Ecology

Vocabulary flashcards based on Population Ecology lecture notes.

Population Ecology

The study of populations in relation to their environment, focusing on how the environment influences population size.

Population

A group of individuals of a single species living in a specific area.

Density

The number of individuals of a population in a specific unit area or volume.

Dispersion

The pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population.

Clumped Dispersion

Individuals aggregate in patches; influenced by resource availability and behavior.

Uniform Dispersion

Individuals are evenly distributed; may be influenced by territoriality.

Random Dispersion

The position of each individual is independent of other individuals; absence of strong attractions or repulsions.

Sampling Method

A method used to estimate population size, especially useful for populations with uniform dispersion.

Mark & Recapture Method

A method used to estimate population size, especially useful for populations with random or clumped dispersion; involves capturing, marking, and recapturing individuals.

Births

The number of births in a population.

Birth Rate

The proportion of births to the population size.

Deaths

The number of deaths in a population.

Death Rate

The proportion of deaths to the population size.

Rate of Increase (r)

The difference between the birth rate and the death rate; indicates whether a population is growing or shrinking.

Zero Population Growth (ZPG)

When the population growth rate is zero.

Exponential Growth

Population increase under ideal conditions (unlimited resources, no predators, no disease).

Reproductive Table

A summary of the reproductive rates of a population, organized by age groups; useful for predicting population growth trends.

Cohort

A group of individuals of the same age in a population.

Logistic Growth

Population growth under realistic conditions (limited resources).

Carrying Capacity (K)

The maximum population size that an environment can sustain given available resources.

Survivorship Curve

The proportion of individuals alive at each age.

Density-Independent Species

Species whose population size is determined by factors unrelated to population density.

Community

The community of all organisms that live together in a place.

Interspecific Interactions

Interactions between members of different species.

Competitive Exclusion Principle

When two species fight over the same limited resource, the species who utilizes it more efficiently will exclude the other.

Ecological Niche

An organism's ecological role in the environment.

Resource Partitioning

When species divide a niche to avoid competition for resources.

Predation

An interaction in which one species kills and eats the other.

Cryptic Coloration

Camouflage that helps prey avoid detection.

Aposematic Coloration

Bright warning coloration used by prey to signal toxicity.

Batesian Mimicry

A type of mimicry where a harmless species evolves to resemble a dangerous one.

Müllerian Mimicry

A type of mimicry where several harmful species resemble each other.

Herbivory

when animals eat plants

Symbiosis

Any relationship in which two species live closely together.

Parasitism

One species benefits, while the other is harmed.

Mutualism

Both species benefit from the interaction.

Commensalism

One species benefits, and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Life History Strategy

designed to maximize reproduction, survival rates

Disturbance

Any major event that removes, reduces, or destroys resources needed by living organisms in a community.

Succession

The sequence of community changes after a disturbance.

Primary Succession

Succession that occurs in an area where no soil previously existed.

Secondary Succession

Succession that occurs in an area where soil is already present.

Biodiversity

The measure of the number of different species present in a community and their relative abundance.

Species Richness

The number of different species in a community.

Species Abundance

The relative abundance of different species in a community.

Dominant Species

Species found with the greatest population size or biomass in a community.

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large impact on its community relative to its abundance.

Foundation Species

Species that create or fundamentally alter habitats.

Invasive Species

Species that have moved into an area through natural disasters, storms, or unnatural (humans)

Autotrophs (Producers)

An organism that can make their own food.

Heterotrophs (Consumers)

An organism that consumes other organisms for energy.

Detritus

Non-living organic matter.

Biomass

The amount of potential chemical energy stored in organic matter.

Trophic Level

Each level in a food chain or food web.

Primary Productivity

The amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

The total primary productivity of an ecosystem.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The primary productivity of an ecosystem after subtracting the energy used by producers for respiration.

Secondary Productivity

The amount of energy consumers use for growth and reproduction.

Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP)

The difference between gross primary productivity and total ecosystem respiration.

Abiotic

Non-living components of an ecosystem.

Ecosystem

A community of interacting organisms and the physical environment.

Decomposers

Decomposers only eat dead stuff, release SNP back to soil.

Chemical Cycling

The movement of nutrients through an ecosystem.

Biological Magnification

When toxic chemicals are absorbed by a producer, and passed onto consumers, concentrating in the consumer bodies.

Biodiversity Hot Spot

Areas of the world where endemic species are found.

Eutrophication

When too much nitrogen and/or phosphorus is released into a water body.

Conservation Ecology

To maintain biological diversity.

Restoration Ecology

To speed up the recovery of degraded ecosystems.

Genetic Diversity

The amount of differences in the DNA between members of the same species.

Species Diversity

The number of different species in an ecosystem.

Endangered Species

A species in danger of becoming extinct in the near future.

Zoned Reserves

Areas that limit disruptions to the habitat.

Threatened Species

A species that may become endangered in the future.

Extinction Vortex Model

Model used to explain what happens to small populations with low genetic diversity that are threatened or endangered.