is lost as heat.

Entropy

A measure of the degree of disorder or randomness in a system.

Negative feedback

A regulatory mechanism in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state or decreasing the rate of the change.

Positive feedback

A process that occurs in a feedback loop which exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance, moving the system further away from equilibrium.

Gross primary productivity

The total rate at which solar energy is captured by producers via photosynthesis in a given area over a specific time.

Net primary productivity

The rate at which biomass accumulates in an ecosystem after accounting for the energy used by producers for respiration.

Nitrogen fixation

The process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into ammonia or other nitrogenous compounds, typically by bacteria.

Denitrification

The microbial process of reducing nitrate and nitrite to gaseous nitrogen, returning it to the atmosphere.

Hypoxia

A condition in aquatic environments where dissolved oxygen levels are low, often leading to the death of marine organisms.

Eutrophication

The process by which a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients, inducing excessive growth of plants and algae.

Phosphorus cycle

The biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

Transpiration

The process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems, and flowers.

Sedimentation

The process of settling or being deposited as a sediment, often forming layers of rock over geological time.

Carbon reservoir

A natural or artificial place where carbon is stored for a period of time, such as the ocean, atmosphere, or fossil fuel deposits.

What is an ecosystem?

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment, functioning as a unit.

What is ecosystem productivity?

The rate at which energy is converted by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic autotrophs to organic substances, typically measured as biomass per unit area per unit time.

What is a biome?

A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, such as a forest, tundra, or desert, characterized by specific climate conditions.

What are cycles of matter?

The biogeochemical processes by which essential elements like carbon, nitrogen, and water move through biotic and abiotic components of the Earth system.

What is a food web?

A complex network of interconnected food chains showing the feeding relationships and energy flow within an ecosystem.

What are trophic levels?

The hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy.

How does energy flow in an ecosystem?

Energy enters ecosystems primarily from the sun, flows through trophic levels from producers to consumers and decomposers, with approximately 90% lost as heat at each transfer.